Making history again on the Oregon Trail

Sunset, June, 1993 by Lora J. Finnegan

At Pendleton's Round-Up rodeo grounds, you can get an understanding of what the wagon trains meant to Native Americans at a re-created 1840s Indian village set up by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. You might see weaving demonstrations, mat making, and traditional dances from 10 to 5 Tuesdays through Sundays, June 19 through August 29. Call (503) 276-7411.

A must-see museum for trail buffs is the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center at Flagstaff Hill, 5 miles east of Baker City. It is run by the Bureau of Land Management, over whose land much of the trail winds. Impressive videos and photographic murals give you a real sense of how segments of the trail differed, and well-chosen quotes tell the human story. Displays of artifacts, including authentic wagons, complete the picture. Huge windows at one end of the building look out over miles of wagon ruts. Behind the center, you can take an easy 1 1/2-mile hike down to the trail itself.

Each summer weekend here, you can watch a wagon encampment. Demonstrations of Oregon Trail cooking are planned for June 12 and 13; an exhibit called Native American Visionary is set for June 5 through 27. For hours, telephone (503) 523-1843.

Crossing the arid lands of Oregon and Idaho was hard on people and livestock. As one diarist wrote in 1852, "I do not think I shall forget the sight of so many dead animals along the trail. It is like something out of Dante's Inferno."

In Boise, the Idaho State Historical Museum, at 610 N. Julia Davis Drive, tells trail history along with the state's story, using artifacts and an 1853 emigrant diary. For hours, telephone (208) 334-2120.

Southeast of Boise, the trail split--emigrants could travel on either side of the Snake River. The South Alternate passed what's now Bruneau Dunes State Park. You can camp, hike, or picnic by its sculpted tan humps. Call (208) 366-7919.

Of this hot, dry south side of the Snake, pioneer Jane Gould wrote in 1862, "The dust is even worse than Indians, storms, or winds or mosquitoes, or even wood ticks. Dust ... if I could just have a bath."

Near Glenns Ferry, you can watch a wagon train reenact a river crossing at Three Island Crossing State Park August 14 at 11 A.M. For details, call (208) 366-2394 or (800) 446-7275. The Oregon sesquicentennial wagon train is scheduled to stop at the park on July 18 and 19.

In 1865, some boats were available at the crossing, and Mary Louisa Black described the scene in her diary: "The cattle crowded up on the boat and sunk it and came near drowning some of the men. They were till night getting them over."

Today, the crossing is less disastrous, but it's still a tricky endeavor requiring skill and some daring by the costumed participants. The train of wagons rolls down to the banks of the swift-moving Snake, where teams of oxen pulling the wagons are unhitched and swum across. The wagons, their beds sealed and caulked to float, are then pulled across by horse or mule teams or by outriders with ropes. It's a time-consuming process but fascinating to watch.