Governor Folk came out on the state house steps to have his photograph taken and otherwise signified his approval of the work, and I was accorded a cordial hearing by the citizens of that city. On the fourth of April I arrived at Independence, Missouri, which is generally understood to be the eastern terminus of the Trail.
I found, however, that many of the pioneers shipped father up the Missouri, some driving from Atchison, some from Leavenworth, others from St. Joseph and at a little later period, multitudes from Kainsville (now Council Bluffs), where Whitman and Parker made their final break from civilization and boldly turned their faces westerly for the unknown land of Oregon.
A peculiar condition of affairs existed at Independence. The nearby giant city of Kansas City had long ago overshadowed the embryo commercial mart of the early thirties and had taken even that early trade from Independence. However, the citizens of Independence manifested an interest in the work and took measures to raise a fund for a $5,000 monument. At a meeting of the commercial club it was resolved to raise the funds, but found to be "uphill work." Whether they will succeed is problematical. A novel scheme had been adopted to raise funds. A local author proposed to write a drama, "The Oregon Trail," and put it on the stage at Independence and Kansas City, for the benefit of the Monument fund. If he can succeed in carrying out successfully the plot as outlined, he ought to write a play that would be a monument to the thought as well as to provide funds for a monument to the Trail, for certainly here is a theme that would not only fire the imagination of an audience but likewise enlist their sympathies. I am so impressed with the importance of this work that I am tempted to outline the theme in the hope if his attempt does not succeed, that others may be prompted to undertake the work.
First, the visit of the four Flat Head Indians in search of the "white man's book of heaven," entertained in St. Louis by Gen. George Rogers Clark, of Lewis and Clark fame, until two of them died; then the death of a third on the way home; the historic speech of one, telling of their disappointment, and final return home of the single survivor; then follows the two-thousand-mile bridal tour of Whitman and Spaulding, and this in turn by the historic movement of the early home builders to the Oregon country with its grand results; the fading memory of a forgetful generation until the recollections of the grand highway is recovered in a blaze of glory to be handed down to succeeding generations, by the homage of a nation.
At Kansas City, Mo., the thoughts of the people had been turned to the Santa Fe Trail by the active campaign in the border state of Kansas in erecting markers on that trail. To my utter surprise it seemed that the Oregon Trail had almost been forgotten; the sentiment and thought had all been centered on the Santa Fe Trail. I tarried with them exactly one month, spoke to numerous organized bodies, and came away with the feeling the seed had been planted that would revive the memory of the Oregon Trail and finally result in a monument in the greater city. In the lesser Kansas City, Kansas, I visited all the public schools, spoke to the eleven thousand school children of the city and came away with the satisfaction of having secured contributions from over 3,000 children to a fund for erecting a monument in that city.
To further interest the children of the State of Kansas, I placed $25.00 in the hands of their state superintendent of schools, to be offered as a prize for the best essay on the Oregon Trail. This contest has been determined during the calendar year of 1908 and the award made.
Addressing Colored School, Kansas City, Kans.
All existing maps in the State of Kansas ignore the Oregon Trail. The "Santa Fe Trail" is shown; there is a "Fremont Trail," a "California Trail," a "Mormon Trail," but not one mile of an "Oregon Trail," although this great historic ancient trail traversed the state for fully two hundred miles. This incident shows how extremely important, that early action to mark the Oregon Trail should be taken before it is too late.