But one day I hope to own a hypoallergenic curly horse of my very own.ĩ. Unfortunately, I am deathly allergic to horses. I became interested in the question of how, exactly, a Chinese girl would have been treated back then, and not only a Chinese girl, but a native speaking one. I’m 4th generation Chinese American, but still get asked, “Why don’t you speak Chinese?” The question always made me feel like I was back in the 1800s, when Chinese people first started coming to the U.S., and when such a question might have been legitimate. HOW LONG DID IT TAKE THE PIONEERS TO TRAVEL FROM EAST TO WEST DOWN THE OREGON TRAIL?Ībout 5 months to travel the 2,000 miles. Mules had steadier feet than horses, and oxen, while not as fast as mules, were less temperamental than mules, not to mention they could eat low quality grass.Ħ. The pioneers preferred bringing mules or oxen. In addition, though I am no expert, modern cowboys claim that underwear causes chafing. Not only was the wearing of underwear not common in the 1840s, if one did have underwear, it would have been an additional expense.

Some of them wore long underwear, especially during the colder months. That’s a good question and one I’ve had to mull over on more than one occasion. They were poorer than dirt, they had hemorrhoids from sitting so long, and their jobs were very dangerous as well as lonely. Here’s a great article on the earliest cattle drives to California: Cattle drives from Texas to New Orleans were recorded as early as the 1840s. After the United States annexed cattle-rich Texas in 1845, the cattle industry there began to expand. Most people think cattle drives did not start until after the Civil War, but this is not true. After the gold rush was over, many stayed to work on the nation’s first transcontinental railroad. In the 1850s, the first major wave of Chinese came during the 1850s in search of the Gold Mountain in California. Chinese came to California in the 16th century as traders. DID CHINESE PEOPLE REALLY LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES IN THE 19TH CENTURY?Įven earlier.

Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber