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OCTA > California pioneers

California pioneers

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What I Saw in California, by Edwin Bryant
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Oregon-California Trails Association

2 hours ago

Coming on National Trails Day on June 4 in Independence, Missouri.Will you survive the trail? Or die of dysentery? Test your luck at the Live Action Oregon Trail game! Inspired by the favorite video game of the 90s, start your journey in the town where the real Oregon Trail pioneers set off. Relay races, crafts, games, and more! Each session is an hour-long with a slow and steady pace in the morning for families and a grueling pace for the skilled pioneer after 1 pm. ... See MoreSee Less

Live Action Oregon Trail

secure.givelively.org

https://secure.givelively.org/event/jackson-county-historical-society/live-action-oregon-trail

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Oregon-California Trails Association

2 hours ago

On this day in history 180 years ago, May 18, 1842, a vote is held by the Elijah White Party to kill all of the dogs in the wagon train. This occurred at the Elm Grove Campground in what is now Olathe, Kansas. Medorem Crawford diary from May 18: "A violent rain this morning much excitement in camp about Dogs: 22 dogs shot, stoped raining about 9 o'c."From a book by Miss A.J. Allen: "Here, by a two-thirds vote, it was determined to kill all the dogs of the company, having been informed that, in crossing the mountains and their vicinity, these animals were apt to become rabid, as timber was scarce, and consequently water which they so much required in the heats of summer on the scorching plains. The arrangement did not at all accord with the feelings of the ladies, and caused the first serious disturbance since leaving the States. While the destruction was going on, the poor creatures would run to their mistresses for protection, crying most piteously. Even the men, while engaged in their task, found their hearts were not sufficiently steeled to permit its performance without feelings of sorrow and regret. However, the recollection of a freshly related account of the mad wolf which had bitten eleven of two encampments, strengthened their fortitude. The death of the dogs was preferred to those of their herds, and perhaps members of their families, and they went resolutely about the work, amid the cries and screams of the women and children, as well as the victims."From "The Elijah White Party" by Hubert H. Bancroft: "At this point White startled the company by officially recommending that all the dogs in camp be forthwith killed lest they should go mad upon the arid plains which they were now approaching. King Herod's edict anent the slaughter of the innocents could scarcely have called forth a louder wail of lamentation from the mothers of Judea than was evoked from the women and children of White's party by this proposed immolation of their canine pets and companions. Many of the men, too, protested loudly against the sacrifice. Although when it came to a vote most of them yielded to their leader's wish, yet the measure was so unpopular that it contributed largely to the election of L.W. Hastings as captain at the end of the first month."W.G. Ghent: "The Emigration of 1842 really begins the epic of the settlement of Oregon....It was a party of divergent wills, and it had a stormy time. There was evidently too many dogs in the party, and at a meeting it was resolved to kill all of them. They would all go mad on the plains, it was argued, and even if they didn't they would be sure, by their barking and growling, to acquaint any prowling Indians with the fact that here was a party to be plundered. The counter argument that their barking would also apprise the emigrants of the presence of Indians did not apparently, carry sufficient weight, and a motion was passed that all the dogs be shot. Medorem Crawford, in his journal, and Miss A.J. Allen, the author of the book of White's travels, say that the dogs, a total of twenty-two, were killed. Hastings, however, says that the motion produced a great deal of ill-feeling; that after a few were killed....another declared that any man attempting to shoot his dog would himself be shot, and that as a consequence the execution stopped then and there."In 1842, Elijah White led the very first wagon train that had more than 100 people over the Oregon Trail to Oregon. White had first gone to Oregon as a missionary for the Methodist Church in 1836. He'd sailed first to Hawaii then to Oregon, setting up a mission along the Willamette River with Jason Lee. Trapper and later politician Osborne Russell served as guide to this 1842 migration. The party set out on May 16, 1842, from Independence, Missouri, with 112 people, 18 wagons, and a variety of livestock. Along the journey, some in the migration grew wary of White’s leadership and L. B. Hastings was selected as leader for a time until the party split into two groups. François X. Matthieu, along with several other Canadians, joined the party along the way to Oregon. The party would cut their wagons down to two-wheeled carts at Ft. Hall. White arrived at Fort Vancouver ahead of the main party, arriving on September 20, 1842. In 1852, Ezra Meeker headed west from St. Joseph and settled in what is now Puyallup, Washington. In 1906, at age 78, he set out to memorialize the Oregon Trail. He had his Scotch collie Jim along for the trek, and over the course of the next two years they'd make their way from Puget Sound to New York City. Dogs and pets were an integral part of the trail experience and were esteemed members of the family, then and now. For more stories about pets on the trail, visit the website of the Oregon-California Trails Association: https://octa-trails.org/trail-stories/trail-pets/ ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association updated their status.

19 hours ago

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Oregon-California Trails Association

3 days ago

If you've ever been inside the Scotts Bluff National Monument visitor center, you've probably seen this bronze plaque memorializing the life of artist William Henry Jackson. The story behind the sculptor of this memorial is about as interesting as the story of the man whom his artwork is celebrating. Mahonri Young was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1877. A grandson of Mormon leader Brigham Young, Mahonri took up woodcarving at the age of 13. After studying his craft in New York and Paris, Young returned to Salt Lake City where he was commissioned to create the Seagull Monument to honor the seagulls that helped to ease the effects of a cricket infestation on Mormon crops. Other notable commissions included the "This is the Place" monument in Salt Lake City and a six-foot tall statue of a seated Brigham Young on display in the U.S. Capitol Building. More information about Mahonri Young can be found at the Weir Farm National Historical Park website: https://www.nps.gov/wefa/learn/historyculture/mahonriyoung.htm #ThrowbackThursday #MidwestNPS ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

6 days ago

Just for fun - "on this day" trail history courtesy LEGO vignettes.On May 12, 1846, the Donner-Reed party got a late start out of Independence, Missouri, on their 2500 mile trek west on the California Trail. The group made a bad decision to follow the newly advertised Hastings Cutoff route, and by October ended up trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Four months of desperation, starvation, and cannibalism would make this ill fated trip a legend of American history. Today, the California National Historic Trail preserves the 5000 miles of different routes of the trail over 10 states. #FindYourPark #RecreateResponsibly ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

1 week ago

OCTA E-News for Tuesday, May 10, 2022 - https://mailchi.mp/indepmo/e-news-for-monday-july-13657457 ... See MoreSee Less

OCTA E-News for Tuesday, May 10, 2022

mailchi.mp

Please continue to turn in your volunteer hours, mileage, expenses paid by you and not reimbursed, time traveling to meetings (including the San Diego Symposium), research, etc. We are attempting to ...

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Oregon-California Trails Association

1 week ago

"The Tower of Babel, if its builders had been permitted to proceed in their ambitious undertaking would have been but a feeble imitation of these structures of nature." -Edwin BryantMany people who passed Dome Rock described it in different ways. Writer Edwin Bryant compared it to the Tower of Babel. How would you describe it? #TrailTuesday #FindYourPark #MidwestNPS Image- The west side of Dome Rock is illuminated by the setting sun. NPS/Eric Grunwald ... See MoreSee Less

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Featured Products

Bruff's Wake: J. Goldsborough Bruff & the California Gold Rush, by H. L James $24.95
The Oregon Trail Revisited, by Gregory M. Franzwa $24.95
In Pursuit of a Dream (DVD) $20.00
Reading, Writing and Riding Along the Oregon-California Trails (An Educational Activity Book), by William E. Hill $8.95

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