On the Oregon Trail, life was not easy. They suffered many casualties like a wagon breaking down, running out of food and having to eat their children or horses. Or getting a disease and not getting help in time and losing family.

Since the Oregon Trail was so long ago, they didn’t have the things we have now. Like, they had to travel by Wagon that was pulled by horse, mule, or oxen. They preferred oxen because they were very strong and didn’t need much food or water. Oxen also didn’t need to stop and rest that much.

Communication was very difficult. Today, we can just pull out our phones and send a text or make a call. Back then, they had to wait until they saw the person they needed to talk to or they could send a letter.

Another thing that is different from the Oregon Trail from today is disease. On the Oregon Trail, they had no cure, no medicine to help them, no hospitals nearby to help. So, they just had to leave them behind, or it could spread to others. Or even to the animals. So that would ruin their way to travel.

So as you can see, life then and now are very different. They couldn’t do things as easily as we can like stop at a hospital for help. Or if the wagon broke, they had to fix it on their own. If we run out of food, we go to a gas station or a store. They had to eat each other or their animals.