Section 2 – pg 322 Trails to the West Chapter 9 Section 2 – pg 322 Trails to the West

Pg 322 Traders Lead the Way First Americans to move to the Far West were traders Were looking for new markets Blazed trails

Pg 322 The Santa Fe Trail When Mexico won independence, it allowed overland trading with the US In 1821, Captain William Becknell led a wagon train filled with merchandise from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico Covered 800 miles Crossed quicksand, desert, and mountains The Santa Fe Trail soon became a busy international trading route

Pg 322 The Oregon Fur Trade In the north, fur traders were making fortunes John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant, sent the first American fur-trading expedition to Oregon Established the American Fur Company in 1808 at Fort Astor, now Astoria, Oregon Astor’s expedition consisted of 2 groups First group sailed around South America and up the Pacific coast 2nd group traveled across the continent, using the info recorded by Lewis and Clark Found the South Pass through the Rocky Mountains Opened the NW for missionaries and settlers

Pg 323 Mountain Men The fur trade made Astor the richest man in the country Fur trappers of the Northwest (mountain men) became legendary Most of the year, led dangerous, isolated lives Endured bitter cold, intense heat, and attacks from wild animals Jedediah Smith was once scalped by a grizzly bear Persuaded a companion to sew his scalp back on and to piece together his severed ear Went back to work several weeks later

Pg 323 Once a year, trappers would bring their fur to a rendezvous A meeting where trappers would trade furs for supplies Would celebrate their time together – singing, laughing, and competing in contests Beaver fur was in high demand and sold for a lot of money By the 1830s, the supply of beavers was nearly exhausted Most trappers moved back east and became farmers, merchants, or even bankers Others stayed as guides for the wagon trains that brought thousands of settlers west in the 1840s One mountain man, an African American named James Beckwourth, discovered a pass through the Sierras that later became a major route to California Pg 323

Pg 324 The Oregon Trail The first white easterners to build permanent homes in Oregon were missionaries In the 1830s, they began to travel west to bring their religion to the Indians

Pg 324 Missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman set up a mission in Oregon to serve the Cayuse Indians The Cayuses mistrust them, partly b/c they made no effort to understand Cayuse ways As more settlers arrived and took ever NA land, the NAs became hostile In 1847, an epidemic of measles killed many Cayuse adults and most of their children They blamed the Whitmans so the NAs killed them and 12 other settlers

Pg 324 Missionaries spurred the settlement of the west Their reports of Oregon led more easterners to make the journey west Farmers sought the free fertile land, mild climate, and the plentiful rainfall of the river valleys “Oregon Fever”

On the Oregon Trail Most settlers followed the Oregon Trail Pg 324 Route that stretched more than 2,000 miles from Missouri to Oregon Would set out in spring and have to make the trip within 5 months Anyone stuck in the Rockies in winter risked a slow death Trip was hazardous: disease and accidents killed 10% of the travelers

Pioneers banded together for mutual protection Pg 325 Pioneers banded together for mutual protection Traveled in long trains of covered wagons drawn by oxen and horses Wagons carried food and possessions, while ppl walked Traveled for up to 15 hrs a day At night, wagons were drawn into a circle to keep cattle from wandering off

As miles went by, horses and oxen became more tired People began to discard personal items to lighten wagons Trail became scattered with “leeverites”, short for “leave ‘er right here” Dust got in everything Ppl wore masks to keep it out of their faces and lungs Clean, safe water was hard to find Despite all this, more than 50,00 ppl reached Oregon between 1840 and 1860 Pg 325

Life in the West Pg 326 Pioneer life was filled with hardship Settlers arrived with few possessions Cleared the land, planted crops, and built shelter with hand tools Constant treat of disease, accidents, and natural disasters like storms and floods Some settlers gave up and returned to the East Others, like the Bidwells, met the challenges and lived extraordinary lives

Pg 327 Women in the West Women in the west work along men to make family farms successful The fact that their help was necessary for the survival of the family raised their status Meanwhile, women in the east began to campaign for greater political and legal rights In 1869, the Wyoming Territory became the first area of the US to grant women the vote

Native Americans and Settlers Pg 327 Native Americans and Settlers NAs in Oregon lived in an uneasy peace with the white settlers NAs in the south got along with the white NAs in the north were angered by the presence of strangers on their lands

Pg 327 The discovery of gold in northern Oregon in the 1850s brought large numbers of white and Chinese miners into the area War broke out there in 1855 Miners killed several dozen NA men Three months later, miners massacred an equal number of NA women, children, and old men NA fought back, killing white and Chinese alike Brief war ended when the US intervened The NA were forced to accept peace treaties