 and there was a lot of traffic and the diarists would note the traffic. We could look forward for miles and beheld the prairie spotted with wagons, cattle, horses and sheep, men, women and children. Newell Knight. James S. Brown observing covered wagons as far as the eye could reach about May 10th and noted the teams were made up of oxen, milk cows, two-year-old steers and heifers and very few horses and mules.