Many settlers would ride the train as far as they could to a certain destination and then take a covered wagon or "Prairie Schooner" for the remainder of the trip to their new location in Foster County.
The Prairie Schooner's hull or foundation was a double box 12 1/2 feet long and usually 3 1/2 feet wide. Some pioneers extended the upper box a foot on each side and supported it with iron braces. A wagon wheel stretched over four or five good elm braces covered the box.
Behind the box was a packing case with front, rear or sides having slots or covered with woven wire. This coop was used to haul maybe a dozen hens, the nucleus for a flock. When they would stop to rest at night the chickens were let out to hunt grasshoppers and other insects. When it was dark they would fly up to the box and they would be locked up for the night.
On top of the hen‑cop was piled chairs, stovepipes, and other light bulky articles. Boxes were fastened outside the wagon at every convenient place to carry tools, cooking utensils and other articles.
It was not uncommon to see a cow and sometimes a hog-tied to the rear of the wagon.
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 40