Over on the Snake River Plateau the old Immigrant Trail split into its Oregon and California forks. The first thing the westering bull-whackers saw as they came up near was a retired prairie schooner parked broadside being used as a billboard. “Gold Fields” was boldly painted on its canvass. “Gold Fields” plus a big fat arrow pointing at 10:00 O’clock. At the fork was a second prairie schooner painted the same way and, straight up the trail so far away a person could hardly read it, was a little wooden sign hanging on a wooden stake. “Water,” the sign said. Below that was a straight and narrow arrow pointing at 12 O’clock high.
Some say that’s how Oregon got the smart ones and California the fools.
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