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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why did the travelers journey south after the desert?
(a) They were looking for warmth.
(b) They lost their sense of direction.
(c) They were following the tracks of Hastings and his parties.
(d) They were following the directions in their book.

2. What did the travelers encounter as they climbed the Sierra Nevada?
(a) A burning sun
(b) Snow
(c) Illness
(d) New friendships with the Native Americans

3. How fast was the Donner Party moving as they blazed through the Wasatch?
(a) 15 miles a day
(b) 10 miles a day
(c) 8 miles a day
(d) 2 miles a day

4. How many miles would the cutoff save them?
(a) 400
(b) 750
(c) 100
(d) 30

5. When did James Reed think they would hit the Sierra Nevada?
(a) By September
(b) By October
(c) By January
(d) By July

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did Reed kill Snyder?

2. What sight did Reed see as he rode ahead?

3. What was James Reed's occupation?

4. How did Pike die?

5. What did the first group find that pioneers had left the winter before?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened to the group as they reached near the summit of Sierra Nevada?

2. Why did each family have three wagons?

3. How did Virginia feel about her traveling clothes?

4. What did James Reed say that persuaded the man to take Hastings' Cutoff?

5. How did the Native American treat William Eddy?

6. Why was Independence, Missouri so famous?

7. What was "The Emigrants Guide to Oregon and California" like?

8. What happened to the oxen during the six days it took to get through the desert?

9. Even though Hastings didn't meet them at the Fort, why did they continue to go on to take the Cutoff?

10. How did the Reed wagons do on the journey?

(see the answer keys)

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