2,000 miles away lies the promised land: Oregon. But before you can reach Oregon, you must first survive five months of hardship, disease, death, fatigue, and hunger. Those who lived in the 1800’s were no stranger to adversity, but those who chose to travel out west, into the wild lands, were tougher than we can imagine. The pioneers who traversed the trails out west were admirable in their resilience and durability.
Replica covered wagon and cooking area
Over approximately 30 years, more than half of a million people left their homes and comforts for a promise of prosperity. They would gather in Independence, Missouri to prepare for a journey across plains, desserts, mountains, and rivers. They could only load their wagons with necessities – food, a change of clothes, tools, and not much else. The wagons had to be packed as light as possible to allow for the oxen or mules to pull them every day for five months. Those who elected to carry more with them, such as family heirlooms, furniture, books, and other such luxury items, were oftentimes forced to abandon these belongings along the way. The trail became a trail of trash, as everything from a small book to a large grandfather clock could be found along the pathway. Many of these items were found and kept by people who lived nearby, either other settles or native Americans. Luckily for us, these were preserved over the years and are now on display at museums for us to view and learn about.
The National Frontier Trails Museum in Independence traces the journey of settlers across the west – from Lewis and Clark who charted rivers and mountains to the families who made the trip with young children. The museum holds numerous artifacts from the trail, but more meaningful are the quotes found throughout the exhibits – excerpts from travelers’ diaries that describe the trip, what they carried with them, what they saw along the way, other people they met, and what it was like to arrive at their final destination. To hear what the pioneers went through in their own words has a powerful impact, made relevant when on-site to see some of the places they crossed.
Wagon swales and a stone plaque where the trails passed on their way west
In a large open field about 15 miles away from the museum, there are no artifacts or displays. There is a simple rock, erected in 1909 to commemorate the travelers of the Sante Fe Trail (one of the three primary trails, along with the Oregon and California Trails). In the field, you will see what appears to be slight rolling hills. While these look like they could be natural, if you look closer, you will discover that the valleys are the width of a wagon – thousands of wagons travelling the same path eventually wore ruts and swales in the earth, which still remain today. It’s a memorable moment to stand in the swale and look around to the land, seeing through the eyes of the pioneers who were just starting out on their journey west.
New Sante Fe Cemetery
A few miles away is a small, nondescript cemetery. There are only a few dozen graves fenced in, next to a church in a typical modern-day neighborhood. Within the cemetery are graves of pioneers who succumbed to disease early on in the trip, only a couple days from starting off. Disease was rampant among the travelers, with cholera, typhoid fever, and dysentery being the most popular. Disease struck so quickly that a person could be fine at breakfast and be dead by lunchtime. Some who passed are buried in small graveyards such as this, but others were simply left along the trail for the elements of nature to erase.
My and Jon’s wagon full of all the supplies we could take with us on the trail- not much!
While we saw only a small portion of the Oregon Trail, we were able to learn more about the struggles of the early pioneers. We loaded a smaller-scale wagon with “supplies” at the museum, to see if we could figure out what we would take west with us. We overloaded the wagon, not surprisingly. It was humbling to see what few things and what little food people took with them, not only to survive for a trip of months, but to create a new home and new live once they arrived. In addition, learning that almost everyone walked alongside the wagons instead of riding inside was surprising. Only the very young, very old, or very sick would ride in the wagons, but everyone else walked to save the weight for the animals to pull. I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I could load just one wagon with my things and then take off walking for a five-month journey to a new land, knowing I would never see my family, friends, things, or hometown again. It’s inspiring to hear what people have done before us in order to create a better live for themselves. I hope that the same spirit rests inside of all of us – the desire for growth, a yearning for adventure, and a spirit of resilience.