Trails of the Western Expansion
Oregon Trail
The most popular trail during the Western Expansion, the Oregon Trail, is located on the map below.
The Oregon Trail is 2000 miles long from the Missouri River to the Great Plains. It ran through the Rockies and Western mountains. Lewis and Clark walked a little bit of the Oregon trail, then separated on their own trail. They didn't have much land after the Revolutionary War, so people started moving from the land known as the original Thirteen Colonies. This trail was traveled from 1843 to 1860 and was the greatest trail during the time period. It was infested by Indians and buffalo.The Indians were friendly until the pioneers did something wrong. Buffalo were the best food on the trail because there were millions of them and they were always in your way. The pioneers used mules and oxen to carry the cart across the trail because horses could not do the job. People walked barefoot across the trail and did not take baths.
http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Allabout.html
Family Encyclopedia of American History