The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-04-22

4e4 sc part OF the popuaauon
| OF the farther West is In . constant
state OF migration. OF caursa many
travel oy rail. but there is class who
/ 90 Dy their own cOnveyances and who
move So often that IL becomes almost a
second nature, Some almost become pro-
fession1l itinerants. and appear to move
from place to place purely for the love
| OF il.
Some are Ike birds Of passage, chang
ing location as the seasons change. rhus
| escaping the rigors Of northern win
ter and the diScomforts of southern
summer. These may be said TO i've on
the country through which they pass:
not 10 say that they steal a living. but
they secure certain amount Of forage
| as they pass from point 70 point At
enc point they may find good grazing
Tor their teams and such other live stock
as they may take along with them; at
another the males find employment IN
the harvest fields. or some other line Of
industry, or the females may md en-
p!oyment in the berry patches, etc Then.
the gun and ROD may help 10 exc out
their fare, and there are many opportu-
mites 10 pick up trifes along the route
stray chicken or a calf, sheaf OF
wheat or oats from the harvest fields.
or sack OF corn or wheat from the
grain cribs. Then. from the wayside
cornhelds. and potato and melon patch
es the camp mess may be supplied with
the delicacies OF the season.
Their conveyances consist almost ex-
clusively Of the prairie schooner.
which in these later days has changed
from the ark-like concern Of old TO
plain farm wagon, with high. arching
brows and canvas cover The wagons
quite naturally are OF various makes and
in various conditions Of repair. some
are new and freshly painted. as II Just
from the factory, while others are not
only Of rough homemade, but are in a
sad state of dilapidation, rickety in the
joints. implanted, and powdered with
successive coats OF dust. and the COW
ers tattered and repaired with huge and
irregular patches of oilcloth.
Some convert their vehicles into veri-
table houses on wheels. They widen the
tops by extending a sort OF platform
from the top Of the wagon bodies, a foot
or a foot and half on either side out
over the wheels. This enlarges the can
opy Of the wagon cover 50 that beds may
be made up within them at night, and
even small stoves may be set up at one
end, with pipes extending through the
roofs These provisions are made prin-
e4PeAAAS ~ bAlOSt VINO intend 10 trdNeI
during the fall and winter months. But
the great majority carry tents. and when
night comes. pitch them upon some
smooth and grassy plot OF ground, picket
the horses or mules, start fires in the
camp stoves, and prepare the evening
repast.
The women and children, who are
tired and cramped by riding under the
wagon cover. perched upon household
goods all day, are glad of the change.
and make the camp very cheerful by
their play and laughter and the busy
preparations for supper and the coming
nights repose. Almost invariably each
family group is accompanied by a dog.
and frequently there are other pets such
as cats, Gagged birds. and sometimes n
pet goat patiently trudges along at the
tail Of a passing prairie schooner.
The emigrant wagons seldom go singly
Sometimes they travel in pairs. but more
frequently in trains Of half-a dozen or
a dozen. They never seem IN a hurry.
but move across the country deliberately
and by easy stages. In summer time the
weather Is hot and the roads dusty. and
It is too much of strain both on the
teams and the women and children 70
make long days. The sun beats down /
Hagon-cOvers where the mothers and the /
oroods Of rosy-cheeked children are pack
ID, and the dust, rising 10 clouds from /
he alkali earth, make the atmosphere |
# the oven-like tops well-nigh suffocat-
ng. So, on the hotter days. the dis
ances between stopping places are quite
hort and the stops quite prolonged In
,ach town or hamlet passed through /
here is brief halt. perhaps 20 inquire /
he way. to purchase some tobacco for /
he men, calico for the women. or candy /
or the children. At such times rudy /
aced women and rosy-cheeked children I
,aze curiousIy from beneath the edges Of
ne wagon-faps. taking In the sights that
re presented TO view. while the uen,
ftentimes tall and lank, with loose, IN
tempt hair, stand about themselves with
he citizens Of the town. and quite free
nd open they are. telling without he-i-
alton where they hail from, whence they I
re going, their prospects and hopes in
fe.
There is a larger number OF these mi
rants than the world az large would
oppose In this age Of railroads and
heap fares. During the summer months
he main overland trails might be said
D be virtually lined with prairie schoon-
-: not all tending westward for there
re many who. through disappointment
? hOmesickness or eXigent circumstance !
re seen vending their slow and la51red
-ay eastward. The lines - the old
verland trails are followed as nearly
s existing conditions VIII permit