Placing Myself in the Footsteps of a Pioneer

From August 25, 2001

On a recent trip through the state of Wyoming, I was privileged to follow for a short time, the Oregon Trail. I was able to retrace the steps of thousands of people, horses, wagons and their livestock as they traveled the same road a century-and-a-half ago. As my gaze would wander up ahead on the highway stretching westward, it wasn’t difficult to imagine the paved roads melting into miles upon miles of grasslands, pioneers and their wagons almost as thick at times as the current traffic.

At places along the trail, it is actually still possible to see the wagon ruts embedded into the ground. And in my imagination, it is even possible to hear the voices of those who traveled this road during another time. I can hear the lowing of the cattle, thirsting for water and gaining in weariness at the end of the day. I can hear the creaking and grinding of the wagons, and the voices of the many children who more often walked, than rode. Sometimes I can hear them singing in the evenings as the chores are tended, and the first stars break out among the skies. For my imagination, it is not a difficult stretch.

When I place myself in the footprints of a pioneer traveling to the unknown, I can hear the hopes and dreams of a better future, the promise of a new life somehow better than the last. Sometimes I can even hear the weeping of those who have tragically lost what they have held most dear, and the wondering if the decision to leave a life once settled, was the right decision. Many of those who lost loved ones along the Oregon Trail became widows with several young children, and many were children, often losing both parents to disease or some other hazard of the trail. How brave these people must have been to face such adversity and carry on.

Most knew full well the dangers involved in undertaking such a journey. Many knew they would never see their friends and family back home again. Many would not even survive the trip. Why, then, did they do it? For a better life. To make a future for their families and their descendents. Month after month they often dealt daily with insects and spiders, bears and wolves, little or no clean water with which to cook or clean, the threat of hostile Indians and sickness and death. Yet, they did not forget the dream. Anyone willing enough to make such sacrifices to pursue a dream, had to do it for permanence… a better future for one and all. They did not do it to be forgotten.

Thinking of pioneer life often gives me the courage to endure my own difficulties. The promise of a better future and a chance to start anew can beckon any one at any time in life. In the same sense, we are all traveling to the unknown in our daily lives. Just as the hardships the pioneers faced, sometimes things happen that we cannot find reason for, but we deal with them and move on. For every problem, there is a solution, and though it may not be a solution we enjoy at the moment, time will move on and a better day will come.

Abraham Lincoln said “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.” We may not always know what the outcome will be but we can control the courage it takes to meet the unknown. And if we can endure with a pioneering spirit and determination, we will succeed.