| What
kind of a load did the average wagon carry? What kind of provisions, daily
menu and fuel predominated on the trail?
This list is what
each person was allowed to take on the early wagon train migrations.
PER PERSON
150 lbs. of
flour
25 lbs. of bacon
10 lbs. of rice
15 lbs. of coffee
2 lbs. of tea
25 lbs. of sugar
1/2 bushel dried peas
1/2 bushel dried fruit
2lbs. soleratus (baking soda)
10 lbs. salt
1/2 bushel corn meal
1/2 small keg vinegar
Pepper
CLOTHING PER PERSON:
Men:
2 wool shirts
2 wool undershirts
Women:
2 wool dresses
Both:
2 pair drawers
4 pair wool socks
2 pair cotton socks
4 colored handkerchiefs
1 pair boots and shoes
Poncho, broad rimmed hat
MISCELLANEOUS PER FAMILY:
Rifle, ball, powder
8-10 gallon keg for water
1 axe
1 hatchet
1 spade
2 or 3 augers
1 hand saw
1 whip or cross-cut saw
1 plow mold
At least 2 ropes
Mallet for driving picket pins
Matches carried in bottles, corked
SEWING SUPPLIES:
(Placed in buckskin or stout cloth bag)
Stout linen thread
Large needles, thimble
A bit of bee's wax
A few buttons, buckskin for patching
Paper of pins
PERSONAL ITEMS:
1 comb and brush
2 toothbrushes
1 lb. castile soap
1 belt knife
1 flint stone
COOKING:
Baking pan-used for baking and roasting coffee
Mess-pan wrought iron or tin
2 churns - one for sweet, one for sour milk
1 coffee pot
1 tin cup with handle
1 tin plate, knives
1 coffee mill
Forks, spoons, per person
1 camp kettle
Fry pan
Wooden bucket for water
BEDDING PER PERSON:
1 canvas
2 blankets
1 pillow
One tent per family
MEDICAL SUPPLIES:
Iron rust
Rum and cognac (both for dysentery)
Calomel
Quinine for aque
Epsom salts for fever
Castor oil capsules
Recommendations for
an ideal wagon load varied from 1,600 to 2,500 pounds.
"Lansford Hastings, one of the earliest guidebook writers, advocated
that each emigrant be supplied with 200 pounds of flour, 150 pounds of
bacon, 10 pounds of coffee, 20 pounds of sugar, and 10 pounds of salt.
The basic kitchenware was a cooking kettle, fry pan, coffee pot, tin plates,
cups, knives, and forks."
"Charles Tuttle describes the daily menu of a typical emigrant:
'for breakfast, coffee, bacon, dry or pilot bread; for dinner, coffee,
cold beans, bacon or buffalo meat; for supper, tea, boiled rice, and dried
beef or codfish'.
How long did the trek take, on the average?
Subject to considerable variation because of weather, accidents, etc.,
on the average a wagon train could expect to be "on the road"
4 1/2 to 5 months.
[Greg Franzwa, folio: Newsletter of the Patrice Press, May 1996.]
Average number of days of travel time to California and to Oregon:
1841-1848: California: 157.7 Oregon: 169.1
1849: California: 131.6 Oregon: 129.0
1850: California: 107.9 Oregon: 125.0
1850-60: California: 112.7 Oregon: 128.5
1841-1860: California: 121.0 Oregon: 139.6
[John Unruh, Jr. The Plains Across: The Overland Emigrants and the Trans-Mississippi
West, 1840-60, p. 403]
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