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Breaching the Wasatch Barrier, 1846-68 Ron Andersen MHA (2006) Casper, WY

Breaching the Wasatch Barrier, 1846-68 Ron Andersen MHA (2006) Casper, WY. GEOGRAPHY : ONE DETERMINANT OF HISTORY. Wasatch Mountains. Impediments to Wagon Travel. James Clyman, 1792 - 1881. Lansford Hastings, ca. 1819 - 1870. Devil’s Gate, Weber River. Thurston. Canfield.

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Breaching the Wasatch Barrier, 1846-68 Ron Andersen MHA (2006) Casper, WY

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  1. Breaching the Wasatch Barrier, 1846-68 Ron Andersen MHA (2006) Casper, WY

  2. GEOGRAPHY: ONE DETERMINANT OF HISTORY

  3. Wasatch Mountains

  4. Impediments to Wagon Travel

  5. James Clyman, 1792 - 1881 Lansford Hastings, ca. 1819 - 1870

  6. Devil’s Gate, Weber River

  7. Thurston Canfield

  8. Ann Walker Pratt

  9. Silver Creek 3 Mile

  10. “A road could be built through the first mile of Silver Creek with relative ease. For the remaining 5.75 miles, the canyon was "quite narrow, side hills up close to stream which is full of Beaver dams, forcing us along left slope up bank, along an Indian Trail—The route is scarcely admissable for packs, & is entirely out of the question as a wagon route—The labor to make it would be immense, & the greater part of it is rocky." Cap. James H. Simpson, 1813-83

  11. Three Mile Canyon looking up hill from the middle

  12. Nov. 1849. When we reached the head of the canyon coming home, I said, "Now let me get out and walk over the bad places.“ He said, "No, I want to say a woman and baby came down in safety. …I promise you no harm shall happen to either of you.“ I did as I was told, and he drove the two yoke of cattle with large wagons attached, to the mouth of the canyon and home in perfect safety. Ann Agatha Walker Pratt, 1829-71

  13. Capt. Howard Stansbury, returning to the States after surveying the Great Salt Lake, wrote on Aug 29: “Followed up Pratts golden pass all day. … the road is very crooked. ... Had to unload the wagon thrice & take out a part of the team a dozen times on account of the crookedness of the road.”

  14. Why was Pratt’s Golden Pass Route abandoned in 1851?

  15. Why was Pratt’s Golden Pass Route abandoned in 1851? 1) It was longer by about 9 miles.

  16. Why was Pratt’s Golden Pass Route abandoned in 1851? 1) It was longer. 2) Mormon emigrants unwilling to pay the toll.

  17. Why was Pratt’s Golden Pass Route abandoned in 1851? 1) It was longer. 2) Mormon emigrants unwilling to pay the toll. 3) It was barely useable from the beginning.

  18. Why was Pratt’s Golden Pass Route abandoned in 1851? 1) It was longer. 2) Mormon emigrants unwilling to pay the toll. 3) It was barely useable from the beginning. 4) Severe weather in 1850-51 caused major damage to existing trails.

  19. Wilford Woodruff (last wagon company, 1850) Sat. Oct. 12, Traveled 8 miles over the second mountain and oh horror, what a road we had to repair the road near one third of the way torn out by the late storm. We were in danger of breaking our wagons.”

  20. Why was Pratt’s Golden Pass Route abandoned in 1851? 1) It was longer. 2) Mormon emigrants unwilling to pay the toll. 3) It was barely useable from the beginning. 4) Severe weather in 1850-51 caused major damage to existing trails. 5) A forest fire began in Mill Creek Canyon, 13 Aug 1851.

  21. 1860. The ascent [up Big Mountain] became more and more rugged: this steep pitch, at the end of a thousand miles of hard work and semi-starvation, causes the death of many a wretched animal. The road [in Emigration Canyon] was a narrow shelf along the broader of the two spaces between the stream and the rock. I could not but think how horrid must have been its appearance when the stout-hearted Mormon pioneers first ventured to thread the defile, breaking their way through the dense bush, creeping and clinging like flies to the sides of the hills. Sir Richard F. Burton, 1821-90

  22. RECONSIDERINGTHEGOLDEN PASSROUTE

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