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102-655: A desert branch of the Serrano Native Americans called the Vanyume or Beñemé , as Father Garcés called them, lived beyond and along much of the length of the Mojave River, from east of Barstow to at least the Victorville region, and perhaps even farther upstream to the south, for up to 8,000 years in a series of villages, including the major village of Wá'peat . The Mohave's trail, later

204-553: A December crossing of the Sierra Nevada mountains over Walker Pass 35°39′47″N 118°1′37″W  /  35.66306°N 118.02694°W  / 35.66306; -118.02694 on California State Route 178 ) in the southeast Sierra, an arduous route used by almost no one else. Trying to find a different route, Chiles led the rest of the settlers in a pack train party down the Oregon Trail to where it intersected

306-780: A divide into the Big Basin drainage and followed a series of streams like Thousand Springs Creek in what is now Nevada to the Humboldt River valley near today's Wells, Nevada . They blazed a wagon trail down the Humboldt River Valley and across Forty Mile Desert until they hit the Carson River . Here instead of immediately attempting to cross the Sierra by following the Carson River as it came out of

408-471: A fur trading company at which U.S. trappers , mountain men and Indians sold and traded their furs and hides and replenished their supplies they had used up in the previous year. A rendezvous typically only lasted a few weeks and was known to be a lively, joyous place, where nearly all were allowed—free trappers, Native Americans, native trapper wives and children, travelers, and later on, even tourists who would venture from even as far as Europe to observe

510-536: A white settlement at Lake Arrowhead, during which buildings were burned. Three American ranch hands were killed at a ranch called Los Flores in Summit Valley, near present-day Hesperia. Tribal leader Santos Manuel led the survivors from the mountains to the valley, where they established permanent residence adjacent to the hot springs near present-day Highland . In 1891 the United States established

612-544: Is not timber enough in three hundred miles of its desolate valley to make a snuff-box, or sufficient vegetation along its banks to shade a rabbit, while its waters contain the alkali to make soap for a nation. At the end of the Humboldt River, where it disappeared into the alkaline Humboldt Sink , travelers had to cross the deadly Forty Mile Desert before finding either the Truckee River or Carson River in

714-582: Is now called the Carson River across the Carson Range that is east of what is now called Lake Tahoe —previously seen but not explored by Fremont from a peak near what is now called Carson Pass . They made a winter crossing of the Carson Range and Sierra Nevada in February 1843. From Carson pass they followed the northern Sierra's southern slopes, to minimize snow depth, of what is now called

816-824: The Bear River by following experienced trapper Thomas "Broken-hand" Fitzpatrick on his way to Fort Hall . Near Soda Springs the Bear River swung southwest towards the Great Salt Lake and the regular Oregon Trail headed northwest out of the Big Basin drainage and into the Portneuf River (Idaho) drainage to Fort Hall on the Snake River . About half of the party elected to attempt to continue by wagon to California and half elected to go to Oregon on

918-637: The Cahuilla and Quechan tribes, in 1812 the Serrano revolted against it and other local missions practicing Indian reductions . There is significant historical documentation of trade between Serrano peoples, other, non-Serrano Indigenous groups, and the Spanish in California during the 18th and 19th centuries. Diary accounts of trade from Franciscans and oral accounts from Native Serrano both discuss

1020-566: The Carson Range and Sierra Nevada that were the last major obstacles before entering Northern California. An alternative route across the present states of Utah and Nevada that bypassed both Fort Hall and the Humboldt River trails was developed in 1859. This route, the Central Overland Route , which was about 280 miles (450 km) shorter and more than 10 days quicker, went south of the Great Salt Lake and across

1122-538: The Columbia River as recommended by the Hudson's Bay Company trappers at Fort Hall. As early as 1837, John Marsh , who was the first American doctor in California and the owner of the large Rancho Los Meganos , realized that owning a great rancho was problematic if he could not hold it. The corrupt and unpredictable rulings by courts in California (then part of Mexico) made this questionable. With evidence that

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1224-575: The Great Salt Lake , they traveled west across the Big Basin through the rough and sparse semi-desert north of the Great Salt Lake. After crossing most of what would become the state of Utah and passing into the future state of Nevada, they missed the head of the Humboldt River and abandoned their wagons in Nevada at Big Spring at the foot of the Pequop Mountains . They continued west using their oxen and mules as pack animals eventually finding

1326-727: The Green River —the chief tributary of the Colorado River . After 1832, the fur traders often brought wagon loads of supplies to trade with the white and Native American fur trappers at their annual rendezvous usually somewhere on the Green River. They returned to the Missouri River towns by following their rough trail in reverse. The future Oregon/California wagon trail had minimal improvements, usually limited to partially filling in impassable gullys, etc. By 1836, when

1428-601: The Humboldt River and followed it west to its termination in an alkali sink near present-day Lovelock, Nevada . After crossing the difficult Forty Mile Desert they turned to the south on the east side of the Sierra until they reached the Walker River draining east out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They followed the Walker westward as they ascended over the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains roughly in

1530-574: The Malheur River in eastern Oregon which he then followed across Oregon to California. Another mixed party on horseback of U.S. Army topographers, hunters, scouts, etc. of about 50 men in 1843–1844 led by U.S. Army Colonel John C. Frémont of the United States Army Corps of Engineers and his chief scout Kit Carson took their exploration company down the Humboldt River, crossing Forty Mile Desert and then following what

1632-817: The Mexican–American War . After the discovery of gold in January 1848, word spread about the California Gold Rush . Starting in late 1848 until 1869, more than 250,000 businessmen, farmers, pioneers and miners passed over the California Trail to California. The traffic was so heavy that in two years the new settlers added so many people to California that by 1850 it qualified for admission as the 31st state with 120,000 residents. The Trail travelers were added to those migrants going by wagon from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, California in winter,

1734-676: The Mormon Trail from Fort Bridger over the Wasatch Range to Salt Lake City and back to the California Trail. In Salt Lake they could get repairs and fresh supplies and livestock by trade or cash. The Mormons were trying to establish new Mormon communities in Utah and needed almost everything then. The trail from Fort Bridger to Salt Lake City and over the Salt Lake Cutoff was about 180 miles (290 km) before it rejoined

1836-494: The Mormon Trail , namely the valleys of the Platte , North Platte , and Sweetwater rivers to Wyoming. The trail has several splits and cutoffs for alternative routes around major landforms and to different destinations, with a combined length of over 5,000 mi (8,000 km). By 1847, two former fur trading frontier forts marked trailheads for major alternative routes through Utah and Wyoming to Northern California. The first

1938-599: The Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA). Maps put out by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) show the network of rivers followed to get to California. The beginnings of the California and Oregon Trails were laid out by mountain men and fur traders from about 1811 to 1840 and were only passable initially on foot or by horseback. South Pass , the easiest pass over the U.S. continental divide of

2040-621: The Ruby Mountains in Nevada before getting to the Humboldt River Valley California trail. The severely water-challenged Hastings Cutoff trail across the Great Salt Lake 's salt flats rejoined the California Trail about 7 miles (11 km) west of modern-day Elko, Nevada . The party led by Hastings were just two weeks ahead of the Donner Party but did successfully get to California before snow closed

2142-790: The San Bernardino Mountains and extended northwest into the Mojave River area of the Mojave Desert and west into the Tejon Creek watershed in the Tehachapi Mountains . The Serrano populations along Tejon Creek were identified as the Cuahajai or Cuabajay , their exonyms by the neighboring Mojave tribe. Mountain camps were used for hunting. One such encampment was accidentally unearthed by

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2244-714: The San Manuel Reservation for the Serrano people, which took its name to honor of Chief Santos Manuel. The Serrano historically lived in the San Bernardino Mountains and into the San Bernardino Valley , and later extended northwest through east into the Mojave Desert , and west into the San Gabriel Mountains , the Sierra Pelona Mountains , and the southern Tehachapi Mountains . The Serrano populated

2346-775: The Snake River in present-day Idaho. From Fort Hall the Oregon and California trails went about 50 miles (80 km) southwest along the Snake River Valley to another "parting of the ways" trail junction at the junction of the Raft and Snake rivers. The California Trail from the junction followed the Raft River to the City of Rocks in Idaho near the present Nevada-Idaho-Utah tripoint . The Salt Lake and Fort Hall routes were about

2448-720: The Sweetwater , North Platte and Platte River Valleys connecting to the Missouri River . British fur traders primarily used the Columbia and Snake rivers to take their supplies to their trading posts. After 1824, U.S. fur traders had discovered and developed first pack and then wagon trails along the Platte, North Platte, Sweetwater and Big Sandy River (Wyoming) to the Green River (Colorado River) where they often held their annual Rocky Mountain Rendezvous (1827–1840) held by

2550-750: The Transverse Ranges , above Hesperia - San Bernardino . The West Fork of the Mojave flows into Silverwood Lake , formed by Cedar Springs Dam, which overflows in the Mojave River Forks Reserve area. On occasion, the lake releases water into the river. Downstream, Deep Creek meets the West Fork, forming the Mojave River mainstem immediately upstream of the Mojave Forks Dam , which provides flood control. Downstream of

2652-462: The Yurok . San Manuel Public Relations Manager, Jenna Brady, believes that these ancient trade relations should be maintained to both stimulate cultural growth and to stimulate economic security for Indigenous Californian groups. The tribe is currently analyzing prospects of new and ongoing inter-tribal relations, based on historic trade relations. Estimates have varied as scholars struggle to determine

2754-655: The "Southern Route" of the California Trail . Later, emigrants to California followed the same route during the winter months. In 1855, the Mormon Road was improved, and the route changed in places, becoming a major commercial wagon route between Utah and southern California, ending Utah's winter isolation until the railroads arrived there in 1869. In 1859, as part of the Mohave War , the Mohave people's trail

2856-629: The (lost) souls"). In 1826 Jedediah Smith was the first non-Native American to travel overland to California by following the Mojave Indian Trail. He called this the Inconstant River . A pack horse and livestock trail, the Old Spanish Trail , was established by Antonio Armijo in 1829 between New Mexico and El Pueblo de Los Ángeles , joined the Mojave River at its mouth near what is now Soda Lake . It followed

2958-756: The Afton Canyon area northeast of Barstow. The Afton Canyon Natural Area is within Mojave Trails National Monument , and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management . It is located 37 mi (60 km) northeast of Barstow along Interstate 15 between the Afton Road and Basin Road exits. Afton Canyon is designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern to protect plant and wildlife habitat , and to preserve scenic values of

3060-529: The American River Valley down to Sutter's Fort located near what is now Sacramento, California . Fremont took the data gathered by his topographers and map makers in his 1843–1844 and 1846–1847 explorations of much of the American west to create and publish (by order of Congress) the first "decent" map of California and Oregon in 1848. The first group to cross the Sierra with their wagons

3162-654: The Asistencia in Redlands, California . The Serrano built Mill Creek Zanja here, an irrigation system which provided water for most of the region. In 1834 the Mexican Alta California government forcibly relocated many Serrano to the missions. They suffered devastating smallpox outbreaks in 1840 and 1860. Due to the cultural suppression that occurred during the Mission Period, there

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3264-641: The California Trail near the City of Rocks in Idaho. This cutoff had adequate water and grass, and many thousands of travelers used this cutoff for years. The "regular" California Trail from Fort Bridger via Fort Hall on the Snake River and on to the City of Rocks was within a few miles of being the same distance as going to Salt Lake City and on to the City of Rocks via the Salt Lake Cutoff. In April 1859, an expedition of U.S. Corp of Topographical Engineers led by U.S. Army Captain James H. Simpson left U.S. Army's Camp Floyd (Utah) (now Fairfield, Utah ) in central Utah to establish an army western supply route across

3366-449: The California Trail route were discovered and developed by American fur traders including Kit Carson , Joseph R. Walker , and Jedediah Smith , who often worked with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and after 1834 by the American Fur Company and explored widely in the west. Canadian Hudson's Bay Company trappers led by Peter Skene Ogden and others scouted the Humboldt River off and on from about 1830 to 1840—little of their explorations

3468-438: The Donner Party down by about two weeks—Hastings successfully navigated the rugged Weber Canyon in about four days. The Mormon Trail over the Wasatch Mountains followed roughly the same path as the Donner Party trail of 1846 but they built a much better trail with many more workers in 1847 to get to the Salt Lake valley with much less hassle—this was their main route to and from their Salt Lake communities. The Weber Canyon trail

3570-403: The East, after 1859 the Pony Express , Overland stages and the First Transcontinental Telegraph (1861) all followed this route with minor deviations. Once in Western Nevada and Eastern California , the pioneers worked out several paths over the rugged Carson Range and Sierra Nevada into the gold fields, settlements and cities of northern California. The main routes initially (1846–1848) were

3672-502: The European immigrants' Mojave Road , ran west from their villages on the Colorado River to Soda Lake, then paralleled the river from its mouth on the lake to the Cajon Pass . Native Americans used this trade route where water could easily be found en route to the coast. Garcés explored the length of the Mojave River in early 1776. He called the river Arroyo de los Mártires ("river of the martyrs") on March 9, 1776 but later Spaniards called it Río de las Ánimas ("spirit river or river of

3774-567: The Great Basin to California. Upon his return in early August 1859, Simpson reported that he had surveyed what became the Central Overland Route from Camp Floyd to Genoa, Nevada . This route went through central Nevada roughly where U.S. Route 50 goes today from Carson City, Nevada , to Ely, Nevada . From Ely the route is approximated today by the roads to Ibapah, Utah , Callao, Utah , Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge , Fairfield, Utah to Salt Lake City, Utah (See: Pony Express Map and Pony Express auto route ) The Central Overland Route

3876-447: The Humboldt River and how to get to it was known to only a few trappers. When trapping largely ceased in the 1840s due to a change in men's hat style that didn't use the felt from beaver 's fur there was a number of out of work fur trappers and traders who were familiar with many of the Indians, trails, and rivers in the west. In 1832, Captain Benjamin Bonneville , a United States Military Academy graduate on temporary leave, followed

3978-427: The Humboldt River and the rugged, hot and dry Forty Mile Desert across Nevada and over the rugged and steep Sierra Nevada by California-bound settlers. In the following years, several other rugged routes over the Sierra were developed. Pioneered by Lansford Hastings in 1846, the Hastings Cutoff left the California Trail at Fort Bridger in Wyoming. In 1846 the party, guided by Hastings, passed successfully through

4080-399: The Mojave River's riparian area within the canyon. The Rasor Off-Highway Vehicle Area boundary enforcement has begun to reverse the heavy off-road vehicles use and damage that occurred in the riverbed and canyon. Restoration projects are ongoing and have already brought the river's "proper functioning condition" from a "non-functioning" to a "functioning at risk" status. The objectives of

4182-525: The Mojave River. The Mojave River Region begins in the San Bernardino Mountains and provided ease of trading access between the Serrano and other Indigenous groups, including the Mojave. The area of the Mojave Desert now and historically occupied by the Serrano used to have many oases, while it is now much drier and warmer. Serrano language is part of the Takic subset of the large Uto-Aztecan languages group of Indigenous people of North America . The language family historically extended from Mexico along

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4284-433: The Old Spanish Trail had developed before 1844, where the trail forked northeastward from the Mojave River and Mohave Trail, east of what is now Yermo, California running over Alvord Mountain , to Bitter Spring , then through Red Pass , to join the Armijo route near Salt Spring in the Silurian Valley . The fork of the trails there on the Mojave River, later became known as Fork of the Road . From 1847, Mormons pioneered

4386-401: The Oregon Trail to Fort Bridger , the Chiles company enlisted mountain man Joseph R. Walker as a guide. Chiles and Walker split the company into two groups. Walker led the company with the wagons west toward California by following the Oregon Trail to Fort Hall, Idaho , and turning west off the Oregon trail at the Snake River , Raft River junction. At the head of the Raft River they crossed

4488-421: The Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean drainages, was discovered by Robert Stuart and his party of seven in 1812 while he was taking a message from the west to the east back to John Jacob Astor about the need for a new ship to supply Fort Astoria on the Columbia River —their supply ship Tonquin had blown up. In 1824, fur trappers Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick rediscovered the South Pass as well as

4590-483: The Pleistocene. Conversely, Holocene artifacts found at these quarries indicate a year-long occupation of single sites and a combination of both foraging and hunting for sustenance. Materials harvested at the sites suggest high use of stone tools such as grinding stones. Lithic artifacts found in the Central Mojave suggest high exploitation of stone quarries. During the Gypsum period, subsistence strategies shifted to rely more on hunting, and early Desert Serrano adapted

4692-410: The Russians, French and English were preparing to seize the province, he determined to make it a part of the United States. He felt that the best way to go about this was to encourage emigration by Americans to California, and in this way the history of Texas would be repeated. Marsh conducted a letter-writing campaign espousing the California climate, soil and other reasons to settle there, as well as

4794-415: The Serrano people. California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about 1,600 mi (2,600 km) across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California . After it was established, the first half of the California Trail followed the same corridor of networked river valley trails as the Oregon Trail and

4896-416: The Serrano “exploitation” of the Mojave River, and its use to efficiently trade both food and beads. Coastal California groups traded shell beads and asphaltum to Southwestern groups, such as and including the Serrano, for ceramics and textiles . Coastal shell beads and shell jewelry are frequently found in pre-modern Southwestern burial sites. The traded materials are treated as “prestige goods” due to

4998-452: The Truckee Trail to the Sacramento Valley and after about 1849 the Carson Trail route to the American River and the Placerville, California gold digging region. Starting about 1859, the Johnson Cutoff (Placerville Route, est. 1850–1851) and the Henness Pass Route (est. 1853) across the Sierra were greatly improved and developed. These main roads across the Sierra were both toll roads so there were funds to pay for maintenance and upkeep on

5100-620: The U.S. Forest Service fighting a wildfire in 2003 near Baldwin Lake . Uncovered were artifacts of non-local jasper and obsidian , ash and charcoal, grinding stones, and fire pits possibly dating back 1,000 years. Serrano villages included Akxawiet, Cucamonga , Homhoabit, Jurumpa, Juyubit , Muscupiabit, Topapaibit ( Victorville ), Guapiabit ( Hesperia ), Paso del Cajon, San Benito, San Gorgonio , San Pascual, ( Rancho ) San Timoteo, Temeku ( Rancheria ), Tolocabi, and Yucaipa . The modern San Manuel Band of Mission Indians maintains ancient trade relations with local Californian groups such as

5202-418: The West Coast and into the Great Basin , with representation among tribes in Mesoamerica . They were a branch of the Takic languages speaking people who arrived in Southern California around 2,500 years ago. Serrano means "highlander" or "mountaineer" in Spanish . When the Spanish missionaries came into the region, in the late 18th century they helped create the tribal name Serrano , distinguishing

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5304-409: The Yellow River on several different ferries and trails (cutoffs) that led to or bypassed Fort Bridger and then crossed over a range of hills to the Great Basin drainage of the Bear River (Great Salt Lake) . Just past present-day Soda Springs, Idaho , both trails initially turned northwest, following the Portneuf River (Idaho) valley to the British Hudson's Bay Company 's Fort Hall (est. 1836) on

5406-533: The ambitious restoration project are to control exotic plants, particularly the phreatophyte Saltcedar - Tamarix (primarily Tamarix ramosissima and Tamarix parviflora ), and restoring critical desert California native plant community "structural elements" for a functioning flora and fauna habitat. Serrano (people) The Serrano are an Indigenous people of California . Their autonyms are Taaqtam meaning "people", Maarrênga’yam meaning "people from Morongo ", and Yuhaaviatam meaning "people of

5508-443: The ancestors of the modern-day Serrano groups. The Spanish founded Mission San Gabriel Arcangel in 1771, south of the San Gabriel Mountains and southwest of the San Bernardino Mountains. With the establishment of the mission, the Serrano lands claimed by the Spanish came under the jurisdiction of the mission and its subsequent outposts, or asistencias , in particular the San Bernardino de Sena Estancia , established in 1819. With

5610-430: The arid Great Basin, emigrants were able to get the water, grass, and wood they needed for themselves and their teams. The water turned increasingly alkaline as they progressed down the Humboldt, and there were almost no trees. "Firewood" usually consisted of broken brush, and the grass was sparse and dried out. Few travelers liked the Humboldt River Valley passage. [The] Humboldt is not good for man nor beast ... and there

5712-420: The best route to follow (the California Trail), which became known as "Marsh's route." His letters were read, reread, passed around, and printed in newspapers throughout the country, and started the first significant immigration to California. The trail ended at his ranch, and he invited immigrants to stay on his ranch until they could get settled, and assisted in their obtaining passports. After ushering in

5814-463: The bow and arrow. A much cooler and moister environment meant intensified occupation of the area. Increased moisture during the “Rose Spring” period, 1700-1000 BP, is closely correlated with continuous Indigenous occupation of the Western Mojave, followed by an abandonment of the area during a subsequent drought. The first Takic speakers are speculated to have arrived in the area around the Shoshonean Period, around 1100 CE. These are thought to be

5916-456: The dam, the Mojave River flows north and east, underground in most places, through Hesperia, Victorville , and Barstow . Near its terminus, the Mojave River flows out onto a large inland delta called the Mojave River Wash at the western edge of Mojave National Preserve . During heavy flows, the river reaches Soda Lake near Baker at the north end of Wash, and has reached Silver Lake , even further north, in historic times. For example, during

6018-419: The experience of the 1846 travelers was widely known) that during a wet year, wagons could not be pulled across the Great Salt Lake Desert; it was too soft. In 1848, the Salt Lake Cutoff was discovered by returning Mormon Battalion soldiers and others from the City of Rocks (in the future state of Idaho) to the northwest of the Great Salt Lake and on to Salt Lake City . This cutoff allowed travelers to use

6120-419: The first Oregon migrant wagon train was organized in Independence, Missouri , a wagon trail had been scouted and roughed out to Fort Hall, Idaho . In July 1836, missionary wives Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding were the first white pioneer women to cross South Pass on their way to Oregon Territory via Fort Hall. They left their wagons at Fort Hall and went the rest of the way by pack train and boats down

6222-497: The fur traders paths along the valleys of the Platte , North Platte and Sweetwater Rivers to South Pass (Wyoming) with a fur trader's caravan of 110 men and 20 wagons over and on to the Green River—the first wagons over South Pass. In the spring of 1833, Captain Benjamin Bonneville sent a party of men under former fur trapper and "now" explorer Joseph R. Walker to explore the Great Salt Lake desert and Big Basin and attempt to find an overland route to California . Eventually

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6324-437: The future Truckee Trail Route across the rugged Forty Mile Desert and along the Truckee River to the foot of the Sierra. They got over the Sierra at Donner Pass by unloading the wagons and packing the contents to the top using their ox teams as pack animals. The wagons were then partially dis-assembled and then pulled by multiple teams of oxen up the steep slopes and cliffs. Some wagons were left at Donner Lake . Once on top,

6426-415: The games and festivities. Trapper Jim Beckwourth describes: "Mirth, songs, dancing, shouting, trading, running, jumping, singing, racing, target-shooting, yarns, frolic, with all sorts of drinking and gambling extravagances that white men or Indians could invent." Initially from about 1825 to 1834 the fur traders used pack trains to carry their supplies in and the traded furs out. Sections of what became

6528-471: The middle of present-day Utah and Nevada through a series of springs and small streams. The route went south from Salt Lake City across the Jordan River to Fairfield, Utah , then west-southwest past Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge , Callao, Utah , Ibapah, Utah , to Ely, Nevada , then across Nevada to Carson City, Nevada . (Today's U.S. Route 50 in Nevada roughly follows this route.) (See: Pony Express Map ) In addition to immigrants and migrants from

6630-416: The mining districts near it, and its connection at the head of the toll road to Prescott and the mines in the interior of Arizona Territory . From 1863 to 1864, the Mojave River valley was a refuge from the great drought in California in those years; cattle of some resourceful ranchers of southern California were preserved by its resources. The river's source is in the San Bernardino Mountains , one of

6732-408: The more established Oregon Trail . The California-bound travelers (including one woman and one child), knew only that California was west of them and there was reportedly a river across most of the 'Big Basin' that led part of the way to California. Without guides or maps, they traveled down the Bear River as it looped southwest through Cache Valley , Utah. When they found the Bear River terminating in

6834-465: The most popular route was the Carson Route which, while rugged, was still easier than most others and entered California in the middle of the gold fields. The trail was heavily used in the summers until the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869 by the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads . Trail traffic rapidly fell off as the cross-country trip was much quicker and easier by train—about seven days. The economy class fare across

6936-469: The mountains they turned south, traveling east of the Sierra along what is now roughly the Nevada and California border—about where U.S. Route 395 in California is today. With scarce provisions, winter approaching and failing draft animals, by the end of 1843 they had traveled south almost 300 miles (480 km) on the east side of the Sierra before they abandoned their wagons near Owens Lake in eastern central California and proceeded by pack train to make

7038-415: The old Mohave Trail west to the Mojave River mouth at Soda Lake, to meet with Armijo's route coming south from Salt Spring . Sometime before 1844, a cutoff developed on the Old Spanish Trail that cut the distance traveled along the upper river by cutting across what is now Victor Valley, from the Cajon Pass to a crossing just below the Lower Narrows of the river. John C. Frémont intercepted this route to

7140-470: The party re-discovered the Humboldt River crossing much of present-day Nevada . After crossing the hot and dry Forty Mile Desert they passed through the Carson River Canyon across the Carson Range and ascended the Sierra Nevada . They descended from the Sierra via the Stanislaus River drainage to the Central Valley of California and proceeded on west as far as Monterey, California —the Californio capital. His return route from California went across

7242-547: The passes and stranded the Donner Party in the Sierra. As recommended by a message from Hastings after he got through Weber canyon, another branch of the Hastings trail was cut across the Wasatch Range by the Donner Party. Their rough trail required clearing a very rough wagon trail through thick brush down Emigration Canyon to get into the Salt Lake Valley. To avoid cutting too much brush in some places they used multiple ox teams to pull wagons up steep slopes to get around brush loaded canyon sections. Cutting this rough trail slowed

7344-615: The people from neighboring tribes who were designated as the Tongva (Gabrileño—Fernandeño) to the southwest, and Kitanemuk and Tataviam to the northwest. Excavations of two precontact quarries in the central Mojave indicate the lifestyles of early Serrano and Serrano-Predecessors. The quarries, dating back to the Pleistocene , indicate a much wetter landscape present in the desert than exists today. The high number of hunting tools suggest that local communities were nomadic hunters during

7446-495: The period of organized emigration to California, Marsh helped take California from the last Mexican governor, thereby paving the way to California's ultimate acquisition by the United States. The first recorded party to use part of the California Trail to get to California was the Bartleson–Bidwell Party in 1841. They left Missouri with 69 people and reasonably easily reached the future site of Soda Springs, Idaho on

7548-909: The pines." Today the Maarrênga'yam are enrolled in the Morongo Band of Mission Indians , and the Yuhaviatam are enrolled in the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians . Some other Serrano people are enrolled in the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians . The Serrano are typically divided into the Mountain Serrano and the Desert Serrano. The Desert Serrano historically occupied the Western and Central Mojave Desert along

7650-514: The population. The 1880 census reported only 381 Serranos, a number Helen Hunt Jackson thought was too low as it did not account for those who were living in remote areas. Kroeber estimated the combined population of the Serrano, Kitanemuk, and Tataviam in 1910 as 150. The Morongo Reservation in Banning, California , and the San Manuel Reservation near San Bernardino, California , are both federally recognized Indian reservations belonging to

7752-464: The precontact populations of most Native groups in California. (See Population of Native California .) Alfred L. Kroeber put the combined 1770 population of the Serrano, Kitanemuk , and Tataviam at 3,500 and the Serrano proper (excluding the Vanyume ) at 1,500. Lowell John Bean suggested an aboriginal Serrano population of about 2,500. As noted, smallpox epidemics and social disruption reduced

7854-498: The pursuit of good health, such as the hot sand pit. Women practiced health rituals to rid themselves of bad energy associated with taboo, such as menstruation periods. In 1867 the Yuhaviatam band of Serrano were the victims of a massacre conducted by American settlers of the San Bernardino Valley, during a 32-day campaign at Chimney Rock. The massacre was a response to a raid, probably carried out by Chemehuevi , on

7956-483: The remaining wagons were reassembled and reloaded for their trip to Sutter's Fort ( Sacramento, California ). They were caught by early winter snows and abandoned their wagons near Emigrant Gap and had to hike out of the Sierra after being rescued by a party from Sutter's Fort on February 24, 1845. Their abandoned wagons were retrieved in the spring of 1845 and pulled the rest of the way to Sutter's Fort. A usable but very rough wagon route had finally been worked out along

8058-615: The river to where the trail reached the foot of the mountains at Summit Valley and turned westward to pass over Cajon Pass and descend into the coastal valleys of southern Alta California . In 1830, Wolfskill and Yount pioneered what became the Main Route of the Old Spanish Trail, which followed a different route than Armijo, farther south just west of the Colorado River and then followed Jedediah Smith's path on

8160-523: The river, riding east southeast from Lake Elizabeth , north of the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains on April 20, 1844. Frémont named the river Mohahve after the Mohave people on April 23, 1844, although these people lived two mountain ranges away on the Colorado River. He had met six traveling Mohaves that day. Some early Mormon ranchers called it the Macaby River. Additionally another cutoff to

8262-540: The roads. These toll roads were also used to carry cargo west to east from California to Nevada, as thousands of tons of supplies were needed by the gold and silver miners, etc. working on the Comstock Lode (1859–1888) near the present Virginia City, Nevada . The Johnson Cutoff, from Placerville to Carson City along today's U.S. Route 50 in California , was used by the Pony Express (1860–61) year-round and in

8364-443: The rugged, narrow, rock-filled Weber Canyon to get over the Wasatch Range . In a few places the wagons had to be floated down the river in some narrow spots and the wagons had to be pried over large rocks in many places. Passing the future site of Ogden, Utah and Salt Lake City, Utah Hastings party proceeded south of the Great Salt Lake and then across about 80 miles (130 km) of waterless Bonneville Salt Flats and around

8466-618: The rutted traces of these trails remain in Kansas , Nebraska , Wyoming , Idaho , Utah , Nevada , and California as historical evidence of the great mass migration westward. Portions of the trail are now preserved by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the National Park Service (NPS) as the California National Historic Trail and marked by BLM, NPS and the many state organizations of

8568-501: The same length: about 190 miles (310 km). From the City of Rocks the trail went into the present state of Utah following the South Fork of Junction Creek. From there the trail followed along a series of small streams, such as Thousand Springs Creek in the present state of Nevada until approaching present-day Wells, Nevada , where they met the Humboldt River . By following the crooked, meandering Humboldt River Valley west across

8670-478: The same region crossed by Jedediah Smith in 1828. They were able to finish their rugged trip over the Sierra and into the future state of California by killing and eating many of their oxen for food. Everyone survived the journey. Joseph B. Chiles , a member of the Bartleson–Bidwell Party, returned east in 1842 and organized the first of his seven California-bound immigrant companies in 1843. Following

8772-430: The southern Sierra mountains via what's named now Walker Pass —named by U.S. Army topographic engineer, explorer, adventurer, and map maker John C. Frémont . The Humboldt River Valley was key to forming a usable California Trail. The Humboldt River with its water and grass needed by the livestock (oxen, mules horses and later cattle) and emigrants provided a key link west to northern California. One of several "parting of

8874-563: The summer by the stage lines (1860–1869). It was the only overland route from the East to California that could be kept partially open for at least horse traffic in the winter. The California Trail was heavily used from 1845 until several years after the end of the American Civil War; in 1869 several rugged wagon routes were established across the Carson Range and Sierra Nevada to different parts of northern California. After about 1848

8976-450: The surface remains dry most of the time, but extreme flooding is possible. For example, during a heavy El Niño in the Mojave Desert , rains caused the Mojave River to overflow onto overpassing bridges on February 22, 1993, the most damaged being on Bear Valley Road, where Victorville and Apple Valley are separated. The water comes to the surface only in areas with impermeable rock, such as the upper and lower narrows near Victorville and in

9078-693: The travelers down the Gila River trail in Arizona , and those traveling by sea routes around Cape Horn and the Strait of Magellan , or by sea and then across the Isthmus of Panama , Nicaragua , or Mexico , and then by sea to California. Roughly half of California's new settlers came by trail and the other half by sea. The original route had many branches and cutoffs, encompassing about 5,500 miles (8,900 km) in total. About 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of

9180-501: The trip, at a time when Chorpenning was using only the eastern segment (they reconnected with the main California Trail near present-day Beowawe, Nevada ). Greeley published his detailed observations in his 1860 book An Overland Journey from New York to San Francisco . In October 1860, the English explorer Richard Burton traveled the entire route at a time when the Pony Express was operating. He gave detailed descriptions of each of

9282-607: The unusually wet winter of 2004–2005, the Mojave River flowed on the surface to Silver Lake and filled both Soda and Silver Lakes to a depth of several feet. A shallow pass, around 30 feet in height, separates Silver Lake from the Silurian Valley that contains Salt Creek , a tributary of the Amargosa River and thus the Death Valley drainage basin. The water in the river is mostly underground. The channel at

9384-686: The wagon road that became the Mormon Road from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles , closely following the route of the Old Spanish Trail from Parowan, Utah . They followed the Mojave River from the Fork of the Road to the Lower Narrows and left the river for the Cajon Pass on the route Frémont had found. In 1849, Forty-niners late on the main trail to California used the Mormon Road as a winter alternative route to California, referring to it as

9486-468: The ways" that split the Oregon and California Trails was eventually established at the Snake River and Raft River junctions in what is now Idaho. The Raft River, Junction Creek in the future states of Idaho and Utah and Thousand Springs Creek in the future states of Nevada and Utah provided the usable trail link between the Snake and Humboldt Rivers. After about 1832, a rough wagon trail had been blazed to

9588-545: The wealthy contexts in which they are currently found by archaeologists and other researchers, indicating a healthy trade economy. The power of Indigenous trade relations hindered Spanish Colonial forces from regulating [taxing] “neophytes” and hinterland natives. Textiles woven by Southwestern groups were extremely valuable to Coastal groups, and historical accounts describe the long-distance trade of these textiles through Mojave desert traders. In 1819, Serrano were relocated to estancia throughout southern California, such as

9690-470: The western United States of about $ 69 was affordable by most California-bound travelers. The trail was used by about 2,700 settlers from 1846 up to 1849. These settlers were instrumental in helping convert California to a U.S. possession. Volunteer members of John C. Frémont 's California Battalion assisted the Pacific Squadron 's sailors and marines in 1846 and 1847 in conquering California in

9792-604: Was Jim Bridger 's Fort Bridger (est. 1842) in present-day Wyoming on the Green River , where the Mormon Trail turned southwest over the Wasatch Range to the newly established Salt Lake City, Utah . From Salt Lake the Salt Lake Cutoff (est. 1848) went north and west of the Great Salt Lake and rejoined the California Trail in the City of Rocks in present-day Idaho. The main Oregon and California Trails crossed

9894-624: Was about 280 miles (450 km) shorter than the 'standard' California Trail Humboldt River route. This Central Overland Route, with minor modifications was used by settler's wagon trains, the Pony Express , stagecoach lines and the First Transcontinental Telegraph after 1859. Several accounts of travel along the Central Overland Route have been published. In July 1859, Horace Greeley made

9996-461: Was improved as the wagon route of the Mojave Road. It followed the Mojave River from where the Mormon Road turned north away from the river at Fork of the Road, near Daggett, to where historic Camp Cady was located. It then followed the river to Soda Lake, where the road turned eastward to Fort Mojave , and in 1862 following the gold and silver strikes on the Colorado River, to Hardyville and

10098-496: Was judged too rugged for regular use without a lot of work—later done by Mormon workers on the first transcontinental railroad in 1868–1869. All of the Hastings Cutoffs to California were found to be very hard on the wagons, livestock and travelers as well as being longer, harder, and slower to traverse than the regular trail and was largely abandoned after 1846. It was discovered by some hurrying travelers in 1849 (before

10200-418: Was known. A few U.S. and British fur trappers and traders had explored what is now called the Humboldt River (named Mary's River by Ogden) that crosses most of the present state of Nevada and provides a natural corridor to western Nevada and eastern California. The Humboldt River was of little interest to the trappers as it was hard to get to, dead ended in an alkali sink , and had few beavers. The details of

10302-412: Was one remaining hümtc medicine man who revived religious ceremonies nearly lost to time in the early 1900s, as documented by anthropologist and ethnographer Ruth F. Benedict . Ceremonies such as the tuwituaim [dance] revive not only Serrano religious and spiritual practices, but communal and familial practices as well. Spiritual practices followed by female practitioners are often associated with

10404-676: Was the Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party of 1844. They departed from the Oregon Trail along the Snake River by following the Raft River to the City of Rocks in Idaho and then passed over the Big Basin continental divide and used a series of springs and small streams in what is now Nevada to get to the Humboldt River near where the town of Wells, Nevada is now. They followed the Humboldt River across Nevada and

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