Omaha daily bee., 1907-01-20
wander Of the Old way.


no timsAst'
thhss' wonder of the Old Way
the fatTbis country never saw such con-
as she irse." said Colonel r. T. Van Horn OF
in the USe' 49,. - he, made the old trail
Mary fiisa ,., -, s,1t was a mixture Of mer-
LiVAieui ants soldiers traders, trappers' Indians
hOr the ,xicans horses mules. oxen, wagons I'M
mind a , -, o.oI,,ars nd a conglomerate
Us max AZ Of nondescript employees with con-
fSosuih, atom Of tongues provincial and profane
at cannot be described.
Inc 'It was in every sense trail Nature
FAIRS olade the roadway. divide between TWO
ehe cou tersheds so that It was comparatively
on the =, -, a,,ro,,s drv No DELAYS ever
could slrrad from washouts and no bridges were
Suhet or needed 1t was never surveyed anu
Cleop The work ever done upon 1t was by the
as arde = ratiro newer Of hoof and wheel that
SIRE blu "a o,,er q Nowhere else in the world
one Wh' isted such clear natural roadway Oh
viz an miles. ,
Is nrst AT first the trade carried on by pack
emoiuoul es, a train consisting of from ten 10
ana al animals with usually a man IN 'chIso
man WI Ave or sly of the pack bearers. The
led to psInass nj the other end of the trail, or
was bI,ot came to be known as the Santa Fe
in his ade was n development and had its
punishriain I'm information obtained by traders
not so 18th the Indians At the beginning OF the
band aist century James Pursley, while trading
Jesla Iar the sources of the South Rlatte,
BouBhb aard of settlements IN NC" NASfANN ~-~
own, aiaae his way to Santa Fe. Ile was SO
the greu treated by the natives t,at he never
remorsSturned; but the Indignation that ne
she Nave traders inspired the organized move
ters aAeuts that were afterward made.
great -
them Prices in Those Days
Glow ttsAn ohioan by the name OF Glenn
might sached Santa Fe by way of the upper
its vcorlxansas in 1921. and Captain Becknen' a
reouirdissourian. by the far western route Fhe
It evenducements to the trade may be seen oS
of Il she statement that UP to this time New
Lady fexico had received all its goods and sup
sleep-Wie from the interior after they had been
the deanded at Vera Cruz. The inspiration OF
other aese early merchant pioneers may be I'M
lustraterstood when 1t is said that common
of theRlico sold at 81 and 50 yard and other
she scrticles accordingly.
more "a few years afterward came the introo-
apt junction OF wagons by company of traders
grasp umberinR about eighty. There were
Che TWENTY-FIVE of these vehicles-Some OF
hem wagons, some carts, but none espe-
somAally built for the purpose. In 1873 oxen
.ordItvere first used to draw the wagons, and
stsea wo years afterward wagons suited to the
Il shont rafic were built big, strong, numbering
/ hings, carrying 5000 or 5000 pounds. The
e==5rairie south Of Kansas City was covered
W. os ssa6' Of aS great army. The pastls.
n made themselves up into trains, as they
SsSere called, for besides the regular trader
here were settlers and adventures whit
n ook advantage OF the larger parties e
,ass through the dangerous country 10 thu
vest. These people used every means o
transportation that they could obtain, SOM
rad oxen, others horses mules and nov
md then few strong-spirited men loade'
mpplies upon a cart drawn by singh
donkey and walked beside It.
Starting Point OF the Trail.
1 sssrA,o NJ trail. seemed q
"a all the time drifting further and furthe
oward the west. 1t started as the 4irs
Il old Franklin, town In Howard count
Ibout 100 miles east of Kansas City, an
which has since been swept away by tn
Missouri river. The opening of rive
navigation moved It TO independence
md then twelve miles further on 20 tn
vest. to Kansas City. which was the
\ merely the landing place for Westport, no'
L nothing but a name Then. as the rallroa
l vas built, the starting point for the WACO
ABRAMS moved steadily on, just ahead c
Hiiushe western point of construction Thi
4 Wneeting place of the life OF the trail an
Renthe life OF the railroad camps brougt
RfHabOut much OF the romantic and not Away
usesavoTy life Of the frontier 1t was this III
beethat made old badge City. LaTned an
sndPueblo what they were.
\ II 1.-THE trains generally carried to the wei
rlinthose articles that may be considered q
Nan,khe necessities OF life in pioneer civilzs
lcinfion They brought back with them gres
plabundles of buffalo hides and quantities
Silver In bulk and specie. This preciOJ
Iolifrnetal packed in rawhide. Many me
Tmade fortunes. and many lost not only a
Mntheir possessions but their lives, 1t va
BSa question sometimes what was best 70 tai
lssrand where 20 carry il. One instance illu
kHtrating that the case Of Pomeroy an
IsnrBenton OF Independence, who had son
lJoboys driving bulls through to Santa +
1nThey sent out a train in - loaded wit
whisky. tOhAooO and suns. which migi