Oxen were both a burden and a blessing to the pioneers.
They could be provoked into a stampede, become lost when left untethered at night, get sick, die, and sometimes injure the very people they were transporting.But in the final analysis, oxen used by the pioneers played a prominent role in moving the Church membership to the safety of the mountains. They were not only essential, they were unsung heroes.
For 21 years, they pulled wagons across the plains and over the Rocky Mountains. Like the pioneers, they endured exhaustion, fatigue, hunger, thirst, illness and pain. They symbolized the rugged, durable traits required for the pioneers to make the odyssey into the American frontier, noted an article in the May 2, 1997, issue of the Deseret News.
Oxen were chosen over horses to pull the wagons because of their strength, and because they were noted for being easier to work. They were generally docile, gentle, easily guided by a child, and strong enough to lug heavy wagons over rough terrain.
According to an 1862 article in the Deseret News by a Massachusetts ploughman, oxen were more patient than horses. They proved to be less susceptible to disease than horses. They could survive on coarse hay, straw and husks in the winter that horses could not, and they could travel 1,600 miles without being shoed. Oxen moved more slowly, but had greater torque than horses when hauling loads.
But perhaps the most distinctive difference between horses and oxen lies in the equipment used to yoke the animals. A draft horse's harness was complex and required a skilled driver to operate, while no reins or harness were required to drive an ox team.
But like most animals, oxen could be irritated, get angry or become frightened.
Oxen, for all their notariety in pioneer history, are not generally understood. There is some current discussion about their origin.
Today, while the westward expansion is commemorated, the ox appears to be forgotten, and can rarely be found on the lands it helped settle. The pioneers, and other settlers, having arrived at their destinations, found it more productive to breed beef cattle than maintain oxen for moving wagons or plowing fields.
