A few days ago
brit74538

Why would it be difficult traveling west in the U.S. in the 1840s?

Why would it be difficult traveling west in the U.S. in the 1840s?

I need answers ASAP please!!

Top 4 Answers
A few days ago
Experto Credo

Favorite Answer

Questionable trails, few towns, so you would have to live off the land; hostile indians; bandits; slow going, so you have to give youself enough time to get to california before winter set in; no bridges to ford rivers; traversing TWO mountain systems; NEVADA (vast stretches of absolutely nothing under a broiling sun)
2

A few days ago
Anonymous
No roads, hostile Native Americans, drought, bad judgment on which route to take, not enough food, not knowing enough about hunting, disease, the answers are myriad. Somewhere in the 1840’s Jedidiah Smith a 7 foot tall mountain man is purported to be the first man to see the Pacific Ocean from a route he ‘discovered’ that later became the Oregon Trail. He made two trips in his lifetime. He is also supposed to be one of only two Mountain Men who actually fought a grizzly bear with a knife and won. History doesn’t tell how torn up he was after though.
1

A few days ago
AndyL
Because no one was living there yet, so there weren’t towns or food or help if anything went wrong (doctors, etc.)
0

A few days ago
sargeantb2
Because there was no easy path there, and the middle wasn’t settled yet.
0