DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED
Between the 1840s and 1869, 300,000 people crossed the American continent to California and Oregon. On the journey, they encountered animals new to them, bison, grizzly bears, antelope, jackrabbits and their favorite, prairie dogs. They also found feared animals such as rattlesnakes and mosquitoes.
The emigrants often anthropomorphized the animals, turning the creatures into representations of the family they had left behind or attached to the animals’ human desires for their futures. They knew the animals provided food for the journey, but they also saw hope for the future of the United States in the wild animals.