The 2,000 mile Oregon Trail cut from Missouri to Oregon through harsh terrain and challenging weather conditions. The journey was rough and dangerous, and pioneers were expected to follow strict rules if they hoped to survive the trip.
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00:00The 2,000-mile Oregon Trail cut from Missouri to Oregon through harsh terrain and challenging
00:04weather conditions. The journey was rough and dangerous, and pioneers were expected
00:09to follow strict rules if they hoped to survive the trip.
00:12The first concern for pioneers looking to conquer the Oregon Trail was forming a group,
00:16or train, that would travel the route together, sharing wagons, drivers, tools, food, and
00:20medical supplies. By then, those preparing to make the journey would have sold off their
00:24homes, businesses, and anything they couldn't bring with them, and invested in supplies
00:29for the journey.
00:30However a train was organized, it was vital that it was set off from the east at the correct
00:33time of year. If pioneers set off in the winter months, there was a really good chance that
00:37they'd get caught up with snow and blizzards, and who can guess how that'd work out?
00:41Lots of routes cut through high-altitude mountain passes, where snow and ice remained for many
00:45months of the year. Travelers were obliged, therefore, to begin the journey in the spring,
00:49so instead of freezing to death, they just got to deal with dust clouds and intense heat.
00:53Oh, joy.
00:55Now, there were smaller groups heading out on the Oregon Trail, but with the other, larger
00:59trains, they were organized among strangers with a common goal. They included an average
01:03of 30 wagons, but could be as large as 200, which together carried the luggage and supplies
01:07of hundreds of people, usually families. Occasionally, a group would total over 1,000 people.
01:12Nearly half a million pioneers traveled west, carving ruts so deep they're still visible
01:18almost 200 years later.
01:20Such large numbers on such a dangerous route required management and expertise. For this
01:24reason, many wagon trains operated a hierarchy with appointed captains and officers. Travelers
01:29typically signed contracts with train organizers, which outlined the fees they would pay upon
01:33their safe arrival. Groups typically agreed to abide by a written constitution, which
01:37gave officers the power to make decisions on the group's behalf, such as where to camp
01:41each night. There were other practical rules, too, such as those stipulating the rotating
01:45order of the wagon so that each party bore an equal share of the dust kicking up into
01:49the air. Everybody got a chance to be covered in dirt.
01:53The contracts and constitutions signed by travelers upon joining a wagon train typically
01:57included a system of laws tailored for that specific pack. Those containing religious
02:01groups, for example, such as missionaries or Mormons, would have the timing of religious
02:05services included in the travel contracts, and might have assurances of rest on Sundays.
02:10The constitution of any individual wagon train might have included banning gambling or drinking,
02:15or rules regarding hunting and other activities that might help or hinder the traveling party.
02:19Remember to leave three feet for God. Our Lord has very wide hips."
02:24On top of this, the paperwork included frameworks for communal voting and decision-making,
02:28arbitration, and any form of justice that the group would adopt to overcome grievances
02:32between travelers or punish those who failed to follow the laws of the train. Violators
02:36could find themselves banished and forced to try and make it on their own.
02:40If you steal, you will stay where you stole.
02:43The code also outlined how pioneers were expected to act during an attack,
02:46and whether they would have to take up arms.
02:49None of you have firearms. Do we need them?"
02:53For extra protection as they rested after a day's travel,
02:56they would arrange wagons in a circle or square to create a campsite and pen for livestock.
03:02The Oregon Trail back in the 1800s was nothing but rugged, barely distinguishable paths winding
03:07through challenging wild terrain. Most of those who made the journey did so with the use of
03:11covered wagons called prairie scooters. The carriages were roughly four feet wide and
03:1510 feet long, waterproofed with oil and covered with cotton canvas. The terrain was rough,
03:20and the vehicles weighed around 1,300 pounds when empty,
03:23so it was extremely important to travel as light as possible.
03:31This meant making tough decisions about what possessions to leave behind.
03:34Already forced apart with much of their property, those on the Oregon Trail were
03:38often required to lighten the schooners even more in the face of difficult terrain or the
03:42loss of mules, meaning that the trail was littered with discarded objects. Obviously,
03:46the trails were very rough, and extra weight would have just slowed things down. Able travelers
03:51tended to walk alongside the schooners, covering around 16 miles a day on foot.
03:56More than 300,000 people set off on the Oregon Trail, taking their lives into their hands to
04:00find new life out West. Pioneers faced a barrage of other risks on the journey — exhaustion,
04:05malnutrition, and dehydration. Disease in particular took many lives and often decimated
04:10the populations of traveling wagon trains. Smallpox, tick-borne diseases, and scurvy all
04:15took their toll on those heading out West. But cholera, which people caught primarily
04:19through drinking contaminated water, could kill within hours of being contracted,
04:23and was the most feared and deadly illness of all — well, second most feared.
04:27Come on, say it with me. Dysentery.
04:30Yesterday morning, he was fine.
04:36It is very quick.
04:37Cholera and dysentery are both really bad, and you don't want either. But if disease didn't get you,
04:42there were plenty of other ways to die. The danger was compounded by the risk of accidents
04:46and violence. Although attacks by Native Americans were rare, they did happen,
04:50generally near the end of the journey, and were often quite violent.
04:53It is believed that up to one in ten pioneers died on the Oregon Trail,
04:57a total of around 30,000 people, including many children and pregnant women. Because wood was a
05:02precious commodity on the route, those who died were often buried in articles of their own luggage
05:06or wrapped in blankets. Often, bodies were buried directly on the trail so that the wagons passing
05:11over the grave would compact the earth and prevent grave robbers and wild animals from digging them
05:16up. Where the dead couldn't be buried underground, their remains were just covered in rocks.
05:20The Oregon Trail is as much a graveyard as it is a trail.
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