Russell’s First Freighting Venture
Not until the capture and annexation of New Mexico in 1846, however, were all barriers and handicaps [to the Santa Fe trade] entirely removed and the trade freed to pursue…
Freighting in Mud
"Road, properly speaking, there was none, only a track some quarter of a mile wide, made by successive trains. It was usually easy enough going over the prairie, especially as there was a…
Mile 438: Cottonwood Springs Station
"Usually known as Cottonwood Springs, which by 1863 had a very favorable reputation as a 'home station,' and was also a very good camping place for freighters, because of the abundance of…
Adjusting to the West
"It was the end of August, and the skies were cloudless and the weather superb. In two or three weeks I had grown wonderfully fascinated with the curious new country, and concluded to…
Alexander Majors’ Oath
"This oath was the creation of Majors, who was a very pious and rigid disciplinarian; he tried hard to enforce it, but how great was his failure it is needless…
Early Leavenworth
"[Leavenworth City] was on the Delaware reserve, and was not open for settlement; indeed the U.S. Government had warned all squatters off it by proclamation, under heavy penalties. But these were 'paper penalties'…
Platte Valley Plantlife
From the station [Latham, CO] south it was a level, gravelly, sandy plain as far as the eye could see. It was practically the same all along the south fork…
Bloodthirsty Slade Story
"The bullwhackers in camp, when there were no wheels to fix, tires to tighten, boxes to wedge, oxen to shoe, or clothes to wash or mend, could sleep, play cards, write letters…
Freight Wagon Dust
"On a clear still day the clouds of dust stirred up by the moving wagons could be seen 'twenty miles away,' and there was heard when the wind favored "the pop-popping of…
Big Dipper Clock
"The herders and guards knew the hour of the night, when there was a clear sky, by the position of the big dipper; the Great Bear was their only clock." [Note:…
Camp Guards
"They were the camp guards. Three or four men detailed for this work watched the first half of the night, when another group of equal number stood guard until daylight. Each…
Freighter Sleeping Accommodations
"The sleeping accommodations for t he crew varied with different outfits; in fact, the arrangements were left usually for the men to work out for themselves. Some ccarried tents which added…
Freighter Meal
"'Bacon was the r e l i a b l e meat,' and flap jacks, beans, crackers, and sour dough fried in a skillet and flooded with molasses was the most…
Dirty Water
"Strong coffee most likely was served always, and the enlightened cook with his coffee pot would waste no time in getting down to the draw for his water supply before the thirsty…
Freighting Times
"From twenty-eight to forty-five days on the road were needed to put a wagon-train from the Missouri River into Denver. This was the time needed for oxen, and to cover he distance…