Mormons
The Mormon Church, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was
founded by Joseph Smith in New York in 1830, after a vision told him that current Christin
churches were following incorrect doctrines. He laid out his plan for a new religion in the Book
of Mormon, which exhorted his followers to prepare immediately for the second coming of
Christ and to organize themselves like the early Christian church with apostles, prophets,
pastors, teachers, and evangelists. From the beginning the Mormons practiced a missionary
religion, vowing to spread their faith throughout the land. However, because of the practice of
polygamy (men having more than one wife), also promoted by Smith, the Mormon settlers
were persecuted. A group of brave settlers, led by Brigham Young, made their way to the
territory of Utah. They developed a new method of farming, and their hard work turned the
desert into a thriving community. However, when they attempted statehood, outrage against
polygamy resulted in renewed persecution. After much conflict, the Mormons themselves
renounced polygamy in 1890.
“We made large purchases of land on the frontier (in Missouri)…our farms teemed with plenty,
and peace and happiness was enjoyed in our domestic circle; but we could not associate with
our neighbors – in their midnight revels, their Sabbath breaking, horseracing, and gambling.
They commenced at first to ridicule, then to persecute, and finally an organized mob assembled
and burned our houses, tarred and feathered and whipped many of our brethren, and finally
drove them away…who homeless, had to wander on bleak prairies.” – Joseph Smith
“We embarked on a journey which we design shall end in a location east of the Rocky
Mountains and within the basin of the Great Salt Lake…believing that to be a point where good
living and hard labor will yield a fertile country.” – Brigham Young
Young turned out to be a practical as well as pious leader. “Prayer is good,” he said, “but when
baked potatoes and pudding are needed, prayer will not supply their place.” Young carefully
planned every detail of the trek to Utah. The pioneers he led west stopped along the way to
build shelters and plant crops for those who would follow.
“The most affecting scene was to see a mother carrying her child at the breast, for mile after
mile until nearly exhausted. The heat was intense and the dust suffocating…many a father
pulled his cart with his little children in the morning, gave out during the day and died before
the next morning…We soon thought it unusual to leave a campground without burying one or
more persons…By all hands getting to one cart we could travel – so we moved a few yards, and
then went back and brought up the others. After moving this way through knee deep snow, we
succeeded after ours of toil in bringing the company to the summit…my mother would get
discouraged, but my father would cheer her up by telling her that we were going to Zion, that
the Lord would take care of us…At nights when the handcarts were drawn up in a circle and the
fires were lighted, the camp looked quite happy. Singing, music and speeches cheered
everyone…At last when we reached the top of Emigration Canyon, overlooking the Salt Lake, on
that September day in 1860, the whole company stopped to look down through the valley.
Some yelled and tossed their hats in the air. A shout of joy arose at the thought that our long
trip was over, and that we had at last reached Zion, the place of rest.” – A Handcart Pioneer
It was not a promising spot. One pioneer described the valley as a “broad and barren
plain…blistering in the rays of the midsummer sun.” A woman wrote, “Weak and weary as I am,
I would rather go a thousand miles further than remain.” But that was one of the valley’s
attractions. No one else wanted the place that Brigham Young claimed for his followers.
“We are now encamped in the Mormon city, 1400 miles from the states…The Mormons have
had a pretty hard time since they came here, but at this time they have got things pretty
comfortable. They are just cutting their wheat; they also have corn and potatoes and cattle
aplenty…I find the Mormons very accommodating and willing to extend us emigrants all the
hospitality they can.” – Letter from a 49er
To survive in the dry country, Mormons had to learn new ways to farm. They build dams,
canals and irrigation ditches to carry precious water from mountain streams to their farms in
the valley. With this water they made the desert bloom.
“‘Dry farming’ it was called…it is a way of keeping and using the moisture already in the soil of
this desert. First the land is plowed deep to increase its ability to hold water. Then the topsoil
is firmed so the moisture below cannot escape…After every rain the farmer had to stir the
surface to keep a blanket of soil over the moisture in the ground.” – United States Surveyor
Captain Howard Stansbury
“Brigham Young preached about something called the United Order, a plan which directed his
followers to live in communal fashion, to share farming, herding, merchandising, and small
manufacturing cooperatively…the community at Orderville lasted nearly ten years…completely
communitarian, the people ate as one big family and shared ownership of property.”
49ers
Gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California in January of 1848. Almost
immediately news of the discovery spread, bringing fortune seekers of a variety of backgrounds
and social classes from all parts of the United States as well as Mexico. More than half of the
“Forty-Niners” came overland in wagon trains, while others came by sea around Cape Horn at
the southern end of Southern America or across the Isthmus of Panama. Eighty thousand
emigrants had poured into California by the end of 1849. Half of these went into the mines,
while the other half stayed in the towns or settled farms, planning to profit from the miners’
successes. The “Gold Rush” played an important part in bringing Americans to the West in
large numbers. A handful returned home, a few made great fortunes, but most stayed to settle
California and bring it to statehood.
“Prospecting equipment was the following: Clothes: anything we had, preferably wool; good
blankets and oil cloths or canvas for the wet ground. Tools: a long-handled shovel with about
eight inches sawed off the handle; a pick, an axe, a gold-pan, mortar and pestle, drills, heavy
hammer for sharpening tools, iron spoon, horn spoon, blasting powder and fuses. Cooking
utensils: a large canteen, a larger container for cooking water, saucepan, frying pan, coffee pot,
tin cup, knife, fork, and spoon. Food: bacon, beans, flour, lard, dried fruit, coffee, sugar, salt
and if possible, canned tomatoes and peaches. Personal items: soap, tobacco, matches, large
pocketknife, compass, magnifying glass and testing equipment…” – List from recollections of a
49er
Most 49ers were young, and almost all were men. When Luzena Wilson arrived in Sacramento
with her family, a miner offered her $5 for her biscuits just to have “bread made by a woman.”
When she hesitated, he doubled his offer. “Women were scarce in those days,” she wrote. “I
lived six months in Sacramento and saw only two.”
Wherever gold was spotted, mining camps with names like Mad Mule Gulch and You Bet
popped up overnight. At Coyote Diggings, Luzena found a “row of canvas tents.” A few months
later, “there were two thousand men…and the streets were lined with drinking saloons and
gambling tables.” Merchants made fortunes selling eggs for $6 a dozen and flour for $400 a
barrel.
“We’ll sell no more dust to that store. He allowed only $17 an ounce and then blew out two
dollars worth of fine gold; said it was not clean. Another miner who is only two claims above
me on the creek gets $18.50 for it at the same store but it always weighs short. They are all in a
ring to rob us poor miners.”
“There have been a good many deaths here this winter, owing I suppose a good deal to
exposure. The scurvy has preyed upon numbers and in some instances terminated fatal.”
“Besides my company, there were in Agua Fria, ten other Mexican companies, every one of
them doing as well as we. Indeed we were full of hopes until…a set of heartless Missourians,
having found that we had a rich claim, drove us away and destroyed our tents. We were not
even allowed to dig out the gold we had buried there…” – Jean Antonio Sanchez
“Our old cabin is not much to look t on the inside…there is nothing but a dirt floor, which we
wet down everyday to keep it hard, a couple of bunks filled with pine needles where we roll up
our blankets and on which we sleep like logs; three-legged stools for seats; a plank for a table;
and open fireplace…”
“What we miss more than anything else is that there are no women in the county…Barring out
the Mexican women and the squaws, I don’t suppose there are more than twenty in all of Yuba
County.”
“It’s a queer thing how well we get along without any courts or law. The miners on our creek
have elected an alcade, but his decisions are not binding, only as they are accepted by the
people. Most of the cases are mining disputes and a miner’s jury decides these. Stealing is
punished by whipping and banishment. Outside a few cutting and shooting scrapes among the
gamblers, there have been no serious crimes and it is a fact that we are more orderly and
better behaved as a rule than the eastern towns from which we came.”
With no police to keep order, the camps were rough places. Miners frequently fought over the
boundaries of their claims, and they took it on themselves to punish crimes. “In the short space
of twenty-four hours,” wrote Louise Clappe, “we have had murders, fearful accidents, bloody
deaths, a mob, whippings, a hanging, an attempt at suicide, and a fatal duel.”
Pioneer Women
Not many women went west during the early years of the frontier migration. A few hardy
women did live on lonely ranches, in the mining towns, or at the army forts, but they were far
outnumbered by the men. The overland trip, most often by covered wagon, was difficult with
Native Americans, storms, starvation, and disease all threatening success. Eventually, however,
families did settle the plains, and women had a large part in making the settlements
permanent.
Most of these women were wives and mothers, but some were single women seeking
homesteads, husbands, or other new opportunities. Pioneer women not only helped to shape
the future of the West, but also earned new status for themselves and for women throughout
the United States.
Between 1840 and 1869, about 350,000 people traveled west in covered wagons. Most
westward bound pioneers gathered each spring near Independence, Missouri. They formed
columns of wagons called wagon trains.
“The wagon, being built light…was so arranged that when closed up it could be used as our
bedroom. The bottom was divided into little compartments. After putting in our provisions, a
floor was constructed over all, on which our mattress was laid…The wagon was lined with green
cloth with 3 or 4 huge pockets on each side…Mr. Frink bought a small sheet-iron cooking stove
which was lashed on behind the wagon.” – Margaret Frink
The journey west lasted four to six months and covered about 2,000 miles. Wagon space was
so limited that women were forced to leave most of the comforts of home behind. The few
treasures they managed to fit in often had to be tossed out when the way became steep. They
Oregon Trail was littered with furniture, china, books, and other cherished objects.
Women were expected to do the work they had done back home, but while traveling 15 to 20
miles a day. They cooked, washed clothes, and took care of the children. Meals on wheels was
simple.
“I walked quite a distance while the baby slept in the wagon…Indians came around us in
numbers and begged all the time. I gave one old fellow some molasses in tin cup, he telling me
by his signs that he had three papooses…he camped alongside the river making a circle of our
wagons to insure greater security during the night.” – Lucy Rutledge Cooke
“We live very poorly – the bacon is awful, so mushy and no vegetables; nothing but bacon,
bread and dishcloth coffee. Oh how I miss the milk and butter!” – Lucy Rutledge Cooke
The daily drudgery wore many women down. Lavinia Porter recalled, “I would make a brave
effort to be cheerful and patient until the camp work was done. Then started out ahead of the
team and my men folks, when I thought I had gone beyond hearing distance, I would throw
myself down on the unfriendly desert and give way like a child to sob and tears.”
“We launched out on the prairie this morning and such a time we had – storming, snowing and
sleeting – and with no place of shelter…we came to a bad looking muddy place where our
horses broke through the sod and were stuck…I stood in the sleet and held four horses for two
hours…” – Margaret Frink
“A baby died this morning, age 19 months, making three out of one family that have died of the
cholera within five days. We felt like humbling ourselves before the Lord and pray that he
might turn us from the sickness and distress.” – Sophia Lois Goodridge
The death toll on the trail was high. Disease was the worst killer. Accidents were also common.
People drowned crossing rivers. Children fell from wagons and were crushed under the wheels.
Indian attacks were rare, but the prospect added to the sense of danger.
“My first home in Montana was a dirt-roofed cabin, hardly any taller than a man, with one door
and only one window. An immense pair of elk antlers hung over the door, one prong
supporting a human skull which was perforated with bullet holes…the dirt floor was covered
with a clean new wagon sheet of canvas and several buffalo and mountain lion skins…the
bedroom was also the living room, the bed did double duty as a couch.” – Nannie Alderson
“It was a great country for children. Mine spent a fair share of their lives on the top rail of the
corral watching a show which to them was rodeo and circus combined. Something was always
going on in the corrals – there were calves and colts to be branded, young horses to be halterbroken and ridden with frequent eruptions of bucking…they would run and tell me when
something exciting happened and I was up there on the rail with them in spirit, far more than in
the kitchen peeling potatoes or baking bread.” – Nannie Alderson
“The next time I saw Antonia she was out in the fields plowing corn. All that spring and summer
she did the work of a man on the farm…late that fall she began to herd Ambrosch’s cattle in the
open ground north of here…It was a fine open fall, and she like to be alone. While the steers
grazed, she used to sit on them grassy banks and sun herself for hours.”
The journey west changed pioneer women. The hardships of the trail brought out strengths
and abilities they did not know they possessed. “I felt a secret joy,” declared one Oregon
pioneer, “in being able to have the power that sets things going.” And women did set things
going. Wherever they settled, schools, churches, libraries, literary societies, and charitable
groups soon blossomed.
The Chinese
The Chinese first came to California during the gold rush in 1849. Overcrowded living
conditions and civil war in China brought miners and merchants hoping to strike it rich in the
“mountains of gold.” Using techniques known in their own country for centuries, they were
quite successful in mining even claims that had already been abandoned by “yankee” miners,
and made up nearly 25% of the mining population by 1860. Chinese merchants made a living
selling supplies to miners
Gam Saan – “Gold Mountain” – was what people in China called California in 1848. To poor and
hungry Chinese peasants, Gam Saan sounded like paradise. There, they were told, “You will
have great pay, large houses, and food and clothing of the finest description…Money is in great
plenty.” By 1852, more than 20,000 Chinese ventured across the Pacific to California. That
year, one of every ten Californians was Chinese.
At first the Chinese were welcome. Lai Chun-Chuen, an early immigrant, observed that they
“were received like guests” and “greeted with favor.”
“Were it not for the Chinese, we might have starved the first year.” – A yankee miner
As gold mining became more difficult, however, attitudes toward the immigrants began to
change. A miner from Chile complained, “The Yankee regarded every man but…an American as
an interloper [intruder] who had no right to come to California and pick up the gold.”
“By the use of the Chinese water wheel…the Chinese drained the river to retrieve the gold from
the river bottoms, while the yankee miners merely panned gold dust from the fast-flowing
rivers…they successfully reworked claims given up as worthless by others, and this led to
jealousy and hatred…yankee miners often stole claims that the Chinese had worked
successfully…”
American miners called on the government to drive foreigners out of the goldfields. In 1852,
the state legislature passed a law requiring foreign miners to pay a monthly fee for a license to
mine. As the tax collectors arrived in the camps, most of the foreigners left. One traveler saw
them “scattered along the roads in every direction,” like refugees fleeing an invading army.
The Chinese, however, paid the tax and stayed on. When the miners’ tax failed to drive off the
Chinese, Americans tried to bully them into leaving. Whites hacked off the long queues, or
braids, worn by Chinese men. They burned the shacks of Chinese miners. Beatings followed
burning.
“All through the dark and dingy garrets and cellars, steaming with air breathed over and over,
and filled with the fumes of opium, we groped our way with candle in hand hanging on to our
noses until we found a door or window…Rooms, which would be considered close quarters for
a single white man were occupied by shelves a foot and a half wide in which 20 to 40 chinamen
are stowed away to sleep…in many of the lodging houses the filth has accumulated to the
depth of several inches…here they burn oil lamps and cook their food…” – Health Inspector’s
report on a Chinatown lodging house in 1870
Discouraged Chinese immigrants left the mines to open restaurants, laundries, and store in
California’s growing cities. “The best eating houses in San Francisco,” one miner wrote, were
those opened by the Chinese. So many Chinese settled in San Francisco that local newspapers
called their neighborhood Chinatown. Today, Chinatown remains the oldest and largest
Chinese community in the United States. Other Chinese put their farming skills to work in
California’s fertile Central Valley. They drained swamps and dug irrigation ditches to water arid
fields. In time, they would help transform California into America’s fruit basket and salad bowl.
Donner Party – Pioneers
The Donner party, led by George Donner, left Independence, Missouri, in April of 1846 to make
the overland journey to California. Lured by the possibility of a much shorter journey, Captain
Donner chose to take his group of 20 wagons on a “shortcut” through the Great Salt Desert,
leaving the main group of emigrants to follow the river route to the north. They spent 30 days
cutting through 40 miles of dry canyons, destroying their cattle and badly depleting their
resources. When they arrived at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, only 70 miles from
their destination, they discovered that winter had come early for the first time in 30 years and
their path was covered in snow. They had food for only two months, but, expecting to be
rescued, they plowed ahead. They were trapped in snow near what is now known as Donner
Pass. Some of the party resorted to eating the flesh of those who had died. Despite several
rescue attempts, only about half of the 87 members of the party ever reached California.
“…on the desert…there was intense suffering in the party. Cattle were giving out and lying
down helplessly on the burning sand, or frenzied with thirst were straying away into the
desert…several persons came near perishing of thirst, and cattle were utterly powerless to
draw the wagons…they were delayed several days…A solemn council was held. It was decided
that someone must leave the train, press forward eagerly to California, and obtaining a supply
of provisions, return and meet the party as far back on the route as possible…They bore leters
from the Donner Party to Captain Sutter…at Sutter’s Fort…”
“When we reached the lake we lost our road, and, owing, to the depth of the snow on the
mountains, were compelled to abandon our wagons, and pack our goods upon oxen. The
cattle, unused to such burdens, caused great delay by bucking and wallowing in the snow.
There was also much confusion about what articles should be taken and what abandoned. One
wanted a box of tobacco…another a bale of calico…but for this delay we would have passed the
summit and pressed forward to California…” – Survivor Lewis Keseberg
“Six miles from the lake camp the Donners had halted the night before in heavy snow. During
the day they started to cut logs for cabins but realized they had neither time no manpower and
decided to put up their tents while they still could. George Donner worked…setting up the
family tent and cutting saplings to make an extension from the tent to a big pine tree behind
it…Bolts of cloth and clothing and robes came out of the wagons to cover the brush shelters
and exclude the snow.”
“…we got up in the morning and the snow was so deep we could not go over the pass and we
had to go back to the cabin and build more cabins and stay thare all winter without Pa. we had
not the first thing to eat…we had to kill little cash the dog and eat him. We ate his head and
feet and hide and every thing about him…” – Letter from Virginia Reed, daughter of James
Reed, before her rescue
“When my provisions gave out, I remained four days before I could taste human flesh. There
was no other resort – it was that or death. My wife and child had gone on with the first relief
party. I knew no whether they were living or dead. They were penniless and friendless in a
strange land. For their sakes I must live, if not for my own.” – Lewis Keseberg
“I say with deep reverence that flesh of the dead was used to sustain the living in more than
one cabin near the lake. But it was not used until after the pittance of food left by the first
relief had long been consumed; not until after the wolves had dug the snow from the graves.
Perhaps God sent the wolves to show Mrs. Murphy and Mrs. Graves where to get sustenance
for their little ones. Both were widows; the one had three, and the other four helpless children
to save. Was it culpable or cannibalistic to seek and use with unsteady hands and an aching
heart the only life-saving means left them?” – Eliza Donner Houghton
“Human bodies, terribly mutilated, legs, arms, skulls, and portions of remains, were scattered in
every direction and strewn about the camp. I found Mrs. Murphy with one of her limbs sawed
off, the saw still lying by her remains…The body of Captain George Donner was found in his own
camp about eight miles distant. He had been carefully laid out by his wife, and a sheet was
wrapped around the corpse. This was probably the last act she performed before visiting the
camp of Keseberg.” – Captain Tucker of the Fourth and Final Relief
Californios
Mexican settlers followed the missionaries to California. “We were the pioneers of the Pacific
Coast,” wrote Guadalupe Vallejo, “building pueblos [towns] and missions while George
Washington was carrying on the war of the Revolution.” To reward soldiers and attract settlers,
the Spanish began the practice of making large grants of land. When Mexico one its
independence in 1821, it established its own system of land grants in the Southwest and gave
most of California’s mission lands to soldiers and settlers. The typical Spanish-speaking
Californio was granted a rancho of 50,000 acres or more.
“Directive 5. To each head of a family, and to all over 20 years old, will be given from the
mission lands a lot not over 400 nor less than 100 varas square. In common, will be given them
enough land to pasture their stock. Ejidos [common lands] shall be assigned for each pueblo,
and at the proper time propios [town lands] also.” – Secularization Law of 1833 and Regulations
of 1834
Life on the ranchos combined hard work and the occasional fiesta. Most families lived in simple
adobe houses with dirt floors. The Californios produced almost everything they needed at
home. Indian servants did much of the work.
“Each child has a personal attendant, while I have two for my own needs; four or five are
occupied in grinding corn for tortillas, for so many visitors come here that three grinders do not
suffice; six or seven serve in the kitchen, and five or six are always washing clothes for the
children or other servants; and finally nearly a dozen are employed at sewing and spinning.” ---Francisca Carillo
“Many of the rich men of the country had from twenty to sixty Indian servants whom they
dressed and fed…Our friendly Indians tilled our soil, pastured our cattle, sheared our sheep, cut
our lumber, built our houses, paddled our boats, made tiles for our homes, ground our grain,
slaughtered our cattle, dressed their hides for market, and made our unburnt bricks; while the
Indian women made excellent servants, took good care of our children, made every one of our
meals…” – Ranchero Salvador Vallejo
In the 1830s, cattle ranching became California’s most important industry. Cattle provided
hides and tallow (beef fat) to trade for imported goods brought by ship. The Californios also
introduced many of California’s famous crops, such as grapes, olives, and citrus fruits.
“We started early each morning. We would work the country and round up a bunch, then
drive to the herd that was already being held. Then we’d work back to the corral, pen the ones
we wanted to keep, and let the others go. Some of us usually stood guard around the corral.
Several hundred steers would be gathered in a week’s time, and we’d work back to the pasture
and spend a day road-branding…After the cattle were branded we’d start out the next dy in
another direction to begin rounding up another herd. When we had ‘em all rounded up we’d
prepare for the drive north.” – a cowboy’s recollections
Because California was so far from the capital in Mexico City, the territory was neglected by the
Mexican government. Soldiers were not paid, and they took what they needed to survive from
the people they were supposed to protect. Officials sent to govern California were often
unskilled and dishonest.
Mountain Men
The Lewis and Clark expedition stirred new interest in an old industry, the fur trade. The
trappers, who were also called mountain men, lived hard and usually died young. During the
spring and fall, they set their traps in icy streams. In July, they traveled to trading posts to swap
furs for supplies.
Trappers’ lives were filled with hazards. Trappers were attacked by fur thieves, Indians, wolves,
and bears. Mountain man Hugh Glass was mauled by a mother bear that threw chunks of his
flesh to her hungry cubs before friends rescued him. Accidents were common too. A single
misplaces step on a mountain, or a misjudged river rapid, often meant sudden death. Disease
also took a heavy toll. When one man asked for news about a party of trappers, he learned
that “some had died by lingering diseases, and others by the fatal [rifle] ball or arrow.” Out of
116 men, he wrote, “there were not more than 16 alive.”
“Early in the morning we resumed our journey, but had not proceeded far until we found
ourselves in the midst of a bed of quicksand. So deep was the sand in some places that several
of our horses were completely swamped in it, and it was with great difficulty that we succeeded
in getting round this swamp…Having surmounted this difficulty, one of our men, a Mr. White,
who wandered from the company, came well nigh falling a victim to the fury of a grizzly bear –
having in the encounter, had one of his arms literally torn from his body, and had it not been
for the timely assistance rendered by some of his companions, who afterwards killed the bear,
his death would have been the inevitable consequence…the wind continued to assail us most
violently during the whole night. The next day we travelled about twenty miles, without
meeting any thing of consequence.” – Zenas Leonard
“The country here is poor, and only timbered with pine and cedar…We suffered every misery
incident to such an enterprise in the winter season, such as hunger and cold-but were
exempted from robbery. The flesh of a very lean horse, which we were constrained to break
our fast with, was at this time, pronounced excellent. But when his bones were afterwards
served up, as a matter of necessity, they were not as well relished, but had nearly proved fatal
to the whole party. We found to our cost, that our stomachs, although tolerably commodiously
disposed, were not equal to the task of digesting bones…we subsisted two days on soup made
of a raw hide we had reserved for sealing our moccasins; on the following morning the remains
were dished up into a hash. The young men employed by me had seen better days, and had
never before been supperless to bed, nor missed a wholesome and substantial meal at the
regular family hour…When afterwards we were enabled to procure indifferent bear meat, we
devoured it in that style of eagerness…” – William Becknell
“Here we were, in a desolate wilderness, uninhabited by even the hardy savage or wild beast –
surrounded on either side by huge mountains of snow, without one mouthful to eat, save a few
beaver skins – our eyes almost destroyed by the piercing wind, and our bodies at times almost
buried by the flakes of snow which were driven before it…We had not even leather to make
snow shoes, but as good fortune would have it, some of the men had the front part of their
pantaloons lined with deer skin, and others had great coats of different kinds of skin, which we
collected together to make snow shoes of. This appeared to present to us the only means of
escape from starvation and death. After gathering up every thing of leather kind that could be
found, we got to making snow shoes, and by morning each man was furnished with a pair. But
what were we to subsist upon while crossing the mountain, was a painful question that agitated
every bosom, and employed every tongue in the company. Provision, we had none, of any
description; having eaten every thing we had that could be eat with the exception of a few
beaver skins, and, after having fasted several days, to attempt to travel the distance of the
valley, without any thing to eat, appeared almost worse than useless. Thinking, however, that
we might as well perish one place as another, and that it was the best to make an exertion to
save ourselves; and after each man had selected two of the best beaver skins to eat as he
travelled along, we hung the remainder upon a tree, and started to try our fortune with the
snow shoes. Owing to the softness of the snow, and the poor construction of our snow shoes,
we soon found this to be a difficult and laborious mode of travelling.” – Zenas Leonard
“…our horses getting very poor, we thought it was necessary to commence feeding them on
Cottonwood bark; for which purpose each man turned out and peeled and collected a quantity
of this bark, from the grove in which we were encamped for his horses; but to our utter
surprise and discomfiture, on presenting it to them they would not eat it…Several weeks were
spent in fruitless exertion to obtain feed for out horses; finally we were compelled to give it up,
and agreed that our horses must all starve to death. The great depth of the snow, and the
extreme coldness of the weather soon prevented our horses from getting any thing to subsist
upon and the commenced dying.” – Zenas Leonard
In search for furs, the mountain men explored most of the West. The routes they pioneered
across the mountains and deserts became the Oregon and California Trails. Their trading posts
turned into supply stations for settlers moving west along these trails.
Missionaries
Ever since Lewis and Clark appeared among them, the Nez Perce Indians had been friendly
toward Americans. In 1831, the Nez Perce traveled to St. Louis to learn more about the white
man’s ways. There they asked if someone would come west to teach their people the secrets
of the “Black Book” or Bible.
Several missionaries answered that call. Among the best known were Marcus and Narcissa
Whitman and Henry and Eliza Spalding. In 1836, the Whitmans and Spaldings traveled along
the Oregon Trail. It was a difficult journey but they arrived safely in Oregon, proving that
women could endure the journey west.
The Spaldings went to work with the Nez Perce. After 3 years, they made their first converts.
Henry baptized two Nez Perce chiefs.
The Whitmans worked among the Cayuse Indians. They were less successful. The Cayuse were
far more interested in the whites’ weapons and tools than in their religion. The couple also
offended the Cayuse. They refused to pay for the land they took for their mission or to offer
visitors gifts, as was the Indians’ custom. Not a single Cayuse converted to the new faith.
“We are on the lands of the Old Chief Umtippe…The young Chief Towerlooe is of another family
and is more properly the ruling chief…The Old Chief Umtippe has been a savage creature in his
day. His heart is still the same, full of all manner of hypocracy deceit and guile. He is a mortal
beggar as all Indians are. If you ask a favour of him, sometimes it is granted or not just as he
fells, if granted it must be well paid for. A few days ago he took it into his head to require pay
for teaching us the language and forbid his people from coming and taking with us for fear we
should learn a few words of them. The Cayuses as well as the Nez Perces are very strict in
attending to their worship which they have regularly every morning at day break and eve at
twilight and once on the Sabbath. They sing and repeat a form of prayers very devoutly after
which the Chief gives them a talk. The tunes and prayers were taught them by a Roman
Catholic trader. Indeed their worship was commenced by hi. As soon as we became settled we
established a meeting among them on the Sabbath in our own house. Do not think it best to
interfere with their worship but during the time had a family bible class and prayer meeting.
Many are usually in to our family worship especially evenings, when we spend considerable
time in teaching them to sing. About 12 or 14 boys come regularly every night and are
delighted with it.” – Narcissa Whitman
Marcus Whitman was far more successful at converting Americans to the belief that Oregon
was a pioneer’s paradise. “It does not concern me so much what is to become of any particular
set of Indians,” he wrote. “Our greatest work is…to aid the white settlement of this country
and help to found its religious institutions.” In 1842, Marcus traveled east on horseback.
Along the way, he urged Americans to settle in Oregon. On his return, he guided a large group
of settlers along the Oregon Trail. More settlers soon followed. “The poor Indians are amazed
at the overwhelming number of Americans coming in the country,” observed Narcissa. “They
seem not to know what to make of it.”
In 1847, measles came west with settlers and swept through the Whitman mission. Marcus
treated the sick as best he could. The Cayuse noticed that whites usually recovered, while their
own people were dying. Rumors spread that Whitman was giving deadly pills to Indians. Angry
warriors attacked the mission, killing both Marcus and Narcissa.
“The truth is…your lamented sister was far from happy in the situation she had chosen to
occupy…that both herself and her husband were out of their proper sphere. They were not
adapted to their work. They could not possibly interest and gain the affections of the natives. I
know for a long time before the tragedy that closed their final chapter that many of the natives
around them looked upon them suspiciously. Though they feared the Doctor they did not love
him. They did not love your sister. They could appreciate neither the one nor the other…an
Oregon Indian and he could never get along well together. It was ‘the last place’ that he ought
to have occupied…he cared for no man under heaven, perfectly fearless and independent.
Secondly he could never stop to parley. It was always yes or no. In the third place he had no
sense of etiquette or personal dignity – manners I mean. And in the fourth place he was always
at work…That she felt a deep interest in the welfare of the natives, no one who was at all
acquainted with her could doubt. But the affection was manifested under false views of Indian
character. Her carriage toward them was always considered haughty. It was the common
remark among them that Mrs. Whitman was very proud…Mrs. Whitman was not adapted to
savage but civilized life…The natives esteemed her as proud, haughty and far above them. No
doubt she really seemed so. It was her misfortune, not her fault...She longed for society…The
self-denial that took her away from it was suicidal…She was not a missionary but a woman, an
American highly gifted, polished American lady. And such she died.” – From a letter to the sister
of Narcissa Whitman following the massacre of the Whitmans and in response to the sister’s
bewilderment over the murder of the couple by Indians they had devoted their lives to helping
Explorers
In the early 1800s, a number of expeditions set out from the United States to explore the West.
The most famous was the Lewis and Clark expedition.
On May 14, 1804, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and their crew of 43 adventurers left St
Louis, Missouri… with 21 bales of North American trade goods, 50 bushels of corn meal, 20
barrels of flour, 7 barrels of salt, 50 kegs of pork, and an assortment of guns, ammunition and
tools. Lewis and Clark also took with them President Jefferson’s detailed instructions…to
ascend the Missouri River to its source in the mountains and then cross the mountain range to
search for a water route to the Pacific Ocean…to establish friendly relations, and perhaps trade,
with the Indians they met…to convey to the Indians the message that their territory now
belonged to the Great White Father back in Washington and…to teach the tribes they
encountered how to inoculate themselves against that great killer of native peoples, smallpox.
Above all, the explorers were to gather knowledge.
The boat trip up the Missouri was hard going. Hands unused to rowing blistered quickly.
Swarms of hungry mosquitos drew blood. Hidden snags, sandbars, and floating mats of
driftwood made navigation treacherous. But by summer, the explorers had reached the open
plains and Indian country. Most tribes welcomed the strangers in their curious boats.
“We proceeded up the northwest fork [of the river], which we found still very rapid…After
passing with much difficulty over stones and rapids, we reached a bluff on the right…we
immediately began to descend the river. On going down one of the canoes upset, and two
others filled with water, by which all the baggage was wet, and several articles…lost. As one of
them swung around in a rapid current, Whitehouse was thrown out of her, and whilst down the
canoe passed over him, and had the water been two inches shallower would have crushed him
to pieces, but he escaped with a severe bruise of his leg…In the evening we killed three deer
and four elk, which furnished us once more with plentiful meat. Shannon, the same man who
was lost before for 15 days, was sent out…to hunt…but he did not return and we fear he is
again lost.” – William Clark’s Journal
“At night McNeal, who had been sent out in the morning…returned…as he arrived near Willow
run, he approached a thicket of brush, in which was a white bear, which he did not discover till
he was within ten feet of him: his horse started, and wheeling suddenly round, threw McNeal
almost immediately under the bear, who started up instantly, and finding the bear raising
himself on his hind feet to attack him, struck [the bear] on the head with the butt end of his
musket; the blow was so violent that it broke the breech of the musket and knocked the bear to
the ground, and before he recovered, McNeal seeing a willow tree close by, sprang up, and
there remained while the bear closely guarded the foot of the tree until late in the afternoon.
He then went off, and McNeal being released came down, and having found his horse, which
had strayed off to the distance of two miles, returned to camp. These animals are, indeed, of a
most extraordinary ferocity, and it is [a] matter of wonder, that in all our encounters we have
had the good fortune to escape. We are now troubled with another enemy, not quite so
dangerous, though even more disagreeable; these are the mosquitoes…” – William Clark’s
Journal
By late summer, the expedition had survived turbulent rapids, snakebites, days of hunger, and
grizzly bear attacks to reach the foothills of the Rocky Mountains…[they were guided] across
the mountains before the first winter snows. With the Rockies at their backs, the explorers
followed the Snake and Columbia rivers to the western sea. “Great Joy!” Clark wrote in his
journal in December 1805. “We are in view of the ocean, this great Pacific Ocean.”
“At sunrise the Indians got up and crowded round the fire…One of the Indians slipped behind
him, unperceived, took his brother’s and his own rifle, while at the same time two others seized
those of Drewyer and captain Lewis…The noise awoke captain Lewis, who instantly started
from the ground and reached to seize his gun, but finding her gone, drew a pistol from his belt
and turning about saw the Indian running off with her. [Lewis] followed him and ordered him
to lay [the gun] down…He dropped the gun and was going slowly off as Drewyer came out and
asked permission to kill him, but this captain Lewis forbid as [the Indian] not yet attempted to
shoot us. But finding that the Indians were now endeavouring to drive off all the horses, he
ordered three of them to follow the main party who were chasing the horses up the river, and
fire instantly upon the thieves; while he…pursued the fellow who had stolen his gun and
another Indian, who were driving away the horses on the left of the camp…Captain
Lewis…called out…that unless they gave up the horse[s] he would shoot them. As he raised his
gun one of the Indians jumped behind a rock, and spoke to the other, who stopped at the
distance of 30 paces, as captain Lewis shot him in the belly. He fell on his knees and right
elbow, but raising himself a little, fired, and then crawled behind a rock. The shot had been
nearly fatal, for captain Lewis, who was bareheaded, felt the wind of the [bullet] very
distinctly…Captain Lewis ordered…[his men] to desist from the pursuit, as we could take the
horses of the Indians in place of our own…We had no doubt but that we should be immediately
pursued by a much larger party [of Indians]…we therefore pushed our horses as fast as we
possibly could.” – William Clark’s Journal
Lewis and Clark had done much more than simply “penetrate the continent.” While they had
not found Jefferson’s giants or a great salt mountain, their papers and baggage contained a
treasure trove of priceless information about the new lands the United States had recently
acquired and the people who lived there.