The page lists the main causes of death along the trail from 1841 until 1869 as disease, gunshot wounds, accidents, river crossings and drowning, and weather. It says accidental shootings were common, but murders were rare, and that shootings, drownings, being crushed by wagon wheels, and injuries from handling domestic animals were the common killers on the trail.

The brochure says the main causes of deaths along the Oregon/California Trail during 1841 to 1869 were disease, drowning, gunshot wounds, accidents, and weather. It adds that accidental shootings were common, murders were rare, and that shootings, drownings, being crushed by wagon wheels, and injuries from handling domestic animals were the biggest accidental killers on the trail.

This BLM interpretive handout estimates that "as many as 1 in 10 emigrants died on the trail—between 20,000 and 30,000 people" and states that "the majority of deaths occurred because of diseases caused by poor sanitation. Cholera and typhoid fever were the biggest killers on the trail." It identifies "falling off of a wagon and getting run over" as another major cause of death and remarks that mishandled firearms "caused many injuries and deaths," alongside other recorded causes such as stampeding livestock, attacks, lightning, gunpowder explosions, drowning at river crossings, and suicide.

The article says the two biggest causes of death were disease and accidents. It states that shootings, drownings, being crushed by wagon wheels, and injuries from handling domestic animals were the biggest accidental killers on the trail, and that accidental gun discharges were common.

The Oregon Historical Society’s encyclopedia entry states: "Most deaths on the trail were caused by disease, particularly cholera, dysentery, and typhoid." It continues: "Accidental deaths from drowning during river crossings, being run over by wagons, and firearm mishaps were also common," but the article does not present quantitative rankings that would place accidental firearm discharges as the second leading cause after drownings.

An article surveying emigrant deaths on the Oregon Trail concludes: "Cholera and other gastrointestinal diseases accounted for the majority of emigrant deaths." It notes that "accidental drownings during river crossings, wagon accidents, and gunshot wounds comprised most of the remainder" and remarks that "diaries seldom allow us to construct precise statistical rankings beyond establishing disease as dominant." The author does not claim that accidental gunshot wounds were the second leading cause of accidental or violent death after drownings.

The four most common causes of death were disease, wagon accidents, accidental gunshots, and drownings during river crossing. Gun accidents were the second major cause of death. Although the threat of Indian attacks was statistically rare, pioneers were terrified of the possibility and carried irrational amounts of arms. Gun accidents killed probably a hundred times more pioneers than Indian attacks.

A public history article on overland trail mortality notes: "The greatest killer on the trail was disease, especially cholera." It continues: "Other major causes of death included accidents – drownings while crossing rivers, being crushed under wagon wheels, and accidental shooting – as well as occasional violence." The discussion treats accidental shooting as one among several major accidental causes and does not identify it as clearly second in frequency.

This overview estimates that of 350,000 emigrants, the trail claimed "as many as 30,000 victims" and that from 1841 to 1869, "disease, accidents, and weather were the leading causes of death" along the Oregon/California Trail. It makes the specific ranking claim that "Firearms were the second leading cause of immigrant injury and death" and attributes this to large numbers of inexperienced travelers handling guns. The article describes "countless" accidental shootings, gives the example of John Shotwell in 1841 as the first emigrant to die by accidental gunshot, and also notes deaths from drowning (especially before ferries were common), quicksand, and other mishaps.

In a PBS educational feature on the overland trails, the text explains: "Cholera was the single greatest killer along the Oregon and California Trails." It adds: "Drownings, accidental shootings, and wagon accidents also took a heavy toll" but does not provide numeric rankings among these causes nor claim that accidental firearm discharges were the second leading cause after drownings.

Britannica’s overview states that "disease, particularly cholera, was the chief killer on the Oregon Trail." It further notes: "Other causes of death included accidents such as drownings during river crossings, firearms mishaps, and wagon-related injuries." The article describes firearms mishaps as one of several accident types and does not rank accidental firearm discharges as the second leading cause of accidental or violent death.

The Kansas Historical Society explains: "On the overland trails, many emigrants died from cholera and other diseases." It adds: "Accidental deaths were also frequent, including drowning in river crossings, being run over by wagons, and being accidentally shot." No quantitative hierarchy is given that would place accidental firearm discharges specifically as the second leading cause of accidental or violent deaths.

This article uses diary excerpts to illustrate gun accidents and other dangers on the trail, stating that "gun accidents were very common on the trail" because there were many guns in camp and fatigued, distracted people handling them with unsafe flintlocks. It quotes Eastin (1849) describing a man accidentally cocking a gun while pulling it from a wagon, injuring another man, and John Wood (1850) describing a young German who "shot himself accidentally" in the chest and died hours later. It also notes that numerous people were run over by wagons or trampled by stock and that sometimes these accidents were fatal, but it does not quantify how gun accidents ranked relative to drowning among all deaths.

This transcription of an 1852 emigrant diary records multiple accidental deaths, including drownings and other mishaps. One entry describes a ferry accident in which oxen backed off and sank the boat, drowning three men (a 16‑year‑old emigrant and two ferrymen), and comments that "It was, or is, a dangerous undertaking for anyone to cross in these boats." Another entry mentions a man who "was killed ... by getting drunk and letting a wagon and team run over him." The diary shows drowning and wagon accidents as prominent dangers but does not provide systematic statistics or a ranking of gun accidents among causes of death.

This educational page reproduces primary-source excerpts including the 1852 diary of Eliza Ann McAuley. In one entry, she describes a ferrying mishap: "A dreadful accident happened here today. A boat manned by green hands was taking a boat of cattle across. The cattle rushed to one end of the boat, causing it to tip, and in a moment there was a mass of struggling men and animals in the water. One man was drowned." The excerpt highlights drowning at river crossings as a notable risk but does not discuss firearm accidents or rank them among causes of death.

Historical summaries commonly distinguish overall mortality causes from accidental-death subcategories: disease was the leading cause overall, while accidental deaths included drownings, wagon accidents, and gunshot wounds. This matters because the claim compares accidental firearm discharges specifically against drownings within accidental or violent deaths.

Disease, wagon accidents, gun accidents, and drownings during river crossings were the most common causes of death. Mishaps with firearms caused many injuries and deaths. Other deaths on the trail are recorded in diaries as: stampeding livestock, attack by emigrants on other emigrants, lightning, gunpowder explosion, drowning at river crossings, and suicide.

One of the most common ways to die on the Oregon Trail was drowning; the path from the Midwest to the West Coast involved crossing numerous bodies of water. Accidental shooting was a biggest cause of death on the Oregon Trail. A man named John Shotwell has been identified by historians as the first Oregon Trail gunshot fatality. Pioneer John Bidwell wrote in his journal that Shotwell, "while in the act of taking a gun out of the wagon, it discharged and killed him."

The post lists gunshot wounds, drowning, snakebites, wagon incidents, violence, and illness as causes of death. It says many people died by accidentally shooting themselves or others while hunting or guarding the wagons at night, but it does not state that gun discharges were the second leading cause after drownings.

The post emphasizes disease on the Oregon Trail, noting that a cholera epidemic in 1849 killed thousands along the Nebraska and Kansas portions of the trail. It is relevant mainly for the broader mortality context, not for ranking accidental firearm discharges against drownings.

The video says people who did not die from disease might have died from an accidentally discharged firearm, a stampede of livestock, or being run over by wagon wheels. It is informal secondary commentary and does not provide a ranking that supports the specific claim.

A user comment says the most common way to die on the Oregon Trail was wagon accident, followed by accidental shootings. This is user-generated content and not authoritative, but it shows a minority informal claim that differs from the National Park Service summaries.