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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. How did they get the wagons down the canyons?
(a) They pushed them and watched them roll.
(b) The men blindfolded the oxen and guided them down with the wagons.
(c) They didn't. They had to leave the wagons there.
(d) They used rope and tackle.

2. What was the Hastings Cutoff trail like?
(a) It was barely discernible.
(b) It was marked by Hastings.
(c) It was beautiful every step of the way.
(d) It was a clear path.

3. What did the travelers do before they headed across the desert?
(a) They wrote letters to send back to their relatives.
(b) They prayed.
(c) They rested for a few days in the beautiful valley.
(d) They made hats to protect themselves from sand and sun.

4. What did Stanton recommend that the group do before crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains?
(a) Pray
(b) Grab more water
(c) Eat
(d) Rest

5. How did the Murphy clan and the Reeds and Donners get along?
(a) They were like a big family.
(b) They were outrightly hostile to each other.
(c) They were constantly bickering.
(d) They seemed wary of each other.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did the interior of the wagon remind Virginia of?

2. What did James Clyman tell the travelers?

3. What was James Reed's occupation?

4. What happened when Hardcoop could no longer walk?

5. What happened to 13-year-old Edward Breen?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the women feel about the decision, and how was their opinion factored in?

2. What type of obstacles did people on wagon trains frequently have to face?

3. Why did Virginia's father choose to take his family to California?

4. Why did some of the people in Springfield question James Reed's ideas?

5. How did the Native American treat William Eddy?

6. What happened to James Reed after he killed Snyder?

7. Why did each family have three wagons?

8. What happened with Edward Breen?

9. How did Virginia feel about her traveling clothes?

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

(see the answer keys)

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