What did the pioneer children do for fun in the Oregon Trail?

There was little room for children’s toys and games. As a result, the children invented games along the trail to pass the time and created toys from what they could find. They had races and played games such as Sheep Over the River, Hide and Seek, Pull the Rope, and Steal-Stick Duck-Stones. They also sang and danced.

What was the daily routine on the Oregon Trail?

7:30 am: Men ride ahead on horses with shovels to clear out a path, if needed. “Nooning Time”: Animals and people stop to eat, drink and rest. 1:00 pm: Back on the trail. 5:00 pm: When a good campsite with ample water and grass is found, pioneers stop to set up camp for the evening.

What did people do during the Oregon Trail?

The Oregon Trail was a major route that people took when migrating to the western part of the United States. Between 1841 and 1869, hundreds of thousands of people traveled westward on the trail. Many of them traveled in large wagon trains using covered wagons to carry their belongings.

How many kids were on the Oregon Trail?

That year, 270 men, 130 women and 600 children packed everything they could into 10-by-4-foot wagons, hooked them up to oxen or mules and set out from Missouri to escape a bad economy and disease by embarking on the grueling six-month, 2,000-mile journey to the fertile Willamette Valley of Oregon.

What did the pioneers eat for lunch?

About midday, the travelers would stop for their “nooning” rest and meal. Lunch choices could include breakfast leftovers, more beans but now cold and with bacon, bread and crackers, rice and dried beef. A day’s travel ended in the early evening.

What did the pioneers eat?

The mainstays of a pioneer diet were simple fare like potatoes, beans and rice, hardtack (which is simply flour, water, 1 teaspoon each of salt and sugar, then baked), soda biscuits (flour, milk, one t. each of carbonate of soda and salt), Johnny cakes, cornbread, cornmeal mush, and bread.

Why did people travel the Oregon Trail for kids?

Answer: While few women and children were part of the Gold Rush, families traveled together to Oregon to farm. Children were often born on the trail; parents sometimes died, leaving children to be cared for by other family members or members of the wagon train.

How old is the Oregon Trail?

The Oregon Trail was laid by fur traders and trappers from about 1811 to 1840, and was only passable on foot or by horseback. By 1836, when the first migrant wagon train was organized in Independence, Missouri, a wagon trail had been cleared to Fort Hall, Idaho.

Why was the Oregon Trail so popular?

Everything from California to Alaska and between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean was a British-held territory called Oregon. The trail pointed the way for the United States to expand westward to achieve what politicians of the day called its “Manifest Destiny” to reach “from sea to shining sea.”

How many died on the Oregon Trail?

Combined with accidents, drowning at dangerous river crossings, and other illnesses, at least 20,000 people died along the Oregon Trail. Most trailside graves are unknown, as burials were quick and the wagon trains moved on.

How long did the Oregon Trail last?

The length of the wagon trail from the Missouri River to Willamette Valley was about 2,000 miles (3,200 km). It normally took four to six months to traverse the length of the Oregon Trail with wagons pulled by oxen.

Who started the Oregon Trail?

Robert Stuart of the Astorians (a group of fur traders who established Fort Astoria on the Columbia River in western Oregon) became the first white man to use what later became known as the Oregon Trail. Stuart’s 2,000-mile journey from Fort Astoria to St.

What was the biggest danger on the Oregon Trail?

cholera
Diseases and serious illnesses caused the deaths of nine out of ten pioneers. Such diseases as cholera, small pox, flu, measles, mumps, tuberculosis could spread quickly through an entire wagon camp. Cholera was the main scourge of the trail.

What did settlers eat on the Oregon Trail?

A guide written by Joel Palmer, who traveled to Oregon in 1845, advised people to pack 10 pounds of rice per adult for the journey. They could eat it with meat, like dried beef. Travelers also enjoyed rice with water, milk, butter, sugar, molasses, and our favorite, cornmeal mush.

What were the 3 real enemies of the settlers?

The common misperception is that Native Americans were the emigrant’s biggest problem en route. Quite the contrary, most native tribes were quite helpful to the emigrants. The real enemies of the pioneers were cholera, poor sanitation and, surprisingly, accidental gunshots.

How bad was the Oregon Trail?

Dangers on the Oregon Trail

According to the Oregon California Trails Association, almost one in ten who embarked on the trail didn’t survive. Most people died of diseases such as dysentery, cholera, smallpox or flu, or in accidents caused by inexperience, exhaustion and carelessness.

What were some problems on the Oregon Trail?

The hardships of weather, limited diet, and exhaustion made travelers very vulnerable to infectious diseases such as cholera, flu, dysentery, measles, mumps, tuberculosis, and typhoid fever which could spread quickly through an entire wagon camp.

How did they treat burns on the Oregon Trail?

The most effective traditional approach to treating burns was to coat the burned skin with egg white, as this provided a sterile seal for the skin and helped keep the wound from drying out.

How many people reached Oregon 1840 1860?

53,000 settlers
An estimated 53,000 settlers came to Oregon between 1840 and 1860. Most made the journey over the 2,000 mile Oregon Trail, which stretched from Independence, Missouri to western Oregon. The trip took 6 to 8 months and many immigrants arrived with their resources exhausted.