Time To Hit The trail Trivia Quiz

Answer: Chisholm Trail

From 1865 to 1885, the Chisholm Trail was the major cattle route from Texas to the railroad in Abilene. Railroads in Texas were still being built and would take years to complete.

The trail was named after Jesse Chisholm, a trader who drove his wagon full of goods from Wichita, Kansas to the Washita River in Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). He was a general store on wheels for pioneers, ranchers, Indians and soldiers in the area.

By 1874 the railroads connected Texas with St. Louis and Kansas City. By 1884 the Chisholm Trail fell into disuse and was closed in 1885.

Answer: Santa Fe Trail

The first official survey of the trail, sponsored by Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, was in 1825.

The Mexican War began in 1846 when the U.S. invaded Mexico. At the end of the war, the U.S. aquired almost half of Mexican territory in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago (1848). In 1851 Fort Union, NM was established to protect commerce on the Santa Fe Trail.

During the Civil War, Confederates from Texas attempted to seize Ft. Union. They were beaten by the Union at the battle of Glorieta Pass, N.M. in 1862, when the northern troops burned the southern supply train. The Confederates abandoned the fight and the Union kept control of the vital Santa Fe Trail supply line. This was one of the most decisive Civil War battles fought in the west.

In 1880 the railroad was completed to Santa Fe and the trail was no longer used.

Answer: Oregon Trail

The original Oregon Trail was scouted as early as 1823 by explorers and fur traders. By the 1830's it was used regularly by mountain men, traders, missionaries and military expeditions.

On May 16, 1842 the first organized wagon train on the Oregon Trail set out from Elm Grove, MO. The trail ended in Oregon City, which was the proposed capital of the Oregon Territory at the time.

Many who began the trail branched off, ran into misfortune, shortage of supplies or became exhausted before reaching Oregon and settled in convenient or promising locations along the way. In 1843 an estimated 800 immigrants arrived in the Willamette Valley, OR. Hundreds of thousands of pioneers used the trail after gold was discovered in California.

The Oregon Trail was more than 2,170 miles long.

Answer: Trail of Tears

Part of President Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Policy of 1830 forced 15,000 people of the Cherokee Nation to march to the reservations in the Indian Territory. Of the 15,000, more than 4,000 people died from hunger, disease, cold and exhaustion. The Cherokee called this "Nunna daul tsuny" which translates as "the trail where they cried".

Answer: Pony Express National Historic Trail

The Pony Express could carry mail in 10 days over the 1800 mile route. It was originally called the Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express Company, formed by William H. Russell, Alexander Majors and William B. Waddell.

On June 16, 1860, about 10 weeks after the Pony Express started operations, Congress authorized a bill allowing the Secretary of the Treasury to subsidize a transcontinental telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific coast. On October 26, 1861 the telegraph was completed and the Pony Express was officially terminated. In November, 1861 the last letters were delivered over the route.

Answer: cholera epidemic

One of the worst epidemics of cholera hit Sacramento, CA in 1850. Doctors did not know what caused the disease or how it was transmitted. It killed 800-1000 people, including 17 physicians.

Victims would be well and suddenly collapse with a quick onset of watery diarrhea followed by death within a few hours from dehydration and acidosis.

The epidemic was rampant in the mid-west by 1849 and was carried west with the pioneers. In 1849, St. Louis, MO lost 4,557 people to the disease. Large cities had smaller death rates due to better sanitary facilities.

In the approximate period from 1830 to 1860 many thousands of people died in Europe and America from the disease. In 1884 the cholera bacterium was identified and isolated. It was realized that better sanitation and cleanliness effectively hampered the spread of the water born disease.

Answer: Army annihilated near Ft. Larimie, WY starting a three year Indian war.

Ft. Laramie was the a major outpost on the Oregon Trail. It was established as a trading post in 1834 by fur traders William Sublette and Robert Campbell. The U.S. Army purchased it in 1849 and used it as a base to protect and supply the growing emigration on the trails. It was a major link in the Pony Express, Overland Stage and transcontinental telegraph system.

On August 19, 1854 about 4,000 Brule and Oglala Sioux were camped near Ft. Laramie to get their annual distribution of goods promised by the U.S. government in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. A Mormon party was transiting along the North Platte River. A cow, belonging to the Mormons wandered into the Brule camp. The Mormons chased after it and became frightened at the sight of the Indians. When they reached Ft. Laramie, they reported the cow stolen by the Indians. In the meantime, another band of Sioux had killed the cow, thinking it was lost or abandoned and replenished their grocery supplies with it.

A detachment of 30 soldiers, under the command of Lt. John L. Grattan confronted the Indians and demanded the arrest of High Forehead, the man who killed the cow. The Indians offered to make restitution for more than the cow was worth but Grattan would not allow it. High Forehead refused to turn himself in and the Indians would not turn him in. Grattan gave the order to fire. Cheif Conquering Bear, the spokesman for all Sioux was killed in the first artillery volley. Enraged, the Indians launched a counter attack and wiped out all but one the detachment.

One young brave in the camp of the Oglala Sioux with Conquering Bear would remember this night and find his destiny. His name was Crazy Horse and he would become a great war chief culminating in the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876), known as "Custer's Last Stand".

Thus, the three-year, High Plains Indian Wars were started over a cow.

Answer: California Trail

Before the California Trail was established, the Great Basin had only been partially explored by the mountain men, Spanish and Mexicans. In 1832 Benjamin Bonneville, a U.S. Army officer requested a leave of absence to lead an expedition to the west. The expedition was financed by John Jacob Astor, who was a rival of the Hudson Bay Company. While Bonneville was exploring the Sanke (not snake) River in present day Wyoming, he sent a party of men led by Joseph Walker to explore the Great Salt Lake and find an overland route to California.

It is estimated that more than 250,000 pioneers traversed it. US Highway 40 and Interstate 80 generally follow the California Trail.

Answer: Butterfield Overland Trail

In 1858 Tipton, MO was the end of the Pacific Railroad and the start of the Butterfield Overland Trail. In 1857 the Post Office asked for bids on a mail route to California that would run twice a week and take no more than 25 days. John Butterfield, age 56, was awarded the $600,000 contract.

The Butterfield Overland Trail evolved into a 2,795 mile route with 200 way stations and relay posts. The route was extremely difficult to lay out but Butterfield persisted. The trail between Ft. Smith, AR and El Paso, TX was indefinite between rivers, springs and water holes. There were stretches with no water or vegetation from El Paso to San Diego. The route crossed some of the most inhospitable real estate on earth. From San Diego it went up the coast to San Francisco.

Butterfield spent more than a million dollars in the first year getting everything built, supplied and ready for service. The passenger fare from St. Louis to San Francisco was $200. Shorter distances were charged fifteen cents per mile.

Answer: Donner Party

The Donner party arrived late in the Sierra Nevada because they had taken the Hastings Cutoff around the Great Salt Lake instead of the regular route. The deviation from the main route delayed them due to rough terrain, weather, illness and disputes. This cost them three weeks.

Arriving in the Sierra in October, 1846 and low on supplies, an early snow storm caught the 87 people and stranded them. About two thirds of them camped by what is now called Donner Lake while the others camped at Alder Creek, about six miles away. As the blizzard raged they resorted to slaughtering their oxen for food but there was not enough meat to feed so many for long.

In mid-December, 15 members set out on snow shoes for Sutter's Fort, about 100 miles away to get help. They soon became lost and ran out of food. One man was too weak to continue and left behind. With no shelter in the storm, four more people died. The survivors resulted to cannibalism in order to live. Three more died and were eaten before seven of the original fifteen reached safety.

A relief party was sent out and found that 14 emigrants had died and rescued 21. They had been surviving on boiled ox hide and were very weak. A second relief party found 17 emigrants and learned that they had also resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. A third rescue party found 4 alive and a fourth found 1.

Of the original 87, 46 lived and 41 died. The last surviver arrived at Sutter's Fort on April 29, 1847.