KANSAS AS A PATHWAY
=Mexico a Century Ago.= Nearly three centuries passed from the time
Cortez led the Spaniards into Mexico until Kansas became a part of the
United States. During those years Spanish settlements had increased in
number until at the time of Pike’s expedition Mexico included most of
what is now California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and
Colorado.
=Old Santa Fe.= Santa Fe, said to be the second oldest city in the
United States, was the most important point on the northern frontier
of Mexico. In those days it was not like the busy American Santa Fe of
to-day. It had about two thousand inhabitants, practically all
Spaniards, and they lived in little adobe houses arranged around a
public square after the manner of Spanish cities.
=Origin of the Santa Fe Trail.= The “Great American Desert” lay
between Santa Fe and the settlements of the western border of the
United States. But Captain Pike’s interesting descriptions of the
wealth and resources of the Spanish country stirred up enthusiasm, and
Americans began to make their way across the plains to trade with the
Spaniards. Santa Fe soon became an important trading point for all of
northeastern Mexico. The traders, on their journeys to the Spanish
city, wore a pathway that crossed the length of Kansas. This pathway
came to be called the “Santa Fe Trail.”
=Captain Becknell the First Trader.= Although a few earlier trips were
made, the trade with Santa Fe really began in the year 1822 with the
journey of Captain Becknell, of Missouri. He had started out the year
before to trade with the Indians, and had gone on with a party of
Mexican rangers to Santa Fe where he sold his small supply of
merchandise so profitably that he decided to try again on a larger
scale. In 1822 he took about thirty men and five thousand dollars’
worth of merchandise. His success encouraged others, and a regular
trade with Santa Fe was soon established.
[Illustration: SCENES IN EARLY SANTA FE.
Left, a street scene. Upper right, an adobe house. Lower right,
the old “Palace,” used by the Spanish and Mexican authorities as
government headquarters for about two centuries. It was in this
building that Pike was held prisoner.]
=Merchandise Carried on Pack Mules=. For several years most of the
transportation along the Trail was done with pack mules. A caravan of
pack mules usually numbered from fifty to two hundred, each animal
carrying about three hundred pounds of merchandise. From the earliest
times the Mexicans had used pack mules as a means of transportation,
and were skilled in handling them. For this reason the American
traders usually employed Mexicans for the work of the pack train. The
average rate of travel of a mule train was from twelve to fifteen
miles a day. Since the Trail was nearly eight hundred miles long,
fifty to sixty days were required for the trip.
=Wagons Used on the Trail=. Probably the first time that wagons were
used was in 1824, when a company of traders left Missouri with
twenty-five wagons and a train of pack mules. This experiment was so
satisfactory that the use of wagons soon became general and mules were
used less and less as pack animals.
=The Traders and the Indians=. Travel over the Santa Fe Trail rapidly
increased, and the history of those days is filled with stories of
exciting adventure, of danger, of privation, and of deeds of courage.
The source of greatest danger and excitement was the Indians, for they
did not take kindly to the white men’s use of their hunting grounds.
For several years the traders crossed the plains in small parties,
each man taking only two or three hundred dollars’ worth of goods, and
they were seldom molested. But peace did not last long. The Indians
soon learned more about the journeys of the traders and how to
estimate the value of their stock. Also, many of the traders
considered every Indian a deadly enemy and killed all that fell into
their power simply because some wrong was known to have been committed
by Indians. This treatment tended to stir up the hatred of the red men
and to make them watch every opportunity for revenge.
An example of the enmity between the Indians and the traders may be
seen in an occurrence of 1828. Two young men went to sleep on the bank
of a stream a short distance from their caravan, and were fatally
shot, it was supposed, with their own guns. When their comrades found
them one was dead, and the other died by the time the caravan reached
the Cimarron River, about forty miles farther on. During the simple
burial ceremonies a party of six or seven Indians appeared on the
other side of the river. It is probable that these Indians knew
nothing of the crime committed or they would not have approached the
white men. Some of the men took this view, but, against their advice,
the others fired and killed all of the Indians but one, who escaped to
carry the news to his tribe. The Indians of the wronged tribe then
followed the caravan to the Arkansas River where they robbed the
traders of nearly a thousand head of horses and mules. Other robberies
and murders followed until it became necessary for the traders to
petition the National Government for troops. The next year soldiers
escorted the caravan nearly to the Cimarron River. Government
protection was furnished again in 1834, and in 1843. In the other
years the traders fought their own way, but the day of small parties
was over. For mutual protection, the traders banded together. A single
big caravan started out each spring as soon as the grass was
sufficient to pasture their animals, and returned in the fall.
=The Starting Point of the Traders.= For many years the city of
Franklin, on the Missouri River, was the starting point of the
traders, the place where they purchased their goods and their outfits.
Later, Independence, Missouri, and finally Westport which is now a
part of Kansas City, became the emporium of the Santa Fe trade. The
tourists and traders began to gather about the first of May for the
journey that would begin near the middle of that month.
=Supplies Taken.= The ordinary supplies to be taken for each man were
about fifty pounds of flour, fifty pounds of bacon, ten pounds of
coffee, twenty pounds each of sugar, rice, and beans, and a little
salt. Anything else was considered an unnecessary luxury and was
seldom taken. The buffalo furnished fresh meat for the travelers.
=Teams and Wagons.= After the first few years horses were little used
on the Trail except for riding. A wagon was usually drawn by eight
mules or oxen, though some of the larger ones required ten or twelve.
The large wagons often carried as much as five thousand pounds of
merchandise and supplies. The loading of the wagons for a journey of
nearly eight hundred miles was a very particular piece of work.
=Council Grove the Meeting Place.= Although the traders banded
together in one big caravan, they did not all start from the same
place nor at the same time. The Kanza and Osage Indians seldom
committed worse deeds than petty thievery, and the more warlike
Comanches and Pawnees did not often appear along the first two hundred
miles of the Trail. The place where all the wagons united to form a
caravan was Council Grove, a point about one hundred and fifty miles
west of Independence. In those days Council Grove consisted of a strip
of fine timber along the Neosho valley. It is said to have been named
in 1825 by the United States Commissioners who met on this spot some
Osage Indians, with whom they made a treaty for the right of way for
the Santa Fe Trail. About 1850 a blacksmith shop and two or three
traders’ stores were established at Council Grove and this place
became “the last chance for supplies” for westbound travelers.
[Illustration: COUNCIL OAK,
Under which the Commissioners and Indians met at Council Grove to
make their treaty. It is still standing. A Santa Fe marker has
been placed beneath its branches.]
=Journeys of Gregg.= We can not get an idea of those days in a better
way, perhaps, than by following an account of one of the caravans.
Josiah Gregg, who crossed the prairie eight times, has left a very
interesting record of his experiences. Many of the following facts are
taken from his account of the journey of 1831.
=Organization of the Caravan.= For this particular trip there were two
hundred men and nearly a hundred wagons, with a dozen smaller
vehicles, and two carriages carrying cannon. The total value of the
merchandise was about $200,000. For so large an undertaking it was, of
course, necessary to have some kind of organization. According to
custom, therefore, they elected officers and adopted a set of rules.
The head man was the “Captain of the Caravan,” who directed the order
of travel, selected the camping grounds, and performed many other
duties of a general nature. The wagons were divided into four groups,
each group under the charge of a lieutenant, who selected crossings
and superintended the “forming” of the camp. The men were well armed
with rifles, shotguns, and an abundant supply of pistols and knives.
=The Starting of the Caravan.= When the time came to start from
Council Grove the command “Catch up! Catch up!” sounded by the captain
and passed on to all the groups, started a scene of hurry and uproar
as the teamsters vied with each other to be first to shout “All’s
set!” After a period of shouting at animals, the clanking of chains,
and the rattling of harness and yokes, all were ready. The command
“Stretch out!” was given, and the line of march began.
[Illustration: CROSSING THE PLAINS.]
=The Country West of Council Grove.= Council Grove seemed to form the
western boundary of the very rich, fertile, and well timbered country.
From here westward the streams were lined with but little timber
growth, and much of that was cottonwood. The country was mostly
prairie, with the vegetation gradually becoming more scarce. The
traders usually lashed under their wagons a supply of logs for needed
repairs, for Council Grove furnished the last good wood they would
pass. Westward from Council Grove not a single human habitation, not
even an Indian settlement, was to be seen along the whole route. It is
difficult to imagine such a condition in Kansas only eighty years ago.
[Illustration: NORTH AMERICAN BISON, COMMONLY CALLED BUFFALOES.
They were described by Cabeza de Vaca as “crooked-backed oxen.”]
=Buffaloes Sighted.= Soon after leaving Council Grove the traders
began watching for buffaloes, and when a small herd was sighted it
created much excitement. About half the men had never seen these
animals before. All the horsemen rushed toward the herd, and some of
the drivers even left their teams and followed on foot.
=Pawnee Rock.= After a few more days of travel, during which nothing
more serious happened than a few false alarms of Indians, they reached
the Arkansas River. Another day’s travel over a level plain brought
them in sight of Pawnee Rock, a great rock standing on the plains near
the Big Bend of the Arkansas, and a landmark known from one end of the
Trail to the other. The surrounding country was not occupied by any
tribe of Indians, but was claimed by all of them as a hunting ground,
for it was a fine pasture for buffaloes. For many years it had been
the scene of bloody battles between different tribes. The Rock
afforded an excellent hiding place and retreat. Since the old Trail
passed within a few yards of it, this became a dreaded spot for the
traders, for at this point they seldom escaped a skirmish with the
Indians. The Rock probably received its name from some of the bloody
deeds of the Pawnees, who were especially connected with these scenes.
[Illustration: PAWNEE ROCK.]
=Forming Camp.= When the caravan camped at Ash Creek the traders found
a few old moccasins scattered around and some camp fires still
burning, which seemed to indicate the near presence of Indians. They
had, up to this point, marched in two columns, but after crossing
Pawnee Fork they formed four lines for better protection in case of
attack. In camp the wagons were arranged in the form of a hollow
square, each line forming a side. This provided an enclosure for the
animals when needed, and a fortification against the Indians.
Ordinarily the camp fires were lighted outside the square, the men
slept on the ground there, and the animals were picketed near.
=The Caches.= The next important stopping place was The Caches, near
the present site of Fort Dodge. All that marked this spot from the
surrounding country was a group of pits in the ground. A number of
years before, a small party of traders had attempted to go to Santa Fe
in the fall. By the time they reached the Arkansas River a heavy
snowstorm forced them to take shelter on a large island, where they
were kept for three months by the severe winter. During this time most
of their animals perished. When spring came, having no way to carry
their goods, they made some caches,[4] where they stored their
merchandise until they could bring mules to haul it to Santa Fe.
=The Trail Divided into Two Routes.= At Cimarron Crossing the Trail
divided, and did not reunite until within a few miles of Santa Fe. The
southern route was shorter, but it meant crossing fifty miles of
desert before reaching the Cimarron River. In all that stretch of
level plain there was no trail, nor landmark, nor stream of water.
Travelers sometimes lost their way in this desert, and unless they had
prepared for this part of the journey by taking along a sufficient
supply of water, they perished of thirst.
=An Experience with Indians.= This caravan decided to take the
southern route. A band of Indians soon appeared, carrying an American
flag as a token of peace. They talked with the traders by means of
signs and told them there were immense numbers of Indians ahead. A
little later a band of warriors appeared and threatened to fight.
There was great excitement as the caravan prepared for battle and the
Indians continued to pour over the hills. But there was no fighting,
for the chief came forward with his “peace pipe,” from which the
captain took a whiff. The warriors were ordered back to rejoin the
long train of squaws and papooses who were following with the baggage.
There were probably three thousand Indians in this party, and they
moved down into the valley and pitched their wigwams. The traders felt
sure that since the women and children were along the Indians would
not be hostile, and they, therefore, formed their camp a few hundred
yards away. The Indians gathered around to gaze at the wagons, for it
was probably the first time most of them had ever seen such vehicles.
Some of them followed to the next camp, and the next day a large
number of them gathered around the caravan. This sort of thing
continued until the traders made up a present of fifty or sixty
dollars’ worth of goods to “seal the treaty of peace.”
=Their First News.= Some days later the caravan met a Mexican buffalo
hunter. He told the traders the news from Santa Fe, the first they had
heard since the return of the caravan of the year before. To-day
Kansas City and Santa Fe are little more than twenty-four hours apart
by rail, and we read the latest news from both places in the morning
and evening papers.
=Round Mound.= Round Mound, standing nearly a thousand feet above the
level of the surrounding plain, in what is now New Mexico, was one of
the landmarks along the Trail. At that point the caravan had completed
about three-fourths of the journey to Santa Fe. As they approached the
Mound some of the party decided to ascend it. They felt certain that
it could not be more than half a mile away, but they had to go fully
three miles before reaching it. This remarkable deception in distance
is characteristic of the West.[5] Nothing of particular note occurred
from Round Mound to the end of the journey.
=Arrival at Santa Fe.= The arrival of the caravan at Santa Fe was a
source of excitement for both the traders and the city and was
celebrated with much festivity. The traders had entered what was in
those days a foreign country and had to pay duties on their goods at
the custom house. Then came the business of selling these goods to
those who had come in from the surrounding country to buy, after which
the traders, or freighters as they were often called, prepared for the
long return journey, planning to finish the round trip before the
winter began. This was but one of many trips made over the Santa Fe
Trail.
=Travel Across Kansas During the ’40’s.= There was a war between the
United States and Mexico in 1846-’48. The trouble between the two
countries checked the Santa Fe trade between the years 1843 and 1850,
but even under those circumstances there was much travel across Kansas
during the ’40’s.[6] There were four principal classes of travelers:
soldiers, emigrants to Oregon, Mormons, and California gold seekers.
=The Soldiers.= The war with Mexico broke out in 1846, and many of the
United States soldiers were sent to that country by way of the Santa
Fe Trail. This increased the travel across the prairies.
=The Oregon Settlers.= The remote unsettled region in the Northwest,
known as Oregon, was soon to become the home of civilized people. In
1842 wagon trains of emigrants began to undertake the long and weary
journey to that far-off country. Others soon followed, and during the
next few years many thousands of people settled in the Oregon country.
=The Mormons.= In those days the Mormon Church had not been long
established, but their beliefs had brought the Mormons into trouble
with the people around them and with the Government, and they had been
forced to move several times. The last time was in 1845, when they
left Nauvoo, Illinois, and began the long and perilous journey to the
valley of Great Salt Lake, in which region the main body of them
remains to-day.
=The “Forty-niners.”= In 1848 a man named James Marshall, who was
running a sawmill near the present site of Sacramento, California,
discovered shining particles of gold in the mill race, and it was soon
found that there were rich gold fields in that part of the country.
The news spread, not rapidly as it would to-day, for there were no
railroad or telegraph lines west of the Mississippi River and only a
few east of it, but within a short time the whole country and even
Europe had heard of the California gold fields, and people from all
parts of the world began to make their way to the Pacific coast. Some
went by water but more of them made the journey overland. Long lines
of wagons, or prairie schooners as they were called, wound their way
across the plains and over the mountains to California. It is
estimated that ninety thousand people passed through Kansas on their
way to California during the two years 1848 and 1849, a few of them to
gain wealth, but thousands to be disappointed, and many to perish on
the way.
=The Oregon Trail.= The Oregon settlers, the Mormons, and the gold
seekers entered Kansas at or near Atchison, Leavenworth, St. Joseph,
or Westport, and moved toward the northwest, crossed the border into
Nebraska, and went on across the mountains. The road worn by this
westward-moving stream of emigrants was known as the Oregon Trail,
though it was sometimes called the Mormon Trail, and more often the
California Road. For two thousand miles the Oregon Trail stretched
away through an utter wilderness, and every mile of it came to be the
scene of hardship and suffering, of battle, or of death. It was one of
the most remarkable highways in history. It had several branches, and
in many places it followed different routes at different times. The
largest number of travelers over this Trail entered Kansas at Westport
and followed for a short distance the Santa Fe Trail. Near the present
town of Gardner stood a signboard on which were the words, “Road to
Oregon.” At this point the two historic highways divided. It has been
said that, “never before nor since has so simple an announcement
pointed the way to so long and hard a journey.”
SUMMARY
The Santa Fe Trail was a great road about 775 miles long,
beginning successively at the Missouri towns, Franklin,
Independence, and Westport, and extending westward to Santa
Fe. Four hundred miles of its length were in Kansas. Travel
began in 1822 for the purpose of trading with Mexico. The
first merchandise was carried on pack mules, but wagons
began to be used in 1824. The traders experienced much
trouble with the Indians, and in 1829 they began going
together in big caravans for protection. The gathering place
was Council Grove, where they organized and started. A few
of the well-known sites along the Trail were Pawnee Rock,
Ash Creek, Pawnee Fork, and The Caches. At Cimarron Crossing
the Trail divided. The northern branch followed the Arkansas
and crossed the mountains over practically the same route as
that followed by the Santa Fe Railway to-day. The southern
branch was the cut-off across the desert. Another historic
highway was the Oregon Trail, sometimes called the Mormon
Trail and sometimes the California Road. This Trail crossed
the northeast corner of Kansas.
REFERENCES
Inman, The Old Santa Fe Trail.
Parrish, The Great Plains.
Pamphlet by Historical Society, Santa Fe Trail.
Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 42-49.
Gregg, Commerce of the Prairies.
Blackmar, Kansas, vol. II, p. 645.
Andreas, History of Kansas, p. 54.
Historical Collections, vol. VIII, p. 137; vol. IX, p. 552; vol.
XII, p. 253-269.
Hunt, California the Golden.
Aplington, Pilgrims of the Plains. (A novel.)
QUESTIONS
1. What part of the United States did Mexico own a hundred years
ago?
2. Describe the city of Santa Fe. How did trade first begin with
Santa Fe?
3. Tell about the journey of Captain Becknell.
4. Discuss the use of pack mules on the Trail. When were wagons
first used?
5. What was the attitude of the Indians and the traders toward
each other?
6. What places were in turn the starting point of the traders?
7. What supplies were usually taken?
8. How did Council Grove get its name? Of what importance was the
place?
9. Who was Josiah Gregg?
10. Describe the organization of the caravan. The starting.
11. What occurred when buffaloes were sighted?
12. What is told of Pawnee Rock?
13. How was camp formed at Ash Creek?
14. Describe The Caches. How did this place receive its name?
15. Where did the Trail divide? Describe each route.
16. What experience did the travelers have with the Indians?
17. Explain the occurrence at Round Mound.
18. Describe the arrival of the caravan at Santa Fe.
19. Discuss the Santa Fe trade during the ’40’s.
20. Name the classes of travelers who crossed Kansas in the
’40’s, and give an account of each.
21. Name and describe the trail made by these travelers.