- published: 16 Jul 2012
- views: 130625
A wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. In the American West, individuals traveling across the plains in covered wagons banded together for mutual assistance, as is reflected in numerous films and television programs about the region, such as Audie Murphy's Tumbleweed and Ward Bond and John McIntire's Wagon Train series on NBC and later ABC. Although most trains elected a captain and created bylaws, in reality the captain had little authority. His role was largely confined to getting everyone moving in the morning and selecting when and where to camp at night.
Overland emigrants discovered that smaller groups of twenty to forty wagons were more manageable than larger ones. Membership in wagon trains was generally fluid and wagons frequently joined or left trains depending on the needs and wishes of their owners. An accident or illness, for instance, might force someone to fall behind and wait for the next train, or an emigrant might "whip up" to overtake a forward train after a quarrel.
hey ho hey ho there's something i don't know
like who i am or where i go
we're on this climb we'll be there for some time
there is no reason i can find
wagon train what's my name
can you guess my crime
wagon train ease the pain
and leave the world behind
wagon train head 'em up ehoh
a brave new world for all those boys and girls
a universe for us to roam
they cast us out and left us with no doubt