tting him off
the mare.

[Illustration: NORTH AMERICA IN 1850

By 1850 the general divisions of the continent had taken the shape that
they have today. The states of Texas and California and the territories
of Utah and New Mexico had been added to the United States, all as a
result of the war with Mexico. The dispute with Great Britain over the
Oregon Country had been settled by a compromise. The region just west of
the Missouri, known as the Nebraska Territory, was still beyond the
frontier.]

I vowed then and there that I did not like the Iowa climate, and the
Oregon fever that had already seized me was heightened. The settlement
of the northern boundary by treaty in 1846 had ended the dispute between
the United States and Great Britain for ownership of the region north of
the Columbia. As a consequence, American settlers were beginning to
cross the Columbia in numbers, and stories were coming back of the
wonderful climate, the rich soil, and the wealth of lumber. The Oregon
Country of that day included the present states of Oregon, Washington,
and Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming.

It was a special consideration for us that if we went to Oregon the
government would give us three hundred and twenty acres of land, whereas
in Iowa we should have to purchase it. The price would be low, to be
sure, but the land must be bought and paid for on the spot. There were
no preemption laws or beneficial homestead laws in force then, nor did
they come until many years later.

But what about going to Oregon when springtime came? An event was
pending that rendered a positive decision impossible for the moment. It
was not until the first week of April, 1852, when our first-born baby
boy was a month old, that we could say we were going to Oregon in 1852.
It would be a long, hard journey for such a little fellow, but as it
turned out, he stood it like a young hero.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: Crossing the muddy Missouri.]

CHAPTER FOUR

TAKING THE TRAIL FOR OREGON

WHEN we drove out of Eddyville, headed for the Oregon Country, our train
consisted of but one wagon, two yoke of four-year old steers, and one
yoke of cows. We also had one extra cow. This cow was the only animal we
lost on the whole journey; she strayed away in the river bottom before
we crossed the Missouri.

Now as to the members of our little party. William Buck, who had joined
us as partner for the expedition, was a man six years m