The Last Wagon Train West

This is the story of the emigrants following the Oregon Trail in the year of 1867. One of families is the Silas Martin family and daughter Mary who keeps a diary of events along the trail. Mary had two suitors during the trip-flamboyant John James Fairfield, 19-year-old son of Capt. Fairfield and James Monroe Cromwell, son of Rev. Cromwell.

In the spring 1867, construction on the transcontinental railroad had reached Fort Kearney, Nebraska. Some emigrants were now using the railroad for their westward push. In early spring of 1867, Silas Martin joined 20 other emigrant wagons and 2 cargo wagons at Independence Missouri to begin their trek up the trail. Capt. Zeb Fairfield is the wagon master. Capt. Fairfield has a secret contract with the Army to bring 200 Spencer repeating rifles and $200,000 in gold to General Armstrong Custer bivouacked at Fort Hall by September. The first attack on the wagon train was by the Platte River by a remnant of the Quantrill Raiders and the Cole Younger gang. As the wagon train moved westward, it moved into an area known as the High Plains Indian Wars as designated by the Army. The Sioux and Arapahoe Indians joined forces to attack settlers and wagon trains. The first Indian attack was before Fort Laramie by a large number of Indians. Several emigrants were killed and several dozen Indians. A small Indian war party attacked emigrants in a broken down wagon with one emigrant killed and several Indians. At Fort Hall, four the wagons turn north to Fort Henry. The first days the wagons were accompanied by the Calvary due to an uprising by any Blackfoot Indians. On the third night, a Blackfoot Indian slipped into the camp and attempted to kill Mary.