4 Les pistes (extraits)
Trails allowed men to travel in the West. Some were very old, like the Old Spanish Trail, which was a trade (and smuggling) route, others were born thanks to the flow of migration to the West, like the Oregon trail. The trails were divided between Overland trails, which allowed to go from East to West, and the other trails. Some trails were used for a while, then, because they were not practical or too dangerous because of the Indian wars or raids, they were abandoned
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4.1 Les pistes du Nord
Northern trails include the western portion of the Overland Oregon trail (from Fort Hall in southern Idaho) and all trails leading to the mines in Idaho and Montana.
4.1.1 La piste de l'Oregon
The Overland Oregon trail (1836) was a ~ 2100 miles route that started at Independance, Westport or St Joseph in the Est and ended at the Dalles in the West. It took about six months to achieve it.
Migrants going to Oregon left the commun part of Oregon/California trail, shortly after Fort Hall. Then they continued on the western part of Overland OregonTrail.
The eastern part of the overland Oregon/California trail first followed the south side of the Platte river to Fort Laramie, passing through Court House Rock, Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff.
After Fort Laramie, settlers had to ascend the rocky mountains, an arid area to Sweetwater River, then they reach South Pass at 6500 ft before going down to the Pacific. In winter the Platte river was freezed and the rocky mountains passes snow-covered, so settlers started their way on April or May.
Neart Fort hall, at the Raft River the commun part of the trail separated.
Migrants who continued to the western part of the overland Oregon trail followed the Snake River valley in Idaho then went to Oregon across arid landscape, narrow passways, the Blue Mountains and finally valleys to the Columbia river. Some of the settlers went then down the dangerous Columbia river on rafts for a 400 km descent while others preferred to continue the trail.
Following the Ward party massacre commited by a Shoshone band in 1854 near Canyon County, Idaho the Oregon Trail was virtually closed to emigrants without military escort until the 1862 gold rush and the battle at Massacre Rocks that ended the Shoshone threat to the wagon trains.
The monument's north bluff is named after Hiram Scott, who was a clerk for the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and died near the bluff in 1828. This bluff served as an important landmark on the Oregon trail, and also on the California trail and Pony Express trail, and was visible at a distance from the Mormon trail. Over 250,000 westward emigrants passed by Scotts Bluff between 1843 and 1869. It was the second-most referred to landmark on the Emigrant Trails in pioneer journals and diaries.
Use of the trail declined as the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, making the trip west substantially faster, cheaper, and safer.
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