WYOMING TRAILS TRUNK CONTENTS
Apron
Candle Lantern
Cast Iron Skillet
Catlinite Rock
Felt Hat
Horn Comb
Jaw Harp
Mochila Box
Peg Top
Playing Cards
Prairie Bonnets (2)
Quilt
Spur Straps (2)
Suspenders
Tin Coffee Pot
Trousers
Washboard
Branding Iron
Candles (4)
Catlinite Pipestone
Cotton Shirt
Holster/Belt
Iron Arrowheads (2)
Laminated Post Cards (2)
Navy Colt Revolver
Pewter Jacks
Pony Express Bible
Prairie Dress
Spurs (2)
Stone Arrowhead
Tin Coffee Cup
Trade Bells (3)
Vest
Wooden Spoon
Video: The Story of the Oregon Trail
Audio: Moving West Songs
Books: America’s Cowboys a History
Marmaduke Multiply’s
The Cherokee Indians
The Mormon Pioneer Trail
The Pony Express
Stagecoach the Ride of a Century
Maps: United States Map of 1850’s Emigrant Trails West
Wyoming Historical Trails Map
Teacher’s Guide
Grey Museum Folder
DESCRIPTION OF TRUNK CONTENTS
Apron- The apron was used by emigrants and cattle drive cooks when preparing meals
on the trail. The apron was generally made from thin, inexpensive cotton.
Branding Iron- The Branding Iron was used to burn a symbol into the hide of calves.
The brand indicated that the animal belonged to the ranch signified by the symbol.
Brands have special historical significance in Wyoming. One Wyoming brand looks like
a sunset and is called the hub and spoke. This brand belonged to the Sun Land & Cattle
Company. Another brand looks like a “C” and a sideways “Y”. This is the C Lazy Y
brand of J.M. Carey & Bros. This outfit was founded by the late Wyoming Senator
Joseph M. Carey and is one of the oldest ranching operations in the state.
Candle Lantern- The candle lantern was a very popular item on the trail. This candle
lantern is made of tin with glass panes. The candle lanterns were used instead of
kerosene lanterns because kerosene was too heavy and combustible to take on the bumpy
trail.
Candles (4)- Candles have been used as a light source for many centuries. People
generally made their own candles through processes of dipping, rolling, or molding. The
emigrants often placed the candle in lanterns and the stagecoach driver put them into the
coach lanterns.
Cast Iron Skillet- The cast iron skillet was used extensively on the Emigrant and Cattle
Trails. The cast iron was extremely durable and was therefore suitable for campfire
cooking.
Catlinite Pipestone- The pipestone was very important to the Plains Indians and it was
often used for ceremonial purposes. The Indians used catlinite because it was a soft stone
that could be chipped and drilled into a pipe bowl.
Catlinite Rock- Catlinite is a soft stone found in the Great Lakes region of the United
States. It was a popular material among Plains Indians who made pipes, bowls, dish
containers, and ceremonial objects out of it. The Indians either traveled to the Great
Lakes area to acquire the stone or they traded with other tribes of Indians to obtain it.
Cotton Shirt- This lightweight cotton shirt was perfect for travel on the hot summer
trails. Men and boys on the trails wore these shirts.
Felt Hat- The felt hat was used extensively throughout the period of emigrant migration.
The wide brim of the hat kept the sun off of the face and the dust out of the eyes.
Holster/Belt- The leather holster is secured to the waist with a leather belt. The holster
was used to carry a revolver and provided quick access to the revolver in times of need.
Horn Comb- The horn comb was carried by virtually every man on the trail. It was
made of durable cow horn in the early nineteenth century and was ideal for grooming
hair, beards, and mustaches.
Iron Arrowheads (2)- An item used for trading with the Plains Indians. Warriors
substituted the more efficient steel point for their stone arrowheads. This allowed time
that would have been used to make arrowheads for other activities.
Jaw Harp- This delightful musical instrument is played with the tongue. It is shaped like
a lyre and the length of the tongue determines the tone. The jaw harp was a popular item
among people on the trails because it was small, inexpensive, and offered hours of
entertainment.
Laminated Postcards (2)- These postcards show the effects that nineteenth century
overland travel had on the landscape. The Oregon Trail Ruts and Register Cliff still show
the evidence of overland travel through Wyoming.
Mochila Box- There were four mochila boxes on each mochila that the pony express
riders used. These boxes, sometimes called a cantina, held the United States mail that the
riders carried.
Navy Colt Revolver- The Navy Colt Revolver was a .36 caliber gun that was made in
1851. While the Pony Express advocated flight over fight, many riders carried the Colt
revolver because it was small and did not get in the way like a rifle.
Peg Top- This toy top is made of wood. It was a very popular toy at the time and its
small size and durability made it perfect for trail travel.
Pewter Jacks- This toy was popular among boys and girls on the emigrant trail. The first
jacks were made of clay and easy to break. Once again the small size of the toy made it a
good choice for trail travel.
Playing Cards- Playing cards were very popular wherever men gathered. Many trail
bosses and express companies discouraged gambling, but many men indulged.
Pony Express Bible- When Pony Express Riders were hired they had to take an oath that
stated they would not drink or fight while working for the company. After the oaths were
given each express rider received his own Bible.
Prairie Bonnets (2)- The Prairie Bonnet was the perfect hat for travel on the trails. The
large brim which frames the face kept the sun off the face and the dust out of the eyes.
Prairie Dress- The prairie dress was ideal for the trail. It was made of cotton so that it
would be cool in the summer heat. The length of the dress was perfect for walking on the
trail. The dress did not trip the wearer or drag on the trail.
Quilt- Quilting was a very popular folk art of the time. Emigrant women quilted around
the campfire on the trail. Many emigrants spent a cold night under the warm quilts.
Spurs (2)- Spurs are worn on the boot heel and attached with leather spur straps. Each
spur has a round pointy piece of metal called a rowel. Spurs were generally used to urge
the horse on or signal to the horse the need for quick action. Spurs were made of silver
and could be plain or fancy.
Spur Straps (2)- The spur straps were used to attach the spur to the boot. They were
made of leather and could be plain or fancy.
Stone Arrowhead- Nearly every Plains Indian man needed to know the art of making
bows and arrows because their subsistence depended on hunting. The flaking properties
of flint, chert, and obsidian made them invaluable to the Plains Indian. These stones were
used for crafting arrowhead points, blades and other objects.
Suspenders- In the early seventeenth century few men wore belts to secure their pants.
Instead suspenders were secured to the back of the pants, pulled over the shoulders, and
attached to the front of the pants. Many drawings of emigrant men attest to the
popularity of the suspenders at the time.
Tin Coffee Cup- The tin coffee cup with silver solder was the cup of choice on the trails
because it was less likely to break along the bumpy road. There is a technique that
emigrants and cowboys used so they would not burn their mouths on the hot tin. The first
step was to quickly moisten the rim with your tongue and then take a sip before it dries.
Tin Coffee Pot – The tin coffee pot was an essential item for emigrants and cowboys
alike because they drank coffee at almost every meal. The coffee pot was the first item to
go on the fire and the last to come off.
Trade Bells (3)- When fur traders came to the west, they brought these bells with them.
The fur traders traded the bells to the Plains Indian and that is how they came to be
known as trade bells. The Plains Indian practiced beading and they added the bells to
their clothes. When they performed ceremonial dances the bells would add to the music.
Trousers- It was important while working on the trail to have a rugged pair of pants.
Emigrant pants were usually made of wool. However cowboys were known to wear
denim.
Vest- The vest was a very popular item of clothing among cowboys, stagecoach drivers,
and pony express riders. The vest offered warmth and allowed the arms to move freely
while working. Vests also have pockets which the wearer could fill with small items such
as a pocket knife or coins.
Washboard- Young women on the emigrant trails took the family clothing to nearby
water sources and used lye soap and the washboard to clean them. Clothes had to be well
made so that they would not be destroyed on the rough washboard.
Wooden Spoon- Women and cooks on the trails used the wooden spoon to stir a variety
of beans and stews warming on the fire. They generally tried to get the longest spoon
available so that they would not have to stand so close to the fire while stirring.
UNIT ONE
INTRODUCTION TO MIGRATION IN
AMERICA
TOPICS COVERED:
•
•
•
•
•
The theory of Indian migration across the Bering Strait Land Bridge.
Indian adaptation and trade.
Indian migration into Wyoming.
Indian culture differences.
The Cherokee Migration to California.
STUDENT GOALS:
•
•
•
•
Explain the concepts of migration and adaptation.
Discuss the Bering Strait Land Bridge Theory.
Name some of the Indian tribes that migrated to Wyoming.
Discuss Indian subsistence ways and how they contributed to different Indian
cultures.
SUGGESTED OBJECTS:
• Teachers may use the following objects to help explain the material:
Catlinite Rock
Catlinite Pipestone
Iron Arrowheads
Stone Arrowhead
Trade Bells
The Cherokee Indians
THE BERING STRAIT LAND BRIDGE THEORY
When discussing migration in North America, the focus is often on European or
American migration. However, it must be remembered that when Columbus arrived in
the “new world” there were already inhabitants on the continent which Columbus dubbed
Indians. Most scientists believe that Indians came to North America by crossing the
Bering Strait Land Bridge. (See map on page 24.)
The Bering Strait Land Bridge Theory takes place during the Wisconsin Glaciation
from 70,000 to 11,000 B.C. Scientists believe that during times of heavy glaciation on
land, the ocean shrank and in the shallow ocean waters, a land bridge, known as Beringia,
emerged between Siberia and Alaska. Conversely, when glacier melting and receding
occurred, it flooded the land bridge making it impassable, but it also opened ice free
corridors into the interior of the continent.
Scientists argue that from 50,000 to 11,000 B.C. Paleo-Siberians crossed the land
bridge following big game animals into North America during times of heavy glaciation.
It is believed that the Paleo-Siberians may have taken up residence in Alaska until glacier
melting and receding opened up the ice free corridors. Then the Paleo-Indian, following
large mammals, migrated into the interior of the continent. They spread throughout
North, Central and South America and would eventually number in the millions. More
recent theories claim that Paleo-Siberians journeyed to North America in boats by
following the coastline.
While the Bering Strait Land Bridge Theory is widely recognized as truth among
scientists, it must be remembered that it is only a theory and some writers and scientists
question its validity. Vine Deloria Jr. argues that the ocean would never have shrank and
displaced enough water to create Beringia and that the topography of the area would have
been extremely difficult to traverse, thus discouraging migration among the animals and
people.
INDIAN ADAPTATION, CULTURE AND TRADE
From 50,000 to 6,000 BC, the cool moist climate created by glaciation had covered
the plains in splendid grasslands capable of sustaining large mammals including; wooly
mammoths, mastodons, bighorn bison, short faced bears, giant beavers, and many more.
The moister climate also created numerous lakes and assisted in the growth of some
edible plants, berries, roots, and bulbs. Consequently, the subsistence pattern of the
Paleo-Indian depended on hunting and gathering.
The Paleo-Indians chipped stones in order to create the spear points they used in the
hunt. Hunting was done on foot and was often a collective effort utilizing the entire
band. During these hunts the Indians employed special techniques to hunt the big game
herds. They would run the herd off of a cliff and many of the game animals would meet
their death in the fall. In other instances the Indians would corral the herd into a cul-desac and kill as many as they could while the herd was trapped. They supplemented their
diet by foraging for seeds, berries, roots, plants and bulbs.
About 10,000 BC, the glaciers began to melt and the amount of rainfall decreased
while the temperature rose. In the post- glacial environment the plant cover thinned
considerably and the large mammals previously mentioned became extinct. This change
in subsistence patterns led to a new technology and cultural adaptation. The new
technology, agriculture, came into existence among the Indians of North America
between 6,000 and 1,000 BC. Cultural adaptation to the post-glacial climate, ecology, and
resources occurred and a number of distinct Indian cultures emerged in various regions of
North America. These new Indian cultures can be divided into groups based on their
primary subsistence patterns, which are hunting/gathering, fishing, and agriculture.
Indian cultures in the south, including the Southeast, Southwest, Meso-America and
Circum-Carribean culture areas, were centered on agriculture. These cultures grew
maize, pumpkins, gourds, squash, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, peanuts, cashews, avocados,
artichokes, chili peppers, indigo, tobacco, cotton, and more. Some Indians also created
systems of irrigation to water their crops. Agriculture offered a good subsistence and
when combined with new ways of preserving food it allowed Indians in these areas to
live in larger more sedentary communities usually situated close to waterways. This
southern agrarian tradition contributed to the Indian’s religious beliefs also. In the south,
planting and harvesting ceremonies as well as fertility magic were common in religion.
Indians of the North, including the Northeast, Great Plains, Arctic, and Sub-Arctic
culture areas, were centered on a new kind of hunting that emerged after many big game
animals became extinct. Mountains, forests, and plains could not easily be cultivated but
they provided an excellent habitat for large animals. Indians in these culture areas hunted
bison, deer, caribou, moose, elk, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, and more. These
communities tended to be small and migratory because the winter offered little
subsistence and the animals migratory patterns forced the Indian to follow. Periodically
the Indians would cut a swath of forest in order to create a meadow where animals could
feed and hunters could hunt. The Northern hunting tradition contributed to Indian
religious beliefs also. In the north animal worship and hunting as well as healing
ceremonies were common.
Indians in the Great Basin and California culture areas were centered on gathering for
two distinctly different reasons. The Indians of the Great Basin were living in an arid
desert country that was incapable of agriculture or support of large animals. As a result
of few available resources, the Great Basin Indian was forced to gather food. They have
been referred to as “diggers” because they dug and foraged for anything edible. They
collected and ate seeds, nuts, berries, roots, snakes, lizards, insects, and rodents in order
to survive. These migratory people traveled in small family groups. In contrast, cultures
in the California area had heavy rainfall and fertile soil that produced an enormous
bounty of wild plants. As a result of abundant resources the people had no need to do
anything but gather their food. This abundance of food supported a dense population and
the Indians settled in villages there.
The Plateau and Northwest Coast culture areas depended on fishing for their
subsistence and their dietary staple was salmon. The Plateau culture area was teeming
with rivers that flowed out of the high country to the sea. The Plateau Indian tribes
caught salmon, trout, and sturgeon. The Northwest Coast culture area had rivers and
oceans at their disposal and the abundance of fish supported a dense population.
Keep in mind that the primary subsistence patterns of each culture were supplemented
with others. The Northeast culture area supplemented their hunting tradition with
cultivated plants of the agrarian tradition. The Great Plains culture area added gathering
to their hunting tradition while the Sub-Arctic and Arctic culture areas added fishing.
The Great Basin culture area supplemented their gathering tradition with the hunting of
small animals and birds. The California culture area complemented gathering with
fishing. Both the Plateau and Northwest cultures complemented their fishing tradition
with hunting in the many forests throughout both regions. The Southeast, MesoAmerican, and Circum-Carribean culture areas added fishing to their agricultural
subsistence pattern while the Southwest culture area added gathering and hunting.
Individual tribes within the same culture area could be extremely diversified based on
how much they borrowed from other subsistence patterns. Tribes in need and those in the
area's fringes often utilized other subsistence patterns to a greater extent.
Indian cultural adaptation to ecological surroundings and available resources also
shaped the forms of shelter, clothing, transportation, artwork and technology created in
each region.
SHELTER & CLOTHING
Shelter ranged from the permanent wooden longhouse to the movable tipi, and from
the earthlodge to the ice carved igloo, just to mention a few. Materials used for shelter
across North America include animal skin, wood, earth, ice and plant materials.
Clothing was made from a range of materials including hide, fur, cotton and other
plant materials. Ornamentation of clothing varied as to extent and materials included
shells, feathers, porcupine quills, paints and dyes.
TRANSPORTATION, ARTS & TECHNOLOGY
Transportation varied due to the climate and topography. The Indians who had to
travel on ice created sleds and snowshoes. Those who lived close to waterways
constructed boats and canoes and those who had to travel on land developed the dog
travois and footwear such as moccasins.
The arts and technologies that the North American Indians practiced included
woodwork, stonework, skinwork, textiles, basketry, pottery, bonework, shellwork, quill
work, beadwork, feather work, painting, dying and dramatic arts. Indians used local
resources to create beautiful works of art and essential tools. Tools were created to better
exploit surrounding resources. Indians in the north utilized hunting tools like bows and
arrows, while the agrarian tradition of the south built cultivating tools for digging. The
fishing culture areas developed stone fishhooks and plant material nets, while the
gathering culture developed basketry.
POPULAR TRADE ITEMS
The Indians of North America also supplemented their subsistence patterns by
obtaining unavailable resources through trade with neighboring culture areas. When
Europeans arrived in North America, evidence of a strong and extensive Indian trade
network was everywhere. Indians across North America were accustomed to trading over
long distances through a system of extensive trade contacts. The Indians also participated
in trade gatherings where they traded their own surplus goods for those of others. Trade
items included various food items, raw materials and handmade goods.
When investigating Indian trade of food items, it becomes immediately apparent that
maize was a highly sought commodity. Over 50 different strains of domestic corn were
dispersed throughout the continent by sea and overland trade and tribal migration. Other
food trade items included: seeds, beans, salt, nuts, dried fruit, squash, pumpkins and fish,
just to name a few.
Indians were also interested in the exchange of raw material resources as well.
Animal hides and skins of all kinds were popular for making blankets, robes, moccasins
and other clothing. Those areas without many trees traded for firewood and bark for
warmth, cooking and basket weaving. Decorative items such as shells, porcupine quills,
feathers and beads were traded extensively as well. Raw minerals and rocks, such as
obsidian and catlinite, became popular in the making of arrowheads and pipes and were
extremely popular items in Indian trade.
The handmade goods of other tribes were sought after as well. Clothing and bedding
made of either skins or through processes of weaving were good trade items. Bows,
arrows, and knives were sought after trade items among the hunting cultures of the North.
Paints, dyes, and pipes also had a good trade value. Varying Indian cultures also traded
the products of their art forms such as baskets, rugs, pottery, jewelry, woodwork, masks
and more.
Any culture area with a surplus of goods, a claim to a desirable resource, or a rare and
appealing art form, could enter into trade with other culture areas in order to obtain goods
and resources not available in their area. Indians all over North America benefited from
trade, because they were no longer solely dependent on the resources in their own region.
Now that an understanding of Indian migration, adaptation, culture, and trade in North
America has been established, the focus will be narrowed to Wyoming in the next two
topic areas. First we will focus on Shoshone, Crow, Arapahoe, Cheyenne, and Sioux
migration into Wyoming and then we will turn our attention to Athapaskan, Kiowa, and
Cherokee migrations through Wyoming. We will then take a closer look at Great Basin
and Plains Indian culture in Wyoming.
INDIAN MIGRATION INTO AND THROUGH WYOMING
Native Americans have been living in and moving through, Wyoming for over 10,000
years. Where the descendants of the State’s early mammoth hunters now live is unknown.
Tracing the migration of more recent groups is possible with the study of the more
abundant archeological material they left behind.
Apache speaking tribes left their homeland in Northwest Canada and migrated south
around 1100 AD. The Athapaskan migration took place in stages and it is believed that
they took up residence in both Montana and Wyoming for a period of time before they
migrated further south. The Navajo and Western Apache tribes reached New Mexico
sometime between 1400 and 1500 AD., while the Jicarilla, Chiricahua and Mescalero
tribes arrived in the Oklahoma panhandle sometime between 1500 and 1600 AD.
Archaeologists believe the Eastern Shoshone of the Great Basin culture area left their
homeland in the southwestern portion of the Great Basin in present-day Nevada around
1000 AD. In the following centuries they moved across Nevada and Utah before
reaching the western portion of Wyoming around 1450 AD. Eastern Shoshone territory
included the Rocky, Bighorn, and Wind River mountain ranges, the Yellowstone, Snake,
Bear, and Green Rivers, the Bighorn and Powder River basins and finally the Sweetwater
and Wind River valleys. The Eastern Shoshone occasionally migrated further into the
Plains area to hunt.
The Mountain and River Crow Indians left the Hidatsa tribe on the Missouri River
because colder temperatures led to poor harvests, famine, and starvation. The Mountain
and River Crow abandoned the cultivation of food and migrated to southern Montana and
northern Wyoming to take up buffalo hunting. The Mountain Crow arrived in Wyoming
around 1500 AD and the River Crow followed in the 1700's. The Crow intruded into
Shoshone territory by taking up residence in the Bighorn Mountains and the eastern slope
of the Wind River Range. They ventured into the Bighorn River Basin and onto the
Yellowstone River. The Crow also occupied the Absoraka Range and made use of the
Bighorn and Powder Rivers.
The original Arapahoe homeland was west of the Great Lakes, but when EuroAmerican expansion drove eastern Indian tribes to the west, the Arapahoe were forced
further westward into Minnesota, North Dakota, and Canada and then eventually moved
south onto the Great Plains of Wyoming around 1700 AD. They occupied territory east
of the Rocky Mountains and close to the Platte River headwaters.
Both the Cheyenne and the Sioux Indians fled their homes because their tribal enemies
had acquired the gun. This left them in a vulnerable situation and they were impelled to
move westward. The Cheyenne left a homeland east of the Missouri River and arrived on
the Great Plains of Wyoming sometime in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth
century. They occupied the territory between the Big Horn Mountains and the Black
Hills. The Sioux left ancestral lands on the upper Mississippi and arrived in Wyoming at
about the same time period. The Sioux occupied Plains territory in the far eastern portion
of Wyoming concentrating mainly around the Black Hills. During this time period, the
tribes that migrated onto the plains were attracted by the new horse culture. The horse
offered better transportation and proficiency in hunting bison.
The Kiowa and Kiowa Apache tribes left their homeland near the headwaters of the
Missouri River and moved east into the Yellowstone River Valley, where they formed an
alliance with the Crow sometime before 1700 AD. Sometime around 1750 AD, the
Kiowa and Kiowa Apache moved east into the Black Hills, then south into Colorado and
eventually to the east where they settled in the Wichita Mountains in 1830 AD.
The Cherokee had originally come from South Carolina where they practiced placer
mining, but they were forced to leave by whites and travel the Trail of Tears to
Oklahoma. When the California Gold Rush erupted, the Cherokee felt it was time to
leave Oklahoma and seek their fortune in the gold fields of California. Their migrations
in 1849 and 1850 carved out a new wagon road in Southern Wyoming, known as the
Cherokee Trail. In 1849 a group of 130 Cherokee Indians led by Captain Lewis Evans
with forty wagons and horses left Oklahoma for California territory. They entered
Wyoming south of present day Laramie and traveled northwest on the Laramie Plains.
They turned westward at Elk Mountain and traveled through the Red Desert near present
day Rock Springs. They continued on to Fort Bridger and from there followed the
California/Oregon Emigrant Trail the rest of the way to California. Four other similar
migrations from Cherokee territory in Oklahoma took place thereafter.
It is obvious that migration to other areas of North America was common among
Indian tribes. Problems of ecology, security, and economy all contributed to tribes
leaving their homelands for other territories. Indian migration to and through Wyoming
was often prompted by the need to improve subsistence and quality of life. Also,
expansionist Americans forced the Indian to flee westward and concurrently the number
of tribes in the west rose dramatically.
ACTIVITIES
1) THINGS TO DISCUSS:
• Where did the Indians come from and how did they get to North America? How
did they enter into the interior of the continent?
• What is migration and adaptation? How did the Indians in different areas of North
America adapt to their surroundings?
• What kind of subsistence patterns did the Indians of North America have? What
kinds of technology did they come up with to help them harvest resources?
2) REPORTS AND PROJECTS:
• Students may research the buffalo and write a paper on how Indians in Wyoming
utilized this animal.
• Students can create a buffalo hide bulletin board out of paper sacks and decorate it
with their own pictographs.
3) GEOGRAPHY ACTIVITY:
• Materials needed:
Bering Strait Land Bridge Sheets (provided)
Distribute Map #1 to the students. In groups, have students discuss where the land bridge
is located. Students should also discuss where the early Indian routes went. Allow the
students to take the handout home and study it. Test their knowledge of the subject with
Map #2.
4) UNDERSTANDING INDIAN ADAPTATION:
• Materials needed:
Shelter Sheet (provided)
Matching Shelter Sheet (provided)
Students should study the shelters and their names on the Shelter Sheet. Then they can
try the Matching Activity. Have students discuss why the shelters are different.
5) QUESTION AND ANSWER:
• Materials needed:
Migration Questionnaire (provided)
Students should be able to answer these questions based on what they have learned in this
unit.
MIGRATION QUESTIONNAIRE
Answer the following questions with full sentences.
1) Where did the Paleo-Indians originally come from?
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2) What was the name of the land bridge that the Indians crossed over?
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3) Name two ways the Indians acquired food.
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4) Name two Indian tribes that migrated to Wyoming to live.
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5) Name three different kinds of shelter that Indians used in North America.
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ANSWER SHEET
1) The Paleo-Indians originally came from Siberia.
2) The name of the land bridge that the Indians crossed over was the Bering Strait Land
Bridge.
3) Indians acquired food by hunting, gathering, fishing and planting. (Only two answers
are needed)
4) The Indian tribes that migrated to Wyoming are the Shoshone, Crow, Arapaho,
Cheyenne and Sioux. (Only two answers needed)
5) The Indians of North America used many different kinds of shelters which include:
chickee, lean-to, plank house, longhouse, pueblo, wattle and daub, wigwam, tepee, igloo,
hogan, pithouse, earthlodge and wickiup. (Only three answers needed)
UNIT TWO
HISTORIC EMIGRANT TRAILS OF
WYOMING
TOPICS COVERED:
• Reasons that Americans moved west.
• The provisions emigrants needed on the trails.
• The history of the Emigrant Trails in Wyoming including, the Oregon, Mormon,
California, Overland, Bozeman, and Bridger Trails.
• Landmarks and forts along the emigrant trails in Wyoming.
• What life was like for the pioneers on the trail.
STUDENT GOALS:
• Explain the reasons emigrants came to the western United States.
• Name some of the important provisions that emigrants took on the trail.
• Identify the emigrant trails in Wyoming.
• Name a few of the forts and landmarks in Wyoming.
SUGGESTED OBJECTS:
• Teachers may use the following objects to help explain materials:
Apron
Prairie Bonnets
Candles
Prairie Dress
Cast Iron Skillet
Suspenders
Cotton Shirt
Tin Coffee Cup
Horn Comb
Tin Coffee Pot
Jaw Harp
Washboard
Postcards
Wooden Spoon
Peg Top
Map of 1850’s Emigrant Trails
Pewter Jacks
Wyoming Historical Trails Map
Video, Audio, and Books
The Story of the Oregon Trail
Moving West Songs
The Oregon Trail
The Mormon Pioneer Trail
Marmaduke Multiply’s
WHY AMERICANS MOVED WEST
The emigrants that left home and traveled the trails all shared the same hope of a
better life in the west. However, the reasons that emigrants went to the west were varied.
The first men to go west went mainly for adventure and profit. When the emigrant trails
came into existence, some people went west to carve out a better economical situation for
their families. Some men, such as Marcus Whitman, went west to spread their religion.
Some professed that patriotic reasoning was behind their move, while others emigrated
west in order to escape religious persecution. Still others were attracted by glowing,
often exaggerated stories about the wonders to be found in the west. All of these reasons
spurred more than a half a million people into going west on the Oregon, Mormon, and
California trails alone.
The first men to venture west were in search of high adventure in the Indian
wilderness. Some came to gain prestige through exploration, but most came for profit
that could be gained from the sale of fur, especially beaver. Men such as Robert Stuart,
Jim Bridger, Captain Bonneville, John Bozeman, and William Sublette helped to find the
best routes for the emigrant trails into the West.
However, it must be remembered that Indians used these trails and passes for many
years and the men that they are named for are hardly their discoverers. In fact, in many
instances, these men gained pertinent information from the Indians about the best routes
and passes.
The people in the eastern section of the United States suffered through two economic
depressions in 1837 and 1842. During this time, banks failed, stock market trade was
suspended, unemployment was high, and bread riots occurred. It is believed that these
economic depressions may have sped emigration to the west. Migration to the west gave
people a chance to lay claim to land by squatting, to open a new business, or discover
gold. In general it was believed that most who went west would prosper in some way or
another.
Some people felt it was important to move west in order to help the United States with
their goal of expanding boundaries. It was believed that if Americans occupied the land
from coast to coast then the United States could claim that land for its own. This concept,
known as Manifest Destiny, did indeed help the United States in laying claim to the land
and Americans were eventually successful in their efforts to gain the Oregon Territory
from the British. Americans had met their goal of extending the United States territory to
the Pacific coast and later war with Mexico would open up the coast even further.
Other groups of people in America did not have such high hopes for emigration. They
were not interested in economic gain or Manifest Destiny. These people fled to the west
in order to find a place where they would not be persecuted because of their race or
religion. The Mormons suffered through much persecution for their religious beliefs.
The Church of Jesus Christ was created and led by Joseph Smith who claimed to have
direct access to the Almighty. He was an inspiring and confident man who drew
thousands of followers into his fold. However several practices of the church, such as
theocratic government, communal economics, and polygamy, enraged some nonbelievers who felt that these practices were threats to American values, such as separation
of church and state, free market economy, and monogamous marriage. The Mormons
faced mob violence and the burning of their crops, barns, and homes. They were run out
of Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois by non-believers who sometimes included the Governor
and the State Militia. Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed in Carthage,
Illinois by a mob and Brigham Young took his place in the leadership role with much
confidence and ability. When the Mormons were told they would have to leave their
beautiful city Nauvoo in Illinois, Brigham Young and his advisors decided that they must
move as far west as possible in order to isolate themselves from the persecution imposed
by non-believers.
There were also black emigrants that traveled into the west hoping to escape racial
persecution. A small percentage may have gone west as runaway slaves before the Civil
War. During the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation and Union Army victories
may have served to increase the number of former black slaves emigrating west.
However, it must be remembered that overland voyages were very expensive, so it is
likely that the first black emigrants to the west may have been free black men before the
Civil War. Free black men simply had much better access to the funds needed to finance
a wagon train traveling west.
Letters, newspaper stories, and books all spoke of the beauty and splendor of the
western half of the United States. It is true that the west contains some of the most
beautiful scenery in the world. In places, the west also has a mild climate, clean air, rich
soil, and gold, all of which drew people to the area. However, the stories tended to be
exaggerated. Dr. White, an emigrant to Oregon country, described it as “a land flowing
with milk and honey”. These exaggerated stories may have been used in order to draw
long missed relatives into the west or to hurry the pace of emigrants in order to
accomplish Manifest Destiny. Whatever the reasons the stories that returned to the
eastern part of the United States prompted many to go west.
PROVISIONS
It took between 700 and 1500 dollars to outfit a family for the trip west. A family’s
expenses might include a wagon, oxen, horses, cows, bedding and tent supplies, cooking
utensils, weaponry, tools, equipment, clothing, other handy articles, and most
importantly, a large stock of food that would partially sustain the family on the trail.
The wagon and the oxen who pulled it were the most important of the emigrant’s
expenses. Oxen were preferred to mules and horses for pulling wagons because they
were more patient, less excitable, and persevered better, thus heightening the chances of a
successful passage. Oxen could also be used as a food source in emergencies and was
less likely to be stolen by Indians.
The oxen are attached to the wagon through the use of wooden harnesses called ox
yokes. Along the trail when the oxen did weaken the load had to be lightened. Emigrants
left many treasured family heirlooms and various luxury items along the trail in an
attempt to save the health of their oxen. The emigrants often took along horses to ride
and milk cows for milk as well.
The wagon that the emigrants used had to be light enough not to place undue strain on
the oxen that pulled it, yet strong enough not to break down under loads of as much as
2,500 pounds. The bed was constructed of hard wood, was usually four feet by ten to
twelve feet, and often had tool boxes and feed troughs attached to its exterior. Hickory
bows where then curved and attached to the wagon and the cotton or canvas covering was
attached to them. The covering could be closed at both ends of the wagon with
drawstrings and women and children often sewed small pockets on the inside for the
storage of various items. The undercarriage of the wagon includes the wheels, axles,
reach, hounds, bolsters, brakes, and the wagon tongue. The undercarriage took the most
pounding during the passage and therefore iron was used in many of its components
including, the wheels, axles, and hounds.
Emigrants carried many essential items inside their wagons. Here is a list of some of
the provisions that the emigrants carried cross country with them on their journey west.
Tools and Other Equipment
Ox yokes
Axes
Augers
Oxbows
Axles
Picks
Chisels
Ropes & chains
Files
Shovels
Gimlets
Spades
Gold pans & scales
Spokes
Hoes
Ten gl. water keg
Kingbolts
Ten lbs. of nails
Lynch pins
Wagon tongue
Ox shoes
Whetstone
Hammers
Plows
Bedding and Tent Supplies
Blankets
Feather beds
Ground cloths
Pillows
Poles
Stakes
Tents
75 feet of rope
Weaponry
Rifle
Bullet pouch
Hatchet
Knife
Pistol
Bullet mold
Gunpowder
Ignition caps or flint
Powder horn or flask
Holster/Belt
Food
12 sacks flour
400 lbs. bacon
50 lbs. salt
10 lbs. tea
50 lbs. rice
1 bushel dried peaches
15 gallons vinegar
200 lbs. sugar
100 lbs. coffee
3 lbs. pepper
50 lbs. lard
4 bushels dried apples
2 bushels beans
Cornmeal
Dried beef
Molasses
Hardtack
Yeast powders
Cooking Utensils
Bread pans
Butter churn
Coffee pots
Kettle
Skillets
Tea pots
Tin pails
Water buckets
Butcher knives
Coffee grinder
Dutch oven
Reflector oven
Tablespoons, knives, forks
Tin cups
Tin plates
Clothing
Boots
Brogans (shoes)
Buckskin pants
Cotton dresses
Cotton & flannel shirts
Cotton socks
Felt hat
Rubber coats
Sun hats & sunbonnets
Wool pants
Wool sack coats
Handy Articles
25 lbs. Soap
Candle molds
Gross of matches
Liniments & bandages
Spy glasses
Washbowl
Campstool
Chamber pot
Lanterns
Sewing kit
Surgical instruments
Washboard
Luxuries
Canned food
Dolls
Fine linens
Iron stoves
Musical instruments
School books
China
Family albums
Furniture
Jewelry
Plant cuttings
Silverware
All of these provisions, except luxuries, were used extensively on the trail. No one would
dare to attempt the trip without them.
HISTORIC EMIGRANT TRAILS OF WYOMING
From 1841 to 1868, Americans migrated west and north along the Oregon, Mormon,
California, Overland, Bozeman, and Bridger Trails of Wyoming. The Oregon, Mormon,
and California trails that traveled along the Platte River and through South Pass, were
situated so closely together that historians recently combined them under the name Great
Platte River Road. The Cherokee Trail was blazed in 1849 and the subsequent Overland
Trail followed its path. The trail was fifty miles south of the Oregon, Mormon, and
California trails and it passed through Bridger Pass instead of South Pass. The Bozeman
and the Bridger Trails were created when gold was discovered in Montana. These two
emigrant trails branch off the Oregon Trail in central Wyoming and travel north to
Montana.
The Oregon, Mormon, and California Trails were situated along the North Platte
River, which flows north and east through the southern portion of Wyoming. The Platte
River was a vital artery of travel during emigrant times because it provided over 700
miles of important resources, such as water, grass, wood, and game animals. Over a half
million people in search of a better life in the west would travel the Great Platte River
Road.
The Oregon Trail
While Lewis and Clark are generally considered the great explorers of the west, they
never entered what is now known as the state of Wyoming. The early fur trappers and
traders were the first white men to enter the region. The trapper’s livelihood depended on
a knowledge of the land and its’ resources. The trappers elicited help from Indians in
order to gain that knowledge and in this way became familiar with the long traveled trails
and mountain passes that they used.
Robert Stuart made the most important discovery in Oregon Trail history. In 1812,
Stuart and a seven man overland party, left the American Fur Trade Company in Astoria,
Oregon and set out to meet John Jacob Astor in New York. While in Idaho, a Shoshone
Indian told Stuart about an alternate pass through the Rocky Mountains. He informed
Stuart that the pass he spoke of was far easier to cross over than Union Pass. When
Robert Stuart and his party traveled over South Pass they realized how easy it would be
to pull a wagon over the gentle incline. He was the first white man to discover the
gateway to the west known as South Pass. The discovery of South Pass made overland
wagon travel to parts west of the Rocky Mountains far more feasible.
In April of 1830, William Sublette, Jedediah Smith, and Davy Jackson lead a wagon
train of American men from St. Louis, Missouri to the eastern slope of the Rocky
Mountains to attend the Wind River Rendezvous. The wagon train included 81 men, 10
wagons, two light wagons, 52 mules, twelve head of cattle, and a milk cow. These men
blazed the first part of the wagon trail to Oregon and returned home safely along that trail
after a six-month absence.
In May of 1832, Captain B.L.E. Bonneville left the frontier Fort Osage in Sibley,
Missouri for an expedition into the west. He took 110 men, 20 wagons, oxen, horses, and
mules and followed the tracks of Sublette, Smith, and Jackson to the eastern slope of the
Rocky Mountains. From there he followed along the Sweetwater River and led the first
wagon train over South Pass into the Green River Valley.
In 1836, Dr. Marcus Whitman and his Methodist Missionary Party took their wagons
on the trail. The party that Whitman brought with him included two females, one being
his wife Narcissa.
On July 6, the group came to the rendezvous on the Green River. The men gathered
there celebrated the fact that the first women had crossed into the country on the trail.
After leaving the rendezvous, they traveled west, lengthening the trail from the Green
River to Fort Boise Idaho. It is here that Whitman’s party abandoned their wagons. They
traveled by horseback to the southeast corner of what is now the state of Washington.
The Whitman Mission was established in an area close to Fort Walla Walla Washington.
In 1840, Robert “Doc” Newell and his wagon train left Fort Hall Idaho, traveled
through Fort Boise and on to Whitman Mission. After a short stay, the wagon train
traveled on to Fort Walla Walla on the Columbia River. They successfully added 300
miles to the wagon trail known as the Oregon Trail.
In 1841, the Bidwell-Bartelson wagon train decided to strike out in a southwesterly
direction from Soda Springs, Idaho toward present day California. The party was forced
to abandon their wagons in the Utah desert. However, they continued to California on
foot and horseback.
The “Great Migration” began when 1,000 men, women, and children left
Independence, Missouri on May 22, 1843 to settle in Oregon Country. Their brightly
painted wagons entered Wyoming on the south bank of the North Platte River along the
Oregon Trail in early July. After raising their wagon boxes and fording the Laramie
River they entered the fort. The men at Fort Laramie staged a dance for the visitors and it
was a pleasant diversion from life on the trail.
The emigrants stayed at the fort for two days, while they repaired wagons, shod
livestock, bought needed supplies, and rested up for the long trail ahead. They continued
along the Oregon Trail to Register Cliff and Emigrants Washbowl. The women in the
party went to Emigrants Washbowl and washed clothes but no names were carved in the
cliff at this time.
On July 17, the wagon train suffered its first casualty when a wagon passed over the
body of a young boy named Joel Hembree. He was laid to rest in an area west of present
day Douglas. The Hembree family was stricken with grief at the death of their son, but
within one month Mrs. Hembree gave birth to a daughter on the Oregon Trail.
The Oregon Trail west of Fort Laramie was easy to travel and the North Platte River
offered an abundant supply of water, wood and grass. However, the river was deep, with
a swift current, muddy bottom and steep sides. These conditions made the river
especially dangerous to cross.
Some of the 1843 emigrants used their wagon boxes as boats and crossed the river.
However, the majority of the emigrants hooked a number of wagons and oxen together in
order to make the crossing. They tied a heavy rope to the oxen in the lead position and
thirty men on the opposite bank pulled the rope. They led the oxen across the river and
helped to pull them ashore. William Newby’s wagon broke loose from the rest of the
wagons and floated down stream, rolling over and over. William and another man nearly
drowned trying to retrieve it from the swift current. It was recovered a day later, three
miles downstream and was repaired.
The emigrants left “their old friend” the North Platte River and struck out across the
wind swept prairie. The region had scant vegetation and Willow Creek Crossing was the
only place on the high plains that offered wood and water. This portion of the trail was
more difficult than the last. The emigrants suffered from the dry conditions, dust storms
and little water to drink. There was not much for the animals to graze on and they often
weakened.
In late July, the emigrants spotted Independence Rock on the Sweetwater River and
many were happy to be leaving the high plains behind them. When they reached
Independence Rock, known as the “Great Registry of the Desert” they painted and carved
their names upon it. Five miles down the trail, they came upon Devil’s Gate. The
Sweetwater River flows through Devil’s Gate which contains a low, narrow pass called
the Gap. After another day’s travel they reached Split Rock in the Sweetwater Valley.
The emigrants hurried to the Ice Slough where they filled their water kegs with ice that
would offer them cool drinks in the coming days. The emigrants forged the Sweetwater
River frequently, but the water was generally low and the river bottom was covered with
gravel making it easy to cross. Pioneers left the Sweetwater River and its resources with
regret.
As the emigrants rolled up South Pass and past Oregon Buttes toward the summit, they
looked forward to their first sighting of Oregon country. The wagons crossed over the
7,803 foot summit for several days and each in turn got a glimpse of the barren and rough
terrain ahead. They consoled each other with the knowledge that the fertile Willamette
valleys lay somewhere beyond this sterile land.
The wagons rolled down the western slope of the Rocky Mountains to Pacific Springs.
This area was popular because it had grass and water, but no wood was to be found.
They piloted across barren country and on August 9, came to the Big Sandy River. At the
river, a man named Stevenson died of mountain fever and was buried along the bank.
The emigrants left the Big Sandy and forged on to the Green River. The clear, gravel
bottomed Green River was surrounded by grass and trees. It was a glorious sight for the
parched and dust covered emigrants and animals. The trail continued southwest and
crossed Ham’s Fork, a tributary of the Green River west of present day Granger,
Wyoming. The trail then continued into Fort Bridger.
The newly built Fort Bridger was located on the Black’s Fork of the Green River in
what was then Mexican Territory. The fort was located in a beautiful valley and a good
location for trade with the Shoshone and Ute Indians. The 1843 migration arrived at the
fort in the middle of August. A three-year-old girl named Catherine Carey died at the fort
and was the first person ever buried there. After making repairs and trading, the wagon
train left Fort Bridger, having only stayed a short time.
They traveled northwest along the Muddy and Bridger Creeks, up over the rim of the
Great Basin to the valley of the Bear River. They followed the rich and abundant valley
for over 100 miles. On August 23, a group of ten wagons was traveling the trail through
the Bear River Valley. A young boy rode up to the train warning them that he had seen
Indians riding toward them. Miles Carey gave the order to corral the wagons and prepare
for defense. People stuffed articles around the wagons to provide more cover and
scrambled for their firearms. Around the bend came a group of horseman looking very
much like Indians but they were carrying the American flag. “Don’t fire,” shouted Carey
“They are white men.” In fact it was Lieutenant John C. Fremont in search of a possible
railroad route across the mountains to the Pacific Coast. He got a good laugh out of the
scare he had given the emigrants and stayed that night telling stories of his explorations
and adventures in the west.
The wagon trains left Wyoming entering into Idaho and making their way to Fort Hall
and then Fort Boise. They set out across present day Oregon toward Fort Walla Walla in
Washington. When they arrived at the fort on the Columbia River, they wondered what
the best route to the Willamette Valley would be. Seventy people elected to take boats
down the Columbia River and a few lost their lives along the way. The others blazed the
last leg of the Oregon Trail to the fertile valley. All of the surviving emigrants reached
Fort Vancouver by early November and were greeted and supplied with their immediate
needs. They had finished the trail that thousands of others would soon follow into the
west. The emigrants spread over a wide area and established the homes and communities
that they had long dreamed of on the Oregon Trail.
While the Oregon Trail had been blazed, people were always looking for cut-offs that
might shorten the distance of the trail. In 1857, the United States government constructed
a cut-off that followed South Piney Creek and traveled through Snyder Basin and Star
Valley. The trail entered Idaho, traveled past Gray’s Lake and terminated at Fort Hall.
The cut-off was named the Lander Road in honor of Colonel Frederick Lander, the
engineer who constructed it. The Sublette Cut-off traveled west from the Little Sandy
crossing to the Green River and was the most heavily traveled cut-off of the time.
However, the Sublette Cut-off was often dreaded by emigrants because of its long, dry
stretches. Both cut-offs served their purpose of shortening the Oregon Trail by hundreds
of miles.
The Mormon Trail
In the summer of 1845, gentiles demanded that the Mormons leave their beautiful city
of Nauvoo and the state of Illinois before the next spring. Brigham Young and his
advisors decided the Mormons would move far to the west to escape further persecution.
During the winter every house in Nauvoo was turned into a workshop for the production
of wagons, tents, and other traveling gear. The Mormons bartered their property for trail
provisions such as animals, food, and ammunition.
In the early spring of 1846, groups of Mormons began leaving Illinois, making their
way west. In mid-fall, after traveling 400 miles, they made their Winter Quarters along
the Missouri River. They camped there for the winter, but dwindling supplies and cholera
stole many from the flock that winter. On April 17, 1847, Young and 148 others left
Winter Quarters for the push to the Rocky Mountains. They plotted a course on the north
side of the Platte River in order to escape the persecution of non-believers on the Oregon
Trail south of the Platte River. The rest of the Mormon emigrants followed their trail
along the north side of the river throughout the summer.
On May 4, the first of the ox drawn wagons appeared on the south side of the Platte
River in Wyoming. On June 2, Brigham Young made contact with Fort Laramie and he
and his party crossed over the North Platte River to a hearty welcome from Commander
Bordeau. They camped for several days near the fort and repaired wagons, shod animals,
and sent mail back east.
Young’s group left the fort and traveled along the trail to the area of present day
Casper. There the Mormons used a leather boat, called a revenue cutter that they had
brought along to ford the North Platte River. At a later time the Mormons built a ferry
where they had previously used the revenue cutter. On June 19, the wagon train set out
across the plains that lay between the Platte River and Independence Rock and traveled
on to the Sweetwater River.
They followed the grassy and resource abundant Sweetwater River Valley to South
Pass. They crossed over the backbone of the Continental Divide and took up their
journey along the Big Sandy to the Green River. On the journey to the Green River
valley, Brigham Young chanced to meet Jim Bridger and the two discussed possible sites
for the new Mormon settlement. Jim Bridger strongly discouraged Brigham Young from
settling in the Salt Lake Valley because its barren land and arid climate were undesirable.
Brigham Young however saw the valley as an oasis from religious persecution because no
other people would want to live there. The wagon train reached Fort Bridger on July 7,
and after a two-day stay they left for their destination, the Great Salt Lake Valley.
The trail from Fort Bridger to Salt Lake Valley was the toughest part of more than a
1,000 mile journey. The emigrants traveled over Big Mountain and through Emigrant
Canyon in the Wasatch Mountain Range. When Brigham Young emerged from emigrant
canyon, he uttered the simple words that would ring in the ears of Mormons for years,
“This is the place.” The Mormons founded Salt Lake City, Utah, their oasis from
persecution and in 1853 they began building the new Mormon Temple.
A history of the Mormon Trail would not be complete without a discussion of the
handcart migrations that lasted from 1856 to 1860. Tens of thousands of poverty stricken
Europeans came to America in these years with the help of The Latter Day Saints
Church’s Perpetual Emigration fund. However, in 1855 a grasshopper plague struck Utah
and church finances suffered. By the time the 4,400 European converts arrived in New
York it was obvious that the church could not afford the wagons and trail animals needed
for their migration to Salt Lake City. The emigrants went by train to Iowa City and there
they found the handcarts they would pull across the Mormon Trail.
The first three handcart companies of 1856 made it to Salt Lake City without incident,
but the fourth and fifth companies left Florence, Nebraska in late August. It was much
too late in the season to make the overland trip into the Salt Lake Valley. Early winter
storms began to blast eastern Wyoming and the cold exposure, overwork, and short
rations began to take its toll in lives. Mistakes were made that only exposed the
emigrants to more suffering. They had discarded up to 100 buffalo robes given to them
by Mormon missionaries going east and were therefore without protection from the cold.
They crossed a freezing river rather than paying the toll and this caused instances of
frostbite.
Nearly 1,000 people were trapped in the snow on the high plains of Wyoming and
hundreds would die before it was all over. The fourth company was trapped east of
South Pass and the fifth company was even further east between Fort Laramie and
Devil’s Gate. When Brigham Young got the news, he sent rescue groups to aid the
emigrants. With the help of the rescue groups, the last of the European immigrants
entered Salt Lake City on November 30, 1856. However, over 200 men, women, and
children had been lost to the bitter cold of the Wyoming winter. This incident has come
to be known as the 1856 Handcart Disaster and people still pull handcarts down the
streets of Salt Lake City during the Founder’s Day Parade.
The California Trail
In 1848, Oregon became a United States Territory and the discovery of gold in
California spurred increasing numbers of people to emigrate west. In fact, wagon travel
reached a crescendo during the California Gold Rush and in 1850 the lure of California
gold caused emigrant numbers along the California Trail to reach their highest point.
Emigrants heading to California took both the Oregon and Mormon Trails through
eastern Wyoming to South Pass, and followed the Oregon Trail to Soda Springs, Idaho.
Those headed for California left the Oregon Trail and turned south west, blazing a trail
along the Humboldt River, across the Nevada Desert, and over the Sierra Nevada
Mountains along Donner Pass. The California emigrants descended the mountains to
Sutters Fort in present day Sacramento.
The last portion of the California Trail was long and difficult. The Nevada Desert was
dry and lacked vital resources such as water, grass and wood. The Sierra Nevada
Mountains were steep, difficult to cross, and dangerous snowstorms could strand a wagon
train arriving there too late in the season.
The discovery of gold and the rush of over 80,000 gold miners to California territory
qualified it for admission into the United States. In the Compromise of 1850, California
was accepted into the union as a free state. The admission of California as a state
strengthened the ideas of Manifest Destiny and emigrants continued to migrate to
California for many years.
The Overland Trail
In 1824, mountain man Jim Bridger was on his way to the first Rocky Mountain
Rendezvous. He took an old Indian path through the southern portion of Wyoming. The
trail traveled around Elk Mountain, through the Laramie Plains, across the North Platte
River and west over Bridger Pass. The pass bears his name and he is credited with its
discovery. He traveled west to the Green River and crossed over to the site where he
would one day build Fort Bridger.
In 1849, the Cherokee Indians took the first wagon train across the trail on their way
to California. Other emigrants, including Mormons and goldseekers, used the trail after
the successful Cherokee voyage because it was 150 miles shorter than the Great Platte
River Road through Wyoming. In 1862, Ben Holladay established the Holladay
Overland Mail and Express Company and chose the Overland Trail for transport. More
about this period of the Overland Trail history will be discussed in Unit IV.
Trails North
In 1851, the leaders of the United States realized the need to provide safe travel on the
emigrant trails that passed through Indian land. They called for a Plains Indian peace
conference to be held at Fort Laramie and 10,000 Crow, Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho,
Shoshone, Arikara and Assiniboin Indians arrived. In one week, they produced the Fort
Laramie Treaty of 1851. The treaty promised safe passage for whites and intertribal
peace in exchange for federal recognition of tribal territories and government annuities
totaling $50,000 in supplies per year for fifty years for each tribe. However, before the
treaty was ratified the federal government changed the number of years that the annuity
was good from fifty to ten years. The matter of emigrant protection on the Great Platte
River Road was settled, but not for very long.
In 1862, gold was discovered in Montana and explorers searched for a shorter route
through Wyoming to the Montana gold fields. Both the Bozeman and the Bridger Trails
branched off the Oregon Trail and traveled north to Montana. However, the Bozeman
Trail went right through the heart of tribal territory ceded to the Crow in the Fort Laramie
Treaty of 1851. The Indians in the area, including, the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho,
were infuriated by the further violation of the treaty and the trail became a hotbed for
Indian-white conflict. On the other hand, mountain man Jim Bridger blazed his trail
outside of tribal territory granted in the treaty. He was a reasonable man who did not
want to offend the Indians and knew that travel outside of tribal territories was much
safer for emigrants.
The Bozeman Trail
The Bozeman Trail was opened in 1864 when John Bozeman, 1,500 emigrants, and
450 wagons blazed the 500-mile route to the gold fields of Montana. The trail left the
North Platte River near present day Douglas and Casper, it traveled northwest across the
Powder River Basin, along the eastern base of the Big Horn Mountains, across the Big
Horn River, along the Yellowstone River, over Bozeman Pass and into the Montana gold
fields. The trail was short, direct, good for wagon travel and well watered.
The only problem with the route was that it traveled through the Powder River Basin
that was occupied and contested for by the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes. In
1864, the first, second, and fourth wagon trains made it to their destination without
incident, but the third train ran into trouble with the Indians in the area. A small group of
emigrants had left the wagon train to go searching for a missing man. They were pursued
by Plains Indians and raced back to the wagon train. The fighting continued for six hours
and four emigrants were killed.
In 1865, the federal government closed both the Bozeman and Bridger Trails to
emigrant traffic and began planning a massive military expedition against the Northern
Plains Indian tribes in the Powder River Basin. In 1866, a peace commission once again
convened at Fort Laramie in order to discuss the possibility of protecting emigrant travel
on the Bozeman Trail. However, at this time Colonel Henry B. Carrington arrived at the
fort and announced his duty to garrison three posts along the trail in order to provide
protection to people who wished to travel upon it. This infuriated Sioux leader Red
Cloud and he vowed to close the trail.
Numerous Indian battles occurred along the trail, including the famous Fetterman
fight of December 21, 1866. Beginning in July of 1866, Red Cloud and his followers
repeatedly attacked travelers and forts along the trail and kept the area from Fort Reno to
Fort C.F. Smith under constant siege. The wagon trains that traveled on the trail at this
time were mainly soldier supply trains. The Plains Indians were successful at raiding the
forts and in a five month period, managed to make fifty raids against Fort Phil Kearny
alone. The emigrants steered clear of the trail because of the Indian threat.
Influenced by Indian attacks and the estimated cost to keep the trail open, Congress
called for a new peace conference with the region’s tribes. In November of 1868, Red
Cloud came into Fort Laramie and signed the Fort Laramie Treaty. Officials granted Red
Cloud’s demand that the Bozeman Trail be abandoned in exchange for a promise to cease
raiding. Red Cloud had accomplished his goal and halted all travel on the Bozeman
Trail. Ultimately, instead of providing protection, permanent military presence on the
Bozeman trail only escalated the Indian-white conflict into all out warfare.
The Bridger Trail
In 1864, mountain man Jim Bridger blazed an alternate route through Wyoming to the
Montana gold fields. The trail separated from the Oregon Trail a few miles west of Red
Buttes and traveled northwest, skirting the south end of the Big Horn Mountains to
Badwater Creek. From that creek they headed north up Bridger Creek and over the
Bridger Mountains. At the summit of the divide, the trail crossed over to Kirby Creek
and descended to the Big Horn River. The emigrants passed through the canyon
following the Big Horn River to the Nowood River. Here the trail departed from the Big
Horn River and traveled northwest to the Greybull River, which they crossed at Big
Bend. They proceeded north to the Shoshone River and followed it downstream to Sage
Creek and Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River. Near here, the Bridger Trail and the
Bozeman Trail converged and continued along the Yellowstone River to Shields River.
There the trails diverged when crossing over the mountains into the Gallatin Valley. The
Bridger Trail continued up the valley to the booming gold mine town of Virginia City,
Montana.
Over 700 wagons, 1,000 head of stock and 2,500 men women and children traveled
over the Bridger Trail to Montana in the spring and summer of 1864. In fact, 25% of the
population of Virginia City in 1864 arrived there after traveling the Bridger Trail.
In 1865, the federal government closed the route to emigrant travel and favored the
Bozeman Trail for military occupation in 1866. These two factors and the coming of the
railroad in 1869 rendered the Bridger Trail obsolete, until the 1880’s when it was used
regionally in the settlement of Wyoming.
FORTS AND LANDMARKS ALONG THE TRAILS
Forts and landmarks were anticipated sites for the emigrants along the trail. Both
provided a feeling that the wagon train was making progress. The landmarks in
Wyoming were generally large and impressive sites that held a special place in the diaries
of those that traveled the trails. Forts provided a myriad of services to people in the area
and along the trails. While at the fort people could buy or barter for needed goods, repair
wagons, shoe animals, obtain news about the east, send mail, and take a rest from the
long days of travel.
Forts in Wyoming
There were several forts erected between 1849 and 1890 within the modern day
boundaries of Wyoming, but keep in mind Wyoming Territory did not exist until 1868. In
the early years of migration and even for a time before that, Fort Laramie and Fort
Bridger served as trading posts. Years after the migration started these forts were turned
into military posts. Camp Supply was a fort built by the Church of Jesus Christ in what
was then Utah Territory. It was located very close to the site of Fort Bridger and was open
for only four years.
Fort Halleck was the first military post built on the Overland Trail in Wyoming. It
operated for four years until officials decided to build a new fort that would be easier to
supply and closer to the coming railroad. At this time Fort Sanders was built near present
day Laramie and Fort Halleck was closed.
Fort Reno and Fort Phil Kearny were built and garrisoned on the Bozeman Trail in
order to obtain protection for travelers in the Powder River Basin. The area was the last
great hunting grounds of the Plains Indians and when Red Cloud heard about the forts he
vowed to close the trail and the forts. These two forts and the soldiers stationed there
became embroiled in conflict with the Plains Indians.
Fort Laramie
The history of Fort Laramie spans the entire process of western emigration and
settlement. Mountain men, William Sublette and Robert Campbell, built the first
stockade in Wyoming at the mouth of the Laramie River in 1834. It was later bought by
the American Fur Company and made into a major trading post. Trappers and Indians
from all over the region came to Fort Laramie to barter their fur for trade goods.
In 1841, Fort Laramie was rebuilt with an adobe wall structure just in time to
accommodate the coming of the wagon trains along the trails. The trading post prospered
for many years because it was situated at a crucial point along the Oregon, California,
and Mormon Trails.
In 1849, ownership of the fort was transferred to the United States government and the
trading post became a military post for the protection of white emigrants along the trails.
Over the next decade, the area was built into a sprawling military base. This key army
post provided logistical and supply support to posts further west. In fact, it was one of
the largest forts in the west and was active far longer than many others.
The Plains Indians never attacked Fort Laramie. In the early years they often camped
close to the fort in order to conduct trade there. The United States government convened
peace conferences with the Plains Indians at the fort that resulted in both the Fort
Laramie Treaty of 1851 and the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. However, it is important to
remember that the fort also served as command headquarters for the campaigns against
Indians in the 1860s and 1870s.
Fort Bridger & Fort Supply
In the early 1840s, mountain man Jim Bridger built a small log stockade on Blacks
Fork of the Green River in what was then the Territory of Mexico. Some historians
believe he foresaw the migration of emigrants to the west and positioned his fort so that it
would be accessible to those who used South and Bridger Passes. The site straddled both
the Oregon/California/Mormon trails and the Cherokee/Overland Trail. Jim Bridger
operated the prosperous trading post for over 10 years and thousands of emigrants
stopped there throughout the period of migration.
Utah became a territory in 1853 and Fort Bridger fell within its boundaries. At this
time Brigham Young pressured Jim Bridger to sell the fort to the Church of Jesus Christ.
Jim Bridger would not sell his long prosperous fort, especially to Brigham Young, a man
he had words with quite often. When their attempt to run Jim Bridger out of the territory
failed, the Mormons built a fort called Camp Supply several miles to the south of
Bridger’s fort. After a short time, the Mormons bought the fort, but Jim Bridger insisted
that he had not been compensated in any way for Fort Bridger.
Over time this incident and other conflicts between the Mormons and Gentiles led the
federal government to take action. An Army expedition was sent to Salt Lake City to
elicit loyalty from the saints. When the column arrived on Black’s Fork the Mormons set
fire to both forts and they burned to the ground.
The army stationed itself temporarily at the site and the virtually bloodless Mormon
War of 1857 and 1858 took place. In 1858, the war was quickly settled through
negotiations, but the army stayed at Fort Bridger for thirty years after this incident.
Fort Bridger became a base of military operations throughout southwest Wyoming and
northeast Utah. Over a thirty year span of time, the soldiers at Fort Bridger protected
emigrants, Pony Express riders, stagecoach drivers, transcontinental telegraph lines and
eventually the workers on the Union Pacific Railroad.
Before the fort became a military post, Jim Bridger did some of his trade with the
peaceful Shoshone Indians. After the fort became a military post the Shoshone tribe
signed two treaties there in 1863 and 1868. Fort Bridger was not directly involved in any
of the campaigns against the Indians in Wyoming and was never attacked.
Fort Halleck & Fort Sanders
On July 20, 1862, Major John O’Ferrell and Captain Francis Shipley chose a site for
the new Fort Halleck, at the northern base of Elk Mountain. The site selected was
situated in a mountain gap at 7,300 feet and contained a spring and plenty of wood. The
soldiers at Fort Halleck completed construction on two sets of company quarters, two
stables, quarter master storehouse, commissary storehouse, post headquarters, officers
quarters, bake house, sutler store, jail, and a hospital by December of that year.
Between 1862 and 1866, Fort Halleck offered protection and assistance to white
emigrants on the Overland Trail. The soldiers at this fort protected stage stations,
telegraph lines and participated in various campaigns against the Indians.
In the spring of 1866, army officers set out to locate a site for a new army post. On
July 4, 1866, Fort Halleck was abandoned and its replacement, Fort Sanders, was built at
a more desirable location. The fort was built on the Big Laramie River and the city of
Laramie sprung up around it. Soldiers at the fort protected emigrants and railroad
workers from Indian attack, helped jail criminals in the area, and hosted many dignitaries
who came to the west. The fort was closed in 1882 and all that remains today is one
crumbling guardhouse.
Fort Reno & Fort Phil Kearny
In 1866, Colonel Henry B. Carrington was sent to build and garrison three forts along
the volatile Bozeman Trail. Fort Reno was the first fort built on the Bozeman Trail and
Fort Phil Kearny was built second at the foot of the Bit Horn Mountains near present day
Buffalo. Fort C.F. Smith in southern Montana was built last. Chief Red Cloud, of the
Sioux Indians, laid siege to the trail and the forts. They attacked soldiers who were
vulnerable, such as small wagon supply trains or woodcutting parties.
In 1868, the United States government abandoned the Bozeman Trail and its forts.
The army evacuated the forts and the Sioux Indians burned them to the ground. In the
late 1860's and early 1870s, with the coming of the railroad and the advent of settlement
in Wyoming Territory, Indian wars with encroaching whites continued. In response to
this, Fort Caspar and Fort Fetterman were built, to aid in the Plains Indian Wars.
Landmarks
The first landmark that could be seen when entering Wyoming along the Great Platte
River Road was Laramie Peak. This peak rose to an elevation of 10,274 feet and towered
over the other peaks in the Laramie Range. It could be seen as far away as one hundred
miles on a clear day.
On the trail a few miles from Fort Laramie, emigrants came across an area abundant in
sandstone. In later years, the sandstone was carved with the names of emigrants on the
trail and the dates they arrived. It became known as Register Cliff. Nearby, Emigrants
Washbowl, also made of sandstone, was carved by the weather into a basin where women
would wash clothes. One can still see the trail ruts that the emigrants left behind in the
sandstone at the Oregon Trail Ruts, also near these sites.
The emigrants crossed a large portion of Wyoming before coming to Independence
Rock on the Sweetwater River. The rock is 1,552 yards in circumference and has a
height of 193 feet at the north end and 167 feet at the south end. The depression in the
middle had a height of 60 feet and it is believed that the rock obtained its shape through
glacial action. Many emigrants on the trail described it as looking like a giant haystack in
the midst of the plains. General Ashley’s trappers were said to have named the rock
during a Fourth of July celebration in the early 1820s. Hundreds of travelers carved their
names into the rock.
From Independence Rock, the Sweetwater River flows five miles to the west and the
trail follows it to Devil’s Gate. The river travels through this narrow gateway, which has
craggy walls 350 feet in height. The emigrants traveled through a low, narrow pass in
Devil’s Gate, known as the Gap.
West of Devil’s Gate was a giant signpost called Split Rock. This cloven figure rose
1,100 feet above the Sweetwater Valley and could be seen for miles. Travelers have
described Split Rock as a set of giant pinchers reaching toward the sky.
A marshy meadow fed by cool springs known as the Ice Slough, lay directly west of
Split Rock. This area was affected at the time by permafrost and a few inches below the
surface a stratum of ice could be found, even in the hot summer. The emigrants filled
their water barrels with ice and enjoyed the cool drinks this landmark provided.
South Pass was the gateway that made overland travel into Oregon, California,
Nevada, Utah and Washington possible. The pass was level, smooth, and sloped gently
on both sides of the summit. It was also abundant in resources such as grass, wood, and
water. Along the way, emigrants often identified two flat-topped landmarks called
Oregon Buttes and anticipated their arrival at the summit. At an elevation of 7,803 feet,
the South Pass summit offered emigrants their first glimpse of the “Land of Promise.”
Bridger Pass was located on the Cherokee/Overland Trail in south central Wyoming.
The pass is situated in a long barrier of mountains reaching elevations as high as 8,400
feet. Jim Bridger discovered a notch in the mountain barrier that could be used to cross
into the west. The pass reaches an elevation of 7,350 feet and was named for its founder,
Jim Bridger.
Each of the forts and landmarks on the trails through Wyoming offered the emigrants a
feeling of hope. The forts reminded them of home and provided services sorely needed.
The passes in Wyoming offered emigrants access to the west. Register Cliff and
Independence Rock gave them a chance to record their travel west for future generations.
The Ice Slough and Emigrants Washbowl offered a chance for a cool drink and wash
basin. Finally, the beauty and magnificence of Laramie Peak, Devil’s Gate and Split
Rock inspired emigrants on their way to points further west.
LIFE ON THE EMIGRANT TRAILS
Life on the trail required a lot of hard work and diligence. It was important to keep on
schedule and arrive at the destination within six months. Depending on the destination,
the trip could be as long as 2,000 miles. Considering the emigrants walked most of the
way this was an amazing feat.
Everyone in the emigrant family had responsibilities that had to be met in order to
survive and continue smoothly along the trail. Men and older boys would scout, drive the
wagon animals, and hunt for game. Boys aged ten to fourteen would water and tend to
the horses, oxen, and mules.
The women and older girls cooked, cared for the children, pitched tents, and assisted
in the loading and unloading of wagons. The older girls taught grammar, geography, and
mathematics to the younger children in the wagon train because the adults did not have
the time to do this. Young girls washed the clothes, milked the cows, and assisted in meal
preparation and childcare. Children were also responsible for gathering fuel for the fire,
such as wood or buffalo chips.
The wagon train had to travel ten to twelve miles a day before stopping for the night.
This required emigrants to rise at 4 a.m. in order to prepare for the days’ travel. Women
and children cooked breakfast, milked the cow, and helped to load the wagons. Men
prepared the animals and wagons for travel and would herd the cattle.
Once all the preparations for travel were finished, scouts were sent out and the wagon
train began to roll. Emigrants did not ride in the wagons because they were full and
uncomfortable on the bumpy trail. Women and children walked alongside the wagons
gathering stones, flowers, and berries when available.
After about five hours on the trail, the captain of the wagon train would call a halt.
Emigrants would hurry to feed and water the animals and prepare quick noon meals for
themselves. The noon meal usually consisted of bread, beans, and coffee, since there was
no time to cook. The emigrants and animals ate and rested for one hour before being
called back to the wagon train to finish the days’ journey.
At sunset, the wagon train stopped and formed a large circle for protection, a feeling
of community, and a place to corral their animals. Men would block off an area of the
circle with ropes to make a corral for the animals. Meanwhile, the women set up tents, lit
the evening fires, and prepared the evening meal. The evening meal might include
buffalo meat or wild game, beans, cornbread, dried fruit and coffee.
At eight-o clock, sentries were put into place and people gathered round the campfire
to relax. Emigrants used the time to chat, mend clothes, write letters, play cards, read the
bible, enjoy music and dance. When it was time for bed, most slept under their wagons.
Some emigrants chose to sleep in their wagons, in tents or on a hot, clear, summer night,
many could be seen sleeping under the stars.
The emigrants faced many problems and dangers along the trail. A great many
suffered and died along the trails as cholera infected the nation. Other illnesses were
made deadly by the constant travel, either walking or bouncing in the wagon over many
miles of trail. People also died along the trail in various accidents.
Weather was a constant struggle for the emigrants. When it was hot and dry, the
emigrants suffered from the heat and were constantly bombarded with dust from the trail.
Rivers flooded from rain made them impassable and created mud that the wagons often
got stuck in. Thunderstorms and lightening frightened the livestock and often caused
stampedes. Above all, the early winter storm was dreaded because it was a lifethreatening situation.
The wagon train also suffered from practical problems such as wagon wheel repair
and poor resources. It was important to be able to repair or replace wagon wheels in a
hurry because falling behind the wagon train could be dangerous. Poor resources could
lead to many serious problems such as malnutrition, dehydration, and death of the
livestock that the emigrants depended on.
For the emigrants, life on the trail was an adventure beyond any they had ever
attempted. This adventure however, required hard and vigorous work from the
participants. It is obvious that those men, women, and children who reached their
destinations after traveling the long trails were hearty and diligent people.
ACTIVITIES
1) THINGS TO DISCUSS:
• Why did Americans come west? What kind of stories did they hear about the
west? What kinds of things were people trying to escape in the east?
• What kind of provisions did the emigrants take on the trails? What kinds of things
were left behind?
• Why was the Indian threatened by white expansion into the west? How did the
Indians respond to white expansion?
• What was life like for the pioneers on the trail? What kind of chores did men,
women and children perform on the trail?
2) REPORTS AND PROJECTS:
• Students could research the pioneers and write a one to two page paper on what life
on the trails was like.
• As a classroom exercise, students can build forts with wooden sticks and glue.
3) THE OREGON TRAIL:
• Materials needed:
Opening the Oregon Trail Sheet (provided)
Points to Ponder Sheet (provided)
Students should read the Oregon Trail handout. They can test their knowledge with
the Points to Ponder Sheet.
4) FORTS ON THE TRAIL:
• Materials needed:
Fort Laramie Sheet (provided)
Fort Laramie Activity Sheet (provided)
Students can read the Fort Laramie Sheet and test their knowledge with the Points to
Ponder Sheet.
5) THE OLD FASHIONED ALPHABET:
• Materials needed:
Old Fashioned Alphabet Sheet (provided)
Students should complete the activity and discuss the landmarks where pioneers left
their names.
6) THE MORMON TRAIL:
• Materials needed:
Pioneer Word Puzzler Sheet (provided)
Walking Alongside the Wagon Sheet (provided)
Students should complete one of these activities. Students may also discuss the
reasons the Mormons came west.
Opening the Oregon Trail
North of California and south of Alaska lies a large area that was labeled “Oregon
Country” on early maps. Sailors had sailed along its coast and at one time, four nations
had claimed it, but only Lewis and Clark had walked its length before 1805. Spain and
Russia had weak claims to it, but both had dropped out of the contest by 1821; it now was
down to the United States and England.
In 1811, an American named John Jacob Astor, started a fur post (Astoria) in Oregon.
Located at the mouth of the Columbia River, it was in danger of being taken by the
English, so Astor sold it to the English-owned North West Company in 1813. Later, they
merged with the Hudson Bay Company. They sent Dr. John McLoughlin to Oregon to
take charge of its operations. A wise man, McLoughlin knew long supply lines were
risky, so he brought farmers in to grow crops and raise livestock.
In 1818, the boundary between the United States and Canada was drawn at the 49th
parallel to the crest of the Rocky Mountains; from the mountains to the coast was to be
shared by both countries. This treaty was renewed in 1827, but with a condition that
either country might withdraw from the agreement with a one-year notice.
Few Americans considered Oregon very important. When Dr. John Floyd, a member
of Congress, proposed that the United States acquire Oregon in 1823, his colleagues
laughed at the idea. Hall Kelley and Nathaniel Wyeth went to Oregon, but neither could
compete with the Hudson Bay Company. It was missionaries who did the most to
increase American awareness and interest in Oregon: the Methodists Jason and Daniel
Lee; the Presbyterians Samuel Parker, Marcus Whitman and Henry Spalding; and the
Catholic Father Pierre De Smet. In 1836, President Jackson sent W.A. Slacum to Oregon
to study the region. His very favorable report aroused great enthusiasm.
Hard times following the Panic of 1837 slowed down migration to Oregon, but by
1842 the economy was improving and spokesmen were telling about the wonders of
Oregon. Those reading the stories of John C. Fremont’s 1842 trip to Oregon were
relieved to find that the trip could be made without serious problems. There were
enthusiasts like Peter Burnett, who told crowds in Missouri about how tall wheat grew in
Oregon and that in Oregon, pigs ran around, already cooked, with a knife and fork stuck
in them so you could cut off a slice whenever you wanted. People laughed, but the spirit
was contagious, and many began signing up for the wagon trains heading out to claim
Oregon for the United States.
Imagine that YOU are there in 1843. Your family has traveled to Independence,
Missouri, and has purchased a wagon. With its boatlike shape and its white top, you hear
people describe it as a “prairie schooner”. The front wheels are two feet shorter in
diameter than the rear, to help in steering over rough roads. It can carry about 2400
pounds and you have heard endless debates about what should be included and what left
behind. You have also heard discussions about whether mules or oxen are best; mules are
faster, but oxen are steadier and don’t take as much care. After leaders have been chosen
and the grass is tall enough, the wagons line up. With good luck, you and the other 874
people in the column will be in Oregon in seven months.
The column begins to divide between those going with very little livestock and those
with herds of cattle, horses and oxen. It is decided to split into the “light” column and the
“cow” column. The leader of the slower column is Jesse Applegate, whose advice to
travelers in the article “A Day with the Cow Column” will aid many travelers who will
follow.
You notice that the country is changing; grass and flowers cover the flat landscape, but
trees are rarely seen. The climate is dry and this causes problems with the wagon wheels,
as the iron rims become loose and the wooden wheel is slowly shrinking. Only the weak
and the smallest children ride in the wagons; the rest are walking or riding a horse.
Life is monotonous on the plains and some drivers fall asleep. But then something
happens. A vicious hailstorm blows up, shelling the train with golfball-sized stones.
When black clouds gather and the rumbling of a distant storm is heard, the leaders form
the wagons into a circle with the livestock inside. You climb up in the wagon, but if the
rain lasts too long, the canvas will leak. As the column crosses streams, all the men help
in keeping the wagons rolling; if they ever stop, they will sink in the sand.
As the sun begins to set, the leader guides the wagons into a circle, which becomes an
art form by the end of the journey. By that time, the wagons form a perfect circle and
when the last wagon rolls into position its tongue touches the back of the wagon ahead of
it. Each evening, one of three companies of men assemble. The company will have four,
two-hour shifts of patrolling during the night. After supper, various sounds are heard
around the camp: a dance, musical instruments, discussions. The activities do not last
long, because everyone knows that at 4:00 am, the guards will fire their guns and the
morning chores will begin. By 7:00 am, the train is ready to move and pulls out in
columns of four across. From noon to 1:00 pm, there will be a noon rest, ending with the
blast of a bugle. So, the march continues, one day after another.
You look at the tall, stark markers along the trail: Chimney Rock, Jail House Rock and
Scott’s Bluff. After resting at Fort Laramie, the train moves on to Independence Rock
and South Pass, where the trail to California will split off. Oregon is now close at hand.
Points to Ponder
1) What kinds of arguments might you hear about reasons not to go to Oregon? Which
of these would be most important?
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2) Burnett told some “whoppers” about how great Oregon was. Make up some of your
own to convince people to go.
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3) You are going to Oregon and want to take the right combination of things you will
need for the trip and your first year in Oregon. How much of the 2400 pounds would you
use for: a plow (about 100 pounds), clothes, furniture, seed, feed for oxen, miscellaneous
supplies (spare harness, wheels, rims, tools and so on), dishes, food and water?
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4) Would you consider the trip more as an adventure or as boring? Why?
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Fort Laramie 1834-1890
Over the years, as the west developed, Fort Laramie changed its role from an Indian
trading post to emigrant resting place to military center. Trappers, traders, missionaries,
emigrants, Pony Express riders and miners stopped here.
In 1834, fur trader William Sublette decided to have a trading post built at this
location beside the Laramie River. A fort would make it easier to bring supplies west and
take beaver furs and bison robes back east. Two years later, the American Fur Company
bought the fort, and in 1841, it built a new whitewashed adobe fort to replace the old one
that was rotting. By the 1880s, Fort Laramie looked somewhat like a frontier town, but
for many early years, it was a plain collection of military buildings in a treeless setting.
Most of the people living at the fort were men, although there were a few officers’ wives
and some laundresses.
Fort Laramie became a center for Indian trade, with more than 10,000 bison robes
purchased each year. Traders generally paid $1.00 per robe in the form of gunpowder,
hatchets, tobacco, coffee, sugar, blankets, beads and liquor. Robes were then sold for a
profit in St. Louis for $4.00 each. A large Indian village of tipis was always around the
fort.
As the fur trade gradually ended, traders found that money could be made by selling
supplies to emigrants. Fort Laramie stood along the main trail to Oregon and California.
It was located one-third of the way between Missouri and the end of the trail, so it
provided a much anticipated break before the long, dry stretches of trail ahead.
Emigrants stopped to repair wagons, purchase supplies or trade tired stock for fresh oxen
and horses. Fort Laramie was one of the few dependable post offices along the trail with
monthly mail service. Emigrants remembered it as a good place to learn what was
happening back in “the states” and to hear the rumors from Oregon.
In 1849, the army purchased Fort Laramie for $4000 to protect the Oregon Trail from
Indian attacks. In the early days of the fort, Indians and pioneers got along fairly
peacefully, but troubles grew as the Indians’ way of life became threatened. The fort also
served as a meeting place to make treaty arrangements with the Indians of the region.
Fort Laramie was not a pleasant place. The food was awful and the sanitary
conditions were bad. The discipline was so strict that even the smallest mistake could
land a man in the bare, unheated guardhouse jail. Things were so bad that it was no
wonder that the five-year enlistments in the army seemed to never end. Between 1865
and 1890, 33% of the men deserted, many leaving for the gold fields in California.
By 1890, Fort Laramie was no longer needed and was ordered closed. The next year,
the land was opened to homesteaders. In 1938, President Franklin Roosevelt declared
Fort Laramie a national monument and the difficult process began to restore the historic
structures. Today, tourists can visit the fort and see living history presentations of life at
the fort.
The emigration of the pioneers along the Oregon Trail had its negative side.
Children’s geography books of these years described the region the pioneers crossed as
the “Great American Desert”, but the U.S. government designated it as Indian land. The
pioneer wagon trains were clearly trespassing. The Indian way of life was being
destroyed. There was a lack of understanding on both sides. Some Indians felt the
settlers had “powerful medicine”, with their wagons, utensils, religion, trinkets and
weapons. To some pioneers, the Indians appeared to be “savages” with no right to the
land. The Indians could not understand why treaties with the settlers were only honored
for a short time. The Indians were not immune from the European diseases brought by
the settlers and many died. Bison were being shot and forced from their traditional
migration routes, and thousands of stock brought by the emigrants were destroying the
grasslands.
Conflicts began as Indians sometimes stopped wagon trains and demanded “tolls” in
the form of tobacco, coffee, sugar or other goods. If the emigrants cooperated, there was
usually no further trouble. Pioneer journals describe many, many examples of times
when the Indians were a great help to them, and they often enjoyed trading with each
other. Lydia Allen Rudd wrote on August 14, 1852, “Bought a salmon fish of an Indian
today weighing seven or eight pounds. Gave him an old shirt and some bread and a
sewing needle.” The emigrants had a great fear of the Indians but rarely were there
attacks. These attacks usually took the form of raids on livestock which left the wagons
unharmed. Often, the fear of attack killed and injured pioneers because loaded rifles in
the wagons accidentally discharged. Of the 350,000 pioneers to travel west, only about
350 were ever killed by the Indians. (Approximately 30,000 people died on the trail
between 1843 and 1859, which averages about one grave for every 100 yards of the trail
from the Missouri River to the Willamette River.) Attacks increased as the Indians
realized their homelands were disappearing forever. Emigrants demanded to be
protected, so Congress gave Fort Laramie a new role as a military post to guard the trail.
The following story is one example of the role the military played.
In August of 1854, a young officer from Fort Laramie made a mistake that started
much of the hostility toward the pioneers. A Mormon’s lame cow wandered away from
the wagon train and ended up in a Sioux village, south of the fort. The Mormons were
afraid to ask to have the cow back, so they reported their loss to the army. Lt. John L.
Grattan took 29 soldiers with him to retrieve the cow, which by this time had been killed.
Grattan unwisely forced a fight that resulted in the death of Grattan, all of his men and
an Indian chief. Many years of hostilities between the Indians and pioneers followed this
incident.
Fort Laramie Activity
Imagine that you are an adult pioneer on the Oregon Trail. The Indians have stopped
your wagon train and do not want you to continue your journey. The Indians are
concerned that their way of life is being destroyed because of the large number of
emigrants. Write the list of arguments you would use to convince the Indians to let you
pass and continue your journey to Oregon.
UNIT THREE
THE PONY EXPRESS
TOPICS COVERED:
• The reasons that mail and information needed to be delivered faster.
• The history of the Pony Express.
• The use of several horses and stations along the route.
• Life of the Pony Express Rider.
STUDENT GOALS:
• Explain the need to transport mail and information more quickly.
• Gain an understanding of the exchange of horses and riders along the route.
• Explain what a mochila was and what it was used for.
• List some of the hardships that Pony Express Riders faced.
SUGGESTED OBJECTS:
• Teachers may wish to use the following objects to help explain the material.
Belt
Colt Navy Revolver
Cotton Shirt
Holster
Horn Comb
Playing Cards
Pony Express Bible
Spurs
Spur Straps
Wyoming Historical Trails Map
The Pony Express 1860-1861
THE NEED TO TRANSPORT INFORMATION
By 1860, new settlers in California alone numbered more than 400,000. These settlers
and emigrants to other areas found it dismaying that news from the east, whether personal
or national, was hard to obtain in a timely manner. The first steamclipper ships that
brought mail to California had to travel around Cape Horn in South America. Therefore,
delivery of mail by steamclipper ship took four to eight months. Friends and family at
home in the east often used the wagon trains on the Oregon Trail for mail delivery, but
this took four to five months.
Over time, mail service to the west began to improve. The steamclipper ships no
longer traveled around Cape Horn and instead used the Panama Canal. Delivery time
improved dramatically and mail was received within one month. Mail then began to be
carried overland with the use of stagecoaches. These stagecoaches traveled a route
through the southern states and reduced mail delivery time to twenty-five days.
Although mail delivery time had greatly improved, certain tensions were arising in the
United States that would require faster delivery of news to the west. In 1860,
disagreements between northern and southern states began to threaten the nation’s unity.
Many officials began to see that a civil war was inevitable. This put the current mail
route through the southern states in jeopardy, since the Confederates could disrupt it.
Northerners feared that the south would convince California to take their side in the war
and there was an urgent need to communicate with Union men in the state.
Consequently, Congress began encouraging freight businessmen to create a faster mail
line to the west, outside of the boundaries of the southern states.
William H. Russell, William B, Waddell, and Alexander Majors took the challenge,
and created the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Company. Their goal was to
prove that winter travel was possible on the northern route. With the alternate route in
mind, these gentlemen set about creating the Pony Express for maximum speed in the
delivery of mail and news.
THE PONY EXPRESS
In 1860, William Russell, William Waddell, and Alexander Majors created the Central
Overland California and Pikes Peak Company. These men hoped to win a federal grant
worth one million dollars for the overland delivery of mail to the west. The three
partners made two decisions: the first concerned the route they would take to California
and the second was the manner in which their mail delivery service would operate.
As mentioned before, the men chose a central route through the western territory to
California and intended to prove that winter travel through the area was possible. The
route and the proposed schedule were both risky propositions. Inclement weather on the
plains and in the mountains could strand wagons for such a long period that people
starved to death. The desert offered little subsistence and animals often died on the trail.
The Indians in the area were beginning to realize that there was no end to the white
encroachment and dispossession of their lands. In response to this dispossession, the
Indian tribes in the west such as the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Sioux, Crow, Ute, and Paiute
were known to raid the area and lay siege to small wagon trains. Based on these
problematic situations, the three partners decided that speed, shelter, and resources could
help them realize their goals.
They organized a plan in which the mail would be carried overland by men riding
horses at top speed. When the horse became tired it could be exchanged for a fresh
mount at stations along the way. The stations would also provide shelter and resources in
inclement weather. The exchange of horses and riders eliminated exhaustion,
overexposure to the elements, and starvation. The element of speed produced by
eliminating wagons reduced the chances of being attacked by Indians or stranded in bad
weather. Finally, the partners were convinced that the ten-day mail delivery time of the
Pony Express would win them the federal grant.
The Pony Express route began at St. Joseph Missouri. Citizens of the town convinced
the Pony Express operators that their town would be the best jumping of place because it
was the westernmost point on the railroad. At St. Joseph, the horse and rider crossed the
Missouri River on a ferryboat and from there the route ran west to the Little Blue River.
The trail followed along the river in a northwest direction to Fort Kearny in Nebraska
Territory. The route then trailed the North Platte and one of its tributaries to a town
called Julesburg, in the northeastern corner of Colorado Territory. From there it went
north across the prairie to Chimney Rock. At this point the Pony Express Route and the
Great Platte River Road became one. The two routes would coincide all the way to Fort
Bridger in Wyoming. Then the Pony Express Route followed the Mormon Trail over the
Wasatch Front into Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. The route traveled west across the
desert of Nevada Territory to Fort Churchill and Carson City. It continued around the
south end of Lake Tahoe and into the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the mining town of
Placerville. Finally, the route descended into the town of Sacramento, California, the
western terminus of the Pony Express. However, mail was delivered from Sacramento to
San Francisco by ferryboat.
The Pony Express began on April 3, 1860, in St. Joseph Missouri. Nearly one
hundred excited people gathered in the town to see the first Pony Express rider, Johnny
Frye and his bay mare Sylph, whose tail was nearly plucked clean by souvenir hunters.
When the mail was packed and ready to go, a cannon was fired to signal the first rider’s
start. Johnny Frye and his horse were ferried across the Missouri River to begin the first
leg of the trip to Troy, Kansas.
Around one hundred Pony Express riders carried mail, telegrams, and newspapers
across the northwestern territories to California, in half the time it took the stagecoaches
of the south. The riders carried the mail in a mochila. The mochila was a saddle that
was not fastened to the horse so that it could be easily tossed on a fresh horse. The
mochila has rectangular, leather pockets sewn to each corner that are capable of carrying
five pounds of mail each. Three of the pockets were locked until arrival in Sacramento or
St Joseph. The fourth pocket was unlocked and used for delivery and pick up along the
route. Finally, the mochila was more secure from theft than saddlebags because the rider
sat on it.
The mail rates at the Pony Express started at $5.00 per ½ ounce and were later reduced
to $1.00 per ½ ounce. This was very expensive and as a consequence, much of the mail
that the Pony Express carried was written on tissue paper, because it was light and
therefore less expensive to send. The thin, tissue paper would not survive the elements so
it was wrapped in oil silk for protection.
The Pony Express operated for 18 months until late October 1861, when the
transcontinental telegraph was completed and operational. This new technology allowed
for extremely rapid, almost instant communication and therefore it made the Pony
Express obsolete. The government convinced the Butterfield Express Company to move
their service to the central route and awarded them the $1,000,000 federal grant. The
Butterfield Express Company asked the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak
Company to continue mail service between St. Joseph and Salt Lake City for $500,000.
PONY EXPRESS STATIONS
The Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Company provided 190 stations that
were situated along the route 10 to 15 miles apart. Each station had at least three horses,
a station keeper, and a stock tender. The station keepers’ living quarters were located
only a few feet from the horse stable so that he could get the horse into position for the
rider at a moments notice. This also helped keep the horses from being stolen in Indian
raids.
There are two types of Pony Express Stations; the relay station, where the rider
switches horses and the home station, where a new rider was stationed. The Pony
Express rider bolted out of the home station and traveled west along the Pony Express
Route at top speed. At the relay station, he would quickly mount a fresh horse that the
station keeper had waiting. He raced down the trail once again and repeated the pattern
several times. After traveling over 75 miles, the Pony Express rider stopped and relayed
the mail to another rider who carried it over the next leg of the route. He then took up
residence in that home station until a rider came through with mail for the east. The rider
would repeat the entire process, traveling east to the original home station. At the
beginning of the enterprise, riders made the round trip once a week, but that was soon
changed to biweekly.
The typical home station had a dirt floor and one set of pole bunks that were pushed
up against the wall. The furniture was generally made from wooden benches or boxes.
Water was nearby but had to be carried to the station. Though the accommodations were
drab, the riders enjoyed the company of more men at the home stations including extra
riders, black smiths and stagecoach drivers. There is little doubt that this group of men
spent many nights telling adventurous stories and playing cards.
The system of stations which provided fresh horses to riders along the route made the
Pony Express the fastest mail delivery to the west in history. The station system also
protected the valuable California mustangs and Kentucky thoroughbreds from
exhaustion. The rider, over time, was able to gain speed and negotiate trouble spots
better because he always traveled the same portion of the route between home stations.
LIFE OF THE PONY EXPRESS RIDER
In 1861, Mark Twain was traveling through the west in a stagecoach. When he saw a
Pony Express rider tearing down the trail, he wrote an article entitled “Here he comes!”.
In this article, Twain gives a stirring description of the Pony Express rider and his life.
“The pony rider was usually a little bit of a man, brimful of spirit and endurance. No
matter what time of the day or night his watch came on and no matter whether it was
winter or summer, raining, snowing, hailing, or sleeting, or whether his beat was a level
straight road or a crazy trail over mountain crags and precipices, or whether it led
through peaceful regions or regions that swarmed with hostile Indians, he must be always
ready to leap into the saddle and be off like the wind!”
-Mark Twain
When the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Company placed the
advertisement for Pony Express riders it read:
Wanted- young, skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders,
willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred.”
The company hired both men and boys, the oldest was 45 and the youngest was 11.
They were each required to take an oath, stating they would not cuss, drink, or fight while
working for the company. The riders were paid between $100 and $150 a month,
depending on the danger posed along each leg of the route.
The men traveled light in order to increase their speed and agility whenchanging
horses. If a Pony Express rider carried a gun, it was a revolver, not a rifle that would get
in his way. Even the mochila saddle was lightweight when compared with other saddles.
The Pony Express rider faced a multitude of difficulties along the route. However, in
spite of all the difficulties and dangers of the route, the Pony Express riders lived up to
the challenge. In fact, only one rider died while employed with the company and it was
said to have been an accident.
The terrain was the first obstacle that the rider had to overcome. Mountain passes
were often difficult to cross, especially in the winter. The deserts were desolate,
uninhabited, and sparse in resources.
The weather also caused problems. The trail became extremely difficult to travel in
the rain and snow. Sudden winter storms would often arise making the ride even more
treacherous.
Finally, the Pony Express rider had difficulties with the Plains Indians. In fact, in the
summer of 1860, the Paiute Indians of Nevada came into conflict with settlers in the area.
The riders had to abandon the area and along the way the first and only mochila was lost.
Mail service beyond Salt Lake City was suspended until the Paiute Indians were subdued.
When the riders and station keepers returned, the Pony Express Stations had been burned
to the ground.
Two very famous Pony Express riders were “Pony Bob” Haslam and Buffalo Bill Cody.
Haslam used nine ponies to make the longest ride in Pony Express history. He rode 380
miles in 78 hours with only 11 hours rest. It was not his choice to make the ride, but the
Paiute Indians destroyed the stations and the other riders had already fled. Buffalo Bill
Cody joined the Pony Express at the age of 14. He later became famous for his Wild
West Show. He was an excellent rider and is noted for riding 20 different horses over a
320-mile stretch through Wyoming in 22 hours.
The Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Company hired between 80 and 100
riders during the 18 months of its operation. These men carried the mail a total of
616,000 miles on horseback. This means that on average each rider covered more than
3,000 miles of the trail each month.
ACTIVITIES
1) THINGS TO DISCUSS:
• Why was there a need for the Pony Express? Where did the Pony Express route
begin and end?
• Why did the Pony Express rider switch horses during the ride? How was this
done?
• What is a mochila? What was it used for? How is it different from other saddles?
• What dangers did the Pony Express riders face on the trail and at the station?
2) PAPERS
• Students could research the Pony Express and write a one to two page paper on the
operation.
• Students could research Buffalo Bill Cody and write a one to two page paper on his
life.
3) PONY EXPRESS OPERATION:
• Materials needed:
Pony Express Picture Sheet (provided)
Scissors, glue, paper
Students can cut out the pictures and paste them in the correct order on another sheet.
4) GEOGRAPHY ACTIVITY
• Materials needed:
Pony Express Trail Sheet (provided)
Students can complete the handout. When they finish with the assignment, they can
discuss the dangers that the Pony Express riders may have faced while traveling
through Wyoming in the winter.
5) MATCHING EXERCISE:
• Materials needed:
Pony Express Matching Sheet (provided)
Students can complete the assignment and discuss how each picture relates to the
Pony Express.
6) VOCABULARY ACTIVITY:
• Materials needed:
Pony Express Vocabulary List (provided)
Pony Express Vocabulary Match (provided)
Students can take the vocabulary list home and study it. They can test their
knowledge with the vocabulary match.
PONY EXPRESS VOCABULARY
California – Became a state in 1850. The 1849 discovery of gold in California caused a
large number of people to travel there by wagon train.
Cantinas – Pockets on the four corners of the mochila where mail was carried.
Express – Quick delivery of mail or messages with few stops along the way.
Home – Type of station where riders stayed several days. They waited to replace a tired
rider who had just rode 80 to 100 miles.
Kansas – Became a state during the time of the Pony Express. It is located next to
Missouri and is a land of rolling hills and prairie grass.
Letter – Message addressed to a person or organization.
Mochila – Leather square that fit over the saddle, held the mail and was changed to a new
horse at each relay station.
Pony – Animal which carried rider and mail.
Relay – Passing mail from one person to the next until it reaches its destination.
Rider – “Young, skinny, wiry fellow, not over 18. Willing to risk death daily. Orphans
preferred.”
Sacramento – Western terminus of the Pony Express.
Saint Joseph – Eastern terminus of the Pony Express.
Station – Place where the mochila was transferred to a new horse and sometimes a new
rider took over.
Telegram – Message sent by telegraph to the end of the wire and then carried the rest of
the way by Pony Express.
Telegraph – A machine used to send messages over an electrical wire by tapping out the
message in code.
Ten – Average number of days to deliver the mail.
Terminus – Either end of a transportation route.
PONY EXPRESS VOCABULARY MATCH
Match the word to its meaning. Write the correct letter in the blank.
1) Mochila _____
a. Passing mail from one person to another
until it reaches its’ destination.
2) Relay _____
b. Quick delivery of mail or messages
with few stops along the way.
3) Terminus _____
c. A machine used to send messages over an
electrical wire by tapping out the
message in code.
4) Station _____
d. Either end of the transportation route.
5) Express _____
e. Leather square that fit over the saddle
and held the mail.
6) Cantinas _____
f. Pockets on the four corners of the
mochila where mail was carried.
7) Telegraph _____
g. Place where the mochila was transferred
to a new horse.
ANSWER KEY
Match the word to its meaning. Write the correct letter in the blank.
1) Mochila __e___
a. Passing mail from one person to another
until it reaches its’ destination.
2) Relay __a___
b. Quick delivery of mail or messages
with few stops along the way.
3) Terminus __d___
c. A machine used to send messages over an
electrical wire by tapping out the
message in code.
4) Station __g___
d. Either end of the transportation route.
5) Express __b___
e. Leather square that fit over the saddle
and held the mail.
6) Cantinas __f___
f. Pockets on the four corners of the
mochila where mail was carried.
7) Telegraph __c___
g. Place where the mochila was transferred
to a new horse.
UNIT FOUR
THE STAGECOACH TRAILS OF
WYOMING
TOPICS COVERED:
• The uniqueness of the Concord Coach and its use in the west.
• The stagecoach trails in Wyoming, including: Central Overland California and
Pikes Peak Trail, Overland Trail and Cheyenne Black Hills Trail.
• The stage stations along the routes.
• The stagecoach drivers and life on the stagecoach trails.
STUDENT GOALS:
• Gain an understanding of the workings of the stagecoach.
• Name and identify at least one stagecoach trail in Wyoming.
• Describe the conditions at the stage stations on the stagecoach trails.
• Explain what life was like for the stagecoach drivers.
SUGGESTED OBJECTS:
• Teachers may wish to use the following objects to help explain the material.
Candles
Cotton Shirt
Felt Hat
Holster/Belt
Horn Comb
Jaw Harp
Navy Colt Revolver
Playing Cards
Suspenders
Tin Coffee Cup
Tin Coffee Pot
Trousers
Vest
Stagecoach The Ride of the Century
Wyoming Historic Trails Map
THE STAGECOACH
THE CONCORD COACH
In 1813, Lewis Downing opened a wagon shop in Concord, New Hampshire. He had
in his employ an intelligent young man, named Stephen Abbot. Abbot observed the
design of European and American stagecoaches and decided he could make some
adjustments that would make the vehicle more suitable. Soon, Abbot and Downing
would be known worldwide for their new stagecoach, known as the Concord Coach. This
coach became extremely popular and was used extensively on the trails of Wyoming.
Abbot made the stagecoach lighter and the wheels stronger for better durability on the
rough roads of America. He changed the shape of the coach so that baggage could be
carried on top. The exterior of the coach was smooth, hard, and painted brilliant red until
it shone like a mirror. There was a door on each side with a window that could be
opened. There were open spaces on each end of the coach so passengers could view the
scenery. However, leather curtains were installed above these spaces to keep them
warmer in the winter. There were two, square, brass, candle lamps attached to the side of
the coach close to the driver’s seat. Luggage was put in a rear compartment or on top of
the stagecoach.
The Concord Coach had brace slings made of leather that served as a shock system
and made the ride more enjoyable than emigrant travel in a covered wagon. These
layered leather slings allowed the coach to swing backward and forward, which helped
the horses pull it over the roughest of roads.
The inside of the Concord Coach was both comfortable and extravagant. The interior
walls were made of fine wood and the three leather seats were well padded. A standard
nine passenger coach had two, high-backed seats that faced each other and a jump seat
with a wide leather band as a backrest. The coaches were also equipped to carry
passengers on the roof of the wagon if need be.
Coaches were also used to carry freight and the United States mail. Often, the
passengers were limited to fifteen pounds of luggage because there was so much mail to
deliver. The stagecoach had the right of way on the trails. Anyone driving a wagon or
cart in the way of a stagecoach was subject to arrest.
In the 1900s, the stagecoaches became less important as cars and trucks replaced horse
drawn vehicles. At this time, the Abbot Downing Company began making horse drawn
ambulances, circus wagons, and cannon carriages. Later on, they also made truck bodies
and fire engines.
THE HORSES
It required a team of four to six horses to pull the Concord Coach. The stage horses
were selected for their ability to perform under hard working conditions. They varied
from western stock to Kentucky bred trotters. New horses were carefully trained and
usually took their first runs beside veteran horses that knew the way. A good horse
traveled ten to twenty miles a day, day after day and year after year.
STAGECOACH TRAVEL
The stagecoach express was the cheapest way to travel long distances. It cost as little
as three dollars to travel 100 miles. Passengers stayed and ate at stage taverns along the
way. Meals were served when the stagecoach driver sat down and when he was finished
and ready to go, the meal was over. One nights stay in a room at the stage tavern was one
dollar and a meal could cost as little as twenty five cents.
Most stagecoach trips began as early as three in the morning. Once on the road, the
first three or four stops only took a minute while the teams of horses were switched by
men who worked at the stations. Every forty or fifty miles along the stage route, the
coach came to a tavern.
THE STAGECOACH TRAILS
There were three main stage coach lines that traveled through Wyoming. The first was
the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express, which followed the Central
Route and generally paralleled the Oregon Trail. Ben Holladay created the second
stagecoach line. He began his business on the Central Route, but later moved the
Holladay Overland Mail and Express Company to the Overland Trail Route. The third
stagecoach line began in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1876. The Cheyenne Deadwood Stage
and Express Line, traveled along a north-south trail that was laid out by Luke Voorhees in
the eastern portion of Wyoming.
THE CENTRAL OVERLAND, CALIFORNIA AND
PIKES PEAK EXPRESS COMPANY
George Chorpenning and John Hockaday ran freight and mail across the Central
Overland Route during the 1850s. This route generally paralleled the Oregon Trail
through Wyoming. Hockaday ran into serious financial trouble in May 1859 and
William Russell and John Jones bought his mail contract.
In early 1860, William Waddell, William Russell, and Alexander Majors, created the
first major stagecoach line called the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express
Company. The men began the delivery of the mail via the Pony Express and the delivery
of freight and people via the stagecoach.
In 1861, seven southern states seceded from the union and a measure was passed to
end mail service on the Southern Butterfield line and move it to the Central Route. At
this time, Waddell, Russell, and Majors struck a deal with the Butterfield Express
Company for the delivery of mail. The two companies would split the $1,000,000
government grant and the Central Route. The C.O.C. & P.P. Express would carry the
mail between the Missouri River and Salt Lake City and the Butterfield Express
Company would carry it to Placerville, California. In July 1861, the two companies
began their joint operation and delivered the mail. The $500,000 that Waddell, Russell,
and Majors received was not enough to cover the losses they would incur when the Pony
Express became obsolete. In March 1862, the C.O.C. & P.P. Express Company failed to
meet expenses and was put on the auction block.
THE HOLLADAY OVERLAND MAIL & EXPRESS COMPANY
Ben Holladay had financial resources and experience in freighting, which he obtained
in the Mexican War of 1846. In 1862, he made a $100,000 bid on the defunct Central
Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. He obtained over 1,200 miles of
stage lines and equipment in the purchase. He restocked the stations with men, horses
and supplies.
In March 1862, the usually peaceful Shoshone Indians made a broad attack on
Holladay’s stage stations in Wyoming. The Plains Indians targeted swing stations
because there were many prized horses that could be obtained and few men to protect
them from theft. The Shoshone succeeded in their campaign against the Holladay
stations. They got away with all of the horses and mules and inflicted heavy property
damage.
Shortly thereafter, Ben Holladay moved his express company from the Central Route
along the Oregon Trail to the Overland Trail further south. Holladay moved the route so
he could serve the citizens of Denver and cut 150 miles off the stage route. He also
hoped this would bring about a decrease in the number of Indian raids.
In July 1862, the stations were built and Holladay began service on the Overland Trail.
In 1866, he received a charter for the Holladay Overland Mail and Express Company
from the Colorado Territorial Legislature. He operated his very successful business for
seven years.
In late 1866, Holladay was tired of Indian depredations and saw that the railroad
would soon cover the expanse from coast to coast. At this time the “Stagecoach King”
sold his holdings to Wells Fargo and Company for $1,500,000 in cash. He was also given
$300,000 in stock and a directorship at Wells Fargo, and Company.
THE CHEYENNE BLACK HILLS STAGE & EXPRESS LINE
In the early 1870s, gold was discovered in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The
Black Hills was the sacred domain of the Sioux Indians and the land had been granted to
them in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. For this reason, very few miners came to the
region before 1875. However, the lure would become much bigger when a huge gold
strike was made in Deadwood Gulch.
When word got out about the strike, hundreds of gold seekers boarded railroad cars
and poured into Cheyenne, Wyoming. They came to Cheyenne because it was the closest
railroad depot to the Black Hills. In December 1875, the Wyoming Territorial Legislature
passed a bill authorizing the establishment of a daily stage line to carry passengers and
express between Cheyenne and the Black Hills.
In 1876, Captain W.H. Brown and his son in law, F.D. Yates, began the Black Hills
Stage, Mail and Express Line. They subcontracted for mail service to Spotted Tail. Their
route went north from Cheyenne, passed over several streams and came to Chugwater. It
followed the Chugwater River to the Laramie River where the route turned in a
northeasterly direction. The route crossed over into Nebraska Territory and made its way
to Camp Robinson and the Spotted Tail Agency south of the Black Hills.
In early 1876, John Gilmore and Monroe Salisbury bought out F.D. Yates and
Company and hired Luke Voorhees to extend the trail. Voorhees followed the first
portion of the route from Cheyenne to Fort Laramie. He then left the original trail and
headed north to the area around present day Lusk, Wyoming. He traveled further north to
the Hat Creek Ranch where he turned east and entered into present day South Dakota.
He blazed the trail north to the Cheyenne River. He crossed the river and traveled
through Red Canyon and Pleasant Valley to Custer City, South Dakota. For the time
being, this was the terminus of the trail.
As more and more white miners and settlers entered into the Black Hills, Indian
attacks intensified. The Sioux Indians considered the Black Hills sacred ground and were
horrified at the sight of it being overrun by white men. They harassed freight caravans,
raided night camps, and stampeded mules. They attacked and killed drivers and wounded
passengers on the stagecoaches. Service was discontinued on the trail for a time.
In 1877, after the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Congress repudiated the treaty that gave
the Sioux Indians ownership of the Black Hills and opened the area to settlement and
mining. In that same year, Voorhees extended his trail north past Harney Peak, through
Mountain City and into Deadwood. Within a few weeks, more than $500,000 in gold was
shipped to Cheyenne by stagecoach.
Around the same time, Captain W.A. Stanton was blazing an alternate trail to the
Black Hills. His trail continued north from Hat Creek Ranch along the present day
eastern border of Wyoming. He followed Old Woman Creek north, past Robbers Roost,
and crossed the Cheyenne River. The trail continued north past Canon Spring and
Cheyenne Crossing and headed east to Spearfish, South Dakota. Then he turned south
and blazed a trail into Deadwood from the north. This route was used for another ten
years.
At this time, the stagecoaches came under the notice of several notorious
highwaymen. The area that the Cheyenne Black Hills Trail traveled through was full of
hiding places and the stagecoaches had a treasure chest full of gold. Even after troops
were stationed in the area, the attacks continued and several things were done to avoid
this problem. Sharpshooters, such as Wyatt Earp, were hired to protect their precious
cargo. Gilmer and Salisbury hired A.D. Butler of Cheyenne, to line the interior of a
stagecoach with steel plates, capable of withstanding any rifle bullet. These attempts to
stop the criminals did not succeed. Finally, it was vigilante justice in the area that curbed
the tide of robbery and murder along the trail. Some captured highwaymen were caught
and hung in the trees. Signs were attached to the dead men that warned against theft
along the trail and threatened that anyone who was caught thieving would meet the same
fate.
The Cheyenne Black Hills Trail could be traveled in three days and nights if the driver
only stopped long enough to change horses. The first class fare on the stagecoach was
$20 and the second class fare (sitting on the roof of the coach) was $10. Travel on this
trail lasted more than a decade until February 1887, when rail service to the Black Hills
was complete. On February 19, 1887, a crowd gathered in Cheyenne to watch the last
Black Hills Stagecoach leave on its final trip.
All of the stagecoaches that traveled through Wyoming faced the same problems. The
weather often slowed the travel and made the trails dangerous. Indian raids and
highwaymen theft on stage stations and coaches were common. Finally, improved
railroad service in the west eventually brought an end to many of the stagecoach lines.
However, the Wells Fargo line from Denver to Cheyenne and the stage line to
Yellowstone lasted into the 1900s.
THE STAGE STATIONS
There were two types of stage stations along the stagecoach express line. The swing
stations were located approximately fifteen to twenty miles apart. The stagecoach only
stopped at the swing station long enough to switch horse teams. The home stations were
located forty to fifty miles apart. The stagecoach would stop at these stations for meals
and overnight stays.
Generally, two to three men lived in a one room cabin at the swing station. These men
had a number of duties at the station. They had to care for a dozen or more horses at one
time. When a stagecoach came into the station, these men would rush to switch the tired
team of horses for a fresh team of horses. These men were so skilled at this duty that
they could often switch the team within one minute and sometimes even before the
stagecoach stopped swaying.
The men at the swing stations were also responsible for guarding the horses from
theft. This was a dangerous and difficult job. When raiding, the Plains Indians targeted
the isolated swing stations because they held many horses and had few men to put up a
fight.
Most home stations had taverns where the passengers could eat, drink, and sleep.
Most taverns had a large porch on the front and handbills often covered the outside walls.
These taverns were by no means upper scale establishments. Frequently, they were not
very clean. The tablecloths and sheets were dirty, food was served on tin plates and the
meals were not very good in some locations.
Sir Richard F. Burton traveled on the stagecoach and commented on the conditions
prevalent in a Platte River stage station.
Our station lay near the upper crossing or second bridge, a short distance
from town. It was also built of timber at an expense of $40,000, about a year ago,
by Louis Guenot, a Quebequois,....It was impossible to touch the squaw’s supper;
the tin cans that contained the coffee were slippery with grease, and the bacon looked
as if it had been dressed side by side with ‘boyaux’. I lighted my pipe, and, air-cane
in hand, sallied forth to look at the country.
-Sir Richard F. Burton
If the tavern was small, there were six beds situated in the two rooms above the
tavern. The men would sleep in one room while the women slept in the other.
Passengers often shared the same room and sometimes the same bed with strangers. The
beds had dirty sheets and sometimes even bed bugs. Many passengers did not want to
bunk with strangers or bed bugs so they slept in the barn.
THE STAGECOACH DRIVER
The stagecoach driver was often a well dressed man. He wore wool pants, a cotton
shirt, vest, jacket, fringed gauntlet style gloves, cowboy boots, and a Stetson hat. In the
winter, his attire changed somewhat to coincide with the weather. He replaced his
cowboy hat with a scotch cap and often wore a buffalo coat, belted with a long, thick
piece of leather and three buckles.
The stagecoach driver needed strength and excellent driving skills in order to do his
difficult job. He had to have strong wrists and shoulders to handle the team of six horses
during bad weather, insect infestations, and Indian or highwayman attacks. Most
stagecoach drivers were quiet spoken men, with keen eyes and excellent muscle
coordination.
The driver was the captain, crew, and compass of the stagecoach. His strong, swift
hands played the reins, signaling to each horse. His tools were a lightweight whip and
the stagecoach brake. The stagecoach driver knew each horse in his division by name.
He could identify each horses’ habits, disposition, and weaknesses on the trail. The
stagecoach driver also knew the rise and roll of every hill along his route, so he could
travel it even in the dark.
Frequently, unforeseen and unavoidable delays occurred along the stage line. This led
to extremely irregular work hours among stagecoach drivers. They were not able to
schedule their eating and sleeping hours with any accuracy and were often disrupted.
Drivers carried their own bedding and often slept on the floor of the tavern/stage station
after the passengers had gone to bed upstairs. He generally paid seventy five cents a
night to have a place on the tavern floor and feed for his horses.
Stagecoach drivers worked very hard with little regularity. They faced many dangers
along the trail including attack, flooded and frozen rivers and severe weather conditions.
These adventurous men were the epitome of courage and stamina in the west.
ACTIVITIES
1) THINGS TO DISCUSS:
• What features did the Concord Stagecoach have? What feature made the ride on
the bumpy roads more tolerable?
• What dangers might drivers and travelers encounter on the stagecoach trails?
• What were the stage stations like? What was stage travel like?
• What was life like for the stagecoach driver? What kinds of problems did the
stagecoach driver face on the trails?
2) REPORTS:
• Students could research stagecoach travel and write a 1-2 page story in which they
take on the role of the traveler and relate what a day is like on the stagecoach trail.
• Students could research the Concord Stagecoach and write a 1-2 page paper on its
history and features.
3) QUESTIONNAIRE:
• Materials needed:
Delivering Supplies and the Mail Sheets (provided)
Points to Ponder Sheet (provided)
Have students read the text sheets and test their knowledge with the Points to
Ponder sheet.
4) STAGECOACH DANGERS:
• Materials needed:
Stagecoach Danger Sheet (provided)
Students can complete the mazes and discuss other dangers that stagecoach drivers
and passengers faced.
5) STAGECOACH WORD SEARCH:
• Materials needed:
Stagecoach Word Search Sheet (provided)
Students can complete the word search.
DELIVERING SUPPLIES & THE MAIL
Expansion across the continent moved faster than the nation’s ability to meet the needs
of those isolated regions for supplies and news. In the mining camps of California,
Nevada and Colorado and in the farm communities of Oregon and Utah, people felt cut
off from normal supplies of food, metal products, medicines and most of all, news of
family, friends and national events. Months-old mail is of little comfort to the person
worried about a sick parent, wife or child.
STEAMBOATS were used on the deeper western rivers soon after the New Orleans
opened eyes to the possibilities. The Missouri River could be navigated for 3,100 miles,
but it was risky. One riverman said of her: “She’s a bad actor, that old river. You can’t
tell what tricks she’ll play. Ain’t never been controlled yet and never will.” Steamboats
began using the river in 1819. That part flowing through Missouri was relatively easy,
but problems with sandbars, snags, floods and low water made travel farther upriver more
difficult. It was not until 1832 that the Yellowstone reached Fort Union (where the
Yellowstone River flows into the Missouri).
LAND TRANSPORTATION was more commonly used than rivers. The first
attempt to deliver mail to California was in 1848. Twice a month, ships carried mail from
New York to Panama; it was then taken overland to the west coast and delivered by the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company to San Francisco. It was costly to the government and
customer and it took 30 days. In 1856, 75,000 fed-up Californians signed petitions
demanding an overland route for faster service. After long debate in Congress, the
contract was given to John Butterfield and William Fargo, whose company was to deliver
the mail by way of El Paso and Fort Yuma. It was called the oxbow route because of its
appearance on the map.
It took a year before the Butterfield Overland Mail sent out its first stagecoach. First,
it had to build stations, where agents kept fresh horses and were to supply food for
hungry passengers. The Concord coaches used were specially built for the rugged terrain.
Seating nine inside, there was also room on the driver’s seat for a customer or two.
Riding one of these swaying coaches was an experience long remembered. The first day
out, most passengers were violently “seasick”. By the end of the 22-day trip to
California, they felt like veterans of a long ocean voyage.
The firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell was formed to deliver supplies to Salt Lake.
Within a short time, they had grown to 3,500 covered wagons, each carrying 6,000
pounds of supplies. A bullwhacker with a 12-foot whip walked alongside, encouraging
the oxen with the sting of the tip. The drivers were a rough bunch noted for their troublemaking. Having succeeded there, Russell tried more risky ventures. One was the
Leavenworth and Pike’s Peak Express, which delivered mail to Colorado gold rushers,
but without a government subsidy.
The venture lost money, and in desperation, Russell expanded his mail service to Salt
Lake. The California Stage Company would take mail from there to San Francisco.
Waddell and Majors tried to rescue their partner, but nothing could make the enterprise
pay off. Russell’s philosophy was that if something did not work you found a new
approach. He dreamed up a scheme to win a government mail contract by providing even
faster service. This was the beginning of the Pony Express. It involved 190 stations
about 10 to 15 miles apart from St. Joseph, Missouri, to San Francisco. The rider on a
fast horse rode from one station to another, jumped off the horse with his mail pouch and
mounted another horse the agent had saddled. In a flash, he was off to the next station.
The run was supposed to be 70-75miles for the riders, but if something went wrong, they
had to keep on going. In all kinds of weather, facing attack by outlaws and Indians, these
men were courageous and determined.
The Pony Express never got the mail contract and always lost money. Its end came in
1862, not because of financial losses, but because the telegraph was completed between
Kansas City and San Francisco.
Ben Holladay was crude, but he was a highly successful businessman. He bought out
Russell, Majors and Waddell in 1862, greatly expanded the operation, bought steamships,
and started trade with China and Japan. His stagecoaches were painted bright red, with
yellow and black trim. He came along at the end of an era and saw that the stage
business was soon going to become a victim of the transcontinental railroad. He sold out
to Wells, Fargo and Company in 1866. Stagecoaches were not yet completely obsolete
and to towns not located near the railroad, they provided a needed service.
To the modern reader, the best-known stage and freight operator was Wells, Fargo and
Company. It took over the freight business of the California giant, Adams & Company,
after it got into financial trouble in 1855. Wells Fargo was into banking as well as
stagecoaches and freight. One of its banks was in practically every west coast mining
town. The tradition at Wells Fargo was that they paid in full for any shipment that was
stolen, than spared no expense to find the one who stole it. Some notorious robbers tried
making a living off of Wells Fargo, including Black Bart and Rattlesnake Dick. The man
in charge of defending the strong boxes was James Hume, a quiet man who never quit
once he was on an outlaw’s trail.
POINTS TO PONDER
1) Shipping by steamboat was much cheaper than by land. If you were a frontier
merchant, what problems would you have in deciding which way to bring lumber to your
lumber yard?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2) Sometimes, mail still gets lost. Make a list of things that could happen to a letter
shipped from New York to California in the 1850s. ______________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
3) After reading this section, what opinions do you have about William Russell?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
4) Of all the businesses mentioned, none has been discussed as much as the Pony
Express. Why do you think it is still so popular? ________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
UNIT FIVE
THE CATTLE TRAILS OF WYOMING
TOPICS COVERED:
• The transfer of cattle to railheads to that beef could reach the marketplace.
• The history of the cattle trails in Wyoming, including the Goodnight Loving Trail
and the Texas Trail.
• The cowboys’ responsibilities on the ranch and the equipment they used.
• The cowboys’ responsibilities and life on the cattle drive.
STUDENT GOALS:
• Explain why cowboys drove the cattle to the railhead.
• Explain some of the duties of the cowboy on and off the ranch.
• Identify and name some of the equipment the cowboy used.
• Gain an understanding of the reason why cattle branding is used.
SUGGESTED OBJECTS:
• Teachers may wish to use the following objects to help explain the material:
Branding Irons
Playing Cards
Candle Lantern
Spurs
Candles
Spur Straps
Cast Iron Skillet
Suspenders
Colt Navy Revolver
Tin Coffee Cup
Cotton Shirt
Tin Coffee Pot
Holster/Belt
Trousers
Horn Comb
Vest
Jaw Harp
Wooden Spoon
America’s Cowboys: A History
THE NEED TO GET BEEF TO MARKET
Cattle were brought to the New World and left on the island of Santo Domingo in
1493. In 1521, hundreds were transported to mainland Mexico. One hundred and sixty
years later, the cattle were driven north of the Rio Grande, into what is now the United
States.
Before the Civil War, citizens of the United States primarily consumed pork.
However, in 1861, Philip Armour began selling beef to the Union Army. During the
period of the Civil War, beef became more dominant in the diets of American citizens.
Armour’s business became such a success that he opened a meat packing plant in
Chicago. When Americans began clamoring for the red meat, the price skyrocketed from
three dollars a head to forty dollars a head.
There were ranchers in Texas raising an enormous number of cattle. They knew if
they could get their cattle to market they could make a hefty profit. However, at the
time, only two railroads stretched westward across the Great Plains. Both the Union
Pacific Railroad and the Missouri Pacific Railroad were more than one thousand miles to
the north of Texas.
At this time the range between Texas and the railheads was wide open. The lack of
fences and the abundance of grass allowed the cattlemen to drive the herd to the
railheads. They hired skilled ranch hands to move the cattle from the ranch to the
railheads over a period of months. Once the cattle reached the railhead they were viewed
and sold. The trail boss and the cowboys were paid for their hard work and the cattle
were loaded onto rail cars to be shipped to the eastern markets.
WYOMING CATTLE TRAILS
In 1866, a large number of ranchers prepared to drive their cattle to a Missouri Pacific
railroad yard in Kansas. While these men were preparing to take their route, Charles
Goodnight decided to blaze his own cattle trail into Colorado. He told cattleman Oliver
Loving of his plan to drive cattle to Colorado and Loving decided to join him in his
adventure. The two men gathered two thousand head of cattle and eighteen men to drive
the cattle north to the railhead in Colorado.
The men headed due west from Fort Belknap in central Texas and traveled 250 miles
before reaching the first river, known as the Concho River. The men stopped at the river
to water the herd because they knew the portion of the trail ahead would offer little water.
The men and cattle traveled over an eighty-mile stretch in which they did not encounter a
single stream. Many of the cattle perished along this stretch of the trail.
At 2 a.m. on the third day, the cowboys finally arrived at the Pecos River, greatly
relieved that the rest of the cattle would not die of dehydration. However, when the cattle
herd caught the scent of water in the air, they stampeded toward the much-needed
resource. A great number of cattle were trampled and drowned in the rush for survival.
By this time, Goodnight and Loving had lost four hundred cattle due to dehydration and
stampede.
In spite of the losses, the two men drove the cattle across the Pecos River and to the
north. When they reached Fort Sumter, New Mexico, they sold some of the cattle to the
government. The cattle would be used to feed the residents of the nearby Indian
reservation and the government paid Charles Goodnight eight cents a pound for the beef.
Charles Goodnight drove the remainder of the cattle herd north across the Canadian
River and into Colorado. He followed the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains to
Pueblo and eventually the Denver area. It was here that Goodnight sold the remainder of
his herd to a local rancher.
Despite the high number of cattle that perished on the trail, Charles Goodnight
returned home to Texas with twelve thousand dollars in gold. Goodnight also discovered
that the plains were perfect for grazing cattle and later bought large portions of land in
Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming. In the early 1870’s, Charles Goodnight extended the
Goodnight Loving Trail to the Union Pacific Railroad station in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Other Texas cattlemen began to see the benefits of raising cattle on the plains of
Montana and Wyoming. The expansive prairies had been home to the tremendous bison
herds for centuries. When the railroad came through the area, the buffalo herds were
virtually killed off by white hunters, eager to remove the Indians from the plains. Now
that the buffalo had nearly vanished, there was little competition over the resources
necessary to raise the cattle herds. The Texas cattlemen began moving to Montana and
Wyoming to raise their cattle on the abundant grass of the plains.
Charles Goodnight had extended his trail to Cheyenne in the early 1870s and in 1876
the Texas (Western) Trail was also extended into Wyoming. The trail entered Wyoming
near present day Pine Bluffs. The trail traveled north through eastern Wyoming to the
present day town of Moorcroft. From Moorcroft, the trail followed the Powder River
north into Montana. Much of the trail paralleled the Cheyenne Deadwood Stage Route in
eastern Wyoming. The first herds were taken through Wyoming to Montana. Once the
cattle industry was flourishing in Montana, cattlemen began moving into Wyoming. The
Texas Trail was utilized by cattlemen from 1876 to 1897.
The Homestead Act of 1862, the invention of barbed wire, and the extension of the
railroad system, all combined to make the cattle drive nearly impossible and sometimes
unnecessary. The open range began to shrink as homesteaders fenced in their new 160acre land claims. The cattlemen used the open range to graze their cattle at virtually no
cost and as the open range shrank, the cattlemen’s profits shrank as well. Often, tensions
between cattlemen and homesteaders would explode because the cattlemen benefited
from the open range and the homesteaders benefited from fenced acreage. Finally, the
expansion of the railroad throughout the United States made it possible for cattlemen to
drive their herds to more localized railheads.
COWBOY LIFE ON THE RANCH
The definition of the word cowboy is: a hired man who works with cattle and
performs many of his duties on horseback. The golden age of the cowboy lasted for
twenty years, from 1866-1886. Cowboys spent much of their time traveling from ranch
to ranch looking for work, especially in the winter. Once hired, the cowboy generally
earned thirty dollars a month, plus meals and lodging.
The cowboy lived in the bunkhouse under the supervision of the ranch foreman.
Throughout the year, approximately ten cowboys lived in a small, rectangular bunkhouse
and at roundup time, when more cowboys were hired, the place became extremely
crowded. The kitchen and dining area were at one end of the bunkhouse, the potbellied
stove sat in the center, and bunk beds filled the other end. Trunks at the foot of the bed
held the cowboys few possessions and pegs on the wall served as a closet. The
bunkhouse was lit by oil lamps and gambling was not allowed.
The cowboy required a great deal of equipment in order to do his duties. The most
important tool the cowboy used was also his companion. The horse was generally
provided by the rancher and the cowboy used it on a daily basis.
The second most useful peace of equipment to the cowboy was a saddle. A good
saddle placed the rider’s weight on the shoulders of the horse and not his back, thus
preventing injury to the animal. A saddle cost between thirty and three hundred dollars
and weighed about forty pounds. Generally, the cowboy was only required to make this
purchase once or twice, since a saddle lasted nearly 30 years.
Ropes were a very important part of the cowboys’ equipment. Ropes were used for
several ranch chores and cowboys spent a great deal of their free time practicing rope
skills. Cowboys were excellent braiders and many made their own ropes. They would
braid leather strips together to make quirts and lariats.
The cowboys clothing was often suited to his ranch chores as well. The cowboys’ hat
was made of black, grey, or brown felt and cost between three and fifteen dollars. The
brim protected the scalp and neck from the sun and kept the rain and hail off the face.
The cowboy used his hat in many ways. It sometimes served as a bucket to hold water or
as a feeding bowl for the animals.
The neckerchief is a square of cheap cotton that is folded into a triangle and tied
around the neck. It served as protection from the sun, but was often utilized as a
breathing mask on the dusty trail, a bandage for wounds, and a filter for water. In the
summer, cowboys wore collarless shirts made of cotton and in the winter they wore wool
shirts. The cowboys vest was very handy because the cowboy found it difficult to
retrieve anything from his trouser pockets while riding a horse. The cowboy wore a vest
and filled the easily reached pockets with small items such as knives, watches, and
money.
The cowboy wore woolen trousers until Levi Strauss began the production of denim
trousers. The durability of denim made it perfect for use on the ranch and on the range.
Chaps were seatless leather pants that were worn over the trousers. The chaps protected
the cowboys’ legs from injury. They also helped prevent rope burns, saddle sores, and
ripped trousers.
The cowboy boot was a necessity that every cowboy owned. Boots cost between ten
and twenty-five dollars and were needed to help brace the rider in the saddle. The boot
was also designed to protect the cowboy from rattlesnakes, cacti, thorns, saddle chafing,
and poor weather such as snow and rain. The toe is pointed so that it fits into the stirrup
and the heel is high so it catches in the stirrup. The cowboys spurs were worn on the boot
heel and attached with leather spur straps. Each spur has a sharp, round, pointy piece of
metal called a rowel. The cowboy used the spurs to urge the horse forward or to signal to
the horse the need for quick action.
Cowboys carried guns ranging from the Winchester rifle to the Colt revolver. Guns
were used to chase off cattle rustlers or to bring an abrupt halt to a stampede. But they
seldom found themselves in a gun fight. For the most part the cowboys used their guns
for target practice and little else.
The cowboy had a number of duties on the ranch. During the winter months, the cattle
grazed freely on the open range and the cowboys checked on them regularly. They were
often required to rescue the animals from mud bogs and dangerous weather. The cowboy
also spent the winter months repairing equipment, doing odd jobs, and bronco busting.
Many cowboys described the winter months as lonely and filled with endless boring
chores.
In the spring the ranch would start bustling with activity as more men were hired and
everyone prepared for the roundup. Cowboys from all around the area worked together
in order to collect, sort, count, and brand the cattle. The cowboys rode out over a one
hundred mile radius to gather the animals and often worked from morning until night.
The entire process took weeks to accomplish.
Once the cattle were gathered and sorted, the calves were branded. These brands
permanently identified an animal as belonging to a certain rancher. New calves always
stayed close to the mother, so the owner was determined by the mothers’ brand. The
cowboys would separate the calf from its mother with a special cutter horse. Then the
calf was roped and dragged to the branding fire. At the fire, two cowboys, called
flankers, grabbed the calf, flipped it on its side, and pinned it to the ground. Another
cowboy then pressed the red, hot branding iron against the calf’s hip, neck or jaw. It took
four seconds to brand a calf and a good crew could brand a hundred in one hour. While
some cowboys branded calves, others decided which animals were fat enough to be
driven to the railheads for slaughter and sale.
The last and final duty of the cowboy was to help drive the cattle to the railheads for
sale. This was a long and difficult journey that required months to perform.
COWBOYS ON THE CATTLE DRIVE
Each summer the cowboys helped to drive the cattle to the railheads that were more
than a thousand miles away. The cowboys spent twelve hours a day in the saddle and
generally moved the herd fifteen miles in that time. The trip was often unpleasant due to
the weather, insects, dust, and stampedes. The cattle were hard to control and many
cowboys spent their time pulling the cattle out of the muddy rivers and rounding up
strays. The first man to leave camp and set out on the cattle trail was surprisingly the
cook. He rode out before the cowboys so that he would have all preparations for meals
ready when the cowboys came in off the trail. The cook was often an older man who
could no longer ride horses or drive cattle. He was paid fifty dollars a month for the
many duties he performed on the cattle drive. He was responsible for cooking, waking
the men, repairing equipment, cutting hair, and mending torn clothes. It was important to
have a good cook on the trail because sometimes cowboys would join the cattle drive of
another rancher in order to get better food.
Charles Goodnight invented the vehicle that the cook rode in. The chuck wagon was
built on strong, iron axles and was pulled by a team of four horses or mules. Inside the
wagon there was room for tools, bedding, and other supplies. On the back, was a chuck
box where food items were stored. The chuck box was like a pantry with a wooden door
that folded down to make a table at camp. The cook stood at the table and exposed
pantry and prepared the meals.
The cattle drive was led by the trail boss. The trail boss rode at the front of the herd
and lead the way. His duties included scouting for water, pasture, and campsites along
the trail. He was also responsible for checking provisions, keeping records, assigning
duties and settling disputes. He was the highest paid man on the cattle drive and usually
earned one hundred and twenty five dollars a month.
The point men rode along both sides of the herd, set the pace, and guided the herd
along the trail. The swing riders helped to turn the herd and keep the pace. The flank
riders kept the cattle moving and watched for strays. Drag riders brought up the rear,
kept the cattle moving, and chased down strays in order to bring them back into the herd.
It was a long day for the drag rider who rode hard chasing down stray cattle. He was the
last to arrive at camp and ate dust all the way to the railhead. The men often switched
positions but no one wanted to be a drag rider, so the men who were assigned to that
position were often stuck with it. No matter what the position, the cowboys were
generally paid thirty dollars a month for the duties they performed on the cattle drive.
The horse wrangler rode behind the cattle herd with the remuda. The remuda was a
collection of fresh horses that traveled along with the cattle drive. When a horse became
worn and tired, the cowboy could exchange his horse for a rested one from the remuda.
At night, the cowboys gathered around the campfire, told stories, and sang songs.
They slept beneath the stars around the campfire, and often used ground cloths to sleep
on and saddles for pillows. The cowboys took shifts looking after the cattle and making
sure that no animals were stolen or wandered away.
When the cowboys reached a town, they were relieved at the sight of civilization.
After riding the long, dusty trail for many days, the cowboys immediately found a place
to bathe and get a shave. They were also known to buy a new outfit of clothing to replace
the dirty and torn clothing of the trail. Once clean-up was accomplished, the cowboys
headed straight toward the town’s saloon. They would enjoy the company of other
people, gamble and drink whiskey.
After traveling nearly one thousand miles, the cowboys and the herd reached the
railhead. The cattle were driven into pens and sold. When the purchase was made, the
trail boss, cook, and cowboys were finally paid for the months of hard work they put in
on the cattle drive. The cattle were loaded onto rail cars and sent to the big city for
slaughter and distribution. Some of the cowboys returned to the ranches where they
regularly worked, while other cowboys set out once again to find much needed work for
the winter.
ACTIVITIES
1) THINGS TO DISCUSS:
• Why did the cattlemen drive their cattle to railheads?
• Who is Charles Goodnight? Which cattle trails entered Wyoming? Why did
cattlemen come to Wyoming?
• What duties did the cowboys perform on the ranch? What did the cowboys do
during the roundup? Why was it necessary to brand the calves?
• What was life like on the cattle drive? What were the duties of cowboys on the
drive? What is a chuck wagon?
2) REPORTS:
• Students can research cowboy songs and write a one to two page report on how
cowboy songs reflect cowboy life.
• Students can research Charles Goodnight and write a one to two page paper on his
contributions during the cattle drive era.
3) QUESTIONNAIRE:
• Materials needed:
Cowboy Work Sheet (provided)
Points to Ponder Sheet (provided)
Students can read the handout and test their knowledge with the Points to Ponder
sheet.
4) UNDERSTANDING DANGERS ON THE DRIVE:
• Materials needed:
Danger Maze Sheet (provided)
Students can complete the maze and discuss these and other dangers along the cattle
trail.
5) UNDERSTANDING BRANDS:
• Materials needed:
Reading Brands Sheet (provided)
Students can complete the worksheet and discuss how brands might be changed by
cattle rustlers.
6) UNDERSTANDING VOCABULARY:
• Materials needed:
My Cowboy Story Sheet (provided)
Students can use the vocabulary to create a cowboy story of their own.
COWBOY WORK: A HARD WAY TO MAKE A LIVING
Cowboys were the hired hands who worked for ranchers. In legend, they were hardriding, gun-toting, hard-living men with great courage and romantic lives in the saddle.
At least part of this was true. What is left out is also true: the dust, low pay, long hours
and danger. Consider what a want ad for cowboys would have looked like.
PAY. Willing to work long hours for $25 per month. If employed in winter, will ride
line looking for stray cattle that may have wandered over the divide from another ranch.
During cattle drives, expect to be in the saddle from sunrise to sunset, with some time off
for eating. At night, you will ride nighthawk at least two hours. During a stampede, you
will ride until the cattle have finally been brought under control, which may take two or
three days. If unemployed, you will probably spend the winter bounty hunting for wolves
or working at odd jobs in town.
CLOTHING will be provided by the cowboy. A broad-rimmed hat protects the head
from sun, hail and cold and is your pillow at night. A vest is worn instead of a coat to
give arms more freedom and allow perspiration to evaporate. A bandana protects the face
from sun and the nose from dust and chaps protect legs from brush. Gloves save hands
from rope burn.
HOUSING. The cowboy lives in the bunkhouse or line shack. Both are dirty and
smelly. Some reading material is available at both, mostly mail-order catalogs, old
newspapers and farm journals. These are often put up for decoration and to cover gaps in
the wall. Line shacks are isolated outposts along the ranch’s boundary and two men
usually live there. On cattle drives, the sky will be your roof. In cast it rains, a slicker
helps.
MANNERS. Certain customs are never violated. (1) Never ask a person’s name. He
might have some reason for hiding it. (2) Always treat a lady with respect. Cowboys
sometimes ride miles to watch a girl comb her hair, but they never touch her. (3) Be
hospitable to the passing stranger; offer food and coffee because someday you may be
down on your luck too. (4) Certain qualities are not acceptable. Theodore Roosevelt
wrote: “Meanness, cowardice and dishonesty are not tolerated. There is a high regard for
truthfulness and keeping one’s word, intense contempt for any kind of hypocrisy, and a
hearty dislike for a man who shirks his work.” (5) Don’t talk too much or use fancy
words. Ranch hands don’t like it.
MEALS. On the ranch, the cook takes care of the food. He is usually good at his job;
the best hands will leave if he isn’t. He is also “a mite tetchy,” so you don’t criticize him
if the beans are burned or the coffee is too strong for a horseshoe to sink in it. On cattle
drives, the cook runs the chuck wagon, which is supplied with food, cooking utensils,
tools, medicine and wood. On the cattle drive, the cook is also your doctor, dentist and
undertaker. Next to the trail boss, he is the highest-paid man on the drive. At line shacks,
the cowboys cook for themselves.
THE WORK. Theodore Roosevelt, himself experienced as a cowboy, describes
learning the job as a hard apprenticeship, enduring “hard-living, dirt, exposure of every
kind, no little toil and month after month of the dullest monotony.” To fill time, cowboys
often rope anything in sight, especially wild game. Three events bring life to the
cowboys: breaking horses, the roundup and the cattle drives.
Breaking horses provides great amusement. The job is usually given to younger
cowboys. The horse is blindfolded, a cowboy saddles him and climbs on, the blindfold is
removed and the fun begins. Being bucked off is common. After two or three rides of an
hour each, the horse is considered broken.
Roundup is the time cattle are gathered for branding. At daybreak, the cowboys hear
the cook announcing: “Come and get it, before I throw it out.” They go over to the cook,
pour cold water over their hands and faces, pass a towel and pass a comb around. After a
hearty breakfast, the first men finished form a fence made up of ropes stretched around
the horse herd and ropers go inside to lasso the horses for the men. Horses are then
saddled and the men mount up. The remaining horses are led off by the wrangler to
graze. By sunrise, the cowboys ride off to gather the cattle on the bunch ground. When
the cattle come, those without brands meet the branding iron, usually after putting up
some struggle. When the work is done for the day, each man rides nighthawk for at least
two hours.
Cattle drives have much of the same routine as roundups, except this time they are
moving the cattle to market. The chuck wagon heads the procession, followed by
wranglers with spare horses and then the herd. As it travels, the herd spreads out like a
fan following the lead steer. Beside the herd, “point” riders guide the cattle in the right
direction. Trailing the herd, the “drag” riders eat dust kicked up by 4,000 hooves, suffer
the heat built up by the herd and keep prodding the weak and crippled animals who
always wanted to drop back.
DANGERS. There are many ways to get hurt or killed. There is the menace of
animals: horses, temperamental cattle, rattlers, wolves and flies and mosquitoes that
attack in squadrons. There are human enemies as well: rustlers, hostile Indians and
armed farmers. Weather increases the risks: hail storms, lightning bolts and tornadoes
can strike suddenly and the cowboy has no place to hide. There are diseases like cholera
and accidental injuries also take their toll. The most dangerous situation of all is the
stampede and that requires all your skill and stamina.
POINTS TO PONDER
1) Which parts of the manners required of cowboys do you think are still important?
Which do not seem to fit among young people you know? ________________________
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2) If roundups and cattle drives were so hard on the men, why did they look forward to
them? __________________________________________________________________
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3) Considering the dangers, would young people today be excited by the opportunity to
be a cowboy? Why or why not? _____________________________________________
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4) Some argue that the cowboy has had a major effect on modern America. Would you
agree or disagree? Why? __________________________________________________
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