Call No: N91-H1h
Description: Wagon Bed Springs Historical Marker
Date of origin:
Type: Negative
Size: 2 7/16 x 5
Condition: Very Good
Content:
[marker] Kansas Historical Marker Wagon Bed Springs TWO MILES SOUTHWEST WERE THE LOWER SPRINGS OF THE CIMARRON, AN “OASIS” IN DRY WEATHER WHERE SHORTCUTS OF THE SANTA FE TRAIL CONVERGED TO CONTINUE UP THE RIVER. THE MOST POPULAR CUT-OFF TURNED SOUTHWEST FROM THE ARKANSAS RIVER IN PRESENT GRAY COUNTY. THE 60-MILE STRETCH BETWEEN THE TWO RIVERS, KNOWN AS THE “JORNADA,” WAS A PERILOUS ROUTE FOR MEN AND ANIMALS IN DRY SEASONS WHEN WAGON TRAINS OFTEN RAN OUT OF WATER. HERE ALSO FIERCE PLAINS INDIANS FREQUENTLY ATTACKED AND PLUNDERED THE CARAVANS. NEAR HERE IN 1831 THE NOTED WESTERN EXPLORER AND FUR TRADER JEDEDIAH SMITH, LOST FOUR DAYS WITHOUT WATER, WAS KILLED BY COMANCHES JUST AS HE REACHED THE RIVER. LATE IN THE HISTORY OF THE TRAIL A WAGON BOX SET IN THE WATER GAVE THE SPRINGS THEIR NAME. LITTLE REMAINS OF THIS FAMOUS CAMPING PLACE, BUT WHEEL RUTS OF THE OLD TRAIL MAY STILL BE SEEN IN NEARBY AREAS. ERECTED BY KANSAS HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION. [side of negative] Kodak Safety Film
Provenance:
Miscellaneous Info.:
Historical marker hangs from wooden posts. Grass and plains in background.
Other Info.: Might have been in the Jed Smith folder.Attached on same film strip as N92
Related to: N92-H1g (empty plains with yucca plants),
Subject: Arkansas River, Cimarron River, Gray County, Jedediah Smith, Kansas historical marker, Kansas Historical Society, Santa Fe Trail, State Highway Commission, Wagon Bed Springs Kansas,