Rumors of Native American savagery abounded among western se…

Rumors of Native American savagery abounded among western settlers during the height of the Overland Trails; however, Native Americans also spread false rumors about the savagery of whites. The Piute Tribe believed whites to be vicious cannibals and took desperate steps to avoid them. When [BLANK-1]’s mother heard that whites were in the region, she buried her two children in a hole in the ground for several days and covered the hole with bushes to hide them (providing only a small opening for the children to breathe). The mother also scarred the face of this person’s sister with a knife so she would be unappealing to white men, whom the mother believed would rape her.

Overland trails such as the Oregon Trail were especially per…

Overland trails such as the Oregon Trail were especially perilous. [BLANK-1] produced a diary recounting one wagon train’s ordeals on the Oregon Trail including women lighting their wagons on fire, fathers murdering their own children in order to avoid a setback on the trip, a young girl being pulled into the axle of a wagon and killed, and healthy twins being buried with their mother once she passed away.