Last updated: September 28, 2021
Place
"Assistance on the Trail" Wayside
NPS/Walker Donnelly
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
Description of Wayside: Low-profile wayside that is 42 x 24 inches. It has a black rectangular base with two rectangular pillars supporting the wayside panel. The panel is framed in black metal. The wayside is located at the west end of the Oregon Trail Pathway, facing northwest and overlooking a system of slopes and ravines.
Wayside Layout: At the top of the wayside is a thin black banner with white text. Aligned to the left is "Scotts Bluff National Monument". Aligned to the right is the text "National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior," and finally the National Park Service arrowhead. The title of the wayside is below the black banner in large black font. The panel has a cream-colored background. Black text is arranged in three columns in the upper half of the wayside. Below the text are two images.
Wayside Title: Assistance on the Trail
Text: Soldiers were not always available to help travelers.
While emigrants were mostly self-sufficient, there were times when they needed extra help. Since there were few forts in the early years, aid often came from the feared "savages." Instead of attacking wagon trains as the eastern newspapers predicted, tribes often provided directions, offered ferry service, carried mail and traded for a variety of items among other aid.
By the 1860's, though, the tribes became frustrated with the loss of their way of life and the breaking of treaties. The result was more frequent conflict.
The army established Fort Mitchell, among others, in 1864 to help protect wagon trains from the growing unrest among the Native Americans. The 11th Ohio's Company F manned the adobe fort, located west of Mitchell Pass. Soldiers endured poor living conditions during the summers they occupied the fort. Their orders were to protect the pioneers. The fort was abandoned by mid-1866.
Consider the challenges you face during a long journey. Where do you look for assistance?
Image: A watercolor painting showing Native Amercans gathered near a teepee while emigrants pass their encampment in wagon trains.
Image Caption: During the 1840s and 1850s most encounters with the plains tribes were peaceful. Credit: "Crossing the South Platte" watercolor by William Henry Jackson; Scotts Bluff National Monument Collection.
Image: A watercolor painting of an adobe-walled fort with sandstone bluffs in the background.
Image Caption: Hurriedly built of adobe, Fort Mitchell was one of several forts established to guard the trail in the 1860's. Credit: "Fort Mitchell" watercolor by William Henry Jackson; Scotts Bluff National Monument Collection.
Wayside Layout: At the top of the wayside is a thin black banner with white text. Aligned to the left is "Scotts Bluff National Monument". Aligned to the right is the text "National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior," and finally the National Park Service arrowhead. The title of the wayside is below the black banner in large black font. The panel has a cream-colored background. Black text is arranged in three columns in the upper half of the wayside. Below the text are two images.
Wayside Title: Assistance on the Trail
Text: Soldiers were not always available to help travelers.
While emigrants were mostly self-sufficient, there were times when they needed extra help. Since there were few forts in the early years, aid often came from the feared "savages." Instead of attacking wagon trains as the eastern newspapers predicted, tribes often provided directions, offered ferry service, carried mail and traded for a variety of items among other aid.
By the 1860's, though, the tribes became frustrated with the loss of their way of life and the breaking of treaties. The result was more frequent conflict.
The army established Fort Mitchell, among others, in 1864 to help protect wagon trains from the growing unrest among the Native Americans. The 11th Ohio's Company F manned the adobe fort, located west of Mitchell Pass. Soldiers endured poor living conditions during the summers they occupied the fort. Their orders were to protect the pioneers. The fort was abandoned by mid-1866.
Consider the challenges you face during a long journey. Where do you look for assistance?
Image: A watercolor painting showing Native Amercans gathered near a teepee while emigrants pass their encampment in wagon trains.
Image Caption: During the 1840s and 1850s most encounters with the plains tribes were peaceful. Credit: "Crossing the South Platte" watercolor by William Henry Jackson; Scotts Bluff National Monument Collection.
Image: A watercolor painting of an adobe-walled fort with sandstone bluffs in the background.
Image Caption: Hurriedly built of adobe, Fort Mitchell was one of several forts established to guard the trail in the 1860's. Credit: "Fort Mitchell" watercolor by William Henry Jackson; Scotts Bluff National Monument Collection.