Family with Their Covered Wagon During the Great Western Migration, 1866.
Family with Their Covered Wagon During the Great Western Migration, 1866. WPA Information Division Photographic Index, ca. 1936 – ca. 1942; Records of the Work Projects Administration, Record Group 69; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD, NARA.
Document Text |
Summary |
| Saturday, September 10th
It would be useless for me with my pencil to describe the awful road we have just passed over. Let fancy picture a train of wagons and cattle passing through a crooked chimney and we have Big Laurel Hill. After descending several bad hills, one called Little Laurel Hill, which I thought is as bad as could be, but in reality it was nothing to this last one called Big Laurel. It is something more than half mile long very rocky all the way, quite steep, winging, sideling, deep down, slippery and muddy, made so by a spring running the entire length of the road, and this rod is cut down so deep that at times the cattle and wagons are almost out of sight, with no room for the drivers except on the bank, a very difficult place to drive, also dangerous, and to make the matter worse, there was a slow poking train ahead of us, which kept stopping every few minutes, and another behind us which kept swearing and hurrying our folks on and there they all were, with the poor cattle all on the strain, holding back the heavy wagons on the slippery road. Then men and boys all had their hands full and I was obliged to take care of myself and little ones as best I could, there being no path or road except the one where the teams travelled. We kept as near the road as we could, winding around the fallen timber, sometimes lifting and carrying Chat. To keep from smelling the carrion, I, as others, holding my nose. . . . I was sick all night and not able to get out of the wagon in the morning. |
There is no way for me to describe how terrible the road was yesterday. Big Laurel Hill is like a crooked pipe, and we had to get a whole train of wagons and oxen through it. We came to it after crossing several other bad hills. I thought Little Laurel Hill would be the worst, but it was nothing compared to Big Laurel Hill. The road on Big Laurel Hill is more than half a mile long and very rocky. It is also winding, slippery, and muddy. Sometimes the road passes between cliffs so narrow that there is no place to walk beside the wagons. There was a very slow group ahead of us, so we could not go at our own pace. There was a very impatient group behind us who kept yelling at us to move faster. All the men and boys were busy making sure the oxen and wagons did not slide down the slippery road. I had to walk with my children by myself. We walked in the woods near the road. Sometimes I had to carry my youngest boy. There were many dead oxen by the road. I had to hold my nose to keep myself from vomiting. After this terrible day, I was sick to my stomach all night and could not get out of bed in the morning. |
Amelia Stewart Knight, “Saturday, September 10, 1853.” https://home.csulb.edu/~quamwick/Knight.html
Background
Between 1840 and 1870, about 250,000 people moved into the western territories of the United States. Most traveled in wagons pulled by oxen or horses, although there were some exceptions. The settlers encountered rough terrain, extreme weather, and dangerous water crossings. The journey could take anywhere from four to eight months.
Every settler who made the overland journey encountered hardships, but women faced challenges specific to their gender. Most of the women who made the overland journey were of childbearing age, so many had babies and children to care for. Some made the journey pregnant or gave birth on the trail. Women were expected to maintain their traditional duties of feeding, clothing, and caring for their families and traveling companions, without the community of women that had eased the burden of those tasks back home. Finally, women were frequently expected to do so-called masculine work like care for livestock or help to lift a stuck wagon to keep the party moving forward.
About the Document
The photograph shows the kind of covered wagon that many western settlers traveled in during the western migration of 1840 to 1870. The wagon carried all the supplies needed for the journey, as well as everything necessary to establish a home and livelihood when the family arrived at their final destination. The wagon also served as the primary residence for the family while they made the journey. But the family did not necessarily ride in the wagon all day long. Settlers often walked alongside their wagon to ease the burden on the oxen and horses.
The text is a passage from the diary of Amelia Stewart Knight, who made the overland journey from Monroe County, Iowa, to Milwaukie, Oregon, with her husband and seven children in 1853. Amelia was pregnant during the journey. She gave birth to her eighth child on the trail about 10 days after writing this description of their treacherous descent from Big Laurel Hill in Oregon.
Vocabulary
Discussion Questions
- How would it feel to live in a covered wagon for a four-to-eight-month journey?
- What was Amelia Steward Knight responsible for while the men and boys oversaw the descent of the wagons down Big Laurel Hill?
- What particular challenges did women face on the overland journey?
Suggested Activities
- Include these sources in any lesson about the overland journey or the Oregon Trail.
- After reading Amelia Steward Knight’s diary, show students this 360˚ view of the passage down Big Laurel Hill and then ask them to make an illustration of what her passage down the hill looked like.
- For a larger lesson about the experiences of settlers in the West, combine these sources with any of the following:
- The movement of white American settlers westward had a devastating impact on the Indigenous communities that already inhabited those lands. To learn more, see:
Themes
IMMIGRATION, MIGRATION, AND SETTLEMENT
