Freight Wagons
Index For This Page
This page was last updated on September 8, 2026.
(Return to UtahRails Main Index page)
Overview
The popular image of overland migration often confuses the heavy Conestoga with the lighter emigrant wagon (or prairie schooner), but westward expansion required distinct engineering adaptations. The transition from the massive freight wagons of the East to the lighter emigrant wagons of the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails, and finally to the heavy western freight wagons used along the commercial trail networks, was driven strictly by terrain, draft animal limits, and payload economics.
Of course, this all changed as the railroads were completed across the nation in the late 1860s and throughout the 1870s and 1880s.
Edward Tunis wrote in his book "Wheels," published in 1955, page 66:
There's a natural confusion in many people's minds between the older Conestoga wagon, which carried freight in the East, and its descendant, the "prairie schooner," which went with the new settlers to the far West. They were both covered wagons and at a glance they looked somewhat alike, but the schooner had a flat, box body instead of the tipped-up boat-shaped affair of the Conestoga. The wooden sides weren't so tall in the later wagon.
Year after year, an unending train of such wagons crept westward, creaking forward at an ox-pace by day and warily camping at night. A family's whole possessions were in the wagon. Only the weak and infirm might ride, the able-bodied walked. The settlers, once they reached "home," had to make do with what they brought with them or what they found on the land. One thing in short supply was iron. Craftsmanship was available.
This isn't the place to tell the story of the hardships and heroisms of that migration which helped to make America great, but here is the wagon which left its ruts on the plains, where they are still to be seen.
Conestoga Wagon (1750s–1840s)
Conestoga wagons, also known as "Pennsylvania wagons," were used mainly in the East along the Pennsylvania and Allegheny routes; they had a payload of 6,000–12,000 pounds and an empty weight of about 3,500 pounds. They were famous for their curved "boat-shaped" floor to prevent cargo shifting on mountain slopes. They had flared bed sides and heavy iron hardware, and were pulled by six to eight Conestoga draft horses. They did not have a driver seat; the diver either walked beside the wagon or used a "lazy board" mounted to the side.
These large freight wagons were used along well-developed roads all along the Northeast and Atlantic states. A major use was across Pennsylvania moving manufactured goods west and raw materials east to the manufacturing centers in Northeast. The manufactured goods from the East arrived at Pittsburgh and were transferred to boats on the Ohio River for movement to St. Louis and the West.
The Conestoga was developed in Pennsylvania's Conestoga River valley, and were the heavy semi-trucks of the late 1700s and early 1800s. Designed to haul bulk freight across well-developed turnpikes and rough roads in the Appalachians, their signature curved floor prevented barrels and crates from sliding into the end-boards while climbing or descending steep grades. However, at nearly two tons empty, they were far too heavy for transcontinental travel.
(The Conestoga River flows southwest into the Susquehanna River, in southeastern Pennsylvania. The major city along the Conestoga River is Lancaster.)
(Although hard to find, Nick Eggenhofer's book, "Wagons, Mules and Men," published in 1955, has an entire chapter about the Conestoga wagon.)
(Read the Wikipedia article about the Conestoga wagon)
Emigrant Wagon (1840s–1860s)
The emigrant wagons of the 1840s were used on the Oregon, California, Mormon Trails; they had a payload of 1,500–2,500 pounds, and an empty weight of about 1,300 pounds. Also known to the builders as "settler wagons," they had a smaller, flat-bottomed box about four feet by ten feet, with wooden arches supporting a canvas bonnet. They had a low center of gravity and were pulled by four to six oxen or mules. They were light enough for the mountain passes. The Conestoga wagon of the East was designed to be pulled by large draft horses and was too heavy by itself and empty for the oxen and mules, so a lighter wagon was needed.
When emigrants headed for Oregon and California, they needed a wagon that a standard team of oxen or mules could pull for 2,000 miles over rudimentary prairie trails, deep sand, and rocky mountain passes. Carriage and wagon builders adapted basic farm wagons into "prairie schooners," cutting dead weight by about two-thirds, down to about 1,300 pounds. The complex curved Conestoga bed was dropped for a simple, flat-bottomed wooden box. Oxen replaced horses due to their endurance on native grasses, lower cost, and lower theft risk. Oxen walked at two miles per hour, matching the foot pace of emigrants walking alongside.
"Emigration Wagons For Sale. Forty superior emigration wagons specially made for the journey across the plains, on hand and for sale. Orders for wagons of all descriptions will be promptly attended to, and satisfactorily executed by Louis Espenschied." (St. Louis Republic, February 17, 1853)
A major difference of the emigrant wagons headed west, compared to the Conestoga freight wagons of the East, was that the emigrant wagons served as a home for the pioneer families, and were designed as such. A large industry of wagon builders grew up in Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, serving the increasing numbers of emigrants and fortune-seekers headed west.
(Read the BLM article about wagons on the Oregon Trail)
(Read the Wikipedia article about the Westward Expansion Trails; lots of politically-correct academic fluff meant for peer review rather than to used by the general public, but still a useful resource.)
Santa Fe or Overland Freight Wagon (1850s–1870s)
The heavy freight wagons, also called "road-wagons," were used on the Santa Fe Trail and for military freight in the West, including Johnston's Army during the Utah War of the late 1850s; they had a payload of 5,000–15,000 pounds and an empty weight of about 3,000 pounds. They had high straight-sided boxes, and were often built by Joseph Murphy of St. Louis. These huge wagons had wheels up to seven feet high with four-inch wide iron tire. They were pulled by eight oxen or mules, and as many as 10–12 oxen or mules. Each main wagon often had a trailer wagon of equal size, which required the additional animals to pull them. They often moved in huge trains across the plains.
While emigrants required light, manageable wagons, commercial haulers supplying Western military posts and Mexican trade routes needed maximum payload capacity per driver. Wagon builders like Joseph Murphy of St. Louis scaled up the wagon design to immense proportions.
In 1839 Santa Fe Governor Armijo placed a tax of $500 on every wagon that entered New Mexico (Santa Fe de Nuevo México after 1824). In response, Joseph Murphy decided to build larger and sturdier wagons for the traders on the Santa Fe Trail. Working from his St. Louis blacksmith shop and wagon works, he brought in skilled German-born craftsmen. When the wagons were finished, they were loaded on steamboats and taken 240 miles upriver to Independence, rolled ashore and sold to the traders headed down the trail to Santa Fe.
These tall-sided freight wagons were truly giants on wheels, they measured 14 and 16 feet in length and could haul four to eight tons. Their larger rear wheels (up to seven feet tall) allowed the wagons to roll over boulders and rutted tracks, while thick iron tires prevented wheels from breaking under loads of many tons. Freight haulers often hitched two or three heavy wagons together in a lead-and-trail setup pulled by a single large team of 10 to 12 oxen (a "bull team"), drastically reducing the labor needed per ton of freight moved.
D. P. Rolfe, a freighter in the 1860s recalled, "The freight wagons used were the Murphy and Espenschied, made in St. Louis, and the Studebaker, made at South Bend, Ind. These wagons were constructed especially for the plains transportation business; made of the best timber, wide-tracked, strong and tight, high double box, and heavy tired, and covered with heavy canvas over the bows. More of the Murphy make were used than either the Studebaker or Espenschied, though many claimed the Studebaker the easiest running." (Nebraska Historical Society, Proceedings, Volume 5, 1902, page 279, Google Books)
(Visit the Santa Fe Trail research page by the National Park Service)
(Download Mark L. Gardner's excellent research "Wagons of the Santa Fe Trail, 1822-1880" from the NPS website) (PDF; 155 pages; 14.6MB)
(Gardner's "Wagons of the Santa Fe Trail, 1822-1880" is also an excellent source for general information about freight wagons.)
Army Contracts of the 1850s
During the late 1850s, the freighting firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell operated as the primary military contractor for the U.S. Army, moving millions of pounds of supplies from river depots (such as Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and Nebraska City, Nebraska) to western military posts. Their operations expanded dramatically during the 1857–1858 Utah Expedition (the "Utah War"), requiring thousands of heavy-haul wagons.
(Nebraska City lay on the west side of the Missouri River, 44 miles south of Omaha, and 130 miles north of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and about 140 miles north of Kansas City and about 393 miles west of St. Louis.)
Unlike lighter emigrant wagons that carried 1,500–2,000 pounds, or eastern Conestoga wagons with sloped floors, military freight wagons were purpose-built heavy haulers designed for rugged Western terrain. These heavy wagons had capacities of 5,000 to 6,000 pounds of cargo per wagon. Their beds were flat-bottomed, straight-sided boxes (typically 12 to 16 feet long, 4 feet wide, and about 5 feet deep). They were covered with heavy, water-resistant canvas double-bowed tops.
Their running gear and wheels were built with thick oak or hickory, heavy iron tires (often 3 to 4 inches wide to prevent sinking into soft prairie soil or mud), and high rear wheels (up to 5 feet in diameter) to clear obstacles and cross rivers. Skeins were metal sleeves encasing the axle ends where the wheels turned, and the skeins on these western haulers were heavy cast iron or wrought steel, known as thimble skeins. Heavy-duty skeins measuring 3-3/4 by 12 inches gave the axles the structural integrity needed to support 3-ton payloads day after day.
To build and maintain a fleet that eventually exceeded 3,500 wagons, the firm relied on several prominent 19th-century builders.
- Joseph Murphy (St. Louis, Missouri) - "Murphy wagons" were among the most famous and widely utilized heavy freighters on the Santa Fe and Overland trails. Murphy specialized in massive, heavily ironed wagon designs capable of handling extreme loads.
- Louis Espenschied (St. Louis, Missouri) - A major rival to Murphy, Espenschied supplied large volumes of government-grade freight wagons engineered specifically for military contracts along the Great Plains routes.
- Studebaker Brothers (South Bend, Indiana) - Before becoming an automotive icon, Studebaker manufactured durable freight wagons and iron hardware for the U.S. Quartermaster Corps and civilian freighters.
- Schuttler Wagons (Chicago, Illinois) - Peter Schuttler's company supplied heavy-duty wagons renowned for high-quality wood and ironwork, frequently purchased for long-haul military freighting.
Because a loaded wagon weighed between 7,000 and 8,000 lbs combined (cargo plus wagon frame), Alexander Majors overwhelmingly preferred oxen over mules for heavy government freighting. Oxen were stronger, less likely to stray, cheaper to replace, and could subsist entirely on prairie grass without requiring grain rations. A single standard 3-ton freight wagon required a train of 6 yokes (12 oxen) or 10 to 12 mules.
The Russell, Majors and Waddell wagons traveled in organized "bull trains" of 25 to 26 wagons, managed by a wagon master, teamsters, and herders. During the height of the Utah Expedition contracts in 1858, Russell, Majors and Waddell mobilized over 3,000 wagons, 40,000 oxen, and 5,000 employees to move 16 million pounds of Army freight westward to Utah. Many of these robust "government wagons" survived the campaign and were later auctioned or re-purposed throughout the Utah Territory for heavy civilian hauling.
Heavy Government Wagons
A review of the general design of animal-drawn wagons finds that a wagon's load limit was determined by the size of its axles. And the limit of any axle was limited by the size of its "skein," or the part where the wheels attach to, and rotate around the axle. These hollow metal parts were usually known as thimble skeins, and were the interface between the wooden axles and the wooden wheels. Cast iron metal thimble skeins came into regular use by the mid 1850s with the heavy government freight wagons used to supply the western posts of the U. S. Army. These metal skeins and heavy wagons were well-developed by the time granite was being hauled in the Salt Lake Valley. The wheels each contained what was known as a "boxing," a cast metal sleeve or bushing that matched the axle skein.
By the mid 1860s, when the Sharp brothers took ownership of the large numbers of freight wagons made surplus when the Army closed Camp Floyd in 1861, those wagons were all equipped with either cast iron, or wrought steel thimble skeins. A wrought steel skein generally had a capacity of 1000 pounds more than a cast iron skein. These Army wagons were also known as "government wagons" and served second lives hauling granite blocks. Some were dismantled and their wheel assemblies, with their heavy duty high wheels, used to create the specialized underslung wagons that were used to move the largest granite blocks.
The heaviest wagons being manufactured at the time were capable of 10,000 pounds, or five tons. These had skeins of 4-1/2 inches by 12-1/2 inches. But the most common wagons had skeins of 3-3/4 inches by 12 inches, and capacity of three tons. The 16 million pounds (8000 tons) moved to Utah by Russell, Majors and Waddell in 1858, meant that their 3000 wagons were all essentially fully loaded to their capacity.
The "government" wagons came to Utah in summer 1858 as part of contract freighters Russell, Majors and Waddell had with the U. S. Army to supply 16 million pounds of supplies for what many historians have called the Utah Expedition, commanded by Colonel Albert Johnston. It brought an army of 7000 soldiers to Utah to control what was called by politicians in the East, a "Mormon Rebellion." To move the 16 million pounds of supplies from supply depots in Leavenworth, Kansas, and Nebraska City, Nebraska, the Russell, Majors and Waddell company hired 2000 teamsters and purchased an additional 3000 wagons, 40,000 oxen and 1000 mules. During the following fall and winter, the "rebellion" was put down through diplomacy and negotiation. The army remained at Camp Floyd, 50 miles south of Salt Lake City, until being called back East beginning in April and May 1860 to deal with the potential troubles with the Southern states, "in the direction of the difficulties."
Although there were reports about the "breaking up" of Camp Floyd as early as April 1860, Camp Floyd was officially closed in July 1861, with the outbreak of the Civil War, beginning in April 1861. Nick Eggenhoffer wrote in his book, Wagons, Mules and Men, "The now-unneeded wagons were left in Utah, stored side by side in seemingly endless rows, and finally sold at auction. Most of them were bid in by the Mormons at about ten dollars a wagon."
Some of the surplus Army wagons were broken up and their iron parts used to make tools and implements, since iron was a rare thing in Utah at the time, especially for something as simple as common nails. But the majority were put into service by other freighting companies, including the Sharp brothers. There were reports that the sudden availability of so many wagons, of many sizes, including many very large freight wagons, was the perfect solution needed to begin the movement of granite from the quarries to the temple block.
Wagon Types In Utah
In Utah territory, in addition to the emigrant wagons and the heavy freight wagons used along the Mormon Trail to southern Utah and into Arizona, Nevada and California, there were the heavy wagons used in the Salt Lake Valley to haul granite blocks from the Little Cottonwood quarry to the temple block in Salt Lake City.
There were three types of wagons used to transport granite. First were standard horse-drawn and mule-drawn freight wagons, which were used for the smaller stones. These were generally capable of hauling stones up to 2000 pounds (1 ton). Second were larger heavy-haul freight wagons drawn by spans of four, six or eight oxen. These were capable of hauling stones of between 4000 (2 tons) and 8000 pounds (4 tons). Third were large underslung wagon designs, also drawn by spans of six or eight oxen.
(Read more about the movement of granite for the LDS Salt Lake City temple)
The first type of wagons were loaded with jib cranes by lowering the stone into the wagon bed. The second type were loaded by driving the wagon into a pit or trench that put its bed at ground level, with the stone then being moved onto the wagon bed using skids or rollers. The third underslung type was loaded by moving the wagon into place above the stationary stone, then lowering the wheels of the wagon, and its central frame (a beam or log) down onto the stone. The stone was then fastened to the wagon frame with chains. The wagon was then moved to bring its wheels back up on ground level, and the trip to Salt Lake City was begun. When the stones arrived at the temple block, the process was reversed, including trenches for the second type, and lowering the wheels for the third type. Two-wheeled ox carts were used within the temple block to move the stone to each block's final location.
After the U.S. Army left Utah in 1861, whatever was held at Camp Floyd was sold as surplus, and many of the heavy "government" freight wagons were used to move granite to the temple block. The surplus government wagons also furnished the running gear for the third type of underslung wagons.
Wagons From Camp Floyd
"The firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell, which had secured the Fort Leavenworth-to-Camp Floyd freighting contracts, attempted to set up a more permanent freighting enterprise. The Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company was formed, and in April 1860 the firm initiated the Pony Express. The purpose of the Pony Express was to prove the feasibility of the central overland route and thus induce Congress to award them the mail contract. This well-known, short-lived venture lost about $500,000, but not without providing a substantial market for Mormon produce and labor." (Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, page 199)
A. B. Miller, who was associated with Russell, Majors and Waddell, told Mormon officials in July 1859 that 1,100 three-ton merchant wagons were on the way to Utah and that 1,500 additional wagons were at that time ready to leave Fort Leavenworth for Camp Floyd. (Extracts from the "History of Brigham Young" in the Bancroft Library, Berkeley, California, pages 33-34)
"An estimated 4,000 federal troops were at first located at Camp Floyd. To these must be added an estimated 3,000 non-Mormon suppliers, employees, and camp followers, located at a place called later known as Fairfield." (Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, page 196)
"The most important public works project was the employment of several hundred men in the construction of a road through Provo Canyon to connect Utah Valley and Round Valley (Heber City), and to open up Provo River Valley for settlement. The year was 1858. Previous to the opening of this road, persons could pass from Utah Valley through this narrow but magnificent canyon only on horseback along an Indian trail. By dint of great labor, a large group of "Move Southers" cut through the promontories and rocky side hills, built up the washes and hollows, and constructed an excellent fourteen-mile mountain road. The road, which was chartered by the legislature as a toll road, enabled the people of Utah Valley, whose timber supply was limited, to carry away the wood found in the canyon. The toll arrangement made it legally possible for the road company — largely owned by Brigham Young as trustee-in-trust — to collect toll on the thousands of freight wagons which used the road in supplying federal troops at Camp Floyd. Approximately $20,000 was spent in making the road." (Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, page 191)
Research in available online newspapers finds that the largest auction of items at Camp Floyd took place on July 14, 1859. The auction included "2000 or more excellent draft and saddle mules, with several hundred Army wagons, together with harness for the same complete. The mules are all young, sound, thoroughly broken, and in good condition; and the wagons and harness are in complete repair, with all equipments for immediate service." The auction was being offered to the public by G. H. Crossman, Deputy Quartermaster General at Camp Floyd. (Deseret News, July 6, 1859)
Later advertisements in August and September 1859 offered by at least two auction and commission agents (C. H. Bassett & Co., and J. C. Little & Co.), regularly mention the availability of hundreds of wagons and mules.
Another auction took place at Camp Floyd on September 20, 1859, and included similar quantities of mules, wagons and harness. (Deseret News, September 7, 1859)
July 11, 1860
"Arrival of Merchandise. -- A train of thirty wagons, ox teams, belonging to Messrs. Livingston, Bell & Co., freighted with merchandise, arrived on the afternoon of the 5th inst., eleven of which were unloaded at the store of that firm in this city; the others were dispatched the same evening for Camp Floyd. Another similar train, belonging to the same firm, arrived on the afternoon of the 9th. Eighteen wagons belonging to this train were sent on to Camp Floyd; the other twelve discharged their freight here. The wagons were made in Chicago and were ordered expressly for this market and, as we understand, most of them are for sale." (Deseret News, July 11, 1860)
Subsequent auction advertisements into late 1860 by the Quartermaster at Camp Floyd were only for horses and mules, indicating that the wagons had been disposed of.
The following excerpts come from H. H. Bancroft's History of Utah, 1890, pages 575 and 576.
In 1860 most of the troops were removed to Mexico and Arizona, and about a year later, war between north and south being then almost a certainty, the remainder of the army was ordered to the eastern states. The government stores at Camp Floyd, valued at $4,000,000, were sold at extremely low prices, greatly to the relief of the saints, who could now purchase provisions, clothing, wagons, live-stock, and other articles of which they were in need, at their own rates. Flour, which had cost the nation $570 per ton, sold for less than $11 per ton, and other stores in the same proportion; the entire proceeds of the sale did not exceed $100,000, or little more than two per cent of the outlay; and of this sum $40,000 was contributed by Brigham.
At the sale at Camp Floyd some of the leading merchants of Salt Lake City laid the basis of their fortunes; to the rest of the community its main benefit was that it gave them a good supply of warm clothing at cheap rates.
The following excerpts come from Whitney's History of Utah, 1892, Volume 1, pages 721 and 726.
When Camp Floyd was evacuated, the government property, such as was not destroyed, was sold out at great sacrifice. Several Utah merchants there "made their start," and in a few years became very wealthy. Thus was the advent of the army of great material benefit to the Territory.
As early as March, 1860, General Johnston had left Camp Floyd for Washington, D. C. He had never visited Salt Lake City since passing through it with the army in June, 1858. Consequently he and Brigham Young never met. After his departure, Colonel Philip St. George Cooke became the post commander. By his order, early in February, 1861, Camp Floyd changed its name to Fort Crittenden. Secretary Floyd, for whom the post was originally named, had fallen from his allegiance and was now considered a traitor to his country. In May, 1860, most of the troops at Camp Floyd had left, pursuant to orders, for Arizona and New Mexico, and in July, 1861, the residue took up their march for the east, to participate in the war for the Union.
Prior to the abandonment of Camp Floyd vast stores of provisions and army supplies of all kinds were offered for sale by the military authorities and purchased by local merchants and other citizens. The sacrifice in price was enormous, and many far-sighted buyers made their fortunes. It is estimated that four million dollars worth of goods were disposed of for $100,000. This did not include arms and ammunition, great quantities of which, instead of being transported back to the States, were destroyed. Among the heaviest purchasers was President Brigham Young, whose agent and business manager, Colonel H. B. Clawson, visited the Fort for that purpose. Walker Brothers also bought extensively, as did other Utah merchants.
(Research suggests that a group of departing soldiers traveled east from Fort Crittenden in May 1860, and the remainder departed east in July 1861. It may have been one of these two groups of soldiers that had spent the freezing night on the pass that later became Soldier Summit.)
(Read more about Soldier Summit)
Freighting In Pioneer Days
From Milton R. Hunter, "Utah, The Story of Her People, 1540-1947," 1946, page 170-172.
There were no railroads west of the Mississippi River. By ox teams; that was the answer. These animals were found to be well-fitted for the task. They were reliable but slow, seldom making over ten miles a day. Mules and horses were sometimes used, but oxen were much better for hauling large cargoes long distances. However, mules were tough and could make the trip cheaper than horses. They were sometimes used to haul bacon and groceries to the military posts in the West and other articles when a trip needed to be made in a hurry. They could travel faster than oxen.
The freight was hauled in huge wagons which held from 5,000 to 7,000 pounds each. One can best get an impression of the size of the wagons when he knows that the wheels measured six feet across. Each vehicle had canvas coverings and was provided with iron axles. Often a trailer with a capacity of 4,000 pounds was fastened to the leading wagon. So large were the pioneer freight wagons that they received the names of prairie-schooners. It required from eight to fourteen oxen to pull each loaded prairie-schooner.
Generally fifty wagons made a freighting train. There was a captain over each train and an assistant wagon master. Each wagon had its driver. Then in the party there were the extra hands such as night herders and the drivers of beef cattle. The ox teams were called "bull teams," the captain was known as the "bull-wagon boss," and the teamsters were called "bull-whackers."
The freighting was carried on between the Missouri River and the pioneer settlements of the West, the freight having been shipped up the Missouri from St. Louis to the outfitting post. In the earliest period the prairie-schooners were loaded at Independence or Fort Leavenworth. But later as the railroad was being built, goods were carried on the iron road to the terminal of the new road and from there by ox teams.
The overland route was the Oregon Trail was deepened and widened into a great highway, the like of which was never known before. On this route, Fort Kearney, Fort Laramie, and Fort Bridger were important stations passed before the freighters reached Salt Lake City.
Prior to 1850 wagon trains followed the Mormon route from Fort Bridger, through Echo and Emigration canyons; but early that summer, Parley P. Pratt announced in the Deseret News that a new road would be opened to travel by July 4, running from Echo Canyon to Salt Lake City through the "Golden Pass" or what is termed today, Parley's Canyon. Toll averaging about one dollar per wagon was charged all emigrants who passed over that route.
Before the coming of the railroad, the overland freighting was indeed a colossal business. In 1860 frequently 500 freight wagons, headed westward, passed Fort Kearney in a single day. It has been reported that on one particular day 888 west-bound wagons, drawn by 10,650 oxen, mules, and horses, were counted between Fort Kearney and Julesburg, Nebraska. In 1865 6,000 freight wagons passed Fort Kearney in a period of six weeks. The single firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell used at one time 6,250 freight wagons and 75,000 oxen.
It took most of the summer for the freight trains to make the trip from Independence to Utah and back. Great was the danger of loss by fire, flood and Indian attack. Therefore, it is no wonder that prices were high in the frontier towns. Sometimes flour brought from the East cost a dollar a pound and kerosene a dollar and a half a gallon. Even if the costs were high, pioneers had. to do their shopping soon after the freight train arrived or perhaps wait another year to obtain the articles they needed badly. Not only was merchandise high in price but so were freight and passenger rates. During the early fifties it cost $250 a ton to have merchandise hauled from the Missouri River to Sutter's Fort, California. The rate for passenger fare was $300.
Freighting By Ox-Team
Chapter XXXVI Freighting By Ox-Team
From "The Founding Of Utah," by Levi Edgar Young, 1923, pages 375-385
From ox-team to airship has been the development of transportation in Utah since 1847. Our fathers and mothers well remember when Salt Lake City was a thousand miles from the railroad. The story of transportation in Utah which began with the six-yoke ox-team and emigrant wagons, tells of the freighters, pony express, overland mail, and daily overland stage, the coming of the railroad in 1869, and finally the automobile and aeroplane. This, in the short time of seventy years, is a development more remarkable than any other line of progress in the world's history.
The Ox-Team. — The ox-team, with a speed of ten miles per day, was the pioneer locomotive of the West. In the early emigrant teams there were only a few horses, perhaps two or three teams in all. Company after company of pioneers made the slow trip across the plains by ox-teams, and the drivers walked most of the way. One of our pioneer citizens, who crossed the plains in 1850, has written:
I emigrated to Utah with my father and mother in 1850. Though only thirteen years of age, I drove an ox team all the way. We lived on bacon, hard tack, and beans. Now and then we had a cup of warm tea, and once we had fresh buffalo meat, as one of the members of the company killed two head of buffalo near Fort Laramie. Father always yoked the oxen for me, and I learned to wield the great whip with a great deal of effect. The oxen seemed to understand me from the first, and every morning were watching for me. I could even call them from the clump of willows where they often browsed during the night, and after my shoes wore out, mother made moccasins for me. Most of the time I went bare-footed, and often have my feet bled after the day's tramp.
A carrying company, to freight goods from the Missouri River and convoy passengers to the gold regions, was organized at Salt Lake City in 1849. At that time the through rate for passengers to Sutter's. Fort was $300, and merchandise was carried for $250 per ton. These trains were often made up of fifty wagons, and with several hundred head of oxen and a full company of men.
Salt Lake City became the principal city on the line of the continental trail from Fort Leavenworth to Sacramento, and in 1849, Livingston and Kinkead opened a store in Salt Lake, and over the plains once or twice a year came freight from St. Louis and other Eastern markets. The big freight outfits left the Missouri River every spring as soon as the grass was high enough to furnish pasture for the oxen and mules, and during the course of the summer they arrived in Salt Lake City. It was the only stock the merchant received during the year, and if the supply was exhausted before you got around to do your shopping, you had to wait until the next year to get your hat or coat. The store of Livingston and Kinkead became a center for trade, and to give an idea of the way in which this firm advertised their merchandise, we find the following in the Deseret News for August 5, 1855:
Our first train of forty-six wagons, loaded with a very full and general assortment of new goods, will arrive here about the 15th inst., and we shall be prepared to open and offer for inspection and sale, a complete assortment of all the various goods in our line and at present in demand.
Independence was the headquarters for the outfitting for freight-trains over the Oregon trail. Articles were purchased in St. Louis, and taken up the Missouri River by boat. Bacon and beef, flour and grain were furnished by the farmers of the surrounding country. Not only was there a demand for foodstuffs, but mules and oxen were sold for the overland migration. Thousands of merchandise wagons, each hauled by from eight to twelve mules, or the same number of oxen, left Independence annually for the far West. After 1850 these trains were bound for Santa Fe, Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Fort Hall, and points on the Columbia River. One can imagine the thousands of teamsters and packers who made their headquarters at Independence as well as Omaha, on the Missouri River, another point of departure.
The Prairie-Schooner. - The prairie-schooners were large and ponderous wagons, and were made to order in St. Louis. They carried from 5,000 to 7,000 pounds of merchandise, and had canvas coverings, and were provided with iron axles. As a rule, a trailer was fastened to the lead-wagon, which had a capacity of two tons. The prairie-schooner was almost as big and substantial as a freight-car, and was well made and painted to stand hard knocks on mountain "breaknecks," or in the sands of the plains along the Platte.
Overland Freighting. - No railroad had been built west of the Mississippi River in the early fifties, and after the year 1850 the trains of white-covered wagons could be seen in almost endless vista wending their way over the plains to Utah and California. To make the trip to Salt Lake City by ox-teams took from sixty-five to seventy days, and at times even longer. Oxen and mules were both used to haul the heavy freight. Oxen were slow and patient, but always reliable. To the wagon-train bosses they were the surest and safest for hauling a large cargo a long distance. In performing their work, the mules were next to the oxen. They were tough, could endure fatigue, and were as a rule reliable. They could be kept much cheaper than horses. Horses and mules could make the trip over the plains somewhat quicker than the oxen, however, and they hauled much of the bacon, flour, dry-goods, and groceries to the military forts in the West, such as Fort Bridger, Fort Laramie, and Fort Hall.
After the advent of the merchants Livingston and Kinkead, Salt Lake City became a market for goods brought from the East. The "Forty-Niners" on their way to California brought groceries, provisions, hats, boots, and shoes, and the people of Utah were eager to obtain the goods from the eastern markets. Of course every company of emigrants to Utah hauled freight to their destination. When Captain Stansbury was returning with his command to the States, in 1850, he says in his report: "We left Fort Bridger in the afternoon, and proceeding about five miles down Black's Fort, we encamped in a small meadow upon the right bank, with grass for the animals. A merchant train for Salt Lake City passed us during the day, from which I procured some sugar and coffee, of which articles we were nearly destitute."
The most important company that hauled goods to Utah in the early days was that of Russell, Majors, and Waddell, whose principal office was in Leavenworth, Kan. The business done by this firm was enormous, and for many years they were the government contractors for transporting military stores to the West. Besides, they made contracts with Governor Brigham Young and other citizens of Utah for freighting their supplies from the Missouri River to Salt Lake City. The trains of Russell, Majors, and Waddell generally consisted of about twenty-five wagons. The freight-train was always well organized. There was a captain who acted as wagon-master; an assistant wagon-master; and a driver for each team. Then there were extra hands for helping in heavy work, the night-herders, and a driver of the cattle, who rode in the rear of the train. These ox-teams were designated "bull teams," and the wagon boss was known as the "bull-wagon boss." The teamsters were called "bull-whackers." Every man was thoroughly acquainted with his duties, and each man carried an old Colt pistol.
Leaving Fort Leavenworth. - The wagon-trains for the far West generally left Leavenworth in the spring. The day of departure was always excitement and bustle. Men wrote letters to their families, the wagons were made ready for the journey, the cattle were fed, and after yoking the oxen, and saying good-by to friends, the command to start was given by the captain, and the "gee" and "haws" of the bullwhackers and pops of the whips could be heard until the train rolled far beyond the city. For a number of days the company made from ten to twenty miles per day. In a sandy place or on a mountain road the bull-whackers would leave the trailers behind, and driving the first wagon over the hard road, would go back for the train. Sometimes a bull-whacker would spend a whole day doing this. "Lead-wagons were parked one at a time, and the trailers brought on later and hooked up."
A Camp on the Plains. - William Francis Hooker has described a camp scene of freighters in those early days. Says he:
At break of day, the night herder who had been out with the bulls all night - it is always day break to him whether four or five - drives his herd into a corral, usually singing some refrain of his own composition, but always having for its motive the same that animates the pestiferous alarm clock set by a master to disturb the slumber of a tired servant. However, a half hour before the herder appears, the cook and his helper, both bull-whackers, doing their turn of a week, have been on the job with the coffee and bacon, and as soon as the herder sounds his first note, the cook takes up the song:
"Bacon in the pan, Coffee in the pot, Get up and get it, Get it while it's hot."
And then, and it is always so, some of the lively stock, as it approaches the corral takes the notion that there is some nice sweet buffalo bunch grass to the rear that looks better than a day's work, and there is a bolt, often approaching a stampede. The wagon bosses and the herders are in the saddles helping the herder. If you tried to sleep just a minute longer, it is impossible, therefore you roll out from your bed on the ground, fold up your blankets, tie them with a strap, and throw them on your trail wagon.
Coffee and bacon are swallowed in haste, and if you are like the majority, you grab a piece of bacon and a piece of bread, bang them together into a huge sandwich, and put them in the jockey box of your wagon for a lunch at eight or nine o'clock. Yoking and stringing out the oxen is the next operation, and a short one in a well regulated outfit. Twenty minutes often from the time the bulls are driven in, the lead team is moving, and then the "outfit" is well under way, the lead wagon is perhaps a half mile from the last one.
On the Plains. - The caravan proceeded day after day across the plains. Along the Platte River much sport was had in killing buffaloes; and when the teamsters and herders had lived for weeks on coffee, flapjacks and salt meat, the juicy buffalo roasts were keenly relished. Since the roving herds were not always found when desired, much of the fresh meat was dried in the sun for future use. The meat was also jerked; that is, placed over a fire and slowly cooked. All the men had to take their turns at guarding the cattle during the night. "This was not always pleasant as the prairie sentinel must stay at his post during the night and watch for lurking Indians regardless of the weather. If the company was small a man might be compelled to stay on the watch during half the night, but when there were a number of men, each watch was from one to three hours."
Each caravan had its series of adventures and scares. A band of Sioux or Cheyennes would always put them on their guard, and many a train had been thrown into confusion by a sudden stampede of the cattle caused by a mad rush of a herd of buffalo.
The train came by way of Fort Bridger and on down through Echo Canyon by way of Emigration Canyon, but later by way of Parley's Canyon or the Golden Pass. Upon their arrival all was bustle and excitement. People were anxious to hear about relatives and friends on the plains; or to know when they were to leave the Missouri River. News of the world was given out, and many a night was spent by the freighters in telling about their adventures and fights with Indians. The freighters camped on the ten-acre square where the city and county building now stands, or Union Square in the Seventeenth ward, and the hundreds of head of oxen were turned loose on the bench immediately east of the city, and on the banks of the River Jordan.
The Golden Pass. - Parley's Canyon became the most popular road into the valley after 1850. In June of that year the following advertisement appeared in the Deseret News:
The Golden Pass!
Or
New Road Through the Mountains
Travelers between the States and California, are respectfully informed that a new road will be opened on and after the 4th of July, between the Weber River and Great Salt Lake Valley - distance about 40 miles; avoiding the two great mountains, and most of the Canyons so troublesome on the old route.
The road is somewhat rough and unfinished; but is being made better every day. Several thousand dollars are already expended by the proprietor, who only solicits the patronage of the public, at the moderate charge of:
50 cents per conveyance drawn by one animal.
75 cents per conveyance drawn by two animals.
10 cents per each additional draught, pack, or saddle animal.
5 cents per head for loose stock.
1 cent per head for sheep.
The foregoing prices will average about one dollar per wagon.
This route lies up the valley of the Weber River some 15 or 18 miles, open, smooth, and grassy; thence, through well watered, grassy, and beautiful plains and meadows, 3 miles; thence down the open and grassy valley of a stream 3 miles; thence, 2 miles up a smooth ascent, through meadows, and table lands of pine, fir, and aspen forests, to the summit of a mountain; thence, 6 miles down a gradual descent of table land to the head of the Great Canyon; thence, through a rough road with grass and fuel abundant 6 miles to the valley; entering which, thousands of acres of fresh feed cover the table lands at the foot of the hills and mountains; where teams can recruit, while all the principal flouring mills are in the same vicinity.
If a road worked by the most persevering industry, an open country, good feed and fuel, beautifully romantic and sublime scenery, are any inducement, take the new road and thus encourage public improvement.
G S L City June 22 1850
P. P. Pratt, Proprietor.
Utah Men in the Freighting Business. - Every year immigrants for Utah congregated on the Missouri River, both at Independence and Omaha. It was the custom to purchase entire outfits of wagons, teams, and supplies for the emigration and the freighting of goods across the plains in those cities. This was very expensive to the people, and as domestic animals were becoming numerous on the farms of Utah, it was decided that Utah cattle and mules, accustomed to yoke and harness, would make the trip with less loss and more certainty than the unbroken animals purchased on the frontier. Consequently, Little and Decker, freighters and mail-carriers, left Salt Lake City with an outfit of mules and wagons on the 9th of May, and arrived in Florence the 13th of June, making the journey in thirty-five days. On the 9th of the following September Mr. Little left Florence with fourteen wagons loaded with merchandise, and arrived in Salt Lake City in forty days. It was customary for large trains from Utah to leave in the spring and, wending their way through the mountains, they would leave supplies of flour, bacon, etc., at the stations along the route for the return trip. In the autumn, the wagons loaded with emigrants and merchandise would arrive in Salt Lake City. Feramorz Little, of the firm of Little and Decker, in a letter to his family dated July 12, 1863, and written from Florence, says:
Started Captain Preston's company on the 10th with sixty seven boxes of cotton machinery, three hundred kegs of nails, and two hundred emigrants.
At the close of the season's operations, 1863, approximately 500 teams had been fitted out for the plains, accompanied by 3,000 emigrants and hauling large quantities of freight. These operations involved an outlay of $100,000.
How the People in Utah Assisted Immigrants. - It was customary for Governor Young to send out trains of wagons every spring to Florence, Neb., and to Independence, to aid in bringing the immigrants to Utah. The "Church wagons," as they were called, would carry supplies for the camps along the trail, and help the immigrants on the Missouri River with food. In May, 1862, 262 wagons, 293 men, 2,880 oxen, and 143,315 pounds of flour were sent from Utah to assist the poor of the immigration across the plains and mountains. They traveled in six companies, and each company had its commander. John R. Murdock was one of the captains, and from his journal we learn that he arrived home in Salt Lake City, September 27, with 65 wagons and 700 immigrants. Captain John R. Young conducted a company of immigrants over the plains in 1863, and arrived in Salt Lake City on the 12th of September. While on the plains several of the immigrants were killed in a cattle stampede when they were camped one night on the banks of the Platte River. As the railroad was gradually extended westward it was customary for the "Church teams" to meet immigrants at the terminal, and bring them on to Utah. In June, 1868, 500 wagons with supplies were sent to the terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad, near Laramie, Wyo.
Early-Day Merchants. - The early-day merchants carried on a freighting business throughout the Territory where there were settlements. Holliday and Warner had wagons hauling freight between Ogden and Salt Lake City. Their manager was William H. Hooper, and their place of business was just east of the Eagle Gate. Other merchants were John and Enoch Reese, and the "father of Utah merchants," William Nixon. Nixon had carried on an extensive business in St. Louis, and when he came to Utah, in 1852, he opened a hardware store. Farming implements were shipped to the new settlements in the southern part of the Territory. Walker Brothers opened their large store in 1858, and they freighted goods such as flour and bacon to the different towns. As early as 1864 Hooper and Eldredge purchased in New York "a bill of goods at prime eastern cost of over $150,000, the freight of which added another $80,000." In that same year William Jennings purchased of Major Barrows a train of goods in Salt Lake City worth a quarter of a million dollars, including the freight. The next year it cost Mr. Jennings nearly a quarter of a million dollars to ship his freight from New York City to Utah. In one year Mr. Jennings had a contract with the Overland Mail line to supply it with 75,000 bushels of grain; and General Conner contracted in 1863 for 6,000 sacks of flour.
###