Oregon or Bust 1. The Oregon Trail opened in 1841 with 10 children, 35 2. men, and 5 women, using it to make the trek from 3. Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City. In 1842, 100 4. emigrants took that same westward trail. In 1843, the 5. number of people traveling increased to 1000. 6. A wagon built to withstand mountains and desert was 7. their most important piece of equipment. Wagons 8. were 6 feet wide and about 12 feet long with a 3 9. feet high interior. The wagons had to be tall enough to 10. cross through streams without submerging. The 11. canopy of the wagon was oiled to keep rain out. Each 12. 2500lb wagon was pulled by a team of 8 ­12 oxen. 13. It was important to embark at the appropriate time of year. If the settlers left too early in the spring, there 14. would not yet be enough grass on the prairie to feed the livestock. If they left too late in the spring, 15. they risked being trapped in the Cascade Mountains’ winter snows. Travelers usually left in May and 16. hoped to reach Oregon by October. It took them 6 months to make the 2,200 mile trip. 17. Each wagon train headed west from Independence, Missouri for 200 miles across the tall prairie grass 18. of the Great Plains. This was the terrain until they came to Fort Kearney and the Platte River. At Fort 19. Kearney, they could rest for a few days, get more supplies, and post letters. The Platte River guided 20. them along their journey for the next 450 miles. Along the Platte River, the tall prairie grass turned into 21. short prairie grass. 22. At the 650 mile mark, the emigrants reached Fort Laramie and were ready to begin their climb into the 23. Rocky Mountains where they would face hot summer days sprinkled with summer thunderstorms and 24. hailstorms followed by cold mountain nights. During some of the thunderstorms, it was necessary to 25. chain the wagons together so they wouldn’t blow away. About 250 miles farther, they reached 26. Independence Rock. People signed their names on the rock and it became known as the “Great 27. Register of the Oregon Trail.” Independence Rock signaled a winding, gentle climb into the Rockies. 28. After South Pass, the travelers headed northwest into the unrelenting sun of the dry, dusty desert 29. country until reaching Fort Hall. They continued northwest along the rugged, rock ledges in the canyon 30. of Snake River making a grueling climb over the Blue Mountains. At times the wall was so steep that 31. wagons had to be taken apart and using chains and pulleys hauled up one side and then lowered inch 32. by inch down the other side. 33. They now only had the final stretch of the journey left through the Cascade Mountains into Oregon City. 34. This was a narrow trail lined with thick trees. The downhill parts were very difficult because they were so 35. steep and slippery that keeping the wagons and oxen from sliding downhill off the path was a challenge. 36. The settlers tied big logs on the back of the wagons to act as brakes. They also often encountered 37. snow banks in the Cascade Mountains. 38. A typical travel day began at 4 a.m. with the men on sentry duty firing a wake up shot. The march began 38. by 7 a.m. Very rarely did anyone ride inside of the wagon. Most people walked the entire trail, while 39. some rode horses. The emigrants rested for an hour in the middle of the day eating cold lunches. In late 40. afternoon, they stopped and set up camp for the evening. They looked for a campsite near fresh water 41. and grass for the livestock. By 8 p.m., most were in bed. The caravan traveled 12­15 miles a day. 1. Create a line graph illustrating the number of travellers on the Oregon Trail for the three years 1841 ­ 1843. Your Y axis will indicate the number of travellers. Label it in increments of one hundred up to 1100. Your three X axis values will be the years. Make sure that your graph is labeled clearly. 2. Is there a constant rate of change? (circle one) YES NO 3. Explain your answer to number 2. _______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ 4. What is the volume (in cubic feet) of the wagons that are described in the excerpt? (V = L x W x H) Answer _____________________________ 5. What is the weight (in lbs/cubic feet) of each cubic foot of the wagons described in the article? Answer_____________________________ 6.. Use context clues to select the best synonym for the word canopy as used in line 11. (circle one) canvas cover cargo hatch engine door metal drum wheel spokes 7. Use context clues to select the best synonym for the word post as used in line 19. (circle one) repeat find mail pole sell 8. Use context clues to select the best definition of the word emigrants as used in lines 22 & 39. (circle one) A. American citizens who returned to England. B. Animals used to pull wagons. C. invasive non­native plant species (such as Asian Carp) D. people who permanently move from one place to another. 9. List four adjectives used to describe the climate and geography found in lines 28 ­ 32. ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ 10. Use information in the text to identify each of the following locations on the Oregon Trail. A. ________________________ B. ________________________ C. _______________________ D. _______________________ E. ________________________ 11. How many miles had they travelled on the Oregon Trail when they reached Independence Rock? (circle one) A. 250 B. 400 C. 650 D. 900 E. 1950 12. CLAIM: Climate influenced when wagon trains started across the Oregon Trail. Provide EVIDENCE in support of that CLAIM. “________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________” 13. EXPLAIN how your EVIDENCE supports your CLAIM _______________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________