1847

Come to the 1850s! We've just struck gold in the west.
It's the grand rush for Indian territory! Over 15,000,000 acres of land open for settlement, so pack your bags and head west!

Follow the Oregon trail on your wagon, pulled by oxen or mules, or perhaps take a riverboat to the start of the trail. At night, set up camp and put up your tents for a good night's sleep. Then, it's back to the trail.

If you're hungry, don't go askin' folks to borrow their food. Bring your own! Bring things that are easy to cook like beans or stew. Perhaps you could bring cornmeal for a easy breakfast. If you didn't bring much, you could go hunting and gathering. There's plenty of buffalo, and wild berries are everywhere.

What kind of weather do you expect in Oregon? Because it's farther up north than where you probably are, the winters will definitely be harsher than your old houses and barns in Missoura, and you ought to pack warm chlothing. Shawls are great for the ladies, and bonnets will keep you from freezing. Bring quilts for the younger ones so they won't catch a cold.

Now, we can't get anywhere if you don't got something to do! Bring some friends along with you, (especially some fiddlers and foot stompers) and have an old fashioned dance! If you run into Indians or traders, you can always trade for good items. Women can sew and practice their needle work. If it's good enough to the Indians, you can trade that as well!

When you get to Oregon, you can start a new life! Choose what you want to be:
-a trader for the American Fur Company
- a drover who drives cattle
-a lath maker who tends to wood sawing
- a steamboat captain, bringing more people to Oregon and California to start new lives.

Well, I guess you'd best be on your way. I hope you do well out west, and that you may prosper there. I hope I've helped you learn more about life on the Oregon trail.

MLA CITING

• Domnauauers, Teresa. Westward Expansion. New York. Children's, 2010. Print
• Sandler, Martin W. Pioneers: A Library of Congress Book. New York. Harper Collins, 1994. Print.
• "11 Jobs from 1850 that are Totally Extinct". AOL Jobs. N.P. , n.d. Web. 19 Nov 2014.
• Haiku Deck. iOS app. Apple App Store. 3.3.1. Haiku Deck, INC. 10 Oct 2012. Web. 23 Nov 2014.