Powerpoint about the Oregon Trail

1. By: Kaitlyn Mullins
May 13, 2013

2. 
 2,000 mile journey
 4-6 months
 In a 39 year period, more than 50,000 people traveled
the Oregon Trail
 http://prezi.com/inpdhoq25s5_/copy-of-trails-
west-the-oregon-trail-the-mormon-trail
 By: Himani Patel
Snapshot
http://www.visu
alphotos.com/ima
ge/1x9154866/ore
gon_trail_marker_
on_a_summer_aft
ernoon_ash

3. 
 “The first emigrants to go to Oregon in a covered wagon were Marcus and
Narcissa Whitman who made the trip in 1836. But the big wave of western
migration did not start until 1843, when about a thousand pioneers made the
journey.” (Trinklein and Boettcher)
 Big Migration wave started in 1843 (Trinklein and Boettcher)
How’d it Start?
http://www.nps.gov/whmi/photosmultimedia
/down-the-oregon-trail.htm
http://prezi.com/inpdhoq25s5_/copy-of-trails-
west-the-oregon-trail-the-mormon-trail/

4. 
 The route was from modern day followed the curves
of the Platte, it crossed over flat land and mountains
alike. The trail went through the modern day states
of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho,
and eventually reaching Oregon. (Trinklein and
Boettcher)
The Route
“A 2,000 mile walk or a year-long boat ride”
http://www.historyglobe.com/ot/otmap1.htm http://www.historyglobe.com/ot/otmap2.htm
http://www.america101.
us/trail/routewest.html

5. http://www.nps.gov/oreg/planyourvisit/maps.htm

6. The territories during the Oregon Trail
http://theoregoncoast.info/OregonTrail/TrailToOregon.html

7. 
 "In procuring supplies for this journey, the emigrant
should provide himself with, at least, 200 pounds of
flour, 150 pounds of bacon; ten pounds of coffee;
twenty pounds of sugar; and ten pounds of salt.“
 Lansford Hasting (emigrant)
Packing List: What to
Bring
http://www.route4
0.net/page.asp?n=10
092
http://www.anulaskitchen.co
m/2011/03/flour-mystery-
unsolved.html

8. 
 Could you imagine packing up a wagon, only able to
take items that would fit, and making a 2,000 mile
trip to a place that you were unsure would even be
better than what you had now?
 “Everyone had said goodbye to relatives, friends,
teachers, and homes. These families were joining a
wagon train to Oregon Country. They all had
dreams of getting free land, building new homes,
and starting new farms. They gave up almost
everything to follow this dream.” (Isaacs)
Leaving Home
https://www.youthgo.gov/education-
resources/aliens-your-neighborhood

9. 
 Native Americans were thought to be a hindrance to those apart of the
Oregon Trail. However, Natives helped the travelers by providing
their knowledge of ways to survive in the harsh conditions. (Trinklein
and Boettcher)
 “Most of the encounters with Native Americans were simple business
transactions. The emigrants offered clothes, tobacco or rifles, in
exchange for Native American horses or food.” (Trinklein and
Boettcher)
Giving a Helping Hand
http://tomlaidlaw.com/otkiosks/otcc/ontario.html

10. 
 After a few years the relationship between the
pioneers and Native Americans was still well, until
emigrants overstepped their bounds. One source
said, “emigrants had overgrazed the prairie grasses,
burned all the available firewood, and depleted the
buffalo. Soon many tribes along the Platte were
impoverished.” (Trinklein and Boettcher)
 Soon massacres broke out. For example the Grattan
and Bear River Massacres.
 http://www.america101.us/trail/Native.html
Breaking Point
Open hyperlink to learn more about
these historic battles.

11. 
Life on the Trail
Life on the Oregon Trail was not the fun road trip that many of us
enjoy today. This “road trip” was rough. The settlers faced many
hardships such as sickness, harsh weather conditions, and having
to do with out luxuries.
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-oregontrail.html

12. 
Sickness
 Common Diseases
 Measles
 Typhoid Fever
 Mountain Fever
 Cholera
 "One woman and two men lay dead on
the grass and some more ready to die.
Women and children crying, some
hunting medicine and none to be found.
With heartfelt sorrow, we looked around
for some time until I felt unwell myself.
Got up and moved forward one mile, so
as to be out of hearing of crying and
suffering.“
 Emigrant John Clark:
 "We camped at a place where a woman
had been buried and the wolves dug her
up.Her hair was there with a comb still
in it. She had been buried too shallow. It
seems a dreadful fate, but what is the
difference? One cannot feel after the
spirit is flown.“
 Emigrant Agnes Stewart:
Hear from historian
(Trinklein and Boettcher)http://www.oregontrailcenter.org/HistoricalTrails/Dangers.htm

13. 
Injuries/Accidents
 Most injuries were
minor such as:
 Shooting accidents
 Drowning
 Wagon Wheels
 Animal attacks
 However, some were
deadly
 "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."
 Edward Lenox
(Trinklein and Boettcher)
(Patel)
https://sites.google.com/site/oregontrailcnc/dangers

14. 
 The best time of year to make the 2,000 mile journey
west was between April and September.
 The weather was always unpredictable and often the
cause of accidents.
 Great thunderstorms took their toll. A half-dozen emigrants were killed by
lightning strikes; many others were injured by hail the size of apples. Pounding
rains were especially difficult for the emigrants because there was no shelter on
the open plains and the covered wagons eventually leaked. (Trinklein and
Boettcher)
 “Monday, July 8: It rained considerably during the night. Mr. Frink was on
guard until two o’ clock, when he returned to camp bringing the startling news,
that for some unknown cause, the horses had stampeded.”
 Excerpt from Margaret A. Frink
Weather
http://www.oregontrailcenter.org/HistoricalTrails/JournalEntries/frink.htm
(National Oregon/California Trail Center at Montpelier, Idaho)

15. 
 River Crossings: no boats or ferries to ride across the
river. Pioneers had to drive their wagons, oxen,
horses, families, and supplies through the river.
 Walking: the wagons were usually so overfilled that
most members of the family would walk; and doing
so with no shoes on rough roads could wear on a
body after a while. Plus it’s 2,000 miles!
 Technology: the trip was made without iPods,
television, GPS, or air condoning…imagine that.
Doing Without Luxuries
(Trinklein and Boettcher)Windows clipart

16. 
 Wrote journals
 Cards
 Musical instruments
 Checkers
 Dances
Entertainment
(Patel)
(“Social Studies: The Oregon Trail”)
http://ouractionsdomatter.wikispaces.com/4.+Journals

17. 
 Most families used small farm wagons
 Front wheels were smaller than the back in order to
help with steering and making turns
 Cotton covers were normally kept closed to keep out
dust and insects
 “The wagon box measured only four feet by ten feet.
Most emigrants loaded them to the brim with food,
farm implements and furniture--often over a ton of
cargo.” (Trinklein and Boettcher)
Wagons
(Trinklein andBoettcher)
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wallner/trip_west.htm

18. 
 “Oxen were the animals chosen for pulling the
wagons. They grazed the prairie grasses and sage
found along the trail and needed little water. Their
main drawback was that they were slow, sometimes
making only 2 miles in an hour.”
 (Social Studies: The Oregon Trail)
Oxen
http://ruralheritage.com/ox_paddock/ayrshire.htm

19. 
 Dirt trail
 Dusty
 Tall grass that had to be cut town
The Road
http://cdrh.unl.edu/diggingin/historicima
ges/di.byu.0004.html
http://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/Route_of_the_Or
egon_Trail

20. 
 http://www.oregontrailcenter.org/HistoricalTrails/
ADayOnTheTrail.htm
 (National Oregon/California Trail Center at Montpelier, Idaho)
One Day at a Time
Open
hyperlink to
see the
average
schedule of a
pioneer on
the Oregon
Trail

21. 
Quotes from Pioneers

22. 
 "A multitude of shops had sprung up to furnish emigrants with
necessaries for the journey. The streets were thronged with men,
horses and mules. There was an incessant hammering and banging
from a dozen blacksmiths' sheds, where the heavy wagons were being
repaired, and the horses and oxen shod. While I was in the town, a
train of emigrant wagons from Illinois passed through--a multitude of
healthy children's faces were peeking out from under the covers of the
wagons.“
 Emigrant/author Francis Parkman
Francis Parkman
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Francis_Parkman

23. 
 July 18: “Traveled up Thomas’ fork of the Bear river, twelve miles to
the ford and encamped on the west bank. Country nice and streams
full of fish. Some good farms might be made along here, as the valleys
are rich and the mountains high enough to preserve an eveness of
temperature and supply of sufficiency of timber.
 July 19: “This day drove 25 miles over a mountainous, picturesque
country, possessed of rich valleys, beautiful springs, and streams
abounding with fish. Timber is, however, scarce for to supply the
demands of a farmer.”
Journal entries from J.T.
Kernshttp://www.oregontrailcenter.org/HistoricalTrails/JournalEntries/kerns.htm
http://www.oregontrail
center.org/HistoricalTra
ils/PioneersTalk.htm

24. 
 During the mad rush of migration west, a group of
religious leaders decided to make the journey as well
(Patel)
 They were members of the Church of Latter Day
Saints(Patel)
 Their journey became known as the Mormon Trail
 “Hoped that people would be left to follow their
faith in peace in the west.” (Patel)
Religion
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.
com/~alccgs/history/lds.html

25.  Adams, J.D. "Oregon Trail: Trail to Oregon." Oregon Trail: Trail to Oregon. N.p., n.d.
Web. 15 May 2013.
<http://theoregoncoast.info/OregonTrail/TrailToOregon.html>
 "Cholera." WHO. World Health Organization, July 2012. Web. 15 May 2013.
<http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs107/en/>
 "Dangers - The Oregon Trail." Dangers - The Oregon Trail. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May
2013.
<https://sites.google.com/site/oregontrailcnc/dangers>
 Map, Oregon National Historic Trail Topographical. "Maps." National Parks Service.
National Parks Service, 22 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 May 2013.
<http://www.nps.gov/oreg/planyourvisit/maps.htm>
 "National Oregon/California Trail Center at Montpelier, Idaho." Historic Trails.
National Oregon/California Trail Center at Montpelier, Idaho, n.d. Web. 14
May 2013.
<http://www.oregontrailcenter.org/HistoricalTrails/PioneersTalk.htm>
Bibliography

26.  "Ontario, OR Signage." Ontario, OR Signage. OTCC Interpretive Kiosk, n.d. Web. 14 May
2013.
<http://tomlaidlaw.com/otkiosks/otcc/ontario.html>
 Patel, Himani. "Copy of Trails West - The Oregon Trail & The Mormon Trail." The Oregon
Trail and the Mormon Trail. Prezi, 18 Feb. 2013. Web. 14 May 2013.
<http://prezi.com/inpdhoq25s5_/copy-of-trails-west-the-oregon-trail-the-mormon-
trail>
 "Social Studies: The Oregon Trail." Social Studies: The Oregon Trail. Pacific Northwest
Journeys of Discovery, 2005. Web. 15 May 2013.
<http://www.pacificnorthwestjourneys.org/year2/supplements/socialstudies.cfm?chi
d=14>
 Sparks, Larry, perf. "Back Roads." Rec. 2009. Almost Home. Larry Sparks and the
Lonesome Ramblers. 2011. CD.
 "The Journey West." Trip West. Roots Web, n.d. Web. 14 May 2013.
<http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wallner/tripwest2.htm>
 Trinklein, Mike, and Steve Boettcher. “The Oregon Trail." Home. N.p., 2012. Web. 13 May 2013.
<http://www.america101.us/trail/Oregontrail.html>
Bibliography Continued