Cowboy Kisses

Go West...they said. It’d be fun...they said...

 

Sorry about last month folks…had a water leak and it took three days to narrow it down that it was at the meter, of course on my end. After digging a two-foot wide hole, a foot deep, there it was, the pipe had split. Thank goodness for my wonderful neighbors!

I ended up being without water for 3 days. We had terrible storms during those 3 days, so put out buckets/containers for the rain to fill. On Memorial Day…wala water!

Back in 2009 we had a 100-year ice storm that left many of us in Western KY without power for up to 21 days. Our water districts’ generators went on the fritz and we were without water for a day, then also.

So all this got me to thinking about how spoiled we all are living in this high-speed technical world we exist in nowadays. Would we have survived traveling west in covered wagons, walking miles on foot? If you were lucky you had a horse to ride. 2200 miles of dust, heat, bugs, rationing of water, food and death. Wearing the same dirty clothes for weeks on end. A bath? Forget it.

If you made it to Saint Joe or Independence, Mo, you would buy a wagon and good stock, then join a wagon train headed west, to several destinations. But wait? Do you have enough money left after buying the wagon and stock to buy the goods you would need on this 2200 mile trek? 

 

 

 

 

 

Westward Expansion Supply List ITEM	COST EACH		ITEM		COST EACH
Wagon Supplies		Bacon (100 lbs.)		$5
Conestoga Wagon (includes gear for animals)	$250		Pork (100 lbs.)		$5
Emigrant Wagon (includes gear for animals)	$150		Dried Beef (100 lbs.)		$6
Axle	$75		Lard (100 lbs.)		$5
Yoke			$8
Wheels	$25		Dutch Oven		$3
Oxen (2 per yoke)	$75		Churn		$2
Horses		Water Cask		$3.50
Prime	$100		Washboard		$.30
Fair	$50		Cooking Kit (includes tin plates, spoons, coffee pot, kettle		$20
Wagon Cover (Conestoga)	$8		Knife w/ whetstone		$2.50
Wagon Cover (Emigrant)	$6		Axe		$3
Grease (15 lbs.)	$1.50		Hatchet		$2
Cow	$25		Shovel		$3
Food		Carpentry Kit (includes hammer, saw, chisels)		$10
Flour (50 lb. sacks)	$1		Pistol		$7.50
Cornmeal (1 lb.)	$.08		Rifle		$10
Rice (1 lb.)	$.05		Shotgun		$10
Beans (1 lb.)	$.08		Lead for bullets (20 lbs.)		$1.20
Peas (1 lb.)	$.08		Bullet Mold		$2
Dried Apples (1 lb.)	$.06		Gun Powder (5 lbs.)		$1.50
Molasses (1 lb.)	$.06		Sickle		$1.50
Salt/Pepper (10 lbs.)	$.50		Awl		$1
Coffee (1 lb.)	$.07		Iron		$.25
Tea (1 lb.)	$.55		Sewing Kit (includes scissors, needles, thread, thimble)		$3
Sugar (1 lb.)	$.05		Matches		$1
Baking Soda (1 lb.)	$.02		Candles (25 lbs.)		$2.50
Vinegar (1 gal.)	$.04		Soap (25 lbs.)		$2.50
Dried Peaches (1 lb.)	$.06		Nails (10 lbs.)		$1.50
Camp Supplies			Clothing/Personal Items
Rope (100 feet)	$2		Buckskin Pants/Shirt		$4
Tent	$5		Rain Poncho		$2
Ground Cloth	$.50		Blanket		$2
Pillow			$.

 

 

Now, you’ve put your necessary supplies inside a 4-foot by 9x11 foot length and 2-3 feet deep wagon bed. Wait! What about your other personal items…where will those go? Your grandmother’s organ that was handed down from generation to generation…gotta leave it behind. Oh…no! Trunks of your Sunday best clothes and other items…that grandfather clock you insisted on bringing? Nope, no room. I imagine many tears were shed in leaving so many precious things behind, but these pioneers had a dream.

How many of you have watched the old Wagon Train TV series and saw those roomy wagon box interiors? With bunks along one side or hanging hammocks to sleep in, maybe a rocking chair, chests of drawers? Nope, only the bare necessities were in the wagon. A typical prairie schooner weighed about 1,300 pounds when empty, and the general goal was to keep the weight of the added cargo to no more than 2,000 pounds. Now, thats a lot of weight for teams to pull, why oxen were the preferred animals for the westward trek.

Today is the day you will hear those famous words, Wagons Ho… and you are finally on the move to new adventures and a new life. Many a man, woman and child had no idea how hard or treacherous this journey would be. They looked through rose colored glasses that became scratched, then broken after months on the trail, but they had a dream to settle new lands and the courage to try and make that dream come true. Many travelers gave up, pulling ranks and turning back, not having the stomach to go any further.

I’m not sure I would have had the guts or courage to do this. Many of our ancestors built this land and I thank them for having the courage to explore a new life and lay the groundwork for our America!

Wagons Ho!!!

Until we meet again…Happy Trails!!