The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1905-09-21
OVER THE OREGO ON TRAIL
How Ezra Meeker Will Travel
From Portland to Iowa.
NOVEL TRIP IN PRAIRIE SCHOONER

NOVEL TRIP IN PRAIRIE SCHOONER
Pioneer Who Crossed the Continent
Half a Century Ago Will Return by
the Same Route-His Outfit Is Near
" Like the One He Had Then-WilI
Take Careful Notes.
Gee, Twist! Come on, Stub! Git
up!'' cried Ezra Meeker, pioneer, his
torian and good old fashioned citizen,
as he touched his off OK with switch
and turned the team into one Of the
gates of the Lewis and Clark exposi-
ton, writes the Portland (Ore.) CORE
spondent of the Boston Herald. Mr..
Meeker is on his way back east, but
he scorns the Pullman; he proposes to
travel the entire distance to Iowa
along the old OK wagon trail over
which he came to the Oregon country
; fifty three years ago.
His outfit is as nearly as possible an
exact reproduction of the one in which
he and his young bride made the trip
across the plains in 1852. There is
"prairie schooner" tar bucket and all,
and a dog running underneath the rear
axle which probablyis direct descend
ant Of the Iowa dog that trotted all
the way to Oregon in the pioneer days.
The oxen, Stub and Twist, are pretty
much like Buck and Dandy, Mr..
Meeker's 1852 team, though the pio-
neer says they are not quite such 8
good team.
Ezra Meeker is now seventy-hve
years old His wife of the pioneer
days is still living. Meeker is a man
Of mark in his own country, which is
the state of Washington He lives
near Tacoma, the metropolis of Pierce
county, in which county he used to be
the leading citizen because of his
wealth. He is going back to Iowa this
summer along the old Oregon trail, not
because he wants to get back east, but
because he desires to retrace the trail
and live over again the experiences Of
a highly romantic, though strenuous
and toilful, era in American history
and because he wants to write another
book.
Ezra Meeker today Is sturdy old
gentleman, with bushy white hair and
gray beard. He is a small man, light
Of build, and he wears Overalls and a
soft hat His manner is unOstenta-
tious, and his courtesy is Of the old
time kind. He tells his story modeStly.
Though Mr. Meeker does not say so,
others say that the little old man was
one Of the few white men in the early
days who won the Indians confidence,
| and that this enabled him to employ
them in his hop fields to such profit
that when the hop lice pest wiped out
| his earnings in the early nineties he
had raised for the export trade hops
| that had Brought him 100000. 1t was
| Of the early days that Mr.. Meeker
| talked as he sat on cracker box in
| his tent.
81 was reared in indianapolis and
was married there in 1851" he said.
Shortly after our marriage my wife
and I started west in search Of land.
We spent the winter at Eddyville, Ia,
and the winter was so cold that we de-
| cided to move to Oregon, SO we started
In the spring of 1852 with the same
sort Of an outfit as 1 have with me
| now. we reached Portland in the fall
and spent the winter there, and in the
| spring we moved on to Pierce county,
Wash, where l have lived ever since
| I guess that's about ALL"
| And yet Ezra Meeker has written a
big book of more than 500 pages which
| he calls Pioneer "reminiscences Of
Puget Sound-the Tragedy Of Leschi."
| The book contains a host of incidents
which portray wildly the life of the
| time and the mention Of 1t recalled
! one Of them to the author as he sat in
/ bis pioneer camp amid the splendors
| o. 1905 and the exposition.
81 saw in a paper awhile ago." he
said, s'that the number Of people who
| passed over the Oregon trail in 1852
and 1853 was $500. Now, you know,
| that can't be true The estimate is far
| too low. The trail was blocked a good
part Of the way with outfits, and the
Suffering NdS dWIul, UuL LucTc mlSt
have been at least $4,000 who got
| through.
you know a cholera broke out
among the emigrants, and there were
hundreds who died from it. At one
| place we counted ffty-one graves, all
made within week. Our party
escaped the cholera and got through
without losing an animal or piece Of
| baggage.
81 remember how glad we were
when we got. to The Dalles Of the Co
| lumbia, for we thought that then our
| troubles were ended. We piled all our
| baggage on to big flatboat, and there
was hardly any room for passengers,
| but we sat around on the baggage and
| were happy. One day as we were go
| ing through a gorge with the noun
tains rising high on both sides some
| one started singing softly Home,
| Sweet Home Others took up the
mn