The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1914-06-12
BY ARTHUR L. SWIM
President Oregon Trail Association

President oregon Trail ASSOCIATION
That part of the Oregon trail
which lies in the great Snake river
valley, originally followed in general
way the course of the river from Fit.
Hall to the western boundry of Idaho
near Huntington. From Fl. Hall the
course lay along the south side of
the river, crossing "East Rock
Creek" near its confluence with the
Snake. Fall creek was crossed near
it's mouth and Raft river about three
miles from the Snake. From Raft
river to Marsh lake was a stretch of
IS miles without drop of water.
From thence the course was nearly
west thru or near the present sites
of Burley, Miner, Murtaugh, Hansen,
Kimberly, Twin Falls, Filler and
Bull Near Stricken connection was
made with the Kilton trail, connect
ing the Snake river valley with Great
Salt Lake. Rock creek was crossed
about two miles above Twin Falls,
the line continuing thence northwest
to Desert station, point about two
miles northwest of Twin Falls. From
here the trail divided, though all lines
took a northwest course, the most
travelled on being through or near
the present sites of Hagerman, Bliss,
Glenn's ferry, Mountain Home, Boise,
Nampa, Caldwell, Payette and Weiser.
The Old Clark Grade
The old Clark grade was much
used, the "grade" being an almost
perpendicular slide down the canyon
wall to a depth of several hundred
feet, near the mouth of Cedar draw.
Lewis ferry, Owsleys ferry and
Glenn's ferry were various crossing
places. To reach the latter the course
lay through the Bruneau tract and
Pilgram gulch, a few miles west of
the Salmon river, where party of
pioneers were massacred by indians,
only one of the party escaping.
Its Romatic History
To the Hon. Miles Cannon, of We'll
ser, member of the state highway
commission, I am indebted for the
following: "The Oregon trail was a
well-worn highway before the first
white man trod the wild or the Great
Northwest. For many centuries the
migratory tribes of the west used it
on their annual pilgrimages to the
buffalo grounds of the Portneuf and
Bear rivers. From the Green river to
the Columbia it was we'll defined.
The trappers of the American Fur
company as we'll as those of the Hud-
son Bay company, and the emigrants
soon were following the wellworn
grooves or burrows with their wag-
ons.
The Upper Salmon Falls on Snake
river was the greatest camping
ground on the trail and from this
place the trail assembled the high level
and struck the river again at a point
one mile below Glenns ferry at a
point the trappers knew as the "Is-
land ford" there being two Islands
in the river at this point. From
Island ford the trail passed the Hot
springs north of Medbury, thence
northwest, about eight miles north
of Mountain Home to where Boise is
now.
The emigrants came thick and fast
in the sos and many followed the
south bank of the Snake, fording at
the Islands and at the mouth of the
Boise.
The Trail Near Bull
The emigrants did not change the
trail very much, but freighters and
stage companies later made a few
changes along the Snake, crossing
the river a little west of north of
Buhl, thence ascending the high land
and crossing the Malad at the old
Stone house and passing through the
present site of Bliss.
Caravans of indians, containing Of
ten a thousand souls, wendell their
way over this trail to the east in
the summer and west in the fall.
Used by Trappers
1t was used extensively by trap
pers from 1918, the year the North
west company built Fl. Walla Walla
until the discovery of gold in 40
destroyed the fur business. The
chief trader would ride at the head
of the column, and after the Hudson
Bay company took over the North
west company in 1921, his trappers
all wore the letters in red, III. B. c."
On their coats, to protect them from
the indians. Emigrants later inter-
preted these letters to mean Here
Before Christ"
Following the chief would come
anywhere from 25 to 100 Scotch,
Eropob oIf-hrand and indian +rap