Beginning of Essay
CROSSING THE Great Plains The was an overland emigrant route in the United States from the Missouri River to the Columbia River country, was the way to travel back in the 1840’s through the 1860’s. In 1843 the "Great Emigration" began and the west w ....

Middle of Essay
.... followed the North Platte to Fort Laramie, then to the present Casper, Wyo. and through the mountains by the South Pass to the Colorado River. The travelers then went to Fort Bridger, from which the Mormon Trail continued to the Great Salt Lake, while the went northwest across a divide to Fort Hall, on the Snake River. The California Trail branched off to the southwest, but the continued to Fort Boise. From that point the travelers had to make the hard climb over the Blue Mountains. Once those were crossed, paths diverged somewhat; many went to Fort Walla Walla before proceeding down the south bank of the Columbia River, traversing the Columbia ....