A large wagon, horses, oxen, and possibly, a mule. You’re filled with excitement, and anxiety. You want to go west, oh, all the possibilities. Inside you also feel nagging dread. You’re leaving a home you love. You wonder, what will life be like for me? What will the journey be like? What kind of trails are there? All of these questions swirl around in your head. Can I go the whole way?
Trails
Which one? There are so many trails to choose from. Pa knows he better choose a good one. Leaving current day Missouri, the whole life we had built on this amazing state. Pa had only decided that we will leave, not where we’ll go.
The Oregon Trail is the most popular, possibly we’ll take that. Or the Overland Trail, but there is nothing special about that one, or the Santa Fe Trail. Hmm, perhaps the Mormon Trail, after all, we are Mormons. The Oregon and the Mormon Trail would be ideal. The Oregon Trail spanning through current day starting point Missouri through, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, to amazing Oregon. The Mormon Trail spreading through current day Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, to Salt Lake City Utah.
The question comes back to how far should we travel? Perhaps we’ll travel with the Oregon Trail, then split off in Wyoming. That’s what Ma and Pa think we should do.
A question that my friends ask is why we’re leaving. Well they’re right to wonder. After all, we were leaving everything behind, and every one knows those who don’t perish will only have to help themselves later. Unless the government can help every pioneer, then we’ll get a little help. Government did pass laws encouraging us to move out west. Laws including the Homestead Act, a law that states that if we move they’ll help get us settled, as long as we farm the land that comes with the Act. The answer to these questions is simple for Pa. He sees the west as destiny, opportunity. Soon we’ll set out on a transcontinental highway, the trail’s nickname. The Journey we shall embark on.
The Journey
Out west we have had to change our clothing design. Home spun wool, as we need a type of material. Us women and girls have had to slightly shorten our dresses, it would not do to have them getting endless unwashable muck on them. We also have to sew led into our skirts to prevent them from blowing over our heads in violent winds. Pa, my brothers, and of course the other men, had to trade out their old shoes for tall leather boots, a thicker material, to protect them from rattlesnakes, brush, and thorns.
Though the government supports pioneerism, it is very, very, dangerous. There is safety in numbers so most pioneers, like us travel in large groups, sort of similar to bison on the plain outside of our caravan. After walking many, many miles, our usual dawn till dusk, we circle the wagons and handcarts. To keep from having to rearrange all of our supplies, and from unloading them, at night we sleep on the ground inside the circle, with quilts, of course.We have learned to read the sky for an oncoming tornados, now if we see signs of one, we can steer away from the twirling catastrophe.
All the things from home, hold a purpose, and the things we have brought for pleasure are at the minimum. Such things for pleasure do not include my full set of porcelain dolls. My conversation with Ma went something similar to the following; Ma may I bring my nice collection of dolls? Ma strictly answered me with the finality of no.Then I asked if I could bring the oldest doll that came back from hundreds of generations, this she promptly softened up to, she answered yes and smiled. We sold many belongings to get the money for the horses, the oxen, and the large wagon. So, we mostly brought quilts, needles, fabric, thread, canteens of water, and lots of foods that stay good. These simple meals foods include, beans, dried fruit, flour, and all other more original ingredients.
Children's Life and School
Most children like me and my brother, only go to school in the winter, so that we can run the farm. We read the Book of Mormon, and the Bible. When my new friend is at home (she isn’t Mormon), her Ma and Pa teach their family simple prayers, they also read the Bible.
At school, we mostly use black chalk boards, because paper is expensive. We learn basic things, arithmetic, reading, writing, to name a few. When we did use paper, we used the sharp end of a quill dipped in ink. Some kids have a tortured look on their faces. They are probably left handed like me. Mrs. Hawkins forces us to use our “proper” hand, the right one. Is it a crime to eat with the left hand? To play ball? Hawkins makes us feel like it.
Books are expensive, and Hawkins would hate to spend money on that many books. A simple solution to this problem is share a book. Mrs. Hawkins starts, and we read such as a chapter, or more commonly a paragraph. Once we’ve finished our assigned section, we pass it on to the adjacent student.
Well now you know some basic stuff, but not everything. Sing this next part; Oh well, farwell, I hope the trail was swell, but now I got to goooooooooooo. Bye, Bye.
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