| Introduction to the Author | [v] | |
Part One—From Ohio to the Coast | ||
| 1. | Back to Beginnings | [1] |
| 2. | Boyhood Days in Old Indiana | [9] |
| 3. | Leaving the Home Nest for Iowa | [15] |
| 4. | Taking the Trail for Oregon | [21] |
| 5. | The Westward Rush | [33] |
| 6. | The Pioneer Army of the Plains | [38] |
| 7. | Indians and Buffaloes on the Plains | [43] |
| 8. | Trailing through the Mountain Land | [49] |
| 9. | Reaching the End of the Trail | [57] |
Part Two—Settling in the Northwest Country | ||
| 10. | Getting a New Start in the New Land | [69] |
| 11. | Hunting for Another Home Site | [78] |
| 12. | Cruising About on Puget Sound | [86] |
| 13. | Moving from the Columbia To Puget Sound | [99] |
| 14. | Messages and Messengers | [106] |
| 15. | Blazing the Way through Natchess Pass | [115] |
| 16. | Climbing the Cascade Mountains | [122] |
| 17. | Finding My People | [128] |
| 18. | Indian War Days | [135] |
| 19. | The Stampede for the Gold Diggings | [141] |
| 20. | Making a Permanent Home in the Wilds | [146] |
| 21. | Finding and Losing a Fortune | [154] |
| 22. | Trying for a Fortune in Alaska | [160] |
Part Three—Retracing the Old Oregon Trail | ||
| 23. | A Plan for a Memorial to the Pioneers | [165] |
| 24. | On the Overland Trail Again | [177] |
| 25. | Trailing On to the South Pass | [185] |
| 26. | Reviving Old Memories of the Trail | [195] |
| 27. | A Bit of Bad Luck | [204] |
| 28. | Driving On to the Capital | [212] |
| 29. | The End of the Long Trail | [219] |
THE WORLD'S GREATEST TRAIL
Worn deep and wide by the migration of three hundred thousand people, lined by the graves of twenty thousand dead, witness of romance and tragedy, the Oregon Trail is unique in history and will always be sacred to the memories of the pioneers. Reaching the summit of the Rockies upon an evenly distributed grade of eight feet to the mile, following the watercourse of the River Platte and tributaries to within two miles of the summit of the South Pass, through the Rocky Mountain barrier, descending to the tidewaters of the Pacific, through the Valleys of the Snake and the Columbia, the route of the Oregon Trail points the way for a great National Highway from the Missouri River to Puget Sound: a roadway of greatest commercial importance, a highway of military preparedness, a route for a lasting memorial to the pioneers, thus combining utility and sentiment.
