On the Road Again

 

We are on the road again - well, the trail again.  The trip west, and the communities settled there were unique in the things they left behind.  Unlike their ancestors back east, the first thing they left behind was the ritual of burial in a churchyard cemetery.  Burial "according to the custom of the Prairies" was quick.  No funeral clothes, no casket and no tombstone.  The grave was filled with stones as a safeguard against wild animals.  The livestock were allowed to roam over the grave to trample it, then the wagons were driven across it to hide clues that the Indians might use to dig up the body.  Along the trail, there was left no evidence that anyone had died or had been buried there.

Secondly, any ancestoral bonds that remained were replaced by their latest companions and their surnames were lost.  They received names or nicknames that identified their personal characteristics, a way of speaking or even the food they ate.  You might have been known simply as "Honest Whiskey Joe", "Truthful James" or "The American-Pie Eater."  Women were known as the "wife of" or by their first names.  Surnames were rarely used once settled in the West.

Thirdly, the westward traveler learned to give up possessions.  James Abbey, who left New Albany, Indiana for California in 1849, recorded the property toll of a trip west by covered wagon...

    "August 2nd - started out at four in the morning, at six stopped to cook breakfast and lighten our wagons by throwing away heavier portions of our clothing and such articles we can spare.  We pushed forward today determined to reach the desert, but our cattle showed signs of exhaustion, We had to stop.  Being completely out of water, we bought two gallons from a trader for $1 a gallon.

    The desert is strewn with dead cattle, horses, mules and oxen.  In the distance of 15 miles I counted 350 dead horses, 280 oxen, and 120 mules.  We saw vast amounts of valuable property abandoned - leather trunks, clothing, wagons...at least a value of over $100,000 in just 20 miles.  In the last 10 miles I have counted 362 wagons left behind at a value of $120 a piece back home.  In order to save animals and reach the end of the journey, the loss of personal goods is a matter of small importance."

 The settlers gave up costly things to come west - traditions, people, names, and possessions.  All left behind to reach the dream of land in the West.

Next time... Not left behind - the women

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Today in Pioneer History: "On August 10, 1846, the Smithsonian Institute was created.  After a decade debate on how to best spend a bequest left to America from an obscure English scientist, President James Polk signs the Smithsonian Act into law.  James Smithsonian left in his will that the whole of his estate would go to the United States of America to found at Washington an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.  Thank you Mr. Smithsonian!"

Building and Equiping the Wagon Was No Easy Task

Building a wagon and provisioning it for the trip were major undertakings.  The overland wagon had to be built of seasoned hardwood to withstand extremes of temperatures, as ordinary farm wagons were not strong enough to stand up to two thousand miles of hard traveling.  The classic prairie schooner was not the big-wheeled, boat curved Conestoga wagon but a smaller, lighter wagon with straight lines top and bottom.  Typically emigrants used a farm wagon with a flat bed about 10 feet wide with side 2 feet high.  The Bonney family recalls that "Father worked for months to build a wagon sturdy enough to withstand river crossings and mountain travel."

A wagon meant for an overland journey could be loaded with up to 2500 pounds and required 4-6 yoke of oxen to pull it.  The wagon and animals might cost $400, the largest single expense of the journey.  The wagon was built to be amphibious.  A tar bucket hung from the side of each wagon, and the slats were caulked for river crossings.  The covering of the wagon was a double thickness of canvas as rainproof as oiled linen, or muslin, or sailcloth could be made to be.  Wagon tongues, spokes, axles, and wheels were liable to break, and most pioneers traveled with spare parts slung under the wagon beds.  Grease buckets, water barrels and heavy rope were essential equipment.  As wagons deteriorated from overloading or breakage, repairs had to be made.

Foodstuffs were assembled at the start of the journey.  The Emigrant Guide in 1845 recommended that each emigrant supply himself with :
200 pounds of flour
150 pounds of bacon
10 pounds of coffee
20 pounds of sugar
10 pounds of salt. 
Additional supplies included chipped beef, rice, tea, dried beans, dried fruit, saleratus (Baking soda), vinegar, pickles, mustard, and tallow.  The basic kitchenware was a kettle, fry pan, coffee pot, tin plates, cups, knives, and forks.

The cost for all of those provisions was from $300-$600 depending on how much the family brought from home.  Each family also needed a supply of powder, lead and shot.  Rifles for around $60 or $70.  Total cost for basic supplies could easily reach $1000.  On top of that the journey to the "jumping off spots" where a train of wagons met and left from, cash for things like repair, the cost of the ferryman at river crossings, oxen replacement and food for the first winter made the initial cost of the trip anything but a good buy!

Financing the journey required liquidating property and household goods and farms.  It took one family, John and Cornelia Sharp and their 7 children,  4 years to save enough money to outfit the journey and even then John had to borrow $500 from his brother-in-law.  When you realize that a weeks wage was around $3.00 you know that we can compare moving to Hawaii or Australia today to making that journey.

Next time...2400 miles Overland to Paradise?

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Today in Pioneer History:  On June 8, 1874, Chief Cochise, one of the great leaders of the Apache Indians in their battles with the Anglo-Americans, dies on the Chiricahua reservation in southeastern Arizona.