Women of the Frontier: 16 Tales of Trailblazing Homesteaders, Entrepreneurs, and Rabble-Rousers
I could take my two little toddling babies I little realized then the task I had undertaken 6 One bride days away from departing for a jump ing off spot in Missouri sang these hymn lyrics at her ceremony Can I bid you farewell Can I leave you Far in heathen lands to dwell Another young woman filled with youthful enthusiasm viewed the trip as an adventure with castles of shining gold waiting at the end Helen Carpenter a bride of four months recorded Ho for California at last we are on the way and with good luck may someday reach the promised land Faced with the decision to head west people tackled the journey in several ways Some booked passage on a ship and sailed around South America to California Others traveled to Panama cut across the isthmus and then sailed up the Pacific coast By the late 1860s railroad lines stretched across the continent and provided the quickest if most expen sive way to travel Without much baggage but themselves many sin gle women opted for dusty bumpy stagecoaches Stops along the way featured crowded rooms and meals of questionable quality Between 1856 and 1860 nearly 3 000 Mormon emigrants walked the brutal journey pulling two wheeled handcarts laden with goods all the way from Iowa to Utah By far the most popular means of family trans portation was the oxen drawn covered wagon built of seasoned hardwood and waterproofed with caulk Back to page 322 Page 15
and tar An application of oil rain proofed the wag on's thick canvas covering Spare parts axles wheels spokes and wagon tongues hung beneath the wagon bed Other necessities like water barrels grease buckets and rope were lashed to the wagon sides Finished the covered wagon measured about 4 feet wide and 10 to 12 feet long large enough to haul roughly 2 500 pounds of supplies and requiring 8 to 10 oxen to pull A Mormon handcart company traveling to Utah US His tory Images The journey required months of preparations before the wagon sat stuffed with tools cookware clothes bedding sewing supplies guns and ammuni tion medicines a few luxuries and food Guide books recommended each emigrant carry 200 pounds of flour 150 pounds of bacon 10 pounds of coffee 10 pounds of sugar and 10 pounds of salt as well as staples like dried beans and fruit rice tea pickles Page 16 pages left in this chapter
baking soda cornmeal and vinegar Buying wagons and ox teams and then outfitting the whole project cost between 600 and 1 000 Travelers also needed ready cash to buy supplies along the way pay ferry costs across rivers and help establish their new homes Seeking the promised lands of the West proved too costly for the nation's poor Across the Wide Missouri Families traveled from their homes in Eastern states to perch on the edge of civilization in Missouri River towns near the head of the Oregon Trail More than 350 000 pioneers eventually traveled this main artery west between 1843 and the late 1860s In places like Independence and Saint Joseph Missouri and Coun cil Bluffs Iowa passing emigrants snatched up last minute supplies repaired wagons and sought advice Families and solo travelers banded together into larger groups for protection on the trail The first leg of the Oregon Trail followed the meandering Platte River toward the Rocky Moun tains Oxen plodded over the plains slowing climb ing to South Pass in Wyoming Territory and the Continental Divide the boundary between eastward and westward flowing waters Beyond the Rockies the trail forked into two routes one continuing northward along the Snake River in Oregon Country Idaho today the other offshoot following the Back to page 322 Page 17
Humboldt River heading toward California Emi grants to Southern California followed the Santa Fe Trail from Missouri to a split near Santa Fe in New Mexico Territory The Old Spanish Trail carried on to Los Angeles and the Gila River Trail to San Diego R Hall Fannie has done they L Delays L Smith Pana Map of the overland trails US History Images On any route travel proved slow and monotonous as the wagon trains covered only 10 to 20 miles each day One woman reported that most people in her party had lost track of the days of the week Still pressing onward she noted It is a long and tedious journey 9 Ahead clouds of dust marked the trail of other wagon trains while behind stretched more advancing parties weaving their way along the routes abandoning civilization All along the Oregon Trail emigrants watched eagerly for landmarks announcing their progress In Page 18 9 pages left in this chapte
