Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1908-11-17
MAKE HIGHWAY
OF OREGON TRAIL
CONGRESS HAS BEEN INTEREST.
ED IN MOVEMENT TO MAKE
ROUTE PERMANENT.
MEEkER AGiTATES MOVE
Veteran Who Made Trip in ts43
Wants Help Of Automobiiists,
Farmers and Tourists to
Favor Scheme.

To mark the once famous Oregon
| trail celebrated in story and history,
by writer's of America, by making a
i permanent highway that will connect
the rich domain on the the North Pa
cific with the country east of the Mis-
sissippi river, is the plan of Ezra
Meeker, a pioneer of 1S43. This sturdy
man of the Pacific northwest, blazed
the trail in the early days and made
an overland trip by the same. trail
two years ago. 1t will be recalled by
many Ottumwans when this grizzled
old pioneer travelled in a prairie
schooner, drawn by yoke of oxen,
lpassed through Ottumwa during the
summer of 1906, and spoke to many
of the school children along the route.
In trying to interest the people Of the
country in the plan of making per-
manent highway of the "0ld Oregon
Trail" Mr.. Meeker advanced many
reasons.
Overland to White House.
Every automobile club, commercial
organization, good roads and farmers
association and state legislature in the
country is asked to lend it's aid to the
|
from the Pacific to the Atlantic, along
the general route of the old Oregon
trail as a memorial road to be known
as the Pioneer Way, for which bill,
appropriatiBg $4,000 to mark the
trail, is now on the house calendar at
Washington, d. c., with excellent pros
| poets of favorable action early next
session.
Ezra Meeker, the veteran pioneer of
the northwest, who. starting from his
home at Puyallup, Wash, January 20.
1906, drove his team Of oxen and
prairie schooner into the White house
grounds on Nov. 90, 1907, passing
through Ottumwa en- route, and return
ing this year, covering 200 miles,
made the foregoing observation durina
a recent visit to Spokane. Meeker and
his party crossed the continent with
an oX-team in 1643.
Western States to Lead.
Let Washington, Oregon and Idaho
set the pace; others will follow. The
trail traverses the states Of Washing
ton, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebras.
ka and Kansas. To get continuous
national roadbed over these seven
states we must secure the cooperation
of all OF them, as we'll as OF the ma.
tional government. We must formulate
and adopt Il plan that will be equitable
and disarm criticism. We cannot ex-
pect the government to build ma
tional highway through these states
and refuse to build through other
| states, hence the proposed work may
be. said to involve the adoption of a
national policy as to highways that
will be applicable upon all trunk lines
! throughout the national domain. 1t
would be a monument to the pioneers
| Of the old OREGON country to take the
lead in this work.
Many Benefited.
| "Conside:' what such a work or
building a transcontinental highway
means. road suitable for an automo.
mile way would be also
suited for the farmer way,
for the merchant way, for the
school children way, for the tourists
way, for the way that would regulate
the railroads and foster independent
action. Who can fathom the future?
Who dares say the time is not near
at hand when the trackless car will
come into play for transferring freight
long distances, and passengers almost
as speedily and comfortably as our
railroads? It is only question of the
roadbeds. Given the good roads, the
transformation is only matter of de-
tail and of time
Police Held Him Up.
| Meeker told of some of the peculiar
experiences of his trip from the state
of Washington to New York, thence to
the White house. One of these was in
New York, where he was held up by
| two policemen at 161st street and Am
sterdam avenue and ordered to drive
| his team to the police station, ten
/ after had refused to drive to the
station, one of the policemen under.
took to drive the team, but Dandy one
Of the oxen. wouldn't bulge peg for
him, and so there we were, with a
large and constantly increasing
crowd jeering the policemen. My driv-
er had been arrested and taken away,
but the policemen could not well ar
rest me and leave the team on the
streets. drove into the stable near
by after the policemen left"
Pass Special Ordinance.
! But the trouble was not ended
there. An ordinance of New York for
bade driving cattle on the streets OF
the city. | claimed my team were
oxen and not cattle under the mean
ing of the ordinance. Finally to brush
all doubts aside, the august city faith
ers passed a special ordinance, giving
a permit for 80 days, but it took so
| days to do 1t. The drive down Broad
way finally was accomplished and on
the evening of October II the battery
was reached and the tide waters of the
Atlantic lay in sight before me-
Arriving at Washington told
President Roosevelt that the winners
of the farther west had fought siren
uous battle in wrestling the Oregon
country from the Indians and the Brit
ish; that the Oregon trail had become
a battle field from one end to the 9th
era vast stretch of 1000 miles; that
4 5000 people sacrificed their lives dur
ing the year 1843) tnat crossed over
it, that the Oregon trail was as sacred
to the pioneers as any battle field Of