Ox team days on the Oregon Trail

The journey of the early pioneers on the Oregon Trail, told by one of the first settlers.

Ezra Meeker captured his trip across the American West in his journal. His story describes the journey which the early Oregon settlers made in order to settle and colonise a new territory with many hardships and heartaches along the way.

His account is regarded as one of the most authentic accounts of the American westward migration.

This edition has contextual information such as maps and drawings to enhance the gripping narrative of Ezra Meeker.

Ezra Meeker

Ezra Meeker was an American pioneer who with his family undertook the dangerous journey west with the first pioneers by ox-drawn wagon. He left Iowa and migrated to the Pacific Coast. He endured hardships on his journey, but pushed on to claim land on the Oregon territory. In his engaging and gripping account he tells how he and his party overcame the many obstacles and dangers they encountered. His account gives a real sense of the old west and the spirit of the early pioneers.

Later in life he became convinced that the Oregon trail was being forgotten and despite people trying to discourage him from making the dangerous journey a second time he undertook the journey and marked the trail along the way.

In his rich and long life (he lived to 97), he met the president, Henry Ford, became the 'hop king', was mayor of Puyallup and is a major reason we know so much about the Oregon Trail. His story shows how difficult life was for the early pioneers and gives a true insight into the early American West.

What was the Oregon trail?

The Oregon Trail is a 2,200-mile (3,500 km) historic east–west large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of the future state of Kansas and nearly all of what are now the states of Nebraska and Wyoming. The western half of the trail spanned most of the future states of Idaho and Oregon.

From the early to mid-1830s the Oregon Trail and its many offshoots were used by about 400,000 settlers, ranchers, farmers, miners, and businessmen and their families.

Chapters

1. Back to Beginnings
2. Boyhood Days in Old Indiana
3. Leaving the Home Nest for Iowa
4. Taking the Trail for Oregon
5. The Westward Rush
6. The Pioneer Army of the Plains
7. Indians and Buffaloes on the Plains
8. Trailing through the Mountain Land
9. Reaching the End of the Trail
10. Getting a New Start in the New Land
11. Hunting for Another Home Site
12. Cruising About on Puget Sound
13. Moving from the Columbia to Puget Sound
14. Messages and Messengers
15. Blazing the Way through Natchess Pass
16. Climbing the Cascade Mountains
17. Finding My People
18. Indian War Days
19. The Stampede for the Gold Diggings
20. Making a Permanent Home in the Wilds
21. Finding and Losing a Fortune
22. Trying for a Fortune in Alaska
23. A Plan for a Memorial to the Pioneers
24. On the Overland Trail Again
25. Trailing On to the South Pass
26. Reviving Old Memories of the Trail
27. A Bit of Bad Luck
28. Driving On to the Capital
29. The End of the Long Trail