USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -In the early years of the California gold rush, cholera struck each spring at the thronging jumping-off towns along the Missouri River where thousands of gold seekers and Oregon-bound emigrants gathered to outfit.

Detailed explanation-2: -While cholera was the most widely feared disease among the overlanders, tens of thousands of people emigrated to Oregon and California over the course of a generation, and they brought along virtually every disease and chronic medical condition known to science short of leprosy and the Black Death.

Detailed explanation-3: -Disease. Emigrants feared death from a variety of causes along the trail: lack of food or water; Indian attacks; accidents, or rattlesnake bites were a few. However, the number one killer, by a wide margin, was disease.

Detailed explanation-4: -Cholera–Cholera is a disease caused by dirty water. This disease was the main cause of death on the Oregon Trail. It took one third of the people who died on the trail and could kill in less than a day. To cure a person diagnosed with cholera, pioneers gave laudanum and immediate rest.