My g. grandfather and his two brothers sold everything they had and bought a few old Conastogas and in 1889, very late in the history of the Oregon Trail, the three families transversed the Oregon Trail from Lincoln City, Nebraska to Coos Bay Oregon. My grandfather, Carl was 8 at the time. Growing up I spent many summer nights listening to grandfather and his brother Archie and his sister Ada tell the story of what they called, "the long walk".
It was as I said late in the history of the Trail, but they all remembered the junk strewn along the way and the scavengers that worked the left overs. Seems that a lot of people over the years took to the trail with wagons loaded with all kinds of stuff, once on the trail the stoves, pianos, furniture and trunks would be chucked over the side..there was a industry that fed off recycling all that debrie.
The other memories they shared with us was the graves, small markers here, a few graves marked there, the lack of water, the long hot dusty days followed by bone chilling cold nights. I was ten when my grandfather died, I still remember watching the old TV show " Wagon Train" with him and him laughing, he would always remind me that there were very few horses used to pull those wagons, the hay required would have demanded that the only thing in the wagon would be hay and oats and water for the horses!
I always felt blessed to have known these people. These were my fathers parents and aunts and uncles, and my dad always reminded me that these were the last of the pioneers and to listen to their stories.
The story of our families relationship to The Trail goes back in my fathers mothers side to. My paternal grandmothers maiden name was Jackson. Her grandfather was Capt. J.J. Jackson, that name always stumped me. He was born in Sulfolk County Mass. In 1815. He shows up in Empire City Oregon in 1855, and marrying a widow named Nobel, she and her husband had built the first hotel in Coos County.
I searched all over for this Capt. Jackson, was he in the Navy? Army? The answer was a shocker. I kept finding ship passenger list with J. J. Jackson sailing from San Franscico to New Orleans, but then he disappeared until a year or two later when he would again, sail from San Fran. To New Orleans...then I discovered that men who assembled wagon trains and hired the drivers and guides, advertise and charter families to travel west on the many trails west were called....Captains.. Then it all fell into place.
Sorry to amble on about the Trail but it is a subject near and dear to me. Today my wife and I live near the Trail, everytime I drive across the northern edge of the Great Basin, between Boise Id. And Salt Lake City, or west to Portland Ore. I see the wagon ruts that still scar the basalt and sand, I have driven the trail from end to end, stopped at many of the land marks. I see a little 8 year old boy, walking along side a wagon pulled by oxen, and few head of cows trailing behind, walking 10 miles a day, some time 12, or on a good day, 15. Rocks cutting boot leather, little to eat or drink, seeing the grave markers, at least one a mile, sleeping under the Milkey Way brighter then we can now imagine, no city lights to diminish the darkness of the night,,wolves howling, the terror of the many river crossings.
It took them 8 months, today we can drive this 2,200 mile in two days and take our time doing it.
They just don't make people like that anymore. We could use a few today just to put things into perspective.
Bringing the