Obstacles included
accidental discharge of firearms, falling off mules or horses, drowning in river crossings
, and disease. After entering the mountains, the trail also became much more difficult, with steep ascents and descents over rocky terrain. The pioneers risked injury from overturned and runaway wagons.
What are the dangers of the Oregon Trail?
Disease. Emigrants feared death from a variety of causes along the trail: lack of food or water; Indian attacks;
accidents
, or rattlesnake bites were a few. However, the number one killer, by a wide margin, was disease. The most dangerous diseases were those spread by poor sanitary conditions and personal contact.
What problems did the pioneers face?
Along the way, many pioneers faced very real dangers such as
disease, drowning, runaway covered wagons on steep hillsides
, accidental discharge of weapons, and hostile encounters. For many Native Americans, the western expansion meant risks and changes to their way of life.
What were the dangers which the pioneers faced Travelling West?
Pioneers were often caught in
severe thunderstorms
, which could include golf-ball sized hail, brutal dust storms, and even tornadoes. At least six pioneers were documented to have been killed by lightning strikes. The incredible heat from the treeless plains could cause severe dehydration and sunburn.
What dangers did settlers face as they moved west?
Once they embarked, settlers faced numerous challenges:
oxen dying of thirst, overloaded wagons, and dysentery
, among others. Trails were poorly marked and hard to follow, and travelers often lost their way. Guidebooks attempted to advise travelers, but they were often unreliable.
What killed most pioneers?
Diseases and serious illnesses caused the deaths of nine out of ten pioneers. Such diseases as
cholera
, small pox, flu, measles, mumps, tuberculosis could spread quickly through an entire wagon camp. Cholera was the main scourge of the trail.
What did pioneers do for fun?
They had races and played games such as
Sheep Over the River, Hide and Seek, Pull the Rope, and Steal-Stick Duck-Stones
. They also sang and danced. They made dolls from corn cobs and rags and used a bladder balloon for ball games.
What was the most feared disease on the Oregon Trail?
While
cholera
was the most widely feared disease among the overlanders, tens of thousands of people emigrated to Oregon and California over the course of a generation, and they brought along virtually every disease and chronic medical condition known to science short of leprosy and the Black Death.
How many died on the Oregon Trail?
Combined with accidents, drowning at dangerous river crossings, and other illnesses,
at least 20,000 people
died along the Oregon Trail. Most trailside graves are unknown, as burials were quick and the wagon trains moved on.
Why is the Donner Party Famous?
The Donner Party (sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party) was a group of
American pioneers
who migrated to California in a wagon train from the Midwest. … The Donner Party departed Missouri on the Oregon Trail in the spring of 1846, behind many other pioneer families who were attempting to make the same overland trip.
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.
How much would a wagon and oxen cost in today’s money?
A wagon & oxen cost a
minimum of $ 5,000
in today’s money. 14. 20,000 Americans will die on the journey west.
Where did pioneers come from?
American pioneers were
European American and African American settlers
who migrated westward from the Thirteen Colonies and later United States to settle in and develop areas of North America that had previously been inhabited or utilized by Native Americans.
What hardships did homesteaders face?
Homesteaders faced many hardships.
They settled land that was largely uninhabited
. They did not have the luxury or convenience of shops, roads, and other things associated with towns and cities. They often lacked neighbors.
What helped homesteaders survive?
What helped homesteaders survive? First by hand, and later with specially built ploughs,
they cut blocks of earth (sods) to use as building bricks
. … Sod houses were solid and strong. They had to withstand gales and storms, drought and blistering heat, grasshoppers and prairie fires.
Why did settlers move west?
Pioneer settlers were sometimes pulled west
because they wanted to make a better living
. Others received letters from friends or family members who had moved west. These letters often told about a good life on the frontier. The biggest factor that pulled pioneers west was the opportunity to buy land.
