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

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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”

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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