How many wagon train emigrants actually died on their way west?
A “conservative figure for the number of deaths which occurred in wagon train parties is 20,000 for the entire 2,000 miles of California Trail, or an average of ten graves to each mile.” Between 1849 and 1853, Asiatic Cholera was the greatest killer on the trail. The disease continued to appear during the 1850s, but its appearance considerably diminished after 1853. [Merrill Mattes, The Great Platte River Road, pp. 85 & 82] “It has been estimated that the overall mortality rate on the Oregon-California Trail was 4 to 6 percent of those starting west.” [Peter D. Olch, “Treading the Elephant’s Tail: Medical Problems on the Overland Trails”. Overland Journal, Volume 6, Number 1, 1988. Pp.
