This
military post was a welcome site for the pioneers--the first
sign of civilization in six weeks. It was a unique respite
from the endless wilderness.
Ft.
Laramie marked the gateway to the Rocky Mountains. The emigrants
were now one-third of the way to the Willamette. Here, they
rested and regrouped. Some would give up the dream, turn
around and go home. But most made the decision to push ahead.
The
fort had humble beginnings. In 1834, fur trader William
Sublette built a wooden fortification here and called it
Ft. William. There was no emigrant traffic then--Sublette's
goal was trade with the local tribes. He offered alcohol
and tobacco in return for buffalo robes.
The
fort was soon sold to the American Fur Company, and they
rebuilt it as an adobe structure in 1841. The fur
trade was in decline by then and fur traders would be
gone from Ft. Laramie by 1849, when the army bought them
out and embarked on a major expansion. Their charge: protect
the emigrants from the increasingly hostile Sioux.
Perhaps
the most important confrontation with the Sioux occurred
in 1854 and became known as the Grattan Massacre.
It began innocently enough when a single cow wandered away
from an emigrant wagon train. When the cow showed up at
a nearby Sioux village, the tribe promptly ate it. An aggressive
Lt. Grattan and 28 men then left Ft. Laramie with a single
objective--punish the Sioux. The Sioux recognized their
error and offered a horse in return for the cow, but Grattan
wasn't interested.
He
ordered his men to fire on the tribe. The Sioux chief told
his warriors to withhold retaliation. Grattan fired again
and killed the chief. Strikes and counterstrikes escalated
into all-out war and the battles continued for decades.As
a result, Ft. Laramie grew into a large military complex.
There
was only one building at Ft. Laramie that warranted
a visit by the Oregon-bound emigrants--the post trader's
store. It was the only reliable post office within 300 miles.
Supplies could be purchased here too although prices were
outrageously high. Tobbacco, for instance, that could be
had for a nickel in St. Louis,
cost a dollar here.
Emigrant/Author
Francis Parkman:
"In one bargain, concluded in my presence, I calculated
the profits that accrued to the fort--and found that at
the lowest estimate they exceeded eighteen hundred percent."
Pioneer
James Clyman:
"Groceries and Liquors exhorbitantly high. For instance,
Sugar $1.50 per pint or cupful. Flour $1 per pint."
Luckily,
only a few of the emigrants needed to purchase supplies
at Ft. Laramie; most wanted to sell their excess. Their
overloaded wagons had become a greater and greater burden,
but most held on until Ft. Laramie--in hopes they could
earn some money for their extra supplies. But the fort trader
wasn't buying.
So
here the emigrants underwent wholesale dumping. The Trail
near Ft. Laramie was littered with heirloom furniture, stoves
and food. One emigrant saw ten tons of bacon by the side
of the Trail. Despite the temptation, the emigrants did
not pick up this valuable litter because weight was the
great enemy of their wagons.
Fort
Laramie (Park Service)
Official site of the National Park Service
