History: The Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail is a well known event that happened in our history. However many people are unaware of the events that really happened along the way to Oregon, and what people had to go through in order to reach their destination in the West.
Marcus Whitman was born in 1802 in Rushville, New York, he received his medical degree from the college in Fairfield, New York in 1832. For four years he practiced medicine in Canada until he returned back to New York to become a missionary member of the Presbyterian Church. Narcissa Prentiss was born in Prattsburgh, New York in 1808 to a devout Presbyterian church family. She had always been a perfect religious child and soon became a missionary worker who taught primary school kids in the city she lived
Louis, Missouri in order to cross the Missouri River to get to Independence. The boat journey would take up to five or eight days and was considered the easiest part of the westward journey. 200 miles from St. Louis the emigrants headed west and unloaded their wagons, livestock, and dreams from the steamboats and began the great journey overland. The Trail began in the city of Independence, Missouri which also began to be known as one of the most popular “jumping off ” points in the trail where pioneers purchased and stocked various supplies on their wagons for their four to five month journey. The hopeful travelers collected information about their future trail, made either friends and/or enemies, and thought about their final destinations all while in Independence. The inexperienced travelers were afraid of Indian attacks on the way to Oregon which in turn encouraged them to make traveling parties in order for them not to head west alone, once a wagon “train” was assembled the travelers were ready to go. Those with mules and horses left Missouri first in front of the wagons and people walking on foot, only because the horses could feed on the short grasses along the prairies. Leaving Missouri was a chore since the pioneers had to make sure that they did not leave too early or their wagons would be bogged down by mud and there would not be any grass for their animals to eat, and if they left too late there would the chance that they would get trapped in a winter storm. Finally, the wagons full of people and the rest of the hundreds of pioneers on foot followed, on their journey 2,170 miles