ELMORE COUNTY, Idaho — The Oregon Trail brought thousands of settlers west and winded its way through Idaho.
There were messages left by the pioneers in certain spots along the way, including an area not far from Boise. It's kind of like early-day graffiti. I guess you could say the early settlers were busy along the Oregon Trail, marking their territory so to speak. Inscriptions and dates range from 1843 to 1882.
Guy Burham is somewhat of a local historian and has lived in these parts for a good portion of his adult life. Living so close to this historic trail, he takes a lot of pride in talking about it.
"Everybody feels the need, somehow, to mark where they've been at significant points in their life. Huge risk, huge adventure to take this trail. A wagon train pulled by oxen only had one speed pretty much up the hill down the hill doesn't matter to an oxen. The shortest time is what they were after. They were trying to get across the Blue Mountains before snowfall," says Burham.
So why write on the rocks? Over 150 years ago there was no telegraph, no pony express. So when the pioneers came along the Oregon trail, they stopped at the nearest rock and marked it with wagon grease to tell people behind them that they were there. That they had made it.
The Oregon Trail is a huge part of Idaho's history.
