NEW BLOG SITE!

http://oregontrailtenders.weebly.com/

ATTENTION BLOG FOLLOWERS!!!

Welcome to the new year of 2014! With a new year comes new changes for us. We have created a new blog site that we will be using in lieu of this blog site. We hope that our new site is more user friendly and visually appealing to our followers. With our new blog site we will be posting a blog WEEKLY. We will continue to keep everyone up to date on current and upcoming events. We will also continue to provide more in-depth educational information that will include pictures, slide shows and videos. Also, a new thing we are going to begin with our new blog site will be instructional "How-To's" and "DIY" (do it yourself) blog postings.

Our new blog site has a feature to directly post a link to our Facebook page every time we post a new blog. Also on our new site, we have direct links to our Facebook, Twitter, Flckr, Pinterest, Trail Tender Site and YouTube. This will give you as a user easier access to everything that we have to offer. If you are not already following us on those other websites, here's your chance to easily look us up and do so.

Thank you for your support and interest! We will continually do our best to offer everything you are looking for. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to use the "Contact Us" section on our new site and send us a direct email.

ENJOY!

RH

Journals of Lewis and Clark
White Bear Island


Supposing that Drouilliard and R. Fields might possibly be still higher up Medicine River, I dispatched J. Fields up the river with orders to proceed about four miles and then return, whether he found them or not, and join Shannon at this camp. I set out early and walked down the southwest side of the river, and sent Shannon down the opposite side, to bring the canoe over to me and put me across the Missouri. Having landed on the larboard side of the Missouri, I sent Shannon back with the canoe to meet J. Fields and bring the dried meat at that place to the camp at Whitebear Island, which he accomplished, and arrived with Fields this morning.
The party also arrived this evening with two canoes from the lower camp. They were wet and fatigued. Gave them a dram. R. Fields came with them and gave me an account of his and Droullliard's hunt, and informed me that Drouillard was still at their camp with the meat they had dried. The iron frame of my boat is 36 feet long, 41/2 feet in the beam, and 26 inches in the hold.
Captain Lewis, 24 June 1805
This morning early I sent the party back to the lower camp; dispatched Frazer down with the canoe for Drouilliard and the meat he had collected, and Joseph Fields up the Missouri to hunt elk. At eight o'clock, sent Gass and Shields over to the large island for bark and timber.
About noon Fields returned and informed me that he had seen two white bear near the river a few miles above and, in attempting to get a shot at them, had stumbled upon a third, which immediately made at him, being only a few steps distant; that in running in order to escape from the bear he had leaped down a steep bank of the river on a stony bar, where he fell, cut his hand, bruised his knees and bent his gun; that fortunately for him the bank hid him from the bear when he fell; and that by that means he had escaped. This man has been truly unfortunate with these bear. This is the second time that he has narrowly escaped from them….
Captain Lewis, 25 June 1805

…The white bear have become so troublesome to us that I do not think it prudent to send one man alone on an errand of any kind, particularly where he has to pass through the brush. We have seen two of them on the large island opposite to us today, but are so much engaged that we could not spare the time to hunt them, but will make a frolic of it when the party returns, and drive them from these islands. They come close around our camp every night but have never yet ventured to attack us, and our dog gives us timely notice of their visits. He keeps constantly patrolling all night. I have made the men sleep with their arms by them as usual, for fear of accidents.

Captain Lewis, 28 June 1805

Was this a different breed of Grizzly bear? Or were these just very blonde Grizzly bears? Or were these white Black bears?

What do you think?

bcspiritbear.com/

spirit-bear-legends/

Oregon Trail Diary quote
August 23rd, 1853

"Struck the Blue Mountains this morning and have traveled on them most of the day, reached Grand Round Valley after descending a very preciptous and long mountain at about 4 oclock, traveled in the valley 5 miles and encamped to the left of the road near a small Spring, have excellent feed for the cattle. Stella is much more unwell than she was yesterday has simptoms of fever."

Charlotte Stearns Pengra 1853


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Did you know?

Our Mt. Ireland in the Elkhorn section of the Blue Mountain Range, which is part of the Wallowa Whitman Forest, had a different name up until 1975. The original name was Mount Baldy but due to the efforts of local citizens and the U.S.F.S. it was changed to Ireland Mountain. It was renamed to honor Henry Ireland who was a Forest Supervisor for many years and who died in 1916. The name later became known as Mt. Ireland. At the summit of Mt. Ireland is the Mt. Ireland fire lookout with a view of Baldy Lake and the North Fork of the John Day Wilderness.


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"Junior Explorer" Activity Books

It's here and hot off the press!! Our new Junior Explorer Activity Book!! We now have three of our very own Activity Books. Check out more ..rsn
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/res/Education_in_BLM/Learning_Landscapes/For_Kids/junior_explorer.html

The Lone Pine Tree

"The place called Lone Tree is a beautiful valley in the region of Powder river, in the centre of which is a solitary tree quite large, by the side of which travelers usually stop and refresh themselves."
---Narcissa Whitman (August 26th, 1836)


"This noble tree stood in the center of a most lovely valley about ten miles from any other timber. It could be seen at the distance of many miles, rearing its majestic form above the surrounding plain, and constituted a beautiful landmark for the guidance of the traveler. Many teams had passed on before me, and at intervals, as I drove along, I looked up as usual, the tree was gone........That brave old pine, which had withstood the storms and snows of centuries, had fallen at last by the vandel hands of man"
---Peter H. Burnett (September 27th 1843)

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Grey-crowned Rosy Finch

Our Grey-crowned Rosy Finches are BACK!! If you are a bird lover and watcher, or just want to come up to The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, Oregon to see them, they are showing up at approx. 3:00 P.M. every day. What a delight to watch them eat the varied dry seeds that we have and clean their beaks on the railings.

History of the Christmas card

In 1843, Sir Henry Cole started the tradition of sending Christmas cards. He wanted everyday people in England to use their postal system, just as well-to-do folks and government officials did.

Cole's friend, artist John Calcott Horsley, designed the card. They sold a total of 2,050 cards that year for 1 shilling each (quite a bit of money in those days and equal to $6.15 in today's currency).

In 2012, it was estimated that 1.6 billion Christmas cards are bought and sent in the United States each year.

Visit this site for more information on the history of the Christmas card:

http://www.blindpigandtheacorn.com/blind_pig_the_acorn/2013/12/christmas-cards.html

Utter Van Ornum Massacre 1860

The year is 1860, the date September 9th. Between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. a small wagon train of 8 wagons were attacked by Indians in what is now western Idaho. Over the next few days and many miles, the Indians continued to attack the wagon train. Finally, the emigrants tried to flee on foot, leaving all behind in hopes that this would stop the attacks. But it did not! Many were killed at this time and others fled down the river. 

Over a 40-day period of time, these people did what they could to survive, but they were starving to death. Some resorted to cannibalism. One family (the Van Ornums) and 3 other men separated from the others and tried to make it on their own. They made it past Farewell Bend, Oregon a few miles, but then were attacked again by Indians. All were killed except 4 young children who were taken into captivity. Over the 40 days only 16 out of 44 individuals survived and were rescued by soldiers from Fort Walla Walla.

 An uncle to the captured children searched for them for many years. Only two of the children survived captivity; one of the two died shortly after the rescue. 

The burial site is halfway between Farewell Bend, Oregon and Huntington, Oregon on Hwy. 30.  For more information visit these sites: 

http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm?doc_ID=5A99EACC-C709-746C-92D5469398A0502D 

http://idahoptv.org/outdoors/shows/pathwaysofpioneers/DonShannon.cfm 

 http://www.idahoocta.org/Utter_Summary.html

When Are You Open?

Our winter hours are Thursday thru Sunday, 9:00am to 4:00pm thru Saturday, February 15th.

The Legend of the Guardian

"The Legend of the Guardian"
It is believed by some that the Elkhorn Mountain peak and the shadow is called "The Guardian." That legend states that "The Guardian" is a deity that watches over the Powder River valley and keeps it safe. This is just one of the legends of this beautiful shadow that we have the honor of seeing every winter.

Another Place to Visit Along the Oregon Trail

Oregon Trail Pioneers rested here and then continued on with their journey saying “Farewell” to the bend in the Snake River. Look for a small iron cross which is visible from Highway 30. This marks the location where the Snake River Shoshone Indians battled Oregon Trail pioneers in 1860. http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=4

Grave site at Farewell Bend Oregon

Over the next few weeks we will be featuring once a week a blog about some of the interesting and tragic occurances that happened along the trail. Please enjoy and maybe pack up your family and visit some of these sites.



Farewell Bend Oregon grave site map

Diary of John Fothergill 1852-1853
August 15, 1852 "all this road rough and hilly plenty of grass, water and fuel this part has a more mountainous appearance than any we have yet seen it is beautiful, pefectly wild, most irregular with very high hills, principally peaked up. 3 miles from us this morning a man of the name Wilson was shot by a fellow emigrant (Jessey Varner) they had a quarrel, and it ended in drawing pistols when Wilson received 4 balls out of 5 fired at him and died immediately leaving a wife (who was present) and 9 children to lament his frightful death. Wilsons pistol would not go off they talk of trying the culprit tonight Saw 6 graves 19 dead cattle".
This man Wilson obviously was not thinking of his actions and what the outcome would be for his family. The family continued on and reached thier goal and a few years later his wife re-married.
This grave was possibley one of those that was found when Interstate Highway 84 was put in. It was moved to the site that is indicated on the map, the orange *.

This historical marker commemorating pioneer woman Marie Dorion is located 2 miles north of North Powder, Oregon on Highway 237 at mile point 29.04. Near here Marie Dorion gave birth to the "firstborn, part white child on the Oregon Trail".* Due to the mother's malnutrition the baby boy was tiny and week and died eight days later. For further information about this courageous woman and her life on the 1811 Wilson Price Hunt Astoria expedition read *MADAM DORION by Jerome Peltier.

Congratulations Mary Kaye ! Mary Kaye has been nominated for the 2013 WMA Western Album of the Year, Song of the Year and she has also been nominated for Female Performer, Songwriter, and Entertainer of the Year!! Great Job we are so very excited for you here at the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center!! Check this site out for more information and for her exciting new album http://marykayeknaphus.com/

Civil War Veteran



                                                         Joshua Roswell Moe

Joined the 4th Regiment, Michigan Cavalry (Union) in 1862. He was with Company A as a private. They organized at Detroit, Mich.,and mustered in August 28, 1862 and left for Louisville, KY on September 26th. A few of the battles they fought were, the Battle of Stone River December of 1862, the Battle of Chickamauga in September of 1863, the Battles of Dallas and New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May and June of 1864, and the the assult on Keneshaw in June of 1864. They finally mustered out July 1, 1865.
He was finally able to go home.

The Regiment lost during that time 3 Officers and 48 Enlisted men killed in battle, but the biggest loss was from disease 2 Officers and 341 Enlisted men. Total 394

                                                     My Great Great Grandfather

If you wish to search for your own Civil War ancestors go to: http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers.htm

Here's another interesting site---with animated maps of specific Civil War battles:
http://www.civilwaranimated.com/

Staying in town on Black Friday and want something to do with your kiddos? Come on up to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center!!



Wapato Root October 22, 1805

The Lewis and Clark expedition were traveling near the mouth of the Deschutes River on this day in 1805. Meriwether Lewis temporarily dropped back from the rest of the party to observe the natives digging great quantities of a root from the bottom of the Deschutes River. It looks familiar, but is also different, perphaps a different species or variety then what he has seen. The arrow head leaves spring up from the base of the plant and the starchy tubers grow from the roots, much like a potato. The natives dried and pounded the roots into a compressed meal made into cakes that they traded to the Corps of Discovery. This helped to sustain the Corps through the long winter months.

Joe Meek

Have you met Joe Meek yet? Meet Joe Meek this Saturday the 26th at 11:00 and 1:00. Ranger Jeremy Martin portrays the this colorful mountain man and fur trapper. Tall tales and his most infamous adventures.

National Public Lands Day, This Saturday!