1. Was it hard for pioneers to build their own houses?
The pioneers faced many challenges. Everything about the prairie was extreme. They had a hard time while building their own houses. The land was flat and barely had any trees. Because of this, there was little wood to build log cabins. The only available building material was prairie sod. Building a home and setting up a farm was a challenge for even most experienced farmers. However, because of the freed land and rich wildlife and soil, the pioneers were willing to overcome the challenges.
Because of no trees or stone to build with, pioneers had to rely on prairie sod. Sod is the top layer of the earth. Sod is the top layer of the earth that includes grass, its roots and dirt. Building a sod house was a lot of work and took many weeks. It was so much harder especially when the settler’s nearest neighbors were to far away or not able to help.
In addition, cutting sod was very difficult task due to lack of equipment’s such as motorized tractors. Farmer’s in the 1800s used mules, oxen or horses, and special plows to cut through the tough roots of the sod. Farmers also learned that they should cut as much sod as they can use one day. Otherwise, sod quickly dried, cracked, and crumbled. They also had to remove the grass from the area to keep insects, snakes, and animals that are harmful.
The roof was the most difficult and dangerous part of the house to build. Since they didn’t have any normal roofing materials, they used layers of brush, mud, grass and sod. Depending on the weather, dirt or water fell from the ceiling most of the time. Even a snake fell on their bed occasionally. Roofs that became too wet sometimes collapsed.
Once the pioneers finished their sod houses, they tried to turn them into their sweet homes by growing flowers and having pets. The challenges were extremely difficult to overcome through bad weather, illness, lack of building materials and equipment, accidents and even loneliness without any neighbors near by. Those who failed and gave up went back home. For those who stayed and never gave up eventually moved out of the sod house into a frame house made of wood. Their hard work rewarded them with successful crops and farms.
Because of no trees or stone to build with, pioneers had to rely on prairie sod. Sod is the top layer of the earth. Sod is the top layer of the earth that includes grass, its roots and dirt. Building a sod house was a lot of work and took many weeks. It was so much harder especially when the settler’s nearest neighbors were to far away or not able to help.
In addition, cutting sod was very difficult task due to lack of equipment’s such as motorized tractors. Farmer’s in the 1800s used mules, oxen or horses, and special plows to cut through the tough roots of the sod. Farmers also learned that they should cut as much sod as they can use one day. Otherwise, sod quickly dried, cracked, and crumbled. They also had to remove the grass from the area to keep insects, snakes, and animals that are harmful.
The roof was the most difficult and dangerous part of the house to build. Since they didn’t have any normal roofing materials, they used layers of brush, mud, grass and sod. Depending on the weather, dirt or water fell from the ceiling most of the time. Even a snake fell on their bed occasionally. Roofs that became too wet sometimes collapsed.
Once the pioneers finished their sod houses, they tried to turn them into their sweet homes by growing flowers and having pets. The challenges were extremely difficult to overcome through bad weather, illness, lack of building materials and equipment, accidents and even loneliness without any neighbors near by. Those who failed and gave up went back home. For those who stayed and never gave up eventually moved out of the sod house into a frame house made of wood. Their hard work rewarded them with successful crops and farms.
2. Did weather affect the pioneers in any way?
The pioneers experienced enormous changes in temperature and the rough weather as part as their normal life. Winters were long with freezing temperatures and snow. Summers were very unpleasant and dangerous place to live. It was difficult to keep warm in winter and impassible to keep cool in the summer.
In addition, the plains were also regularly struck by dust storms. The wide-open spaces of the plains worsened high winds and tornados. Such storms damaged the pioneers home and equipment very badly. Until they could grow big enough trees, the pioneers couldn’t protect themselves well enough against the weather on the plains. The storm just had to pass while they were in the sod house hoping that the crops would not be destroyed.
Summer brought endless days of heat when the temperature could exceed 120 degrees. Drought, rainstorms, tornadoes and swarms of grasshoppers could destroy field to crops and constant wind also challenged settlers. Building a home next to a small hill gave some protection from the wind. Being near a stream made it easier to get water. Meanwhile, winters were long and cold Blizzards were so strong that they could trap livestock and homesteaders under the snow. During the long winter of 1886, horses and cattle died when their breaths froze over the ends of their noses making it impossible for them to breathe.
While the settlers were building a sod house they used tents of the top of a covered wagon as a shelter but the prairie’s wild weather made shelter very uncomfortable. Because of that, many settlers began by building dugouts. Dugouts were small, dark spaces dug into a side of a hill. They could be made quickly and were much warmer and drier than tents.
Life for these pioneers was challenging in many ways. Having to protect themselves from extremely difficult weather only added more challenges to overcome. However, they had to find ways to survive and stay alive through difficult times by learning to solve the problems as they faced during their settlement.
Pioneers faced many challenges on farming the Great Plains. In particular, they had to find solutions to farming problems such as ploughing the land, growing crops, lack of water, protecting the crops, fire, insects, farming machinery, and extreme weather. As farming was very important to pioneers, they had to overcome the challenges.
Most of the land on the plains was like concrete because it had never been ploughed before. The first homesteaders had their iron plows, which broke when used on the great Pains. In 1830, an Illinois blacksmith [a person who makes and repairs things in iron by hand] named John Deere had made a steel plough. Steel is much stronger than iron. It was soon used by most of homesteaders.
Also, they needed to plant crops that are suitable for the extreme weather. No crops meant no food for the homesteaders. In addition, they needed to grow extra crops to sell for money so that they could buy supplies and machinery for their farms. They planted crops such as Turkey red wheat that can grow successfully in the climate of the plains.
The pioneers needed a way to keep the rainfall in the soil before it was lost because they didn’t have enough rainfall. Every time it rained or snowed, they ploughed their land to trap the water underneath so they could use for a windmill was built above the well to pump water constantly for their use.
The long hot summers left the Prairie grass and the crops extremely dry causing fires. Unless the fire could be stopped quickly, it spreaded fast. Some pioneers tried to stop fires from spreading by leaving gaps in their crops. However. The high winds of the Plains spread the fire quickly. Even across gaps. This remained as a major problem.
Pioneers lived in fear of swarms of insects such as grasshoppers and locusts. After an insect invasion, many farmers were left without any crops. It was devastating to them because crops were a major source of their living. There was no solution until the 1900’s when chemical companies started to produce pesticides.
In the beginning, pioneers had to do almost everything by hand. Their work was physically hard and never ending. They had to overcome many challenges on farming. Not every problem had a solution. However, they eventually became successful by dealing with many difficult circumstances
Sources:
BBC.co:history:American west: Homesteader's problems
Our Story: National Museum of American History: Life in sod houses
BBC.GCSE Bite size- history: American west: farmer's problems in the west