PBA Galleries

Classic overland narrative, an account of the Oregon emigration of 1843, which the author made when he was but six (or nine, according to some sources). Jesse A. Applegate was the son of Lindsay Applegate and the nephew of Jesse Applegate Applegate. The latter was the leader of the party, and blazed the Applegate Trail. The two Jesse Applegates are often confused, confounded by the incorporation of the present work in the publication of the senior Applegate's "A Day with the Cow Column" (Chicago: 1934) without any distinction being made between the two. Moreover, some sources indicated the two are father and son (Mintz, quoting John Howell Books). The latter source does state that "they settled in the Willamette Valley, becoming prosperous and influential pioneers in the Territory. His reminiscences provided an interesting, detailed, and perceptive record of the crossing and the first decade of life in the Oregon country, which was still a dangerous and hostile environment for the frontiersman." Adams Herd 109; Graff 75; Howes A294; Mintz 10.