Women of the Frontier: 16 Tales of Trailblazing Homesteaders, Entrepreneurs, and Rabble-Rousers

Women of the Frontier: 16 Tales of Trailblazing Homesteaders, Entrepreneurs, and Rabble-Rousers — page 3
MANY A WEARY MILE I have not told you half we suffered I am not ade quate to the task Elizabeth Smith Geer the trail's end 1847 Not long after sunrise on a May day in 1841 a dozen jam packed covered wagons rumbled out of a small town along the Missouri River Ox teams pulled the wagons steadily westward toward the Pacific coast carting the baggage of 69 men women and children Dawn rose behind their backs but that night the sun would set ahead of them a sign of hope beyond the horizon They were the first trickle in a flood of pioneers lured by the promise of better lives in the American West Americans had always looked west for escape and refuge The lure of Western lands symbolized health wealth and freedom In 1837 the United States plunged into an economic depression as banks closed Back to page 322 Page 11