Cross-Country Travel in the 1800s – by Donna Schlachter – with giveaway

 

We take a lot for granted today when we hop in our car or line up at the airport or consider taking a train across the country. Not only did travel in the 1800s take tens or hundreds of times longer than today, it was far more dangerous, expensive in relation to the cost of living, and uncomfortable.

Regardless of the mode of travel, just about every trip could prove deadly. From runaway horses to buffalo blocking the rail line, to your ship sinking in a storm or your canoe or barge sinking in a flash flood, your arrival was never a done deal.

But the 1800s were a time of immense progress, and the tales of rich soil and forests and gold fields west of the Mississippi lured many. In fact, many of those tales were fabricated by men who’d never even been west of the Old Man River.

 

Photo Courtesy of Donna Schlachter

Expansion to the west began primarily by settlers following in the tracks of previous explorers, hunters, and trackers. Employing covered wagons, these settlers left most of their lives behind, trading it for a pair or two of oxen or mules, a wagon, and enough supplies to last for several months. Prices for food, clothing, and wagon parts were inflated along the trail because mercantiles and way stations knew they had little competition. But fording rivers, dysentery, and attacks from Indians killed many. It’s said that there is a body buried every mile along the Oregon Trail.

Other dangers included horses stampeding, hunger, getting caught in an early storm in the mountains, losing the trail and perishing from hunger, not packing enough water to cross the desert, along with animal attacks, snake bites, and the various maladies that come along, including appendicitis, broken limbs, and childbirth.

Westward travelers typically left from one of three points: Independence, MO; Saint Joseph, MO; or Council Bluffs, IA. The trails from these cities converged in central Nebraska, following the local rivers across Nebraska and Wyoming. On the western side of the Continental Divide, the Mormon Trail led to Salt Like City, while the Oregon-California Trail took settlers to Idaho. Journeys usually left in the spring to avoid winter storms, but often an early storm caught travelers unawares.

While the Oregon Trail was one of the best-known roads—if it were to be called such—the Cumberland Road transformed the country around the turn of the 1800s. It was the first road funded by the federal government, and it took decades to complete. By 1825, the road was celebrated in song, story, painting, and poetry. It ran from Cumberland, Maryland and terminated in Vandalia, Illinois. While we wouldn’t consider it cross-country today, it crossed the known union of the time.

From Wikipedia Common Files

Traveling by steamboat was usually much more pleasant, unless you ran aground, as Mark Twain did. Steamboats were popular passage on the Mississippi, although there were other routes, as well, such as Providence to New York. Sailing on the seaward side, strong gales often threatened passengers and ships alike.

From Wikipedia Common Files

Canals were thought to be the next best thing. The Erie Canal, completed in 1825, reduced the time it took to get from New York to Chicago in half, plus it was much more comfortable than riding in a carriage on a gravel or unpaved road.

One comment often made about the ships was that the food was excellent, even compared to the finest of hotels. However, while the cruise sounds luxurious, calm, and filled with good food, not all was well. In some cases, the bridges were so low that folks had to lay flat on the deck to avoid being decapitated.

From Wikipedia Common Files

Railroad passenger travel has almost disappeared today due to other faster modes of transportation, but in 1812, it was still a dream that passengers could travel almost as fast as a bird (15-20 miles an hour). With speeds like that, they could set out from Washington in the morning, breakfast in Baltimore, midday meal in Philadelphia, and supper in New York the same day.

In 1827, the first thirteen miles of track opened, and because there was a lot of money to be made, expansion happened quickly. However, with no government oversight and substandard construction, train derailments happened often and people died.

Westward expansion of the railroad was slow to catch on, however, mostly because of the Rocky Mountains. Laying rail along that path seemed a fool’s errand. Instead, individual local railroads cropped up, unconnected or duplicative. With the local expansion of railroads, technically, track only needed to be laid between Nebraska and California. Now folks could travel from one end of the country to the other in less than four days, so long as there were no washouts, bison or cattle herds blocking the rail, deep snow, floods…

Passengers asserted that the train seating was far more comfortable than a stagecoach, a covered wagon, or a horse.

 

From Wikipedia Common Files

Prior to land crossings, the only way to get from one coast to the other was via a ship southward, around Cape Horn, then north, for the better part of a year. Being on the sea for an extended time like that increased your chances of falling ill or getting injured or even dying. Re-supplying along the way meant opportunities to run amuck of the local natives, who were often distrustful of white people.

  

In my book, Tina, we find an orphaned young woman who lives in a covered wagon in Loveland, Colorado, who is left in charge of her younger sisters. She must earn money to feed and house them, but when she falls victim to danger, what will she do? You can check out the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Tina-Prairie-Roses-Collection-2023-ebook/dp/B0BWGKGYTL  and the series here:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R8DSMB4?binding=kindle_edition&qid=1680033081

 

 

 

About Donna:

A hybrid author, Donna writes squeaky clean historical and contemporary suspense. She has been published more than 60 times in books; is a member of several writers groups; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; ghostwrites; edits; and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both, and is an avid oil painter. She also coaches writers at any stage of their manuscript. Learn more at www.donnaschlachter.com/Tapestry

 

 

 

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Resources:

Grunge https://www.grunge.com/667139/what-it-was-really-like-to-travel-across-the-us-in-the-1800s/

http://gdc.gale.com/archivesunbound/

 

 

 

Canal City: Gold Coast, Australia

Have you been enjoying our virtual visits to the beautiful and historical canal cities of the world? If you missed last month’s trip to Tigre, Argentina, click here (https://www.hhhistory.com/2021/09/canal-city-tigre-argentina.html). Today, we’re going to make our way over sixteen thousand miles across the South Pacific Ocean to visit Gold Coast, Australia. 

 

Despite its name, Gold Coast is a city located in the Australian state of Queensland, approximately forty miles south of the state capital of Brisbane. Originally named South Coast, Gold Coast is the ancestral home of a number of indigenous clans of the Yugambeh people, and Europeans didn’t arrive until 1823 when explorer John Oxley landed at Mermaid Beach. 

 

The hinterland’s red cedar supply attracted people as timber-fellers made their way north along the

Pacific coast from Sydney and past Port Macquarie, putting the area into play with regional and global trade in native Australian timbers. Small townships developed along the coast and in the hinterland, and the west suburb of Nerang was established as a base for the industry. By 1870, a town reserved had been set aside. As the years passed, the area grew a reputation as a secluded holiday destination for wealthy Brisbane residents. 

 

The American Civil War impacted the area because the conflict interrupted the South’s supply of raw materials for England’s textile industry. Local farmers and industrialists tried to plug the hold by experimenting with new kinds of crops. Ultimately, the experiment failed, but other crops took their places in a series of efforts to match the qualities of the land and climate with demand, even as timberland was being extracted. The successive effort gave rise to villages, forming the backbone of the city’s current structure. 

 

Residential canals were first built in Gold Coast in the 1950s. Most are extensions of the Nerang River, but there are more to the south along Tallebudgera Creek and Currumbin Creek, and to the north along the Gold Coast Broadwater and Coomera River. Already the largest manmade canal network in the southern hemisphere, construction continues, adding to the 135 lakes and more than 400 kilometers of canals (over nine times the length of the Venice canals). 

 

The Gold Coast Waterway Authority is the dedicated organization that ensures the canals, rivers, and lakes of this pristine area are developed and used in a manner to remain clean, safe, and accessible. It is no wonder Gold Coast is a major tourist destination for visitors from all over the world. 

________________________________

 

Linda Shenton Matchett writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. A volunteer docent and archivist for the Wright Museum of WWII, Linda is a former trustee for her local public library. She is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry. Linda has lived in historic places all her life, and is now located in central New Hampshire where her favorite activities include exploring historic sites and immersing herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors. Learn more about Linda and her books at http://www.LindaShentonMatchett.com.

 

A Family for Hazel: 

Can a widowed preacher who must marry to keep his job and an alleged thief find true love? 

 

After the Civil War takes Hazel Markham’s father, and her mother dies of a broken heart, a friend of her parents hires Hazel as a companion. All is well until the woman’s lecherous son takes an interest in his mother’s assistant. When Hazel spurns his advances one too many times, the man frames her for theft, and she is fired. As a last resort she applies to be a mail-order bride, and to her dismay, her groom-to-be is a preacher. Will he believe her claims of innocence or reject her as unacceptable? 

 

Olav Kristensen has no plans to remarry after being widowed five years ago, but when the church elders give him an ultimatum to find a wife or lose his job, he advertises for a mail-order bride. The woman who arrives attests she was unjustly accused of robbery at her last job, but when his daughter’s heirloom locket goes missing, he is hesitant to believe his bride-to-be. Will he lose his church and a second chance at love?

Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GMP9C36

Canal City: Bruges, Belgium

Today marks our third visit to a European canal city: Bruges, Belgium. Last month we enjoyed a virtual tour of Delft, Netherlands.

Nestled between Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France, and the North Sea, Belgium covers an area of 11,849 square miles and is home to two main linguistic groups: the Dutch-speaking Flemish community which constitutes about sixty percent of the population, and the French-speaking community which constitutes about forty percent of the population. There is a tiny German-speaking community that exists in the East Cantons. Brussels, the country’s largest city and capital is officially bilingual in French and Dutch. 

 

Belgium is comprised of ten provinces, and Bruges is the capital of the province

of West Flanders in the Flemish region. The seventh-largest city of the country by population, its fifty-three square miles are actually oval in shape. Bruges originated on the banks of the river Reie. Often referred to as the Venice of the North, the name Bruges is thought to be derived from the Old Dutch word for bridge: brugga. An appropriate moniker considering there are eighty bridges within the city limits. 

 

The history of the city reaches back several hundred years when it received its charter on July 27, 1128. As it developed, canals were built connecting it to the deeper branch of the North Sea, the Zwin. Important because of its tidal inlet known as the “Golden Inlet” and strategic location at the crossroads of the trade routes, Bruges used its wealth to construct new walls and additional canals. Castles too. Of the 470 castles in the Flanders region, nearly fifty are found near Bruges. 

 

By the beginning of the 13th century, the city was on the circuit of the Flemish and French cloth fairs. A short time later, the first merchant fleet from Genoa arrived, linking Bruges to trade in the Mediterranean. As a result of its wealth, Bruges opened the Bourse in 1309. Considered the first stock exchange in the world, the Bourse developed into the most sophisticated money market of the Low Countries in the 14th century. 

 

One hundred years later, Philip the Good (Duke of Burgundy) set up court in Bruges and attracted artists, bankers, and other prominent and influential people from all over Europe. By 1400, Bruges was home to 200,000 residents, and the city’s weavers and spinners were thought to be the best in the world. 

 

In the 1500s, the “Golden Inlet” began silting up, and prosperity began to wane. The lace industry did well, and Charles II of England lived in the city during his exile in the 1650s, but Bruges continued to fade. Antwerp soon became Belgium’s economic leader. The population declined until the 1900s when Bruges began to attract wealthy British and French tourists. 

Occupied but undamaged during both world wars, Bruges experienced a bit of a renaissance in the 1960s. Restoration of residential and commercial structures, monuments, and churches produced a flood of tourism, and the city was designated “European Capital of Culture” in 2002. Eight million tourists visit annually to enjoy the medieval architecture, miles of canals, and cobblestone streets. 

 

What do you find most intriguing about this beautiful city’s history? 

 _________________

Linda Shenton Matchett writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. A volunteer docent and archivist for the Wright Museum of WWII, Linda is also a trustee for her local public library. She is a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry. Linda has lived in historic places all her life and is now located in central New Hampshire where her favorite activities include exploring historic sites and immersing herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors. 

Rayne’s Redemption: 

Will she have to lose her identity to find true love? 

Twin sisters Rayne and Jessica Dalton have been swapping places their whole lives, so when Jessica dies on the eve of heading west to become a mail-order bride, Rayne decides to fill her sister’s shoes. The challenge will be faking Jessica’s faith in God. Can Rayne fool her prospective groom without losing her heart...or her soul? 

 

Flynn Ward fled England to escape his parent’s attempts at marrying him off, but locating a woman to love in the Wyoming mountains is harder than finding a hackney in a rainstorm. Then the Westward Home & Hearts Agency offers him the perfect match. But when his prospective bride arrives, she’s nothing like she seemed in her letters. Is he destined to go through life alone? 

 

Can two desperate people overcome their differences to find common ground...and love?

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3pGWKJE