Northwest OCTA Update and Journal Newsletter of the Northwest Chapter Oregon-California Trails Association Published in January, April, July, and October. Ddeadline is the 15th of the month previous. Newsletters | July, 2000 | | Home , President , Editor , Webmaster Fort Dalles Celebrates 150th Year May 20, 2000 From the Fort Dalles Museum Brochure The geographical location of Fort Dalles was of particular interest. It was near what had been for thousands of years a dwelling place and trading and fishing center for the Indians. The strategic location was important to the military. It was one of the two places where a proper location could be made for an army post. It became the only post between the army post at Fort Laramie and Fort Vancouver. There were trading posts at other places, but not an army post. On March 30th, 1850 Colonel Wm. W. Loring was ordered to establish a post at The Dalles. It was to have mounted rifles which could move into the Walla Walla valley to subdue the Indians who were responsible for the Whitman Massacre. The troops arrived at The Dalles to establish Camp Drum on May 20th, 1850. There were no barracks so some of the troops lived in the abandoned Methodist buildings. Others helped build quarters for all the troops. These quarters were unfinished on the inside and had dirt floors. There was a shortage of rations for the troops and priests at the Catholic Mission, The Dalles helped supply food for them. In 1853 the name changed to Fort Dalles under the direction of Captain Thomas Jordan. Louis Scholl designed the new buildings for Fort Dalles. The designs were based on A.J. Downing’s “The Architecture of Country Houses”. These designs were used for many of the buildings. By 1867 some of the buildings had burned and today only the Surgeon’s Quarters remain. Today, the Surgeon’s Quarters plays host to the Fort Dalles Museum. By the late 1850’s the Indian frontier had moved east and after temporary use in 1867-1868, there was no further need for a fort at this location. Fort Dalles was never a stockaded fort. Colonel Wright’s quarters was destroyed by fire in 1867. It was built at a cost of $100,000. Captain Jordan’s quarters, which was 50 feet north of Col. Wrights, also burned in 1867. Captain’s Lugenbeel’s and Fletcher’s duplex quarters, which were located about 100 feet south of the Surgeon’s quarters, burned in 1865. The flag pole at Colonel Wright School is located on the original site. For more information about the Fort Dalles Museum write to: Wasco County - City of The Dalles Museum, Fifteenth & Garrison, The Dalles, Oregon 97058 Editor’s Note: If you haven’t already noticed, you will. Do to several problems there are no pictures in this issue of the Update & Journal. One problem was the poor quality of pictures that turned out in the April 2000 issue. That will not happen again! The other problem is that I’m learning a new program that will allow me to do quality pictures. Well, that’s not the real problem...the real problem is I haven’t learn the program yet! Bare with me as old dogs can learn new tricks! President’s Message: From Park’s Bench As President of the Northwest chapter I feel a commitment to participate in as many chapter activities as possible. However, so far this year my record is not good as far as outings go. In May I was at a library conference instead of on the Applegate Trail and in July I will be at a family reunion instead of in Bend. In June I was traveling elsewhere in the country, though not neglecting the trails. I visited parts of the Bozeman Trail, the Missouri River, the Natchez Trace, the Wilderness Road and the Cumberland Gap. Did you know that almost as many people, some 300,000, migrated westward over the Wilderness Road and through the Cumberland Gap as did the Oregon and California Trails? One of the highlights of my trip was a visit to the brand new Great Platte River Road Archway Monument near Kearney, Nebraska. In two eight-story towers and an archway three stories high, under which spans the four lanes of the I-80 freeway, marvelous exhibits tell the story of the Platte River corridor from the time of its use by buffalo and Indians through the westward wagon routes and the railroad to modern highways. If you are in the vicinity, don’t miss it. In other chapter business, the Northwest chapter and the California/Nevada chapter will work together to mark portions of the California and Applegate Trails in northern California and southern Oregon. Each chapter has agreed to provide $500 up front to get the project started, with a cost share grant application to continue the work. At this point we’re waiting for completion of a written plan, timeline and a projected budget. We’ve allotted a little more money for the Update with a view to improving the quality of the photographs. And we’re looking at developing a chapter budget to give us a better idea of what our revenues and costs are so we can make good decisions about what we want to accomplish. I hope to see many of you at the OCTA convention in Kansas City. Lethene Cherokee Trail: Mapping the Cherokee & Overland Trails Jack & Pat Fletcher were part of a group of volunteers who participated in locating and mapping the Cherokee/Overland trails; both are branches of the Oregon/California Trail. Under the auspices of the Rock Springs, Wyoming BLM, the week long field experience was under the leadership of Terry Del Bene assisted by Russ Tanner and Mike Brown. Volunteers from as far away as Tennessee and California came to lend a welcome hand. Roughly one day was spent on the 1849 Evans/Cherokee Trail, two on the Cherokee/Overland and two on the 1850 or southern Cherokee Trail. The Cherokee/Overland was informative in that our starting points were the old stone stage stations; many structures still remain. The trail between the stage stations was located using early GLO maps, by walking and finding the remains of the telegraph and later telephone poles that followed the stage lines, and by van. Due to Indian activity in 1862 the Overland stage lines and telegraph moved from the South Pass Oregon/California Trail route south to operate on the Cherokee TRail. One of the highlights was Sulphur Springs Meadows, first noted by the 1849 Evans/Cherokee party, continually used by those traveling the Overland as a rendezvous area to recuperate their livestock. They also carved their names in the large bluff from which the spring bursts forth. Two days on the 1850 Cherokee Trail were spent in locating & walking considerable distances over newly found segments. A visit to Malinda Armstrong’s 1852 grave was scheduled; however newly found human remains demanded Russ Tanner’s archaeological expertise; accompanying him was more than we could have hoped for. The excavations were conducted by the National Forest Service at the 1850 Cherokee Trail crossing of the Green River, now called Buckboard Crossing in the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. The last day we saw the 1850 trail dotted with pyramid piles of horse dung often over two and one half feet tall. Terry explained it was from the wild stations marking their territory (much like mules). Soon afterward we photographed a herd of 75 wild horses. It was a nice way to end a week of trail mapping. Segments of the trail not found or inaccessible were to be flown over the following week by helicopter, examined from the air by Russ Tanner. Concrete and rebar trail markers (250# each) are to be set along the Trails this August, funded in part by a $5,000 grant from OCTA. Those interested in participating in that activity should contact Terry Del Bene. Thanks are due to the Rock Springs BLM manager Stan McKee for considering this a priority, to Terry Del Bene and Mike Brown for their time, cooperation and continued commitment to preserving the trails. Jack and Pat Fletcher NORTHWEST CHAPTER OUTINGS: 2000 Reports of Outings completed May 20th - Applegate Trail: by Susan Badger Doyle Dick and Trudy Ackerman led a small but enthusiastic group of eight NW OCTA members on a tour of the Applegate Trail. Dick prepared an excellent booklet and a driving guide that were very informative and helpful. The tour started in Corvallis. After a breakfast meeting at Burton’s Cafe, the group (in four cars) went south along the Applegate Trail. During the day the tour traveled parts of the Applegate Trail as well as the Hudson’s Bay Company route that preceded it. Stops were made at several Applegate Trail markers, including the recently installed OCTA marker in front of the courthouse in Roseburg. An especially nice lunch in Oakland was enjoyed by all--especially Dick, whose lunch was free after they ran out of his first selection! The tour returned to Corvallis at the end of a very full day where everyone went their separate ways, a lot better informed about the southern trails in Oregon. June 10th & 11th - Whitman Route Auto Tour: by Chuck Hornbuckle “Bear Stories and Mud Holes on the Whitman Route” “Let’s get above the rain clouds.” The rain had come down in torrents Friday night in LaGrande. By Saturday morning only a light mist was evident as we left Hilgard to pursue Whitman's & Spalding's shadows as they struggled across the Blue mountains in 1836. At the base of Ladd Canyon hill the group observed remnants of the trail as it arched down, around the ridge to the valley floor. Seven years before the emigrants arrived, Narcissa wrote “We descend a very steep hill in coming into the Grand Round...” Fox Hill led us up and away from the Grand Ronde River where the Whitman's nooned August 28th. We were above the clouds and the next 24 hours would be without rain and DUST. Noon brought us to Five-points Creek where its flat meadow had been camped on August 28th 1836 but would be our dining table. Following an Indian trail, the missionaries labored 35 miles across the Blue mountains from the Grand Ronde to Fort Walla Walla (Fort Nez Perces) on the banks of the Columbia River. From our Saturday night camp at North Flat Spring we looked out over Horseshoe and Gibbon Ridges and the distant Columbia Plateau. Tom Laidlaw must have had a premonition we would see bear. Gathered around the campfire, popcorn in hand, Tom gave us William Cannon’s 1823 account of Hugh Glass being severely mauled by a grizzly. The nearby Whitman Overlook sparked our imaginations. Through the tress we watched as horses and humans stumbled down the “almost perpendicular in places” ridgeline to Meacham Creek, a drop of 1500 feet in about one mile. Heading out to Horseshoe Ridge a large Black bear wandered down the road not far ahead. At the south end of Horseshoe Ridge, a second Black bear wandered across a not to distant hillside grubbing for some hidden treasure. We continued our journey towards the Umatilla River and to the ridge overlooking the Whitman’s August 29th campsite in Squaw Creek canyon. It had been a near perfect journey in time for Judith & Anne Bentley, Tuck Forsythe, Tom Laidlaw, Wayne & Mary Burck, Chuck Fisk and the tour leaders Chuck & Suzanne Hornbuckle. Upcoming Outings July 15th & 16th - Meek Cutoff to Sherar’s Bridge: Trail scout Lowell Tiller will take us on a driving tour over part of the Meek route and a visit to the High Desert Museum in Bend. The morning of July 15th we will meet at 9 AM at the Fred Meyer parking lot on South Hwy. 97. At 10 Am there will be a guided tour by two of NW OCTA’s finest. Then at 12:30 a box lunch will be served and a short discussion held. The afternoon will be on your own and you will have the opportunity to visit the Newberry Crater, Lava Cast Forest, Lava Cave and Lava Butte. Everyone will meet at 6 PM at the Black Forest Inn (1245 S.E. Hwy 97) for dinner. On the morning of July 16th, meet again at the Fred Meyer parking lot. We will then motor north paralleling the Meek Route to Sherar’s Bridge with a lunch stop in Maupin. Time permitting, there will be a visit to the Catherine Bonnett Butts grave. To register contact Joyce Bolerjack 425-454-7118 or e-mail jpbolerjack Fees to be paid at time of tour. Motel reservations can be made at Best Inn & Suites in Bend, Or. 1-800-237-8466 or 541-388-2227 See last page for part of Meek’s famous speech. September 16th & 17th - Mullan Military Road 2: We will meet in Walla Walla, WA. the night of September 15th and proceed on, the next morning from Fort Walla Walla, which marks the beginning of the MMR to Spokane, WA. where last years tour was held. Trail Scouts Don Popejoy & Lethene Parks, will lead the way following as close to John Mullan’s Road as possible. There will be an overnight campout, possibly at Lyon’s Ferry Park where Palouse Falls is located. Lewis and Clark also made there mark here. A more detailed flyer will be sent out after the convention. Feature Article “Emigrants on the Oregon Trail in Oregon 1845-1848” By John & Sandra Bristow Editors note: At the Northwest chapter’s general membership meeting this past March in Albany, Oregon, John asked me to read his family monograph. I was so impressed with John & Sandra’s work, that I asked them if I could feature the monograph in the Update & Journal. Graciously they said yes! John & Sandra want to thank Chuck Hornbuckle and Keith May for their assistance with their expertise and the use of their many maps. Prologue Emigrant travel on the Oregon Trail, in Oregon, extended from Fort Boise on the east bank of the Snake River to Oregon city on the Willamette River. This stretch of the Trail has been the subject of many well written books, articles, journals and memoirs. The following monograph has not been designed to replicate these fine writings. Rather, its primary purpose is simply to attract and to hold the interest of the members of the author’s two families in the lives of their ancestors who made this arduous trek. If others read this paper and find it interesting and informative, so much the better. When Oregon Trail wagon trains moved into a camp for the night, the Captain of the train would set security watches around the campsite. These would be in the form of two hour watches running from 8 PM to 4 AM. as the men from the last watch came back into camp, they would discharge their rifles. This rifle fire, each day, served as a wake-up call for the families of the train. On September 18th, 1847, this type of rifle fire awoke the families of the William A. Vaughan Train of 42 wagons in camp at Fort Boise. It was to be their 127th day of trail travel since they had crossed the Missouri River. Further, many of these families had moved to the vicinity of the Missouri River the previous Fall where they had wintered over waiting for a scheduled date for their departure for Oregon. This added eight to ten months to the period during which most of them had been living in and out of their respective wagons. 12 of these 42 wagons were the property of one emigrant family group. These were the Michaels: father, mother, sons, daughters, husbands, wives and grandchildren. The patriarch of this family was Jared Michael, then 55 years old. Sandra Bristow, one of the authors of this monograph, is the great, great, great grand daughter of Jared Michael. The emigrant Elijah Bristow came across the Plains with a large wagon train in 1845. When the train with which he was traveling reached Fort Hall, he elected to join the segment of this train which had opted for California. In 1846, Elijah with a small party of other men, ventured north from the Sacramento gold fields into Oregon. Their purpose was to find good land on which to settle and to respectively send for their families who had remained in the east. Elijah Bristow did just that. He found, surveyed and laid claim to 640 acres in some beautiful low rolling hills south of the Willamette River near where the river flows out of the Cascade Mountains to the east. He called his location Pleasant Hill. He then sent for his family who had been waiting to begin their trip west. Elijah’s wife, Susannah, put together her part of the train with her sons, daughters and their families plus a number of close friends and made the trek in 1848. It is assumed that they joined another train in Missouri then making ready for the trip. Most of the Bristow party is logged in as having paid the toll for utilizing the Barlow Road. This simple act allows one to assume that they traveled the same route as did the Michael’s. John Bristow, the author, is related to the Elijah Bristow family. In the time period of 1843 to 1848, Oregonians had already met in a place on the Willamette River called Champoeg, where they voted to establish a Provisional Government. They elected a governor and other necessary government officials and to petition the US Government for acceptance as a Territory. The area which they visualized this territory to become, would stretch from the Pacific Ocean on the west to the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains on the east, and from the border with Spanish California on the south to Alaska in the north. For the many wagon trains that crossed the Missouri River and headed west, this would mean that they entered the Oregon Territory when they passed over the Continental Divide. The point at which this occurred is called South Pass. This 7550 foot flat saddle, which provides a relatively unimpeded crossing of the Rocky Mountains is located in the central-western part of Wyoming. It is to the sons, daughters and the many grand children of the authors that this monograph is dedicated. The Train The Train, resting at Fort Boise, now had to face the challenge of crossing the wide, swiftly moving Snake River for the second time. The Captain, eager to press ahead, proceeded out of Fort Boise after only two days delay. Heavy late summer thunderstorms had caused the river to deepen from a normal 18 inches, up to three feet. All hands had spent much of their two day rest period recaulking their wagon bodies with straw, grass, animal hair and axle grease in order to protect their belongings. With the lateness of the season the Captain felt he could not wait until the river went down. Therefore, very early on the third morning after arriving at the fort, he moved his 42 wagons to a difficult but fordable site to begin the crossing. During the rest stop for the train, a small party of Indians had been noticed in a semi-permanent appearing camp on the north side of the fort. As the train started west about 25 of the Indians, all males, moved along with them. At the river these men directed the Captain to the location of the easiest fording point. Further, they placed a number of their men in the water on the downstream side of the ford, to be in a position to assist any wagons, animals or people who might get into trouble. This train had received help from friendly Indians at several previous critical points in their travels. The assistance at the Snake River was to be greatly appreciated as more than one of the rickety wagons foundered on the rocky footing and in swift flowing water which required immediate help. The people of this train had been on the road now for over four months. Their wagons were showing serious signs of wear. Their working animals (oxen, mules and horses) were becoming listless with fatigue. The ranks of their skinny stock animals (cattle and sheep) were depleted. They, themselves were very tired, ragged and worn and their food supplies were badly depleted. Because of these factors only a small amount of trading with the Indians at the fort had been possible. Starting at first light, the emigrants worked all day and well into darkness in order to move every wagon and its precious cargo across the river. Many an oxen made four and five trips across as teams were repeatedly doubled and tripled to fight the current. For the safety of the people, the Captain had ordered that only three wagons would be in the river at any one time. Little mileage progress was made this day; just the chilling wet work of river crossing and then the chore of making camp again. The practice of laying-by for observance of the Sabbath had long since been dropped and rather than sitting around campfires listening to musicians or telling stories, evenings were now spent mending wagon tack, shimming or replacing wheel tires, washing and mending clothes, reshoeing oxen and caring for their stock. Between the crossing of the Missouri River and up to the crossing of the Snake River, there already had been a number of very difficult places to traverse. They were about to find, however, that almost every step of the way in Oregon would challenge their stamina and perseverance even more. They were now just three-quarters of the way to their goal, the Willamette Valley. As the train put the Snake River behind it, the trail route slanted slightly west of north and wound slowly upwards through some low, rugged, desert growth covered hills. Once they had labored their way through a low pass, they dropped down to the Malheur River where camping, water and grass were excellent. There were even some fine hot springs along the river for clothes washing and bathing. Leaving the Malheur, they traveled to the north and northeast for several days through very dry and extremely dusty hills. The mantle of fine, chalky, alkali-laden dust settled over everything and everyone. A baking sun and an unrelenting wind were their constant companions. Several unusable alkali-tainted springs were passed along the way. These only served to sicken the animals and to worsen the passage. The working oxen suffered greatly from the dust, the heat and the lack of drinkable water along this route and the carcasses of a number who had not made it littered both sides of the trail. More animals appeared to have died here than ever before and the stench of these dead animals, with their dense hoards of flies, was overpowering. Frequently women would use a wet rag to wipe the dust from the nostrils, the eyes and the swollen tongues of the laboring beasts. Although tempted to stop and camp when a sweet water spring was finally found, the Captain allowed only a brief period for watering up then moved his train steadily forward. They soon descended over some low, very dry grass covered hills and found themselves again on the west bank of the Snake River. (to be continued) The Journal: Ruts and Rails Submitted by Susan Badger Doyle Written by Joel Freeman The US Standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet 8.5 inches. That’s an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that’s the way they built them in England and US railroads were built by English expatriates. Why did English people build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre railroad tramways and that’s the gauge they used. Why did “they” use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing. Okay! Why did the wagons use that odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing the wagons would break on some of the old, long distance roads because that’s the spacing of the old wheel ruts. So who built these old rutted roads? The first long distance roads in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been used ever since. And the ruts? The initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagons, were first made by Roman war chariots. Since the war chariots were made for or by Imperial Rome they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Thus we have the answer to the original question. The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet 8.5 inches derives from the original specification for an Imperial Roman army war chariot. Specs and Bureaucracies live forever. So, the next time you are handed a specification and wonder what horse’s “tail end” came up with it, you may be exactly right. Because the Imperial Roman chariots were made to be just wide enough to accommodate the backends of two war horses. Now the twist to the story.... There’s an interesting extension of the story about railroad gauge and horse’s behinds. When we see a Space Shuttle sitting on the launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are the solid rocket boosters, or SRB’s. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at a factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs might have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line to the factory runs through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than a railroad track, and the railroad track is about as wide as two horse’s behinds. So a major design feature of what is arguably the world’s most advanced transportation system was determined by the width of a horse’s ass! Well, two of them I guess. Our part By Chuck Hornbuckle “History, a journey in time, embraces earlier foot-steps to be followed.” We as members of OCTA travel many paths pursuing our appreciation of the past. An insatiable appetite for exploration, stimulating our senses, is probably foremost in our goals. For those involved in trail marking the reward, albeit sometimes arduous, has been the ability to be the first to walk in the footsteps of the emigrants since the mid 1800’s. Over the last two years about 100 miles of the main Oregon Trail between LaGrande and Cecil has been marked with the familiar white Carsonite posts. Although several trail segments between Meacham and Pendleton have not been documented and marked, the greater part of the trail is now marked. The trail marking venture was made possible by a cost-share grant with the National Park service. The grant enabled us to place over 300 markers and to document their location. This documentation will be submitted to the Park Service. Along the way we met private property owners, happy to share their knowledge of emigrant road locations. They enthusiastically encouraged us to place makers on their property. And in one case, the rancher at the insistence of their history-teacher daughter, protected ruts with fencing. We found several ranchers who were descendants of early settlers and were willing to share their knowledge of the trail. For example, Larry Lindsey whose ranch includes Sand Hollow took us to view deep swales descending the hill to Sand Hollow east of Boardman. There, at the top of the hill descending to Sand Hollow, we found an old concrete Oregon Trail post. Using GPS technology we plotted the swale location on USGS maps. we were surprised to find the route to be about 1/2 mile south of Franzwa’s route. During our follow-up field work we located Franzwa’s more northerly route, finding deep swales there also. It appears the trail branched in the upland prairie before descending to Sand Hollow. (Next page please) Both routes are now marked. Our first field work for the new year will confirm several trail segments between Boardman and Cecil thereby completing the initial grant project up to Cecil. With a new NPS grant we will extend our documentation and marking west from Cecil, hopefully ending at The Dalles this fall. Editor’s note: The trail marking team will head out June 26th from Cecil and a report will be in the next Update. Trail marking is indeed a journey to the past and a chance to leave your foot prints where the emigrants trod, sometimes suffering, so many years ago. Editor’s Forum Don’t forget the annual convention in Kansas City August 7th through 13th. News about the new OCTA sign on Abernathy Green at the EOTIC in Oregon City from Jim Tompkins: “Bids have been submitted for stonework for the new EOTIC entry gateway, where the OCTA sign will be placed. Designs are to be considered at the July 20th OTF board meeting. Construction will be in conjunction with a new gift shop building, to be placed at the top of the stump city/elk walk near the 3rd wagon. A picnic shelter will be placed on or near the patio. A possible state visitor information center would go in behind the current patio. The new entry gateway will connect the 3rd wagon/patio area between the new gift shop and the information center, looking directly up from where the handicapped parking is now located.” Jim will update us in the next issue of the Update. “Welcome” to our new members: David Blanchard from Klamath falls, OR., Ron Buss from Portland, OR., Charles Davis from North Plains, OR., Dick Donald from Bainbridge Island, WA., and Gene Pierce from Klamath falls, OR. Trail Band concerts: July 15th in Beaverton, OR. Griffith Park at 6 PM August 3rd in Turner, OR. Willamette Valley Vineyards at 7:30 PM August 19th in downtown Vancouver, WA. at 6 PM August 20th in Portland, OR at the Portland Art Museum at 2 PM August 25th in Oregon City, OR. at the EOTIC at 6 PM, dinner and show (for info call 503-557-1151) Surfing the Web By Tom Laidlaw Another great tool has been added to our internet communication system. Bob Wier has put the overland-trails mailing list on e-groups. The new list has a calendar and places to post pictures or other files. With this system anyone can share their pictures or other files with the whole group. We have begun to use it, but much more can be done. I have put a link on the title page of our website to take you to e-groups. To use these enhancements you must register with e-groups directly, as well as with the overland-trails list. here’s how to do it. To subscribe to the mailing list: Send a blank message to To unsubscribe you do the same thing. overland-trails-unsubscribe Once you are subscribed to the list  go to http://e-groups.com click on the word “register” enter the e-mail address you used to register with the overland-trails list create a password for yourself answer a couple of questions and submit. To find files, pictures, etc. sign in to e-groups with your e-mail address and password. Click on overland-trails and access the menu. Pretty soon I hope we can find activity and meeting announcements in this one place. Try it, you’ll like it. Do you have comments, questions, answers, ideas or thoughts about the Update? If so, send them to the editor. “Feller beans! You don’t know what yer undertaken-you don’t know by the eternal Moses! Jest you tell me whar you think you’ll bring up if you pretend to start without nary a guide? If you have any idee of bringin’ up short of hell you’ll find yerself mistaken by gawd! Now, I’ve bin to Oregon, an’ I reckon as how I know the way.” Stephen Hall Meek 1845 Wagon Train Guide   South Pass Timeline 1804-06: Lewis & Clark are the first white Americans to travel overland to the Pacific; they used the less suitable LoLo Pass instead of South Pass which they did not know about. 1806: Pike’s expedition explores the Rockies; does not find South Pass. 1812: Astorian Robert Stuart discovers South Pass, the key route through the Rockies. 1825: Jedediah Smith re-discovers South Pass. 1843: First large wagon train travels to Oregon via South Pass. NWOCTA address: PO Box 88947, Steilacoom, WA 98388 Newsletters | July, 2000 | Home Website Designer.... of rutnut.com Website Administrator & Historical Consultant....