Weather
Along the Oregon Trail the pioneers encountered many different types of weather and disease. The weather was primarily heavy rains which often led to hail. These heavy rains were the causes of many weather related hardships they encountered. The rain led to muddy trails which made it harder for the wagons to travel and seemed to slow them down temporarily. The heavy rains began pouring in through the canvas wagon coverings which caused much water damage to unprotected supplies.
Disease
while being on the trail there were many diseases that struck the wagon trains. The biggest problem was Cholera. This disease would get passed by contaminated food and water and would immediately take effect. There was no cure for this disease and a person with this disease would go from perfectly healthy to dead in a matter of hours. Another huge problem was Malaria. This disease got passed through mosquito bits where it got into the blood stream down to the liver where the cells were able to grow rapidly.
I have recently found out that my daughter has been struck by disease. She has scurvy. This disease has struck her when we are so close to reaching Oregon. She had major swelling and some hemorrhaging. We have recently found out that this disease is caused by an improper diet. I hope we can make it to Oregon City where maybe there will be a doctor to help her. Or at least when we get there we will be able to start fixing some food that is required for someone her age.