Myths And Facts Surrounding The Oregon Trail
The first group of permanent American settlers left for Oregon in 1841 from the town of Independence, Missouri. This group of about 70 people followed the rivers and trails that had been used by fur traders and missionaries for many years. This route later became known as the Oregon Trail to the pioneers heading to Oregon. The trail didn’t become really popular until 1843 when nearly 1,000 immigrants left their homes to create a new life for themselves in Oregon. This was largely due to the fact that pioneers and missionaries spoke of how fertile the soil was so many farmers in the Midwest who were not satisfied with their crops decided to leave their old farms behind and move to Oregon. These settlers left from Elm Grove, Missouri and headed …show more content…
A major myth was that the pioneers were constantly in danger of an attack by the Native Americans. In reality, attacks from Native Americans were very rare on the Oregon Trail. Originally the Native Americans gave the pioneers a wide area of land to travel over, however , according to Native American culture, the pioneers were supposed to give the Native Americans gifts for allowing them to pass. The pioneers didn’t like this because they saw it as begging. This failure in communication caused the Native Americans to rarely attack.
Another was that the train of wagons that traveled the Oregon Trail traveled in a long line, one behind the other. The wagons would actually travel side by side next to each other in rows. This helped them avoid a majority of the choking dust created by the wagons. The trail they rode on was often a mile wide to help accommodate for all of the wagons.
A third myth was that the trail was taken only by Caucasian Americans. The trail was taken by people from all over the world. People from places like Russia, Germany, and Asia also headed west on the trail looking for a new life. Even slaves went west looking for a new life and a place to start over. The Oregon Trail was used by people from all races and
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