201 years ago visitors showed up at my doorstep. Or,
at least, they could have.
It was in the winter of 1812-13 that Robert Stuart
led the seven returning Astorians on their journey from Astoria at the mouth of
the Columbia River to St. Louis. After traversing South Pass they found the
North Platte and followed it to the Missouri and on to St. Louis. To do this
they must have passed very close to my home a quarter of a mile north of the North
Platte and 13 miles upstream from Fort Laramie. It would take another 21 years before
Fort Laramie (then Fort William) was founded as a trapper trading post.
With this passing of the Astorians Robert Stuart and
his crew become the pathfinders of the route that later would become the Oregon
Trail. Fort Laramie would go on to become one of the most looked forward to
stops for travelers heading west.
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