User:Jmms97/History project

Oregon Trail

This is information about the Oregon Trail. The Oregon trail spanned about 2000 miles of unoccupied space. It was long and like many people believed treacherous.many people feared obstacles and Native Americans looking for a good raid.The cause for the Oregon trail was depression in the Midwest.The reason why many people left was because Their was also a lot of talk about people enjoying the land in the west.

Cost,trade, and stops

The Oregon Trail was very costly, demanding, and difficult trip. The average person would pay nearly $500-1000 for food, supplies, wagons, and oxen. Oxen would carry their wagon through the tough terrain.It was very hard for people to maintain food for six months, so many of the travelers would trade with native Americans or hunt for their own food. For stops and resting areas many travelers would follow the rivers like the Platte River and the Snake River. They stopped in these areas for water and trade. In the book The Oregon Trail Francis Parkman explains how his character takes about along the Missouri River and then is dropped of left with his crew, horses, equipment, and presents for Native Americans.

Dangers

The Oregon Trail was 2,000 miles of danger and was considered very heroic by many people.one of the many dangers that travelers faced was disease. A disease that killed nearly 10,000 people, which was about four percent of the people that went on this trail, was cholera. Cholera was and intestinal disease that caused diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps which obviously stops and puts some bumps in the trip. If not treated immediately a victim of cholera can die of dehydration. Treatment wasn't very common in this area of time so this meant that if you had cholera one would probably be dead of very close to it.Another factor that made the trip dangerous was Native Americans before the 1850's trade with Native Americans was very common and most Native Americans would give food away to travelers. During the Gold rush in the 1850'stheir was a flood of Immigrants and that brought disaster to the Native Americans and really made them mad. After the start of the Gold Rush raids from Native Americans were very common and were very deathly to Travelers going to Oregon land.

Trail and Terrain

The Oregon trail includes things like the vast Great Plains and mountainous region like the Rocky Mountains. Both of these regions had their troubles and hardships. The great plains were vast and very dry lands. The plains included desserts, sandstorms, and prairie fires.Then after one would pass the plains they would go through a pass travel through the mountain. Then go up to The Northwest stop by the Platte River and Snake River. Near the rivers they might get caught by quick sand. Then if the travelers got through all of that they would have made it through the Oregon Trail.