Thousands of travelers on the combined California, Oregon, and Mormon Trails succumbed to cholera between the years of 1849 and 1855. Life and Death on the Oregon Trail When a perennially pleasant third-grade teacher invents a game that blends Dungeons & Dragons with The Oregon Trail, the mood in … But if you were a farmer, your dream was the rich soil of Oregon ’s Willamette Valley; where land was abundant and free of charge. The causes of these deaths were usually related to drowning, accident and disease. Deaths on the trail are noted in almost every journal. The Oregon Trail (1976-77) Rod Taylor played Evan Thorpe, a widower with three children heading from Illinois to a new life in the Oregon Territory in 1842. When a mysterious lone rider appears with rope burns on his neck, strange things begin to happen. Only around 80,000 of the estimated 400,000 Oregon Trail emigrants actually ended their journey in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. They estimate one in ten travelers didn't survive, and the National Oregon/California Trail Center says the 2,000-mile trail averaged 10 deaths per mile. by Stephenie Flora. "If cholera doesn't claim the lives of his company, the threat of Indian violence just might. If you were a gold prospector, you might have decided to go to California for the gold. If you’re traveling to an impoverished, disease-ridden country, take the proper precautions to prevent coming down with an Oregon Trail ailment: 1. The True Story of the Sager Family. Oregon Trail summary: The 2,200-mile east-west trail served as a critical transportation route for emigrants traveling from Missouri to Oregon and other points west during the mid-1800s. According to the Idaho State University website, traveling the Oregon Trail involved "walking 2,000 miles barefoot--and that was the easy part." One in 10 people did not survive the Oregon Trail, according to the Oregon-California Trails Association. Death on the Trail . Most Oregon Trail pioneers didn’t settle in Oregon. Roll up your sleeve. Injury, disease, and exhaustion were all causes of death on the trail. The reports, sometimes conflicting or confusing, paint a compelling story of life, hardship and death along the Oregon Trail. The National Park Service calls the Oregon Trail "this nation's longest graveyard." It misses the mark a bit in not discussing the broader social/political stage upon which the drama was played. But obviously people are mostly excited at the chance to play a cornerstone from their childhood: Oregon Trail. Facts, information and articles about The Oregon Trail, a part of Westward Expansion from the Wild West. The pilot movie opens on Thorpe's wedding day. Otherwise, Shannon's book is an excellent reference for those interested in the drama of westward expansion. John Unruh Jr. in his book, The Plains Across, noted that in the years from 1840 though 1850 there were only 362 documented emigrant deaths due to Indian attack. 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