May 8, 1850

It’s had to believe we are really on the trail! It was a really pretty day and lots of flowers are blooming along the way. I know some of them from back home but there are lots of new ones. Amy and I picked a big bouquet for Mamma. I got to ride on the board seat of the wagon for a while but it was so bumpy I didn’t like it much so I jumped off and walked. It’s more fun to walk and besides Amy, Joshua and I have to watch for buffalo chips as we walk so’s we can have a fire when we camp. There’s hardly a bush or tree in sight all day.

 
(from Amelia’s journal)

 Grandmother, this is so exciting! Can we really carry all this stuff in the wagon? Where will we sleep? What about school? What do we do all day? Can I ride on the mule? What should we name them? The kids continued to pound her with questions.

Grandmother was busy stirring the beans while the bacon sizzled in the iron skillet and the biscuits baked, covered with coals in the Dutch oven. “The journey has barely started kids. We have a long way to go and a lot of things to do. We’ll have lots of fun but we have to work hard too. You kids will have chores to do like picking up the buffalo chips.”

 “Buffalo chips!” exclaimed Tommy.  “I know what they are! It’s buffalo poop!”

 “Oooo, yuck, I’m not picking those things up,” chimed in Katie.

 “You will if you want a hot meal, Katie. There will be a lot of places along the trail where wood cannot be found wood. Think of the chips as reprocessed grass. The buffalo eat the grass, “reformats” it, and it comes out the other end. It dries in the sun and then it can be burned.”

 “We’ll also run into some problems along the way so we want to be prepared. Life on the trail can be tough. What kind of hardships do you think we might encounter?

The kids thought a minute. “What about food?” the hungry boy asked. “Can the wagon really carry enough for us to make it?”

 “What do we do if it rains? Oh, and in that old movie we saw last week, they were attacked by Indians and the buffalo stampeded!” added Katie.

 “Good thinking kids, those are all things that could be problems. After we eat, we’ll look at the map to see where we are going. Why don’t we sing one of Amelia’s songs while I finish up supper?”

 Down in the valley, the valley so low,
Hang your head over, hear the winds blow.
Hear the winds blow, dear, hear the winds blow.
Hang your head over, hear the winds blow.

It Ain't Easy - Life on the Trail

Life on the trail was not always easy. Somedays, it didn't hardly seem worth starting out in the morning because you could only make a few miles before you had to stop. The sun beat down on you, burning your face, it poured down rain, you couldn't get dry and the river beds flooded and become impassable. What do you do if someone gets hurt or sick and there may not be a doctor for 1000 miles or more? What would you do if you encountered Indians? Should you try to be friendly or shoot first and ask questions later? What about the buffalo? Should we stop to hunt? They might be blocking the trail. What do we do with the buffalo if we shoot them? Although it was best to begin the journey early in the spring, some people were delayed. What kind of problems did  this cause? The weather might not cooperate either.

Web Resources

Explore these websites to learn more about what obstacles you may face. Complete the next What Can I Learn sheet. Then you will have another decision to make - will you risk your lives with the disease/injury or let nature do its worst?

http://www.emigrantroad.com/quiz.html

http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Camping.html

http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Hardships.html

http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Sites.html