Omaha daily bee., 1915-08-08

eventa New friends were found among
the travellers. Children were born on the
way. There were weddings and funerals.
II was a great travelling city moving 1000
miles, from the river to the ocean.
There are five periods In the story OF
the Oregon trail The first was the period
OF finding the way and breaking the trail
and extends from the return Of the As
torians in 1913 to the Wyeth wagons In
1884 The second period was that OF the
early Oregon migration and extends from
1892 to the discovery of gold In California
In ls49. The third period was that of the
rush for gold and extends from 1S4s to
1860. During this period the Oregon trail
became the greatest travelled highway In
the world, wider and more beaten than
a city street, and hundreds of thousands
passed over it, The fourth period IL that
OF the decline of the Oregon trail and
extends from 1860 to 1869. The fifth
period, from 1869 to the present day, 10
witnessing its gradual effacement.
The best brief description of tho oregon
trail is that OF Father De smet. who
knew It well and tells OF Ats appearance
when first seen by him and his party OF
Indians from the upper Missouri In 1851:
our lUllhh toHhbuhA0AAAs Whc hAA
never seen but the narrow hunting paths
by which they transport themselves and
their lodges, were filled with admiration
on seeing this noble highway, which IL
as smooth as a barn floor swept by the
winds. and not a blade of grass can shoot
up on 1t on account of the continual pass
ing They conceived high idea of the
countless white nations They fancied
that all had gone over that road and
that an immense void must exist In the
land of the rising sun. They styled the
route the Great Medicine Road OF the
Whites
In another place Father De smet tells
OF the great government wagon trains
he met on the Oregon trail in 1865:
Each train consisted OF twenty-six
wagons each wagon drawn by six yoke
of oxen. The trains made a line fifty
miles long. Each wagon is marked with
a name as in the case Of ships, and these
names serve to furnish amusement to
the passers-by. Such names as The Con-
stitution, The President, The Great Re
public, T'he King OF Bavaria. Louis Ma
poleon Dan O'Conneu. Old Kentuck,
were daubed In great letters on each
side OF the carriage. On the plains the
WAGNER assumes the style OF captain,
being placed In command of his wagon
and twelve oxen The master WAGNER
ls admiral Of this little land fleet OF 20
captains and Si2 oxen. At a distance the
white awnings Of the wagons have the
effect OF fleet OF vessels with all can
vas spread"
The second important trail ecfoss Ne
braskA is the one which started from
the banks of the Missouri river near
Bellevue and Florence. followed up the
north side Of the Platte and North Platte
20 Fort Laramie. whore II Joined the
older Oregon trail This was the route
torisns in 1878 and some OF early fur
traders The Mormons made this a
wagon road IN 1871 when their great com
pany which wintered at Florence and
Bellevue took this way 20 the valley OF
the Great Salt Lake. II was often called
the Mormon trail Some OF the imml-
grants 10 oregon and California went
over this route, and hence II Is some
times called the oregon trail or Cali
fornis trail. There was less travel on
this trail than on the one south OF the
Platte because there was more sand here.
This north side trail ran through the
counties of Douglas. sarpy. Dodge. Col
fax, Platte. Merrick. Hall, Buffalo. Daw-
son. Lincoln. Garden and SCOTS Bluff.
The third celebrated trail across Ne
braska was from the Missouri river 70
Denver and was called the Denver trail.
II had many branches between the Mis-
souri, river and Fort Kearney. Near this