WSHS
HOME PAGE
Wyoming
Western Trails Project
HOME PAGE
Perspectives of
Wyoming Trails
Annals of Wyoming
Wyoming History
Paintings
by Dave Paulley
Oregon Trail
Landscape Paintings
by Ryan Bench
Trail Maps
by Loren C. Bishop
Western Trails Project
Perspectives of Wyoming Trails
You can click on the title below to view the original document in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) in a new window.
 |
Other Wyoming Trails  By Amy M. Lawrence Wyoming's history in the middle of the 19th century is written in its emigrant trails. It is estimated that 500,000 people migrated west in that period, in what many historians consider one of the largest mass migrations in recorded history. Of these people, approximately 300,000 trudged through what became Wyoming. It was that land of high plains and sparse rivers, which contained some of the major corridors of this exodus. The emigrants were searching for a new life, for free land, for farms in Oregon, for gold nuggets in California, or for the excitement of adventure. However, the price they paid was extremely high. It was paid in the drudgery of plodding after the wagons day after day through the clouds of dust churned up by fellow travelers, of endless camp chores, of children lost to illness or accidents, of women giving birth with little or no medical help or rest, and of disease and tragic accidents. Although the greatest fear of these travelers was of death or torture by American Indians, the greatest losses were self-inflicted by the outlanders themselves or from disease. Tragic accidents were usually created by the emigrants themselves through lack of experience and carelessness. Many, unfamiliar with newly acquired firearms, shot themselves or others. Drowning in the treacherous river crossings was a leading cause of death. Some people fell under the heavy wagon wheels and were crushed. Children wandered off in the tall grass and were never found. Disease, especially cholera, decimated the wagon trains. Among other hazards were ferocious thunderstorms or grass fires, driven by relentless winds, and steep mountain ranges that posed enormous physical challenges. Lack of water and poor leadership were other hazards emigrants faced. The majority of the emigrants traveling through Wyoming followed the Oregon/California/Mormon/Pony Express Trail, which ran through the central part of Wyoming. The "Oregon Trail" is the most recognized, as it has been extensively researched and recorded. Like many other trails, it began at the Missouri River, followed the North Platte River passing Fort Laramie and Fort Caspar (present day Casper, Wyoming), and then headed toward South Pass and the "Parting of the Ways." From the Oregon Trail many trails branched leading to gold mines in Montana or California or to farmland in Oregon. Some of the branching emigrant trails are well-known trails, like the Cherokee, the Lodgepole, the Overland, the Bozeman, and the Bridger Trails. However, some are forgotten freight trails and stage trails. Although some of the trails were short-lived and short in length, they were equally important in helping the outlanders fulfill their dreams. Military trails were also an important part of this network that blanketed Wyoming in the 19th century. They included the Fort Laramie/Fort Halleck Trail, created to move troops and supplies between the two forts. Another military route was the Lodgepole Trail, which utilized Cheyenne Pass to establish a shorter route between Fort Kearney, in what is now central Nebraska, and Camp Floyd near the Great Salt Lake. The Lodgepole was also used by emigrants, but it was considered too rough for emigrant wagons. The paths these outlanders followed were not the first trails to cross the state. That honor probably belongs to the wildlife who established trails to their grazing grounds and the water sources. They followed the line of least resistance. Indians frequently followed these animal trails, leaving travois marks and camp sites marking their passing. Many of these trails later became the corridors for the migration of the pioneers, and finally highways and railroads. |
Please contact us with your comments, suggestions or inquiries.
NewERAnet.com
HTML ©Copyright 2000-2004 Wyoming State Historical Society