USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -At first they travelled in covered wagons, then by steamboats and stagecoaches. The coming of railroads increased the speed of the journeys, but for the emigrant travelers there was little in the way of amenities.

Detailed explanation-2: -The wagons would travel in a single line so that from a distance they looked like a slow-moving train. If the trail was wide enough, they would sometimes spread out to get away from each other’s dust. At night the wagons would form a big circle with the front of one wagon facing the back of another.

Detailed explanation-3: -We enjoy a coast-to-coast drive within a few days, with our RVs temperature controlled. The covered wagon made 8 to 20 miles per day depending upon weather, roadway conditions and the health of the travelers. It could take up to six months or longer to reach their destination.

Detailed explanation-4: -Between the 1840s and the 1860s, hundreds of thousands of Americans traveled west in covered wagons pulled by teams of oxen. There were four main overland routes, all branching out from Independence, Missouri: the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, The Mormon Trail, and the Santa Fe Trail.

Detailed explanation-5: -Pioneer families carried all of their possessions in wagons that were only about ten feet long and four feet wide. They were called “prairie schooners” because the canvas cover looked like a ship’s sail.