OCR Text |
Show The Oipijxnat mms Qft ''Covered 'Wagon v . , ' T ' : : ' '. ' ' ' J 1 -, "1 - ' - X - .' .--... '- g j; ,y - .-.z-.-. . - - V t' - f I . 0 1 - ' , As - ,f VX"-'. V --- - , ' - , ; ' ' i V ' " - ' ' ' - M ' ,s f ,f s '- -- - ' ,1 - j, 'i f-.' ' fv - 1 ; -.v" ,X" ,yr V'x 1 - " - -tZ. r- ' ConeStogaWagon. -from a painting by "EO.C DarletjJ874 - - rf , fl&' ' By ELMO SCOTT WATSON " . - J&tSi OVERED WAGON CEXTENXIAL, . S KlM j t lvWlfV'i v.'l!SW lWf I rTXY wMch 18 hci celebrated at vari- AS " tW TS77 V an nns serve(i to fix more firmly r . t "ii ln the minds of most Americans the f fTT rf,' OT?Sto, VVaqon. , .,Y Sji Prairie schooner as the one out- IflX built m 1813 fff Z Tj) f, standing symbol of that epic migra- BiT - SzL" OJ ISrSa. tion which won the trans-Missis- I LfK v " ftf 1 (f sippl West. Appropriate' though hPS MiMiFM s& Jj V the prairie schooner may be as symbol of that !pVS2?4rf? ftM rftl ' ' )Y 1 era in our history, it was not the original covered " g"f ) That distinction belongs to another vehicle JjfV, ' h 8 which antedated the prairie schooner by at least b l - feil I f ml illustrations from. a century, but which, like its successor, played k'ConestoqaWa qons OJVthe National Rood' "Aik?'"' an important role in the westward march of the by C WJeffer-ijS -Jo"" omwrke American people even though It did It amid the (TromYale University Press" Pageant oF America11 n rich rolline farmlands, the fertile vallevs and the " Conestoqa Waqon BellS ConeStogaWagon. from a painting by "EO.C Darleij, 1874 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON OVERED WAGON CENTENNIAL, ( iv- f which is being celebrated at vari-f vari-f J ous places along the route of the V ) Old Oregon Trail this year, has again focused public attention VCi7X upon a type of vehicle which once jstcwr) traversed that historic highway V an nns served to fix more firmly SCtfeaiSrfu' ln tIie mincls of most Americans the wSJ3w prairie schooner as the one out-standing out-standing symbol of that epic migra-" migra-" ' tion which won the trans-Missis sippi West. Appropriate' though the prairie schooner may be as symbol of that era in our history, it was not the original covered wagon. That distinction belongs to another vehicle which antedated the prairie schooner by at least a century, but which, like its successor, played an important role in the westward march of the American people even though It did It amid the rich rolling farmlands, the fertile valleys and the wooded slopes of the Appalachians In the East rather than across the broad plains of the Great West. For- the Conestoga wagon of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, was the "original covered wagon," even though that name "Conestoga wagon" wag-on" means nothing to thousands of Americans in whose minds a very definite picture forms when you speak the words "prairie schooner." One hundred years ago wagoning was at its, height and on the Conestoga trail the road from Philadcphia to Pittsburgh, which was the gateway to the Ohio country were fleets of great white-topped white-topped wagons. There were said to be three thousand thou-sand daily, on this road alone. Some carried six or eight-ton loads of provisions and necessaries for the western country, and 'back loaded' with furs and skins, flour and wheat, from the West for the eastern markets. Others carried families, who were going to the new country to make it their homes, and all of their household goods. Of contemporary records of all this activity there are few, and no stress is laid upon the wagons or their heavy six-horse bell teams. They were so much a part of every day that they are simply taken for granted. Historians who wrote just after their era was past mention them only casually cas-ually they were still sticn a commonplace, as idigenous to the Pennsylvania countryside as its farms and orchards, or its hills themselves. Today a Conestoga wagon is a rarity, even in the land of its origin. Tomorrow it will be found only In museums. But fortunately for all those who cherish the tradition of things typically and essentially American, the Conestoga wagon has had its historian who has collected in one volume all the available Information about this instrument instru-ment of empire building before it was too lata He Is John Omwnke, now a resident of Cincinnati. When John Omwake was a boy in Pennsylvania, his uncle, Wesley Koons, operated a big farm near Greencastle in Franklin county in the Cumberland Cumber-land valley. After the Civil war he was one of the few who kept their Conestoga bell teams to be brought to town on election day and on other public occasions. One of young Omwake's ambitions ambi-tions was to some day own and drive as "fine a team as Uncle Wesley Koons'" That boyhood wish was never fulfilled but the next best thing was to write a book about this unique bit of Pennsylvania's Pennsyl-vania's early life and the result was the book, "The Conestoga Six-Horse Bell Teams of Eastern Pennsylvania, 1750-1S50," which Mr. Omwake recently re-cently printed for private distribution. In the preface to his book Mr. Omwake says, "To most of us today a Conestoga wagon means rather vaguely just any covered wagon. But It wasn't. The Conestoga wagon was a perfect vehicle ve-hicle for existing conditions and the highest type of a commodious freight carrier that bas ever been known. It started as a farm wagon and grew with the country. It rumbled farther and farther from Its home farm to the mill, to the, market, and beneath its ponderous wheels trails widened and became roads ; fords became ferries and then bridges, horizons broadened and the Conestoga wagon was the carrier between the East and the "West whose need George Washington had foreseen." fore-seen." Although the first of these vehicles were modi-fled modi-fled English covered farm wagons, which came into use in New England and other places on the Atlantic seaboard early in the colonial days, local conditions in Pennsylvania notably the greater distances between the producer and his market, which made it essential that the Pennsylvania farm wagon hold twice as much as the New England Eng-land farm wagon, where distances were shorter, hence the sturdier built and heavier wagon requiring re-quiring from four to eight horses to pull it quickly resulted in the development of a distinctive distinc-tive type of wagon for this region. Gradually the excellence of the wagons made by the wheelwrights of the Conestoga valley of Lancaster Lan-caster county caused them to become famous throughout the .country and "Conestoga wagon" became a sort of trademark for this type of freight carrier. They differed from the English wagons from which they sprang in that the bed was longer and deeper and had considerable sag in the middle, both lengthwise and crosswise. There was a very good reason for this. If, while the wagon was pursuing its way over some rough trail or down a steep mountainside, the load would shift, settle toward the center and not throw its bulk against the endgates. Unlike the bows, which held the white cover of the English wagon, which were vertical, the bows of the Conestoga followed the line of the ends of the body and slanted outward, thus keeping out rain and dust. The whole appearance of the Conestoga was that of a boat and, as Mr. Omwake says, "It is easy to ' see why this wagon should have been called the Ship of Inland Commerce, as It cruised with its great white top between the green Pennsylvania hills." "Even had it not been for its striking contour," he continues, "the Conestoga wagon would have been imposing because of its sheer bulk. The top of the front hoop was eleven feet from the ground. The white homespun cover was two dozen feet long. The top ends of the wagon bed were sixteen feet apart and the rear wheels five or six feet high. When the six-horse team was pulling, the team and wagon stretched to sixty feet. "The wagoner was selected because of his ability abil-ity and dependability and when anyone Interfered with his charge he knew how to defend his rights. . . . There were many things to quarrel about and the wagoner in the popular mind became a dashing daredevil who was to the Pennsylvania countryside what the cowboy u;is to the West." These great wagons which carried such large loads of freight, required sfiirdy horses to draw them and gradually there evolved a breed of draught animals known as Conestoga horses which were as distinctive as the wagons themselves. They were the product of English or Flemish draught horses and Virginia mares and were a race of large, patient animals with short, arched necks, full manes, good legs, sleek round bodies and weighing around fourteen hundred pounds or more. Just as the Conestoga wagons and horses were distinctive, so were tbe various pieces of equipment equip-ment which helped to make up the whole freighting freight-ing outfit. The most striking of these were the bells which gave the name of "six-horse bell teams." At first these beiis were very necessary for the roads were narrow and winding and it was desirable that other traflic be given warning of the approach of one of these heavy outfits. But later these bells survived as a sort of a trademark. trade-mark. They varied in size, number, shape and arrangement but the early day traveler on a Pennsylvania Penn-sylvania road could not mistake the sound of their tinkling approach. Then there were distinctive features in the tool boxes, the feed boxes, the tar buckets and a dozen other things. The iron work on these wagons was especially interesting, revealing as it did the artistic ar-tistic aspirations of the blacksmiths, who collaborated collabo-rated with wheelwrights in making the Conestoga wagons. Usually the blacksmith put somewhere on the wagon the date in iron and the figure one, as it invariably appeared on the Conestoga wagon and nowhere else, is interesting. It Is a double I crossed and, according to Mr. Omwake, it means "Jahr Herr Jesu" or "the year of our Lord Jesus." Then there were other details which gave to the wagon a picturesque and impressive appearance. appear-ance. "Its wheels and removable sideboards were painted a bright vermilion, while the running gear was a soft blue and white cover gleamed in the sunshine a brave sight cruising between the green fields and the wooded hills. "I think the painting of the Conestoga wagons was the result of conditions, rather than any esthetic es-thetic preference, although the Amis!) today have a decided liking for light blue, pink and cherry red. The Conestoga wagon came into existence Just in time to have a part in making American history. his-tory. As early as 1745 Benjamin Franklin was issuing a broadside urging wagoners to enlist with their wagons and teams in the king's service against the French and Indians. Ten years later when General Braddock set out upon his ill-fated expedition it was' very necessary that he have adequate ade-quate transport for his provisions during his march into tlTe wilderness. Securing this was only one of the many difficulties of that harassed leader lead-er and It was not until Benjamin Franklin came to his aid and persuaded the Pennsylvania wagoners wagon-ers to enlist that the expedition was able to make any progress westward. Conestoga wagoners also accompanied Gen. John Frobes on his march three years later to accomplish what Braddock had failed to do the capture of the French fort at i the forks of the Ohio. The Conestoga wagons played their part, too, in the struggle for liberty. It was these vehicles which carried supplies to the American army during dur-ing that terrible winter at Valley Forge and in the spring of 177S a sturdy Conestoga wagon, drawn by four horses and with a full company of Con-. Con-. tinental soldiers as a guard, brought $000,000 in silver, the loan of the French government from Portsmouth, N. H., to the government treasury at Xork, Pa., (where the Continental congress was then meeting). But It was in the period after the Revolution that the Conestoga rose to its full glory as the carrier of freight back and forth to the West and as the vehicle of tbe emigrants into the Kentucky and Ohio country. It also served once more as a weapon of war during the War of 1S12 when Conestoga wagons carried powder from tin; Brandy wine mills to Lake Erie, there to be used In Perry's brilliant victory at Put-in-Bay ( by Western Newspaper Union.) |