 Trails helped travel become easier and more efficient.  Trails were used by farmers, ranchers, miners, and business men.  They were used for migration to the Pacific North-West and to establish new farms and businesses.  Some major trails used were the California Trail, Oregon Trail, and Santa Fe Trail.  Most of the travelers left in April to May, because the weather and timing was best for travel in that time period.  After railroads became more popular than trails, roads were built over the trails.  The travelers traveled by foot, horse-back, wagons, pack- trains, boat, and raft on the trails. They usually used oxen for travel.

 In the 1800s, many Americans wanted to expand the area in which they lived.  Americans started to travel west of the cities on the Eastern Coast of America.  Pioneers are the first people that traveled to the West and made settlements.  They made trails to many different areas, including California, New Mexico, and Oregon.  On the trail, the pioneers encountered many obstacles. It was a challenge to travel through areas that hadn’t been turned into cities yet.  Their journeys would last about six months.  They had to pack enough supplies to last them the whole journey. Supplies included food, clothes, and equipment.  Many people got sick or badly hurt and many people died.  When somebody got hurt, they would take them to a safe area, try to fix it, and hope for the best.

 The California Trail was about 2,000 miles.  It went from the Missouri River to California on the Western half on America.  It was mostly used from 1841 to  In 1848 many pioneers traveled to California all at once, and the trails were very crowded. They wanted gold from the gold fields. This time was called the California Gold Rush.  It followed most of the same area of the Oregon Trail and Mormon Trail.  It turned off from these other trails in Idaho, Wyoming and Utah.  Once the pioneers made it to Western Nevada, they made more trails through the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the cities and gold fields of California.  California was bought in 1848 by Mexico, causing the end of the Mexican-American War.  The California Trail has not been used in a very long time, but some of it is still reserved by the National Park Services and the Bureau of Land Management.

 The Oregon Trail was one of the main overland migration routes in America.  It went from Oregon to the Missouri River.  It was in use from 1841 to 1869 by farmers, ranchers, miners, and business men.  They used the trail to migrate, trade, or establish new lives in the Pacific-West.  After the international railroad reached Portland, Oregon in 1883, the Oregon Trail stopped being used as frequently.  Eventually it wasn’t used at all.

 The Santa Fe trail was first used as a military highway, until a railroad was built over it in  It went through central North America, from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Missouri.  It was first used as a railroad in  In 1846, it was used as an invasion route of New Mexico during the Mexican-American War.  The route crossed Comancheria, which is where the Comanches lived.  Today a highway that goes along what used to be the trail is called the Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway.

 The Comanche Indians demanded money for the travelers to be able to pass through on the Santa Fe Trail.  The Americans traded with the Comanche Indians instead of giving them money.  Trade in Comancheria was more profitable for the Americans than the trade in Santa Fe was.  The Americans visited the Indians more often.  Comancheria became a wealthier area.  Before the Comanche spread out of Wyoming, it was occupied by many tribes, such as the Apaches.  Comancheria had earlier been known as Apacheria.

The Comancheria Teritory The Comaches Indians King

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