untold Stories
The trek west was a very mentally and physicall brutal task. Cholera served as a main contributer to deaths along the trail. This disease swept through 10% of travelers which is equivalent to about 20,000-30,000 people who died due to the great epidemic. Cholera caused severe diarrhea and vomiting which resulted in dehydration. Most victims that caught the disease died in several hours. The disease could have easily been prevented through the boiling of water, but due to lack of knowledge, bad sanitation alowed the disease to spread rapidly. During this time the pioneers main plain was to reach the pacific before winter fell or else the voyage would have been nearly impossible to accomplish. So many sick victims were either left to fend for themselves and abondoned on the side of the road. Some victims graves were dug way before there death and others were sometimes even buried alive due to the large cholera hesteria.
Accidental shootings were another contributer to deaths along the trail. People were fearful of Indians at the time so they loaded up with weapons before they venture west. Inexperienced hunters shot wildly while pursuing antelope and buffalo, and weary guards sometimes mistakenly shot their fellow pioneers believing they saw a thief, a rustler, or a wild animal in the shadows around a wagon camp.
It is also a common misconception that a lot of Indian tribes were very hostile towards travalers when in fact they were very peaceful. Especially Native American that were forced to move west, helped travalers in exchange for clothing, food, tin cups, fish hooks, metal tools, mirrors, and weapons. They would also assist in operating toll bridges and ferries along rivers across the eastern half on the country. An on the western half Native Americans traded for salmon in Southern Idaho, and bought fresh produce from Cayuse in the Grande Ronde Valley and Umatilla River region.
The Donner Party
Virginia Reed crossed the Oregon Trail with her family durring the great migration. In her diary she preotrays the desperate measures some travelers to survive the long five monthvoyage. One particular group of travelers Virginia Reed sses, known as the Donner Party, serve as a prime example of life out in the wilderness.
"Father thought it advisable to leave when we did, and he was right. When traveling overland, you have to make sure you travel early enough so you don’t get stuck in the Sierra Nevada mountains during the winter where dangerous snowstorms kill both people and animals. We knew the tragic story of the Donner Party, which I will quickly tell you.
The Donners became trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains during a severe winter snowstorm when they decided to try to go through what they thought was a shortcut. Eighty-seven men, women, and children died and the other half survived by eating the dead! The ones who remained alive had to cut their toes off because of frostbite. When they were rescued, some were charged with murder and cannibalism.
I am hoping that this journey will come to an end and that we will all go onto to being rich and prosperous.
Give my best regards to your family"