Overland emigrants discovered smaller groups of 20 to 40 wagons were more manageable than larger ones, especially without professional wagon masters. Many operated under democratic principles, creating bylaws and electing a captain. In reality, a captain had limited authority. His role was largely confined to getting everyone moving in the morning and selecting when and where to camp at night.[3]
Membership of wagon trains was generally fluid and wagons frequently joined or left trains depending on the needs and wishes of their owners. An accident or illness, for instance, might force someone to fall behind and wait for the next train, or an emigrant might "whip up" to overtake a forward train after a quarrel. Some might break away to settle in Colorado Territory or other territories along the way.
At night, wagon trains were often formed into a circle or square for shelter from wind or weather, and to corral the emigrants' animals in the center to prevent them from running away or being stolen by native Americans. While native Americans might attempt to raid horses under cover of darkness, they rarely attacked a train. Contrary to popular belief, wagons were seldom circled defensively.[4]
Today, covered wagon trains are used to give an authentic experience for those desiring to explore the West as it was in the days of the pioneers and other groups traveling before modern vehicles were invented.
The advent of gunpowder warfare meant that an army could no longer rely solely on foraging in the surrounding countryside, and required a regular supply of munitions.[6] In the 18th century, organized commissary and quartermaster departments were developed to centralize delivery of supplies.[6] The delivery took the form of "baggage trains", large groups of wagons that traveled at the rear of the main army.
For American settlers heading westward in the 19th century, the Oregon Trail offered the primary route. A rugged path marked only by the parallel wheel ruts dug by thousands of covered wagons, it led across nearly 2,200 miles of prairie, desert and mountain terrain from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon. After explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark mapped the uncharted land in 1804-06, merchants, trappers, miners, traders and missionaries soon followed, looking for land, resources and opportunity. By mid-century, wagon traffic on the route expanded to tens of thousands annually. Here are nine surprising facts about the Oregon Trail:
While most Oregon-bound emigrants traveled a route that passed by landmarks in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon, there was never just one set of wagon ruts leading west. Pioneers often spread out for several miles across the plains to hunt, find grazing patches for their animals and avoid the choking dust clouds kicked up by other wagon trains. As the years passed, enterprising settlers also blazed dozens of new trails, or cutoffs, that allowed travelers to bypass stopping points and reach their destination quicker. These shortcuts were especially popular in Wyoming, where the network of alternative pathways meandered more than a hundred miles north and south.
Contrary to the depictions of dime novels and Hollywood Westerns, attacks by the Plains Indians were not the greatest hazard faced by westbound settlers. While pioneer trains did circle their wagons at night, it was mostly to keep their draft animals from wandering off, not protect against an ambush. Indians were more likely to be allies and trading partners than adversaries, and many early wagon trains made use of Pawnee and Shoshone trail guides. Hostile encounters increased in the years after the beginning of the Civil War, but statistics show only around 400 settlers were killed by natives between 1840 and 1860. The more pressing threats were cholera and other diseases, which were responsible for the vast majority of the estimated 20,000 deaths that occurred along the Oregon Trail.
By the time the last wagon trains crossed in the 1880s, mass migration on the Oregon Trail had left an indelible mark on the American frontier. Decades of prairie schooner traffic carved up certain sections of the trail, leaving imprints in stone and wearing down grasslands so much that nothing grows on them to this day. These pioneer wagon ruts can still be seen in all six of the states that once encompassed the trail.
But the single hardest day and most precarious time was when we took the end of the Sublette-Greenwood Cutoff which is a section of the trail in Western Wyoming. We took it up to 8,300 feet and then in less than two miles we had to descend down a mountainside to 6,000 feet. So we made a 2,000 foot descent in about a mile and a half. It was so steep that the mules were so far below us, and we had to chain our wheels so that the wagons would skid along. The wagon was a little over five feet across and this was all on a trail that was seven feet wide. To the left of us was a 300-foot cliff. So if anything had happened, if the mules had got skittish, we would have gone over the side. That descent took us about two or three hours, and the whole way down we were literally one step away from death.
I was also impressed by Abigail Scott and Margaret Frink. They defied the stereotype of women crossing the trail, which was that their husbands had forced them into it and their role was to ride the wagon all day and hurry the children along. But these pioneer journalists rode across the trail side saddle.
In May of 1841, about 70 people set out from Independence, Missouri, in Conestoga-style wagons, heading towards the west coast. They were determined to be the first pioneers to cross the Rocky Mountains to reach the west coast. Although the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition had reached the Pacific Ocean in 1806, it was many years before the first wagon train reached California.
The Ole Covered Wagon Tours is a family-owned and operated business in beautiful Tioga County, Pennsylvania. Come take a tour with us through the wondrous Pennsylvania Grand Canyon on a horse-drawn covered wagon.
The tour guides are fluent in the history of the Canyon going back to the 19th century. They will tell the tale while the horses wind their way on the Pine Creek Rail Trail. Take a jump into history while enjoying everything the canyon has to offer. In addition, we offer several specialties. Please check back for more information and upcoming events. All of us at OLE COVERED WAGON TOURS look forward to seeing you in the Canyon!
Wagon trains were the home and community of westward-bound emigrants, and you can see the types of wagons they traveled in when you visit the California Trail Interpretive Center. Covered wagons were major contributors to the success (and sometimes failure) of these brave pioneers. With thousands of miles of rough and unfamiliar terrain ahead of them, emigrant families relied on these covered wagons to get them safely to their new lives in the American West.
I have added this restaurant and all the restaurants to my interactive map page you can find here. If you have a suggestion for a restaurant for me to try or any comments feel free to email me at fatmanlittletrails@gmail.com or you can connect on any of the below social media platforms.
Pioneers faced a hefty climb up California Hill after crossing the South Platte River. Right after reaching the other side of the water, wagons had to drive up 240 feet in a little more than a mile and a half, leaving deep ruts up the hill that are still visible today. Almost everyone on the Oregon Trail had to take this route, and California Hill was the first major climb they encountered on the trail.
The tracks at Guernsey are among the most impressive remnants of Oregon Trail history. Almost every pioneer had to pass through the same spot here, going over soft sandstone. Over time, each wagon wore down the rock a bit more...and more...and more. The ruts eventually became five feet deep, and visitors can walk through them for a real pioneer experience. South of Guernsey is Register Cliff, where many pioneers carved their names into the rock to document their passage.
Along the freeway here, an Oregon Trail historic sign sits on a cliff face next to one of the final sets of wagon ruts along the route to Columbia. These stretch up a hill on the side of the road and go along the cliff for about a mile, leading to an impressive view of the Columbia River.
For twenty five years, as many as 650,000 peoplemay have pulled up stakes and headed for the farms and gold fields of the West.No accurate records exist of traffic on the great overland trails of that era,and some believe the figure may have been as low as 250,000 people. However,estimates have been slowly creeping upwards over the years, and it now seemsthat something like half a million people headed west from the 1840s throughthe Civil War. It is generally agreed that Oregon was the destination for abouta third of the emigrants, California for another third, and the remainder werebound for Utah, Colorado, and Montana. This was the last of the so-called GreatMigrations. It lasted until the coming of the railroads.
1859
30,000 travel the trails with no single objective in mind. Destinations includeColorado, Utah, California and Oregon. Stagecoaches make their first appearanceon the Oregon Trail with the Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express carryingpassengers and mail. Horace Greeley follows his own advice and goes west.
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