Westward Experience (or Fun with Dung)

#1 Buffalo Dung

#2 Fuel for fire

#3 Progress might be slowed Winter was quickly approaching

Pending Storm – El Paso, TX

#4 Limited supply of water/liquor/etc. which drove the price higher Bacon was plentiful

#5 Bacon Coffee Sugar Salt Wagon used for transportation

#6 Narrow wheels - hard surfaces Wide wheels - soft surfaces

#7 To corral loose livestock

#8 To lighten their load and allow them to travel faster

#9 Most walked west (wagons were often overloaded)

Mormon Handcarts Brigham Young decided the easiest, cheapest, and fastest way for large numbers of converts to reach the Salt Lake Valley was to pull their belongings on handcarts.

#10 Falling under the wheels of the wagons Accidental shootings – many people owning guns for the first time

#11 Cholera

What is Cholera? (per the CDC) Cholera is an acute, diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but sometimes it can be severe. Approximately one in 20 infected persons has severe disease characterized by profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. In these persons, rapid loss of body fluids leads to dehydration and shock. Without treatment, death can occur within hours. How does a person get cholera? A person may get cholera by drinking water or eating food contaminated with the cholera bacterium. In an epidemic, the source of the contamination is usually the feces of an infected person. The disease can spread rapidly in areas with inadequate treatment of sewage and drinking water.

#12 Fears of drowning Cost of ferry

#13 Buffalo dung Bread and bacon

#14 Native Americans were friendly and sociable – often aided the travelers Travelers killed the buffalo (often unnecessarily)

#15 Buffalo – every part of the animal was used by the Native Americans

Bison/Buffalo

#16 Oxen were strong, could live off grass/sage found along the way, and were less expensive to purchase

#16, continued Advantage of mules over horses: faster/live off prairie grasses Disadvantage of mules over horses: cantankerous beasts

Sod Tough layer of prairie sod. The turf is held together for a depth of about a foot. The durability of the sod layer prevents erosion from taking place at the same rate as on the deposits below it.

Sod Houses

Sod Houses - Interior