The Oregon Trail-
What landmarks did they see along the way?

After crossing the Big Blue River in Nebraska, the members of the Independent Oregon Colony began to travel through the Great Plains.  It must have seemed very different from the wooded areas they were used to.  Here they could see grass and wildflowers for miles and miles.  The party also saw buffalo and antelope for the first time, which they hunted, although they left most of the meat to rot.    Buffalo hunters and wealthy sportsmen, who recklessly killed vast herds of buffalo, greatly depleted the number of wild buffalo that roamed the plains.

This painting by William Henry Jackson shows a wagon train approaching Chimney Rock in Nebraska.  Painting courtesy of Scott's Bluff National Monument, Nebraska.

Emigrants on the Oregon Trail saw many fantastic rock formations along the way.  On July 25, passing through Nebraska, the Simmons-Bush party sighted Chimney Rock.  Samuel Black Crockett wrote about it in his diary:

Chimney Rock, with an old cemetery in 
the foreground.  Photograph courtesy of Weldon Rau.

"Passed the great natural chimney today which is one of the greatest natural curiosities known.  It is composed of clay and stones, and rises out of the center of a cone which is 100 feet above the level of the plain, and the stem of the chimney [is] 150 feet above the top of the cone."

In Wyoming, the Simmons-Bush party passed by Independence Rock, which was named by a wagon of fur traders who reached it on July 4.  Some settlers described this giant granite mound as looking like a turtle.  The settlers climbed it and painted or carved their names, some of which can be seen by climbers today.

At Soda Springs, Idaho, the water that bubbled out of the ground was carbonated.  The settlers had mixed opinions about the fizzy drink.  One minister feared it, claiming “Hell cannot be far from this place.”  Another emigrant claimed it tasted like beer.  One pioneer woman bragged about the delicious lemonade she made from the water. 

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