Denny Party: Through Mountains and Desert

By June 1851, the Denny Party had already traveled more than a thousand miles from their homes in Illinois. The excitement of beginning their journey west had given way to the daily realities of the Oregon Trail—dust, illness, exhaustion, and uncertainty about what lay ahead.

Whooping cough continued to trouble two of the children in the party. In the 1850s, before vaccines and modern medical care, whooping cough was a dangerous illness, especially for young children. Arthur Denny, father of the sick children, was also suffering from ague—probably malaria—which had troubled him for years. His wife, Mary Denny, was pregnant while caring for her family and helping manage the wagon. Relatives in the group assisted her, but the responsibility must still have been overwhelming.

In early June, the party left the Platte River behind and traveled west toward Fort Laramie. Some members of their larger wagon company wanted to stop and rest at the fort, but the Denny party of 17 people wanted to travel faster. Their four wagons separated from the others and continued west toward the Sweetwater River.

There, the landscape changed dramatically. The endless plains gave way to rocky outcroppings, narrow valleys, and distant mountains. The emigrants were entering the rougher country that stood between them and Oregon.
Around June 10, the Denny Party reached Independence Rock, one of the most famous landmarks on the Oregon Trail. Thousands of emigrants had carved or painted their names on the massive granite formation, leaving behind a record they had traveled this far. Some of the Dennys added their own names to that long list. Louisa Boren helped Catherine and Lenora Denny write their names among the multitude of travelers seeking a new life in the West.

From Independence Rock, the party followed the Sweetwater River toward the Rocky Mountains. By the third week of June, the Denny Party reached South Pass, where they crossed the Continental Divide. Unlike the steep mountain passes many people imagine, South Pass was a gradual ascent through the Rockies. Still, it marked a significant milestone. From this point west, the rivers flowed toward the Pacific Ocean rather than back toward the Missouri.

But crossing the mountains did not mean the journey was becoming easier. After South Pass came the deserts of the Great Basin, where water was scarce and the landscape was dominated by sagebrush and dry, open country. Finding water for people and animals became a daily concern. After one grueling stretch of approximately thirty-five miles without water, the Dennys finally reached the Green River. The relief of finding a reliable water source must have been immense.

By July 4, 1851, the Denny Party reached Fort Hall in what is now Idaho. They had crossed the plains, climbed over the Continental Divide, and endured some of the harshest country on the trail. But the Willamette Valley—and the new life they hoped to build there—was still far ahead.

Can you imagine traveling in a covered wagon while sick or pregnant?