Page EARLY FUR TRADE ON THE PLATTE, 1812-30 1 FORT WILLIAM, THE FIRST “FORT LARAMIE,” 1834 3 FORT PLATTE AND FORT JOHN ON THE LARAMIE 4 THE FIRST EMIGRANTS 4 THE MORMON MIGRATIONS, 1847-48 6 FORT LARAMIE BECOMES A MILITARY POST 6 THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH 7 THE FORT LARAMIE TREATY COUNCIL, 1851 9 THE EMIGRANT TIDE AND INDIAN TROUBLES, 1852-53 9 THE GRATTAN AND HARNEY MASSACRES, 1854-55 11 HANDCART TO PONY EXPRESS, 1856-61 12 THE CIVIL WAR AND THE UPRISING OF THE PLAINS INDIANS 14 PEACE TALK AND WAR ON THE BOZEMAN TRAIL, 1866-68 17 THE TREATY OF 1868 21 THE FIGHT FOR THE BLACK HILLS 24 LAST YEARS OF THE ARMY POST, 1877-90 27 THE HOMESTEADERS TAKE OVER 31 EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE FORT 32 GUIDE TO THE AREA 32 HOW TO REACH FORT LARAMIE 42 ADMINISTRATION 42 RELATED AREAS 42 FACILITIES 42 [Illustration: _Fort William, the first Fort Laramie, in 1837._ From a painting by A. J. Miller. Courtesy Mrs. Clyde Porter.] [Illustration: Fort building] _On the level land near the junction of the Laramie and North Platte Rivers stands Fort Laramie, long a landmark and symbol of the Old West. Situated at a strategic point on a natural route of travel, the site early attracted the attention of trail-blazing fur trappers, who established the first fort. In later years it offered protection and refreshment to the throngs who made the great western migrations over the Oregon Trail. It was a station for the Pony Express and the Overland Stage. It served as an important base in the conquest of the Plains Indians, and it witnessed the development of the open range cattle industry, the coming of the homesteaders, and the final settlement which marked the closing of the frontier. Perhaps no other single site is so intimately connected with the history of the Old West in all its phases._ _Early Fur Trade on the Platte, 1812-30_