Drawing near the end of the Oregon Trail

Title

Drawing near the end of the Oregon Trail

Description

Drawing by Pherne Brown Pringle, the daughter of Tabitha Moffatt Brown, the 'Mother of Oregon.' This sketch features the fording of a river during the last leg of her family's journey on the Oregon Trail. Copies of later drawings were accompanied in an album by journal entries of Pherne's husband, Virgil K. Pringle.
Virgil's journal indicates that their party finished their travels around November 30th:
'Commenced making a canoe, for the purpose of going to the settlements for supplies, in company with Robert Lancefield and Isaac Lebo; and continue our work until Thursday, 3rd December. I then start ahead for beef, on horseback, leaving the others to finish the canoe, and go down the river for flour, E. I arrived at Long Tom bath on the 4th of December; found it swimming; was detained until Sunday, 6th, in making a canoe; and crossing in the evening, met Orus Brown in company with some others, coming back with Pack-horses to bring in those behind. I returned with them, and was, from this, to the twenty-fifth of the month getting my family to Salem; the weather, all the time, rainy, and swails of water to wade every day; left my wagon and cattle at the forks of the river. I would conclude this journal by saying, that I was well pleased with the society and location of Salem, was kindly received, and such indulgence granted me as I needed; but our living is poor, can obtain nothing but bread and meat, vegetables being very scarce, and we nothing but labor to give.'

Identifier

PUA_MS14_17.jpg

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

Type

Still Image