Imagine if you had to go back to the 1800’s, and live the hard life that they did. Just picture having to be in a covered wagon that was 2000 pounds, instead of being in a car with air conditioning. If you see how much a normal person would bring on a trip than just see how much they brought when they went on the Oregon Trail. These people died in ways that you could never imagine, unlike how people would die today. You could see that we would not go 2000 miles on a route just walking when today we could go in a car.
What They Put in the Wagons
They put a lot of things that were making it 2000-2500 pounds. They didn’t bring much with them, but they brought the most important stuff. First, they mostly brought food with them like hardtack, coffee, bacon, rice, beans, and flour. Also, how they made there food was they had coffee pots, some buckets, and iron skillets. Next, they had rifles to kill animals incase they got in the way. Importantly,they brought tents, and also bedding, so that they could go to sleep at night. They also, brought axes, and shovels so they could get firewood, and for shovels they used them to get out of sticky situations or for digging something. Next, they brought seeds and farming tools for the people who came to farm. Another thing is, they had clothes for when it was time to change. They had, lanterns so they could see, during the day and night. Next, they had medicine just in case anybody got sick. They also brought paper and pen just in case they need it to write anything down that was important. Lastly, they have spare wagon parts just in case something broke down.
How They Died Along the Trail
A lot of people died on The Oregon Trail due to different things. One of the things was diseases such as cholera, smallpox, scarlet fever and influenza. Some were killed by bad weather. Some were killed by getting the wagons up the mountain. Others died by drinking unclean water.
The Route
They took a route that was 2000 miles, and it is still up today. First they went on the trail, that went through six states. Those six states were Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon. In those six states it started in independence, Missouri and ended in Oregon City, Oregon. It went through two mountains, and those mountains were the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Rocky Mountains.
The Covered Wagons
On the Oregon Trail they used covered wagons, but mostly people just walked with the wagon. First, a normal wagon is about ten feet long, and 4 feet wide. Next, they were called Prairie Schooners because they were like boats going over the prairies. Also, the covered wagons were mostly leaded by oxen. Lastly, only the pregnant or the ladies that just had a baby would go into the wagon, but everyone else had to walk along with it.
The Oregon Trail is one of the most important trails in history. The people on the Oregon Trail people had to walk 10-20 miles a day. Imagine you had to walk 10-20 miles a day. They had to walk beside the covered wagon, and they didn’t stop for breaks. A lot of people remember it today because it was a major route that the people took when migrating to the western part of the united states.
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