Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Letter to Family from West

April 24, 1847

Dear Family,
Today, I am in California. During my travel from Boston to California, I experienced many hardships. Along the way, I met plenty of people and they helped me on my journey West. I am heading to California because it consists of many beaches and it just feels very tropical. The environment is soothing to the mind and the smell of the ocean is refreshing.

On my way to California, I met this man named Daniel Boone. Daniel is a trespasser who settled in Kentucky. He traveled in a pack in which his pack carried no supplies with them. There were wild beasts and savages out in the wilderness such as grizzly bears. Grizzly bears were aggressive and dangerous. A grizzly bear even attacked one of Daniel's men leaving him dead. Daniel gets ambushed but keeps going west which shows that he has perseverance which is a good quality for a traveler.

On May 1846, a huge amount of people, including me, were headed to a new life and this migration was called the mass migration. The people were traveling from Oregon to California and the trail was called the Oregon Trail. We would walk 10 miles per day which gave blisters on my feet. 1 in 5 of the women there were pregnant and they would be giving birth along the journey. It was not a pleasant thing to witness. It was also very unsanitary. California had a population of 15,000 to 100,000.

I am having a swell time here in California. I am able to take care of myself so don't you worry about me and take care of yourselves too. Goodbye, fam. It was nice knowing you. In the future, I will be visiting every month or so. Also, I will be writing more letters to you from here on in.


(The state in which Daniel Boone settled in)


(The man who basically led the way)

(A grizzly bear who attacked one of Boone's men)

(People used horses so they could carry their belongings as they walked the far distance on the Oregon Trail)

































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