623: Oregon

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Oregon

Title text: A century later, the harrowing flight of the survivors from Oregon was dramatized in a popular video game.

Explanation

The Oregon Trail was a popular video game which described the journey to Oregon, and the player started his or her journey in 1848. Most players were grade-school students. The game was very popular, and thousands of players played it monthly. To achieve the highest score, most players bought the minimum amount of food and hunted for their meals. In general, the slower the prey the more meat the prey has. Large animals (bison, bears, etc.) were very easy and rewarding targets, while smaller prey (rabbits, squirrels, etc.) were faster and provided less food. As the player travels, he or she is prone to dysentery, typhoid, measles, cholera, and other diseases.

The title text implies that the players of the game were actual people who died on the journey to Oregon.

Transcript

[Timeline, with relevant images next to each date.]

1805

[Two men stand at the edge of a cliff. One has a walking staff.]

Arrival of Lewis & Clark

1825

Early settlers arrive

1841

Oregon trail established

1843

Larger western migration begins

1848

[A horse is pulling a covered wagon. A gun peeks out the back.]

Huge wave of 500,000+ settlers arrives from Missouri. Largely children and adolescents, most bring nothing but cartloads of bullets for hunting.

1849

[Two men with rifles aim at something.]

Overhunting begins to devastate ecosystem

Dysentery epidemic

1850

[Tombstones. Bodies.]

Shooting deaths skyrocket

Typhoid epidemic

Measles epidemic

Cholera epidemic

1851

All mammals larger than squirrels wiped out by overhunting.

Massive famine

1852

[Sun low over a land, devoid of life. Scattered remains of corpses.]

Last survivors flee

Oregon territory abandoned

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