Trailing Narcissa Whitman & Eliza Spalding
From St. Louis, Missouri, to Spalding, Idaho.
By: Candy Moulton 04/01/2009
The Oregon Trail and the route the missionary-fur caravan took veered away from the North Platte River at what is now Casper. In a two-day, nearly 60-mile crossing, the group struck out for the Sweetwater River. Although they no doubt passed Independence Rock, in their day, it was not the landmark register of emigrant names that it later became and did not warrant any particular attention. They reached South Pass on July 4, 1836, and were coming very close to the fur rendezvous.
To follow their route take Wyoming Highway 220 west of Casper to Muddy Gap, U.S. 287 north toward Lander, then Wyoming Highway 28 west to Farson.
In 1906, when trail veteran Ezra Meeker began marking the Oregon Trail, he placed a monument at South Pass recognizing the crossing by Eliza Spalding and Narcissa Whitman. It is located on one segment of the trail through the broad open pass, although the missionary party is believed to have crossed the Continental Divide farther to the north on another of the trail segments. That day Eliza wrote in her diary, “crossed a ridge of land today called the divide; which separated the waters that flow into the Atlantic from those that flow into the Pacific.”
Rendezvous On the Green
The gradual ascent to the divide may have made the crossing seem unremarkable, but almost certainly when the fur caravan and missionary party arrived at the fur rendezvous on the Green River at a place north of today’s Pinedale, Wyoming, everyone likely felt a measure of excitement. Rendezvous was a raucous gathering of mountain trappers and traders plus Indians of various tribes.
The appearance of the two white women must have been a reminder of home for the mountain men and a surprise to the Indians. When the westbound party hove into sight, a welcoming party raced out to greet it, raising high-spirited whoops and brandishing weapons that they fired into the air. This exuberance of a mountain greeting is something you can experience each year during the annual Green River Rendezvous held in mid-July in the Pinedale area. To learn more about the rendezvous and the mountain men, visit the Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale.
Nez Perce guides took the missionary party on west from the Rendezvous across western Wyoming and into Idaho. To see rendezvous country, travel north from Farson on U.S. 191, to Pinedale and Daniel. Then take U.S. 189 southwest to Kemmerer, picking up Highway 30, which will take you across the Bear River Divide and into Idaho. A stop at the California/Oregon Trail National Trail Interpretive Center in Montpelier is recommended. Then follow U.S. 30 northwest through Lava Hot Springs (a good place for a soak or swim) and take I-84 north to Pocatello for a stop at Fort Hall, another re-created fur trade-era post.
Hudson’s Bay Company trader Nathaniel Wyeth established Fort Hall in 1834 on the Portneuf River of southeastern Idaho. A day before reaching Fort Hall, an axle on the wagon broke, leading Dr. Whitman to make modifications and turn it into a two-wheeled cart (to his wife’s chagrin; she would have left the wagon behind).
The missionaries had a long, hot crossing as they traversed the Snake River Plain. Our route continues west on I-84 through Twin Falls, Boise and Nampa, Idaho, before leaving the Snake River at Farewell Bend, Oregon. Continue across eastern Oregon and toward the Blue Mountains, where, along the southeastern flank of the range, you’ll find Baker City, home to the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.
Comments (2)
Thanks a lot!! This helped so much. Our grade has to do a curriculum based assessment (CBA) on the question "Is Narcissa Whitman a Hero?" and this gave me alot more information along with the 50+ page packet our teacher gave us. :) THANKS!!!!
Thanks a lot!! This helped so much. Our grade has to do a curriculum based assessment (CBA) on the question "Is Narcissa Whitman a Hero?" and this gave me alot more information along with the 50+ page packet our teacher gave us. :) THANKS!!!!
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