Wagon Train Law

This "association club" law we have been discussing arose not to circumvent the court, but to provide them, not because the machinery of government was too complicated, but because there was none, and not to neutralize institutions already there but to fill the vacuum from lack of them.  

Not only did this "citizen law" exist in communities and mining towns, but also along the wagon trails going West.  One such story is of a member of a traveling party who made known his intentions to steal an Indian horse.  He had got the rope and had gone to do the deed.  This kind of act had serious consequences for the whole wagon train company.  

The whole company headed by Captain Hastings became the "legislative body" and set about deciding whether this man had violated criminal law in their eyes.  Prosecution and defense speeches were heard.  It was found that since he had as of yet not done any crime except state his intentions to do something, he was acquitted.

After the trial, however, it was clear they needed to establish a legal code of sorts.  What they adopted was stated as "in its opinion, no code of laws were required other than the moral code enacted by the Creator of the universe and what was recorded in the heart of every man."  Not all the company agreed.

Their first try at legislation on fundamentals was a decree against all dogs.  This law required "the immediate and indiscriminate extermination of the whole canine race, young and old, male and female wherever they were found within their jurisdiction."  A few dogs were killed before dog owners threatened to kill anyone who killed their dogs.  The decree was hastily repealed by an unanimous vote.  Captain Hastings said it was the first and last attempt at legislation. Probably a good thing...

Next time...Order in the West

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Today in Pioneer History: "On July 9, 1877 the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club begins its first lawn tennis tournament at Wimbledon.  Twenty-one amateurs showed up to compete in the singles tournament (for men only).  The winner took home a 25 pound trophy.   The winner was William Marshall, a Cambridge tennis player.

On the Trail From Dusk to Dawn Part 2

Jesse Applegate's story continues...

"A band of horses with two or three men/boys follow, the docile and sagacious animals scarce needing attention for they have learned to follow in the rear of the wagons and know that at noon they will be allowed to graze and rest.  Not so with the large herd of horned beasts that bring up the rear - lazy, selfish and unsocial.  They seem to move only in fear of the driver's whip. 

The pilot, by measuring the ground and timing the speed of the wagons, the walk of his horses, has determined the rate of each so as to enable him to select the nooning place, as nearly as the requisite grass and water can be had at the end of five hours travel.

The wagons are drawn up in columns, four abreast, the leading wagon of each platoon on the left - the platoons being formed with that view.  This brings friends together for the noon stop as well as the night.

It is now one o'clock, the bugle has sounded and the caravan has resumed its westward journey.  It is in the same order, but the evening is far less animated that the morning march, as a drowsiness has fallen apparently on man and beast.  The sun is now getting low in the west and at length the pain-taking pilot is standing ready to conduct the train in the circle which he has previously measured and market out, to form invariable fortification for the night.

The leading wagons follow him so nearly round the circle that but a wagon length separates them.  Each wagon follows in its track, the rear closing on the front until its tongue and ox chains will perfectly reach from one to the other.  So accurate is the measurement and perfect the practice that the hindmost wagon of the train always precisely closes the gateway.

As each wagon is brought into position it  is dropped from its team (the teams being inside the circle).   The team is unyoked, the yokes and chains are used to connect the wagons strongly to each other.  The entire process from the first wagon to the last takes 10 minutes and the teams are out to pasture.

Whee - I am exhausted!

Next time... On the Trail From Dusk to Dawn Conclusion
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On February 13, 1822, Missouri Lieutenant Governor William Ashley places an advertisement in the Missouri Gazette and Public Advisor seeking 100 “enterprising young men” to engage in fur trading on the Upper Missouri.

The Circle of Safety

After a long day of dusty rough trails, the wagon master has determined it is time to camp for the night, and just like most of what happens on the wagon trail, it is never just a matter of pulling back the reins and climbing in the wagon for some much needed shut-eye...

Where the wagon train will stop for the night is based on providing the most safety for the families. Indians and wild animals were a very real threat through the prairie, while further west the problems remain the same with terrain added on.

We are told to lead our wagon into a circle in the same position we have in the wagon trail. It isn't as easy to drive wagons into a tight circle as it would seem. First the wheels offer like turning radius, and the horses have to be unhitched and wagons moved close together.

Our wagons are then interlocked together by the iron tongue of our wagon and each successive wagon, extending under the rear wheels of the wagon before us. Once all wagons are interlocked the chains are applied through the wheels and running through all the wagons in the circle.

Before the last wagon is locked together the livestock and horses are rounded up inside the circle. Once all the animals are safe inside the circle to graze, our women began to start the huge campfire that will warm us, cook our supper and breakfast, and provide us light for the evening.

The wagon master assigns a couple of guards to watch the outside rim of the circle and we are as safe as can be in numbers.

Safety was the number one concern on the wagon trail and the circle of wagons remains one of the best ideas the pioneers had. In fact, there are only a handful of recorded Indian attacks that succeeded against the wagon circle. The Indians incurred extensive casualities with such strategy - faced the pioneer men behind the safety of their wagon.

Next time it is chow time on the Wagon Trail....

The Wagon Master/Captain

Wagon Trains without a master or captain would have been like any group without order - chaos. So before our journey begins, a wagon captain must be chosen. For most wagon trains, like ours, a single wagon captain and a couple of "deputies" was all that was required, although there is record of complete governments created for a single wagon train.

The wagon captain was responsible for most decisions on the trail - from when the started, when the train stopped, and where it stopped. His was the choice of where the train would set up camp for the night. His was the consequences for disputes and "trouble" between the members of his train.

To that end, each wagon captain assigned each family wagon a specific spot in the order of the train, and saw to it that each time the wagon train stopped and started the order was kept as assigned. Even the placement of each wagon in the nightly campfire circle was pre-determined by the wagon captain.

Obviously the wagon master was a sort of mayor, keeping order and assigning order.
He was not always well though of after the journey came to an end, but he was usually elected prior to the trip by popular vote.

We take our place in line and the wagon train set out - wheels slowly creaking along and by the end of the day we will have covered between 10 and 15 miles. A good first day.

Next time we make our first stop along the trail...

Take A Peek Inside!

Almost ready to start our journey but today we are packing the wagon...We have many possessions that we must choose whether it is benefical to take or leave behind. We will discover along the way that some things we have chosen to take will have to be left alongside the trail as well.

Attached to the side of the wagon is our double barreled, precision lock shotgun, always handy in reach for hunting or protecting the family.

Bedding Supplies - blankets, feather beds, ground cloths, pillows, tents, poles, stakes and ropes

Cooking Utensils - dutch oven, kettle, skillet, coffee grinder, coffeepot, teapot, butcher knife, ladle, tin tableware, water keg, matches, spider (3 legged skillet)

Food - flour, bacon, coffee, baking soda, corn meal, hardtack, dried beans, dried beef, dried fruit, molasses, vinegar, pepper, eggs, salt, sugar, rice, tea.

Weapons - rifle, pistol, knife, hatchet, gunpowder, lead, bullet mold, powder horn, bullet pouch, holster

Clothing - wool sack coats, rubber coats, cotton dresses, wool pantaloons, buckskin pants, duck trousers, cotton shirts, flannel shirts, cotton socks, brogans, boots, felt hat, palm leaf sun hat, green goggles, sunbonnet

Tools - set of augers, gimlet, ax, hammer, hoe, plow, shovel, spade, whetstone, oxbows, axiles, kingbolts, linchpins, oxshoes, spokes, wagon tongue, heavy ropes, chains.

Medical and Handy Supplies - surgical instruments, liniments, bandages, campstoolm chamber pot, washbowl, lanterns, candle molds, tallow, spyglasses, scissors, needles, pins and thread.

Luxury Items - canned food, plant cuttings, schoolbooks, musical instruments, dolls, family albums, jewelry, china, silverware, fine linens, iron stove, furniture, clocks.


How can all of this fit in a 10 feet by 4 foot wagon bed??