ipl-logo

Summary Of The Oregon Trail By Francis Parkman

1145 Words5 Pages

The Oregon Trail was written by Francis Parkman, Jr. Parkman was born on September 16, 1823 in Boston Massachusetts and died November 8, 1993, at age 70. He was a well known historian and writer, he attended Harvard College where he graduated in 1844. He is best known for this book The Oregon Trail and many of his accounts are still used as historical sources today. The book was originally published in 1849 and gave a vision of what Francis Parkman witnessed while traveling on the trail. The book is based on a journey that lasted a few months during the summer of 1846, which discusses mainly Parkman’s experience hunting buffalo with the local native americans that lived on the trail. Francis Parkman’s writing of the book and his experiences …show more content…

They began in the east and made their way to St. Louis by railroad where they then used the Missouri River to travel to Kansas, They went to Westport where they met three men that agreed to travel with them. The three men were planning on hunting in the prairies. Parkman and Shaw were happy to have the men join them on their journey.
Their journey wasn’t very interesting in the beginning. The British men decided to start using a trail other than the one they had originally planned to use. They soon learned that by using the other trail, they missed the Rockies as well. After going too far they figured it would be best if they used the Oregon Trail to try and reach Fort Laramie. After traveling eight days they finally came across someone on the Oregon Trail. He was a straggler immigrant and at the end of three weeks, the Englishmen and a small group of immigrants that they had met along the way joined them. They soon reached the Platte River.
Once they arrived at the Platte River they were in buffalo country. Parkman and Shaw liked this and were intrigued by the buffalo. They killed many buffalo before ending their journey. While they were in buffalo country they knew they were likely to encounter some hostile …show more content…

Parkman enjoyed this life, although he knew the dangers. The Indians invaded hunting grounds, of the enemies to hunt for buffalo skins. The skin was useful to them to repair their teepees. Parkman stayed with the Indians, for a while at Fort Laramie, but decided to continue alone so he could reach his destination on time. On his way back to St. Louis he was joined by traders. The men finally made it Westport, where they sold their possessions. They then traveled downstream toward St. Louis. In the weeks after Parkman and Shaw made it back Comanches and Pawnees raided the trail they had used. After the raids, nobody used the trail for the next six

Show More
Related

  • The Missing Colonists Of The Roanoke Island Summary

    215 Words  | 1 Pages

    In this set of materials, the author and the professor discuss the theory of the missing colonists of the Roanoke Island . The author states that the colonists moved to another island called Croatan, whereas the professor claims that this theory is not the most credible one. First, the author alleges that the missing colonists traveled to a neighboring island of Croatan. However, the professor argues that there is only one route to arrive to that place, and as there is no evidence that the colonists used that way, it is possible they decided to go to other location.

    Read More

  • Summary Of First Wilderness By Mark David Spence

    300 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his essay, “First Wilderness: America’s Wonderland and Indian Removal from Yellowstone National Park,” Mark David Spence argues that the creation of Yellowstone National Park is an early illustration of removing native peoples as a way to “preserve” nature. The idea of Yellowstone being a pristine and untouched wilderness, is challenged by Spence as he brings to light the presence of Indigenous peoples and communities who had occupied the land prior to the national park being established. He advocates for a better understanding of Yellowstone National Park’s history, encompassing the dispossession of the Indigenous peoples within the area. Spence explains how the wilderness preservation of Yellowstone ignores and dismisses any connection

    Read More

  • The Trent Affair Went Down Between The United States And Great Britian

    554 Words  | 3 Pages

    The two men, and their secretaries, were taken prisoner by Charles Wilkes. They were arrested for traveling to the British when not given permission. The pair was transported to Boston and imprisoned at Fort Warren. This was a victory for the Northern side of the war, as they thought provoking Britian would bring a reaction out from them.

    Read More

  • Lewis And Clark Haunted Courage Sparknotes

    759 Words  | 4 Pages

    After making the necessary preparations and bringing on 30 additional men they were ready. The men set off in canoes up the Missouri river. Just before winter in 1804 the Corps of Discovery stays at Fort Mandan in modern day North Dakota. a Canadian merchant by the name of Charbonneau joins the group with his wife, Sacagawea, who would later play an important role in the survival of the

    Read More

  • Robert Pattinson's Migration To America

    131 Words  | 1 Pages

    Robert Pattinson came to America 1750s to get more resources so he could become rich and get more land. One thing that Gilles Marini traded a lot of is fur. Gilles along with the French traveled over the Appalachian Mountains to get more land. Taylor Lautner and the other natives were getting squished because more and more French and British were coming to America so the natives were losing lots of land. Robert had to cross the Appalachian Mountains to get to Ohio river valley.

    Read More

  • Chapter Summary Of Chapters By Dee Brown

    1698 Words  | 7 Pages

    Author Dee Brown presents a factual as well as an emotional version of the relationship among the Indians, the American settlers, and the U.S. government. The massacre at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota on December 29, 1890, provides the backdrop for the narrative. In his introduction, Brown states the reason for his work. Thousands of accounts about life in the American West of the late nineteenth century were written. Stories are told of the traders, ranchers, wagon trains, gunfighters, and gold-seekers.

    Read More

  • Merriwether Lewis/Clark Expedition

    453 Words  | 2 Pages

    The group of men set out from St. Louis, Missouri in May of 1804 in search of a water passage to the west coast. These men traveled by boat, foot, and horseback across the unknown lands and encountered many new things. They were helped by the Native peoples, and often traded goods and supplies with them. Along the way Lewis and Clark encountered the

    Read More

  • What Are The Pros And Cons Of The Death Trap Trail

    594 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Death Trap Trail During the early 1800s, a 2,200 trail was used to travel from Oregon to Illinois(or vice versa) for Americans migrants to claim land and settle on the other side. Fur trappers and traders laid out the trail and were the ones to establish it. Migrants used the trail to seek a better life on the other side. The use of this trail was one of the important events of our American History.

    Read More

  • Mountain Valley Massacre Essay

    604 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Mountain Meadows Massacre was the killing of roughly 120 men, women, and Children who was passing through Southern Utah in September 1857 on the Baker-Fancher wagon train. They were killed by a group of Mormons with the help of local Paiute Indians. Where Did It Take Place? It was in a Mountain Valley 35 miles southwest of Cedar City, Utah.

    Read More

  • Crazy Horse Chapter 9 Summary

    1373 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Lakota find out that the whites set up camps near them for the winter. Chapter 12: Crazy Horse finds out that many more soldiers are at Fort Laramie with more on the way because they found gold

    Read More

  • The Oregon Trail Francis Parkman Analysis

    120 Words  | 1 Pages

    “The Oregon Trail,” written by Francis Parkman is a description of the experiences traveling into the unknown depths of the American west in 1846. The story is told from the first person point of view of Parkman, a scholar from Boston who embarks on the great expedition of traveling into the west in hopes of studying the lives of the Native Americans. His journey is also one of the first detailed descriptions of the beauty and the bounty of a largely uninhabited North American territory. But one of the most critical elements of the story was Parkman’s encounters and recruitment of members to his band of travelers who ultimately play a major role in the success of the western journey.

    Read More

  • Trail Of Tears: The Indian Trail Of Tears

    560 Words  | 3 Pages

    Trail of Tears, the journey of 900 Miles that took approximately nine months to complete. The Cherokee Indians and over 40 other groups or tribes traveled over land and water and were held in concentration camps along the way. The Cherokee traveled with military escorts. They left behind highly coveted land. The Environments of the Indians were not good for walking on the trail, the journey is long and and dangerous the weather was bad and many died.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: My Journey To The Oregon Trail

    120 Words  | 1 Pages

    After years of waiting and preparing we started on the journey to the west. We made our way to Independence, Missouri to go on the Oregon Trail which was laid by traders and trapers. While there I became familiar with George Wilson who was also a working family man. A lot of families left together making the trail busy and causing jams..

    Read More

  • Myths And Facts Surrounding The Oregon Trail

    1921 Words  | 8 Pages

    The first group of permanent American settlers left for Oregon in 1841 from the town of Independence, Missouri. This group of about 70 people followed the rivers and trails that had been used by fur traders and missionaries for many years. This route later became known as the Oregon Trail to the pioneers heading to Oregon. The trail didn’t become really popular until 1843 when nearly 1,000 immigrants left their homes to create a new life for themselves in Oregon. This was largely due to the fact that pioneers and missionaries spoke of how fertile the soil was so many farmers in the Midwest who were not satisfied with their crops decided to leave their old farms behind and move to Oregon.

    Read More

  • Oregon Trail Diary Of Hattie Campbell By Kristiana Gregory Summary

    649 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell by Kristiana Gregory is a fictional story set in 1857 that tells about how the immigrants from the new colonies traveled to Oregon to restart their lives with their family. Along the way, immigrants suffered from poisonous foods, exhausted animals who pull the family’s wagon with all of their belongings, and the struggles of illnesses and the loss of friends. On the trip, people from the new colonies traveled in wagon trains and made giant circles when camping overnight. Along the trek to Oregon, numerous people died, some drowned or were sick, and some got lost looking for food for their meals. Some women would get ill too, but would later find out they were pregnant and would have a baby during the journey.

    Read More

More about Summary Of The Oregon Trail By Francis Parkman

Open Document