The Oregon Trail-
Whom did the Simmons-Bush party meet on the Trail?

The Simmons-Bush party were not the only people traveling on the Oregon Trail in 1844.  They probably met some of these other travelers from time to time. Besides other settlers, they might have met missionaries who were going to Oregon to preach to the Indians. 

Fur traders, or mountain men, also used parts of the Trail on their trade routes.  These mountain men spent months at a time in the wilderness, hunting for beaver, otter, to sell their skins.  Once a year they would trek into a meeting place to sell their goods.  Mountain men were good people to ask for advice, since they knew the country so well.  Sometimes mountain men would hire themselves out as guides to emigrant wagon trains.

There were a few trading posts called “forts” scattered along the Trail in 1844.  Settlers were welcome to stay for a decent meal and a few days’ rest.  They could also buy supplies at some of these “forts,” although they were at the mercy of the owners, who sometimes charged outrageous prices.  In Wyoming, the Simmons-Bush party stopped at Fort Laramie, an American trading post that would later become an Army base.  They also stayed at Fort Boise in Idaho, a fur-trading post owned by the British Hudson’s Bay Company. 

Sometimes the Simmons-Bush party also met Native Americans on their travels.  Many movies and books about the Old West portray fierce fights and horrifying massacres between the Native Americans and the settlers, but for the most part, their interactions were actually friendly.   This was especially true in the early days of the Trail when few settlers were making the journey.  Native Americans had been traveling across the Great Plains for thousands of years on their trading routes.  They were used to trading with other tribes and with white fur traders and usually saw the settlers as just another group of people to trade with.  There were some warring tribes, and some Native American tribes were known for being exceptional horse thieves, but most of them were eager to trade with the settlers for tools and cloth.  They often provided fresh meat and dried food when the settlers needed it most.

The settlers, however, often had a different attitude.  Stories of thieving Indians and attacks took a long time to travel back east, and by the time they did, they were usually blown out of proportion. Many emigrants were terribly afraid of the Native Americans, and some shot before they said hello.  This led to increasing fear and hostility on both sides, especially in later years.  As more settlers came out West, debates over who owned the land became fierce.  These later settlers and buffalo hunters also killed most of the buffalo herds that the Plains Indians relied on for food and shelter.  In addition, emigrants brought diseases such as measles, for which Indians had no immunity.  These diseases caused many Indians to die.

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