By 1824 the Santa Fe trade was in full swing. Joshua Gregg, in his classic tome, Commerce of the Prairies, described some of the action as he...
Greenhorns on the Santa Fe Trail
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The Oregon Trail: Part 2
Most wagons were about six feet wide and twelve feet long. They were usually made of seasoned hardwood and covered with a large, oiled canvas...
The Oregon Trail: Part 1
Though some American settlers had traveled to Oregon and California in the 1830s, West-bound wagon trains really started heading out in great...
Prairie Fever
Prairie Fever was also known as “Prairie Madness.” It affected settlers emigrating to the Great Plains following the Homestead Act of 1862. It...