What best describes life along the Oregon Trail?

Answer 1

Great Migration of 1843 In what was dubbed "The Great Migration of 1843" or the "Wagon Train of 1843",[17][18] an estimated 700 to 1000 emigrants left for Oregon. They were led initially by John Gantt, a former U.S. Army Captain and fur trader who was contracted to guide the train to Fort Hall for $1 per person. The winter before, Marcus Whitman had made a brutal mid-winter trip from Oregon to St. Louis to appeal a decision by his Mission backers to abandon several of the Oregon missions. He joined the wagon train at the Platte River for the return trip. When the pioneers were told at Fort Hall by agents from the Hudson's Bay Company that they should abandon their wagons there and use pack animals the rest of the way, Whitman disagreed and volunteered to lead the wagons to Oregon. He believed the wagon trains were large enough that they could build whatever road improvements they needed to make the trip with their wagons. The biggest obstacle they faced was in the Blue Mountains of Oregon where they had to cut and clear a trail through heavy timber. The wagons were stopped at The Dalles, Oregon by the lack of a road around Mount Hood. The wagons had to be disassembled and floated down the treacherous Columbia River and the animals herded over the rough Lolo trail to get by Mt. Hood. Nearly all of the settlers in the 1843 wagon trains arrived in the Willamette Valley by early October. A passable wagon trail now existed from the Missouri River to The Dalles. In 1846, the Barlow Road was completed around Mount Hood, providing a rough but completely passable wagon trail from the Missouri river to the Willamette Valley: about 2,000 miles.

Oregon Country In 1843, settlers of the Willamette Valley drafted the Organic Laws of Oregon organizing land claims within the Oregon Country. Married couples were granted at no cost (except for the requirement to work and improve the land) up to 640 acres (2.6 km2), and unmarried settlers could claim 320 acres (1.3 km2). As the group was a provisional government with no authority, these claims were not valid under United States or British law, but they were eventually honored by the United States in the Donation Land Act of 1850. The Donation Land Act provided for married settlers to be granted 320 acres (1.3 km2) and unmarried settlers 160 acres (0.65 km2). Following the expiration of the act in 1854 the land was no longer free but cost $1.25 per acre ($3.09/hectare) with a limit of 320 acres (1.3 km2)-the same as most other unimproved government land.

Later emigration and uses of the trail Overall it is estimated that over 400,000 pioneers used the Oregon Trail and its three primary off-shoots, the California, Bozeman, and Mormon Trails. The trail was still in use during the Civil War, but traffic declined after 1855 when the Panama Railroad across the Isthmus of Panama was completed. Paddle wheel steamships and sailing ships, often heavily subsidized to carry the mail, provided rapid transport to and from the east coast and New Orleans, Louisiana, to and from Panama to ports in California and Oregon.

Over the years many ferries were established to help get across the many rivers on the path of the Oregon Trail. Multiple ferries were established on the Missouri River, Kansas River, Little Blue River, Elkhorn River, Loup River, Platte River, South Platte River, North Platte River, Laramie River, Green River, Bear River, two crossings of the Snake River, John Day River, Deschutes River, Columbia River, as well as many other smaller streams. During peak immigration periods several ferries on any given river often competed for pioneer dollars. These ferries significantly increased speed and safety for Oregon Trail travelers. They increased the cost of traveling the trail by roughly $30.00 per wagon but increased the speed of the transit from about 160-170 days in 1843 to 120-140 days in 1860. Ferries also helped prevent death by drowning at river crossings.[24]

In April 1859, an expedition of U.S. Corp of Topographical Engineers led by Captain James H. Simpson left Camp Floyd (Utah) to establish an army supply route across the Great Basin to the eastern slope of the Sierras. Upon return in early August, Simpson reported that he had surveyed the Central Overland Route from Camp Floyd (Utah) to Genoa, Nevada. This route went through central Nevada (roughly where U.S. Route 50 goes today) and was about 280 miles shorter than the 'standard' Humboldt River California trail route.[25]

The Central Route in Nevada The Army improved the trail for use by wagons and stagecoaches in 1859 and 1860. Starting in 1860, the American Civil War closed the heavily subsidized Butterfield Overland Mail stage Southern Route through the deserts of the American Southwest.

In 1860-1861 the Pony Express, employing riders traveling on horseback day and night with relay stations about every ten miles to supply fresh horses, was established from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California. The Pony Express built many of their eastern stations along the Oregon/California/Mormon/Bozeman trails and many of their western stations along the very sparsely settled Central Route across Utah and Nevada.[26] The Pony Express delivered mail summer and winter in roughly ten days from the midwest to California.

In 1861 John Butterfield, who since 1858 had been using the Butterfield Overland Mail, also switched to the Central Route to avoid traveling through hostile territories during the American Civil War. George Chorpenning immediately realized the value of this more direct route, and shifted his existing mail and passenger line along with their stations from the "Northern Route" along the Humboldt River. In 1861 the Transcontinental Telegraph also laid its lines alongside the Central Overland Route. Several stage lines were set up carrying mail and passengers that traversed much of the route of the original Oregon Trail to Fort Bridger and from there over the Central Overland Route to California. By traveling day and night with many stations and changes of teams (and extensive mail subsidies) these stages could get passengers and mail from the midwest to California in about 25-28 days. These combined stage and Pony Express stations along the Oregon Trail and Central Route across Utah and Nevada were joined by the First Transcontinental Telegraph stations and telegraph line which followed much the same route in 1861 from Carson City, Nevada to Salt Lake City, Utah. The Pony Express folded in 1861 as they failed to receive an expected mail contract from the U.S. government and the telegraph filled the need for rapid east-west communication. This combination wagon/stagecoach/pony express/telegraph line route is labeled the Pony Express National Historic Trail on the National Trail Map.[26] From Salt Lake City the telegraph line followed much of the Mormon/California/Oregon trails to Omaha, Nebraska.

After the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869 all the telegraph lines usually followed the railroad tracks as the required relay stations and telegraph lines were much easier to maintain alongside the tracks. Telegraph lines to unpopulated areas were largely abandoned.

As the years passed the Oregon Trail became a heavily used corridor from the Missouri River to the Columbia river. Offshoots of the trail continued to grow as gold and silver discoveries, farming, lumbering, ranching, and business opportunities resulted in much more traffic to many areas. Traffic became two-directional as towns were established along the trail. By 1870 the population in the states served by the Oregon Trail and its offshoots increased by about 350,000 over their 1860 census levels. With the exception of most of the 180,000 population increase in California, most of these people living away from the coast traveled over parts of the Oregon trail and its many extensions and cutoffs to get to their new residences.

Even before the famous Texas cattle drives after the Civil War, the trail was being used to drive herds of thousands of cattle, horses, sheep, and goats from the midwest to various towns and cities along the trails. According to studies by trail historian John Unruh the livestock may have been as plentiful or more plentiful than the immigrants in many years.[27] In 1852 there was even records of a 1,500 turkey drive from Illinois to California.[28] The main reason for this livestock traffic was the large cost discrepancy between livestock in the midwest and at the end of the trail in California, Oregon, or Montana. They could often be bought in the midwest for about 1/3 to 1/10 what they would fetch at the end of the trail. Large losses could occur and the drovers would still make significant profit. As the emigrant travel on the trail declined in later years and after livestock ranches were established at many places along the trail large herds of animals often were driven along part of the trail to get to and from markets.

Trail decline The first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, providing faster, safer, and usually cheaper travel east and west (the journey took seven days and cost as little as $65).[29] Some emigrants continued to use the trail well into the 1890s, and modern highways and railroads eventually paralleled large portions of the trail, including U.S. Highway 26, Interstate 84 in Oregon and Idaho and Interstate 80 in Nebraska. Contemporary interest in the overland trek has prompted the states and federal government to preserve landmarks on the trail including wagon ruts, buildings, and "registers" where emigrants carved their names. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries there have been a number of re-enactments of the trek with participants wearing period garments and traveling by wagon.

Emigrants

Estimated California Oregon Mormon Trail Emigrants[83]

Year

Oregon

California

Utah

Total

1834-39

20

−

−

20

1840

13

−

−

13

1841

24

34

−

58

1842

125

−

−

125

1843

875

38

−

913

1844

1,475

53

−

1,528

1845

2,500

260

−

2,760

1846

1,200

1,500

−

2,700

1847

4,000

450

2,200

6,650

1848

1,300

400

2,400

4,100

Total

11,512

2,735

4,600

18,847

1849

450

25,000

1,500

26,950

1850

6,000

44,000

2,500

52,500

1851

3,600

1,100

1,500

6,200

1852

10,000

50,000

10,000

70,000

1853

7,500

20,000

8,000

35,500

1854

6,000

12,000

3,200

21,200

1855

500

1,500

4,700

6,700

1856

1,000

8,000

2,400

11,400

1857

1,500

4,000

1,300

6,800

1858

1,500

6,000

150

7,650

1859

2,000

17,000

1,400

20,400

1860

1,500

9,000

1,600

12,100

Total

53,000

200,300

43,000

296,300

1834-60

Oregon

California

Utah[84]

Total[85]

1861

−

−

3,148

5,000

1862

−

−

5,244

5,000

1863

−

−

4,760

10,000

1864

−

−

2,626

10,000

1865

−

−

690

20,000

1866

−

−

3,299

25,000

1867

−

−

700

25,000

1868

−

−

4,285

25,000

Total

80,000

250,000

70,000

400,000

1834-67

Oregon

California

Utah

Total

Some of the trail statistics for the early years were recorded by the U.S. Army at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, from about 1849 to 1855. None of these original statistical records have been found-the Army lost them or destroyed them. There are only some partial written copies of the Army records and notes recorded in several diaries. Emigration to California spiked considerably with the 1849 gold rush. Following the discovery of gold, California remained the destination of choice for most emigrants on the trail up to 1860, with almost 200,000 people traveling there between 1849 and 1860.

Travel diminished after 1860 as the Civil War caused considerable disruptions on the trail. Many of the people on the trail in 1861-1863 were fleeing the war and its attendant drafts in both the south and the north. Trail historian Merrill J. Mattes[86] has estimated the number of emigrants for 1861-1867 given in the total column of the above table. But these estimates may well be low since they only amount to an extra 125,000 people, and the 1870 census shows that over 200,000 additional people (ignoring most of California's population increase which had an excellent sea and rail connections across Panama by then) showed up in all the states served by the California/Oregon/Mormon/Bozeman Trail(s) and its offshoots. Mormon emigration records after 1860 are reasonably accurate as newspaper and other accounts in Salt Lake City give most of the names of emigrants arriving each year from 1847 to 1868.[84] Gold and silver strikes in Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and Montana caused a considerable increase in people using the trails, often in directions different than the original trail users.

Though the numbers are significant in the context of the times, far more people chose to remain at home in the 31 states. Between 1840 and 1860, the population of the United States rose by 14 million, yet only about 300,000 decided to make the trip. Many that went were between the ages 12 and 24. Between 1860 and 1870 the U.S. population increased by seven million, with about 350,000 of this increase being in the Western states. Many were discouraged by the cost, effort and danger of the trip. Western scout Kit Carson reputedly said, "The cowards never started and the weak died on the way." According to several sources 3-10% of t

Western census data

Census Population of western States[88]

State

1870

1860

Difference

California

560,247

379,994

180,253

Nevada

42,491

6,857

35,634

Oregon

90,923

52,465

38,458

Colorado[89]

39,684

34,277

5,407

Idaho[89]

14,990

−

14,990

Montana[89]

20,595

−

20,595

Utah[89]

86,789

40,273

46,516

Washington[89]

23,955

11,594

12,361

Wyoming[89]

9,118

−

9,118

Totals

888,792

525,460

363,332

These census numbers show a 363,000 population increase in the western states and territories between 1860 and 1870. Some of this increase is because of a high birth rate in the western states and territories but most is from emigrants moving from the east to the west and new immigration from Europe. Much of the increase in California and Oregon is from emigration by ship as there were fast and reasonably low cost transportation via east and west coast steamships and the Panama Railroad after 1855. The census numbers imply at least 200,000 emigrants (or more) used some variation of the California/Oregon/Mormon/Bozeman trails to get to their new homes between 1860 and 1870.

Costs The cost of traveling over the Oregon Trail and its extensions varied from nothing to a few hundred dollars per person. Women seldom went alone. The cheapest way was to hire on to help drive the wagons or herds, allowing one to make the trip for nearly nothing or even make a small profit. Those with capital could often buy livestock in the midwest and drive the stock to California or Oregon for profit. About 60-80% of the travelers were farmers and as such already owned a wagon, livestock team, and many of the necessary supplies. This lowered the cost of the trip to about $50 per person for food and other items. Families planned the trip months in advance and made many of the extra clothing and other items needed. Individuals buying most of the needed items would end up spending between $150-$200 per person.[90] As the trail matured, additional costs for ferries and toll roads were thought to have been about $30 per wagon.[91]

Deaths

Oregon-California-Mormon Trail Deaths[92]

Cause

Estimated deaths

Disease

6,000-12,500

Indian attack

3,000-4,500

Freezing

300-500

Run overs

200-500

Drownings

200-500

Shootings

200-500

Miscellaneous

200-500

Scurvy

300-500

Totals

9,400-21,000

The route west was arduous and with many dangers, but the number of deaths on the trail is not known with any precision; there are only wildly varying estimates. Estimating is difficult because of the common practice of burying people in unmarked graves that were intentionally disguised to avoid them being dug up by animals or Indians. Graves were often put in the middle of a trail and then run over by the livestock to make them difficult to find. Disease was the main killer of trail travelers; cholera killed up to 3% of all travelers in the epidemic years from 1849 to 1855.

Indian attacks increased significantly after 1860 when most of the army troops were withdrawn and miners and ranchers began fanning out all over the country, often encroaching on Indian territory. Increased attacks along the Humboldt led to most travelers taking the Central Nevada Route. The Goodall cutoff was developed in Idaho in 1862 which kept Oregon bound travelers away from much of the Indian trouble nearer the Snake River. Other trails were developed that traveled further along the South Platte to avoid local Indian hot spots.

Other common causes of death included hypothermia, drowning in river crossings, getting run over by wagons, and accidental gun deaths. Drownings probably peaked in 1849 and 1850 when young impatient and pushy men were the predominant population on the trail. Later more family groups started traveling as well as many more ferries and bridges were being put in, and fording a dangerous river became much less common and dangerous. Surprisingly few people were taught to swim in this era. Being run over was a major cause of death, despite the wagons only averaging 2-3 miles per hour. The wagons could not easily be stopped, and people, particularly children, were often trying to get on and off the wagons while they were moving-not always successfully. Another hazard was a dress getting caught in the wheels and pulling the person under. Accidental shootings declined significantly after Fort Laramie as people became more familiar with their weapons and often just left them in their wagons. Carrying around a ten pound rifle all day soon became tedious and usually unnecessary as the perceived Indian threat faded and hunting opportunities receded.

A significant number of travelers were suffering from scurvy by the end of their trips. Their typical flour and salted pork/bacon diet had very little vitamin C in it. The diet in the mining camps was also typically low in fresh vegetables and fruit, which indirectly led to early deaths of many of the inhabitants. Some believe that scurvy deaths may have rivaled cholera as a killer, with most deaths occurring after the victim reached California.[93] Many understood the importance of a diet that included fresh vegetables and fruit, and how to prevent scurvy was common knowledge in some circles but far from universally known or taught. Chinese travelers with their insistence on many vegetables in their diet fared much better.[citation needed]

Miscellaneous deaths included deaths by homicides, lightning strikes, childbirth, stampedes, snake bites, flash floods, falling trees, and kicks by animals. According to an evaluation by John Unruh,[94] a 4% death rate or 16,000 out of 400,000 total pioneers on all trails may have died on the trail.

Answer 2

short but dangerous journey to freedom