The journey along the Mormon Trail (as it later became known) was treacherous, and
many pioneers were met with disaster
. Rattlesnakes, blizzards, confrontations with Native Americans, and starvation were just a few of the challenges they faced.
How was the Mormon Trail?
The Mormon Trail
broke south just to the west of the Continental Divide, and it terminated to the southeast of the Great Salt Lake
, in what is today Salt Lake City. The route was designated a national historic trail by the U.S. National Park Service. Mormons on their trek from Illinois to Utah, 1846.
What were people on the Mormon Trail looking for?
The Mormon pioneer run began in 1846, when Young and his followers were driven from Nauvoo. After leaving, they aimed to
establish a new home for the church in the Great Basin and crossed Iowa
. Along their way, some were assigned to establish settlements and to plant and harvest crops for later emigrants.
What did Mormon pioneers eat on the trail?
The typical pioneer diet consisted of
corn-meal mush, white or navy beans, salt-rising bread, dried fruit (if they had it)
, and any meat they may get along the trail. Things that packed well like flour or beans were the staples.
How many Mormons died on the trail?
Oncoming emigrants from Nauvoo joined them throughout the summer.
More than 700 Mormon people
died on the prairie from exposure, malnutrition, scurvy, tuberculosis, pneumonia, malaria, and other diseases during the winter and spring of 1846-47.
Why did they travel the Mormon Trail?
They chose
to travel on the north side of the Platte River in order to avoid competition for forage and food with the emigrants on the Oregon Trail across the river
. They met and talked with several mountain men along the trail who gave them varying opinions about the prospect of settling in the Salt Lake Valley.
What were the dangers of the Mormon Trail?
The journey along the Mormon Trail (as it later became known) was treacherous, and many pioneers were met with disaster.
Rattlesnakes, blizzards, confrontations with Native Americans, and starvation
were just a few of the challenges they faced.
Which trail was the only two way trail?
The Oregon Trail
was a roughly 2,000-mile route from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon, which was used by hundreds of thousands of American pioneers in the mid-1800s to emigrate west. The trail was arduous and snaked through Missouri and present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and finally into Oregon.
How many miles did the Mormon pioneers walk each day?
7:00 am: After every family has gathered their teams and hitched them to wagons, a trumpeter signals a “Wagons Ho,” to start the wagons down the trail. Average distance covered in a day was usually
fifteen miles
, but on a good day twenty could be traveled.
Why didn’t most pioneers ride in their wagons?
Teams of oxen or mules pulled the wagons along the dusty trail. People didn’t ride in the wagons often,
because they didn’t want to wear out their animals
. Instead they walked alongside them, getting just as dusty as the animals. The long journey was hard on both people and animals.
What did pioneers eat for breakfast?
Beans, cornmeal mush, Johnnycakes or pancakes, and coffee
were the usual breakfast. Fresh milk was available from the dairy cows that some families brought along, and pioneers took advantage go the rough rides of the wagon to churn their butter.
What desserts did pioneers eat?
As for desserts — they were simple, but many and varied. There were
apple dump- lings, rice and bread puddings
, soft molasses cookies, sugar jumbles, and mincemeat, pumpkin, dried apple, or custard pies. On special occasions we might have lemon pie. It was not necessary to skimp on eggs or milk.
How many pioneers are Mormon?
An estimated 60,000 to 70,000 pioneers
traveled to Utah during those years. Hundreds of thousands of other emigrants traveled to other points in the West, primarily California and Oregon.
What were the two main causes of death along the trail?
Nearly one in ten who set off on the Oregon Trail did not survive. The two biggest causes of death were
disease and accidents
.
Why did the Mormons use handcarts?
To save money and time, church leaders in
1856 urged emigrants use handcarts
. The carts were far cheaper than wagons and ox teams, and people pulling handcarts could move more quickly when they didn’t have to wait daily for their livestock to graze.
