Cholera outbreaks and pandemics
That year, cholera was transmitted along the California, Mormon and Oregon Trails as 6,000 to 12,000 are believed to have died on their way to the California Gold Rush, Utah and Oregon in the cholera years of 1849–1855. It is believed more than 150,000 Americans died during the two pandemics between 1832 and 1849.
Potawatomi Trail of Death
The journey from Twin Lakes, Indiana, to Osawatomie, Kansas, began on September 4, 1838. It covered about over 61 days, often under hot, dry, and dusty conditions. The caravan of 859 Potawatomi also included 286 horses, 26 wagons, and an armed escort of one hundred soldiers. During the journey to Kansas, 42 people died, 28 of them children. Historian Jacob Piatt Dunn is credited for naming the Potawatomi's forced march "The Trail of Death" in his book, "True Indian Stories" (1909). It was the single largest Indian removal in the state.