In 1840 John Bidwell established the Western Emigration Society and published news that he intended to take a large wagon train from the Missouri River to California. The idea was very popular and soon the society had 500 names of people who wanted to take part in this momentous event.
Bidwell later admitted that the party included no one who had ever been to California: "Our ignorance of the route was complete. We knew that California lay west, and that was the extent of our knowledge." But people signed up anyway. They were enticed by the promise of bettering their condition - better crops, better weather, better opportunities, better health. These promises outweighed the 2000 plus miles of rough roads, $1000 per family plus $400 for a specially outfitted wagon. And once you paid, you were stuck in a wagon that averaged two miles an hour with no springs. With rivers to cross and rains that made mud, a good wagon might get ten miles a day.
Local newspapers published stories about the dangers of travelling overland to California - Shootings, drownings, Indian and Mormon attacks, starvation, sickness, cold and lack of water. In 1843, Horace Greeley, the editor of the New York Tribune wrote: "It is palpable homicide to tempt or send women and children" through this distance and danger. John Bidwell's trip was a testimony to that. Of the sixty nine people that actually set out only thirty two of them reached CA. *
This dream would take many years to come true. Construction of a cross country railroad presented the "daunting task requiring the laying of over 2000 miles of track that stretched through some the most forbidding landscape on the continent. Tunnels would have to be blasted out of the mountains, rivers bridged and wilderness tamed." Several railroad companies took up this challenge. In 1876 The Transcontinental Express traveled from New York to San Francisco in a record breaking time of 83 hours and 39 minutes. Instead of a thousand dollars per wagon, prices to cross country were now around $200.00. Of course, the idea of spending 83 hours in one seat, with little food or bathroom privileges kept many from attempting such a trip. One traveler wrote a diary account of his trip stating "Such a mess of filth, foul air and dirty people I never want to see again." Travelers sometimes had to get off the train to help shovel snow or get a train back on the track.
Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. "According to the 1916 Official Road Guide a trip from the Atlantic to the Pacific on the Lincoln Highway was "something of a sporting proposition" and might take 20 to 30 days. To make it in 30 days the motorist would need to average 18 miles (29 km) an hour for 6 hours per day, and driving was only done during daylight hours. The trip was thought to cost no more than $5 a day per person, including food, gas, oil, and even "five or six meals in hotels." Car repairs would, of course, increase the cost." Gas stations were still rare in many parts of the country. Travelers were advised to fill up when ever they could. Drivers were also advised to wear old shoes and to wade through water before driving through to check the depth. The list of recommended equipment included chains, a shovel and an axe. ****
Once airborne, I made sure the boys had sticks of gum to help pop their ears, then adjusted my neck pillow and settled in to enjoy my borrowed book and two new magazines. The most hazardous part of the trip came when a stewardess gave my son his second can of apple juice and then he had to use the bathroom even through the seat belt sign was on. Twice.
We spent 90 minutes in Houston, Texas, long enough to choose dinner from a variety of restaurants. Then hopped on another plane. At 11:00 pm we landed in Ontario, CA. By 11:30 pm we were sitting in my parent's kitchen eating mandarin oranges fresh picked in their back yard.
And nine days later we made the trip back. This time rested, replenished and tanned. I looked out the airplane window to the ground so far below. What a huge country. And it's been crossed by so many people in so many different ways. We all have our reasons for wanting to get to California. How lucky for us that our trip west is now just called Spring Break.
