California Trail: Difference between revisions

'''Trail life.''' Non-essentials were often abandoned on the trail to lighten the load. Forts and trading posts ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Kearny Ft. Kearny], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Laramie_National_Historic_Site Ft. Laramie], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Fetterman Ft. Fetterman], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Bridger Ft. Bridger], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hall Ft. Hall], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter%27s_Fort Sutter's Fort] along the way usually provided supplies, fresh animal teams, repairs, spare parts, and news of trail conditions. Hunting (including bison), fishing, and trading were also common along the route. Emigrants usually formed into [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagon_train wagon trains] for security. Almost everyone preferred to walk rather than ride in dusty, bumpy wagons. They had to average 11 miles (18 km) to 17 miles (27 km) per day to reach California in four to six months. To leave too early risked muddy trails and too little grass for livestock. To arrive late risked traveling in winter weather. Thunderstorms and fierce winds were common. In good weather they often slept under the stars. On the prairie [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_dung buffalo chips] were gathered for use as cooking fuel. Wash day was about every two weeks. Many travelers enjoyed side trips climbing over trail landmarks like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimney_Rock_National_Historic_Site Chimney Rock], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotts_Bluff_National_Monument Scott's Bluff], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Rock_%28Wyoming%29 Independence Rock]. Some entrepreneurs drove herds of cattle over the trail to sell and help pay for the trip.<ref name="OrTr" />  

<div style="width: 147%; float: left;">'''Deaths.''' About five percent of pioneers died on the Oregon-California-Mormon trails. The most common killer was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholera cholera] along the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platte_River Platte River] in [[Nebraska|Nebraska]]. This disease killed as much as three percent between 1849 and 1855 (6,000 to 12,500 individuals). About 3,000 to 4,500 deaths happened because of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars#Pacific_Northwest Indian attacks] especially in [[Idaho|Idaho]] and [[Nevada|Nevada]] after U.S. Army troops were withdrawn in 1860 in the run up to the Civil War. Other causes of death included freezing, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scurvy scurvy], being run over, drownings (especially in the 1850s before many ferries), and accidental shootings.<ref name="OrTr" /> <div style="width: 15%; padding-left: 25px; float: right;">

|+ '''California Trail Immigrants'''<ref>John D. Unruh, ''The Plains Across: the Overland Immigrants and Trans-Mississippi West 1840–1860'' (University of Illinois Press, 1979), 119–20.</ref>  

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:*'''''Luther Pass Trail''''' 1854 connected the Carson Trail and Johnson's Cutoff and allowed travelers to avoid [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Tahoe Lake Tahoe]. It became one of the routes to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comstock_Lode Comstock Lode] in [[Nevada|Nevada]]

The exact route of the '''California Trail''' varied from group to group over the years. Most often it passed through:<ref name="OrTr" />  

Some California Trail pioneers also settled in [[Oregon]], [[Nevada]], or [[Idaho|Idaho]]. Local histories and biographies from those places may also include some pioneers who traveled the California Trail.  

=== External Links  ===

*"Emigrant trail" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emigrant_trail (accessed 15 July 2011). Includes description of trails in general, and partial map.

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{{reflist}}</div>{{California|California}} {{Idaho|Idaho}} {{Iowa|Iowa}} {{Kansas|Kansas}} {{Missouri|Missouri}} {{Nebraska|Nebraska}} {{Nevada|Nevada}} {{Oregon|Oregon}} {{Utah|Utah}} {{Wyoming|Wyoming}}  

[[Category:US_Migration_Trails_and_Roads]] [[Category:California]] [[Category:Idaho]] [[Category:Iowa]] [[Category:Kansas]] [[Category:Missouri]] [[Category:Nebraska]] [[Category:Nevada]] [[Category:Oregon]] [[Category:Utah]] [[Category:Wyoming]]