Chapter 1

He had a reputation for being stubborn, but he always thought that was what got his wagon trains through with every wagon making it all the way to California. Nowadays, most trains headed for Oregon, but he stuck to what he knew best, which was the safest way to Sacramento. Jasper Samuelson wasn't stubborn, he was smart!

He had two rules for his trains that set him apart: every wagon had at least one breech-loading, double barreled shotgun with 500 shells, and no horses pulling wagons. He'd settle for mules, but he really preferred oxen.

Jasper insisted on a shotgun for several very good reasons. First and foremost was that you didn't have to be a good shooter to hit what you pointed a shotgun at. Most of the folks in a wagon train couldn't hit dooly with a musket and not much more with a rifle, but they usually could become pretty competent with a shotgun in short order. Furthermore, you could get shells for a shotgun which meant that you didn't have to measure powder for each shot and handle umpteen different things just to get a shot off. Most folks could get off two shots, reload, and get off two more shots while they were still fumbling to load a musket or rifle. Oh, sure, there were paper cartridges for muskets and rifles, but you still had to be sure to do everything just so or your could screw up so bad that you were better off with a cutlass. Jasper didn't care how many rifles, muskets, or pistols you wanted to carry, but you better have a shotgun if you wanted to be in his train!

He was the same way about horses. You could ride your milk cow for all he cared, but you better not try to sneak a horse team in on him. He really wanted his people to have four stout oxen to pull their wagon, but six mules would get you by. Sure, you didn't need that much pulling power on the flat plains of Missouri, or Kansas, or Nebraska, but you'll wish you had more when you get to the mountains of Wyoming and west of that.

Jasper liked to smooth things out, so 10 to 12 miles a day was about all he expected to make. That meant traveling on Sunday, just like any other day. If you couldn't stomach that, you better find yourself another wagon master. Some "holy rollers" had nearly gotten him killed on his first trip west as an assistant to the wagon master because they wouldn't travel on Sunday. They got trapped by a snow storm in the mountains and it was purest luck that anybody escaped before they all starved to death. All the "holy rollers" died because the first clear day after the storm was a Sunday and they refused to move. By this time, the wagon master was dead and Jasper was in charge of the train. He left the religious fanatics to die, but he saved everyone else! That taught Jasper a lesson he never forgot.

It was getting toward Spring of 1862 in Independence, MO, and he still hadn't gotten a train lined up. It looked like he was going to have to hunt for a wagon train if he wanted to eat regularly next Winter. The last two years, people had come to him, but things were kind of slow for the California run this year. So, he started making the rounds of the usual saloons where the more affluent travelers could be found. If that didn't pan out within a couple of weeks, he would have to go around among the parked wagons asking who wanted to go to California. Customers found that way didn't usually pay as well nor have as much money to put into supplies for the trip. Jasper could live with that, but the trip was a might more comfortable if you had a little money for luxuries like coffee and tobacco. Well, he'd see what he could find.

The third day of his scouting through the saloons produced one lead which he followed up. It turned out to be a bunch of English aristocrats on holiday trekking across "The Great American Desert" as an escape from the ennui of daily life on their estates. These people were a disaster looking for a place to happen. Jasper would go hungry before he'd take a chance with them.

Noting else turned up, so he started a systematic pattern of searching through the parked wagons asking the people their intentions. This was how he found his wagon train core. There were four families from southern Ohio who were trying to escape the war, not because they were pacifists, but because they thought the whole thing was stupid and unnecessary. He was attracted to them because he felt exactly the same way. They had enough money to pay their way and they were willing to listen to good advice. Their wagons were of the best quality and they were not adverse to using oxen. Jasper advised them to sell their horse teams and buy oxen before the best animals were taken. They agreed with him on the use of shotguns and were willing to buy the ammunition he recommended.

He had these people help him look for other likely prospects for the trip and, over the next two weeks, they found 47 wagons of people who would fit Jasper's specifications. This was actually more wagons than he had expected to have in his train, but there was considerable strength in numbers and they could be needed even before they got through Missouri.

Jasper collected all his people together in one big camp and explained the facts of life on the trail to them. He went over the usual sanitation and safety rules and warned them about carrying too much strong liquor. He then warned them about the bands of thieves posing as guerrillas that they would probably meet in Nebraska and Kansas.

He said that he planned to hire two assistants, a scout, and four guards. All these men would answer to him and should be treated with the respect due to professionals. There would be four wagons added to the train to carry their goods and he needed to hire some workers as drivers for these wagons and for miscellaneous other jobs. He preferred to hire them from within the train, so he wanted to hear from the people, especially teen aged boys, who wanted jobs. He would talk to them after the meeting.

Now, they needed to elect a captain for the train. He explained that the captain was the one who settled disputes within the train and was the go-between for Jasper and the rest of the train, since Jasper wouldn't have much time for personal contact with most of the people. The captain should be someone they could all trust to be fair, but firm.

Jasper gave them half an hour to discuss possible candidates and then they would have the election. He had deliberately set a short time for politicking so that nobody would have time to strong-arm a candidate through the process. One of the core people, Johnathon Smith, responsible for recruiting the train was elected as captain; Jasper thought that he was a good choice.

Jasper then introduced his two assistants, Jeb Warren and Nickolas Holden, and the chief of the guards, Andrew Jones. These three men would help him tomorrow as they practiced getting the wagons into the defensive rings he wanted to use. This would be their mobile fort and their main line of defense whenever they were camped for the night.

Jasper wanted to form an inner ring of 10 wagons and an outer ring of the remaining 41 wagons. The women and children would shelter in the inner ring out of effective range of most fire which would be directed at the outer ring where the fighting men would be stationed. This scheme had worked for him before and he planned to stick with it.

The next day started out with an example of chaos raised to an art form. Most of the men were not used to driving oxen and they tended to get impatient. This confused the oxen even more, so they just stopped moving while the situation was smoothed out. Jasper had selected the wagons he wanted for the inner circle and was working the most with them. Warren and Holden were directing the formation of the outer ring and not doing any better. Meanwhile, the guards weren't helping the situation: they were doubled over with laughter! Jones fixed that by having his guards help direct the oxen into their proper places. I took all morning, but Jasper was finally satisfied with the ring.

They broke for lunch and were disgusted to hear Jasper order them to do the whole exercise again, and to keep on doing it, until they got it right the first try. As the saying goes, the third time was the charm! That night after supper, Jasper congratulated them on doing a fine job, now they were ready. Tomorrow was a day of rest and preparation, for they would start out the next day afterwards.

The women were particularly busy making sure that their household goods they "just couldn't live without" were properly stowed and the things needed every day were close to hand. Husbands were sent off to purchase last minute items forgotten in the hurly-burly of preparing for the trip and children were again reminded not to go wandering off during the journey. Jasper made a last minute inspection of each wagon to be sure the essentials were there and nothing stupid had been done during the packing. Finally, Jasper sat down with a cigar to relax and rest for the remainder of the day.

The camp was roused before dawn by the sound of a bugle playing an approximation of reveille. The women fixed breakfast and the men hitched the oxen to the wagons. The great adventure was beginning!

Seth Lawson, the scout, had already left for his inspection of the first leg of their trek and to lay claim to their first campground. Jasper wanted to be sure that there were no "guerrillas" waiting to rob them before they even got to Kansas, and to be sure they had a place to camp on their first night. Seth saw no sign of trouble on the way out and was able to stake his claim to the campground for that night. On the way back toward the train, he did see some sign of a rider skulking in among the trees, but he thought it was probably a boy playing at being a guerrilla.

When Seth returned to the train, it was nearly noon and the wagons were being circled in preparation for the pause for lunch. Jasper knew that Seth would have warned him of any danger, but wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to practice the defensive maneuver. To Seth's surprise, the train had made nearly five miles that morning, which was very good for the first day of travel. He could tell that Jasper was pleased.