Smaller wheels in front made it easier to turn
Bucket of grease hung here to grease down wheels
Conestoga Wagon was about the size of a modern
Surburban. It could carry 8 tons of material (most of the
material though was thrown out eventually) and had to be
towed by 4-6 oxen or 6-8 mules/horses.
TOOLS POUNDS ax 15
shovel
12
hatchet
9
hammer
7
hoe
3
anvil
150
grinding stone
75
animal trap
15
rope
4
Personal Items
jump rope
marbles
family Bible
books
hunting knife
bag of clothes
fiddle
snowshoes
rifle
pistol
first aid kit
Pounds doll
1
1
2
2
1
40
2
8
10
7
3
2
Food
Pounds flour
tea
salt
sugar
coffee
bacon
dried fruit
dried beans
cornmeal
spit peas
oatmeal
vinegar
pickles
dried beef
salt pork
assorted spices
barrel of water
vegetables
150
10
50
50
100
40
100
100
10
100
8
25
50
25
5
5
350
5
Household Goods
rug
bedding
mirror
dutch oven
butter churn 40
table and 4 chairs
piano
organ
baby cradle
wooden bucket
bedpan
butter mold
rocking chair
pitcher and bowl
cooking stove
cooling utensils
stool
spinning wheel
lantern
clock
10 candles
set of dishes
Pounds coffee grinder
40
20
40
70
200
900
2000
75
10
2
1
50
5
700
2
10
80
4
1
1
40
Wagon Trains were usually led by a “Captain”. The Captain
was usually an experienced trail guide. Sometimes the Captain
was chosen because he was the richest person in the train or
had the most family members in the train. The Wagon Trains learned that
to keep from choking each other’s dusk, the spread out over a big area.
To lead the Wagon trains forward the Captain would yell “Forward Ho!”
Caravans would only travel ten to fifteen miles per day. On rainy and muddy
days they might only travel one mile! It would take them five to seven days just
to travel the distance we can drive a car in a single hour.
The people would have to get up very early each morning in order to prepare
for their daily travels. It was usually dark on these mornings. They would have
to start the fire, prepare breakfast, gather the livestock, reload the wagon, and
hitch the oxen or mules before getting started.
The caravans often traveled 7 days a week, but some choose to travel 6 days a
week in observance of the Sabbath. The trains that traveled only 6 days often
arrived to their destination faster and in better health.
Children had lots of chores that included milking their
cows, fetching water from a stream or a river that was
nearby, helping their parents cook food, washing dishes,
collecting buffalo chips (pooh) or wood for the fire, shaking
out dusty blankets and quilts, and hanging beef jerky to dry
in the sun. Plus they walked most of the way!!!!
Cholera (biggest killer) is an acute intestinal infection caused by toxigenic
Vibrio cholerae.
Infection is acquired primarily by ingesting contaminated water or food;
person-to-person transmission is rare.
Indian Attack: Rare but feared. A myth is that the settlers put their wagons
in a circle to fend off attacks at night. While this did happen, the main reason
was to put the cattle inside the circle so they wouldn’t wander off.
Accidents: Wagons running over people. Failed water crossings. Horses
bucking off their riders. Accidental gunshot wounds.
Mortality Rate: Never really can be known, but most historians say that it
was the same as the population that decided not to go west.
Dried Fruit- A staple on the trails west. This allowed for the
Pioneers to get the nutrition they needed without fear of spoilage
Saltines- To represent in a good way the hardened bread that
the pioneers had to deal with.
Beef Jerky- A substitute for Salted Beef. Salt was the preservative
in an era without freezers and refrigerators
Pickles- Cucumbers soaked in a brine made them last longer,
but still gave them the nutrition
Vegetables- A luxury that settlers had at the beginning of the
journey.