The traffic in later years is undocumented. It then crosses over the Smith Fork of the Bear River before ascending and crossing another 8,200-foot (2,500m) pass on the Salt River Range of mountains and then descending into Star Valley. In 1810 fur entrepreneur John Jacob Astor organized an expedition of frontiersmen to head westward and establish a trading post for his American Fur Company in Oregon. At Salmon Falls there were often a hundred or more Native Americans fishing who would trade for their salmon, a welcome treat. 1848) is about 200 miles (320km) from the Missouri River, and the trail and its many offshoots nearly all converged close to Fort Kearny as they followed the Platte River west. His explorations were written up by him and his wife Jessie Benton Frmont and were widely published. class="statcounter" [84][85] Chipped beef, rice, tea, dried beans, dried fruit, saleratus (for raising bread), vinegar, pickles, mustard, and tallow might also be taken. Mosquitoes were constant pests, and travelers often mention that their animals were covered with blood from the bites. Nearly all of the settlers in the 1843 wagon trains arrived in the Willamette Valley by early October. Fear of a Native American attack near Union Pass in Wyoming forced the group further south where they discovered South Pass, a wide and easy pass over the Continental Divide. During its heyday, roughly 1840s to about 1869, the majority of long arms used were muzzle loaders, either flintlock or percussion, and these were After 1848, the travelers headed to California or Oregon resupplied at the Salt Lake Valley, and then went back over the Salt Lake Cutoff, rejoining the trail near the future IdahoUtah border at the City of Rocks in Idaho. The eastern half of the trail was also used by travelers on the California Trail (from 1843), Mormon Trail (from 1847), and Bozeman Trail (from 1863) before turning off to their separate destinations. After the Black Vermillion River the trail angles northwest to Nebraska paralleling the Little Blue River until reaching the south side of the Platte River. By 5 am breakfast was prepared, while the animals were rounded up after a night of grazing. Between 1860 and 1870, the U.S. population increased by seven million; about 350,000 of this increase was in the Western states. Every year ships would come from London to the Pacific (via Cape Horn) to drop off supplies and trade goods in its trading posts in the Pacific Northwest and pick up the accumulated furs used to pay for these supplies. The trail then proceeded almost due west to meet the main trail at Fort Hall; alternatively, a branch trail headed almost due south to meet the main trail near the present town of Soda Springs.[60][61]. In the early 1840s thousands of American settlers arrived and soon greatly outnumbered the British settlers in Oregon. [85], Emigrant families, who were mostly middle-class, prided themselves on preparing a good table. 1 in 10 died, settlers had to walk 2000 miles, enemy was disease, 7 months to 5. At 7 am the bugle sounded, the wagonmaster shouted "Wagons roll! [84] When emigrants faced starvation, they would sometimes slaughter their animals (horses, mules, and oxen). [84], At the time, scurvy was well-recognized, but there was a lack of clear understanding of how to prevent the disease. It hugged the southern edge of the Snake River canyon and was a much rougher trail with poorer water and grass, requiring occasional steep descents and ascents with the animals down into the Snake River canyon to get water. Between 1840 and 1860, the Oregon Trail was the main route for settlers who wanted to travel across the Great Plains of the United States and the Continental Divide to the Willamette Valley of Oregon or the gold fields in California. James Sinclair led a large party of nearly 200 settlers from the Red River Colony in 1841. Surprisingly few people were taught to swim in this era. Because it was more a network of trails than a single trail, there were numerous variations with other trails eventually established on both sides of the Platte, North Platte, Snake, and Columbia rivers. From South Pass the trail continues southwest crossing Big Sandy Creekabout 10 feet (3.0m) wide and 1 foot (0.30m) deepbefore hitting the Green River. Plug in and press a button to use it. Oregon Trail Fact 16: Weapons: Weapons were essential items to take on the Oregon Trail and included hunting knives, revolvers or muskets Oregon Trail Fact 17: Control-A also allows you to erase messages (epitaphs) written on the tombstones for "emigrants" who died along the trail. Once you begin hunt immediatly until you have over 200 lbs of food. Large wagons needed mulitple teams. Not until trappers Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick rediscovered the pass in 1824 did that critical route through the mountains became widely known. Other missionaries, mostly husband and wife teams using wagon and pack trains, established missions in the Willamette Valley, as well as various locations in the future states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. After crossing Mount Oread at Lawrence, the trail crosses the Kansas River by ferry or boats near Topeka and crossed the Wakarusa and Black Vermillion rivers by ferries. [105] Because a dead traveler would often be buried at the site of death, nearby streams could easily be contaminated by the dead body. "[14] In 1830, William Sublette brought the first wagons carrying his trading goods up the Platte, North Platte, and Sweetwater rivers before crossing over South Pass to a fur trade rendezvous on the Green River near the future town of Big Piney, Wyoming. Several Oregon Trail branches and route variations led to the Willamette Valley. They had re-discovered the route that Robert Stuart had taken in 1813eleven years before. According to an evaluation by John Unruh,[101] a 4 percent death rate or 16,000 out of 400,000 total pioneers on all trails may have died on the trail. The relative scarcity of women gave them many opportunities to do many more things that were not normally considered women's work of this era. From there the Sublette-Greenwood Cutoff trail had to cross a mountain range to connect with the main trail near Cokeville in the Bear River Valley.[56]. [108], Airborne diseases also commonly affected travelers. In only a few weeks at a rendezvous a year's worth of trading and celebrating would take place as the traders took their furs and remaining supplies back east for the winter and the trappers faced another fall and winter with new supplies. There a passage could be made with a lot of shovel work to cut down the banks or the travelers could find an already established crossing. In the early years, Mormons sent scavenging parties back along the trail to salvage as much iron and other supplies as possible and haul it to Salt Lake City, where supplies of all kinds were needed. They then traveled overland up the Blackfoot River and crossed the Continental Divide at Lewis and Clark Pass, as it would become known, and on to the head of the Missouri River. The most famous failure in that regard was that of the Donner Party, whose members struggled to traverse what is today called Donner Pass, in November 1846. McLoughlin would later be hailed as the Father of Oregon. By overland travel, American missionaries and early settlers (initially mostly ex-trappers) started showing up in Oregon around 1824. [47] The Mormons established about 50 temporary towns including the town of Kanesville, Iowa (renamed Council Bluffs in 1852), on the east bank of the Missouri River opposite the mouth of the Platte River. [84][85] Marcy's guide correctly suggested that the consumption of wild grapes, greens, and onions could help prevent the disease and that if vegetables were not available, citric acid could be drunk with sugar and water. These northern routes were largely abandoned after Britain ceded its claim to the southern Columbia River basin by way of the Oregon Treaty of 1846. Big Hill was a detour caused by a then-impassable cut the Bear River made through the mountains and had a tough ascent often requiring doubling up of teams and a very steep and dangerous descent. WebThe Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile (3,490 km) [1] eastwest, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kansas and nearly all of what are now the states of Nebraska and Wyoming. This last crossing of the Snake could be done on bull boats while swimming the stock across. Please select which sections you would like to print: William E. Hill is the author of popular books on the Oregon Trail, California Trail, Santa Fe Trail, Pony Express, and the travels of Lewis and Clark. The Platte River and the North Platte River in the future states of Nebraska and Wyoming typically had many channels and islands and were too shallow, crooked, muddy and unpredictable for travel even by canoe. Travelers gathered and ignited dried cow dung to cook their meals. [81] Like oxen, mules could survive on prairie grasses. From there the trail followed Big Piney Creek west before passing over the 8,800 feet (2,700m) Thompson Pass in the Wyoming Range. One of the most controversial design decisions I made is familiar to everyone who has played The Oregon Trail. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. These census numbers show a 363,000 population increase in the western states and territories between 1860 and 1870. While there were almost no United States settlers in the future state of Washington in 1846, the United States had already demonstrated it could induce thousands of settlers to go to the Oregon Territory, and it would be only a short time before they would vastly outnumber the few hundred HBC employees and retirees living in Washington. Its Quinault interpreter survived, and later told the PFC management at Fort Astoria of the destruction. Oxen typically traveled at a steady pace up to two miles an hour. Later settlers followed the Platte and South Platte Rivers into their settlements there (much of which became the state of Colorado). Several towns in Nebraska were used as jumping off places with Omaha eventually becoming a favorite after about 1855. They normally used the north side of the Platte Riverthe same route used 20 years later by the Mormon Trail. Before the Union Pacific Railroad was started in 1865, St. Joseph was the westernmost point in the United States accessible by rail. Reaching the Sierra Nevada before the start of the winter storms was critical for a successful completion of a trip. After crossing the Snake River the 230-mile (370km) cutoff headed north from Fort Hall toward Big Southern Butte following the Lost River part of the way. WebLots of land for claim, escape from a crime, scared of economic instability, (Panic of 1839), wanted adventure, escape slavery. [45] In its early days, St. Joseph was a bustling outpost and rough frontier town, serving as one of the last supply points before heading over the Missouri River to the frontier. Mountain men primarily trapped beaver and sold the skins. The wagons had no springs, and the ride along the trail was very rough. [21][22] 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. This combination wagon/stagecoach/pony express/telegraph line route is labeled the Pony Express National Historic Trail on the National Trail Map. [80] Oxen were trained by leading, the use of a whip or goad, and the use of oral commands (such as "Gee" (right), "Haw" (left), and "Whoa" (stop)). Fort Laramie was the end of most cholera outbreaks which killed thousands along the lower Platte and North Platte from 1849 to 1855. src="http://c.statcounter.com/9693962/0/d957fd5e/1/" They used pack animals for the rest of the trip to Fort Walla Walla and then floated by boat to Fort Vancouver to get supplies before returning to start their missions. Disease was the main killer of trail travelers; cholera killed up to 3 percent of all travelers in the epidemic years from 1849 to 1855. Some used goggles to keep dust out of the eyes. While the first few parties organized and departed from Elm Grove, the Oregon Trail's primary starting point was Independence, Missouri, or Westport, (which was annexed into modern day Kansas City), on the Missouri River. 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