Page:Oregon, her history, her great men, her literature.djvu/293

 this task was undertaken by Ezra Meeker, who croated the plains in 1852, located a homestead on which he platted the town of Puyallup, and then moved to Seattle, where he now resides (1916). With an ox team, in 1906, he drove from the tidewaters of the Pacific to the tidewaters of the Atlantic establishing monuments along the Trail between The Dalles and Omaha, a distance of eighteen hundred miles. In assigning a reason for beginning at The Dalles, Meeker said: "I have always thought that here [The Dalles] was the real starting point, as from here, there could be no more shipping, but all driving."

Meeker's Equipment consisted of a yoke of oxen, and a wagon of the old type with axles of wood and the old time linch pins and steel skeins involving the use of tar and tar bucket. The bed was the ancient 'prairie schooner,' so callled because it was fashioned to serve as a boat for use in crossing rivers." His outfit was strikingly similar to that used by the Oregon immigrants, with but one exception—he had a kodak. With this. Meeker photographed important points to illustrate the story of the journey, which was later published under the title, "The Ox Team." His traveling outfit, together with his lectures, awakened much interest along the way, enabling him to obtain the co-operation of clubs, societies and schools in preserving the historic trail by placing stone monuments at important points under his personal supervision.

Influence Upon Children. Upon commending the interest taken by the people of The Dalles, Pendleton, Lee's Encampment, LaGrande, Baker, Huntington, Vale and elsewhere, the Oregon Trail Marker aptly said of die 800 school children of Baker, who contributed their dimes to erect a granite monument with a bronze tablet; "I am convinced that this feature of the work is destined to give great results. It is not the financial aid I refer to, but the effect it will have upon the children in causing them to cherish patriotic sen-