by Jesse Wiley
You will need two hundred pounds of food per person, mainly flour, bacon, sugar, cornmeal, fat, beans, rice, vinegar, baking soda, and citric acid. Pack your essential building, farming, and wagon-repair tools and camping gear such as a tent, bedding, kitchen utensils, matches, rope, and candles.
Make sure you bring extra sets of thick, woolen clothing for the colder mountainous regions. Take buckskin and sewing materials for repairing shoes. Remember: choose how you spend your money wisely. You don’t want to reach Oregon City completely broke!
JOIN A WAGON TRAIN
Pioneers will join wagon “trains,” which are groups of wagons traveling together. Smaller groups are more manageable than large ones, but if you’re traveling with many wagons, be sure to keep everyone together at all costs. The advantages of larger wagon trains include safety in numbers, helping one another with skills, and hunting in packs. There are many dangers on the Trail, so a larger wagon train will likely mean better chances of survival and success.
Keep on the lookout for bad weather, rest when needed, and listen to your fellow pioneers.
Your days will start as early as four in the morning, with breakfast, chores, and loading your wagon. A bugle at seven means it’s time to start the day’s journey. The wagon train will roll along until six p.m., except for an hour’s lunch and rest time, which is called “nooning.”
At the end of the day, you will unload your wagon, set up camp, take care of your livestock, and cook dinner. If you can’t find firewood, you can burn dried patties of buffalo dung called “buffalo chips.” Sometimes you play games or tell stories around the campfire.
Dangers!
SICKNESS
Cholera and dysentery are deadly diseases that can kill a person within a day. Highly contagious and caught by drinking unclean water or eating uncooked food, cholera was the main cause of death on the Trail. Cook your food thoroughly and boil drinking water.
DISHONEST PEOPLE
The Trail is riddled with bandits and deceptive traders. Be sure to always be on your guard and ask around before purchasing wares.
BAD WEATHER
Sudden thunderstorms, snowstorms, avalanches, and bad weather can damage wagons, destroy food and livestock, and result in sickness and even death if you’re not prepared.
SEPARATION
Splitting up your wagon train is rarely a good idea. Stay together! There is safety in numbers. You need support and community on this dangerous Trail.
CROSSING RIVERS
Crossing any river is difficult for a heavy wagon filled with supplies and valuables. Some riverbeds can be thick and muddy, making it easy for the wagon wheels to sink in deep and get stuck. Make sure the river is low if you’re going to ford it, and get help navigating when you can.
ANIMALS
Predators such as snakes and coyotes can easily kill and hurt your livestock. Make loud noises and get help if you hear howling nearby. Be wary of tall prairie grasses, where snakes can easily hide.
Finding Your Way
In 1855, once you leave Independence, Missouri, you are striking out into the great open wilderness. There are no roads, no inns, and no towns. The United States comprises thirty-one states and busy cities and towns back East. But out West, you’ll have to cross territories and Native American lands by using a compass, consulting a map of the Oregon Trail (such as the one at the front of the book on pages 4 and 5), and looking for famous landmarks, listed below.
At settlements and forts along the way, trail guides and friendly locals can provide good advice.
Look for these landmarks between Missouri and Oregon City
DISTANCE FROM INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI:
GARDNER JUNCTION: 42 miles (68 km)
BIG SPRINGS: 65 miles (105 km)
FORT HALL: 1,217 miles (1,959 km)
THE DALLES: 1,732 miles (2,787 km)
You have more than 1,000 miles until you reach Oregon City—or at least that’s what you think. Your wagon train captain, Buck Sanders, lost your only map about a month ago when he discarded supplies from the wagons to lighten their load.
Since Buck lost the map, you’ve all been relying on the kindness of strangers, trail guides, and the position of the sun to find your way West. The oxen in your ten-wagon train are getting more exhausted by the minute on a trail lined with cast-iron skillets and extra wagon parts. Luckily, you’ve stayed calm and stuck to the Trail.
Today, your wagon is corralled by Little Wind River. Clear skies and sunshine have you and your wagon train in great spirits.
Mama yells over to you. “We’re going to ford that river soon. Let’s caulk our wagon before sundown.”
“Anne,” Pa calls to Mama. “Don’t work our sweet child too hard—I’ll need help preparing our meal soon.”
“Well, well, well.” Buck Sanders approaches your wagon. His overgrown handlebar mustache covers his mouth. “I see the Winters family is doin’ especially well today. I am goin’ ’round and tellin’ folks that we will camp here tonight, get some rest, and get movin’ first thing in the morn’. And, uh, please keep an eye on that dog of yours. He’s gettin’ into other people’s business.”
“Snap!” You whistle to your lovable dog. “Here, boy!”
“Buck”—Mama’s face screws up—“the sky is clear and the weather is great. Let’s cross the Little Wind River today. We’re working hard to get all of the wagons caulked and we still have five hours of sunlight left in the day.”
“Anne.” Buck smiles and tugs on his mustache. “The other folks are exhausted. Not as strong as y’all three, I guess.” Buck whistles to the larger wagon train. “Let’s get these wagons circled up!”
As Buck walks away, Mama takes Pa aside. “John, I knew we couldn’t trust Buck as wagon train captain. He has no experience, and I can’t believe he lost the map—the only map we had!”
Pa calms Mama. “There’s nothing we can do now, Anne, save for peeling off from the group, which is not smart or safe. Let’s just get our chores done and rest up for tomorrow so we’re fresh for the river crossing.”
Mama gives him a hug and then you both help Pa finish making dinner—a ration of bacon and steamed dandelions with fresh venison. You’re thankful Pa hunted a deer last night. Supplies are running lower than predicted, so your family is measuring out food—it’s got to last for the rest of your trip. Stopping at general stores and trading posts are viable options, but not always available, and you don’t have a lot of money with you. Plus, with an unreliable wagon train captain and no map, who knows if you’ll pass any of the trading posts or forts. You’ve all worked hard to gather a lot of berries and various edible plants along the way while other folks in your wagon train have been more successful in hunting deer and rabbits. They’ve shared with you so far, but there’s no guarantee that their generosity will continue.
Rest up, the next leg of the journey is a calamity!
* * *
You wake to a loud whistle and a crack of thunder.
Buck Sanders is running around your corral circle in a frenzy. “We gotta go now! ’Fore the river swells too high, ya hear?”
“In the middle of the night, Buck?” Pa protests. “It’s not even midnight. The fire embers are still smoldering from when I put it out two hours ago.”
“Now is the time!” Buck yells as the sky starts to spit. “The clouds are rollin’ in against the moon. We’ve gotta move!”
Your family could stay behind, but without a map and the protection of a wagon train, you’d have no chance. You follow everyone and roll into the dark.
Your wagon is last to launch into the river. “It floats!” you yell to Mama. She smiles by the lantern light, proud of your good work. Snap sits next to her, anxiously whimpering.
Lightning strikes!
Torrential rain pours out of the sky and floods the river. Wild rapids develop over rocks. Your wagon isn’t built for this.
You paddle faster with handmade oars you’ve carved from broken tree branches.
You knew they’d come in handy.
When you’re halfway across the river, fear fills Mama’s face. Then it happens. In a flash, you are tossed into the rushing black water.
“Overboard!” she screams to Pa, but he is almost across the river, leading the oxen.
Ice-cold water shocks you. It fills your mouth as you bob up and down. Swimming against the powerful river current is nearly impossible in your drenched, heavy clothes. Your arm muscles tire against the force of the water. You muster up as much strength as you can and grab a wagon wheel spoke, but your grip weakens. You scream to Mama as she holds her hand out. But just as you reach toward her, river water washes over you. Snap yelps and falls into the careening waves. The current is stronger than your grip on the wagon wheel. It takes you under.
* * *
You wake coughing up water on the riverbank. You look around. The sun is peeking through the trees in the west. You see no wagons, no animals—no Snap—no one around you. No Mama. No Pa.
You’re alone. You have no support and no food, and you are lost. You were half awake when your family got the call to ford the river—with only seconds to throw on your clothes and slip a few things into your pockets. How far downriver did the water carry you? There is no one around for miles and miles. There’s no time to waste. You’ll have to use your survival skills to find your wagon train as soon as possible.
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