[2] At that time, the Oregon Trail was still in its infancy, and the final hundred or so miles beyond the Wascopam Mission had to be traveled by boat through dangerous winds, rapids, and eddies on the Columbia River:[3] Whirlpools looking like deep basins in the river, the lapping, splashing, and rolling of waves ...

"[2] Additional fatalities in the 1844 and 1845 immigration seasons further stirred up settlers and inspired many to search for alternate routes.

The party then split, leaving some to rest,[8] while the remainder followed the Humboldt River northeast[4] and along the California Trail to Fort Hall.

[2] Upon their return, the combined party began to blaze a trail for wagons, though they were ill-prepared for such an effort, having few tools, and consisting of mostly weary emigrants.

They also faced an early winter—one which set snowfall records and stranded the Donner Party in the Sierra Nevada, a few hundred miles to the south.

Low supplies, scarce game, dense brush and trees, and difficulty lighting warming fires slowed progress considerably, separating the emigrants over many miles.

[4] Lindsay made a donation land claim in Yoncalla (between Eugene and Roseburg) in 1846 and established a grist mill.

In January 1873, along with several other settlers, including Samuel Asahel Clark and R. H. Kincaid, Lindsay successfully proposed a peace commission to stop the war's spread.

[1] He had five other children who predeceased him: Warren (who drowned in the Columbia River), Theresa, Annie, Frank, and Jerome.

[13] Applegate wrote Notes and Reminiscences of Laying Out and Establishing the Old Emigrant Road into Southern Oregon in the Year 1846.