USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -What exactly was a wagon train? It was a group of covered wagons, usually around 100 of them. These carried people and their supplies to the West before there was a transcontinental railroad.

Detailed explanation-2: -Pioneers needed wagons strong enough to haul people and supplies for five months or more. To outlast the rugged trail and months of wear, the wagon needed to be constructed of seasoned hardwood. Most pioneers used the typical farm wagon with a canvas cover stretched over hooped frames.

Detailed explanation-3: -Emigrants feared death from a variety of causes along the trail: lack of food or water; Indian attacks; accidents, or rattlesnake bites were a few. However, the number one killer, by a wide margin, was disease.

Detailed explanation-4: -A wagon master was the person hired to oversee the transportation of a group of wagons. On the American frontier, the term usually applies to the person responsible for assisting groups of immigrants or pioneers from the eastern US to the western US. Wagon masters were also hired to oversee shipments of cargo or mail.