Equipment for the

Equipment for the historic journey of a covered wagon replica used in the Oregon Trail (overseas in the High Desert Museum). The Oregon Trail was too long and arduous for the Susquehannock ( “Conestoga wagon”), the type of wagon used at that time usually in the eastern United States and the Santa Fe Trail Its capacity of 2,700 kg (6,000 pounds) was greater than the required capacity and the animals needed big shots could not travel through the narrow turns of the track that were found in many mountain stages of the route to Oregon. This led to rapid development of a new type of truck, known as the prairie schooner ( “prairie schooner”), a caravan of about half the size of large cars, weighing about 590 kg (1,300 lbs) Empty and had a payload of 1,100 kg (2,500 pounds). I had about 8.2 m of storage, with 3.4 m long and 1.2 m in width, and height of the box was 60 cm.The wagons were manufactured in quantity by companies such as Studebaker, at a price “reasonable”, costing between 85.00 and 170.00. The tarps that covered the wagons were doubled and treated with linseed oil to waterproof them and keep out rain, dust and wind, but eventually used to have problems. The typical car for the trip, with wheels of 40 to 50 inches in diameter (1.0-1.3 m) could move easily through the tracks on a floor rough, rugged, often rocky, and because of their low center of gravity, even I could beat most forested areas between the stumps of felled trees if necessary. In practice, it was found that a farm truck “standard” ( “Wainwright”) built by a company or manufacturer of good reputation, generally gave as good results as prairie schooners and only had to equip them with bows and a cover of canvas to be ready.The wagons were generally reliable if carried out maintenance tasks such as greasing the axles and prevent the dry wood, but sometimes broke and had to be repaired or were abandoned on the road. A wagon could carry food for four or five people enough for the six months that could last the trip and a few ‘luxuries’ ( ‘luxury items’). It provided protection from bad weather and had to reload everything on mules or oxen irritable every morning. Despite the popular image of Hollywood movies, 60 to 70 of the wagons that traveled to the West were pulled by oxen, mules and horses and few side shots. This was due to many reasons: a yoke of oxen was slower (about 2-3 miles per hour), but it was ma cheap ( 25 to 85 per yoke), could throw more, survive better with sparse grass and was easier driving after having been trained.As an additional extra if the horse escaped through the night were easily found and captured, and the Indians were less interested in stealing them. Losing the track was shot in a major disaster, and even if you could find a replacement or buy (was not sure) was not cheap. The recommended amount of food to take for adults was as follows: 70 kg of flour, 9 kilograms of maize flour, 25 kg of bacon, 20 kg sugar, 5 kg of coffee, 7 kg of dried fruit, 2 kg of salt , 0.25 kg saleratus (sodium bicarbonate), 1 kg of tea, 2 kg of rice and 7 kg of beans. Food is often stored in barrels close to the water or other containers to minimize deterioration. The food “usual” along the route, breakfast, lunch and dinner was bacon, beans and biscuits or bread. The normal cost of food enough for four people for six months was about 150.00 each . The amount of food needed will be reduced if they had cattle, sheep or calves on foot as a source of food supply.Almost all travelers prior to the 1870s hunted among the great buffalo herds that were seen in the first part of the trip in the current Nebraska. They were eaten as fresh meat but were often dried to be eaten as driedmeat that could keep without spoiling. In general, one could not rely on wild game as a regular source of food, but when it was tasted like a change was very welcome to cheer a diet too monotonous. Travelers could hunt and fish, antelope, buffalo, sage hens, trout, and occasionally elk, bear, duck, goose, salmon and deer along the route. Most travelers carried a rifle or shotgun parts and gunpowder, lead and primers to hunt and protect themselves against attacks by wild animals (bears and snakes) and Indians.