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The Reason For The Relocation

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Father always sternly lectured my siblings and I to watch what we ate and drank since my mother died from food poisoning a few years back. At the time, that was not one of our main concerns. Then, we had consumed anything edible we got our hands on. My family, which consisted of my father, my two siblings, and me, along with five hundred thousand other people and their livestock was following the Cherokee trail, headed west to the country of milk and honey, California. All of us had hopes and dreams that would hopefully come true once we got to our destination. Most of the migrating families were either penurious, escaping religious persecution, or Europeans who wanted a fresh start in the west. Thankfully, my family was none of those. In…show more content…
While cruising the river, I was reminded about the day my father informed my siblings and I that we were going to relocate. The date had been March 6, 1849, two weeks prior to when the great migration began on March 20.
“Children, I have earth-shattering news!” exclaimed my father, with glee in his eyes, as he burst through the door of our red, brick home. My whole family was seated at the mahogany dining table when he made his abrupt entrance.
“What is it, father?” The oldest of us children and the only boy, Nathaniel, asked.
“Have you, my dearest children, heard of the two thousand mile, five month journey to the west that is to happen soon?” inquired father in his baritone voice.
“Of course. How could we not have? Signs are all over town.” stated Abigail, the youngest of our family and my only sister.
“Well, father, out with it!” I demanded, my patience had worn very thin.
“Patience, Dinah. My darlings, we are going on this trip ourselves! Start packing your belongings. The trip, as you already know, will be in two weeks time!” yelled father.
Once we landed on the other side of the river, we got off the ferry and continued our journey. The plains ahead of us was bare with only a few patches of dead grass here and there. A few hours later, we had been ransacked by the Pawnee Indian tribe, who had stolen most of our supplies. They were furious that we had trespassed onto their
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