Between 1840 and 1860, roughly 400,000 people traveled the 2,000-mile path of the Oregon Trail, encountering sickness, death, exhaustion, and other hardships. The road was long and arduous, but for these determined pioneers, life continued on and even settled into a routine. Here's what life was really like on the Oregon Trail.
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00:00Between 1840 and 1860, roughly 400,000 people traveled the 2,000-mile path of the Oregon
00:07Trail, encountering sickness, death, exhaustion, and other hardships.
00:13The road was long and arduous, but for these determined pioneers, life continued on and
00:18even settled into a routine.
00:20Here's what life was really like on the Oregon Trail.
00:24Pioneers who journeyed on the Oregon Trail used wagons.
00:28Pioneer wagons had to be light but durable enough to take a beating.
00:32Most settlers used converted farm wagons, while others relied on ones specially made
00:37for the Oregon Trail.
00:39A common misconception is that overlanders used Conestoga wagons.
00:43They did not.
00:44Those famous wagons were used for freight on other trails.
00:47They were much too heavy for crossing the prairies.
00:50The wagons that pioneers used were often simple farm wagons fitted with covers made of canvas.
00:56They weighed up to 1,400 pounds and hauled nearly a ton and a half.
01:01Because of the strain, trail wagons were usually mostly made of hardwoods such as oak, hickory,
01:06and maple.
01:07The wagon bed, at only 4 feet by 10 feet, was crammed with supplies.
01:12If the wagon broke down on the trail, it could be an arduous if not impossible process to
01:16fix it.
01:17The tires, axles, and the connections in the undercarriage took the most abuse.
01:22These parts were reinforced by iron.
01:24The whole ensemble was covered up with white canvas held by hooves, which led some to call
01:28the pioneer wagons prairie schooners.
01:31Prairie schooners made for an uncomfortable ride.
01:34There were no springs or suspension systems to cushion the jolts of 2,000 miles of rocky
01:39wilderness.
01:40Most overlanders, therefore, walked.
01:42Not just because of the lack of comfort, but because the wagon was full of stuff.
01:47Because the Oregon Trail was so long and so full of unknown hazards, pioneers organized
01:52themselves into larger caravans called wagon trains.
01:56This created a mobile community that had the virtue of protection in numbers.
02:00Best not to get too far from the train, miss.
02:03It's like the ocean out here.
02:07The pioneers were also well-structured.
02:09Wagon trains operated through written agreements that dictated rules of who does what and designated
02:14officers to the caravan.
02:16Such contracts were used until about 1850, when they were replaced by more informal agreements.
02:23All these wagons had a direct impact on the environment.
02:25To this day, ruts from Oregon Trail wagon trains are still visible.
02:30In fact, the trail was modified over time as pioneers discovered shortcuts.
02:35Overlanders even carved graffiti into stone, with one prominent example being Independence
02:40Rock in Casper, Wyoming, which was dubbed one of the Registers of the Desert.
02:46Oregon Trail pioneers needed a considerable amount of equipment in order to survive the
02:50months-long journey.
02:52Not only did they need basic tools to repair broken wagons, but also rifles to hunt game,
02:57bedding, tents, and cooking equipment.
03:00Pioneers usually only had up to three sets of clothes made of wool or linen, and that
03:05had to last through the entire journey.
03:07There are actually few surviving examples of Oregon Trail dress, since the clothes were
03:12so worn out by the time the pioneers reached the trail's end, they were either recycled
03:17or discarded.
03:18Also discarded were those items that were found to be impractically too heavy for the
03:22trail.
03:23As the animals hauling the wagons grew increasingly tired, the pioneers were forced to get rid
03:28of all things not essential.
03:30The trail was strewn with furniture, trunks, beds, cast-iron stoves, and other personal
03:36belongings.
03:37What was most essential for the pioneers was to have a large stockpile of food.
03:42When you walk for 2,000 miles, you are going to burn lots of calories.
03:46A hiker without a pack walking four miles per hour on level ground path burns about
03:52106 calories per mile.
03:54In the best of circumstances, it may be assumed that an Oregon Trail pioneer walking 15 miles
03:59a day was expending about 1,600 calories a day at minimum.
04:04This is a very low estimate, since a pioneer would be dealing with rugged terrain.
04:08To fuel their bodies, the settlers needed lots of food.
04:12The Oregon Trail pioneers didn't concern themselves with eating healthy.
04:16Instead, they focused on eating food that could last for months.
04:19It's estimated that a family of four required 400 pounds of bacon, 600 pounds of flour,
04:25100 pounds of sugar, and 200 pounds of lard.
04:28They also often brought dried peaches and apples, as well as sacks of rice.
04:33To wash it all down, they carried 60 pounds of coffee and 4 pounds of tea.
04:38In addition, they also frequently carried cornmeal, butter, vinegar, salt, and baking
04:43soda from the larder.
04:45And of course, there was whiskey or brandy, for medicinal purposes.
04:49On the journey, overlanders would supplement their meals through hunting and fishing.
04:53A larger family often required more food, which could exceed the recommended carrying
04:58load of the wagon.
04:59Some families had to bring two wagons with them, while others brought their own livestock,
05:04like cows, for dairy products.
05:07One of the most important choices an Oregon Trail pioneer had to make was what animals
05:11to bring, and potentially the most critical was selecting which draft animals to haul
05:16the wagon.
05:17This choice boiled down to either mules or oxen.
05:20Oxen were sometimes preferred since they were able to live off of the wild pasturage.
05:24Some overlanders believed that these animals would not wander off, and Native Americans
05:29were uninterested in them, so there was no threat of theft.
05:32The same was true for mules.
05:34However, while mules had the virtue of speed, they were harder to handle than oxen.
05:40Oxen were also cheaper than mules.
05:42Overlanders often waited until they reached a departure point to purchase their supplies
05:46and draft animals so that they were in the freshest condition.
05:49It was also cheaper to buy the animals in, say, Independence, rather than back east.
05:54Many of these animals never finished the journey.
05:57After a few weeks of hauling heavily laden wagons, the animals would flack, and many
06:02would either refuse to go any further, simply collapse and die.
06:06The pioneers would see dead animals on the trail every day.
06:09Sometimes the bodies could be eaten, or sometimes the meat was sold.
06:13When animals did perish, the immigrants often were forced to buy replacements for stiff
06:18prices at the far-flung trading posts and forts along the trail.
06:22One of the great myths of the Oregon Trail that is finally being thoroughly debunked
06:27is that Native American tribes were a menace to the pioneers.
06:31The truth is that the relationship between the immigrants and Native Americans were more
06:35complex.
06:36The pioneers were passing through the lands of a number of tribes with complex societies,
06:41including the Sioux, Cheyenne, Comanche, and Arapaho.
06:45The pioneers were generally filled with paranoia about Native American attacks, and it's that
06:50paranoia that is carried down in popular memory.
06:53Mr. Harris, were those real wild Indians?
06:56Oh no, Richard.
06:57They were friendly Indians.
06:59Darn.
07:01The Native Americans generally viewed the travelers as potential trading partners.
07:05They would supply the settlers with food in exchange for tools, firearms, and small
07:09trade goods like mirrors and metal tools.
07:12Overlanders hired Native Americans to herd their livestock, assist in crossing rivers,
07:17and help guide them along the trail.
07:19Rinker Buck, author of The Oregon Trail, A New American Journey, in an interview with
07:24National Geographic, stated,
07:26"...they bartered with immigrants for trinkets, supplies, and horses.
07:30They were very helpful at first.
07:32In fact, the ingenuity of the Indians in crossing the rivers was a crucial aspect of the Oregon
07:38Trail.
07:39You had to ford numerous rivers, and the Shoshones, Pawnees, and Sioux were extremely adept at
07:45helping the pioneers make these fords."
07:48As time went by, the relations between the pioneers and Native Americans grew worse.
07:53The immigrants never got over their paranoia and frequently shot at peaceful Native Americans.
07:59Rinker Buck noted to National Geographic,
08:01"...for about 20 years, it was very friendly as opposed to the impression that you get
08:06from Hollywood movies.
08:07But when the Indians realized the white man was there to slaughter the buffalo, their
08:11protein source, and we did, in hellacious numbers, they turned hostile and declared
08:16war."
08:17Most of the attacks on the Oregon Trail occurred near the Snake and Humboldt Rivers or near
08:22the southern end of the Willamette Valley to the Applegate Trail.
08:26Still, casualties were lower than you may have thought.
08:29John Unruh calculates in his book The Plains Across that between 1840 and 1860, 362 pioneers
08:36were killed by Native American attack, and 426 Native Americans were killed by pioneers,
08:42with most of the deaths occurring in the latter years.
08:45Keep in mind that Native Americans were far more impacted by the diseases brought by settlers
08:50and their impact on the environment.
08:53Even though the threat of violence from Native Americans was exceedingly minimal, the Oregon
08:57Trail was still highly dangerous.
09:00The mortality rate of the pioneers may have been up to 10 percent.
09:04The causes of death were numerous.
09:06Pioneers brought firearms with them for hunting and sport, and accidents through inept handling
09:11frequently occurred.
09:12Other major accidents included drownings and being run over by wagon wheels or by the animals
09:18they brought.
09:19Harsh weather also played a factor, which included lightning strikes.
09:24Yet the biggest killer was disease.
09:26Pioneers suffered from measles, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and dysentery.
09:30These diseases were dwarfed, however, by cholera, which was the chief killer on the Oregon Trail.
09:36Cholera, which is caused by bacteria in tainted water, causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting,
09:43and death.
09:44A person may die within 12 hours of the onset of symptoms.
09:48"'Yesterday morning, he was fine."
09:52"'It is very quick, cholera.'"
09:57The worst outbreaks of cholera occurred between 1849 and 1852.
10:02Overlander Cecilia Adams wrote in her 1852 diary,
10:05"'Past seven new-made graves, one had four bodies in it.
10:10Cholera.
10:11A man died with the cholera ahead of us.'"
10:14Estimates vary, but disease alone may have claimed up to 30,000 pioneers.
10:19Children shared the dangers of the Oregon Trail with their parents.
10:22Some estimates say that as many as 40,000 of the pioneers were children.
10:27Children on the trail took part in the same chores and duties as adults.
10:31One family with nine children only permitted the three- and five-year-olds to escape work.
10:36Such chores may be to help bake food, assist driving the wagon, or minding any of the loose
10:41livestock the settlers brought.
10:44There was no formal schooling on the trail except for what the family could tutor them.
10:48Children brought with them vivaciousness, which enlivened the camp.
10:52At night they played games like leapfrog and London Bridge, as well as song and dance.
10:57One such account states that a boy named Robert got his hands on a pair of Spanish furs.
11:02He put these on and then attempted to ride one of the tempestuous mules.
11:06One of the party reported, quote,
11:07He looked so ridiculous flying over the mule's head, we heard no more of Spanish furs.
11:13As that story illustrates, children often were seriously injured,
11:17with some dying in accidents on the Oregon Trail.
11:19Such cases included a wagon wheel rolling over a child, breaking limbs, or outright killing them.
11:25An 1849 diary entry records,
11:28"...a lady and four children were drowned through the carelessness of those in charge of the ferry."
11:34As the emigrants crossed North America, each wagon train fell into a routine.
11:39A typical day began at 4 a.m. to the sound of a bugle or rifle to wake up the caravan.
11:45At 5 a.m., the livestock that was let loose to graze overnight were rounded up,
11:49after which breakfast was served.
11:51By 7 a.m., the evening camp was packed and wagons hitched.
11:55At a sound of a trumpet and a call,
11:57Wagon tow!
11:58the caravan proceeded with men riding ahead on horses to scout the path.
12:03At noon, the wagon train halted for a rest and a meal.
12:06At 1, the caravan was on the way again, generally proceeding until about 5 p.m.,
12:12when camp was made by circling the wagons as a corral,
12:15followed by suppers, daily tasks, and some leisure time.
12:18Typically, the camp turned in at 8 p.m., and a guard was set who was relieved at midnight.
12:23The process would then repeat itself at 4 a.m., with the exception of some wagon trains that
12:28halted for extended periods or for the entire day on Sundays for religious observances.
12:34With a journey so long and monotonous,
12:36Oregon Trail pioneers adopted routines and even a semblance of what settled life was like.
12:42There were a number of marriages and births on the trail.
12:45Most weddings occurred at the debarkation points in the east.
12:48Romance also bloomed on the road, though, and couples married.
12:52The newlywed couples were often subjected to a joking custom supposed to prevent the
12:57consummation of the marriage, which might entail banging pots and pans and dragging
13:01the newlyweds out into a drunken mock parade. With a journey so long, though,
13:06tempers sometimes frayed. According to Rinker Buck, as pioneers moved further,
13:11fights would break out, especially during river crossings in which people's livestock
13:15and possessions would get mixed up. Buck said,
13:18"[People would pull their guns out and start shooting each other.]
13:21I feel that the Oregon Trail years and the stresses and the tensions of the crossing
13:26introduced this kind of violence into the American ethos."
13:29Perhaps the pioneer Lauren Hastings summed up the Oregon Trail experience best
13:35when she later told the Oregon Pioneer Association,
13:38"...I look back upon the long, dangerous, and precarious emigrant road with a degree
13:43of romance and pleasure. But to others, it is the graveyard of their friends."