Chuck Wagon

Definitions:

Chuck: Cowboy slang for food.
                  
Chuck Wagon: The Studebaker Wagon; A smaller version of the famous Conestoga "Prairie Schooner".
               
Cookie: The cook and most times, second in command of a trail drive.
               
Possum Belly: A length of canvas attached to the underside of the Chuck Wagon. Used to store dry wood.
                   
Tail: The modified Tailgate on the back of the Chuck wagon.
               
Dutch Oven: A three sided iron box with a hinged door on the open side.

The Chuck wagon was invented by Charles Goodnight, a Texas Rancher in 1866.
He bought a surplus Studebaker wagon from the Army and then modified (change to make better) it to make it useful to a Trail Drive. The benefit of that particular wagon was that it had Iron axels and iron reinforced wheels thus eliminating breakdowns on the trail.
He had a large box made that had drawers and cupboards built in and attached it to the back of the wagon and added a long tailgate with hinged legs that when the tail was opened the legs automatically swung down and you now had a work table.

He also removed the rounded bows that held the canvas top and squared them off then added a looser canvas that could catch rainwater during the storms they would encounter during the drive. That water was then transferred to the water barrels, one on each side of the wagon - necessary to keep the load balanced.

In addition, he also added three rods of rolled up canvas to each top side and one on the back top. They could be rolled out to protect from the sun, rain and sometimes dust. they also provided shelter for the cowboys trying to eat in a rainstorm and also from the hard sun. A small fire could also be started and be protected from the elements. Very important to a wet and weary cowboy coming in from night watch to have a hot cup of coffee waiting for him.

The work space at the rear of the wagon became known as simply, 'the tail' and it was the domain of cookie and no cowboy or even the trail boss would ever interfere or even touch anything without checking with cookie and getting permission, rarely given.

On the day the drive left on its Start day, the Chuck wagon would lead off and quickly leave the herd behind. A scout assigned to ride ahead would find the evenings stop near water, and then ride back and let cookie know where to stop.

On arrival, cookie would locate the wagon near the water and get the firewood gathered up, and the beans and coffee water properly hung from iron tripods. He would then, using the tail as his work counter, cut up the bacon, get the biscuits mixed up, formed and laid out on pans and ready for the dutch oven. (When coals were available the oven was set upon them and the trays of biscuits were then baked.) When they were ready to eat they were removed to large pans and set on the tail, covered with a used flour sack. The cowboys would serve themselves.

By the time the herd arrived the cowboys got them watered and then settled on graze and the food was now ready. Beans, Bacon, Biscuits and coffee with the occasional dried apple pie for dessert, a luxury unknown before the advent of the Chuck wagon.
While the cowboys were occupied with their food the cook would gather dry wood to fill the possum belly, ensure the water barrels were topped off and the mules chosen from the Remuda for the next days drive.

Before there was such a thing as the Chuck wagon, cowboys carried saddle bags.
They filled them with the bare necessities: a clean shirt, socks, a pair of spare jeans, a box of ammo and two or three slabs of bacon, a bag of beans, and flour, salt, baking soda and Coffee. Sometimes, for sweetener a bit of molasses.

Pack horses carried things like ground sheets, blankets, spare ammo and additional rifles. Also the tripods, pots and pans. The dutch oven was not carried due to its size and weight. All cowboys carried a quart canteen for water, sometimes two. Additional water, in canteens or water bags, were added to the pack horses or mules.

Mules were hard to come by due to so many killed in the Civil War so Pack Horses were in general use. All of the pack horse items were transferred to the Chuck wagon after 1866. On some the monster drives of 5000 plus steers, an extra wagon was added to carry water, barrels of flour, bags of salt and dried apples, and all of the cooking utensils and other needed supplies. But it was the Studebaker Wagon with its iron axles, small size and stout construction that made these drives possible.

Dad.