Over Land Route to the California Gold Rush
Today we can fly across the country in a few hours. At the time of the gold rush in
1849 it was a long and difficult trip. Most people organized themselves into wagon
trains. From Missouri the trip was 1,800 miles. There were two main trails, the
Oregon Trail and the Sante Fe Trail. Most people took the Oregon Trail.
It cost a family of four about $600 to $700 hundred dollars. The trip was hard.
Days on the trail were long. A wagon train averaged 15 to 20 miles a day. One big
killer on the trail was cholera, a bacteria found in water. Cholera claimed thousands
of lives. They had to cross rivers and rapid currents pulled people and animals
under, many drowned. There were prairies to cross with prairie fires, lightening
and thunderstorms. There was forty miles of burning desert to cross and then the
High Sierras had to be crossed before the winter snows set in. Wagons were often
unloaded and dragged up steep slopes and let down over rocky ledges with ropes.
There was not always enough food.
The Journey by Land
Most overlanders began their journey on the Mormon or Oregon
trails. The major trailheads for these routes were in Council Bluffs,
Iowa, St. Joseph, Mo., or Independence, Mo. The overland trip
typically took five to six months. Ten to 15 miles of travel in one day
would be a good day.
The routes taken
People often traveled by steamboat up the Ohio River or the
Mississippi to reach the major trailheads. The Oregon Trail was
created earlier by fur trappers.
A The Humboldt Basin
The dreaded 40-mile stretch of Humboldt Basin promised severe heat,
sand deep enough to trap oxen and no food or water.
B The Continental Divide
South Pass was the easiest passage through the Rockies. Rivers to the
east flowed toward the Atlantic. Rivers to the west flowed toward the
Pacific. From this point on, travel became increasingly difficult.
C Independence Rock
Marked on by hundreds of pioneers who passed it.
D Fort Laramie
Over 39,000 people were recorded passing through Fort Laramie in
the first six months of 1849. It is likely that several thousand more
passed through unrecorded.
E The Platte River
The rains of 1849 made the overland journey difficult at the Platte
River.
F Chimney Rock
A 500 ft. column. It marks 550 miles from Independence, Mo.
G The Jayhawkers
A group, named the Jayhawkers, broke off from a larger group in the
hopes of cutting 600 miles off the distance. Their journey ended in an
area named Tomesha, "ground afire," by the local Indians. Today, the
area is called Death Valley.
Forts
Pioneers could replenish food, tools and other supplies at posts along
the way, if the wagon train before them hadn't cleaned the forts out.
Landmarks
The weary travelers looked forward to sighting these almost mythical
places as they confirmed that they were not only on the right trail but
also making progress.
Sickness
A cholera epidemic killed young and old alike on the trail.
Dysentery was introduced from drinking dirty water.
Trails
Trails through Arizona and New Mexico with frequent towns and
trading posts were popular.
What they took
The cost for a family of four was around $600 to $700. Groups
organized and agreed to travel together. Any given train of wagons
would have people with different occupations. The more varied the
abilities, the more comfortable the journey was likely to be.
Supplies might include:
Cooking stove made of sheet metal, cows, bacon, ham, rice, dried
fruit, molasses, packed butter, bread, coffee and tea, tools for mining,
farming and repairing wagons, vegetable and flower seeds,
medicines, quilts, musical instruments, guns, ammunition, awls,
needles strengthened for mending clothes and tents, bedding,
including buffalo robes, waterproof india rubber blankets to keep
things dry, lock chains to hold wagons back on steep hills.
On the trail:
There are
hooks on the
inside of the
hoops to hang
milk cans,
guns, etc.
Making
butter: After a
few hours on the bumpy trail, a ball of butter would form in the center
of a can of milk.
Plates, silverware, pots and pans were kept in a special box attached
to the rear of the wagon.
Animals were driven by shouting and whip-cracking over their
heads. They were not struck.
Some brought chickens.
Eggs could be stored in
flour barrels. So long as they
were not touching, they
wouldn't break.
The rigors of life on the
trail led many women to try
wearing pants for the first time.
People often walked, as the wagons traveled very slowly and the
bumpy trails made the wagon seats uncomfortable.
On the prairie, wood was
scarce. Pioneers discovered that
buffalo chips created a hot,
smokeless and odorless fire.
A bucket of grease hung
between the wheels to lubricate
them.
Sources: "The Great American Gold Rush" by Rhoda Blumberg, "The Gold
Rush" by Liza Ketchum, "The California Gold Rush," published by American
Heritage, "The California Gold Rush" by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk, "Hunting
for Gold" by William Downie, "Sea Routes to the Gold Fields" by Oscar
Lewis, "If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon" by Ellen Levine, "The
East Indiamen" by Russell Miller, Steve and Eric Chrissman of the National
Nautical Heritage Society
Graphics: Sean McDade
Read more here:
http://www.calgoldrush.com/graphics/byland.html#storylink=cpy