Instead of violent conflict, most Indians were helpful and generally friendly – providing needed supplies for the pioneers, operating ferries across the many rivers along the trail, helping to manage livestock, and acting as guides. This is where the Hastings Cutoff came into the California Trail from the east after coming down through the S. Fork of the Humboldt River canyon. The Santa Fe Trail was a route with water and a small amount of food for the people. In comparison, he estimates that more than 425 Indians were killed by emigrants during the same period. Though the first emigrants to use the Oregon Trail arrived in 1836, the first large-scale mass migration did not occur until 1843 when an estimated 1,000 pioneers set out together. In the American Old West overland trails were popular means of travel used by pioneers and immigrants throughout the 19th century and especially between 1829 and 1870 as an alternative to sea and railroad transport. The Oregon Trail was the only land route for settlers seeking to move west and took approximately four to six months, in contrast to the sea route which could take up to a full year. The people on the Santa Fe Trail ate buffalo, berries, small animals, birds, and anything they could find. We need you to answer this question! As I researched, I discovered that the reasons were as varied as why we move from state to state or leave one job to take another. I wanted to know. Did the Oregon Trail Emigrants Really Circle Their Wagons? About a mile west of this trail junction, there was another junction. They used the Santa Fe trail to get from Independence, Missouri to get to Santa Fe so they can trade. In addition to the Rockies, these emigrants faced the barren deserts of Nevada and the imposing Sierra Nevada Range. Why did the emigrants choose to leave? If you wanted to get to California in pre-railroad times, you were guaranteed an arduous trek. Most pioneers left for economic opportunity. California emigrants faced the greatest challenges of all the pioneer emigrants of the mid-19th century. These immigrants began to colonize North America west of the Great Plains as part of the mass overland migrations of the mid-19th century. Why did immigrants chose The California trail l? Posted on June 28, 2017 June 26, 2017 | 2 Comments Although pioneer journals often mention “circling the wagons,” it is not at all certain that all wagon trains pulled their wagons into a circle for the night, nor which of their possessions they protected inside those circles if they used them. . Alot of people died on the trail out of starvation and disease. Even though there were four river crossings, the canyon route was not very difficult and most of the emigrants chose this route. What made them pack what they could in a wagon and leave family and friends behind? Early emigrants once called the California Trail an elephant, due to the difficult journey.