The Oregon Trail By: Donovan

The Oregon Trail was very sad. It has the events of many deaths involved with it. But it also helped most of America prosper. This is the story of the Oregon Trail.

It started on May 22, 1843 in Independence, Missouri. The East was getting crowded so people kept moving West to plant their crops. Western Oregon seemed like a perfect place to find a large amount of land with soil. The reason they did was because they wanted to spread the region from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Most of the people that went on to Oregon found they could make a living by hunting and selling animals. The Oregon Trail was 2000 miles long.

In order to keep going and not slow down they threw useless items away and only took the necessities. The wagons were small and tightly packed. Children or sick people got to ride up on the front of the wagon. Some rode horses and most people walked along the trail. The forts provided a place to rest safely from the dangers of the Oregon Trail. Fur Trappers built 5 forts along the Oregon Trail. The forts were also used for fur trading, stores, and a place for people to rest. The emigrants put citric acid and sugar in water to make lemonade. They put their wagon in a circle at night to protect their camp. They walked 15 to 20 miles a day.

Ox dragged the wagons across the river. The river that they crossed was the Missouri. Sometimes the ox were too tired to swim and they got stuck and drowned. Many people died from Cholera. Cholera is the disease that causes diarrhea and thirst and it spreads mainly inside of the water. Most travelers came down with a disease called Scurvy. It is a disease that is caused by lack of vitamin C. In order to make this better they had to eat fruits, vegetables and/or vinegar. Almost all of the men carried guns because they were afraid of the Indians. But in actuality the Indians were really nice because they helped drowning immigrants and rounded up lost cattle.

Blue Mountains were the last obstacle before reaching Oregon. They had to cross the mountains before the winter or they would be stranded, starve and then die. 20,000 people died from the time they left until they got to Oregon. They first arrived in Oregon in the mid 1800’s. By 1850, 55,000 people crossed the Oregon Trail by wagon each year. Oregon became a US territory in 1848 and was named the 33rd state in 1859.

As you can see there are many facts and bits of information from the Oregon Trail. Such as the places they went through like the mountains. Another interesting fact is that they only took the necessities. This is the end of my story of the Oregon Trail, I hope you enjoyed it.