Renewal

What did early pioneers do to find rest?

The trails the pioneers followed was very hard work; people would walk for most of the day, and there weren’t very many opportunities for fun. To entertain themselves, people would talk, sing, or do other things they could do while walking. At night, they would sometimes sit down to write letters, chit-chat, play cards, play music, eat, or play other games.

Children would usually ride in the wagons, though sometimes they came out and played games like tag or jump-rope. They would have to keep up with the adults, though, so they could not just run where ever they wanted.

Families would sometimes travel with their pets, usually dogs, so they would sometimes play with them. There was really very little time to rest, though. Even at the end of the day, there were lots of chores to do such as washing or mending the clothing, cooking, getting water or food, performing maintenance on the wagons, and caring for livestock.

It was very tedious and exhausting, not much fun at all.

(Adapted from Answers Corporation, 2013)