Life on the Oregon Trail

Dear Matt, July 14, 1839

Life on the Oregon Trail is tough, very tough. Our wagon is so stuffed with supplies only one person, the driver of the wagon which is always Pa, can sit inside. Therefore, my sister, Dana, my brother Eric, my Ma, and I have to walk all the way to Oregon. In fact, I’ve been walking so much those leather stout boots you saw me with last year on Thanksgiving Day are starting to get holes in the bottom of them. A few days ago while I was playing with brother Eric and sister Dana, a piece of glass went though a hold in my boots and cut my foot.

Then Ma put alcohol on the wound to kill any germs in it so it wouldn’t get infected. I’m not exactly sure what hurt worse, getting cut, or putting alcohol in the cut. Putting alcohol in a wound might keep it from getting infected but it felt like my foot was burning on one of my Ma’s skillets over one of the best fires I’ve had to make on this hot dry and dusty trail.

Speaking of skillets and fires you’ve got to remember to bring pots, skillets, pans on your journey west to cook your food but you’re probably going to have to make all the fires so you might want to start practicing now.

My Ma and Pa say that we’re going to Oregon for several reasons such as getting rich, more space to live. It’s less crowded in Oregon, too and we’re just going to start a better life in Oregon. Some of the food we’ve got to eat on this journey is not very good because my brother Eric says that if we take too many fancy foods with us we might not get too far on our journey because it will not last very long. So, we could only bring simple, long-lasting foods like dried fruits, dried vegetables, dried, salted, or smoked meat, and many other dried foods. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a nice moist meal. One of my least favorite foods is hardtack. It’s sort of like a biscuit or thick cracker that is as hard as a rock. Every now and then though Pa or Eric go hunting so we get to eat fresh meat. Beaver tail steak is delicious!

I’ll be glad when this is all over then I can actually change my clothes a few times a week instead of getting to change clothes one time in two weeks. That’s how it is for me now but Ma is making me a pair of clothes made of four different types of fur skins. Some days on this long trail it gets blazing hot but my Ma says all of us have to wear long pants and long sleeve shirts so no one gets a sunburn.

As I said earlier that our wagon is full of supplies is because you have to bring many things for this long journey. One major thing you must bring of course is preserved food. To cook your food you must bring pots, pans, or kettles. If you want any fresh meat on your journey, you must bring hunting gear like guns or a gun, gunpowder, bullets, and a knife to skin your game. For fires you need wood so you will have to bring an ax.

For school, my sister Dana has to teach me everything. To learn to read I only get to read The Bible.

The Bible was the only book we brought. For church, we take a few minutes out of our day on Sunday and read the same Bible by any shade we can find. There isn’t much time for playing but when we do have extra time I like to play Buffalo Chip Toss or Blind Man’s Bluff.

We’ve all seen many things on this journey like all sorts of different wildlife habitats and many animals like elk, buffalo, and bison all of which are also pretty tasty. On this journey I have about a million chores to do. I have to catch fish, clean the fish, help cook, help Ma and Dana wash dishes, gather up wood and food, and help Pa with wagon repairs.

I hope to see you in Oregon by next year. Don’t forget any supplies behind or you could just be doomed. Also, make sure you leave in the right time of the year so you’re not on the trail when it’s too hot or cold. I also advise you to bring strong oxen rather than horses to pull your wagon. Horses get tired very soon. I hope none of the bad things I’ve said about this journey discourage you. Good luck.

Love from your cousin,

Andrew Ryan Huber