1843- the Oregon Trail

The year 1843 marked the big exodus of pioneers making the trek westward.
It is said that approximately 1,000 people traveled this trail.
Here are some interesting tidbits from their journey:
The pioneers walked the Oregon Trail, but have you ever thought how many shoes were worn out by the time they reached Oregon?
According to the diary of May Ellen Murdock Compton, a 1853 emigrant, she started from Independence with ten brand new pairs of shoes and wore all of them out except the last pair. She saved this pair for the Oregon Country by walking barefoot over the last miles of her journey.
Pioneers had what they called a "Roadside Telegraph." Pioneers would write messages on anything that was available to communicate with other wagon trains. "Anything available" meant cloth scraps, animal skulls, rocks, bark, leaves, etc. Some places were "Prairie Post Offices" meaning there were a number of messages that had been left at that spot for others.
It took roughly $800-$1,000 to obtain a proper outfit (wagon, food, clothing, etc.) and enough supplies to live a whole year without planting or harvesting a crop. Some families saved for three to five years before being able to begin their trip west.
Toilet facilities were, for the most part, not mentioned in journals written along the Oregon Trail. But, according to emigrant Charlotte Pengra, one trail-side rest area looked more like a communal ditch. There are suggestions that the full skirts worn by most ladies acted as shields or "curtains of modesty" for this purpose. Obviously, bloomers would not provide this advantage.