Oregon trail journal
Entry #1
Our first major challenge was the Missouri river crossing. We were anticipating it, and wishing it could wait. But when we finally saw the waters we were relived. There was a native with a ferry. We paid him 25 bucks and he got our wagon safely across. A few miles from that point, we saw a few animals and i decided to go for a hunt. Unfortunately, my years as a blacksmith didn't treat my aiming very well, nevertheless, I got 15 pounds of meat. We came across a indian and our wagon train took a gamble, we all won 25 dollars from the tribe chief.
Entry #2
Following on, we came across another patch of ground with animals for hunting. Most of us decided to hunt, I did but this time, failed and didn't get any meat. While someone on our wagon train got 50 pounds of buffalo. I congratulated him on the good shot, and he even offered me some of the meat due to my large family, I thanked him but turned down the offer. After that we came to a dilemma. The trail split into 2. The first option was shorter, but the natives there were more dangerous. The second option was longer, but safer. We decided to go the shorter, more dangerous way.
Entry #3
Following the incident with my son's leg we had a relatively peaceful time. But then we came across another dilemma. We had to cross a desert. We made a count of how many barrels of water he had left and figure that we could make it across. Even though it was a tough, harsh, difficult time and we were tired more often then not, we made it across.
After the desert we were faced with a second trail splitting. But this time it was split into three parts. Again the shortest way was the most dangerous, we heard from travelers that wagons on that trail rarely made it. The longest way was again the safest and the middle one had a few hostile natives and was the second fastest. After a long debate, we decided to go again, through the dangerous way. A trail called Massacre Canyon.
Entry #4
Our destination was now close, but winter was now here and we were faced with our last dilemma. We heard from travelers that the passage leading to Oregon itself, might be covered with snow. If it was we were going to be trapped there with no way out. If it wasn't we could make it into Oregon. So the question was, should we head straight for the passage and hope for the best, send scouts ahead to check, or double back to a homestead we left a few weeks ago and be safe for certain. The only downside of going back was that if the passage was intact open, we could lose all the good land. After all the members in our wagon train stated their opinion, we decided to head straight for the passage. When we got there, under heavy snow, we managed to pull through and cross the passage without anybody getting hurt. Which is almost a miracle. We then made it into Oregon. And with that I concluded my experiences on the Oregon trail.
Praire Schooner
The Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail marker
Brennan, Mark. Oregon Trail Marker. Digital image. Flickr. Mark Brennen, 22 Apr. 2008. Web. 11 Mar. 2015. <https://www.flickr.com/photos/funkadelic/2435568702/>.