...The Journal of Helen Carpenter The Journal of Helen Carpenter Alana Vess August 17, 2015 HIS/110 Timothy Hayburn The Journal of Helen Carpenter Dear Journal, it’s me Helen again. I know it’s been a long time since I have written but, to be honest I have just been too busy to write. I was married about five months ago to Mr. Aurelius Carpenter, “he is on the abolitionist side and while he was fighting for the free-state movement he was wounded and I helped nurse him back to his health (2012).” The year is now 1857 and we have decided to travel west to California and in doing so we will be taking the Oregon Trail. I must admit I am terrified, not only about traveling by oxen and wagon through this journey to the new land but also what or who we may cross paths with along the way. One good thing about our journey is my parents are traveling in their wagon behind us so if anything happens to myself or the baby while on this journey I have my mother to help. A few of our neighbors and friends have also decided to make this trek with us because the food and supplies are dwindling down back in Kansas. The bad thing about this journey is that wagon space is very limited so we have had to leave the majority of our belongings behind. With all of that aside we are hoping that California will be a better source for us and have better soil for gardening and...
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...Life on the Oregon Trail was difficult to all pioneers. It took day’s maybe weeks to get ready for the journey. A family of four would have to have over a thousand of pounds of food to survive the very long journey. To travel this long journey pioneers needed a wagon to travel. They needed a wagon because they would need to carry all of that food. Before starting the trip most pioneers had cholera. A lot of pioneers died having it and some were lucky to get better. When it was time to travel there would be huge traffic jams. Some pioneers were not trained. This means that they couldn’t control their ox’s. So most of the time the wagon will run into a tree or the ox will take the wagon in the wrong direction. Only a couple of miles into the journey pioneers noticed that they packed to much stuff into their wagon. So they decided to throw stuff along the way. Settlers from the jump off towns picked up the stuff. Most of the stuff was baconflour & iron stoves. Crossing rivers was one of the most stressful things in the journey. Hundreds died trying to cross some rivers. Those rivers are called the Kansas, North Platte, and Colombia Rivers. Many pioneers walked the 2,000 mile journey. That’s because they overloaded their wagons. In 1850 37 settlers drowned crossing the Green River. The wagons weren’t 100% safe. It didn’t have no safe features. Therefore if someone fell out the wagon death was instant. A diary quoted “A little boy fell over the front end of the wagon during our...
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...The Western Experience HIS/110 July 13, 2015 The Western Experience On April 3, 1848, the whole family was busy buying and loading supplies for our long journey from Independence, Missouri to Willamette Valley, Oregon, across the Oregon Trail. Traveling in our wagon is Pa, Ma, Billy (14), Maggie (6), and I. My name is Elizabeth, everyone calls me Lizzie, I am 19, single, and ready for a new adventure. Oregon sounds like it will be exciting, but I will miss my friends and family we are leaving behind. Aunt Grace and Uncle Frank are traveling with us but in their own wagon. Pa is a good hunter so we do not take as much food as everyone else; he figures he will hunt along the way. The wagons are all ready and the wagon master has just shouted “Wagon’s Ho” so here we go. Three days into our journey, it has been a quiet ride traveling over the plains of Missouri. We have met only a few of the other families. In the beginning, most of the families kept to themselves but as the journey continues people are venturing out and being neighborly. We have to corral our wagons at night to keep the livestock from wandering away. Looking around I see many campfires, children playing, women cooking, and the men take turns watching the camp. It is now April 9, 1848, and we have reached the Kansas River Crossing. I am a little scared because we have not crossed any water since we left and I am not sure how we are going to cross. As we entered the water, our wagon started to float. As we...
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...The Western Experience Amaury Acosta HIS110 October 11, 2015 The Western Experience Today has just been a horrible day. The closer we get to our destination in Oregon, the more restless I become. We started this journey in Missouri back in November and now we are entering March and the weather has improved finally. I can’t wait to reach our new home place and get settled. I was not thrilled about making this move in the beginning because I had to leave everything behind that meant anything to me. I had to leave my family behind because my parents are not in good health and would not have survived the trip. Many people lost their lives during the trip from the excessive cold weather, diseases, lack of food, and just the pain of having left everything behind (A&E, 2013). Some people just could not handle the trip because it was just too hard. The extreme cold and snow through the winter was more than some people could take (A&E, 2013). This trip down the Oregon Trail was more than most people expected and harder than some could handle. We did not expect the weather to be this bad because we were moving west. We had thought the weather would be better than the Midwest. I guess I did not take traveling through the Rocky Mountains into account (Fuller, 2013). It was so hard keeping up with the laundry and things in the bitter cold, having to wash those clothes in water that kept my fingers cold and icy! Having to make sure they were near a fire to dry...
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...The Oregon Trail was the best land route for travel to the western United States. It was the only practical way for settlers in wagons with their tools, livestock, and supplies to cross the mountains. Many believe that without the trail, most of the American west would today be part of Canada or Mexico. For twenty-five years, 1841-1866, people 'pulled-up-stakes' and headed west. Estimates range from 250,000 to 650,000 persons made the trip. About 1/3 immigrated to Oregon, another 1/3 were bound for California, and 1/3 went to Utah, Colorado, and Montana. The Oregon Trail, the longest of the overland routes used in the westward expansion of the United States, was first traced by explorers and fur traders. Settlers began following the trail in 1841. The first large group of about 900 immigrants used the trail in the "Great Migration" of 1843. In that year, a provisional government was organized in Oregon. The Oregon Country's northern boundary was set in 1846, and the Territory of Oregon was formed in 1848 as over 12,000 people made the journey in that decade. Families usually began their journey at Independence, Missouri near the Missouri River. The journey in a covered wagon took six months, following a winding 2,000 mile trail (3,200 kilometers) through prairies, deserts, and across mountains to the Pacific Northwest. The journey was a severe test of strength and endurance. Settlers often had to cross flooded rivers. Indians attacked the wagon trains; however...
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...The Western Experience My husband and I had been traveling with our group for several months now. When we first set off on the Oregon Trail from Independence, Missouri, we never imagined that our journey would be so difficult. We left many of our loved ones behind because they were not strong enough to make the journey. Back in Missouri, the economy was harsh, especially to farmers such as us. The Panic of 1837 had greatly impacted us financially. The depression that followed motivated us to head west where the climate was less humid, the winters milder, and the land better suited to farm on. As a pioneer woman, I find my circumstances very daunting at times. Not only do I have to worry about my husband, but I have to make sure our son and daughter are cared for as well. This homestead life on the Oregon Trail has given me more responsibility, and I have faced challenges that I have never faced before. I am weary that this journey will never end. Every night as we set up camp, the other women and I prepare a meal. There are at least seventy fellow pioneers on this trip, and our supplies are limited, so we make do with what we have. I can see the faces of my fellow pioneers what this journey is doing to them. I can tell that they are weary. I can imagine that many of the men dream of sitting by a warm fire again, in a cabin, as their women prepare a meal on a stove in the kitchen. In reality, we have to cook by a campfire, food is getting scarce, and many times...
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...were too expensive and the church leader at the time, Brigham Young, decided that handcarts would be cheaper, and faster for such a large number of converts to reach the valley. The first trek starting in February of 1846 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Omaha, Nebraska was much harsher due to death and tragedy resulting from black scurvy, Cholera, Typhoid Fever, Tuberculosis, and maternal deaths, and the weakening of the body and mind by stress, while February marked harsh weather and winter cold. Due to being practically forced to leave their homes in a hurry most had left important provisions behind and went out with no experience and with no organized leadership. The 500 wagon long train faced miles of axle-deep mud bogs and rough, obscure trails along the way. Yet along the way they became more organized and began to travel in groups of 10s, 50s or 100s. While also...
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...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...
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...keep energy up. The Oregon Trail was a 2,000 mile journey with very limited resources. Eventually, the traveling of the Oregon Trail came to a halt when the Transcontinental Railroad was built. The Oregon Trail and Transcontinental Railroad were built because of Americans wanting to expand westward. Once called 'the Emigrant Road', the Oregon Trail was a challenge that many faced to have better lives. Though some journeyed off the path and went to other parts of what is now the U.S., the Oregon Trail started in Independence, Missouri and ended in Oregon City, Oregon. Many emigrants took the tail to form new or better lives. Although farmers were the majority, all types of people took the Oregon Trail (Brooke). Starting in the 1840's, emigrants loaded Prairie Schooners with items that guide books told them to put in their wagons. Most of the items in the wagons were food. The wagons were normally pulled by oxen, but some people chose to have horses or mules pull their wagon....
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...Have you ever know anybody with multiple identities? In The Westing Game, there are heirs competing for the same thing, money, murder, and a friend. The Westing Game truly has it all. The Westing Game book and movie contain many similarities and differences that are worth exploring. The Westing Game contains a young girl (Turtle Wexler) and heirs that try and solve the mystery of who killed Sam Westing. The heirs are given a set of clues and a partner to try and solve the mystery, but one comes out on top, Turtle Wexler. The Westing Game contains many differences throughout the book and movie but it also has many similarities. The Westing Game has a lot of similarities that involve characters. For example, Turtle Wexler wins the game in...
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...The California Trail carried over 250,000 gold-seekers and farmers to the gold fields and rich farmlands of the Golden State during the 1840s and 1850s, the greatest mass migration in American history. The general route began at various jumping off points along the Missouri River and stretched to various points in California Oregon, and the Sierra Nevada. The specific route that emigrants and forty-niners used depended on their starting point in Missouri, their final destination in California, the condition of their wagons and livestock, and yearly changes in water and forage along the different routes. The trail passes through the states of Missouri, Kansas Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, and California. Before the trail was blazed, the Great Basin region had only been partially explored during the days of Spanish and Mexican rule. However, that changed in 1832 when Benjamin Bonneville, a United States Army officer, requested a leave of absence to pursue an expedition to the west. The expedition was financed by John Jacob Astor, a rival of the Hudson Bay company. While Bonneville was exploring the Snake River in Wyoming, he sent a party of men under Joseph Walker to explore the Great Salt Lake and find an overland route to California. Early settlers began to use the trail in the 1840's, the first of which was John Bidwell, who led the 1841 Bidwell-Bartleson Party. In 1842, a member of the Bidwell-Bartleson Party returned to Missouri on the Humboldt...
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...A Mother’s Day On The Oregon Trail Aryanna Walker HIS/110 April 5, 2012 William Deberry A Mother On The Oregon Trail Date: July 17th 1847, my husband, 3 kids and I have been on the Oregon Trail for just over 4 month and nearly 2500 miles. We were told that we would get 640 acres in the Willamette valley from the Organic Law of Oregon (Smith, 1998). We will find out in the morning. I am extremely excited for this is the last night before we get there. We left Virginia in March. My husband said that we did this to find a better life out here. He said that we would not have to worry about money. We will be able to grow and hunt everything we need. Any thing we cannot grow or hunt, we can tread for with the Indians or the other settlers. We are not alone on this trip. My husband talked three of my brothers in to coming along with us and they brought their families. My eldest brother has a wife and five older boys much older then my three young daughters. The middle brother has wife and four older children, three boys and a girl. My youngest brother had just married when my husband approached him with the thought of traveling with us. His wife’s family was not fond of the idea and even purchased all of the supplies they were going to need… or so they thought. Luckily there has been a few small trading post and some nicer Indians or they would be walking bare foot. I am so thankful that no one has got seriously hurt or ill. When have met a lot of hostile Indians...
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...me during the months before and sew quilts with me. It was a great bonding event while we sewed quilts together and brought closer together. When it came time for us to leave it was very sad. Some friends spend the night with us and others arrived at daylight. All places of business and the schools were closed and everyone came to say goodbye. We gathered along the Oregon Trail at small towns along the Missouri River call “jumping off points”, Independence St. Joseph and Council Bluffs were among these small towns. Our wagon was made of seasoned wood to withstand extreme temperatures and was hauled by four oxen. Tools and spare parts were stored under our wagon. We had utensils including forks and knives, plates, cups, a kettle, frypan, a coffee pot that were packed inside. Our food consisted of about 200 pounds of flour 150 pounds of bacon, 10 pounds coffee, 20 pounds of sugar, and 10 pounds of salt chips, beef, rice, dried beans, dried fruits, pickles, and other foods were also packed. Our wagon trains arrive at a jumping point in March and left in April when the snow melted enough, hopefully we will arrive in Oregon before winter. Starting the 2400 mile journey in Missouri are wagons would continue along the Missouri River to the Plateau River. We followed this wide and mighty river through Nebraska and halfway through Wyoming. We stopped in Fort Laramie in Wyoming to rest and buy provisions. It was summer by then and the days were very hot and the nights were very cold. Once...
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...History. James W. Marshall’s finding of gold on January 24, 1848 led to the expansion of the West Coast and the beginning of a new state, California. Marshall discovered gold in a mill on the south fork of the American River, and seeing that it was John A. Stutter’s mill he wanted the gold kept quiet and the press kept out of it for a while, but by March it was revealed. By May the rush had started and men who headed for the streams flowing westward from the Sierra Nevada depopulated San Francisco, Monterey, San Jose, and other California communities. By the time summer was there, Californians joined by few men from Hawaii and Oregon were already in search for the gold without competition from the gold seekers who would soon descend on the gold country. By the time August came around the news had already hit the East when the New York Herald published a report. In December of that same year President James K. Polk notified Congress of the gold discovery and the whole world realized that this was true. Gold fever broke out in the United States; thousands made arrangements to go the California in the spring. Some small gold seekers went west and planned to do the job on their own. Being able to share expenses, labor, and profits between just a small group of people benefited these workers. The small groups would not have to worry about being paid for their...
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...wrote a book called ‘The Emigrants’ guide to Oregon and California’ to guide others on a shortcut that he himself had never taken. A group on the way to California soon learned why. On July 19th, 1846, The Donner Party, a group of 87 people, mainly families, moved out west from Illinois. In the party “were James and Margaret Reed, Margaret's mother, their four children, five employees and one friend, from Springfield, Illinois. Also from Springfield were two brothers and their families, George and Tamsen Donner and Jacob and Elizabeth Donner, and between them, thirteen children and three teamsters. From Keokuk, Iowa came Patrick and Margaret "Peggy" Breen, their seven children and a...
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