Cianna's Journal

Hi - this is Cianna.  This is my assignment that I had to do this year in my social studies. Hope you like it:D!

Cianna Siggins

Social Studies

4B Unit 3 Lesson 6

April 5, 1849

We just left from Independence, Missouri to begin our trip to California gold mines. As our wagon was pulling away in the middle of the wagon train I couldn’t stop thinking of how rich we are going to be. Even though mining is hard work, I am still excited because I get to use the new tools my Dad bought. He bought brand new shovels and pans for mining the gold. I am glad I am done packing all of our new kitchen supplies, food, and belongings with my family.

 I am so nervous for our trip because we do not know what our future holds. I will miss all of my good friends in Missouri. Some of my friends and neighbors are heading to California too, so I am glad there will be familiar faces on the journey. I hope to make new friends too.

  

April 20, 1849

      It has been two weeks and my dad says we are making progress, but we still have months to go on our journey. They call this the Oregon Trail. We are still in Minnesota Territory and I like to watch out the back of the wagon. Our dog Jasmine keeps us company, but she wants to jump out of the back of the wagon all the time and smell everything. My favorite part of the day is when we stop for a break. I like the fresh air and the smell of food cooking. I get to run around and play with the other kids that are traveling.

     

May 7, 1849

 It has been a really long journey and I am tired and sore from walking. It is really dangerous my Mom said so we need to be careful of the food we eat and the things we do. I understood her perfectly after all the recent illnesses. As I was walking I heard people in the front of the wagon train say a fort over and over. And there it was the biggest fort yet. They called it Fort Laramie. There we traded and bought new supplies and food. It felt good to rest at the Fort because I was tired from walking several miles.

  

May 23, 1849

       It is about dinner time and I am excited to have buffalo meat because I am tired of boiled rice and cold beans. We are going to sleep here tonight because most people are really tired and exhausted from walking. As I fall asleep I think about the gold and the trip ahead of us.

June 27, 1849

 It is barely raining and everybody is still excited because it rarely rains in the West. My Pa told me that we are almost to the Independence Rock. I never heard of the Independence Rock, so this is new for me. When we got to the Independence Rock I was fascinated by the sight. Our wagon neighbors estimated the measurement of the huge rock and it is about 1,900 feet long, 700 feet wide, and 128 feet high. Everybody including all the kids got to carve there names in it. My Ma said that there is about 50,000 names carved into the big rock, I never knew if she was joking or not. We were ahead of schedule because they say that if you are there on July 4^th your right on track to be getting to the California gold mines.

July 18, 1849 

      I just woke up and I can smell the food cooling on the fire, I think bacon and biscuits. And sure enough that is what we are having. After I am done eating my Dad Mom and I start loading everything back into the wagon. We are leaving now and I can see the Rocky Mountains. They looked really close but my Dad says that the Rocky Mountains are far away. It is really dusty and dry so it makes me tired. The road is the same for miles.

August 14, 1849

       “We are there,” my Ma said and a smile came upon my family’s facesJ. The Rocky Mountains are beautiful, the peaks are pretty, and they look as if they could go on for ever and the trees are my favorite color of green. The flowers are gorgeous colors and different shape. It is good to see different colors for a change. Everybody on the wagon train liked the idea of spending the night at the Rocky Mountains. We had my favorite dinner tonight we had buffalo meat and biscuits.

September 2, 1849

 We finally are on the California trail now and everybody is excited that we are almost to the California gold mines. I don’t mind walking anymore, even though it makes me tired and sore because I am used to it. We stopped to take a rest and the people on the wagon train were talking about how long it would take to get to the California gold mines. During dinner Ma and Pa had exciting news after we were done gold mining we would live in California. I loved the plan and so did my Ma and Pa. When I fell asleep I thought what would California look like?

September 21, 1849

       “We are almost there!” My Pa shouted. I smiled and asked how much longer and he said just a few more miles. This was exciting news to everybody! Most people made it, but a quiet of few people died along the way. “We are there!” said the people in the front of the wagon train. Everybody started shouting and yelling they made it! Wait until we find gold said Pa. The wagon train stopped, everybody rested and set up camp for the night, next morning we would start mining for gold.