Prompt Ideas

The Seager Family

The time of traveling the Oregon Trail. 

The Seagers are a large and growing family. 

Mr. Seager was a very greedy and opportunistic man. He travelled where the opportunities were. 

Mr. Seager lead his pregnant wife and 6 children on the Oregon Trail to go West. 

First it was going ok, his wife giving birth successfully. But then things started going down hill. 

It started with his wife getting injured when they tried crossing a river and lost control of the oxen. 

Then it was their 9 year old daughter jumping off the moving wagon and breaking her leg. She still had to occasionally hobble alongside the wagon even with her injury. 

Then it was Camp Fever. 3 of the girls getting sick. Then Mr. Seager getting sick. 

The girls got better, Mr. Seager died in the next week. Buried on the path of the Oregon Trail. 

Then Ms. Seager got sick. She died too. Buried on the trail in a shallow grave. 

The 7 children were alone on the trail now. The oldest being the 14 year old girl, the youngest being the 5 month old boy. 

All traveling and trying to survive. 

They got adopted by the Whitmens on the way, along with 4 other children. The Whitmens were kind, but they were living in savage Indian lands. They were trying to convert the Natives, failing and admitting defeat. 

Ms. Whitmen thought the savages that were unable to learn, both sides eventually growing more hate for each other. 

It all went double downhill when the Natives got sick. The WhiteMan Sickness. 

The Whitmen were immune, and tried to cure the Indians, the path of god they said. 

But the rumor went around, that the white people were giving the sickness, not curing it. 

This caused riots towards the Whitmens. Eventually the Indians came to save their people from the white men. 

They killed Mr. Whitmen pointblank. Shot Ms. Whitmen in the shoulder and dragged her from her home. Their house was set on fire, the children sent to flee. 

The children were on the run again. 11 in total. 

Then it was 6 children. 

Then it was 2.

Then it was only one survivor. The only one to die of old age. 

You could do many things with this information. 

1) Write out the story from one of their POVs 

- The oldest child. 

- Ms. Seager when Mr. Seager said they were going to leave. 6 children, prego wife and all. 

- Ms. Whitmen.

- The Indians when Whitmen brought more children, or when they all got sick.

- One of the 10 yr old and below children from when their adopted mom was shot and their house burned down.

- One of the children dying, or see one of the other children dying.

- The only survivor when they got to the end of the trail and had no one and nothing. 

2) Documentary Style- the survivor talks about it- maybe an interview.