Travelling westward in 1850 according to many accounts of various travelers including Louis and Clark, George Gibbs, Vincent Geiger, and Wakeman Bryarly, describe a treacherous yet exciting experience that later molded the current landscape of the Westward expansion of the U.S. The terrain westward of the Mississippi is a combination of flat plains and rolling hills as the pioneers traversed across westward toward California . The terrain flattens out yet remains elevated at least 1,000ft above sea level prior to reaching the Rocky Mountains, whose elevation can surpass 14,000ft in some locations en route to central and northern California . Without knowing the terrain, I would survey the land ahead and decide on the flattest and least hazardous route that appears to be the best route ahead.
The experiences of the aforementioned early pioneers are related by the experiences of having encountered the Native American Indians across the land. The type of hunting and gathering of edibles are shared experiences of all pioneers as the travel and hardships are relatively consistent except for perhaps that of the infamous Donner party. The weather patterns perhaps would be the main variable that differentiates between each party based on the time each party has left and based on the route taken to get across the country. Without prevailing weather patterns to impede the travel of pioneers, the likelihood is that travel conditions would not have had much variation at all.
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The federal government provided land to the pioneers under the famous statement of 40 acres and a mule. The U.S. government wanted pioneers to settle and occupy the land out west relative to Manifest Destiny or the expansion westward from points east. Along the way, the threat of Indian attacks were always in question though Indian encounters not always dangerous.
- “Geomorphic Regions of the United States 2013,” An Online Textbook Supplement, [Note: Text by Jim Henry and illustrations by Miller Wylie and Mark Abolins, copyright 2007] Diane M.T. North. Middle Tennessee State University. http://frank.mtsu.edu/~mabolins/geomorph.htm
- “The History of the American West, 1990”, p. 5. Francis Paul Prucha. Permission of the University of Nebraska Press. Copyright 1990 by the University of Nebraska Press
- “Territorial Growth of the Unite States, 1775-1920,” The Natural Atlas. (1967), Maps prepared by H. George Stoll, Hammond, Incorporated, 1967, rev. by United States Geological Survey. In The History Of The American West. Source: Map Collection, Perry, Castaneda Library, University of Texas at Austin: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/national_atlas_1970/ca000103.jpg; accessed Jan. 10, 2013.
