goldfields

Devil’s Gate. Photo from http://www.independencerock.org

The Devil’s Gate is a picturesque feature a few miles south of Independence Rock. John Bidwell doesn’t mention it. He only says:

Tuesday, 6th. . . .  Went upstream about 8 miles and encamped on Sweet Water.

Which means they would have camped near Devil’s Gate. But it is impossible to get wagons through the narrow passage. Luckily just to the left is an easy way around the end of the rock formation.

Wednesday, 7th. As we journeyed, the mountains were high and naked; passed a pond that was nearly dried up, perfectly white with Glauber Salts.

A bed of “Glauber salts” near Devil’s Gate.

Father DeSmet, in describing the Sweetwater River, says:

But suddenly changing its course, we see it or rather hear it rushing impetuously through a long cleft in a chain of mountains. These mountains, which harmonize well with the torrent, exhibit the most picturesque scenes; travelers have named this spot the Devil’s Entrance. In my opinion they should have rather named it Heaven’s Avenue, for if it resembles hell on account of the frightful disorder which frowns around it, it is still a mere passage, and should rather be compared to the way to heaven on account of the scene to which it leads.

I imagine Father DeSmet had the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:14 in mind: “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

Travelers on the Oregon Trail often remarked on this unusual cut in the rock as they passed around it. Some would wade on foot or ride their horses through the Gate, just for the fun of it, while the wagons went around to the south.

Today the Devil’s Gate is on private land. The LDS Church has a Visitor’s Center on the south side of the Gate. The Mormon Handcart Historic Site at Martin’s Cove commemorates the two pioneer handcart companies that were trapped here by bad weather in October and November 1856. An interpretive display just off the freeway tells the story of the Oregon Trail and the handcart companies.

Devil’s Gate from the Martin’s Cove side.

When I wrote my book about John Bidwell in 2010, I had never seen the country he traversed on his journey from Missouri to California in 1841 (other than, of course, parts of California, where I live.) I got it all out of books. So I was delighted to finally have the opportunity to trace a part of the Oregon-California Trail and follow in the footsteps of the pioneers, if only for a little way.

I retired from my job as a librarian in April, and my husband retired in May. At last we weren’t limited to vacations of only a week or so! We planned a road trip to Wisconsin, where our son and his family live, with some time to see some of the sights along the way.

On our way home, after visiting Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota, we headed south to pick up the Oregon Trail at Chimney Rock. Interstate-80 more or less follows the Platte River and the trail of the pioneers, so driving along I-80 took us to Chimney Rock, Scotts Bluff, Fort Laramie, Register Cliff and northwest along the Platte River to Caspar, Wyoming, where we (and the pioneers) finally turned southwest with the river to Independence Rock.

It was enormously useful and enjoyable to see at last what this western landscape looks like, and to get a sense of the distance, the weather, the hardships of the trail. In our car it only took a few hours to travel the distance that the Bidwell-Bartleson Party spent twelve days traveling. 70 miles an hour for us versus 18-20 miles a day for them. (That was very good time for ox-drawn wagons on the open prairie, and the maximum that ox teams could be expected to do.)

But when we got out of the car, felt the sun and the wind, and looked out over the long stretches of sand and gravel, sagebrush and grass, with the enormous blue sky overhead, we could get an inkling of what it felt like to slowly walk on, mile after mile, wondering and worrying just how far was it to California.

Fort Laramie, by William Henry Jackson

Tuesday, June 22nd. Eight miles this morning took us to Fort Larimie, which is on Larimie’s fork of Platte about 800 miles from the frontiers of Missouri. It is owned by the American Fur Company. . . . The Black Hills were now in view; a very noted peak, called the Black Hill mountain, was seen like a dark cloud on the western horizon. The country along Platte river is far from being fertile and is uncommonly destitute of timber.

Wednesday, June 23rd. Remained at the Fort; the things of Mr. Shotwell were sold at auction.

More about the unfortunate Mr. Shotwell some other time. Bidwell didn’t have the spelling of Laramie right, but then, neither do we. The river is named after Jacques La Ramee, a French-Canadian fur trapper. The fort lay at the confluence of the Laramie River and the Platte in present-day Wyoming, and was the most important economic hub in the region.

The Laramie River

All emigrants on the trail were happy to get to Fort Laramie, and the Bidwell-Bartleson Party was no exception. Arrival at the fort meant that the journey was one-third completed. It was an opportunity to trade for needed goods, get travel advice, and send mail back to the States.

Interior of Fort John by Alfred Jacob Miller

There were actually three forts on this site. The first, called Fort William after its builders, fur traders William Sublette and William Anderson, was built of logs in 1834. The second, called Fort John after John B. Sarpy, an American Fur Company officer, was constructed in 1841 out of adobe bricks. Both were more commonly called Fort Laramie, and it was Fort John that John Bidwell saw when he arrived in June 1841, although it probably wasn’t complete.

In 1849, as the pressure of emigration grew in the West, the U.S. government decided it needed a string of forts along the Oregon Trail to protect and assist emigrants. With the fur trade in decline, the American Fur Company was looking to get rid of the fort. For $4000 the army purchased the site, and began building barracks, stables, guard houses, and cookhouses. The adobe fort, although only eight years old, was dilapidated and infested with vermin. It was used as temporary shelter by the army, but was soon torn down and replaced.

Parade ground and buildings at Fort Laramie.

Today Fort Laramie is a national historic site and a number of the army post buildings have been reconstructed and restored. Nobody is sure exactly where Fort William and Fort John were located, but the best guess is that they were close to the river where the officers quarters are today.

Fort Laramie NHS is chock-full of history and well-worth a visit.

Scott’s Bluff

One day’s journey west of Chimney Rock the emigrants came to Scott’s Bluff, a rock formation named for Hiram Scott, a wounded fur trapper left behind to die by his companions in 1828. The fantastical shapes of the rocks were a welcome sight to travelers who had just spent weeks traversing the flatlands of the prairie. John Bidwell wrote:

We gradually receded from the river in order to pass through a gap in a range of high hills called Scott’s Bluffs. As we advanced towards these hills, the scenery of the surrounding country became beautifully grand and picturesque–they were worn in such a manner by the storms of unnumbered seasons that they really counterfeited the lofty spires, towering edifices, spacious domes, and in fine all the beautiful mansions of cities. We encamped among these envious objects having come about 20 miles.

The Platte River runs along the northern base of the bluff. On my visit to Scott’s Bluff National Monument I wondered why the pioneers had to find a way through the rock formations of Scott’s Bluff. They were following the river–why didn’t they cross it (it looks narrow and mild-mannered at this point) and travel along the flatter land on the other side?

I talked to the ranger about it, and he told me that the Platte is now controlled and doled out for irrigation, but back in the day it was wide and treacherous. Pioneers didn’t want to cross it if they could avoid doing so. Moreover, the land on the other side, which today is developed, was actually criss-crossed with ravines that made it difficult to navigate. So travelers stayed on the southern side and negotiated the bluffs and hills instead.

Tomorrow’s question: Where did the Bidwell-Bartleson Party cross Scott’s Bluff?

There’s a lot going on the weekend of May 10-11, with events for every interest and taste, all in beautiful Butte County. Here are two of them:

Feather Fiesta Days is the big event in Oroville. The Butte County Historical Society is taking part by hosting Conversations With Local Authors at the Ehmann Home from noon to 3 p.m. Looking for a book on local history and travel? Find it in the gift shop and get it signed by the author, or just enjoy chatting with local researchers about their areas of interest. The books include titles covering several Butte County towns, Oroville Dam, Oroville-Quincy Highway, the poet Pres Longley, John Bidwell, flumes and hiking trails, a logging mill, and other topics of local interest.

I’ll be signing my books on John Bidwell and Pres Longley. I’d love to meet you! Drop in anytime during the open house to chat. Refreshments will be served.

Museums all around Butte County have joined together to host the first ever Chico Area Museum Alliance Museum Hop. Start at the museum of your choice, get a passport, and visit as many as you can on Saturday and Sunday, May 10-11. Your name will be placed in the prize drawing. Participating museums are: Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park, Chico Creek Nature Center, Chico Museum, Colman Museum, Gateway Science Museum, Janet Turner Print Museum, Museum of Northern California Art, Patrick Ranch Museum, Stansbury House, and Valene L. Smith Museum of Anthropology.