![]() The health of the oxen came first-so much so that travelers put themselves in danger to protect the animals. Once the journey began, overlanders quickly learned the significance of the proverb “haste makes waste,” and tried to travel distances that lessened the number of miles to their journey’s end while keeping their oxen as strong and healthy as possible. These draft animals played roles that proved them to be more than simple haulers of goods, as the overlanders and their oxen came to form relationships that the emigrants themselves never anticipated. We rarely talk about the animals that took the pioneers west. ![]() The emigrants came to consider the oxen gentle, calm, patient-even noble. Whistling songs often calmed the animals as they pulled the wagons.ĭuring their few days of training, the emigrants and oxen learned to understand one another, opening the door to a closer relationship as their time together went from days to weeks to months. The emigrants should avoid cuss words, because foul language might provoke the oxen into behavior such as running or generally being unwilling to take orders. The trainers and even some emigrants offered tips: The emigrants must speak to the oxen in a manner that the oxen preferred, giving commands in English rather than in the emigrants’ native languages. In these Missouri River towns, it was often Mexicans who participated in the trade on the Santa Fe Trail who taught the emigrants how to handle the oxen. Generally, emigrants purchased their oxen at jumping-off towns near the eastern end of the trail, such as Independence or St. For many on the trails, working with oxen was a new experience. The overlanders came from all over the United States, as well as Europe, and not all of them knew how to take care of the animals. While they were well-versed in what religion and schoolteachers taught them, the emigrants never anticipated they would develop a relationship with their oxen that turned into a type of friendship and companionship. During the same era, teachers also taught schoolchildren to be kind to animals, and taking care of animals became part of middle-class ideology. Avery could only hope that his congregation listened carefully to his words of advice. Avery, pastor of the Congregational Church in Austinburg, Ohio, delivered sermons to travelers warning them not to overdrive their teams, and to walk alongside the oxen instead of riding in the wagons to save the animals from pulling the extra burden of the travelers’ weight. By the mid-19th century, Protestant ministers taught the importance of being kind to animals and reminded emigrants that Sabbath rest also applied to livestock. The emigrants also carried with them religious ideas about how to care for their animals. Emigrants brought many things with them, including household goods, farming equipment, and supplies for the animals, such as whiffletrees-a swinging bar that connects the harness and the wagon-and, of course, yokes for the oxen. The 2,000-mile journey west took three to five months, depending on the route. Unlike horses, they were steadier, stronger, and less likely to be stolen by Native Americans. But over the three decades of westward emigration, oxen comprised half to three-quarters of the animals that pulled the wagons. In movies, it is horses that pull the wagons through the Great Plains, through the deserts, and over the Sierra Nevada: Horses are graceful and elegant, and Hollywood producers and directors chose beauty over reality. ![]() Despite the popularity of Hollywood films on the experience, and even a now-classic 1985 video game, The Oregon Trail, we rarely talk about the animals that took the pioneers west. The story of these emigrants, who were soon known as “overlanders,” is well known, taught in every school in the United States. Between 18, approximately 300,000 people crossed the United States on their way to settle in Oregon, find gold in California, or practice religion as they desired in Utah. ![]()
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