​

​Tools of the Trade...

​& What is a Mountain Man?

Here is an idea of what the typical Mountain Man carried with him to survive living in the wilds year round... and other tidbits of information for the curious mind to absorb.​

Mountain Men

​MOUNTAIN MAN TRUNK CONTENTS

Beaver Pelt

Belt
Bullet Mold

Castor Bottle
Clay Trade Pipes (2)

Cloth Caps (2)
Cloth Shirt

Deck of Playing Cards
Flintlock

Pistol

Flintstone
Glass Trade Beads (3)

Green River Knife
Hawk Bells (6)

Horn Comb
Jaw Harp

“Jim Bridger” Wool Hat
Knife

Sheath

Lead Balls (3)
Lead Bar

Leather Bag
Moccasins

Percussion Lock Piece
Possibles Bag

Powder Horn
Steel Beaver Trap

Steel Points (3)
Steel Striker

Tinder
Tinder Box

Tobacco

Canteen
Tomahawk

Trade Cloth (2)
Trade Mirror

Trade Silver Pieces (2)
Trousers

Twist Tobacco
Wooden Dice (4)

Wooden Water Canteen

DESCRIPTIONS OF TRUNK ITEMS

BEAVER PELT: The primary fur-bearing animal trapped during the era of the
mountain man. It was traded with fur companies for essential materials needed to survive a winter in the mountains.

BELT: This belt, made of heavy tanned leather with a hand-forged buckle, was worn
outside of the shirt and held a knife, tobacco bag, and other personal items. It was wider
than the inner belt which was used to hold up trousers, when one was used at all.

BULLET MOLD: These came in various sizes, depending on the size or type of the
bullet that was needed. (Included are two different sizes of bullets.) The size of the
bullet determines the “caliber” of the weapon. Hot liquid lead was poured into the mold
and cooled to form the round ball.

CASTOR BOTTLE: Taking a peeled willow wand, the trapper would dip into his
castor bottle, which contained castoreum produced from beaver glands. He would spread
this yellowish substance near his trap, generally on a limb poised above it. The
castoreum produced a scent that attracted beavers from miles away to the location of the trap.

CLAY TRADE PIPES (2): The practice of smoking tobacco was common among most
of the fur trappers and Indians. Clay pipes were light and could be packed anywhere.
They were cheap to make and were used for trade between whites and Indians.

CLOTH CAPS (2): Caps were worn by mountain men chiefly during the winter months
for warmth. The styles were so numerous that rarely two were alike. The stocking cap
was highly popular with the French-Canadian voyagers. Most were personally decorated
with furs, feathers and quilled or beaded designs. Scottish bonnets were worn by trappers from Scotland and decorated with trade silver pieces.

CLOTH SHIRT: Cloth shirts were worn in the summer when the heat made buckskin
clothing uncomfortable. These shirts could be worn under buckskin in the winter for
additional warmth. They could be made of cotton, wool, linsey-woolsy, calico, muslin,
linen, or pillowticking and were commonly used as a trade item.

DECK OF PLAYING CARDS: Many mountain men passed the long winters, and the
Rendezvous, gambling with playing cards. Take note of the colored face cards, which
include four U.S. Presidents.

FLINTLOCK PISTOL: The preferred firearm of the mountain men during the fur trade
era was the flintlock. “Flintlock” refers to the ignition system used to fire the weapon. A
piece of flint fit into the hammer and, when fired, struck the sted freyzen to cause a spark. This spark ignited the black powder in the pan and burned into the barrel to fire the
weapon. (There is no powder included in this trunk, so the flintlock may be safely fired
by the teacher to demonstrate the “spark.” PLEASE TREAT THIS WEAPON AS IF
IT WERE LOADED AND NEVER POINT IT AT ANYONE.)

FLINTSTONE: The flintstone and striker were used to start fires much the same way
that we use matches. The flint would be struck on the steel to produce a spark. The
spark could be “captured” on charcloth and placed into tinder in order to start a flame.
(The flint could also be used in a flintlock ignition system to fire a rifle or pistol. See
also Steel Striker.)

GLASS TRADE BEADS (3): There were numerous styles of glass beads that were used
as trade items with the various Native American tribes

GREEN RIVER KNIFE: This was the trapper’s favorite type of knife. The knives
were practical, light, abundant and relatively inexpensive. Because of hard use, the
knives frequently wore out but were easy to replace. They were named “Green River”
after John Russell’s forge on the Green River in Massachusetts.

HAWK BELLS (6): These were traded to the Indians for the purpose of decorating
clothing.

HORN COMB: The cow horn comb included in the Trunk has “teeth” of two sizes.
The larger teeth were used to straighten the hair while the smaller teeth were used to
comb out lice.

JAW HARP: Also known as a mouth fiddle and gewgaw, the harp was used as a
musical instrument and often accompanied the jovial and out-of-tune singing of the
mountain men. The origin of the harp is not known but it can be traced to the 16th
century.

JIM BRIDGER WOOL HAT: Hats, styled such as this, were what made the beaver so
popular. Although the hat included in the trunk is made of wool, the shape was common
to the period and viewed as fashionable in Europe and America.

KNIFE SHEATH: Case for the blade of a knife made of buckskin or rawhide.

LEAD BALLS (6): Round bullets of the type used before modern ammunition.

LEAD BAR: Bars similar to this were brought to the mountains and served as the raw
material for bullets. The lead would be heated until it was in liquid form and then poured
into a bullet mold. As it cooled, the lead would become solid and formed into the desired
size for bullets.

LEATHER BAG: A handy drawstring pouch such as this was ideal for carrying the
mountain man’s flint and steel, musket balls or dice.

MOCCASINS: These were worn by virtually all the mountain men. They were
comfortable, durable and more suited to their mountain lifestyles than store-bought shoes. They also enabled the trapper to move about quietly.

PERCUSSION LOCK PIECE: A type of ignition system for firearms of the period. A
brass cap is placed on the nipple and when struck by the hammer, a spark is sent into the
breach to fire the weapon. The percussion/cap system was more efficient than the
flintlock system and by 1850 the majority of firearms being made were of this type.

POSSIBLES BAG: This bag served as the carrying pouch for items the mountain man
might “possibly” have needed, such as tools for the firearms, tinder to start fires, bullets
and personal gear.

POWDER HORN: A hollowed out horn from a cow or buffalo was used to store the
black powder needed to fire a pistol or rifle.

STEEL BEAVER TRAP: Traps varied in size, style, and method of setting, but the
most commonly used beaver traps were double spring and weighed about four to five
pounds each. A mountain man would carry six or seven traps in his leather trapsack.

STEEL POINTS (3): An item used for trading with the Native American tribes.
Indians substituted the more efficient steel point over the stone point for their arrows.
This allowed them to use the time that would of been used to make arrowheads for other
activities.

STEEL STRIKER: The striker was used to start fires much the same way that we use
matches. The flint would be struck on the steel to produce a spark. The spark could be
“captured” on charcloth and placed into tinder in order to start a flame.

TINDER: Tinder was used to start a fire. Charcloth was also used which consisted of
cotton squares that had been charcoaled with fire so that they will readily hold a spark. A
magnifying glass could be used instead of the flint and striker to produce a spark on the
tinder or charcloth.

TINDER BOX: This style of box is similar to that issued to the trappers by the
Hudson’s Bay company during the fur trade era. Tinder along with the flint and striker
could be carried in the box and used to start fires. A magnifying glass could be used
instead of the flint and striker to produce a spark on the charcloth. The charcloth consists
of cotton squares that have been charcoaled with fire so that they will readily hold a
spark.

TOBACCO CANTEEN: Made from rawhide sewn together when wet, pounded full of
sand and allowed to dry. Popular for storing tobacco, but can be used to store beads,
percussion caps, small caliber lead bullets, and other items.

TOMAHAWK: This was an item that figured prominently in both the trade and
personal life of the mountain man. Tomahawks and trade axes of numerous styles
circulated widely throughout the fur trade region. Sometimes designs such as weeping
hearts were cut into the blades of the “hawks.” Brass tacks nearly always adorned the
handle and beaded pendants were frequently seen on Indian-owned tomahawks.

TRADE CLOTH (2): Since Native Americans did not produce cloth, this item was one
of several that was transported to the mountains and used by the mountain men to trade
for furs or other items they might have needed.

TRADE MIRROR: Another item used for trading with the various Native American
tribes.

TRADE SILVER PIECES (2): During the later years of the fur trade era, the mountain
men traded silver to the Plains Indians in exchange for furs. The Indians used the silver
as ornaments on their clothing and in their hair.

TROUSERS: These 1820s men’s trousers are made of cotton canvas with pewter
buttons to which suspenders were attached. Cloth pants like these were brought form
back East. As they disintegrated due to the wear and tear of the rigorous outdoor life,
many men patched the trousers with deerskin or lined them with animal skin to extend
their useful life. Ultimately the cotton trousers fell apart and they were replaced by
clothing fashioned from animal skins, as the mountain man left behind Anglo culture and
embraced native American culture in order to survive in the mountains.

TWIST TOBACCO: A form of tobacco used by mountain men. Tobacco was either
chewed or smoked or put against a tooth to alleviate a toothache.

WOODEN DICE: Many mountain men passed the long winters, and the Rendezvous,
gambling with dice.

WOODEN WATER CANTEEN: Pinewood construction with nailed wooden hoops,
lined with brewers pitch. Common among many fur trappers.

THE TRAPPER’S DAILY LIFE

At the close of the yearly rendezvous, the mountain men would return to the
mountains to trap beaver. Till the next summer, they would live on fresh meat and sleep
under the stars. The mountain men worked through the fall season till the first snowfall,
generally in November. At that point, they made preparations for a winter camp, often
constructing a log shelter or a tipi to ease the harsh cold and wind of the winter months.
As soon as the ice broke, around late March or early April, the spring trapping season
began. This season, which lasted till the advent of summer, was considered the best time
to trap beaver as the quality of the pelt was at its prime.
The men set off in groups of a dozen or so for protection but separated into smaller
groups of two or three for actual trapping. A trapper’s equipment was carried generally
upon a horse or mule. Each man kept six or seven traps in a trapsack. Other equipment
included: saddle and bridle, (saddle blanket), rifle, powder horn, bullet pouch, hunting
knife, flint and striker, castor bottle filled with castoreum, hatchet, and a possibles sack
containing pipe, tobacco, sewing kit, extra moccasins, and other small necessities. Many
carried coffee, sugar and whiskey, but these luxuries were used up quickly. The trappers
rode Indian ponies and lead a pack horse or mule, sometimes accompanied by an Indian
wife on another horse. Osborne Russell described the accouterments of the trapper in
detail:
His personal dress was a flannel or cotton shirt, animal skin, such as deer or antelope,
served for an outer shirt. A pair of leather breeches and smoked buffalo skin leggings
covered his lower body. Moccasins made of dressed deer, elk or buffalo skins were worn
on his feet. A winter coat made of buffalo or otter skin covered his body in winter.
The men traveled along the main river valleys and trapped the many tributaries. When
all the surrounding streams had been exhausted of beaver, the men would move to a new
location and the pattern was repeated. Throughout the year, the men would meet at
certain times and places to report on their progress, collect and cache the furs, and “count heads.”
In setting the traps, the mountain men first selected a likely site, such as the spillway
of a dam or a path made by beavers leaving or entering the stream. The trapper entered
the stream some distance away from where the trap was to be set, in order to avoid
leaving a human scent. The trap was placed near the bank only a few inches underwater
and then anchored by a chain attached to a stick driven into the bottom of the stream or
pond some six feet from the shore. A small tree limb was then stuck into the mud in such
a position as to hang directly over the trap.
From his castor bottle the trapper would take some castoreum, to be used as bait to
attract the beaver, and smear this over the tree limb. The foot of the beaver would get
caught in the jaws of the trap and, unless it chewed off its own leg, the beaver would
drown from the heavy weight of the trap. After the setting of the trap was in order, the
trapper waded a good distance from the area before exiting the stream.
Joe Meek described the details of the trapping procedure:
He has an ordinary trap weighing five pound, attached to a chain five feet long,
with a swivel and ring at the end, which plays round what is called the float, a dry
stick of wood, about six feet long. The trapper wades out into the stream, which
is shallow, and cuts with his knife a bed for the trap, five or six inches
underwater. He then takes the float out the whole length of the chain in the
direction of the center of the stream, and drives it into the mud, so fast that the
beaver cannot draw it out; at the same time tying the other end by a thong to the
bank. A small stick or twig, dipped in musk or castor, serves as bait, and is
placed so as to hang directly above the trap, which is now set. The trapper then
throws water plentifully over the adjacent bank to conceal any foot prints or scent
by which the beaver would be alarmed, and going to some distance wades out of
the stream.
The traps were generally set at dusk and raised at dawn. The beavers would be
skinned immediately, along with the perineal glands which yield the castoreum. The
pelts were carried back to camp where the camp keepers, often Indian wives, would
perform the task of processing the pelt. First the flesh side of the skin was scraped clean,
and then the skin was stretched on circular hoops to dry in the sun for a day. The pelts
were then folded, fur inward, and compacted into bundles of sixty to eighty skins in
preparation for transportation.
The trappers cached furs, merchandise and surplus equipment by burying it in the
ground. As such, the cache became the base of the trapper’s operation. It was generally
made on a rise where the soil was dry. A deep pit was dug, lined with sticks and leaves
and the materials carefully deposited. The pit was filled with soil and the ground surface
restored to its natural condition so as not to reveal the supplies to the Indians. The cache
would be raised while en route to the summer rendezvous.
During the winter season, the trappers went into “hibernation.” This was a period of
rest, amusement, and acquaintanceship for the mountain men. As the streams were
frozen, no beavers were trapped during the winter unless the fall hunt had not been good
or food was scarce. Many uneducated men spent the winter months “getting educated”
around the campfire, where they learned to read and write.
Around the campfire, men told tall tales which were often both amusing and
unbelievable. Joe Meek came upon a forest in the mountains where everything had
turned to stone and before him stood hundreds of “putrefied trees in which flocks of
putrefied birds sang putrefied songs.”
In another tale, a man crawled half a mile pursuing an elk. When he shot at the elk the
animal continued eating, paying no attention to the shot. The man fired several shots,
each without reaction or success. In disbelief, the man advanced toward the elk where he
bumped into a mountain wall of pure crystal. At the base of this wall lay his flattened
bullets!
Another story tells of a place in the mountains where a loud voice echoed from a cliff
so far away that it took eight hours for the sound to travel back.
But it was Jim Beckwourth who became famous for his stories of heroism and
romance, with his imagination often surpassing his veracity. One of Beckwourth’s
stories took place after his mountain years when Beckwourth had settled in California to
have his memoirs written by an anonymous writer. His mountain buddies collected funds
and sent a man to California to purchase the book. The bookseller, not having a volume
of Beckwourth’s book in stock, sold the illiterate mountain man a copy of the Bible.
When he returned, the only literate man in the group began to read Beckwourth’s book
aloud, chancing upon the story beginning at the fifteenth chapter of Judges which tells
how Samson destroyed the crops of the Philistines by sending into their corn fields three
hundred foxes with firebrands tied to their tails. At this point, At this point, a member
from the audience interrupted the reading, saying that “he know that for one of Jim
Beckwourth’s lies anywhere!”
The trappers learned from the Indians where to find suitable winter sites; sites with
plenty of grass, water, and wild game. The mountain men built log cabins or tipis and
friendly Indians were welcomed into camp. Their Indian wives could mend and make
clothes and cook much better than the mountain men. If game was abundant, the men
lived well, supplementing their diets with pemmican stew, dried berries, hominy pudding
and other delicacies cooked by the Indian women. During desperate winters, the
mountain men were forced to eat boiled moccasins, sleeping robes or the skins of their
pelts.
Late in March, it was time to abandon camp and begin traveling. The ice was
beginning to thaw and the beavers were starting to emerge from their lodges to feed on
the plants of spring. The spring hunt continued until the advent of summer, when the
quality of the pelt began to deteriorate and the mobility of the beaver made trapping
difficult. At this point, the trappers would collect their caches and head to the annual
rendezvous.

THE OUTFIT OF THE MOUNTAIN MAN

His trousers and caped hunting shirt were deerskin. He wore a rawhide belt from
which he hung essential equipment, including buckskin used to mend his calf-length
moccasins. These were stuffed with deer hair, for warmth, and with white ash leaves,
which were believed repellent to rattlesnakes. In his pouchy shirtfront he stored bread
and johnnycakes, jerked meat, flax fibers for cleaning his rifle, plus a waterproof bladder
from a deer to keep his gun’s lock dry.

MARRIAGE A LA FACON DU PAYS

The story of the mountain men is incomplete without examining the Indian women
who made their lives and livelihoods possible. Most depictions of fur trade life, whether
in print or in paintings and sketches, make little mention if any of the Indian women so
integral to its functioning. This omission is significant because full- and mixed-blood
Indian women played prominent roles in the fur trade. They were wives and hence
workers, companions and cultural liaisons. It could be said that the mountain man could
not have succeeded in his peculiar livelihood without the assistance of Indian women and
their tribes.
In contrast to the popular image of the lone mountain man, some scholars assert that
the taking of Indian wives was a “common practice” among the mountain men. When
mountain men took Indian wives, no minister nor priest officiated at the ceremony.
Instead, marriages were performed according to the customs of the tribe into which the
mountain man was marrying. A French phrase was used to describe this union,
“marriage a la facon du pays.” The translation means “after the fashion of the country,”
or “after the custom of the country.” Alternate names for the marriage between a
mountain man and an Indian woman included “mountain marriage,” “prairie marriage,”
and “Indian marriage.” One trapper referred to his Indian spouse as his “outdoor wife.”
The Indian wives performed much of the labor necessary for the mountain men to
survive and thrive in the mountains. They processed the scores of animal pelts,
particularly beaver, and made them ready for market. They provided and prepared food,
constructed snowshoes, made clothing, and set up, maintained and moved camp. The
wives also became mothers of “mixed blood” children.
Many Euro-Americans held misconceptions about the Indian wives of the mountain
men. Although Indian women played a significant and productive role in the fur trade
economy, they were often thought to be lazy opportunists, scheming to live a life of
leisure and ease through marriage to a white man. Another misconception occurred as a
result of white men observing the custom of an Indian woman’s father or brothers
accepting horses and other objects in exchange for her hand in marriage. The whites
mistakenly concluded that the Indian women were purchased by their husbands, and that
the unions were highly degrading to the women and highly immoral. Such observers
were witnessing only one of a series of customary exchanges between the bride’s and
groom’s families, however.

A “SQUAW MAN”

Why would any mountain man want to be a “squaw man,” the term sometimes given
to those white men who married Indian women? To the mountain man, an Indian wife
proved to be a valuable helpmate. She had been trained since childhood for the rugged
outdoor life led by her people and later, briefly, by the mountain men. The basic division
of labor in Indian societies dictated her tasks and prepared her for a life of hard work.
One of her most important duties was processing the large quantity of peltry trapped and shot by her husband. Because it would be months before the furs would be transformed into hats and other goods in some European factory, it was mandatory for the pelts to be cleaned and cured first. Indian women cleaned the pelts by using several small specialized tools.
The list of additional chores performed by Indian wives for their mountain men
husbands is long. It was Indian wives who made the camp, packed and moved it, and set
it up again. They cooked the bounty of fresh meat, and searched for plants to add variety
to the meat diet. They made and stored foods such as jerky and pemmican for
consumption during lean winter months. They fashioned clothing from animal skins and
took great pride in the quality of their handiwork. Indian wives even cleaned their
husband’s guns. Often, fur trappers’ Indian wives and children accompanied them into
the wilderness and worked alongside the men. The business of trapping and hunting
animals for their pelts thus became a family affair.
Indian women also played important roles in soothing tribal rivalries, preventing tribal
wars, and in diplomacy in general. Like a number of traders, many trappers realized that
marriage to a chief’s daughter might well be good for business, in addition to basic
survival. Mountain man Jim Bridger, for example, married Cora, the daughter of a
Flathead chief. In short, marriage helped cement trade ties. The marriage of a fur trader
and an Indian woman was not just a private affair between the couple. Instead, the
mountain man married into an Indian society and immediately inherited a large kinship
network. The bond thus created helped to advance trade relations with a new tribe, and
placed the Indian wife in the role of cultural liaison between her husband and her kin.
The mountain man’s Indian wife became a bridge between two cultures.
Aside from their obvious merits as skilled workers and diplomats, Indian women were
preferred by mountain men simply because there were no other women in the region at
the time. Even if white women had been present, it is unlikely that they would have been
pursued as wives. They simply did not have the necessary survival skills. George
Frederick Ruxton, an English soldier, traveler and writer, spent a winter in the Rocky
Mountains with trappers during the fur trade era. He explained the mountain man’s
opinion of American (white) women, “American women are valued at a low figure in the
mountains. They are too fine and “fofarraw.” Neither can they make moccasins or dress
skins. Nor are they schooled to perfect obedience to their lords and masters...”
“Foofaraw” comes from the French word, fanfaron, which means “a boaster of vices
or virtues he or she does not possess; a braggart.” As an adjective, the word describes
something fancy or affected. “Foofaraw” in the language of the mountain man also refers
to a variety of small trade articles and feminine fineries. Examples include tin cones,
seashells, trade silver, brass tacks, rings, cooking utensils, clay pipes, hats, pieces of
military clothing, hawk bells, ribbons, calico, wools and other trade cloth, and vermillion
(a bright red pigment). “Foofaraw” is also a synonym for fanciments, trimmings,
decorations for personal adornment.

PRESTIGE AND WEALTH THROUGH MARRIAGE

Why would an Indian maiden want to become the bride of a white mountain man?
During the fur trade era, a young Indian woman gained prestige and respect from her
people by marrying a white trapper. Some scholars say that many Indian parents, as well
as the maidens of a tribe, believed that a white man often made a superior husband.
According to some, white men helped their Indian wives more with heavy work,
chopping and hauling wood, for example, than Indian husbands of the day would have
done.
In addition to status, the mountain man’s Indian wife gained wealth. The mountain
man was usually rich by Indian standards, and he spent his gold disks (the Indians called
them “buttons without holes”) to purchase many wonderful items for his wife. Some
items were for her vanity (trade beads, earrings, metal-backed mirrors), while others
made her daily tasks easier (brass kettles, scissors, needles, thread). In her de facto role
as cultural liaison, the Indian wife often promoted cultural changes, especially in the use
of the white man’s textiles, tools and utensils, and in new arts and crafts techniques.
Mountain men were famous for showing off their Indian wives. At rendezvous and
ceremonial times, the mountain man outfitted his wife and her horse to outsplendor all
other women. Trapper Joe Meek took great pride in the appearance of his Indian wife,
Mountain Lamb, for example. He mounted her on a three-hundred-dollar dapple gray
horse, and clothed her in a “skirt of beautiful blue broadcloth, and a bodice and leggins of
scarlet cloth, of the very finest make.” Mountain Lamb wore “a scarlet silk handkerchief
tied on hood fashion...and the finest embroidered moccasins on her feet.”
Not only did the Indian woman who married a trapper benefit from the union, but also
all the members of her family were the fortunate beneficiaries of highly coveted
European goods and trading privileges. When a mountain man married an Indian
woman, he immediately inherited more aunts, uncles and cousins than he ever imagined.
Scores of the wife’s relatives came to visit and be presented with many gifts from the rich
white man. Sometimes a mountain man and his wife moved far away to avoid her
relatives. The kinship marriage conferred usually outweighed the nuisances presented by
relatives anxious for foofaraw, however, and many trappers made their homes in the
Indian camps.
Sometimes a mountain man took more than one Indian wife. In native societies, a
man was considered blessed and most fortunate if he possessed many wives and fathered many children. Mountain man Jim Beckwourth had at least eight Crow wives in separate lodges. An overworked wife was pleased to have a new, younger wife to help with the myriad chores that faced her everyday. There was no shame in becoming the new wife of a man who already had one or more. It was considered improper for a man to take extra wives if he could not afford to, however.

​

Wagon Trains

Settlers starting out on the five-month, 2,000-mile trek from Missouri to Oregon outfitted their wagons with hundreds of pounds of food, clothing and supplies. Pioneers sent heavy items, such as furniture and stoves by ship to the West Coast. In 1841, about 50 men, women and children first started the journey on this trail to Oregon.

Food
According to the National Oregon/California Trail Center, a typical family of four needed 600 pounds of flour, 400 pounds of bacon, 100 pounds of sugar, 60 pounds of coffee and 200 pounds of lard as basic staples. Sacks of beans, rice and dried fruit augmented the diet. Bacon lasted longer when packed inside barrels of bran. Eggs were packed in cornmeal, which then was used to make corn bread. Milk from a cow brought along for that purpose was churned into butter in buckets suspended from the bottom of the wagon. Salt, pepper, vinegar and molasses added seasoning to meals. Water was found along the way, and coffee and tea masked the water's sometimes alkaline flavor.

Animals
Oxen generally pulled the overland wagons, because they could eat the native grasses, although horses and mules also were used. Large wagons needed multiple teams of animals to pull them across the prairie. Most settlers carried a rifle and hunting knife for killing and dressing animals. Buffalo and antelope were plentiful at the beginning of westward expansion, but when the population of wild animals along the trail diminished over time, settlers began bringing a herd of cows along for meat and milk.

Wagons
A traveler on horseback without a wagon could cover more territory than the 10 to 15 miles typically crossed by a wagon train each day, but pioneers needed goods to survive and use when they arrived at the end of the trail. Settlers used a covered wagon commonly called an overland wagon and nicknamed the Prairie Schooner. Wagons were 6 feet wide and 12 feet long and built to carry no more than 2,500 pounds of supplies for the trip west. Because the wagons were so heavily loaded, settlers walked the route. The wagons provided sleeping shelter in inclement weather and a corral for the animals at night, when they were drawn into a circle. Coils of rope, spare axles and tar buckets hung from the sides of the wagon.

Dry Goods
Wagons were packed with clothing, farm implements, seeds for planting when settlers arrived in the West and cooking utensils. Settlers brought bedding, tools, personal possessions and, occasionally, luxury items such as schoolbooks or a chamber pot. Travelers used cast iron Dutch ovens for cooking and baking. The clothing supply included items for hot and cold weather, hats and sturdy boots and shoes. Travelers carried shoes and oxbows for the teams, chains to pull wagons out of muck, medical supplies and lanterns.

​

​