A Day with the Cow Column in 1843

Nu,ber 88 of a limited edition of 225 copies. Near fine, with slight rubbing to spine ends and toning to upper margin of front board, name written on rear free endpaper. Classic account of account of cattle-driving on the Oregon Trail. As recounted in the Oregon Encyclopedia, "in spring 1843, Jesse Applegate, his brothers Charles and Lindsay, and their families began an overland journey to Oregon. They and other relatives joined a large wagon train of about a thousand people assembled near Independence, Missouri. The train, the first sizable group to travel the Oregon Trail, was later known as the Great Migration. The number of wagons in the train proved unwieldy, however, and it soon divided into two major units. Applegate was chosen captain of the slower train, known as the "cow column" because of its herds of stock. While making the dangerous trip down the Columbia River, one of the boats overturned, and Lindsay’s son Warren and Jesse’s son Edward drowned. The Applegate families arrived at Fort Vancouver in November. They stayed near Salem in abandoned buildings at the Methodist Mission until after harvest in September 1844 and then moved to near present-day Dallas. In 1845, Jesse Applegate was elected as a delegate to the legislative assembly, where he had a leading role in forming a provisional government for Oregon.".…