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Speaker 1: The eighteen forties brought forth a restlessness among Americans. Driven

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Speaker 1: by the promise of a more prosperous life, Countless settlers

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Speaker 1: embarked on treacherous journeys westward. Among all those pioneers, the

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Speaker 1: mention of one particular party always stands out, bringing chills

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Speaker 1: to those who hear the tale. The group derived its

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Speaker 1: name from George Donner, who set out from Springfield, Illinois

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Speaker 1: with his family and the Reed family in mid April

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Speaker 1: of eighteen forty six, heading towards California, and like other

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Speaker 1: wagon trains, they joined a larger party also heading west.

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Speaker 1: The first sign that things were about to go horribly

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Speaker 1: wrong happened in Wyoming. An experienced trail guide warned the

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Speaker 1: group about using a new shortcut they intended to take,

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Speaker 1: but the Donners in Reeds refused to listen, and that

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Speaker 1: caused a rift in the party. The two groups parted ways,

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Speaker 1: and the Donner Reed party set off toward the shortcut.

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Speaker 1: Shortly after another traveler got gave them the same warning. Unfortunately,

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Speaker 1: predatory business practices were common along the migration routes. A

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Speaker 1: local trading post operator, knowing both the dangers of the shortcut,

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Speaker 1: but also wanting to keep a steady flow of businesses,

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Speaker 1: had assured them that they were on the best route.

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Speaker 1: The pioneers took him at his word. The travelers learned

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Speaker 1: the hard way. New trails had to be carved out

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Speaker 1: and deep gorges had to be navigated with care. Even

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Speaker 1: as they slowly progressed, believing that things would eventually improve,

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Speaker 1: they faced even bigger difficulties on the trail ahead of them.

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Speaker 1: The path forward lacked water, and the group lost quite

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Speaker 1: a few oxen and other livestock, causing them to leave

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Speaker 1: behind wagons. In October, heavy snows blocked the path across

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Speaker 1: the Sierra Nevada Mountains, forcing them to make camp for

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Speaker 1: the winter. Nearly half of the party died from exposure

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Speaker 1: or starvation. Rescuers stumbled across a gruesome scene. The group

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Speaker 1: had taken to cannibalism to survive, but no amount of predators,

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Speaker 1: tretchist routes, or tales of tragedy could discourage the pioneer spirit.

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Speaker 1: The West was calling, so they would go there no

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Speaker 1: matter the cost. I'm Aaron Mankee, and Welcome to the

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Speaker 1: wild West. The West drew people like moths to a flame.

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Speaker 1: As Americans pushed further and further west. In the mid

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Speaker 1: nineteenth century, the allure of uncharted lands and better opportunity

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Speaker 1: beckoned pioneers from all walks of life. Families packed up

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Speaker 1: their belongings and embarked on long and dangerous journeys, seeking

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Speaker 1: to claim their slice of land and build a new future.

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Speaker 1: In the early nineteenth century, steamboats were the primary means

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Speaker 1: of travel and commerce, but as more frontiers opened up,

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Speaker 1: the wagon train became the icon of westward expansion and independence.

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Speaker 1: Missouri earned a reputation as the ideal starting point for

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Speaker 1: that westward migration. Merchants and tradesmen set up shops in

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Speaker 1: the town, offering travelers, wagons, draft, animals, and supplies. The

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Speaker 1: wagon train was a dynamic entity too, its size and

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Speaker 1: composition ever changing as the journey progressed. Families would join

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Speaker 1: or leave along the way, either merging with other trains

51
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Speaker 1: or striking out on their own. Now back then, there

52
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Speaker 1: were two types of wagons that were used for westward journeys,

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Speaker 1: the Conastoga wagon and the Prairie schooner. The Conastogo was

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Speaker 1: heavy duty and ideal for freighting, while the Prairie schooner

55
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Speaker 1: was lighter and more maneuverable, favored by immigrating families. Think

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Speaker 1: of the Conestoga wagon as the semi tractor trailer of

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Speaker 1: the wild West and the Prairie schooner as the station wagon.

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Speaker 1: Both required horses or oxen to pull them, though, and

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Speaker 1: could carry significant loads. Now, as you might imagine, the

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Speaker 1: westward journey was challenging. Wagon trains required leaders to ensure

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Speaker 1: order and coordination captain's life. Large groups decided routes, organized breaks,

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Speaker 1: and determined when to camp. The trouble was guidebooks were

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Speaker 1: not always reliable, so scouts and mountain men were often employed,

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Speaker 1: and wagon trains would vary in number, but twenty to

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Speaker 1: forty wagons was the easiest to manage. They traveled in

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Speaker 1: a straight line, formed a circle at night for protection,

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Speaker 1: and kept animals within the circle to prevent theft. The

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Speaker 1: wagon train symbolized hope, resilience, and the spirit of those

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Speaker 1: who sought a better life in uncharted lands. It represented

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Speaker 1: the unity of families and the courage to face the unknown. Now,

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Speaker 1: the first federally funded road, the National Road, had brought

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Speaker 1: some semblance of civilization to the west. The road stretched

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Speaker 1: from Cumberland, Maryland, to Saint Louis, Missouri. Don't think of

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Speaker 1: it as a highway like today, though. I mean it

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Speaker 1: was essentially a patchwork of sections built over decades, and

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Speaker 1: yet it served as a bustling highway for sprawling towns, villages,

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Speaker 1: and roadside establishments that provided respite for weary travelers. Travelers

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Speaker 1: had four main routes to the west coast. The Oregon

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Speaker 1: and California passages offered water and greenery, but they were

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Speaker 1: plagued by winter snow. The journey along the Old Spanish

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Speaker 1: and HeLa River trails had better weather year round, but

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Speaker 1: posed their own dangers, including extreme heat and long stretches

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Speaker 1: without water. But the Oregon routes probably carried the most risk.

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Speaker 1: The journey was fraught with diseases such as dysentery, cholera,

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Speaker 1: and smallpox. Accidents due to inexperience and exhaustion were just

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Speaker 1: as common, with unfortunate souls being crushed beneath wagon wheels

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Speaker 1: or accidentally shot to death. People in livestock frequently drowned

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Speaker 1: during river crossings, and yet the pioneers pressed on. They

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Speaker 1: left behind messages alerting followers to disease outbreaks, treacherous water sources,

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Speaker 1: and hostile Native American tribes. Dangerous, sure, but they all

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Speaker 1: shared the same vision, a land of riches looking back.

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Speaker 1: The spark that ignited this desire to move west occurred

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Speaker 1: in eighteen forty eight, when James W. Marshall stumbled upon

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Speaker 1: gold in the American River near Colomba, California. Despite attempts

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Speaker 1: to keep the discovery a secret, the news quickly spread,

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Speaker 1: unleashing a worldwide frenzy known as the California Gold Rush. Initially,

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Speaker 1: fortune smiled upon many as they mined streams and rivers,

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Speaker 1: but after a decade gold became more scarce. Disillusioned miners

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Speaker 1: set their sights on new horizons. In eighteen fifty eight,

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Speaker 1: a Georgian prospector named William Green Russell led a party

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Speaker 1: of adventurers to the Pike's Peak country of the Southern

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Speaker 1: Rocky Mountains. There they uncovered small deposits of precious gold dust.

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Speaker 1: The newspapers quickly dubbed the region the new El Dorado.

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Speaker 1: The call to action Pike's Peak or Bust, echoed across

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Speaker 1: the nation, and in the process, Colorado became host to

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Speaker 1: the second greatest gold rush in American history. A new

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Speaker 1: influx of fortune seekers raced to the area. Within a year,

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Speaker 1: the modest cluster of mud chink, log cabins and ramshackle

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Speaker 1: lean to is known as Denver, transformed into a vibrant settlement.

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Speaker 1: But the Rockies were aptly named, and it was only

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Speaker 1: a matter of time before disaster struck. It was too

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Speaker 1: good to be true. Back in eighteen fifty nine, the

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Speaker 1: discovery of gold and Cherry Creek near present day Denver

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Speaker 1: lured countless gold seekers to Colorado, but the San Juans,

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Speaker 1: with their towering mountains exceeding thirteen thousand feet, presented a

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Speaker 1: formidable challenge. The explorer John C. Fremont called them the highest,

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Speaker 1: most rugged, most impractical, and inaccessible of the Rocky mountains.

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Speaker 1: Surviving in this unforgiving landscape required skill and caution. Winter

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Speaker 1: could last up to nine months and brought the constant

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Speaker 1: threat of avalanches and rock slides. Navigating the conditions became essential.

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Speaker 1: Pack animals such as horses, mules, and burrows were relied

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Speaker 1: upon to transport supplies to high altitude claims along the

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Speaker 1: Coental Divide, and the perils of the terrain were relentless.

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Speaker 1: A single misstep could send a pack animal plummeting through

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Speaker 1: the snow, and sudden storms only added to the danger.

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Speaker 1: During winters, settlers and prospectors turned to skis as an

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Speaker 1: indispensable means of travel. There were other hazards too. The

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Speaker 1: sun's reflection off the snow could burn a traveler's eyes,

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Speaker 1: disorienting them. Miners resorted to blackening their faces or wearing

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Speaker 1: dark clothing as protection, while others shielded their eyes with veils.

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Speaker 1: Survival also became a group effort. Miners kept their cabins

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Speaker 1: stocked with provisions for stranded travelers during snowstorms. Essentially, it

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Speaker 1: was dangerous, but people adapted. The tragic news of unfortunate

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Speaker 1: accidents kept everyone from becoming too complacent. But when it

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Speaker 1: comes to human ambition versus the environment, nature is often unforgiving.

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Speaker 1: Such was the story of Alfred Packer. He was born

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Speaker 1: in Alleghany County, Pennsylvania, back in eighteen forty two. At

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Speaker 1: some point the family moved to Lagrange, Indiana, where his

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Speaker 1: father worked as a cabinet maker. Like other young boys,

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Speaker 1: Packer looked for a trade, becoming a shoemaker's apprentice. If

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Speaker 1: you want to conjure an image of him in your mind,

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Speaker 1: descriptions of him say that he had a fair complexion

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Speaker 1: and blue eyes. He wasn't particularly tall either, standing just

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Speaker 1: over five feet eight inches. As time passed, he suffered

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Speaker 1: from violent seizures, the symptoms of grandma epilepsy. Unfortunately, there

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Speaker 1: was no effective treatment. Despite this, when the Civil War

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Speaker 1: loomed on the horizon, he joined the sixteenth Regiment of

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Speaker 1: the US Infantry in April of eighteen sixty two. While

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Speaker 1: other men looked to avoid enlistment, Packer embraced the life

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Speaker 1: of a soldier, but those seizures earn him a disability discharge.

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Speaker 1: In late December of the same year. Undeterred, Packer enlisted

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Speaker 1: once again, this time in the eighth Regiment of the

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Speaker 1: Iowa Cavalry. He made unfounded claims of serving as a

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Speaker 1: scout for George Armstrong Custer, yet no evidence supports this.

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Speaker 1: His darker sidemmer during his time in Tennessee, and he

156
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Speaker 1: faced accusations of stealing from Nashville residents, But life in

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Speaker 1: the military wasn't to be. After his discharge in April

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Speaker 1: of eighteen sixty four, Packer ventured westward, working various jobs

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Speaker 1: to pursue his fortune. He was a harness maker, teamster hunter,

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Speaker 1: and wilderness guide. Each job required him to travel across

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Speaker 1: the rugged landscape, though he continued to grapple with his

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Speaker 1: debilitating epileptic Seizures and lead poisoning plagued him during his

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Speaker 1: copper mining endeavors in Bingham County, Utah, but Packer remained

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Speaker 1: resilient and he recovered by the fall of eighteen seventy three.

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Speaker 1: It was just in time, too, there was news of

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Speaker 1: silver strikes in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. You see,

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Speaker 1: it was at this fateful moment that he crossed paths

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Speaker 1: with Bob McGrew and George Tracy, two men preparing to

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Speaker 1: join a group bound for Colorado. Impressed by Packer's apparent health,

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Speaker 1: intelligence and claims of experience along their route, McGrew offered

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Speaker 1: him a place in their expedition, provided that he contributed

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Speaker 1: as a guide and helped with the horses and so

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Speaker 1: Magru Tracy, Packer, and sixteen others embarked on their expedition

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Speaker 1: from Bingham Canyon on November first. Along the way, Preston

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Speaker 1: Nutter and Oliver D. Lutzenheiser joined the group when one

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Speaker 1: of the men expressed concerns about their inadequate provisions. Packer

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Speaker 1: reassured him, claiming his familiarity with the terrain and ensuring

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Speaker 1: a trouble free trip of roughly four hundred miles in

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Speaker 1: just twenty days. But little did they know that their

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Speaker 1: journey would soon take an unimaginable turn. They carried hope

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Speaker 1: with them. The twenty one Explorers left on the treacherous

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Speaker 1: journey from Bingham Canyon to the San Juans in the

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Speaker 1: late fall of eighteen seventy three, but Alfred Packer's false

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Speaker 1: claims of experience led the men astray, and the party

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Speaker 1: quickly fell into misfortune and distrust. Packer's lack of competency

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Speaker 1: as a trail guid wasn't the half of it either.

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Speaker 1: He also squandered provisions and stole from other travelers. But

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Speaker 1: most unsettling to the group was their trail guide's fascination

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Speaker 1: with their financial assets. And yet despite it all, Magru

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Speaker 1: showed compassion for Packer and his struggle with epilepsy. Challenges

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Speaker 1: mounted as the journey progressed. Packer's lack of knowledge about

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Speaker 1: the Colorado terrain proved disastrous, exacerbating the scarcity of wild

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Speaker 1: game and the rapid depletion of their rations. Frustrations reached

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Speaker 1: a breaking point, and the desperate prospectors were left to

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Speaker 1: contemplate killing and consuming their own horses. Their dire circumstances

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Speaker 1: led them to the Chief Ourey's winter camp along the

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Speaker 1: Uncompagre River in January of eighteen seventy four. Offering shelter

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Speaker 1: and safety. The chief implored the prospectors to stay until

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Speaker 1: spring because of the dangers of winter travel in the area. Initially,

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Speaker 1: they heated his counsil and accepted the chief's hospitality, but

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Speaker 1: some of the men grew restless and decided to continue

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Speaker 1: their journey. Chief Ouray advised them about nearby outposts, warning

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Speaker 1: them of the hazardous routes, and shared information about a

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Speaker 1: cowcamp maintained jointly by the US government and the Ute tribe.

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Speaker 1: Despite the chief's repeated cautions, though the men dismissed his wisdom,

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Speaker 1: in early February, a small party led by Lutzenheiser broke away,

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Speaker 1: setting off on foot toward the cowcamp. Initially, Packer tried

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Speaker 1: to join them, but Lutzenheiser's distrust escalated to threats. He

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Speaker 1: even forbade Packer from following them. The group endured a

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Speaker 1: treacherous ordeal. Nonetheless, battling starvation and bitter cold, it took

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Speaker 1: them three weeks to reach the cow camp, and some

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Speaker 1: members teetered on the brink of death. Packer led a

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Speaker 1: second party of five men into the unknown. Ignoring Chief

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Speaker 1: Oui's warnings and drawing on his supposed knowledge, Packer guided

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Speaker 1: them across the snow covered mountains. Tragically, it would be

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Speaker 1: the last time anyone except Packer would be seen alive.

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Speaker 1: A month or so later, in late March or early

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Speaker 1: April of eighteen seventy four, a small band of utes

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Speaker 1: came upon a solitary white man camping by the Gunnison River.

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Speaker 1: Unbeknownst to the camper, the utes witnessed his every move.

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Speaker 1: They watched the man hastily discard an object into the river. Later,

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Speaker 1: that object was discovered to be a human arm. In

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Speaker 1: the harsh winter of eighteen seventy four, at the remote

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Speaker 1: Los Pinos Indian Agency near Koachitopa Pass, a shaggy, unkept

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Speaker 1: man stumbled upon the compound, and while he appeared like

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Speaker 1: any other weary traveler, something about him aroused suspicion. The

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Speaker 1: man identified himself as Alfred Packer and He said that

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Speaker 1: he'd been on a prospecting expedition with five others. The

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Speaker 1: men left him behind with a few provisions while they

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Speaker 1: went to find a settlement, but they never returned. He

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Speaker 1: bragged about surviving on rosebuds during his two month wilderness ordeal,

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Speaker 1: contradicting his well fed appearance. But it was here the

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Speaker 1: Packer's story really began to fall apart. Lutzenheiser's group Quinn,

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Speaker 1: incidentally arrived at Los Pinos around the same time, and

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Speaker 1: as you'd imagine, they had questions about their missing companions.

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Speaker 1: Seeking answers, the prospectors organized a search party. Along the way,

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Speaker 1: Packer's story changed. He claimed that one of his companions

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Speaker 1: had died due to starvation. Suspicion grew, and the expedition

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Speaker 1: was called off, sending Packer back to Suwatch, where he

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Speaker 1: was imprisoned. Not long after, though he escaped, The truth

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Speaker 1: unraveled when an artist on assignment for Harper's Weekly stumbled

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Speaker 1: upon the remains of the missing prospectors. The bodies showed

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Speaker 1: signs of violence, contradicting the original account. It would be

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Speaker 1: ten long years before authorities recaptured Packer, this time in

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Speaker 1: Wyoming during his transport back to Colorado, he provided another confession,

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Speaker 1: claiming a storm and lack of provisions drove the men

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Speaker 1: to desperate measures, and he admitted to killing a man

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Speaker 1: in self defense and then later eating the body to survive.

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Speaker 1: During the trial, well he was portrayed as a ghoulish fiend,

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Speaker 1: and the prosecution emphasized his violent behavior and greed. On

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Speaker 1: April thirteenth of eighteen eighty three, the court found him

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Speaker 1: guilty of premeditated murder. Judge Melville B. Jerry delivered the

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Speaker 1: grim verdict, condemning the Colorado Cannibal to hang just like

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Speaker 1: the Donners. Alfred Packer's story haunted those who set out

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Speaker 1: in an unforgiving landscape to seek their fortunes, and thanks

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Speaker 1: to his actions, he would never be forgotten. It was

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Speaker 1: never easy in the rugged and treacherous world of the

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Speaker 1: San Juans in the eighteen seventies, travelers faced significant risks

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Speaker 1: in their pursuit of gold and silver, withstanding the elements

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Speaker 1: and environment, met relying on others to come to their

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Speaker 1: aid if needed. The common need to survive instill the

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Speaker 1: sense of responsibility and trust among the miners, But Alfred

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Speaker 1: Packer's cannibalistic act shattered this trust, endangering the newcomer's fragile

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Speaker 1: control over their natural and social world. The case sparked

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Speaker 1: a series of legal appeals. Packer's lawyers argued that he

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Speaker 1: could not be charged under the new state laws since

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Speaker 1: the murders occurred before those laws were passed. Despite those appeals, though,

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Speaker 1: he was tried again in eighteen eighty five and found guilty.

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Speaker 1: He received the longest sentence ever handed down by an

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Speaker 1: American judge, as well a forty year imprisonment that likely

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Speaker 1: amounted to a lifelong sentence. Yet forty three year old

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Speaker 1: Packer refused to give up his fight for freedom. Something

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Speaker 1: totally unexpected happened. He gained public attention when a muckraking reporter,

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Speaker 1: Polly Prye, took up his cause. She championed his innocence,

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Speaker 1: highlighting character witnesses and appealing to the public sympathy for

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Speaker 1: his declining health. Packer suggested that his release could be

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Speaker 1: a profitable business venture, capitalizing on his associations with the

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Speaker 1: Wild West. Although he found some support, most residents of

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Speaker 1: the San Juans and other mountain communities strongly opposed Packer's release.

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Speaker 1: His guilt lay not in cannibalism, but in his betrayal

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Speaker 1: of the group's well being and the shared code of hospitality. Eventually,

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Speaker 1: though pressure from outside the Mountain communities led Governor Charles S.

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Speaker 1: Thomas to pardon Packer in nineteen oh one, he finally

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Speaker 1: gained his freedom, but it came at a cost. His

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Speaker 1: actions and reputation condemned him to an isolated life all

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Speaker 1: the way until his death in nineteen oh seven, but

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Speaker 1: stories like his and the Donners tend to live on.

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Speaker 1: Over time, Packer's name transformed from a symbol of horror

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Speaker 1: to an unlikely Western folk hero. In an unlikely twist,

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Speaker 1: the Colorado Cannibal became a source of pioneer pride, with

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Speaker 1: his name adorning various establishments and even a bust installed

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Speaker 1: at the Colorado State Capitol. Films, songs, and merchandise further

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Speaker 1: cemented his place in pop culture. In nineteen eighty nine,

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Speaker 1: Packer's supposed victims were exact doomed by a team of

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Speaker 1: forensic anthropologists led by James Starrs. The examination revealed extensive

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Speaker 1: evidence of violence and the removal of flesh from the bodies.

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Speaker 1: Most intriguing, the cut marks on the victim's backs, suggested

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Speaker 1: that the killer did not want to face them directly

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Speaker 1: during the gruesome act. Stars concluded that Packer was the killer.

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Speaker 1: Innocent or not, the story remains complex and unsettling. Either way,

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Speaker 1: it's a reminder of just how fragile our trust in

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Speaker 1: others can be, especially in times of survival. I hope

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Speaker 1: you enjoyed today's exploration of just how difficult the westward

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Speaker 1: journey was in the early days of the Wild West.

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Speaker 1: The risks they took, the pain they suffered, all of

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Speaker 1: it represented the costs they had to pay for a

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Speaker 1: new chance at a better life. But Alfred Packer and

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Speaker 1: even the Donners before him, weren't the only travelers worn

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Speaker 1: down by their journey. In fact, we've saved one more

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Speaker 1: tale of difficult travels, and if you stick around through

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Speaker 1: this brief sponsor break, my teammates Ali Stead will tell

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Speaker 1: you all about it.

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Speaker 2: George Washington Bush led an extraordinary life filled with daring escapes, courage,

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Speaker 2: and a quest for a better future. He was born

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Speaker 2: in the late seventeen nineties to a British West Indies

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Speaker 2: sailor of African descent and an Irish American servant. Little

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Speaker 2: is known about his early years, and what we do

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Speaker 2: know is that his Pennsylvania upbringing embraced the Quaker faith's

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Speaker 2: rich traditions, leaving him hungry for knowledge and adventure. His

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Speaker 2: search led him across the country, where he spent time

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Speaker 2: in the fur trade, and, like many men of the period,

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Speaker 2: he served in the military. Some even say he might

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Speaker 2: have fought in the Battle of New Orleans during the

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Speaker 2: War of eighteen twelve. Following the war, Bush was fascinated

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Speaker 2: by the world of fur trappers and voyagers. He joined

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Speaker 2: several ex peditions with esteemed companies like the Robudoux and

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Speaker 2: the Hudson's Bay Company. For a time, these travels took

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Speaker 2: him to the wild western plains and across towering mountain ranges.

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Speaker 2: At some point, the call to adventure might have taken

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Speaker 2: him all the way to the Puget Sound region. Over time, though,

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Speaker 2: he became tired of trapping, or maybe he just wanted

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Speaker 2: a change of pace. He settled the Missouri, becoming a

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Speaker 2: farmer and rancher, But life in the Midwest wasn't what

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Speaker 2: he'd hoped. Racism was a constant challenge. It didn't take

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Speaker 2: long for tales of the Oregon territory, with its plentiful

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Speaker 2: resources and boundless opportunities to captivate him. As he worked

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Speaker 2: in his fields and fed the cattle, he began to

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Speaker 2: imagine a new life on the West coast. Bush's longtime

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Speaker 2: friend Michael Simmons, also had his eye on the West coast,

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Speaker 2: and before long a few other families mentioned they were

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Speaker 2: thinking about moving. As plans began to come together, they

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Speaker 2: decided to call it the Simmons Party. Although the two

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Speaker 2: men would share leadership responsibilities. Bush had more money than

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Speaker 2: his fellow travelers and might have supplied the wagons for

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Speaker 2: the journey. It said that his wagon contained a false

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Speaker 2: floor where he hid his silver dollars. The Oregon trail

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Speaker 2: was treacherous, to say the least, and there was safety

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Speaker 2: in numbers. The Simmons Party joined up with another larger

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Speaker 2: wagon train, and the journey westward began in May of

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Speaker 2: eighteen forty four. The two thousand mile long trip took

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Speaker 2: many months, finally arriving at the Dales late that year.

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Speaker 2: Every one was filled with hope except the Bush family.

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Speaker 2: See Oregon prohibited black settlers.

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Speaker 3: It was a white's only territory, and any one who

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Speaker 3: broke that law would receive thirty nine lashes with a whip,

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Speaker 3: and not just once either. They'd be publicly beaten every

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Speaker 3: six months until they left. While that law was never

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Speaker 3: upheld and would much much later be repealed, the Bush

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Speaker 3: family took no chances. Instead, they decided to continue up north,

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Speaker 3: crossing into British Territory. Although they were hi white and

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Speaker 3: could have stayed put, the Simmons party chose to settle

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Speaker 3: near their friends and made the journey with them. The

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Speaker 3: party befriended the Nisqually tribe, even learning to speak their language.

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Speaker 3: Winters were hard, but the group quickly settled into their

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Speaker 3: new community. At long last, Bush and his family had

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Speaker 3: finally found the life they'd been searching for. Their farm

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Speaker 3: had acres of fruit trees, and he was becoming successful.

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Speaker 3: The two families erected a gristmill, allowing everyone to grind

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Speaker 3: their own flour, and set up a sawmill not too

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Speaker 3: long after. When others came to the area, Bush treated

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Speaker 3: them with the same generosity and acceptance he and the

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Speaker 3: Simmons party had received. But the racism that Bush had

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Speaker 3: escaped eventually caught up with him, nearly costing him his

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Speaker 3: claim on the farm he'd worked so hard for. Fortunately,

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Speaker 3: his reputation and the kindness he'd given others swayed legislators

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Speaker 3: to make an exemption. In eighteen fifty four, they unanimously

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Speaker 3: voted to grant special permission for George and Isabella Bush

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Speaker 3: to contind you owning their own property. In eighteen fifty six,

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Speaker 3: the couple continued to serve the community by providing the

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Speaker 3: first mower and reaper and more farm equipment down the line. Sadly,

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Speaker 3: a brain hemorrhage ended George Washington Bush's life on April

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Speaker 3: fifth of eighteen sixty three. An untimely death may have

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Speaker 3: taken him too soon, but the heart of his story

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Speaker 3: lives on. It stands as a testament to the resilience

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Speaker 3: and courage that defined the pioneers who ventured westward along

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Speaker 3: the Oregon Trail. It also celebrates the diverse individuals who

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Speaker 3: helped carve the foundations of the American West.

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Speaker 1: Grimm and Maud Presents The Wild West was executive produced

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Speaker 1: by me Aaron Mankey and hosted by Aaron Mankey and

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Speaker 1: Alexandra Steed. Writing for this season was provided by Michelle Mudo,

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Speaker 1: with research by Alexandra Steed, Sam Alberty, Cassandra de Alba,

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Speaker 1: and Harry Marx. Fact Checking was performed by Jamie Vargas,

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Speaker 1: with sensitivity reading by Stacy Parshall Jensen. Production assistance was

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Speaker 1: provided by Josh Thain, Jesse Funk, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick.

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Speaker 1: To learn more about this and other shows from Grim

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Speaker 1: and Mild and iHeartRadio, visit Grimandmild dot com