The Oregon Trail



Aside from the occasional stories of fur trappers and what they read in the newspapers, most families on the Oregon Trail were not prepared for the harsh conditions that they would face. Packing up all of your stuff in a wagon and walking 2,000 miles under a blazing sun, sudden rainstorms, and freak snowstorms may sound romantic but it wasn't all fun and games. March and April were the best time to do your jumping off because the grasses along the Great Plains were perfect for grazing the oxen. Of course, the last thing you would expect to hear about in the old west is traffic jams, but yep they even had them back then. With thousands of people literally lining up to start their journey things could get pretty messy (and smelly with all of those oxen).



Sometimes the trail out of town might be backed up for days before everyone got underway.The pioneers followed a set course first along the Platte River, over the Rocky Mountains, and then follow the Snake and Columbia Rivers into the fertile Willamette Valley. The first settlers made their way west in 1841. By 1845, 5,000 people were making the trek to Oregon. Once gold was discovered in California this numbered surged to 55,000 people annually in 1850. However, not everyone made it to the Oregon. The trail from Missouri to the Willamette Valley is lined with the graves of over 20,000 folks who didn't survive. Cholera was the biggest killer. Caused by drinking water that had been tainted by animal or human feces, a victim of Cholera could expect severe diarrhea, cramps, and vomiting. If untreated a person could die from rapid dehydration.



Making the journey was very difficult as almost the entire journey had to be done on foot. Only the very young, the very old, and the very sick were allowed to ride in the wagons; and in the days before shock absorbers, most people preferred to take their chances walking. The pioneers never traveled along- that was unthinkable. Usually, families would team up with other families along the route and they would stay together for protection or share the workload. Although the threat of Indian ambushes were almost certainly on the mind of every pioneer, most people didn't even see an Indian, much less survive an attack. The biggest threats were from Mother Nature and wagon malfunctions.



The Great Plains (or the Great American Desert as it was known back then) was a vast grassland that was seen as being only good for wild Indians and buffalo. Summer temperatures were scorching, tornadoes and thunderstorms could spring up without warning, and the winters were bitterly cold and snowy. A snapped wagon axle was by far the biggest concern.



All smart pioneers brought tools and brushed up on wagon mechanics before leaving home. A snapped axle could at best delay your journey by a week or more. At worst, you would have to abandon most of your stuff along the trail and turn your wagon into a pushcart with only the barest of necessities. The Oregon Trail could be called one long trash heap; those who made their journey in the late 1840's and 1850's only had to follow the oxen bones, broken furniture and abandoned wagons to know they were on the right path. Of course, this is one of the main reasons why wagons traveled in groups called wagon trains.
 

Jumping Off



In the 1830s a new type of pioneer was heading west into Indian Territory.  Rather than coming to trade and then go back home, entire families were heading west along a northern route called the Oregon Trail. Following in the footsteps of the fur trappers and explorers who blazed the first paths for white settlement in the Oregon Territory, it took these pioneers 6 months and over 2,000 miles of walking to finally reach their destination, the Willamette Valley (near modern-day Portland); but was back then claimed by both Britain and the United States.

 

However, don't go thinking that just because someone did it before them that it made things easier for the settlers. Most travelers on the Oregon Trail were escaping a crushing economic depression that was sweeping the country in the late 1830's. In 1837 and 1841, thousands of banks went bankrupt, unemployment was high, and farm prices had collapsed meaning that farmers had to sell their corn and wheat for less than what it cost to grow it. Many farmers found their land being repossessed by the banks.  The only alternative for many was to sell everything they had, say goodbye for the last time to your family and friends and catch the next steamship bound for Missouri.

 

Missouri was just the beginning or jumping off point as the settlers called it. Towns like St. Joseph, Omaha, Council Bluffs, and Independence grew up faster than a wink. The very existence of these towns was centered on selling the goods that pioneers would need on their 2,000-mile trek west. Since they were heading into unknown territory with no Target just off the expressway, pioneers had to prepare for every possible occasion.

 

One jumper-offer summed up the supplies that one would need along the Oregon Trail as such this advice given by Oregon emigrant Lansford Hastings:

 

"In procuring supplies for this journey, the emigrant should provide himself with, at least, 200 pounds of flour, 150 pounds of bacon; ten pounds of coffee; twenty pounds of sugar; and ten pounds of salt."-

 

Source: http://www.america101.us/trail/Jumpingoff.html.

 

Lard, apples, bacon, and biscuits were also common foodstuffs that a pioneer would want to stock up on. On average each person would need about 1,000 pounds of food to last the 6 months or more that it might take. Of course, food was essential but it wasn't the only thing you'd need to stock up on. First, you had to buy a wagon (no, everyone didn't own one of those back then) and an ox or two to pull it. The Schooner Wagons (named after the fast ships that sailed up and down the east coast) was your best bet.