Perspective, Perspective, Perspective

Scott's Bluff, Nebraska, evoked dual emotions in travelers along the Oregon Trail.

First, it represented accomplishment. After two months of making 15 miles a day across an interminable prairie, travelers welcomed the sight of something -- anything -- different from the grasses. (One woman wrote in her diary that she wished to be attacked by Indians so as to relieve the boredom of the prairie.)

But this pass also prompted fear. Now the West really began, and travelers to the Pacific Coast were only 1/3 of the way through their journey. However hard the trip had been up to now would pale compared to what was coming.

Funny how there are two sides to everything.