The oxcart trails of northeastern North Dakota : traveling the highways of 1800-1870

• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Pembina County Historical Society 2014
• Subjects: Canada; Metis
• Online Access: http://cdm16921.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16921coll1/id/1756

THE OXCART The first oxcarts were used by the Metis about 1800. It is thought that the idea for the cart was brought by the fur traders of eastern Canada and patterned after a cart used in France. It was developed by the Metis and became the vehicle for transportation and commerce between the Red River Settlements and St. Paul between 1800 and 1870. It was made entirely of wood. The wheels were about 5' high, the body about 3' wide and 5' or 6' long. The wooden hubs and axles were never greased since, under normal use, dust gathered in the axle grease and would quickly wear down the wooden parts. At first the wheels were made of one solid piece of wood; later, spokes were used. The squeal of the grinding wood of axle and hub could be heard for miles. Each cart could carry from 800 to 1,000 lbs. A single ox could travel about 20 miles in a ten-hour day. The carts could be converted into makeshift rafts to cross rivers. By 1820, there were approximately 540 carts in use. By 1840, it is estimated that there were as many as 5,000 carts THE METIS The inter-marriage of the fur traders and the Native American women resulted in people of mixed blood called Metis. They developed a separate and distinct culture from that of either parent group. They preferred hunting and trapping to farming. The entire population took part in the annual buffalo hunt on the plains to the west. They would return with a year's supply of buffalo meat. A buffalo hunt in 1840 had 1,260 carts and 1,630 people participating in it. The trains to St. Paul varied from a few carts to as many as 500. The largest settlement of Metis was at Pembina. FUR TRADE A land teeming with wildlife lured the first white man to present-day North Dakota. Pierre de la Verendre, a Canadian born explorer working for the French government, arrived in the area in 1738. Many fur traders, both French and British, followed in his footsteps and developed an extensive fur trade with the Indians. Numerous fur trading posts were established in the Red River region. Alexander Henry established a post at the mouth of the Park River in 1800. Ten thousand furs were shipped from the area in 1804. The fur trade lasted for over 100 years. It was during this time that the Red River Oxcart was developed by the Metis. THE TRAILS The first roads were the deep ruts formed by hundreds of oxcarts over a period of approximately seventy years (1800-1870). Two of the main trails were the Red River Trail and The Ridge Trail. Aerial serveys of Pembina and Walsh Counties taken in 1941 revealed 43 sites where remnants of these trails were still visible. Research by archaeologists in 1993 and 1994 located and mapped the known trails in Pembina and Walsh Counties. The map inside shows the main trails in the two county area. IIII 111 II! * iyii s I 11 I HI 1 1! ! Ill III IK 1 I I i a i si ill Hi ft ¥:¥: ¥ S W is