=The “Forty-niners.”= In 1848 a man named James Marshall, who was running a sawmill near the present site of Sacramento, California, discovered shining particles of gold in the mill race, and it was soon found that there were rich gold fields in that part of the country. The news spread, not rapidly as it would to-day, for there were no railroad or telegraph lines west of the Mississippi River and only a few east of it, but within a short time the whole country and even Europe had heard of the California gold fields, and people from all parts of the world began to make their way to the Pacific coast. Some went by water but more of them made the journey overland. Long lines of wagons, or prairie schooners as they were called, wound their way across the plains and over the mountains to California. It is estimated that ninety thousand people passed through Kansas on their way to California during the two years 1848 and 1849, a few of them to gain wealth, but thousands to be disappointed, and many to perish on the way. =The Oregon Trail.= The Oregon settlers, the Mormons, and the gold seekers entered Kansas at or near Atchison, Leavenworth, St. Joseph, or Westport, and moved toward the northwest, crossed the border into Nebraska, and went on across the mountains. The road worn by this westward-moving stream of emigrants was known as the Oregon Trail, though it was sometimes called the Mormon Trail, and more often the California Road. For two thousand miles the Oregon Trail stretched away through an utter wilderness, and every mile of it came to be the scene of hardship and suffering, of battle, or of death. It was one of the most remarkable highways in history. It had several branches, and in many places it followed different routes at different times. The largest number of travelers over this Trail entered Kansas at Westport and followed for a short distance the Santa Fe Trail. Near the present town of Gardner stood a signboard on which were the words, “Road to Oregon.” At this point the two historic highways divided. It has been said that, “never before nor since has so simple an announcement pointed the way to so long and hard a journey.” SUMMARY