The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1916-05-12

". W. a
down Powder river to Baker on
through La Grande, up the Grande
Ronde river, over the Blue Mountains,
down the Blue Mountains by the Uma-
tilla river to Pendleton, thence short
distance to the Columbia river, down
the Columbia to the present site OF
The Dalles, thence by raft and boat
down the Columbia to Fort Vancou-
yer. or from The Dalles through what
it known as the Barlow Route to the
Willamette Valley-thence on to the
broad, fertile valley Of the Rogue and
Umpqua rivers, and there ended:
But. beautiful and stately, weird and
adventurous as was the Trail, itself,
still more interesting were the people
who travelled the Trail. What Was the
lure that took them from home and
| friends into homeless lands! Did they
calculate the dangers? Did they know
the price they must pay' Did they
foresee the thirst of the desert, attacks
of Indians? Did they know OF thI
lonely graves by the lonely road? FOR
numberless years trails on the lonely
sea and trails on lonely lands have
called to the restless heart OF the plo-
neer ana tnuS nave tiiSy AWAY
as Kipling says:
Their neighbors' smoke shall veN
their eyes,
Their voices break his rest"
Added to the lure of unrest in the
case of the makers OF the oregon
Trail, there were three additional fac-
tors: To the Calfornians, after lo4o
the settlement of the newly acquired
country of California. 1t will be re
membered that California was taker
from Mexico in the early days OF th'
Trail after 1848. Many came overlanc
To California over the Oregon Trail
5 As to the Mormons, they were imp.ei
e led by religious motives to go by thu
} Trail to what is now Utah. that the!
4 might practice there, unmolested, thei
{ new religion. AS to the Oregonians
: the dispute over the ownership OF Ida
v no. Oregon and Washington OF En-
r gland and the United States. at tn
e beginning of the Polk administrator
i had become intense-and war wa
e threatened between England and tn
o United States. The United States ha
h no western sea coast and wanted IN
# coasts of Oregon and California. Ene
# land through the Hudson Bay Con
It nany. was enjoying lucrative ~
# traffic upon the Columbia and IN
l. Snake and their tributaries, and wan
e. ed TO retain it. So the United State
TT in order to reinforce their clam
IS discovery of this vast territory, by O.
re cupation, induced American settlers
e. come west. Nor was much inouc
I'd ment needed, for the prize once kno"
is was sufficient attraction TO brave a'
at adventurous people. =,
o.: So they came. lame win sat;.
he numbering. white topped prair
its schooners, drawn by oxen: Sro"u
ms :, tbese wagons were the families al
IT. The little household goods that cou
ar he carried, So they patiently. wear
re DRAGGED their way, winding up I
,rt Platte 10 the Great Divide that sep
CD rates the waters of the East from I
ng waters of the West. and down I
an western streams to their new homes
he yet unbuilt. ~ ~ or
in i'm a pine the hardships they underwe
.ar the burning heat, choking dust
no, cold of the mountains; the Indian a
he huscade: sickness, death and a &c
to one left alone in silent. lonely la
wn bv the lonely, lonely Oregon r;
ear Each morning the rising sun cai'
ng them on: each day they followed RI
all their goal in the west, TIL they cal
AN at last to the promised land
an, " The Trail is cold and its tracks
ne; green with the grass Of. years o"t
Use memories live-and dreaming
Use, dreams here in this seat OF rest
yer shall look to the East and we ST
Dad look to the West. and the Vel OF :.
the Past will fall; and the Trail shall i
art as it lived Of old. and the camp n
'ed, CLEAN as they cleaned OF old ny
em fading tracks of the Oregon IRAN
ill, --
the The bureau of standards OF the
yer ,artment of Commerce is making
the investigation of failures OF railway i,
Iere ter;al But when RAILWAYS themsei
ava We're failing because of Democratic
ban preston an investigation was oN
,,uld looked.
lear -:-o-:-
,ow As we understand them, the DEL
AVE cratic spellbinders make two as
ting Il ons First, that President wilson
die not broken his platform pledges !,
liver ond, that if he did break any OF IN II,
h to they ought to have been pro
rake Which is about as consistent as :.
cav verdict of the jury which read;
vide GUILTY.. but don't do it again.