Planning a five- to six-month trip across rugged terrain was no easy task and could take up to a year. Emigrants had to sell their homes, businesses and any possessions they couldn’t take with them. They also had to purchase hundreds of pounds of supplies including: flour .
What was it like traveling on the Oregon Trail?
Life on the trail was not easy. Many faced family deaths to sicknesses such as cholera, measles, and smallpox . Starvation, harsh weather conditions, and travel accidents were common and took their toll, no matter which trail pioneers chose to travel or how carefully they prepared.
What was it like to travel west How did they travel?
They faced horrible weather, droughts, attacks from Native Americans, diseases, and bandits . There was little in the way of any law enforcement, so families traveling west were pretty much on their own. ... The trip often took as long as six months, and they had to take care of the ox teams that hauled the wagons.
What were some reasons people travel out west on the Oregon Trail?
Travelers were inspired by dreams of gold and rich farmlands , but they were also motivated by difficult economic times in the east and diseases like yellow fever and malaria that were decimating the Midwest around 1837.
How did pioneers travel west?
The safest way for the pioneers to travel was with a wagon train . They would pack their most treasured belongings, furniture, and what they needed for the journey into a covered wagon. ... Wagonmasters led the train, cowboys rode along and helped the wagons as they crossed tough terrain and rivers.
Did pioneers sleep in covered wagons?
Some pioneers did sleep in their wagons . Some did camp on the ground—either in the open or sheltered under the wagon. ... Despite the romantic depictions of the covered wagon in movies and on television, it would not have been very comfortable to travel in or sleep in the wagon.
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.
How many people made the trip between 1800 1880?
More than 5.2 million immigrants entered the country between 1880 and 1890.
What was the main cause of death to pioneers on the trail?
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 was the greatest cause of death on the Oregon Trail?
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 .
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 is the Oregon Trail known for?
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.
Why did families travel the Oregon Trail?
Answer: While few women and children were part of the Gold Rush, families traveled together to Oregon to farm . Children were often born on the trail; parents sometimes died, leaving children to be cared for by other family members or members of the wagon train.
Where did most 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.
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.
What problems did they face on the journey west?
From crippling diseases, to wagon accidents, dangerous weather, wild creatures, and attacks by Native Americans , life was very difficult on the journey west.
