Oregon Trail research
by kane
Tough times on the trail
Hardships:
Crossing rivers was one of the biggest problems on the Oregon Trail. Hundreds died trying to cross Kansas prairie, North Platte and Columbia Rivers. In 1850 alone, 37 people drowned trying to cross one particular difficult river called the green.
Jumping off:
Leaving home was one of the hardest things the movers had to other than the long road they have ahead them. Packing was another problem they had on the trail the only had so much space so they only put what they needed.
Natives on the trail
Native Americans:
Friends or foe most people at that time thought that they were foe because they would attack them when the pasted by their territory. Sometimes they were friends they would trade with the Native Americans they would trade cloths, tobacco, or rifles for Native American horses or food.
The Route West:
A 2,000 mile walk or a yearlong boat ride some of the first emigrants came to Oregon by ship long before the trail was established. Fort Vancouver {what is known Vancouver, Washington} was a thriving outpost even before the Oregon Trail was established.
Fun Times
Power:
They used oxen more than horses because oxen are cheaper and stronger for the wagon because if there is a lot of stuff in the wagon they need strong animals to pull it. They chose oxen because they could live of grass unlike horses who can’t.
Camping:
When the travelers needed to rest they made a circle with their wagons so that loose livestock. Another reason they did that is they wanted to protect the women and children from Indian attacks. The food they ate were bread to eat.
The West
Buffalo:
If you think that Frisbee' s were made in the 1960s well think twice children on the Oregon Trail threw like devises back in the mid-1800s. They weren’t made of plastic they were made from buffalo excrement. During the great western migration the entire Great Plains was literally covered with them. There was no firewood along the trail so the used buffalo chips as fuel for burning
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Discovers And Explores:
President Thomas Jefferson organized a secret mission to go onto British soil. The explores names were Louis and Clark and they are famous explores. They saw animals and plants they never seen before so it’s a great opportunity.
How far did the pioneers traveled
how many miles did the pioneers travel each day.
my Oregon Trail entree.
What was the items the pioneers needed on the trail
A pioneer’s typical outfit wasn't terribly expensive; usually one or two small, sturdy farm wagons, six to 10 head of oxen, a milk cow or two. Plus all the necessary food, clothing and utensils needed for survival. Often heavy items such as furniture, stoves, pianos would be freighted to the West Coast by clipper ship around the Horn of South America. If such heavy things were packed in the wagons, they usually ended up left along trail side along the way.
To survive the long journey, a family of four would need 600 lbs. of flour, 120 lbs. of biscuits, 400 lbs. of bacon, 60 lbs. of coffee, 4 lbs. of tea, 100 lbs. of sugar, and 200 lbs. of lard. These would just be the basic staples. Other food stuffs could include sacks of rice and beans, plus dried peaches and apples. Bacon was often hauled in large barrels packed in bran so the hot sun would not melt the fat. Each man took a rifle or shotgun and some added a pistol. A good hunting knife was essential. Farm implements such as a plow, shovel, scythe, rake, hoe; plus carpentry tools - saw, broad axes, mallet, plane. Seeds for corn, wheat and other crops.
A.J. McCall an early traveler on the Oregon Trail made light of how some pioneers tried to "take it all." He wrote: "They laid in and over supply of bacon, flour and beans, and in addition thereto every conceivable jimcrack and useless article that the widest fancy could devise or human ingenuity could invent – pins and needles, brooms and brushes, ox shoes and horse shoes, lasts and leather, glass beads beads and hawks-bells, jumping jacks and jews-harps, rings and bracelets, pocket mirrors and pocket-books, calico vests and boiled shirts."