A Life On The Trail
By: Devin Chang
Entry 1, it begins...
Three days have passed as I now write this. We have encountered the Missouri River, an Indian man is offering "safe passage" through his ferry. Our Wagon leader is offering the choice to ford the river or pay the Indian. To save money, I have decided, on behalf of my wagon to ford the river... Crossing the river, has brought a massive amount of adrenaline and now I feel "pumped". After a bit more of traveling, we have now encountered a grazing ground that is perfect to hunt in. During the hunt, I caught ten pounds of fresh rabbit meat, but in the process, I broke a gun, and lost one of my tool assortments. After close estimation, I have estimated that the weight of my Wagon is now 980 pounds. A decent journey so far...
Entry 2, danger awaits...
My wife has given birth, on the trail. I have chosen to name the newest addition to our family Lopez Juan Miguel Marley, after my great great great great great great grandfather. An added load he is to our journey... Hopefully there will be enough food for all of us.
Today is the day we must decide whether to take a longer and safer trail that is the Cheyenne River Trail or take the shorter, more dangerous road (Burial Grounds). Hopefully we will make the right decision.
Entry 3, Treacherous terrain awaits.
With the lack of water in the area, we must get any water we can find. The act of "getting any water you can get" can give us Cholera.
Tips to eradicate Cholera on the trail:
Get water using a bucket.
Cover it with a fabric and strain out the dirt and sand (if there is some) into another bucket
Pour the "Strained water" into a dutch oven and boil on a fire.
Drink.
After encountering another river crossing, we have decided again to pay to cross the river. My original 150 dollars has now dwindled to 5 dollars. And as I write this we so far have gone through 210 pounds of supplies (We used up 2 bacon and 1 fresh rabbit meat, making the current weight of the wagon train 790 pounds)...
Entry 4 The worst is to come...
En route to the canyon we have discovered that a landslide has blocked our entryway into the canyon. There is no way around this landslide, so we have to clear the way with pickaxes and shovels, delaying us… A chance to hunt has arrived once again, however this time I have only caught 5 pounds of gopher.
We have been attacked by Indians. In the chaos each wagon train lost 15 pounds of supplies. Heat damaged our Wagon yoke, but fortunately, we fixed it with a wagon yoke repair kit.
To climb over the top of the mountain to reach the Valley, we must loosen our load to at least 500 pounds. Getting rid of one wagon water barrel and one set of clothing is our only choice, as food is low.
Scouts have now reported that the valley lies ahead, and due to the fact that winter is approaching, we must decide whether to jump at the opportunity or go back to the nearby fort and wait for winter to pass. A unanimous decision among the other wagon train has made us jump at the opportunity.
Luck was not on our. We are now trapped, there is no way we can escape out of the freezing winter. We are running low on supplies, and I can hear the groans of people nearby, of their grumbling stomachs and I am sad to say that we all… Will die… Before winter passes, we will all be dead, food is low, supplies are low, and the only alternative is to resort to… cannibalism. Just imagine having to eat your wagon mates, what a sad and hopeless way it will be to die, I guess… Well… goodbye.
Things found on the trail
Oregon Trains
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oregon_Trail_reenactment_-_NARA_-_286054.jpg
Oregon Train
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Oregon_Trail#/media/File:Covered_Wagon_(Baker_County,_Oregon_scenic_images)_(bakD0133).jpg
Oregon Trail
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kkanouse/5914605526/in/photolist-
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