Meek Cutoff

Meek Cutoff was a covered wagon road that branched off the Oregon Trail in northeastern Oregon and was used as an alternate emigrant route to the Willamette Valley in the mid-19th century. The road was named for frontiersman Stephen Meek, who was hired to lead the first wagon train along it in 1845. The journey was a particularly hard one, and many of the pioneers lost their lives.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meek Cutoff