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 7
I could take my two little toddling babies I little realized then the task I had undertaken 6 One bride days away from departing for a jump ing off spot in Missouri sang these hymn lyrics at her ceremony Can I bid you farewell Can I leave you Far in heathen lands to dwell Another young woman filled with youthful enthusiasm viewed the trip as an adventure with castles of shining gold waiting at the end Helen Carpenter a bride of four months recorded Ho for California at last we are on the way and with good luck may someday reach the promised land Faced with the decision to head west people tackled the journey in several ways Some booked passage on a ship and sailed around South America to California Others traveled to Panama cut across the isthmus and then sailed up the Pacific coast By the late 1860s railroad lines stretched across the continent and provided the quickest if most expen sive way to travel Without much baggage but themselves many sin gle women opted for dusty bumpy stagecoaches Stops along the way featured crowded rooms and meals of questionable quality Between 1856 and 1860 nearly 3 000 Mormon emigrants walked the brutal journey pulling two wheeled handcarts laden with goods all the way from Iowa to Utah By far the most popular means of family trans portation was the oxen drawn covered wagon built of seasoned hardwood and waterproofed with caulk Back to page 322 Page 15