Pack Train On Mountain Road

Packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of wheeled vehicles. Use of packhorses dates from the neolithic period to the present day. The packhorse, mule or donkey was a critical tool in the development of the Americas. As the nation expanded west, packhorses, singly or in a pack train of several animals, were used by early surveyors and explorers, most notably by fur trappers, Mountain men, and gold prospectors who covered great distances by themselves or in small groups. Packhorses were used by Native American people when traveling from place to place, and were also used by traders to carry goods to both Indian and White settlements. During a few decades of the 19th Century, enormous pack trains carried goods on the Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe, New Mexico west to California. On current United States Geological Survey maps, many such trails continue to be labeled pack trail. Detroit Publishing Company, 1898-1905

Restrictions Only for Ireland and United Kingdom

Colorado Cropped Mule Packhorses Prospecting Prospector

Features In These Collections

> Contributors > PHR