Stephen Aron

Whereas on the trail, you get a chance to look at these thousands of diaries that have been preserved and get a rare glimpse into people's

experiences and expectations in a way that gives us an opportunity to see more of the inner workings of 19th century rural folk.

Well, that actually is a wonderful entry because I'd like to unpack its elements a little bit because it actually highlights a number of really important

interesting and critical parts sometimes that we misunderstand about the trail.

First of all, it's interesting, certainly disease was the most common killer on the Oregon Trail.

You mentioned typhoid, cholera, cholera epidemics in 1850, 1851 swept away large numbers.

Look, they came often from places in the Midwest where what they called the ague was often a killer.

And so obviously people were used to having people die in various ways.

But what's different here

is obviously disease remains the principal cause of death on the trail, but drowning is actually way up there on the list.

And that's sort of ironic because one of the persistent complaints about people on the trail is sometimes the difficulty of finding good water.

good drinkable water, and yet drowning, people get swept away in these various river crossing points.

Now, a lot of times, especially by the later period, those crossing points are more well-established.

Where to ford a river is better known than in other times, but sudden storms and other factors like that can lead to catastrophe and disaster.

The ferry...

And oftentimes, again, by 1852, there were people who were established farriers who would take people across.

Earlier, it was often Native Americans who were acting as the farriers and often charging, trading for services.

And oftentimes, the guidance from Native Americans was crucial to people making their way across.

Indeed, I would argue that one of the principal misconceptions about the trail, especially in the 1840s, we are so used to, probably the most

staple cinematic image besides the wagons crossing the prairies or the plains is circling the wagons to prevent against Indian attacks.