The Oregon Trail By: Brody

Wow! Looking back pioneers must of had a difficult life living on the Oregon Trail. Zoom! Now these days we have trains and airplanes to travel were we want to go. In the 1800’s you had to walk. Imagine your feet blistering, and walking for miles in the scorching sun. If you want to learn more information about pioneers traveling on the Oregon Trail, I suggest reading the rest of the writing.

Pioneers filled there wagons with lots of supplies. For a family of four, it would take around one thousand pounds of food. Oxen and mules usually poled the wagons. Pioneers mostly brought bacon, flour, sugar, and coffee for food. They also brought tents, pillows, clothing, and blankets.

It was a long process traveling to Oregon Country. The trip took about six months. The full trail was two thousand miles long. They walked close to sixteen miles a day. Pioneers started there trip in Independence, Missouri. Over fifty thousand pioneers used the trail between 1841 to 1860. The first large group of pioneers was about five hundred. They called this the “Great Migration of 1843”.

As you can see, the Oregon trail was a hard and difficult time. Many people lost their life trying to better their families. Imagine that you and your family died trying to get to Oregon Country. Would you risk your life trying to travel on the Oregon trail?

Pioneer Life by Aubrey S.

Imagine living in the wilderness and constantly moving, walking, hiking everywhere, waking up at 4 am by a gun shot then completing chores before starting the trail.




Pioneers doing their hard work on the plantation. As you can see they are having the animals pull dirt over the plants.

There was a lot of work to do for the pioneers. They had to build cabins without being able to use even a single nail. They also had to make another building for keeping all the animals safe. They had to make the barn for the animals because of all the wild animals that could put the farm animals in danger. The farmers also had to plant the plants they needed to use. After planting the seeds they had a oxen pull dirt over all the seeds planted. Also some farmers made their houses out of sod.

While researching about the pioneer’s life you get to accept a lot of knowledge about them. Some knowledge you will learn about is how far animals journeyed and who all went on the journey as pioneers. A lot of people were pioneers. Like: mormons or now known as the people of the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints, black and whites, grandparents, newborns, and Jews all journeyed as pioneers. Every morning a rifle shot at 4 am! It was the pioneers version of a alarm clock. How do you think you would react to the gunshot? I bet I would jump. After waking up they had to do certain chores before they head out for the trail. Girls and boys had separate jobs to do.





This is the pioneers moving west seeking for adventure and moving to live their religion more freely.

I also ended up learning about the native americans while researching. The native americans were very smart. Many years before pioneers came there was the native americans who lived in the west. In the 1830s people called missionaries went to live with the native americans. Missionaries were people who would preach their religion to others to share it with them.Two reasons the pioneers moved west was so one they could live their religion more freely and 2 because some were seeking for adventure. Mountain men sometimes could’ve been mistaken for native americans since they learned how to dress, live, and eat like them.

It was a tough life for the pioneers. Constantly moving around. Would you like to keep moving and sleeping all over instead of staying in one spot or would you not like it? Do you think you would be willing to wake up that early as a pioneer? Would you like to live around people who did not like you at all?

Life of a Pioneer By Annabelle F.

Close your eyes. You are in the middle of nowhere with a wagon and your family. The sun is beating down on you in broiling hot waves. Your feet feel a dull ache also moving in slow waves across the bottom of your foot. Your legs have developed a rhythm that is even more dull than the ache in your foot. They are still burning from the miles you have already walked. Creak, stomp, creak, stomp. The oxen pulling the wagon next to you are just slightly louder than the wagon itself. Many more of these constanogas have the same dilemma in front and behind you. So, where are you? You are in a wagon train searching for new life and new land miles away in the great american desert.

First things first, why would people decide to travel this journey that would make anyone nostalgic about the way their life was back home? The Homestead Act. What is the Homestead Act? Good question, I was about to answer that, next time ask your questions at the end please. Okay, way back when America was not all states, the section in the middle of the continent, sometimes referred to as the great american desert, didn’t have enough people to become a state, it didn’t have any people for that matter. Of course, this is a problem, so what did congress do to fix it? In 1862, congress declared the Homestead act. What did the Homestead Act do? It offered anyone 160 acres of free land east of the rocky mountains and west of the Mississippi river if they lived there for at least five years. The house you built had to be at least 12 by 12. It did not specify whether it was 12 feet or 12 inches, so sometimes people would make one house 12 inches by 12 inches, then go on to create their other house. So would we have children that didn’t want to live with their parents running off to live there? No, you would have to be at least 21 years of age. Sometimes, when there was a particularly amazing plot of land, people would run in a crazy race for that plot of land. This was called a land rush. Here’s one connection to modern times. It was totally free to get a plot of land, right? WRONG! There was an 18 dollar fee to file the application to get the plot of land. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed about people. The homestead act is an important part of pioneer lives.

Second step, once they knew they were leaving on a trip, what did they bring? One thing that they would definitely bring is food. What did they bring for food? No, they didn’t bring cake. Or cookies. No pie either. They brought flour, bacon, rice, beans, yeast powders, and coffee. To cook this food, they brought a coffee pot and a skillet. They may have used buckets to transport food, but I don’t think that counts. They brought a lot of food. These constanogas, sometimes prairie schooners, could weigh up to 2,500 pounds, and most of that was food. So what pulled those 2,500 pounds of constanoga or prairie schooner? The people obviously, they took shifts. Just kidding. They had to have oxen to pull it, because they could not pull that thing across the prairie. Of course, they didn’t just bring food and things to cook it with. They also brought candles for lighting, because they didn’t have light bulbs, and once it got dark, they would want something to help them see. They would bring a rifle because they couldn’t bring meat, so they would have to get it along the journey, and you can’t hunt with a blade of grass. Do you have an item that you couldn’t bear to lose? A cherished family heirloom? An expensive set of china? A phone? The pioneers had these special items too. They couldn’t always bring them, and even when they could, they might need to drop something to lighten the load, and they can’t just go throw the rifle out. Pioneers had to spend a long time packing for the trip.

Finally, what happened when they actually got there? There were several problems I think I need to adress. Way out on the plains, very few trees could be found, so they couldn’t make their traditional log cabins. There was a thick layer of sod on the ground in the plains, so they would cut that into blocks and make houses out of that.



Sod houses “soddies,” are the kinds of houses people would make out in the prairies, they were made out of sod, granting them their nickname.


They also had to improvise with the fire. They would use dry dung from the oxen. There were bigger natural problems that many people would call natural disasters. Dust storms, blizzards, tornadoes, locusts, droughts, wildfires. Will the problems ever end? Dust storms may be the most well known problem on the plains, high winds would blow dust across the plains at high speeds, destroying anything that stood in its way. I say, don’t go outside in one of these, but if you want to get whipped and blinded by dust, okay, than sure. What about blizzards? Like a dust storm, but instead of blowing the dust around, it blew the snow around at high speeds. Don’t go outside in one of these either, I mean, if you want to get lost and die of pneumonia, than, that’s what you should do. Tornados! These speeding funnels of wind would rip your house and barn apart, while scattering about the remains of your crops. Don’t go above ground in one of these, you WILL die if you stay in your house. Just don’t go in this one, loss of limb and death are not things most people would suggest you do.Locusts can’t harm you, but they will eat all your crops and when they die, they smell. The only way to get rid of these pests is to burn the infested crops, and even then, they come back.


Locusts could snap a branch with their combined weight, they would cover the ground so thickly that you couldn’t avoid stepping on them.

Droughts will kill your crops by dehydration, and in a very bad case, maybe even you too. Wildfires, you want to know what these killed? EVERYTHING! I hope you can see why the pioneers thought these were pretty big problems.

Your journey has finally come to an end and you can see where your house will be. You’re ready to collapse into bed, but there is still work to do. I did not give you all the information you could get on pioneer life, and more research would probably do you good. The pioneers had several chores, and you may need several sources in your research journey.

Pioneer Life By Ashton

A large wagon, horses, oxen, and possibly, a mule. You’re filled with excitement, and anxiety. You want to go west, oh, all the possibilities. Inside you also feel nagging dread. You’re leaving a home you love. You wonder, what will life be like for me? What will the journey be like? What kind of trails are there? All of these questions swirl around in your head. Can I go the whole way?

Trails
Which one? There are so many trails to choose from. Pa knows he better choose a good one. Leaving current day Missouri, the whole life we had built on this amazing state. Pa had only decided that we will leave, not where we’ll go.

The Oregon Trail is the most popular, possibly we’ll take that. Or the Overland Trail, but there is nothing special about that one, or the Santa Fe Trail. Hmm, perhaps the Mormon Trail, after all, we are Mormons. The Oregon and the Mormon Trail would be ideal. The Oregon Trail spanning through current day starting point Missouri through, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, to amazing Oregon. The Mormon Trail spreading through current day Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, to Salt Lake City Utah.

The question comes back to how far should we travel? Perhaps we’ll travel with the Oregon Trail, then split off in Wyoming. That’s what Ma and Pa think we should do.

A question that my friends ask is why we’re leaving. Well they’re right to wonder. After all, we were leaving everything behind, and every one knows those who don’t perish will only have to help themselves later. Unless the government can help every pioneer, then we’ll get a little help. Government did pass laws encouraging us to move out west. Laws including the Homestead Act, a law that states that if we move they’ll help get us settled, as long as we farm the land that comes with the Act. The answer to these questions is simple for Pa. He sees the west as destiny, opportunity. Soon we’ll set out on a transcontinental highway, the trail’s nickname. The Journey we shall embark on.

The Journey
Out west we have had to change our clothing design. Home spun wool, as we need a type of material. Us women and girls have had to slightly shorten our dresses, it would not do to have them getting endless unwashable muck on them. We also have to sew led into our skirts to prevent them from blowing over our heads in violent winds. Pa, my brothers, and of course the other men, had to trade out their old shoes for tall leather boots, a thicker material, to protect them from rattlesnakes, brush, and thorns.

Though the government supports pioneerism, it is very, very, dangerous. There is safety in numbers so most pioneers, like us travel in large groups, sort of similar to bison on the plain outside of our caravan. After walking many, many miles, our usual dawn till dusk, we circle the wagons and handcarts. To keep from having to rearrange all of our supplies, and from unloading them, at night we sleep on the ground inside the circle, with quilts, of course.We have learned to read the sky for an oncoming tornados, now if we see signs of one, we can steer away from the twirling catastrophe.

All the things from home, hold a purpose, and the things we have brought for pleasure are at the minimum. Such things for pleasure do not include my full set of porcelain dolls. My conversation with Ma went something similar to the following; Ma may I bring my nice collection of dolls? Ma strictly answered me with the finality of no.Then I asked if I could bring the oldest doll that came back from hundreds of generations, this she promptly softened up to, she answered yes and smiled. We sold many belongings to get the money for the horses, the oxen, and the large wagon. So, we mostly brought quilts, needles, fabric, thread, canteens of water, and lots of foods that stay good. These simple meals foods include, beans, dried fruit, flour, and all other more original ingredients.

Children's Life and School
Most children like me and my brother, only go to school in the winter, so that we can run the farm. We read the Book of Mormon, and the Bible. When my new friend is at home (she isn’t Mormon), her Ma and Pa teach their family simple prayers, they also read the Bible.

At school, we mostly use black chalk boards, because paper is expensive. We learn basic things, arithmetic, reading, writing, to name a few. When we did use paper, we used the sharp end of a quill dipped in ink. Some kids have a tortured look on their faces. They are probably left handed like me. Mrs. Hawkins forces us to use our “proper” hand, the right one. Is it a crime to eat with the left hand? To play ball? Hawkins makes us feel like it.

Books are expensive, and Hawkins would hate to spend money on that many books. A simple solution to this problem is share a book. Mrs. Hawkins starts, and we read such as a chapter, or more commonly a paragraph. Once we’ve finished our assigned section, we pass it on to the adjacent student.

Well now you know some basic stuff, but not everything. Sing this next part; Oh well, farwell, I hope the trail was swell, but now I got to goooooooooooo. Bye, Bye.

The Oregon Trail By Allyson

Imagine sitting in a dirty wagon with rough clothing. But also walking 10 miles with rough clothing for 6 months. Or would you rather travel on a airplane that probably takes you 2 hours to get there. But the Oregon trail was a very big deal for people wanting to travel to Oregon. They used specific tools to make the trip a success along with being strong people.

Some pioneers got distracted and left the Oregon trail to go to the gold rush. In 1841, 500 people followed the trail. It took 2,000 miles {3,200 kilometers} to get their fully.

The wagons could hold a bit of some stuff. You only could bring stuff that was needed like clothes, shoes, pets, food, and water. {And a few more things}. Sleeping was very hard because since the wagon is small people had to squish together to go to bed. Then in the morning they got up around 7, got dressed, Brushed their hair, Then started to walk another 10 miles. They did not bring a lot of food they also had to kill animals along the way. For the Oregon trail the government made a territory with the states Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and a little part of Montana.

People on the Oregon trail also had to travel down the Columbia River then to Fort Vancouver and through the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the valley of Willamette Oregon.

The people on the Oregon trail disliked walking a lot because they had to walk 10 miles even though they didn't have a choice. The kids that turned 4 had to walk, But if they were under 4 they got to stay in the wagon. Pregnant ladies also got to stay in the wagons to. It took 6 months to get their on time and to start their own state. It was harder with animals because some people had to bring: Cows, horses, Mules,Goats, sheep, dogs, cats, and chickens. When they got in on the mountain parts some wagons fell off the curvy and sturdy cliffs. Jim Bridger and Jedediah Smith were very important people when the Oregon trail was happening.

So what I said in the beginning of would you rather. I would rather travel on the wagons so that I could see what happened of all this stuff and the history would be like then. I also really loved reading about the oregon trail in many many books. So that is The oregon country and their traveling history, and their difficulties.

The Transcontinental Railroad By Luke J.

The Transcontinental Railroad was crazy. People dying mountains exploding. But once they were done they could travel across america in 7 DAYS. Do you want to know to know how long it took without the railroad it took near 2 months walking could kill someone from stress. But now we have cars that can get us across from places really fast. Just think about it if you want to learn more about this mayhem read about the facts on The transcontinental Railroad.

Ideas

You might be thinking “well who built the railroad?’’ so people built the railroad but Theodore Judah and Asa whitney both thought of it. They both knew it would make population grow insanely large so. Asa whitney was the one who we should be focusing on because she the only one that could give enough reasons on why they needed the railroad. She was also the only one who could get them to start building. But Theodore Judah did come up with it first so Theodore Judah VS Asa Whitney but I guess Asa whitney wins.

Building the railroad

The railroad was tough work building people were dying from fevers and from stress the cold storms would kill them. And the chinese (which was most of the people making it) got paid very little money about one pound in today's money that is only about one dollar. They also had to blow up the mountain to build more track people would eat but they would go about 10 miles of trak a day that was pretty hard for the workers. People could ride the railroad but tickets were very expensive so not very many people rode the railroad. And the railroad could cary very many people so it was not that full during the time only rich rode the railroad some times .

Celebration

They would have a celebration where they finally met and people were meeting with each other and there was a gold nail that the put into the ground and there was a plaque that said last tie laid. Of course they took out the gold spike thats a lot of cash but why couldn't they pay everyone the same amount of money well because they got that spike from someone so that's why. They would also meat the chinese immigrants some of the workers were dead so they weren't meeting everyone. They also had a celebration when they set the train on the tracks people from all sorts of places were cheering.




They had a big celebration when the two railroads met it is also were they nailed the gold nail into the ground.


Conclusion

so if ever want to actually see the Transcontinental Railroad go to primary point where there is a museum to learn more about it. You can also get more of this information from books all about the Transcontinental Railroad at the museum they even have a golden spike at the museum which must have been pretty hard to get and find it was probably somewhere by the railroad.

This is where the railroad went and started it also shows what they had to go through on the transcontinental railroad.

Pioneer By Adam

Have you ever wondered how and why people moved west if not well still read on if you did do the same and read on. This will give you a few important things the pioneers had to have, their reasons, what they put in there wagons, and after the trail.

Reasons

People moved west for many different reasons. Some moved west to oregon or to find gold. many people had many reasons most whent for the homestead act. It is where you would farm 160 acres for 5 year. That is how the government got people to move west. All they had to is pay a small fee and be off. Former slaves were also allowed to go and farm. People from all over came to gain land. Some went by sea others went by wagon after they got there and set up they would build towns and instead of money they would trade corn or cornmeal. They would also get together to have gathering since the closest neighbor could be miles away.

Packing for the wagon

Before they left they had to have supplies for the trip and for after they got there. They brought around 2,500 pounds of supplies. Men would walk next to there wagons with a shotgun or other type of gun. Since they would go over a lot of different areas. Some of the parts of the wagon would break. So they had to carry extra parts in the wagon. At night they would make a circle of the wagons to keep them safe. They would sleep on the ground, in tents, or in the wagon. Pioneers for food brought flour, baking soda, coffee, dried beef,salt, molasses, rice, cornmeal, yeast powder, lard, and dried beans. Treasures where very important to the pineeres. They sometimes where china, or dolls, or pictures. For tools they had to have they brought a ax, a hoe, a shovel, spade, some heavy rope, chains, a bucket, and auger. For basic supplies they had a lantern, matches, soap, scissors, a few needles, pins, thread, and medicine.

Life after the trail

Unless there were trees nearby they made sod houses. They compacted dirt into blocks and built these into walls. And would lay timber on it to make a fundashon for the roof then they would put dirt on top of it . They stayed cool in summer and hot in winter. Many people went to one room school houses they used slates aka small chalkboards Instead of paper. Schools were closed during planting and harvesting season. The women of this time did so much and here are a few of their tasks. They would make cloth and clothes, gathering cow chips, and sewing. They also made their own fabric using a loom.

This is a type of loom they might have used.


Some things that helped them where the plow and the windmill. The windmill help pull water out of the ground. The plow go plant residue out and smooth out the dirt.

These are just a few parts pioneer life. They had many hardships but they survived.

Gold Rush by Nicholas B

As people rushing in the Mid 1800s boats carriages and wagons came to the new land. Were many fourtens came true and dreams were crushed some people crushed in failure, People struck it rich, and difficulties. THIS WAS THE GOLD RUSH.

As many people came to California there was a person called Sam Branna that got some peoples hopes up as the man who gave up his old life he was panning for Gold. Panning is how people found gold he found a item of yellow very similar to metal people found out it was Gold he was officially the first Millionaire in California some people think that Gold will be easy to find that's not true something amazing that nobody would think that the people that sold tools would get money but they had more than the richest people. This affected the Sierra mountains that were loaded with sellers.

In the time between the years 1848-1855 over 300,000 people came to the new land this sadly meant more people came home with no money. More than half of these people failed and came home in despair need. People came from Mexico,Peru, Chile, Europe, Latin America, and China. San Francisco rapidly kept on growing rapidly in fact people from the Goldrush originally were from the oregon trail group. A verus came and killed people in the desserts in NV and animals.

Some people think a lot of people came home with a lot of money and a success but is it incredible that more than 70 percent come home empty handed in desperate need to go home. People like John Sutter and James Marshall had no chance so whatever. They got half of there stuff lost and even stolen including horses. This meant more people than them got a hard time and the California Gold Rush. The Gold Rush ended in 1860 this was a land of fortens and difficulties.

People in the Gold Rush had tough times and times to take breaks they had luck once in a while. From my book I hope people realize people in those days have much more work and tough time and this was the Gold Rush.

The California Gold Rush By: Phoenix D

Some people find gold, some people don’t find gold. Some find a lot of gold, and some find not as much gold and that is the gold rush.

The California gold rush was a big thing in 1848 at sutter's mill. California was the 31st state at the time of the gold rush.




In 1848 the gold rush was happening and these people went to get the gold in California.



100,000 people lived in California at the time. John Sutter and marshall were the owners of sutter’s mill. Marshall found the gold and than the secret got out and a lot of people came. People went on ships and wagons. Miners used pics, bucket, wheelbarrow, and pans to get the gold.




These are tools that the miners usd in the gold rush in 1848 to 1855. These are pike,shovels,and pans.


Some of the Oregon trail people came to the gold rush and gold rush people went to the Oregon trail.

After the news got out over 380,000 people to get gold. Some got hundreds even got thousands dollars of gold. And some didn’t get an gold. The machines that get the gold destroyed land. After a hard day the miners needed to eat but some miners did not know how to cook so that eat bacon, coffee, and bens. There are boomtowns and ghost towns. Boomtowns are a town that is close to a gold mill. Ghost towns are abandoned towns that is not a place near to a gold mill.

By 1850 the gold want done and hard to find at the end of gold rush. About 45 million dollars was found at the end of the gold rush. Over 380,000 people lived in California in the end of the gold rush. Some people went home happy and some didn’t.

All in all the gold rush was a cool thing to learn about.

Transcontinental Railroad By Lara S.

Imagine walking for hours each day. Sun up to sun down, you trudged along dusty trails, the wind blowing dirt into your eyes. You were trying to walk all the way from coast to coast. You could also be galloping on your horse all day in that uncomfortable saddle. Miles and miles, days and days, month after month, you traveled each day hoping to reach your faraway destination. It was the mid 1800’s and the United states needed an easier way

to travel. This where the Transcontinental Railroad came in. The railroad brought new hope to America, though they had trouble getting started, it was hard work to build, but it was a great victory for the U.S. when it was finally finished.

The first one to think of the Transcontinental Railroad was a man named Theodore Judah. No one believed him that this was a good idea for the U.S., or even possible. People called him “Crazy Judah” for this idea. A few years later, Judah finally got the papers signed by President Lincoln to start construction. A man named Grenville Dodge presented a great route for the train to follow. Finally, all they needed was people to build it. They hired 4 men, Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker. These men were called the Big 4. They could not enough find men strong enough for the difficult labor of laying the many tracks. They finally settled on hiring immigrants because they were strong, they worked for cheap, and there were lots of immigrants to hire. Irish immigrants worked on the Union Pacific starting from the east side of the U.S. The chineses immigrants worked for the Central Pacific and started from the west side. Most of the track laid in Utah was done by the Mormons, or now known as the people of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

These men worked tirelessly each and every day. Some men worked as much as 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. They also face danger. For example, men working through the mountains had to pack a spot on the mountain full of gunpowder, light a fuse, and run away as fast as they could, hoping not to get blown up by the explosion. Mostly these men were Chinese immigrants who worked for the Central Pacific railroad. The longest tunnel built was 1,659 feet long. Many good men died in the process of building the Transcontinental Railroad. There were pros to building the railroad, too, though. Each company got 10 square miles of land for every mile of track they laid, and the railroad was more than 2,000 miles long! The record track laid in a day was 10 miles and 56 feet.

Every day the men worked from sun up to sun down building track. They usually made about 5 miles of track each day.


The railroad was finally completed at Promontory Point, Utah. It was May 10, 1869, a few years after the civil war ended. After 6 years, over 1,800 miles from Omaha,Nebraska to Sacramento, California the Transcontinental Railroad was finished. For the ceremony, Leland Stanford and the rest of the big 4 drove golden, silver, and iron spikes into the ground to finish the railroad. Thousands of Americans watched as they swung the hammer. 1,2,3… It should have been 1,2,3,4 because he had missed!! Filled with embarrassment, Leland Stanford handed the hammer to the next member of the big four. After all the lives that it cost, all the money, the railroad made life easier in America. They called it “The Work of a Giant”.The railroad also opened up a lot of jobs including conductors, and many jobs at the railroad towns.

May 10, 1869 the Transcontinental Railroad was finished. The Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroad met at Promontory Point, Utah.


6 years of work, 2,000 miles, the Transcontinental Railroad truly brought new hope to America. Now it took 7 days to get from California to Nebraska, rather than 4 months. You could ship goods across the continent in a week, rather than having to take them by foot or horse. After all the sweat, lives and money the railroad cost, it truly brought the United States together as one.