Red pepper canister, J.R. Watkins, Winona, Minnesota, 1913–1920.

The sound of a replica Red River cart in motion. Archivist Mark Peihl of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County explains, "We have in our collection a wonderful replica cart built by John Hall and Eddie Gudmundson. It’s a very typical looking cart. It weighs about 400 pounds and could carry 800 pounds. The heart of the cart is a pair of heavy, parallel, twelve-foot-long shafts. The single draft animal stood between the shafts to pull. The box rests on the shafts, mortised to keep it in place. The corner posts and side rails of the box are ingeniously located to allow side boards to be slipped in to keep objects from falling out of the cart. The all-wood carts were easy to repair with wood found along the route. The hubs were left ungreased––trail dust would mix with lubricants and work like sandpaper. So they squeaked. Of the dozens of cart trip descriptions I’ve read, every one mentions the annoying squeal of the carts." Used with the permission of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County.

Red River Carts encamped, 1858.

Red River Carts loading supplies at a trading house in St. Paul, 1854.