Brian+Jon+Megan

 iuyiyiu Fort Laramie-   This military post was a welcome site for the pioneers--the first sign of civilization in six weeks. It was a unique respite from the endless wilderness.  Fort Laramie marked that the emigrants were 1/3 of the way to Williamette. Here they regrouped and rested. Some gave up and went home, but most decided to keep moving.There was only one building in Fort Laramie that was considered of importance to the emigrants--the Post-Traders Store. It was the only reliable post office, and items could also be purchased here,however it was very costly. As an example tobacco back in St. Louis, where most people on the journey lived, costed a nickel. There, it costed one dollar.

Scourge of Cholera - There was no cure for this terrible disease. The people would be alive as ever, and the next moment this epidemic would have taken over and spared their lives. Starts with stomach pain, intense pain within minutes, followed by vomiting & diarrhea causing dehydration, then the skin wrinkled, turned blue. If you didn’t die within 12 hours to a day then you were on your way to recovery.

Overcrowding- Many of the diseases were caused by the overcrowded trail. There was no where obviously to go to the bathroom, therefore people did what they must right on the trail. Epidemics, pandemics, and manyviruses started this way. There was no way of escaping the bacteria from the human waste.

Cutoffs and Alternate Routes- Barlow Cutoff- Was made to save effort and time. Was the most practical route but became less popular. Provided an alternate route to having to go over the raipds on the Columbia River. Later, aferry was built across the rapids and then a bridge.

Great Trek of Mormon Pioneers- The beginning of the great trek west really commenced 1 March 1846 on the frozen banks of Sugar Creek in Lee County, Iowa, seven miles west of the Mississippi River. On that dayapproximately three thousand men, women, and children in about five hundred wagons formally abandoned Nauvoo, Illinois, the City of Joseph, as a result of misunderstandings and mob activities. These were the vanguard,but thousands more were to follow that year, across the Mormon Mesopotamia between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. As far as to Bloomfield, at least, the pioneers used established territorial roads. Thereafter they followedwhat primitive roads and Indian paths there were. Travelers today should watch for the more than one hundred road signs marking the trail across Iowa, erected in 1972 by the Iowa Highway Commission in cooperation with theMormon Pioneer Trail Foundation. Terrible weather and lack of preparation caused people and animals much suffering. The first known example of blessing a sick animal took place at Indian Creek in Van Buren County,an act occasionally done in pioneer days. The death of an animal was a serious loss.

Difficulties in the Mountains - Blue Mountains, Cascades, and the Rocky Mountains...

Final Presentation Slideshow

Ryan-Heading West- The reason why so many people headed west was because of the land. The land in Oregon country was good for farming and also had thick forests, forbuilding houses and other necessities that we would need. We also headed to the West to start new lives.

While we were in Missouri they stocked up for supplies that we needed during the way, trying to locate friends, and wait for the grass to grow along the Oregon Trail. If we left to early then there would not be enough grass for their animals to eat for food and the animals might die from starvation. http://www.teacherlink.org/content/social/instructional/pioneer/oregon.html http://www.frontiertrails.com/oldwest/oregontrail.htm Ryan- 1.) Doctors and Disease- There were many diseases on the oregon trail but the type we mostly over looked was viruses. Some viruses are malaria, measels, scarlett fever, andsmall pox. All are very contagious and are pottentialy lethel if not treated properly or if elderly people caught it. The disease that killed the most poeple on the trail was cholera.When someone on the trail had cholera they would eventualy die since there is no cure. http://www.cob.montevallo.edu/O'TooleTK/content5.htm 2.) Everday life- The every day life on the trail was a daily routine. That routine is wake up at sunup; yoke the oxen, and cook the breakfast, which consists of bread and bacon. We would have an hour break for lunch at about six p.m. and then we would set up camp. http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Camping.html 3.)Medicines- A cure for a disease on the trial named Alkali would be a dose of vinegar, flour, water, or lard. Another type of medicine to cure diphtheria, which was caused from cold weather, was to rest and drink lots of fluids. Also a cure that we used for malaria would be to give that person quinine and also sleep would help them. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~pjp/LessonPlans/OregonTrailScience.pdf

Megan- Slide 7-After travelling the first two thirds of the journey, the travelers were exhausted. They now had to face the most difficult part of the trail. Some lost there lives because of thirst and dangerous currents. When they finally reached the West they spread out to build small towns and farms. Slide 8-Although they had come for gold, very few made their fortune. Even though they didn't get what they had come for, the Oregon Trail was still important to the U.S. It spread our U.S. border all the way to California. It created a route to the West and created opportunities for others to enjoy a new life on the west coast. http://www.americanwest.com/trails/pages/oretrail.htm http://pbskids.org/wayback/goldrush/journey_oregon.html Megan-Slide 18-Transportation/Covered Wagons-Covered Wagons were used as transportation on the Oregon Trail. They were carried by 4-6 oxen or 6-10 mules. A canvas was placeed over the wagon to protect the contents. The wagons carried supplies and belongings such as tools, water, and other food supplies. The route- Slide 19-The trail began in Independence, Missouri. Many people packed up and headed out. They were careful to go in parties because theywere afraid of Indianattacks. After putting their belongings in the covered wagon, they headed to Oregon. It took a long time because they had to go through several states such as Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Idaho. Water- Slide 20- Water was very important but sometimes it was difficult to find. In mountainous areas, there were small streams. Sometimes it would rain. If they dug deep into the soil they could find small amounts of water but many suffered because they couldn't get enough. Lack of water caused several deaths but we still continued on the journey with the amount we had. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.uoregon.edu/~ncampbe2/oregon/oregontrail_files/image001.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.uoregon.edu/~ncampbe2/oregon/oregontrail.htm&usg=__2u8iHa7RsNpjrRalfiHTFeZxoXs=&h=338&w=479&sz=68&hl=en&start=2&sig2=ye9XA1ppKabEMDZatmnb6Q&tbnid=wwp56oyJ6lPdOM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=129&ei=3SmLSbfcDJngsAOh6uyJCQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Doregon%2Btrail%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG http://collaborationnation.wikispaces.com/file/view/Water.doc

Jon- The Oregon Trail started in Kansas City, Missouri. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/In_what_states_did_the_Oregon_Trail_start

Jon- Some landmarks along the trail were Courthouse Rock, Chimney Rock, Fourt Laramie, Independence Rock, Fort Bridger, Soda Springs, Fort Hall, Fort Boise,Whitman Mission, The Dalles, and Oregon City. http://www.historyglobe.com/ot/otmap1.htm

Jon- One of the problems of wilderness camping was that it got very crowded sometimes. When they cooked food over an open fire, it would burn a lot. Lots if bugs anddirt got into their food. When it got crowded, people had a hard time finding fuel for their campfire. The only thing they could find that would burn was buffallo dung. http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Camping.html

Jon- The emigrants sometimes had to wait hours for a herd a buffalo to pass by. The only thing they could do then was to chase the buffalo, but they surprisingly didn't do it for food, they did it for fun. http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Buffallo.html

Jon- There were two major Native American Tribes on the Trail. To the North, there was the Cheyenne, and to the South, there was the Pawnee. The emigrants were scaredthat they would attack them, but they never did. The Native Americans would often help out the emigrants. For example, they would do things like help move stuck wagons, rescue drowning emigrants, and find their lost cattle. They would also make trades with the Native Americans. http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Native.html

Jon-