Dear Family,
I am writing to you today to tell you about what I'm going through. At this moment, I'm currently located west of the 13 colonies on the Oregon Trail. The reason why I left was because I wanted to move to the Oregon that has free land, large forests, and is free from diseases. Although I'm going somewhere that will give me great opportunities, the journey so far has been rough and harsh. Here's what I've been through.
I was with a group of farmers that had a small wagon that we put our stuff into. I knew the trip was going to to be long since the whole trail is 2000 miles. I packed whatever I could bring to have with me; flour, bread, coffee, rice, beans, sugar, salt, tools, clothing, etc. The trail began in Missouri and I found myself and my group along with 200,000 others travelers. All of us were desperate so my group started right away once our wagon was ready. It was suggested to bring cash since there were forts along the way to buy food. I only had 10 dollars.
Along the trail my group went, I noticed a couple of things that stood out to me. One thing that happened was that some people would die from hunger or diseases. Other people such as women would be pregnant and have to give birth off road. It's a horrible sight out here and I'm struggling every minute. I've visited unique places such as the Cumberland Gap. About a couple of days ago, I heard about the tragic tale of the Donnor Party. What happened was that their wagon broke down in the Truckey Pass and lived out in the cold. With little to no food, they eventually turned into cannibalists and died. There were only a couple of survivors to tell the tale.
So this is the end of my letter. I know you miss me so much and I do too. I hope that everyone back at home are doing well. I don't think that we'll ever meet again so acknowledge that this is the last farewell. My future plans is to basically finish the trail and to end up in Oregon.Thanks for reading this letter.
Sincerely,
Jim
