1. Trails to the West
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2. Objectives Explain how traders and fur traders helped open the West
List the reasons pioneers traveled along the Oregon Trail and describe the hardships they faced
Discuss the issues for women, Native Americans, and new settlers in the West

3. Focus Question
Why did people go west and what challenges did they face?

4. Captain William Becknell: led a wagon train filled with merchandise from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico (route was 800 miles)
Becknell crossed treacherous rivers with bottoms of quicksand
He and those traveling with him survived the desert and nearly impassable mountains
In spite of obstacles, Becknell reached Santa Fe
The “Santa Fe Trail” became a busy international trading route
The Santa Fe Trail

5. The Oregon Fur Trade
In the north, fur traders were making HUGE fortunes
John Jacob Astor (German immigrant): sent the first American fur-trading expedition to Oregon
Astor established the American Fur Company in 1808 in now Astoria, Oregon

6. Astor’s Two Groups
First Group: sailed around South America and up the Pacific coast
Second Group: traveled across North America using information recorded by Lewis and Clark
On the way, they found the South Pass through the Rocky Mountains
Route opened a route to the northwest for missionaries and settlers

7. Mountain Men The fur trade made Astor the richest man in the country
Trappers were also eager to become rich
Mountain men, or fur trappers of the Northwest, would become legendary

8. = Mountain Men Trappers led isolated lives in a dangerous environment
Endured bitter cold, intense heat, and attacks from wild animals
Jedediah Smith: was once scalped by a grizzly bear; he persuaded a companion to sew his scalp back onto his head =

9. Rendezvous
Once a year, trappers would bring their furs to a rendezvous (a meeting where trappers would trade furs for supplies)
Beaver fur was in great demand in the east
By 1830s, supply of beavers was nearly exhausted
Most trappers moved back east to become farmers, merchants, or bankers Others stayed to guide wagons along the Oregon trail
Why did the mountain men travel to Oregon?
To get rich!

10. The Oregon Trail
The first white easterners to build permanent homes in Oregon were missionaries
1830s: began to travel west for the purpose of bringing their religious beliefs to the Indians

11. Missionaries
Marcus and Narcissa Whitman: set up a mission in Oregon to serve the Cayuse Indians
The Cayuses mistrusted them, partly because the Whitmans did little to understand their ways
As more settlers came, the Cayuses became increasingly hostile
1847: an epidemic of smallpox killed many Cayuses
The Cayuses blamed the Whitmans and killed them along with 12 others

12. “Oregon Fever”
Still, missionaries like the Whitmans greatly spurred settlement of the West
Glowing reports of Oregon
Farmers sought the free and fertile land, the mild climate, and the plentiful rainfall of the river valleys
Settlers all over the country were getting “Oregon Fever”

13. On the Oregon Trail
Most settlers followed this trail – a route that stretched more than 2,000 miles from Missouri to Oregon
They set out in spring and had to be in Oregon within five months
Travelers caught by winter in the Rockies risked a slow death
One traveler out of every ten on the Oregon trail died from disease or accidents

14. On the Oregon Trail Pioneers banded together for protection
Most traveled in long trains of covered wagons
The wagons carried supplies while people walked
As the miles went by, horses and oxen got tired, so people discarded personal items to lighten their wagons
The trail was scattered with “leeverites” – short for “leave ‘er right here”

15. Other Problems Dust got into everything
Some people wore masks to keep it out of their faces and lungs
Clean, safe water was hard to find
Despite all of the hardships, more than 50,000 people reached Oregon between and 1860

16. Life in the West Life was filled with hardships
Settlers arrived with few possessions
They only had hand tools to use and they had to clear the land, plant crops, and build shelters
Disease, accidents, and natural disasters (like storms and floods) were an ever- present threat

17. Women in the West
Worked alongside men to make a success of their family farms
The fact that their labor was necessary for a family’s survival raised the status of western women
In 1869, the Wyoming Territory became the first area of the United States to grant women the vote

18. Native Americans and Settlers
Native Americans and settlers had an uneasy peace with one another
Indians in southern Oregon generally got along with whites
Indians in northern Oregon were angered by the presence of strangers on their lands

19. The Discovery of Gold
Gold in northern Oregon brought large numbers of white and Chinese miners into the area
War broke out there in 1855
Miners killed several dozen Native American men; three months later, miners massacred an equal number of Native American women and children
The Indians fought back, killing white and Chinese alike
The U.S. government would intervene, and Native Americans were forced to accept peace treaties

20. Focus Question Re-visited
Why did people go west and what challenges did they face?
They wanted better lives; they faced a dangerous journey

21. Check Your Progress Why did Americans go to Oregon in the early 1800s?
What factors might have discouraged Americans from traveling to Oregon?
Why did conflict arise between Native Americans and settlers in Oregon?