From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@datamann.com)
Date: Wed May 15 2002 - 10:30:28 MDT
spike66 wrote:
>
> Mike Lorrey wrote:
>
> > I didn't notice the families even had wagons, which I found odd.
> > What happened to the traditional Conestoga?
> >
> The first episode showed them in connies, and even had an accident in
> one right in the first mile, which actually added a bit of realism.
> The horses spooked and bolted, they hit a rock and broke the wagon in
> half.
"Stupid animal" - grampa
The general store was both small and sparsely stocked, and they should
have been using their wagons to move a lot more stuff around. They also
should have fenced in areas they had not hayed yet, and then hayed areas
outside their fences before the cattle came through (no point in fencing
in already hayed fields). I also noticed them using horses to plow their
sod ridden fields. Dumb idea when busting the sod, though okay for
regular plowing and tilling afterward. Should have rented some oxen
(which were generally more widely used for such purposes) and a sod
plow. They also should have burned the grass in the area they wanted to
farm first. The ash would be more useful quicker than raw grass
decomposing, and it would have helped to dry out the roots to make it
easier to bust through with a plow.
>
> > They'd buy barrels of food (at least the bulk staple items like
> > flour,
> > oats, etc), not cans.
> >
> Ja, barrels of light dry food, since they had water where they
> were going. No point in using up payload to carry it. Leave
> it to a former weights engineer to find that as the biggest glaring
> error in the mission.
>
> >> Should we assume that the families just came out from the east on
> >> a
> >> train?
> >>
> The train didn't go thru until the following year. That is why
> they chose to sim 1883.
>
> With 1883 technology but modern wisdom, I think we could
> come up with a plan that would allow us to survive a Montana
> winter. It would involve loading the wagon with dried food,
> enough to sustain the families while they built a house and cut
> enough wood. The sim as they played it was too much of a
> mixed metaphor. Still I enjoyed the series.
It was fun to watch, especially the Clunes, though more from a visceral
joy at their misfortunes and Gary's schemes and excuses than anything.
He is certainly a quintessential frontier opportunist.
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