Old Deadwood Trail

At this point, freight from steamships coming up the Missouri River was unloaded onto ox-drawn wagons for the journey to Deadwood. The 200-mile round trip took 30 days. From 1876 to 1887, the Northwestern Railway operated what they called the Bull Train. The 200-mile trip from Fort Pierre to Deadwood took 15 days. Twenty oxen pulled three wagons carrying 20,000 pounds of freight, or 1,000 pounds for each ox. They traveled from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m., rested and grazed until 4 p.m., then went on until dark. The complete Bull Train included the wagons and 200 oxen, plus 50 extra head used as replacements.

Fort Pierre, South Dakota · United States