Life in the Old West

Looking back into the past, we can see how a steam-powered, iron-wheeled freight wagon to haul goods across several hundred miles of the Great Plains in the 1860s appears to be a real folly. But in 1862, Major Joseph R. Brown, an agent to the Sioux Indians in New Ulm, Minnesota not only thought it was a good idea, he shelled out $9,000 to have the behemoth built. Adding a great deal of other expense, time, and effort, he accompanied his “prairie motor” wagon to the Nebraska City, Nebraska, starting point of what he thought was a prosperous future!

Read more on Brown’s steam wagon sought to conquer 1860s Plains freight routes…

Our Pony Express “adventure” anniversary trip began at the Patee House Hotel-Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri, after a morning’s travel in trusty Old Blue (our ‘89 Ford station wagon) from Springfield, Missouri.

The Patee House Hotel (and the museum hosted there)  is one of only a handful of original structures still standing and occupied within the Pony Express’ St. Joseph-Fort Kearny Division. Opened in 1858 (two years before the Pony Express started), the Patee House was St. Joseph’s finest hotel in its day. It was turned into a museum of Western History in 1965. In addition to the story of the Pony Express, the museum offers an authentic glimpse of 1850s and 1860s life in this Missouri River town.

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The first wagon trains headed westward along the overland trails — the most famous was the Oregon Trail — from Missouri in 1841, and a major motivation for those making the long, often tortuous journey was economic: Following the Panic of 1837 (a fearsome Depression by even today’s standards), wages throughout America had fallen by 30-50 percent. There were no unemployment figures kept at the time, of course, but had there been, they would have been horrific. Major public demonstrations by out of work residents of Philadelphia and New York City brought out hundreds of thousands of people in 1839 and 1840.

Read more on Hard times of 1830s launched first wagon trains westward…

Conestoga wagons were the heavy-duty freight haulers that moved the world westward on their big wheels. They got their name after the Conestoga Valley of Pennsylvania where they originated.

These monsters of the Great Plains were generally over 24 feet long, usually nearly 12 feet high, and weighed something around two tons when they were unloaded. They had rear wheels bigger than the front wheels and rolled along on iron tires.

Read more on Conestogas moved country westward on big wheels…

Throughout the history of animal drawn transportation, the animal power of choice has usually been horses, mules, or oxen. Which were best?

The answer, of course, depended upon the type of wagons, the load being hauled, and the distance involved. In general, freight wagons or any wagons carrying much of a load for much distance of all, relied on either mules or oxen. Both animals were powerful and reliable. For heavier loads, such as some of the bigger pieces of mining equipment, and very long hauls, oxen generally won the day. They were slower than mules, but generally surer, and a big plus was that oxen could travel on grass alone while mules generally required grain feeds in addition to grass.

Read more on Powering those wagons westward — mules or oxen, which were considered best?…

I was reading about the early wagons and wagon trains which shaped America’s Western expansion and ran onto an interesting tidbit: Habits of early freighters and their freight wagons, such as the huge Conestoga wagons, are responsible for American traffic traveling along the right side of the road.

According to Foster-Harris’ wonderful book I’ve cited frequently, early pioneers and freighters did not ride in or on their wagons most of the time to drive their horses. The early pioneers at least loaded the wagons and walked alongside them. They used the wagon space and the horses’ strength to carry stuff, not people.

Read more on Wonder why American traffic passes on the right? Blame it on Conestoga…