Essay On The Oregon Trail

Americans also had to be careful with crossing rivers. During the late fall and winter, the temperatures of the water could cause a person to get sick, let alone die from the lack of medical care. Americans also had to be careful crossing rivers for their wagons and animals were so heavy. They had to be careful not to let animals drown. According to Shannon, more than half of the pioneers, along with their cattle drowned in 1844 when trying to cross the Columbia Gorge.
Besides the weather not being helpful during some parts of travel. the lack of supplies that Americans could take or access on their journey resulted in many Americans dying on their journey west. Many Americans fell ill due to diseases on the trail, but were unable to access any kind of care besides with the supplies they brought (Kent, 2009). Some of these illness at the time would only result in death because they didn’t have a way of curing them, but other things like a cold could result in death as well since Americans couldn’t keep warm very well while traveling.
There were very few spots on the trail in which Americans could stop and purchase new supplies. When traveling Americans had to rely on what supplies they had in their wagon or what they could trade other Americans while traveling. If they didn’t bring enough …show more content…
People chose to leave the Midwest to create a better life for their families in hopes of obtaining land or finding new jobs. They uprooted their life in hopes of better land than the land they had. They chose to live in less than minimal conditions, with access to very little resources. In the end, Americans who did make it to the Oregon country were able to establish new homes, find new jobs and provide for their families. It wasn’t an easy journey, but many people who traveled the trail survived. They were able to obtain what they had set out to get with both positive and negative outcomes for various