most of them were well off to pay the huge money to do the trip not like desperate busted out homeless people like most think like people escaping from the dustbowl in the depression. They were daring people so the arrivals ended up being pillars of the community. Trading posts along the way were often based at spots like "portages" or bottoms of hills where they had to give off their best stuff. Many died or did not make it or stayed put such as at "the Dalles" Oregon instead of toughing it through the mountains. also many returned to the dalles not able to take the cold and rain in the Willamette valley the end point of the trail in Portland. also the trail was often miles wide undulating all over the place not a single road like people picture. as they left the plains areas alot of not needed stuff ended up having to be thrown out along the trail as they entered more hilly terrain. The conestoga wagons were not really used at all to get to oregon they were heavy tonnage haulers only for flat areas more east.

It smelled really bad....

​@@jaysilverheals4445 you beat me to it. I always tell people that the folks who traveled overland we're not broke. You had to have money to do that. They were basically greedy people that were looking for more money like the Donner party

Many, if not most, were failures at home. Bankrupt, criminals, anyone desperately needing a new life. Plus wagons were often overloaded, and progressively along the trails more and more items were discarded.

The families also walked to collect "buffalo chips" for fuel for cooking. Probably a little foraging for native plants and small game along the way as well.

Wow!!! That is pure history, I love stuff like that!!

That’s amazing

*When lowering them they would tie the two back wheels together as an improvised brake.*

Many years ago I went out west with my sister and we drove up to Casper Wyoming to drive out the Oregon trail on the back roads. She had a Jeep and wants just itchin to take it out. It was so cool. I have so many awesome pictures from that ride. We wrote it all the way to Independence Rock

Life was So hard back then

Dang, that's cool, and it sounds like a good time.

Very nice tradition. I wish I could experience something like that.

WOW!!!!!!!!

wonderful legacy, it's cool your family still commemorates it and holds the land

What a great way to celebrate your roots!

Nice

G'day, The method here in Oz, when descending a steep hill, was to cut down a Sapling, tie it to the Back Axle, and then go down with the "Drag" of the Sapling being pulled across the Ground serving to retard the descent. For heavier loads and steeper hills, cut down a bigger, heavier Sapling to serve as a "Drag". The practice was probably fairly common, globally. Certainly, when the first Aerodynamicists were attempting to describe an Aircraft in Stable Level Flight..., the Equation which they settled onto was, and is, "Lift = Weight & Thrust = DRAG... (!). The Brake-Blocks built onto the Wagons were Wood with Leather facings, pressing via a Foot-operated Lever onto the Steel Wheel-Rims...; they were more use when parking, than to try slowing a heavy Wagon on a steep "pitch". The Sapling Drag method STILL works, for Bicyclists on a steep descent, to avoid overheating and wearing through the Brake Blocks. Just(ifiably ?) sayin', Such is life... Have a good one. Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !

@@WarblesOnALot My father did the same when cutting trees for lumber and heating in the 1930s, through in his case, he was logging on the mountains of Appalachia. In Appalachia the practice was to remove the wheels completely and have the horses drag the wagon down the Mountainside. Then unload the wagon, jack it up, put the wheels back on to haul the logs through the valley below the Mountainsides. Steep hillsides discouraged the use of wagons with wheels on the actual mountainside, but once down the mountainside the wheels came in handy (as they did with the horses hauling the wagons up those same mountainside for the next load of lumber).

Yes, my Granddad traveled by covered wagon as a young teenager from the prairies of Illinois to the plains of Kansas with his family. He didn't like Kansas; he said it was too flat and when he was a little older he went back to Illinois. I've always wondered how he could tell any difference between the flat prairie of Illinois and the flat plains of Kansas!

Believe it or not: Born in Southwest Germany 1968, i had to walk most of the time. There was not enough money to pay transportation to school for my sister and me. Once every two years we got to our hollidays per train. We got our first car around 72, an old nearly broke down Renault 5. I would have greatly appreciated any kind of Riding animal to go to school...😅

I can't say much to the wagon aspect of it but for riding a horse 20 miles a day if you ride 6 days a week. The long riders guild suggests the 7th day of rest for the horse. In a short one day shot 80-100 miles depending on the breed how heavy and skilled the rider was possible but the horse would need the next 4 days to recover. It's one of the reasons Arabs were so sought after. good speed amazing endurance and because they have one less vertebrae than other breeds their backs were quite strong. most breeds like thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses owe a lot of their abilities to breeding from Arabs.

Yes, Soda Springs, Idaho!

@@richardhill3122 Yep, My Father in Law lives in Downey!!

Yes, I worked with Idaho OCTA. We marked all the trails and cutoffs in Eastern Idaho.

Former Pocatello guy here. I still miss the Ross Park Drive-In with it's delicious Taco-spaghetti and the Mess. Best food that was ever served in cardboard french fry trays!

The trail goes right through Boise. Outside of town where it goes through the desert, it's not really like one definable trail with wagon ruts, but a general linear area a mile or so wide, criss-crossed with lots and lots of ruts in various stages of erosion and overgrowth. It's a living thing. It's almost like a forest you can't see because of all the trees.

Well think about it🤔 It’s basically an older version of a camper!

​@@J-Mac8 That was going where no grocery stores existed.

@@michaelplunkett8059 yeah your surroundings are your groceries!

@@michaelplunkett8059 Towns had general stores and dry goods distributors, but away from town, your options were more limited and you had to eat whatever food you had access to.

My grand mother remembered before there were cars and electricity.

Or going to relieve themselves...

@@stephenlitten1789 My great, great grandfather may have takin' a dump in their yard.

Probably dead bodies buried around the place too.

@@fastsetinthewest I'm not sure. Digging in that soil was horrible. I think they would have been more likely to pile rocks over a body. Maybe there were some spots where digging was more feasible. In that case, I'm sure there were some bodies.

People today couldn't do it they couldn't handle what the young and older pioneers handled. They were a bunch of tough people back then.

And Oxen could survive on graze that would starve a horse. Thus most wagon masters told people to trade in they horses and mules for oxen. One observation was a mule or horse wagon train would speed ahead of any oxen train for about a month. After about a month the Oxen train would first pass dead horses and mules and then the rest of the horse or mule train. Horses were faster then mules or oxen, but needed additional food mostly in the form of grains (oats, corn, wheat etc.) to survive on the trail. Thus the stage coaches and express wagons used horses or mules (Mules were preferred, cheaper to feed and better endurance over a horse), but such wagons would switch horses or mules at stations set up for such switches, and the tired horses or mules given grains to eat and a few days of rest till it was time for they to return on a return stage coach or express wagon (These stations were kept supplied by oxen hauled wagons with hay, oats, corn, wheat etc). When you read of the use of horses by the German Army in WWII, in combat situations those horses lasted about four weeks till they had to go back for a long rest or die (and given how starved the horses were used, the remaining meat on them was almost useless as a food for the troops). Thus till the Steam Engine was invented, oxen was the main way to haul freight any distance. Horses and mules were faster, but did not have the endurance of oxen AND oxen could haul more then a team of horses or mules. By the time of Western Movies, railroads had replaced most Oxen and steam and later gasoline tractors were known (Through not that common till the 1930s, and horses would remain the main source of "power" on the farm till the 1960 US Census, when tractors were finally found to provided more "power" on the farms in the US then horses). On the soil in the American Midwest, horses and mules had replaced oxen by the 1870s, but oxen stayed the main source of "Power" on New England farms till replaced by tractors, mostly due to the extra pulling power oxen have over horses and mules, extra power needed to ploy the heavy soil of New England. One last comment on horses, mules and oxen. In the years before the horse was domesticated, horses were slowly disappearing for Cattle and Bisons were better at processing grass into fat for later use by the animal. Thus horses were being pushed out land they needed to graze by the more efficient Bison and cattle. Man domesticated them just in time, or horses would have gone extinct. That is how much more efficient oxen and its cousins are in using grass as a food source and why, except when speed was needed, or you had "light" soil, oxen were preferred over horses and its relatives for most farm work or any serious hauling till the steam engine came into widespread use in the mid 1800s.

The wagons weren't designed for riders. All walked alongside as comments reveal. What is not discussed is that each wagon had a "lazy board" at the side front which could be slid out to enable one person to sit on it while the oxen driven wagon moved. The Arizona Historic Museum has a glass plate image of a female teamster walking alongside a freight wagon in her long black dress. Tough competent women then, not the mousy squeakers of today.

Independence Rock is a must see. So many peoples' names engraved along with the date.

@@philbrooks5979 I second this. It's one of my favorite places on the trail, in fact that whole area along the Sweetwater is beautiful. Just the geology of such a huge granite dome would have been worth the stop even without the historical aspects. It was great walking up the backside of the rock to the top, reading the inscriptions, then sitting for a while and enjoying the view. FWIW, we were there on a perfect May day and the mosquitoes were already getting bad, I guess due to its proximity to the river. Bring some bug repellant. I also recommend nearby Devil's Gate and Martin's Cove.

Tmdwu

The Big Trail

The youngest children who survived lived into the early half of 1900's. One of them even had story published on what they remember.

Yes, there would be a handkerchief tied to one of the spokes to mark the rotation. Someone figured out the math for the count of turns in a mile. There was a "roadometer" invented to do it automatically.

Oh wow I am glad I turned out well for you. I am glad you kept it

@@stephaniehowe0973 thank you. I am blessed though I’m paralyzed and in pain 24/7 but my boys (and new daughter in law! Are worth it

A lot more studebaker's than you see today.

I'm not sure if you're joking, but prairie schooners were not equipped with sails. There are so many reasons why that would not have worked, not the least of which is the fact the emigrants traveled west, which would have been INTO the prevailing winds on the prairies and high plains, which typically blows from west to east. Much of the route is not flat at all. They had to deal with many extreme ascents and descents, in some cases so steep the wagons had to be winched up the grades and lowered down the other side. Even the flattest portions were through tall grass, mud, or over rutted, rocky soil. Not exactly conducive to sailing.

@@RMB42 Reference to a small company using "Wind Wagons" not the big settlers wagons.

According to the numerous diary accounts I’ve read in several different books all the wagon’s bottoms were covered with tar to make them waterproof for fording streams

Of course this meant that before they forded a stream they were reapplying because of the cracks that would have happened while traveling between streams. That meant it wasn’t a simple matter of coming to a crossing and heading right across. There was always a time of preparation.And in the interim of waiting anxiety that they needed to get everyone across. It was often a real nervous time for them. There was so much they had to think about and plan ahead for. I am in awe of their bravery.

​@@user-oi9ym7te1w1st very intresting. 2ndly "with the power flex seal I"cut the are ETA in half. and we can even save the tar to make black tar heron for Portland....or ourselves.

where is that ?

Mesquite Nevada?

​​​@@kristic4472 YES, on the southern tip of Nevada. My ancestors settled near there. Mormon Mesa is seen either side of I-15 for about 20 miles between Glendale and Mesquite Nevada. I had an uncle, Edwin Marshall (1882-1856) who would struggle with his team to take water up to cattle grazing up on Mormon Mesa. He almost lost his wagon and team off a cliff! It had to be a gift of God that he survived! If you go south off the Mormon Mesa you'll end up in Lake Mead IF there's any water left in it!

But the girls were quite young and Ma was pregnant with Carrie

@@3piper And many of LIW 'memories' are fiction. Pa was really kind of sorry and not quite the happy fiddleplaying guy on tv.

*It turns out **_"Pa"_** was really an angel sent to help travelers.*

​@@savinghistory642 Where do you get that Pa was "kind of sorry?" Historically, the Ingalls were usually a little above average economic class of the places they lived, and Pa was often in a position of some civic leadership. These are historical facts, not just from the books. By pioneer standards they were actually quite successful.

Hollyweird... ☆

There were also more than a few who started the Oregon trail with wagons but because of damage to their wagons and/or death of their oxen had to remake their wagons down into a cart to haul the rest of what they could over that last brutal part of the trail. Tough people.

East Coast wasn't nice back then, pandemics in cramped cities. Real ones.

Read a book called blood meridian. 1883 is so good tho. I get Arthur Morgan vibes from it

Then we could listen to your tales as you tell us about your troubles on the old Chisholm Trail

I was going to point this out as well. Ox were good for pulling and eating if need be. There are ads during that time showing what was use and commonly needed for the travel.

Hastings got a lot of hate and even death threats. He even tried to paint himself as the victim.

Might have been some of my ancestors that attacked them

Lots of relatives were best when kept at a distance .

By 1890 , they had murdered enough native people to take over their land.

My stepmom was related to Satan.

Would imagine that they wore out more than one pair in those thousand mile plus “ hikes”

Buttons and bows !

@@davidthelander1299 correct i think Annie Oakley sang the song.

@@albertangeloro5832 Dinah Shore sang this in the movie I think. Also, Bob Hope did a comedy skit with this theme. It was very funny.

@@davidthelander1299 thanks btw, was the movie about Annie Oakley?

Often they'd remain in use on farms or other local transport needs, or they'd be taken apart and the wood planks and even nails were reused for building houses and barns and anything else needed.

Mary answered this rather well. The horses were still needed for farm work and to go into town as needed. I remember one man said that his ancestors used the wagon sheets to cover the floor. Ships made the trip both ways. Wagons often only once.

They were privately bought & kept at journey's end. They were not rented.

They needed those animals for raising crops, unless they were moving to the bigger cities. I guarantee the first thing they did when they got to there destination, was built a shelter and start preparing the ground for seed and busting ass getting those fields planted.

It's where the first 'used car lots' were born and the first guys with cheap toupees learned to wind the odometer backwards (on the horses and the wagons).

Only seven can be proven and then the inbreeding started and didn't end well.

Double that and you're getting closer to the 150 day average, depending on health and weather.

More like 2.5 to 3mph and 20 miles in a day. Plus or minus 5 miles depending on terrain and weather.

Yes. Your wagon was not a rv. It was packed with food, tools, firearms, gun powder, seed for crops and personal ltems. There are eight in your family. Maybe two people ride in wagon. The rest are walking. If you were flush, one person might ride a saddle horse. At night you sleep in a tent.

People died of everything, especially children and women who got pregnant on the trip. No doctors, no antibiotics...women had a huge problem not wanting to get pregnant, since they were taught to never refuse their men. The problem was 9 months of being sick on the trail by the motion of wagons, like being on the ocean. Most women did have to walk 12 to 15 miles a day, no matter how they felt. Children who wandered off were usually left behind since looking for them for too long would endanger the whole wagon train...it happened all the time...

I'm a descendants of Renfro Valley Kentucky - The town split up over slavery and my relation moved on wagon train to California - A 4 yo girl got sick passed away they settled in southern Illinois while train moved on - My brother has her music box handed down in family but yes many got sick and passed away on wagon trains it was a 5 mo. journey to the far west

@@charlierenfro2450 I THOGHT IT WAS AROUND 4-6 Month trip ?! Not half a decade

@@nebulaspaceagency143 Your correct I meant to say 5 mo chalk it up for another senior moment lol

Only if the Terry in question was particularly short tempered