The Hardships of the Oregon Trail In a new, war recovering United States, people set off west for new opportunities and land. The Oregon Trail was arguably the biggest migration factor in westernizing America. According to The New Encyclopedia of the American West, the trail was originally laid and set as a fur trading route in 1811 and only accessible on horseback or foot. Eventually settlers began to travel the route, expanding it farther and farther west. From the mid 1830s through 1869 the trail was used by over 400,000 settlers and their families. The trail was primary ventured by pioneers looking for free land after various land acts were put into effect, and the Gold Rush in 1848 brought many more along the trail. The trail was most …show more content…
Olson, the old wagons used to travel the Oregon Trail had no recorded safety features and as expected often were the cause of many deaths and injuries. The huge, heavy wheels made it an instant fight for life if anybody, usually children, were caught underneath them. In his book, Overland to Oregon, Edward Lenox is recorded stating, "A little boy fell over the front end of the wagon during our journey. In his case, the great wheels rolled over the child's head----crushing it to pieces" (Lenox 46). River crossings were also the cause of many accidents along the trail. There are hundreds of recorded drownings while crossing rivers such as the Kansas and Columbia Rivers alone. Ferryman often were available to escort pioneers across the river, but often brought along many safety concerns themselves. John B. Hill described a scene in his diary, "The ferryman allowed too many passengers to get in the boat, and the water came within two inches of the gunwale. He ordered every man to stand steady as the boat was liable to swamp. When we were nearly across the edge of the boat dipped; I thought the boat would be swamped instantly and drowned the last one of us" (Hill, 1840). The wagons were also very weak when dealing with the varying weather throughout the trail causing many problems with …show more content…
The bipolar weather of the trail caused settlers to drop like flies. The trail was commonly either too hot or too cold there was never an in between. According to Steven P Olson, most of the concerning weather took place near the Rocky Mountains. There would be snow storms and frostbite prone temperatures in some places while in other places there would large downpours and excruciating heat. During large downpours there was often lack of shelter and safety as the wagon covers were not as all waterproof and would collapse and tear from large amounts of rain and snow. The cold was also a large issue as many travelers did not come prepared for such temperatures and ended up getting