Rev. Jason Lee and his party left Independence, on the Missouri frontier, on the last day of April 1834. They traveled with a band of trappers and traders, numbering about two hundred men. In this book are fascinating excerpts from the journals and diaries of Rev. Lee and others who traversed the Oregon Trail with him, relating their observations of the new land and its peoples. It was the beginning of a lifelong endeavor to establish mission stations in what would later become major settlements in the Pacific Northwest: Salem, the Dalles, Astoria, Oregon City, and Nisqually on Puget Sound. This book tells the story of western settlement from the perspective of the missionaries -- who bravely preceded most other settlers -- thus offering a unique view of the history of the Oregon Territory. Included are essays about Generals Lewis and Clark; the establishment of Forts Vancouver and Walla Walla; life on the Oregon Trail; the emigration movement; formation of government; the coming of Christian women to Oregon; Drs. Whitman and Spalding; the Ashburton Treaty; and resources and development of "Oregon, the Old and the New", including Washington, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, and the discovery, purchase, extent, wealth, and climatic conditions of Alaska.