August-September 2025 • Nebraskaland 43
usually Texas longhorns. The strongest pair — the
"wheelers" — were hitched next to the wagon. The next
strongest pair were the "pointers," hitched just ahead of the
wheelers. In between the pointers and the leaders were the
least experienced "swing cattle," which were sometimes
completely wild.
"The fi rst pop I ever heard from the bull whip gave me
a shock such as one might expect from the unlooked-for
explosion of a cannon just a few steps behind you," recalled
Henry Palmer of his 1860 introduction to freighting. He
said the whip was usually 12 to 16 feet long, and was used
with precision by the bullwhackers, who were "not afraid of
anything in this world or in the next."
The teamsters circled the wagons at night to keep the
animals corralled. Yoking them up in the morning was the
most dangerous part of the day. Trails tended to follow rivers
especially the Platte, so water was usually available — but
former teamster Herman Lyon recalled that the trip to Denver
included a waterless 40-mile stretch between Julesburg and
Court House Rock. Considering that they made only about
12 miles a day, that was a considerable hardship.
Naturally, entrepreneurs considered how new technology
might change the game. What if you built a steam locomotive
that didn't need rails? In 1862, a New York City man named
Joseph Renshaw Brown built a 10-ton "steam wagon" with
rear wheels more than 10 feet in diameter. This monster
departed from Nebraska City bound for Denver but broke
down only 5 miles outside of town — a monument marks
the spot.
The steam wagon was an idea ahead of its time. While the
railroads eventually put the long-haul freight wagons out of
business, the steam wagon was an early attempt to solve a
problem later addressed by paved highways and semi-trailer
trucks.
N
Visit NSHS's website at history.nebraska.gov.
The Nebraska City steam wagon, 1862. NSHS RG2592-1-3
