The following URL was sent to a list for migration trails and I thought others would benifit by having it. It is just chock full of interestging information and maps. It will take some time to get thru this site. Every state has more than two maps in this site. There are First People Maps in here (NaAm/AmIndian). Migration maps help to find how our ancestors found their way to settle in IN., overland or the Ohio River. The Old Wagon Road and/or the National Road. There was a lakes road that skirted Lake Erie that came into Ohio and Indiana. Depending on where they came from, who they traveled with was how they got to Indiana. The getting from one point to another is very important to know and maps are that tool to be using. Enjoy the search. Beej in AZ Thanks for your sharing, Beej. Some subscribers have likely viewed the following link: (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/map_sites/hist_sites.html# americas) that includes many maps. Don't overlook the link to the David Rumsey Collection, that has many items of general interest in addition to migration maps. Neil McDonald If you would like to thank this fellow for the URL here is where I received the info for passing on. From: [email protected] (macbd1)

Hi fellow genealogists: Have you heard about our HQRL Sumner Summer Quest! Heritage Quest Research Library's is having it's 2nd annual Sumner Summer Quest, with a "Founder's Day Celebration", and we invite all of you to attend. Our second annual Sumner Summer Quest, is Saturday, 15 July 2000, at the Sumner High School, 1707 Main Street, Sumner, WA (just 9 blocks from HQRL). We have the honor of having Leland Meitzler, the founder of Heritage Quest Research Library, as our speaker. Leland's topics will be: * Finding the women in your pedigree. * Using tax records to establish relationships. * Advanced use of state and federal census records. * Your ancestor wasn't lost in the courthouse fire! The seminar starts at 9:15 AM and finishes at 3:30 PM. Cost is: $25.00 for the seminar, plus $6.00 for lunch, with your choice of Ham, Turkey or Veggie sandwich. For more information: Call HQRL at 253-863-1806 Visit us at: Heritage Quest Research Library & Bookstore, 909 Main Street, #5, Sumner, WA. 98390 (right next to KC's Kaboose). Or, e-mail us at: [email protected] If you have questions about lodging/restaurants, e-mail Susan Hudgens at: [email protected] RAFFLE TICKETS ARE ON SALE -- NOW THRU 15 JULY 2000 -- FOR THE HERITAGE GENEALOGY SALT LAKE CHRISTMAS RESEARCH TOUR. Winner will receive one full week of research at the Family History Library, 3 December thru 10 December 2000. Seven nights at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel (next to the Library), double occupancy. Assistance from 12 professionals, classes, reception, ice cream social, and continental breakfasts. Airfare not included. Leland and Patty Meitzler will be the tour hosts. --- Gail Edwards-Petersen --- [email protected] --- EarthLink: It's your Internet. --- Gail Edwards-Petersen --- [email protected] --- EarthLink: It's your Internet.

We who have lived in the Pacific NW, or Puget Sound often take for granted the many positive stories that have come down to us, but we need to be reminded from time to time that not all was so glorious and positive - we know that the lives of our ancestors was hard and demanding compared to ours. We need to be aware of the truths of the times. "Truths" are in the eyes of the beholder, oftentime. However, here is a point of view from a person who lives in our region & who has had a varied experience in her genealogy . Here is her story: Ref. The Herald, Tues June 17, 2K, Section C Health & Family p. 1C QUOTED IN FULL AS FOLLOWS: Feature- OTHER VOICES Trail of Death marks family's history By Kate Reardon, Herald Writer I often wonder what it would have been like to look into their eyes. It's hard for me to paint a picture of the anguaish and pain they felt as they were forced to march from Indiana and Iowa into Kansas to make a new home. American history refers to it as the "move." We call it the Potawatomi Trail of Death. Not all of them made it. About 40 Potawataomis, mostly children, died along the way. About 100 more died later from illnesses brought on by the march. That was 162 years ago. Nearly 30 years after that, in 1867, the Potawatomis bought land in Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma. I am one of them, a member of the Potawatomi Citizen Nation. I'm going to the reservation in central Oklahoma for the first time in 10 years. I'll even meet up with my mother and father there for the annual weekend celebration of our heritage. I've grown up learning about my Potawatomi legacy. And as an adult, I have taken it upon myself to keep learning. The Potawatomi name is derived from the Ojibwa word bode'-wadmink and means People of the Place of the Fire. Although there are more than 23,000 enrolled members, I'll be part of a small percentage that will take part in a weekend of dancing, food, games, and drumming. The annual Potawatomi Heritage Festival is reserved for tribal members and their families. I plan to visit my Nation's museum, bank, radio station and headquarters. I'll take lessons in the Potawatomi language, which is part of the Algonquin linguistic family and closely related to the Ojibwa and Ottawa tribes. The Ojibwa, Ottawa and Potawatomi tribes were originally one. I'll meet distant and close relatives as part of the large Anderson family reunion. I hope my visit this time will give me the ability to understand what it must have been like for my ancestors to make the long journey so many years ago. This visit, I hope to understand why my father was told as a boy growing up in Oklahoma never to tell anyone he was a Potawatomi. If you can pass for white, the elders said, you should. I have it much easier than they did. I thank them for being strong. This trip means a lot to my father. I could hear the sadness in my father's voice over the telephone in February when I told him I thought I wouldn't be able to make the trip. Now I'm glad I'm going. I know how much he wants to share this visit with me, his youngest daughter. I will look into my father's bronze-colored eyes and understand. You can call Herald Writer Kate Reardon at 425-339-3455 or send e-mail to [email protected] BOX: LEARN MORE Herald Writer Kate Reardon will write about her experiences at the gathering of her tribe, the Potawatomi Citizen Nation, on the reservation in Oklahoma on July 18 in Health & Family. You can find out more about the Potawatomi Citizen Nation on its Web site at www.potawatomi.org/ END OF QUOTE in full from The Herald. Each coin (of Life)has at least two sides to it. Carroll in Snohomish, WA. * * * 30 * * * ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

I agree! All these little tidbits, put together, can help us "build" our family genealogy. Diane Biggar-Taylor ---------- >From: Carroll H Clark <[email protected]> >To: [email protected] >Subject: Postage rates on old letters-more: >Date: Mon, Jun 26, 2000, 4:21 PM > Thank you Beej for your contribution to the OR-TRAIL List FYI - I find > it appropriate.

It is true that stamps can be a clue to a time frame. I have collected stamps off and on over the years, but if you are trying to nail down a time frame, stamp may or may not be a clue, as any unused stamp is still worth it's stated value. However, if you have an old letter and can't read the postmark which is your only clue, I suggest you take it down to the library and look it up in a book on stamps. This means taking the stamp from the letter, holding up to the light to read the watermark on the stamp, then counting the perforations on the sides so you get a relatively fair idea as to when it was made. I have three stamps which are identical as far as the picture on it goes, but one is unperforated, and the other two are perforated differently. And, as far is color goes, yellows have been light, medium and golden on the same stamp with just a few years difference in age. The only thing a stamp on a letter can really tell you is that it wasn't mailed before the stamp was printed, but that it could have been mailed thirty years later. LeRena

Another bit of trivia to observe on the stamps on old letters is that there was -a period of time- when the rates of postage were color-related: 1cent, green; 2 ct red; 3 ct purple; 4 ct brown;5 ct. blue;6 ct orange; 7 ct black; 8 ct yellow; 9 ct. red-orange; 10 ct. light orange; 1/2 ct. black. This was not true of the very earliest U.S. stamps, nor was it true of the more modern commemorative stamps that left the color-rate motif for much more colorful stamps with multi-color designs. Those old stamps were highly engraved by artists, while the later issues left the engraved stamps for more modern means of printing. This may seem irrelavent to genealogy, however old letters, perhaps undated may provide ballpark eras of time by an envelope with one or more stamps and the cancellation date in various forms of postmark which may provide a date & place for the genealogist to catch. Handwriting styles, inks used by dip pens, all these provide clues to an era, perhaps dating which we all encounter sooner or later among our documents. Even the paper they are written on may provide a clue. "Antique Road Show" etc. are great for divulging these clues and evidence of about when something happened. We can learn from the experts by listening to them and their ways of detection which can apply to our genealogy. Thank you Beej for your contribution to the OR-TRAIL List FYI - I find it appropriate. Carroll in Snohomish, WA (A recipient of the TRAIL and of Puget Sound Roots!). * * * 30 * * * ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

Subj: Sites of Whetsstone Gravestones Wanted Date: 6/3/00 11:21:35 PM US Mountain Standard Time I have included the original posts from the INPCRP list and am sending this out to lists that I belong to and/or for special mailings I make. The following URL/ link goes to the clickable site mentioned in the post below. I do hope that this survey can be helped. Print this out and save it so that when you do see such a stone you can contact the people that desire to track down where this stone has been sent and used. THANK YOU VERY MUCH Beej in AZ <A HREF="http://adamite.igs.indiana.edu/indsurv/research/index.htm">Indiana Geological Survey</A> http://adamite.igs.indiana.edu/indsurv/research/index.htm >>>Date: Mon, 8 May 2000 21:14:17 -0400 From: "Lois Mauk" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: [INPCRP] Fw: Whetstone Gravestones ----- Original Message ----- From: Sarah Clevenger <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2000 12:16 PM Subject: Whetstone Gravestones > The Indiana Geological Survey wants to know the locations of grave > markers made from Indiana whetstone. They are easy to recognize. Even > though they were made 150-170 years ago, they are still very easy to > read. I found one the other day in the Weeping Willow Cemetery in > Beanblossom in Brown County. Where else in Brown County were they used? > And where else in the area? The stone was shipped around the mid-west > and even down to Louisiana. For more information see the Survey's web > page: > > http://adamite.igs.indiana.edu/indsurv/research/index.htm > > When you get there click on "whetstone gravestone". No one knows how far > the stone was shipped from southern Indiana. > Thanks for your help and spread the word. > Sarah Clevenger<<<

I appreciated this list. Thanks, Diane ---------- >From: [email protected] >To: [email protected] >Subject: Postage rates on old letters >Date: Sat, Jun 24, 2000, 6:30 PM > > LIST OWNER THIS IS OFF TOPIC YOU MAY DELETE IF YOU SO DESIRE. > IT DOES NOT HAVE SURNAMES OR ST OR CO NAMES. > > I found the following on another list and thought this might be a bit of > GENEALOGY TRIVIA that would be of interest to some. Me I have printed out > several and put one in several of my genealogy notebooks that are used > frequently, that way I don't have to run to one all the time if a postage > date is in question. Beej

Hi everyone, The member-owners of Heritage Quest Research Library would like to invite all of you to join us in our "Founder's Day Celebration". Our second annual Sumner Summer Quest, on 15 July 2000, will be held at the Sumner High School, 1707 Main Street, Sumner, WA. We have the honor of having Leland Meitzler, the founder of Heritage Quest Research Library, Vice-President of Heritage Quest, and Executive Editor of Heritage Quest magazine, as our speaker. Leland's topics will be: * Finding the women in your pedigree. * Using tax records to establish relationships. * Advanced use of state and federal census records. * Your ancestor wasn't lost in the courhouse fire! The seminar starts at 9:15 AM and finishes at 3:30 PM. Cost is: $25.00 for the seminar, plus $6.00 for lunch, with your choice of Ham, Turkey or Veggie sandwich. For more information: Call HQRL at 253-863-1806 Visit us at: Heritage Quest Research Library & Bookstore, 909 Main Street, #5, Sumner, WA. 98390 (right next to KC's Kaboose). Or, e-mail us at: [email protected] If you have questions about lodging/restaurants, e-mail Susan Hudgens at: [email protected] RAFFLE TICKETS ARE ON SALE -- NOW THRU 15 JULY 2000 -- FOR THE HERITAGE GENEALOGY SALT LAKE CHRISTMAS RESEARCH TOUR. Winner will receive one full week of research at the Family History Library, 3 December thru 10 December 2000. Seven nights at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel (next to the Library), double occupancy. Assistance from 12 professionals, classes, reception, ice cream social, and continental breakfasts. Airfare not included. Leland and Patty Meitzler will be the tour hosts. --- Gail Edwards-Petersen --- [email protected] --- EarthLink: It's your Internet.

Discription on this first page that comes up states. 'Old West Gravesites' below that states Gunfighters, Outlaws, Lawmen, Fur Trappers, Native Americans, Militia, Cattlemen and Others. Evidentally this is not the main page as there is a link for that at the very top of the page, also a link to a home page. I am sendint this along four your concideration <A HREF="http://www.dimensional.com/~sgrimm/kcarson.htm">Kit Carson - Old West Gravesites</A> http://www.dimensional.com/~sgrimm/kcarson.htm

LIST OWNER THIS IS OFF TOPIC YOU MAY DELETE IF YOU SO DESIRE. IT DOES NOT HAVE SURNAMES OR ST OR CO NAMES. I found the following on another list and thought this might be a bit of GENEALOGY TRIVIA that would be of interest to some. Me I have printed out several and put one in several of my genealogy notebooks that are used frequently, that way I don't have to run to one all the time if a postage date is in question. Beej : Fri, 25 Feb 2000 09:57:29 -0500 From: Judy Nordgren <[email protected]> Subject: Stamps on old letters Do you have a stash of old family letters with blurred unreadable postmarks and no dates inside? These postal rate changes will help a little on dating those old letters. July 1, 1885 2 cents Nov 3, 1917 3 cents July 1, 1919 2 cents July 6, 1932 3 cents Aug 1, 1958 4 cents Jan 7, 1963 5 cents May 16, 1971 8 cents Mar 2, 1974 10 cents and up I was not aware of the change up and down from 2 to 3 cents and that fact explains some of my dating problems. I read this information in a newspaper back in Jan when they were proposing a new postal increase.

Dona: I don't think you read what RootsWeb said. QUOTE *********************************************************************** More good news: No one is going to charge you to use RootsWeb. You'll still find RootsWeb at www.RootsWeb.com. Everything you're used to using will still be here: the 19,000 mailing lists, the hundreds of millions of names in free genealogy databases, the interactive learning guides, the weekly RootsWeb Review and Missing Links, the numerous tools for tracing your family history, the tens of thousands of message boards, the thousands of independently authored web sites. RootsWeb will still support worthy genealogy projects and societies, such as the USGenWeb Project (www.USGenWeb.org), the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild (ISTG.rootsweb.com) and the FreeBMD Project (FreeBMD.rootsweb.com), and other groups that provide free genealogical resources. And don't worry, you won't be charged to access RootsWeb. No one will put your data on CD without your permission. Our Privacy Policy (http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/pledge.html) and our Acceptable User Policy (http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/aup.html) are unchanged. Other promises made over the years will continue to be honored. You'll still deal with the same RootsWeb volunteers and employees. In fact, most users won't notice any changes, except exciting new tools, more content, and better genealogical resources. If you would like more information, please check out our official press release at http://www.ancestry.com/home/celebrate/rootsrelease.htm Thanks again for your support! Now, let's go figure out where great-great-grandpa really came from, before that UFO deposited him in rural Indiana in 1848... Karen ************************************************************************ UNQUOTE Cecil Dona Van Voorst wrote: > > Dear List members: > > A dark day in genealogy! Ancestry.com, a paid genealogy site, has this day > announced that it has acquired Rootsweb, a free site. Our own list has > recently had problems with publishers hawking their wares while masquerading > as friendly, helpful co-listers. Now, the giant Ancestry.com has swallowed up > Rootsweb. Can total intrusive advertising and pop-up ads be far behind? ***** snip ***** -- Cecil Houk, ET1 USN Ret., AG6I San Diego CA 92154-3654 mailto:[email protected] ANDERSON-BLAKELY-EGGERS-FORD-HOUK-KIMSEY-MONTGOMERY-RULAFORD-SIMPSON Searchable GEDCOM: http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=cchouk See also: http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=donhouk My Web page menu: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~cchouk/rulaford/menu.htm

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------5B05CDB922B40ED40C3CD0B0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit --------------5B05CDB922B40ED40C3CD0B0 Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Received: from lists5.rootsweb.com [63.92.80.123] by pioneernet.net with ESMTP (SMTPD32-6.03) id A6B72A46021A; Wed, 21 Jun 2000 12:25:43 -0700 Received: (from [email protected]) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.10.1/8.10.1) id e5LJBUr26132; Wed, 21 Jun 2000 12:11:30 -0700 Resent-Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 12:11:30 -0700 X-Original-Sender: [email protected] Wed Jun 21 12:11:29 2000 From: [email protected] Message-ID: <[email protected]> Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 15:11:03 EDT Old-To: [email protected] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: AOL 5.0 for Windows sub 108 Subject: [PACENTRE-L] Ancestry.com purchases Rootsweb Resent-Message-ID: <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Resent-From: [email protected] X-Mailing-List: <[email protected]> archive/latest/1556 X-Loop: [email protected] Precedence: list Resent-Sender: [email protected] X-RCPT-TO: <[email protected]> X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 Dear List members: A dark day in genealogy! Ancestry.com, a paid genealogy site, has this day announced that it has acquired Rootsweb, a free site. Our own list has recently had problems with publishers hawking their wares while masquerading as friendly, helpful co-listers. Now, the giant Ancestry.com has swallowed up Rootsweb. Can total intrusive advertising and pop-up ads be far behind? Rootsweb has sent e-mails to its' contributors announcing that they will be given a free six-month subscription to Ancestry.com. This offer is a slap in the face to every person who sent in a check or used a credit card to support the activities of the one truly free genealogy site on the Internet. I'm enclosing the link to Ancestry's announcement. Read it and weep! <A HREF="http://www.ancestry.com/home/celebrate/rootsrelease.htm">Ancestry.co m - Roots Web</A> Kim ==== PACENTRE Mailing List ==== Don't forget to check for alternate spellings of your surnames; people 100 years ago weren't always good spellers! --------------5B05CDB922B40ED40C3CD0B0--

OK... I'm still pulling maps I have -- out of storage!! Found this one showing a portion of Fremont's trail through Oregon, however, it mostly covers the territory of the Indian Reservation: eg. SW boundary at Mt. Jefferson (Linn/Marion Co. division) and little South of Deschutes River; The N boundary where Barlow Road intersects with Rock Creek and shows a little N of Wapinita. It is fully packed with information and graphics... The Legend shows: Route of Old Indian Trail Route of Peter Skene Ogden Route of Nathaniel J. Wyeth Route of John C. FREMONT Route of Pacific R.R. Survey Modern Highways Night Stops of Explorers, Oct. 12, 1492 Map is: HISTORICAL MAP WARM SPRINGS INDIAN RESERVATION; Warm Springs Oregon, J.W. Elliott, Supt., compiled by Ralph M. SHANE and Ruby D. LENO, drawn by Ralph M. Shane, Rev. ed. c. 1974, OHS (Oregon Historical Society) Map obviously covers territory you are very very familiar with!! Probably not what you are looking for, but I knew I had seem Fremont's Trail on some map I had around here. Jackie (State of Washington) ===================================================================== On Sun, 18 Jun 2000 01:41:12 -0500 "Violet O. Guy" <[email protected]> writes: > Jackie: > > Before I posted to or-roots and to Oregon-Trail List, I did > a Search! My results are below and I saved 2 URLS. > I will do another, maybe tomorrow. > > http://google.netscape.com/netscape?query=Fremont%27s+Trail > > 1) http://www.schantz.com/fremont.htm#The Campaign of 1856 > (Good, but is in white so will not print; a bibliography included) > > 2) http://www.kcmuseum.com/explor09.html > Has a figure map. > Kansas City Museum Website > > Violet Moore Guy > Formerly of Nansene on Tygh Ridge, Wasco Co., Oregon > Parent's home -"45 miles due East of Mt. Hood, as the Crow Flies!". > 06/18/2000 > > ===================================== > > or-roots wrote: > > > Violet - Good Question!! > > I am in a hurry, but I quickly checked Historic Sites > Along the Oregon > > Trail, Aubrey Haines book. > > In bibliography there is this: > > Fremont, John C. "Report of an Exploring Expedition to the > Rocky > > Mountains" ...1842(Wash. D.C.; Blair & Rives, 1845) 583 pp. > > He cites a couple pages... > > > > Will get back later.. I have to go > > Jackie (State of Washington) > > > > > > On Sat, 17 Jun 2000 12:33:56 -0500 "or-roots" > > <[email protected]> writes: > > > > > > Can anyone tell me about the Fremont Trail and how > > > it connected with the Oregon Trail within what is now > > > the State of Oregon? > > > > > > Violet Moore Guy > > > 06/17/2000 > > > > > > ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

When something is white print on a dark color, you can copy and paste it into a word document and print it that way. Thank you for the great site. Sherry

Jackie: Before I posted to or-roots and to Oregon-Trail List, I did a Search! My results are below and I saved 2 URLS. I will do another, maybe tomorrow. http://google.netscape.com/netscape?query=Fremont%27s+Trail 1) http://www.schantz.com/fremont.htm#The Campaign of 1856 (Good, but is in white so will not print; a bibliography included) 2) http://www.kcmuseum.com/explor09.html Has a figure map. Kansas City Museum Website Violet Moore Guy Formerly of Nansene on Tygh Ridge, Wasco Co., Oregon Parent's home -"45 miles due East of Mt. Hood, as the Crow Flies!". 06/18/2000 ===================================== or-roots wrote: > Violet - Good Question!! > I am in a hurry, but I quickly checked Historic Sites Along the Oregon > Trail, Aubrey Haines book. > In bibliography there is this: > Fremont, John C. "Report of an Exploring Expedition to the Rocky > Mountains" ...1842(Wash. D.C.; Blair & Rives, 1845) 583 pp. > He cites a couple pages... > > Will get back later.. I have to go > Jackie (State of Washington) > > > On Sat, 17 Jun 2000 12:33:56 -0500 "or-roots" > <[email protected]> writes: > > > > Can anyone tell me about the Fremont Trail and how > > it connected with the Oregon Trail within what is now > > the State of Oregon? > > > > Violet Moore Guy > > 06/17/2000 > > >

Regardless of who traveled this road and it was not just one group of people it was many and many religions and nationalities. The info contained in this site is just great. there are maps, and descriptions of areas traveled, where roads stated and went to, miles covered. Many routes that I had not heard mentioned. This was in a search for a set of papers and does not even come close to what the subject was. Strange but it pays to check out all hits from a search engine as you do find the nicest research material. Beej in AZ <A HREF="http://www.cob-net.org/docs/brethrenlife_migrations.htm">Brethren Life: Migrations</A> http://www.cob-net.org/docs/brethrenlife_migrations.htm

A PLAN BY GENERAL PALMER The fact that Indians were known to be present along the route was never mentioned in these reports. However, we would be remiss in believing that the issue was not in the back (if not the front) of most of the minds of the supporters of the new trail. Such thoughts however, had never before discouraged those who ventured west. While white men viewed the Indian attacks on wagon trains and settlements as savage aggression, most of these attacks were nothing more than an attempt, on the Indians¹ part, to protect their ancestral lands from the invading settlers. The settlers however, did not understand that the land belonged to the Indians, mostly because it had not been ³proved up.² In the Willamette Valley the Indian problem was not much of an issue. This was mostly because ³white man¹s² epidemics had reduced the populations in previous years. Also, the Provisional Government tried to govern fairly with regard to the Indians. The greatest crisis faced by the Provisional Government, and the primary catalyst for the speedy creation of the Oregon Territory by Congress in 1848, was the Whitman massacre. The Territorial Government began its function early in 1849 with the arrival of Joseph Lane, Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs. One of his first official acts was to admonish the settlers to ³respect the rights of the Indians² with regard to land claims, but new arrivees continued to snatch up land. While treaties made by a board of commissioners in 1851 limited land claim size, they were never ratified by Congress. Increases in the number of settlers as well as increased travel associated with gold prospecting brought more frequent hostile encounters with Indians. In early 1853, Anson Dart, the second superintendent of Indian affairs, was replaced by Joel Palmer. Palmer, a man of ³compassion² believed that the creation of reservations in the Valley of the Willamette and along the Rogue River, would only postpone a solution the the Indian problem. He considered a number of plans including one that had been proposed in 1850. This plan involved gathering up the Indians in southern Oregon and resettling them in an area, east of the Cascades, where there were as yet but few settlers. He was aware that the Willamette Indians were not used to life as it would be on ³the dry side² and was under no illusion that these western Indians would be welcomed by the eastern tribes. He was also aware that the Valley Indians had no desire to move. He was however, caught between his sense of responsibility to the Indians and the increasing pressure from settlers and prospectors. Regardless, he planned to establish reservations somewhere, far away from the problems brought about by the proximity of settlers and Indians. Palmer was undoubtedly aware of the attack on the road viewers and the problems that would arise from the creation of a new route into the Willamette Valley. On June 23, 1853, he summarized his recommendations in a report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington: ³Being informed that a party of thirty or forty men was about to set out in a few days along the route of the new road from the Willamette Valley to Fort Boise, for the purpose of completing that work, yet in an unfinished state on the eastern end, I have availed myself of this safe and economical escort, to send agent J.M. Garrison to visit the Indian tribes through whose country this road passes. The consideration that these Indians have never been visited by a government officer, that they had repeatedly evinced hostility to white men passing through their country, and that a large portion of the emigration of the present season will pass that way to their destination in the southern part of our Territory, who will be subject to annoyance and injury, if not destruction, from those savages, unless speedily conciliated or intimidated, has me, without awaiting the instructions of the Indian department at Washington, which could not be obtained in time to meet the emergency, to assume the responsibility of the step referred to above.... I have directed Mr. Garrison to call the chiefs of the tribes together as opportunity may offer, and have supplied him with a few Indian goods as presents. I have also directed him to take notes on all topics of interest respecting the country and its inhabitants for the use of the department... I would call the attention of the department to the fact that a general ruthlessness and dissatisfaction exists among those tribes of Indians with whom treaties were negotiated, on account of their non-ratification. They have become distrustful of all promises made them by the United States, and believe the design of the government is to defer doing anything for them til they have wasted away. The settlement of the whites on the tracts which they regarded as secure to them by solemn treaty stipulations, results among the Indians of the valley in frequent misunderstandings between them and the settlers, and occasions and augments bitter animosities and resentments.... That these Indians cannot long remain on the reserves in the heart of the settlements granted them by treaty, even should Congress confirm those treaties, is too clear to admit of argument. Vice and disease, the baleful gifts of civilization, are hurrying them away.... If the benevolent designs of the government to preserve and elevate these remnants of the aborigines are to be carried forward to a successful issue, there appears but one path open. A home remote from the settlements must be selected for them.... Should the government adopt the plan of colonizing these tribes, the selection of a proper territory in which to place them is an important consideration, and the selection should only be made after extensive and careful exploration. With this view, I have given special instruction to agent Garrison in regard to the country through which the expedition in which he is now entering will pass.² Garrison was already a supporter of the new route across middle Oregon, for he had been a member of an unsuccessful party that went out in the spring of 1846, seeking a pass up the head waters of the Santiam River. When he received Palmer¹s directive, he immediately began making preparations for the journey to the Willamette Forks where the new road group as to gather.

Fellow O.T. Subscribers - I feel I owe you all an apology. I began posting information on the Elliott Cut Off and the Lost Wagon Train of 1853 the first week in May and promised continuing postings until we got that ³Lost Train² to where it was going. It has now been several weeks since the last installment and I don¹t want you to think I¹ve given up. I haven¹t!! No excuses but several reasons why this happened. My daughter is getting married come the middle of next month, and we are busily getting ready for a wedding; I am trying to get all the paperwork in order so that my pension kicks in soon; and I haven¹t been feeling exactly up to snuff lately. So I apologize. I¹ll try to get at least one new part posted each week, and after ³the big day² hopefully more than one. As I mentioned, with the first installment, I am not sure just how many parts it will take to get the story told. However, It will be complete. Thank you for your interest in the Elliott Cut Off and for your patience with my schedule. Stephen

Can anyone tell me about the Fremont Trail and how it connected with the Oregon Trail within what is now the State of Oregon? Violet Moore Guy 06/17/2000