“Circling the wagons” is a staple of old Hollywood westerns. We are all familiar with the image – pioneers trek through the high plains all day in the hot sun, then prepare their camp in the evening by putting their wagons in a circle. Invariably Indians arrive and circle around taking potshots, but the pioneers are protected by their wagons and Remingtons.
In the 1920s a movie director recruited some locals to re-create a wagon train for his film. They brought wagons which their forefathers had actually used to cross the Great Plains.
As the civilians acted out an Indian attack, one of the women spontaneously picked up her child and hid him in a large water barrel on the side of the wagon. The director liked it so much he made it a prominent scene in the film. (Few historic wagons carried more than a few gallons of water. At eight pounds a gallon, it weighs too much. The wagons would have tipped over.)
In reality, Indians were the least of their problems. Pioneers circled their wagons mostly to keep their animals corralled at night, otherwise they would wander over all creation. And that was the real Indian danger – cow and horse theft.
Scholars believe only around 350 pioneers were killed on wagon trains from 1840 to 1860; a higher number of Indians were killed. Even so, pioneers were very fearful of Indians attacks and armed themselves to the teeth. It is ironic that large numbers of them accidentally shot themselves. The biggest killer by far was disease – illnesses like cholera killed 20,000 pioneers, or about one in ten.
“Circling the wagons” has become an enduring cliché of defensiveness. There are times in everyone’s life where it is wise to retrench and defend with the help of others because the world can be a dangerous place. However, the Kingdom of God is primarily positive and forward-moving. Most of the things we fear are due to our perceptions and not the reality. Don’t let them get in the way of your work for God.
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Sources used:
“Crossing the Plains, 1865,” EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (1999).
“Oregon Trail Trivia,” < http://www.oregon.com/attractions/oregon-trail-trivia >.
“Salt Lake—Los Angeles a Tough Trail For Pioneers,” by Will Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune, September 9, 2001; < http://historytogo.utah.gov/salt_lake_tribune/history_matters/090901.html >.
“Trail Basics: Indians,” National Oregon/California Trail Center at Montpelier, Idaho; < http://www.oregontrailcenter.org/HistoricalTrails/Indians.htm >.