Wagon master

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A wagon master was the person hired to oversee the transportation of a group of wagons. On the American frontier, the term usually applies to the person responsible for assisting groups of immigrants or pioneers from the eastern US to the western US. Wagon masters were also hired to oversee shipments of cargo or mail. A group of wagons traveling together were referred to as a "train".

The trip across the western US by wagon was long and very difficult. Typically, a wagon train would travel at around two miles an hour, which would only permit the train to average a little over ten miles a day.^{[citation needed]} Therefore, the 2,000 mile journey from Missouri to California or Oregon would take about five to six months depending on weather or other difficulties.