GETTING to the PROMISED LAND And so the "Great Migration" had begun. "Oregon Fever" it was called, and by the late 1840's, early 1850's, hundreds of pioneers had succumbed to the lure of the far blue mountains. As wagon trains reached the end of the Oregon Trail, individual families moved out on their own. Taking the Barlow Road or rafting down the Columbia, they made tracks to their "Promised Land," with the tales of each train's crossing making the way east to those who would follow. The days were slow and long, and more often than not completed at the expense of food and water or adequate sleep. Therefore, ways to decrease the miles traveled became ultimately important. Many "cutoffs" [shortcuts] became a part of the Oregon Trail. Some prevailed and others passed into history. The trail we will concentrate on here was called The Free Emigrant Road or The Elliott Cutoff. In December 1851, as a way of enticing more settlers to the fertile Willamette Valley, the residents of the area arranged to have a bill introduced in the territorial legislature to provide "the funds necessary" to explore a route from the main trail, through east central Oregon, over the Cascades, and into the valley of the Willamette [House Bill #16]. This is thought by many to be the first attempt to get the governing body of the Territory to take responsibility for finding a shortcut. The bill was first read December 17, 1851, before the House and read secondly the next day. It was then referred to the committee of the whole and returned to the House, with amendments, on January 5, 1852. Passed by the Council on January 12, the law provided for the commissioners and other "hands" to be paid $3.00 a day out of any monies in the Territorial Treasury, not to exceed six hundred dollars. In subsequent days other "bills" were introduced but seemed "somewhat redundant," and for a time nothing was done about the new trail. One thought, as to the reason for the lack of action, is that the four men appointed to survey the new trail [Felix Scott Jr., Luther White, Jonathan Keeney, and Solomon Tetherow] came from Lane, Linn and Benton counties and may have been unable to reach agreement as to just where to begin their search, as each wanted the trail's end to be near their community. Information compiled from my own research with portions extracted from "The Oregon Historical Quarterly," articles by Leah Collins Menefee, 1976-1978; and "The Tibbetts Family 1635-1940" compiled by Mrs. May (Tibbetts) Jarvis, New England Historic Genealogical Society Resident Member.