By the sons who see the flag of the free,
The dream of the star fulfilled."
CHAPTER LVIII.
SKETCHES OF WESTERN LIFE.
"The Prairie Schooner."
Just why the prairie schooner wagon body was built boat shape I have never been able to tell or see anybody else that could. That shape came in very handy when we crossed the plains in the early days, with which to cross the rivers, but we had the same kind on the farm in Indiana, where we had no thought to use them as a boat.
Their real history is, this type of wagon was introduced from England, and for a century this form was used because those that had gone before us had used it, and it took a long time to bring about a change.
These, though, as the Westerner would say, "came in mighty handy," when we came to a big river to cross as we were on the road to Oregon sixty-three years ago.