Peter Skene Ogden: The Controversial Life and Legacy of the Canadian Fur Trader Who Explored the Pacific Northwest

The westward movement of Americans in the 19th century was one of the largest and most consequential migrations in history, and among the paths that blazed west, the most well-known is the Oregon Trail, which was not a single trail but a network of paths that began at one of four “jumping off” points. The eastern section of the Oregon Trail, which followed the Missouri River through Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming, was shared by people traveling along the California, Bozeman, and Mormon Trails. These trails branched off at various points, and the California Trail diverged from the Oregon Trail at Fort Hall in southern Idaho. From there, the Oregon Trail moved northward, along the Snake River, then through the Blue Mountains to Fort Walla Walla. From there, travelers would cross the prairie before reaching the Methodist mission at The Dalles, which roughly marked the end of the Trail.  The fur industry was by extension the face of every world power pursuing a stake in the West, and the rivalries were ruthless. The Mexican border during this era lay far north of its present position, and the Canadian border was as yet nonexistent, pending the outcome of competing British, American, Russian and Spanish interests. Despite the American outpost established early at the mouth of the Columbia River in what would become Astoria, Britain ruled as the preeminent military power in the region. That authority was evident in the vast Hudson’s Bay Company, which imposed its own judicial structure wherever it went, on land or by sea. The Americans responded with rival companies operating out of the Midwest and traveling over Lewis and Clark’s original route.