INTRODUCTION
On May 22, 1843, a massive wagon set off from Independence, Missouri heading for Oregon. There were about 1,000 settlers and 1,000 heads of cattle in the train--following the Oregon Trail that opened up the West.
POEM
On May 22, 1843, a massive wagon set off from Independence, Missouri heading for Oregon. There were about 1,000 settlers and 1,000 heads of cattle in the train--following the Oregon Trail that opened up the West.
POEM
WESTERN WAGONS
By Stephen Vincent and Rosemary Carr Benet
They went with axe and rifle, when the trail was still to blaze,
They went with wife and children, in the prairie-schooner days,
With banjo and with frying pay——Susanna, don’t you cry!
For I’m off to California to get rich out there or die!
We’ve broken land and cleared it, but we’re tired of where we are,
They say that wild Nebraska is a better place by far.
There’s gold in far Wyoming, there’s black earth in Ioway,
So pack up the kids and blankets, for we’re moving out today!
The cowards never started and the weak died on the road,
And all across the continent the endless campfires glowed.
We’d taken land and settled——but a traveler passed by——
And we’re going West tomorrow——Lordy, never ask us why!
We’re going West tomorrow, where the promises can’t fail,
O’er the hills in legions, boys, and crowd the dusty trail!
We shall starve and freeze and suffer. We shall die, and tame the lands.
But we’re going West tomorrow, with our fortune in our hands.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brenner, Barbara, ed. 2000. VOICES: POETRY AND ART FROM AROUND THE WORLD. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. ISBN 0792270711
EXTENSION
Have a large box decorated to look like an old trunk. Have students decide what they would pack to travel on the Oregon Trail. Let everyone draw one or two items to put in the trunk. Make sure they bring food staples and items that will help them find more food and get settled.
Photo courtesy of http://images.search.yahoo.com/.
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