The
Prairie Traveler: A Handbook for Overland Expeditions - Randolph B.
Marcy Captain U.S. Army (published by authority of the war
department) originally published in 1859, 252 pages
In
1859 the westward expansion was in full swing. But horrible tales of
lost and ill equipped pioneers were causing people to be hesitant.
Captain Marcy was commissioned to write a guidebook to help those in
the east navigate to the verdant western territories.
The
instructions on: what to wear, what weapons to carry, what foods and
medications to bring, how to make your animals last for the entire
trip, and a host of
other things. All
these things the pioneer needed to know.
From
a 21st
century viewpoint we
think that certain levels of technology are essential to life. Yet 150 years ago, a
great many people traveled
more than 1600 miles to
new homes and new opportunities without the aid of an acceptable Internet connection!
No comments:
Post a Comment