February 9, 2024
In the summer of 2011, Rinker Buck and his brother Nick drove a mule-drawn covered wagon from Missouri to Oregon. Their goal was to follow the original Oregon Trail as closely as possible. Although they were not re-enactors, they strove to recreate the conditions that the early pioneers faced. The Oregon Trail is based on Buck’s experiences during the trip.
This book was not written with genealogists in mind. However, for genealogists this book is a great way to gain more insight into what your ancestors may have experienced as they followed the trails. Although the author followed the Oregon Trail, most of what he writes about will apply equally to any of the trails that pioneers followed to the West. This will include the Mormon Trail and the California Trail as well as several less known shortcuts and cutoffs.
Those of us who grew up on movie and television westerns have a glamorized vision of trail travel. We assume that well-dressed, clean pioneers sat on comfortable wagon seats as their animals moved calmly along the trail.
After reading the book, I had a greater appreciation for how difficult travel to the West really was. Draft animals were slow. Crossing the country required at least four months during the peak immigration years. Diseases caused by poor sanitation were rampant. Cholera and typhoid were common and spread from one wagon train to another.
Riding on an unpadded wagon seat was bouncy and uncomfortable. To save the animals from the strain of extra weight, anyone who could walked. Animals balked or startled and ran away. Accidents where people fell from wagons and were crushed by wagon wheels were common. Even if medical care was available, doctors could often do little to cure the illnesses and accidents that pioneers suffered.
I’d always thought that I might have enjoyed a cross country trip in a wagon like my ancestors took in 1850. After reading Buck’s book, I’m not so sure. Even in 2011, the trip was long, boring, and sometimes extremely frightening when lightning crashed all around and the mules were close to bolting.
For me, the best part of the book was the historical information about the Oregon Trail that it presented. I especially enjoyed the excerpts from actual trail diaries kept by early pioneers. Buck includes an extensive Acknowledgements section at the end in which he lists many of the books and other sources he used to write the historical sections of his book. If you have ancestors who travelled the trail, some of these sources may be worth looking into to fill in the blanks in your family’s trip.
My only complaint about the book is that I felt Buck was somewhat mean-spirited in his descriptions of other modern travelers he met along the trail. He was particularly dismissive of the older RVers he encountered. He considered their travels superficial and useless. Not everyone has the skills or desire to be able to drive a mule team cross country. That doesn’t mean that they are not getting benefit from visiting the historic sites and making their own mechanized trips along the Oregon Trail. Belittling their efforts felt unnecessary. It added a sour note to what was otherwise an engaging story.
Even if you never take a trip along the Oregon Trail, Buck’s book allows you to take one virtually. I found it an interesting read and would recommend it.
Carol Stetser
Larimer County Genealogical Society
Researcher