The pioneers faced much hardship. That is no mystery. In fact, disease and accidents were the two leading causes of death among pioneers. [7] It is surprising that only 1 in 10 pioneers died along the way. While treatment at the time included ineffective or dangerous remedies, such as opium, laudanum, morphine, camphor, colomel, hartshorn, quinine, whiskey, and castor oil [2,7], it is almost a miracle that so many travelers made it safely to the west.
