Poem by Margaret A. Knapp
Telling of their move by covered wagon
‘Twas August 1931
The weather’d let us down
So we headed west for Idaho
Where we planned to settle down.
We’d been out there before
And had looked it over
We bought a little farm there
And thot we were in clover.
Mountains high and forested
Valleys lush and green
It really looked like heaven
The prettiest place we’d seen.
We loaded covered wagons
And started on our way
The Codys, Knapps and us four
Didn’t go far that day.
The horses were quite spooky
And one of Dad’s got loose
And that crazy critter
Nearly cooked our goose.
We jumped out of our rolled out bed
And in just a minute
That old mare’s big round feet
Landed smack dab in it.
As we traveled day by day
They really settled down
Thot the wagons were their home
And always stayed around.
The roads were different then and we
Could get off any where
To camp beside a rushing stream
And no one seemed to care.
The towns and cities we passed thru
I can’t remember all
But as I write I’ll try to name them
A few that I recall.
Helena I do remember
‘Twas there the climb began
That took us o’er the great divide
And a down hill road again.
Missoula was a two day stay
For there we had to rest
The horses for the glanders
‘Fore we could go on west.
One night was near Ravalli
On the Indian reservation
Not far from the Seelish tribe
Of the Blackfoot nation.
We bought pictures of the chief
Thot it a good idea
To keep him happy that way
Then he’d let our horses be.
On we went to Deep Creek
And that it was for sure
A beautiful flowing river
Of water clear and pure.
Then I remember Thompson Falls
The road had flattened some
And soon we’ll see Lake Pend D’Oreille
Our journey nearly done.
Prairie horses don’t need shoes
When travling on the sod
But road work makes a difference
And they had to be shod.
First time round was quite a task
But they found out real soon
Those steel shoes upon their feet
Really were a boon.
It took us just a month until
We pulled through our front gate
We’d had good weather all the way
And all of us felt great.
In all that month our bathtub
Was a rushing mountain stream
When that water hit our bodies
It brot forth quite a scream.