The Wagon Train

Nell watched with horror as she saw the careless men load her precious sewing machine onto the wagon. She heard the crack of the leg as they threw it onto the back of the covered wagon that she would be traveling in for many weeks. Her sewing machine was the only thing she had left of her mother's; now it was cracked. How seriously she didn't know. She only hoped it could be repaired once she got to Iowa. She wanted to bury her head in a pillow and cry her heart out, but she was on her own now. She was heading for Iowa to be a wife to a strange man and a step-mother to four children.

 She was going to share the wagon with another woman who was traveling alone as well. She was a widow lady. Her husband had died many years ago and she wanted an adventure. She had furniture and trunks. It left little room for sleeping for the women. She was glad that the woman had cooking pots and utensils. She also had wash basins and food that could be cooked over a bonfire.
 There was almost a hundred wagons in the group she was with. The whole group of wagons was called a wagon train. These wagons were pulled by oxen and were very strong. They had to be strong because they had to pull the wagons full of people, furniture, water barrels and dishes for many miles. Oxen were used in wagon trains because they could haul fully loaded wagons up ravines or drag them out of mud holes. They could survive on very poor grass as well, unlike horses and donkeys. The trip would be very dangerous. The oxen would have to pull the wagons across rivers and sometimes very steep hills.

The trail bosses rode horses and so did the scouts. Scouts often rode many miles ahead of the wagon train looking for fresh water, dangerous water crossings after hard rains and of course, Indians that were angry. They were angry that people were not only crossing their land without permission, but killing the animals that they used for food like deer and turkeys. (Nell will see other animals that the Indians treasured along the way.) Scouts were very very brave. They would ride many miles and then ride back to the wagon train with the news that all was well for a certain amount of miles or that there were obstacles to cross or to deal with.

Back in Iowa, a young man was concerned about his sister. She seemed to always be watching for the lady that his pa had sent for. Every once in awhile he watched her hoping that she would accept the new lady. He had talked to his pa about her. He found out that her name was Nell. He was older and understood that his pa needed more help than he and his sisters and brother could give. Still it did bother him that someone new would be cooking in his ma's kitchen. In his mind he could still "see" his ma making apple pies and frying chicken for Sunday dinner. Oh how he missed her.