The Oregon Trail
By: Cassidy Davis
Journal Entry #1
May 23,1843
My name is Matthew Anderson I am a minister from Maryland. I am so excited for my journey to begin and what it brings along the Oregon Trail. I am brining my family which consists of my wife Julie Anderson, my two sons James and Jacob Anderson, and daughter Madison Anderson.Our wagons that we are going to travel in our big but we have a max weight of 1000lbs. Every time I see a Native American I gain 5BFW's which is nice. To start off the journey we came across the Missouri River. We had a choice to take either the ferry and pay, or cross the dangerous river. We didn't want to pay so we chose to cross the river. As a dad with a family of six I needed to make sure we were all safe, and thankfully we were. As we continued our journey there was little water and drier land.
Later that day, we came across an opportunity to roll dice and gamble with Native Americans. This was about testing your strength. We did not win nor gain anything from this challenge.
Oregon Trail
painting by William Henry Jackson.2003
Families along the Oregon Trail
Covered wagons
Designed by: Deborah Cate
Journal Entry #2
Day 2 of our journey has started off successful and no one has gotten hurt. We started off by being challenged again by the Native Americans to balance books on our head while holding two books in our hands. We accepted the challenge and ending up receiving five blankets and five boxes of ammunition! Just what we needed.
Shortly after this happened we came across another river, the Cheyenne River, and this time we chose to take the ferry just to be safe. Our wagon group decided to pay the $45 and we made it safely. In the wagon, some people brought two or more barrels of water and some only had one barrel. Since water is so important to have with you, we all had to try to share. Later, we decided to hunt and got 30 pounds of buffalo. As the day came to an end we were tired, but we did not have a need for more food and water because we had plenty.
Journal Entry #3
Today was a good day. We haven't encountered Indians so far and no one has became sick which is very good. Our wagon group is very tired from walking and didn't get very much sleep. The nights go by faster than the days. We are almost there. Soon we will find new land and maybe even hit it rich, or just start off with a new life.
We started the day off by deciding which trail to take. We could choose the slow but most safest route, or we could choose the dangerous but quicker route. Our wagon train chose the one that seemed the safest and what a blessing, we were safe!
All of a sudden, we encountered another river. My family chose to pay $50 to make it safe. There was dirty water so it was a good thing our group had brought lots of water barrels. Are day was going great until I got hurt and ended up breaking my right arm. We had a doctor come check my arm out and said it was definitely broken, but should start to heal soon.
Journal Entry #4
This is the last day of our Oregon Trail journey and a lot happened. I am very glad it is coming to a end because it was a long, tiring, journey. I just have to keep reminding myself that we are on our way to a new life and new land.
We had one last choice for which trails to take and my group chose to take the route of Massacre Valley. We had to throw out food, water, money, some fire tools, and clothes to lightened the weight of our wagon. I have not lost a family member so far and no one from my family has gotten sick. My arm is starting to heal and is getting better each day. Then things start to go down hill. The weather has grown colder and we have all became weaker. The path we chose was the wrong choice. We had barley any food, water, or supplies left to last us and at this point, we knew we were all going to die and that is what happened. It was definitely a adventure filled with scary times, happy times, and excitement.