ElvDORADO 53 



source than did the JMonnon route by way of Fort 

 Bridger, and was said to be less dangerous in crossing. 

 Bear river is some 400 miles long, takes its rise in the 

 melting snows of the Wind River mountains to the 

 north of the South Pass, and as it approaches Salt 

 Lake ,it runs through wooded canyons in the Wasatch 

 range, and is very rapid and turbulent. 



Those destined for Oregon travelefl the same trail 

 over which Fremont passed in 1844, and later the 

 early pioneers, to whom the government offered 

 640 acres of land to settle in the then almost unknown 

 region. The perils from hostile Indians and lurking 

 dangers did not deter them from the undertaking. 

 They organized companies and with their wives and 

 children, cattle and horses, farming implements, seeds 

 and fruit trees (packed in moss and by great care kept 

 alive), they started on the long journey. From such an 

 adventurous and sturdy class, and from such small be- 

 ginnings Oregon has grown into one of the 1 eading 

 commercial as well as agricultural States of the Union. 

 The first apples I saw in California came to San Fran- 

 cisco from Oregon by boat in 1850, and retailed readily 

 at $1 each. The present generation, the sons and 

 daughters of the Golden West, should never fail to 

 honor the memory of those who endured the toil and 

 sacrifice to make homes for themselves and their chil- 

 dren, to extend American civilization and to plant the 

 educational and religious institutions, that make for 



Wlien a bo}' I was fond of reading accounts of 

 freedom and righteousness on the shores of the Pacific 

 travelers to distant lands, especially among the native 

 tribes, and among the most interesting and instructive 

 narrations was that of Lewis and Clarke, who were sent 



