tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post2479882332055299209..comments2024-03-28T23:22:41.774-05:00Comments on TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee"): "History is all explained by geology"Minnesotastanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-20609840918763515242012-02-05T23:45:27.071-06:002012-02-05T23:45:27.071-06:00Abbie, I finally got the DVD and watched the movie...Abbie, I finally got the DVD and watched the movie. It really does give you the sense of what it was like to be one of those early migrants. I agree the ending was a bit unsettling, but I'm glad I watched it to get a sense of the experience they had.<br /><br />And I guess, now that I think about it more, that it doesn't really matter whether they found water over that last hill or not, because that wasn't the point of the movie.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-52192286592863143562011-11-18T13:51:39.818-06:002011-11-18T13:51:39.818-06:00If I'd been an emigrant, I'd have been amo...If I'd been an emigrant, I'd have been among the 10,000-30,000 who died along the way. I can't imagine the hardship.<br /><br />--Swift LorisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-65665264372129485882011-11-17T00:11:48.931-06:002011-11-17T00:11:48.931-06:00As for walking- everyone did it, you just hoped yo...As for walking- everyone did it, you just hoped your folks has enough money to extra leather or shoes since you would wear them out walking. Coffee saved many lives- found this on the Oregon trail site -"However, most of the space in the emigrants' wagons was reserved for food. The endless walking and hard work made even the most delicate appetites ravenous. Hundreds of pounds of dried goods and cured meats were packed into the wagons, including flour, hardtack, bacon, rice, coffee, sugar, beans, and fruit. Coffee, though the emigrants had no way of knowing it, probably saved thousands of lives on the overland trails, as it required that the water be boiled, thus killing any germs (including cholera) that might sicken the emigrants. In addition to their supplies, many emigrants had the family milk cow tied behind the wagon to provide fresh milk at meal time, and some fixed a chicken coop to the side of the wagon, as well. The fresh milk and eggs -- and later, meat -- were an important source of protein and calories for the overlanders, and they made for a welcome relief from the dried and preserved food that dominated many of their meals." http://historicoregoncity.org/end-of-the-oregon-trail-history/oregon-trail-history/136-outfitting-for-the-trailMEChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10762962784332439331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-12288848179186196432011-11-17T00:03:44.204-06:002011-11-17T00:03:44.204-06:00Also- the families that came far west to Californi...Also- the families that came far west to California used farm wagons or prairie schooners, not Conestoga wagons.The great big Conestoga wagons only went down to Ariz or New Mexico- so that they did not cross the Rockies. Small farm wagons could be disassembled and forded across streams or hoisted up mountains (as you have posted). Can you just imagine the smell and the dust on the trail?MEChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10762962784332439331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-69509897914116560492011-11-16T18:43:14.203-06:002011-11-16T18:43:14.203-06:00@anonymous said: "I always wonder how the pio...@anonymous said: "I always wonder how the pioneers got their kids to walk all that way."<br /><br />I suspect that pioneers' children - unlike the spoiled, mollycoddled, too-lazy-to-get-out-of-their-own-way, couchbound,TV-gawking spawn of today - knew they had no choice. You either walked or you got a whipping, it was as simple as that. Do you seriously think they gave their kids a choice? "Now Johnny, we'd like to emigrate to Californy - do you think you'd like to walk behind the wagon for 2,000 miles?"<br />Sheesh - give me a break!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-8714943144605163602011-11-16T13:21:15.023-06:002011-11-16T13:21:15.023-06:00Great post. Thanks!Great post. Thanks!bulletholeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13681107556161747976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-80525852203269845182011-11-15T23:46:52.005-06:002011-11-15T23:46:52.005-06:00Tx, Abbie. I've requested it from the library...Tx, Abbie. I've requested it from the library, but I'm #131 on the waiting list, so it will be a while...Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-64819890378001126152011-11-15T23:38:42.994-06:002011-11-15T23:38:42.994-06:00I was mildly surprised in Meek's Cutoff* by th...I was mildly surprised in Meek's Cutoff* by the fact that everybody was walking. (The image of the women wear full-body dresses walking through the Great Salt Lake sticks with you).<br /><br />Guess it was well-researched.<br /><br />*very good, but don't expect a concrete narrative arc or any sort of conclusion.Abbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03750772498972381178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-17761897483956177382011-11-15T22:57:52.341-06:002011-11-15T22:57:52.341-06:00John McPhee won the Pulitzer for his collection of...John McPhee won the Pulitzer for his collection of geology books - Annals of the Former World.<br /><br />My favorite geologic sites in the west are:<br /><br />the Narrows at Zion (you shouldn't die without seeing it)<br /><br />Yosemite Valley<br /><br />Shiprock<br /><br />Las Vegas (you can check out the Grand Canyon between slot machine binges)Bubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07367554651401120819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-10785427349657938462011-11-15T21:39:00.909-06:002011-11-15T21:39:00.909-06:00Ooh, that sounds fascinating. My husband loves his...Ooh, that sounds fascinating. My husband loves history, loves rocks, and has a birthday coming up in two weeks. Thank you!Mel V.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-31350824968046991382011-11-15T18:08:14.427-06:002011-11-15T18:08:14.427-06:00I've been over the Rockies many times -- in a ...I've been over the Rockies many times -- in a car. When I see the row upon row of mountains, I always wonder how the pioneers got their kids to walk all that way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-42997641409085086872011-11-15T16:56:03.902-06:002011-11-15T16:56:03.902-06:00This is fascinating!
I wonder to what extent it wo...This is fascinating!<br />I wonder to what extent it would be possible to walk the route now?<br /><br /> I read a book some time ago which was based on the diaries of people on the trail.<br />Hollywood sold us such a false view.<br />I remember reading how household posessions, family heirloom furniture, all manner of things thought vital as the families planned their journey to the west, ended up littering the trail, as it got steeper, and oxen died, these vital posessions were cast overboard to save weight. <br />Some other enterprising folk, setting near the trail, would collect and repair pieces, selling them to later travellers. There was always, also, a lesser trail, of families heading back east, after finding the journey too hard.soubriquethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01151288534629885195noreply@blogger.com