This Day in 1843
HawaiiMuskrat
1,000 head of cattle, sets off down the Oregon Trail from
Independence, Missouri. Known as the "Great Emigration," the
expedition came two years after the first modest party of settlers
made the long, overland journey to Oregon.
After leaving Independence, the giant wagon train followed the Sante
Fe Trail for some 40 miles and then turned northwest to the Platte
River, which it followed along its northern route to Fort Laramie,
Wyoming. From there, it traveled on to the Rocky Mountains, which it
passed through by way of the broad, level South Pass that led to the
basin of the Colorado River. The travelers then went southwest to Fort
Bridger, northwest across a divide to Fort Hall on the Snake River,
and on to Fort Boise, where they gained supplies for the difficult
journey over the Blue Mountains and into Oregon. The Great Emigration
finally arrived in October, completing the 2,000-mile journey from
Independence in five months.
In the next year, four more wagon trains made the journey, and in 1845
the number of emigrants who used the Oregon Trail exceeded 3,000.
Travel along the trail gradually declined with the advent of the
railroads, and the route was finally abandoned in the 1870s.
I can't tell you how many hours I spent playing the classic computer
game based on this history back in the early 1980's (on the Atari 800,
it was also on the Apple II and the Commodore 64). Today, celebrate
this event by playing the original 8-bit computer game!
You start your journey by assigning your character one of eight
occupations; your choice determines the game's overall difficulty.
Then it's off to Matt's General Store, where you purchase supplies,
including oxen, clothes, bullets, food, and various wagon parts. Once
supplied, you hit the road and hope for the best. You and your four
companions will have many decisions to make and hardships to overcome
before reaching Oregon's Williamette Valley.
On the trail, you must hunt for food, cross rivers, repair your wagon,
rest in order to heal sick companions, fight bad weather, and handle
any number of other difficulties. Disasters, too, need to be dealt
with. You never know, for example, when a fire in your wagon may
destroy supplies or when death will strike sick companions. Luckily,
you can stop at various landmarks and forts along the way to rest and
stock up on supplies. The online guidebook provides historical
background on these nineteenth century locales. In addition, you can
talk to people during your travels to gather information.
Some places where you might be able to play online:
http://woz.commtechlab.msu.edu/courses/447sp04/oregontrail/play.htm
http://www.virtualapple.org/oregontraildisk.html
http://digg.com/gaming_news/Play_the_Original_Oregon_Trail_Online
There are lots of places that allow playing Oregon Trail... follow the
instructions carefully, that game was made in an era before the
internet, some prompts will not work as you expect them to.
At any rate, today is a good day to remember the pioneers.
HawaiiMuskrat
actually from a little bit later, but still over 20 years ago, so
please forgive the damaged brain cells... here's a description of the
game I played for endless hours and never actually completed (I died a
lot though). As you'll note, it was not the Oregon Trail, but it had
a very similar theme. (I did play Oregon Trail, but later and on a
PC)
Gold Rush - Sierra-On-Line; 1988; Five 5.25 Inch Disks and Two 3.5
Inch Disks; DOS.
"You are Jerrod, a young man earning a meager living in Brooklyn New
York in the 1840's. Sell your land, pack your bags and grab the next
ride out, because fortune lies just 2500 miles away. 3 complete treks
to California available: by ship to Panama then on foot through the
jungles of Central America (there was no Panama Canal); by stagecoach,
canal boat, steamer and wagon train through the heartland of America;
or as a seafarer from the East Coast around Cape Horn. Historically
and geographically accurate, it puts you into the shoes of our native
sons so that you can experience the same events and challenges that
they did."
Anybody else remember this gem? Boy, I'd love to boot that one up
again and try to finish the darned thing!!!
(Found it on http://www.mrbillsadventureland.com)
Phil Musgrave
Phil Musgrave
I do remember it now, but it wasn't my favorite -- GOLD RUSH was
that... anyway, today I managed to finish the game and only killed off
2 or 3 family members, and ended up on the Top Ten score sheet. (with
1,340 points) Whoo hoo!
The bad graphics and nasty sound effects sure took me back!