Settlers and trappers were attracted to the Oregon region for its good farmland and forests containing fur-bearing animals. Mountain men like Jedediah Smith and Manuel Lisa helped explore the western lands while trapping for furs. The first white American settlers in Oregon were missionaries like Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, who established a mission to work with local tribes; their glowing reports about Oregon attracted more settlers. Beginning in 1843, wagon trains brought settlers westward on the 2,000 mile Oregon Trail, facing dangers like illness, rivers, heat, and snow while establishing communities along the route.

1. Chapter 13 Section 1
I. Why were settlers and trappers attracted to Oregon and the Far West?
Settlers and Trappers Were Attracted to Oregon
Oregon Country—a huge region west of the Rocky Mountains that included present-day
Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and parts of Wyoming, Montana, and western Canada.
– Good farmland along the Pacific coast attracted farmers.
– Fertile soil
– Mild temperatures year round
– Plentiful rainfall
– Forests further inland and in the Rocky Mountains attracted fur trappers.
– Beavers and other fur-bearing animals
At first, four countries claimed Oregon—United States, Great Britain, Spain, and Russia. Later,
Spain and Russia dropped their claims.
II. How did mountain men help explore lands in the Far West? New England merchants
stopped along the Oregon coast to buy furs to sell in China.
• The mountain men: These rugged individualists—people who follow their own
independent course in life—led dangerous lives. They faced long, cold winters, wild
animals, and hunger. Often they learned trapping and hunting skills from Indians.
• The fur trade: During fall and spring, mountain men tended their traps. Then in July,
many mountain men headed for a rendezvous—a French word meaning “get-together”—
at a place chosen the year before. There they met with traders, who bought the furs.
• Famous mountain men: In their search for furs, mountain men explored parts of the West,
then showed settlers the way. Jedediah Smith, Manuel Lisa, and James Beckwourth were
some well-known mountain men.
III.What role did missionaries play in the settlement of Oregon?
• The first white Americans to settle permanently in Oregon Country were missionaries,
including Marcus and Narcissa Whitman.
• The Whitmans built a mission near the Columbia River. They worked with the Cayuse
Indians. Soon other missionaries and settlers joined them.
• Missionaries attracted more settlers when they sent glowing reports about Oregon to
friends and family in the East.
• Some settlers carried diseases that struck the Indians. A measles outbreak killed many
Cayuses.
• Indians, angry over the spread of disease attacked the Whitman’s mission and killed the
Whitmans and 12 others.

2. IV. Whathardships did settlers face on wagon trains to the West?Beginning in 1843, wagon
trains left an area near Independence, Missouri, every spring and followed trails 2,000 miles
west to Oregon. The route became known as the Oregon Trail.
– People met there and formed themselves into wagon trains.
– Each group elected leaders.
– On the trail, people awoke at dawn. Everyone had a job to do.
– Often people discarded belongings along the way to lighten their wagons.
– Wagon trains faced many dangers—rain-swollen rivers in the spring,
blistering heat in the summer, early snows in the fall. The biggest threat was
sickness.
– Pioneers often traded with Native Americans for food.