  Men like Kit Carson and Jim Bridger led the way in the Westward wilderness  They spent their lives trapping beaver and selling their fur Mountain Men!

  Many trails were moving East to West across the frontier and plains  Several trails led to new places: Oregon Trail, California Trail, and the Santa Fe Trail  Groups of people went in Wagon Trains, or large groups of wagons following one another, and made their way to frontier towns Life in the 1840s Frontier

  Overlanders were trail experts *They used guidebooks and maps, and led the way with their experiences Overlanders

  In 1846, 87 Overlanders (led by 2 brothers, the Donners) were trapped by winter snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains  41 die of starvation, the rest resort to cannibalism The Donner Party

  Trips out West typically took between 5 and 6 months  Travelled about 15 miles a day  Men typically drove the wagons, hunted for food, fed and cared for the animals  Women typically looked after the kids, cooked, cleaned and did the laundry Trips Westward