Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1912-01-06

Toned prairie schooner On his first
expedition, he traversed every mile OF
the trail to Independence, then con-
tinued on to New York city, and final
ly to Washington, reaching the ma
tional capital November %. 1907. 1t
was his intention to ask congress at
that time to appropriate funds TO
make of the Oregon trail a national
highway; but from this he was dis
suaded by President Roosevelt. who
advised him to content himself with
the comparatively modest request for
an appropriation sufficient to place
monuments and markers along the
route.
Meeker spent the winter OF 1909-1O
campaigning through California, in
the endeavor to arouse the interest
and secure the cooperation OF the
people of that state. lie has addressed
more than 100000 school children,
hundreds of public meetings in town
halls, churches, schoolhouses and pub
lie squares, and thousands OF street
= corner crowds. Furthermore, he has
! secured the erection of % monuments
| 20 mark the trail, has inscribed "a
boulders and erected many wooden
posts. He has ascertained that 700
monuments will be necessary to
adequately mark the entire route,
and that the approximate cost will be
about $4,000. Through his efforts
bills were introduced in both the Six
tieth and Sixty-first congresses, pro-
viding for the appropriation Of 1000
for the marking of the trail; but these
bills never came up for action.
The Oregon and the Santa Fe
Trails both started at Independence,
Mo. For Al miles they were identical,
but where the town of Gardner now
stands the Santa Fe Trail bore off to
the southwest. and the newer route
turned to the northwest. At the point
OF separation a sign board indicated
the northern route, with the simple le-
gend, Road to Oregon" 1t followed
the direction of the Kansas and Little
Blue rivers to the Platte, reaching
that stream near Grand Island 1t fol-
lowed the Platte and Sweetwater for
a distance Of $50 miles, to South Pass
that hardly perceptible crossing OF
the Rockies, $50 miles from the Mis-
souri, river Green river was crossed
and then came Fort Bridger, 1,O7C
miles from Independence. Sixty miles
farther on was the ford of Bear river
which was followed for 40 miles, ia
Soda Springs, LILO miles from the
| starting point Here the later Califor
} MIA Trail turned Off to the southwest
The road to Oregon continued on tC
! Fort Hail. 1,2SS miles from Independ
} ence, at the first crossing OF the Snake
/ river. Forty-five miles farther west
} at the Raft river, the old California
= Trail diverged to the south-the trai
= followed by the Forty Miners" blu
later abandoned in favor OF the bet
, ter road that left the main trail a
= Soda Springs. Then down the Snake
2 valley, across the Blue mountains
- through the valley of the Umatilla
3 treked the pioneers. The distanc,
e from the Missouri river to Fort Van
3 couver was 1920 miles, and to thu
8 mouth Of the Columbia 2,134 miles.
g In 1S4s occurred the great migra
), tion-the historic march of the For
Q ty-Niners" to the gold fields OF Cali
= fornia Crowds began gathering
p along the Missouri early in April, an,
Q by the last of that month 1t was est
I mated that 10000 people were en-
a camped waiting for the grass to grow
o sufficiently to insure pasturage 10
III ! live cfnr1r or -.
9 about the first of May, and by tn
Z first of June there was a stragglin
), caravan thousand miles long NOV
3 Ing westward Then the cholera ep
g demic that had broken out on the Al
8 lantic seaboard reached Independence
r and spread throughout the movin
host. Not less than 5000 emigrant
fell victims to the plague that yea
n and were buried on the plains. b.
+ tween the Missouri river and Fol
>, Laramie; but $4,000 reached Califol
d MIA over the Oregon and Californi
o Trail in spite of plague, famine an
q all the hardships and perils incider
70 to the passing of so great hos
g. through a wild. unprOductive and no
10 tile country. Another outbreak {
al the plague In 1852 carried off an equi
10 number OF emigrants that year.
N The Oregon and California Trail
N constituted the principal highways b.
y, tween the east and west until th
II driving OF the spike of gold at Pr
Of montory Point. Utah. in 1863. marke
m -the completion Of the first Pacit