My wind wagons powered by Air
Elementals are based on 19th century United States wind wagons. After all, fiction based upon fact is often
the most entertaining fiction.
For my player characters, Air
Elemental Wind Wagons, these small yet swift wagons become very useful in
situations where it would be unsafe for draft animals. When far from civilized areas, draft animals
are in danger from being eaten by wild animals or monsters. They are in danger of being stolen by thieves
or commandeered by soldiers during wartime.
Also, by being powered by an Air Elemental, a D&D Wind Wagon could
be much larger, carrying more people and freight than a real Wind Wagon.
The
Kansas Historical Society has an article about Wind Wagons.
https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/wind-wagons/12239#:~:text=They%20were%20similar%20to%20an,center%20of%20the%20front%20axle
The
text reads: “Along the westward-moving
frontier, innovation and invention were requirements for survival and the early
American settler was indeed a resourceful individual. It is not surprising that
in the latter half of the 19th century ways were sought and found to utilize
the energy provided by that great natural resource of the prairie—the wind.
“A novel device
of the Kansas territorial period was the wind wagon, sometimes called a sailing
wagon. Several were built and in 1860 the press gave them considerable
attention. They were similar to an ordinary light wagon; weighed about 350
pounds; had a bed about three feet wide, eight feet long, and six inches deep;
and were propelled by a sail or sails raised over the center of the front axle.
When the breezes blew in the right direction the wagons were reported to skim
over the prairies at about 15 miles per hour, with speeds at up to 40 miles per
hour. At least one wagon was reported to have traveled from Kansas City to
Denver in a little more than 20 days. Upon the arrival of a wind wagon from
Westport, Missouri, a Council Grove newspaper asked its readers: "Who says
now that the Santa Fe Trail is not a navigable stream." The few wind
wagons that were built undoubtedly traveled further in the press than they did
on the prairie and horses and oxen remained the basic mode of power for a good
many years.
“One of the
more interesting sagas of Kansas wind wagoning came in 1860. Samuel Peppard,
who owned a sawmill on the Grasshopper River near Oskaloosa completed his
contraption. Built with assistance from John Hinton, it was dubbed by his
neighbors, "Peppard's Folly." Later it was suggested that because
1860 was a year of extensive drought and business was slack, Peppard built his
frigate as a means of whittling away idle time. Peppard, undoubtedly, had a
more ulterior motive in mind as on completion of the craft, he and his
companions set out immediately for the Colorado goldfields.
“A fairly
detailed and entertaining account of Peppard's journey over the prairie sea can
be found at the Kansas Historical Society. Although not identified by name
Peppard received some national notoriety when a correspondent of Leslie's
Illustrated Magazine reported the arrival of the wind-schooner at Fort Kearney.
In the grand literary style of the day, the correspondent wrote:
“The ship
(appeared) in sight about 8 o'clock in the morning with a fresh breeze from
east, northeast. It was running down in a westerly direction for the fort,
under full sail, across the green prairie. The guard, astonished at such a
sight, reported the matter to the officer on duty, and we all turned out to
view the phenomenon. Gallantly she sailed, and at a distance ...not unlike a
ship at sea. In front is & large
coach lamp to travel by night when the wind is favorable ... A crank and band
wheels allow it to be propelled by hand when wind and tide are against them.
“For some
strange reason, no mention was made of the wind wagon episode in Peppard's
obituary. While alive, however, he took pride in relating his experiences with
the wind-wagon.
“Peppard's wind
wagon was neither the first nor the last to traverse the Kansas prairie. From
time to time there were other reports of wagons equipped to utilize the state's
greatest natural resource as a propellant. In 1877 the Kansas Pacific used
sails on handcars. As late as 1887 John B. Wornall of Westport carried a small
group to a camp meeting. In 1910 it was reported that a sailing schooner had
been invented in Louisville, Kentucky.”
Note: There are other ways PCs and NPCs could use elementals
as a source of clean energy. A Wind
Elemental forcing air into a Fire Elemental could create an effective blast
furnace - smelting ores such as copper or iron.
This would reduce the cost of that metal per ton. In turn, that would make the PCs that own an
elemental powered blast furnace much money.
