. The story of corn and the westward migration. ers were continually inns and taverns were kept open, and inthe busy season trains of pack horses were passingconstantly, carrying hides and furs to the East andbringing in return salt and other necessities to theWest. The important freight carriers in the earlierdays were these pack horses, which moved in longlines, like caravans of camels across the have well been called the first industrialagents between the East and the West. The earlier settlers collected what furs and peltsthey could obtain throughout the year
. The story of corn and the westward migration. ers were continually inns and taverns were kept open, and inthe busy season trains of pack horses were passingconstantly, carrying hides and furs to the East andbringing in return salt and other necessities to theWest. The important freight carriers in the earlierdays were these pack horses, which moved in longlines, like caravans of camels across the have well been called the first industrialagents between the East and the West. The earlier settlers collected what furs and peltsthey could obtain throughout the year for thepurpose of sending them over the mountains forbarter. In the autumn the settlers brought togethertheir goods and the horses were equipped for thejourney. Each horse was provided with bell,collar, pack, saddle, and bags. These bags were iConestoga wagons were large, broad-wheeled wagons, usually covered, fortravel in soft soil and on prairies. The name is derived from the town Con-estoga, Pennsylvania. Early Life in the Corn Country 139. From The Story of Chicago Loading the pack horses filled with feed for the horses but on the return tripwere used for salt. The first horse in each groupwas led by adriver, andeach succes-sive horse washitched to thesaddle of theone in every-thing was inreadiness, thelong line ofpack horsesstarted from the Ohio across the mountains toShippensburg or Hagerstown, Maryland, wherethey were to meet the wagons from the furs were exchanged for salt, iron, and othermerchandise. Bars of iron were often fastened onthe backs of the horses and then bent around theirbodies. Each horse carried in addition to otherthings two bushels of alum salt, which weighedeighty-four pounds. They also carried back to theland far beyond the mountains small packages oftea, chocolate, sugar, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, glassbeads, hand mirrors, and the lighter iron caravans that went from the markets of theEast to the great Northwe
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