A vital part of farm life

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Published on Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Photo courtesy of the Black family.

Article submitted by Alex Campbell

Director, Manitoba Agricultural Museum

In the fall of 2014, Mr. Bruce Black of the Brandon area let the Museum copy negatives of photographs taken around 1920 on the farms operated by the Black Family in the Brandon area. This photo shows a wagon with tandem teams hitched to the wagon with the evener for the lead team directly hooked on the tip of the wagon tongue. The use of tandem teams probably indicates a long haul was being undertaken or the haul involved a steep grade. Normally, a single team was used if the haul was just three or four miles and no grades worth mentioning were encountered on the trip. 

The lead team is a team of white mules. This team of mules featured in a number of the Black photos. Mules of any color were not common on the Prairies. One can see the ears of the mules are somewhat longer than the team of draft horses hitched behind. As well the mules do not have “feathers” or long hair on the back of their legs. Mules were able to tolerate high temperatures better than draft horses, however they were more intelligent than a horse and needed careful handling. They had the reputation of being cautious in a situation out of the normal and often would only proceed when the farmer lead them, if they trusted the farmer. It is said the mule was the only beast that would work 20 years for a farmer in return for the chance to kick him once! 

Grain wagons remain obscure, however, these vehicles were a necessary part of farming in the pioneer era and remained in use up until after the Second World War. At that time, technology produced not only reliable and economical trucks, but also provided an economical way to build roads in the rural area as manufacturers also began to build reliable earth moving machinery at an affordable cost. As well the improved economy of the Post World War II era allowed people on the Prairies to afford this machinery and pay for roads.

Up to that time, the lowly grain wagon served a vital purpose, getting grain and other agricultural produce to the elevator, stock yard or other facility and transporting needed supplies back to the farm. Often in the early days, many areas of Manitoba were settled well ahead of the railways being built, so settlers faced a long haul to the nearest elevator or railway station. As well, there were no roads as we know them, just tracks across the Prairie, ungraded and un-graveled, which were not plowed in the winter either.  At the best, one could expect a bridge where a pioneer road crossed a river or major creek but that was about it. Many Manitoba pioneer families can tell of their great grandfather making a two day haul one way to get produce to market. 

Some of these hauls were made in the winter, with its ever present danger of blizzards and storms, as the settlers always had the need to earn money to purchase basic supplies. The wheels on a grain wagon were replaced with a set of sleigh runners when the wagon was used in the winter. To be caught out in the open by a winter storm was a very serious situation in the pioneer period as in most areas there were no trees to slow down the wind. 

Hopefully at night, the farmer could find an accommodating farmer along the trail who would stable the team and let the traveller sleep on the house floor or in a barn. If not, perhaps an accommodating straw stack could be found. While temperature in the spring, summer and fall were warmer, other problems arose, such as mud holes, creek crossings and swarms of mosquitos. While the wagons were equipped with a box, often, a wise producer bagged the grain or carried bags with the bulk grain. If the wagon became stuck, then the bagged grain could be easily unloaded to allow the wagon to be pulled out.

With limited repair facilities and no tow trucks, a grain wagon had to be stoutly built to take the abuse of a Prairie trail. The vehicles were relatively simple, being largely built of wood, with a few steel parts, usually high wear or high impact areas such as the axle spindles or tires. The wood used was high quality, knot free, straight grained hickory, ash, elm or white pine. Oak, while hard wearing, was heavy which made for a heavy wagon, so oak was used sparingly. Wagon builders seemed to use specific woods for specific purposes, such as hickory for the wooden wheel parts and ash for the tongue. The local blacksmith was usually quite capable of repairing a wagon when necessary. 

Probably the only repairs necessary on an ongoing basis had to do with the wheels, as the wooden parts dried out and shrank somewhat in the dry Prairie climate. The steel tire on the wheel could come off if the wooden parts shrank enough, which was a serious problem as the steel tire kept the wooden parts in place as well as protecting the wooden rim from damage. Some farmers would submerge wooden wagon wheels in a slough or creek periodically to keep the wood damp and the wheel tight. If the steel tire stretched for some reason, then a blacksmith could remove the tire, heat it to a red hot state, quickly remount it on the wooden wheel and plunge the entire wheel into a tub of water. The water kept the wooden wheel from catching fire, as well as quenching and shrinking the tire onto the wood. 

There are a number of grain wagons in the Museum collection, including an Eaton Imperial wagon, Massey Harris and others. Just about every farm machinery manufacturer had their own wagon line and several had multiple lines, which stemmed from the company purchasing wagon builders and retaining the builder’s name, as the builder had an established following in regions of North America.  Old names continued on for some years after the company was purchased.