The Oregon Trail
In early Spring, from 1843 to 1869, emigrant campers would enter Independence, Missouri to set up camp and wait for the grass to grow. From Missouri, the pioneers would make the 2,170 mile journey to Oregon, and start a new life and set up farms, or continue on to California and set off for the gold mines. The journey was treacherous, with one in ten people dying during the trip.
While waiting in Independence for the perfect time to start their adventure, (if they left to early, the grass would not be grown, and the animals would have nothing to eat, and if they left to late they would get caught by the winter snows) the pioneers would stock up on supplies, such as food, animals, spare wagon parts, etc. Most settles traveled in farm wagons, a four feet by ten feet wagon with a cotton cover, equipped with a thousand pounds of food, tool boxes, water containers, clothing, and other basic necessities.
Eventually it was the perfect time to leave. The settlers all flooded to leave at once, which usually created a traffic jam. As their journey progressed, the travelers would find they had over packed, and were forced to lighten their wagons by dumping things on the side of the road. Even with their stuff thrown overboard, the wagons would still be too heavy, and many pioneers had to walk the trail.
The Oregon trail was not easy, and the pioneers faced many perils and accidents along the way. The most common unavoidable casualties were being run over by the wagon and accidental gun shots from people fooling around with their guns in the wagons. Another problem they faced was cholera, a quick killing infection of the small intestine which causes watery diarrhea. Some wagon trains lost 2/3s of their party to cholera. The weather also proved to be a challenge, for since the pioneers left in the summer, they had to deal with thunderstorms, lightening, and hail.
The settlers knew they were one third of the way through with their trip when they passed Chimney Rock. Another major landmark was Fort Laramie, where they would stop and restock their supplies. From there they would continue on to Fort Bridger, and leg out the last third of their journey. The last part was the hardest, because the pioneers had to crush tricky rapids, and many lost their lives to the grave waters.
The Oregon trail was not easy, and the pioneers faced many perils and accidents along the way. The most common unavoidable casualties were being run over by the wagon and accidental gun shots from people fooling around with their guns in the wagons. Another problem they faced was cholera, a quick killing infection of the small intestine which causes watery diarrhea. Some wagon trains lost 2/3s of their party to cholera. The weather also proved to be a challenge, for since the pioneers left in the summer, they had to deal with thunderstorms, lightening, and hail.
The settlers knew they were one third of the way through with their trip when they passed Chimney Rock. Another major landmark was Fort Laramie, where they would stop and restock their supplies. From there they would continue on to Fort Bridger, and leg out the last third of their journey. The last part was the hardest, because the pioneers had to crush tricky rapids, and many lost their lives to the grave waters.
Finally the remaining settlers made it to Oregon. Once there they would start their new lives, by setting up farms, or hiking to California and try their hands at gold mining.