The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1890-01-02
GRUMPY STAGE DRIVERS.
Old Follows who Have Fallen From Their
lIish Estate in the Fast.

Old Follows who Have Fallen From Their
High Estate In the Past.
You reach Fort Custer by stage
which runs from Custer Station on tho
Northern Pacific to Rock Creek on tho
Union Pacific, o distance OF 43O miles.
This is one Of the few important stage
lines that have managed to survive tho
locomotives raids. Its rout takes In
the mountainous districts Of Northern
Wyoming, where there are several
large towns to which the railroads have
not yet penetrated. 1t runs through
the Crow country. the richest ngricul-
tural region Of all Montana There are
dozen bottoms along the Big Horn
and the Little Big Horn rivers, Of from
sixty thousand to one hundred thousand
acres in extent, rank with prairie vege-
tation. where the grain OF nation
might be grown, now all vacant and
useless. Every one Of them could be
irrigated at an expense OF less than
fifty cents an acre. The stage drivers
say that there are just such fertile bot
toms along the Yellowstone and along
oil the mountain streams that course
through the reservation in all d.
rections These drivers are odd
Dicks They are the old fellows
who used to drive the Dead
wood and overland. stages In the early
days. and they keenly feel tho humila-
ton Of their present position. To be
compelled after such glorious past,
after having driven six and eight-horse
coaches through land filled with gal
liant road agents. chivalrous horse.
thieves. and valiant Indians, after
having been .'held up" . dozen times,
after having been through ''massacres, y
lynchings, cowboy fights. and oil that
now in his old age. to como down t.
a miserable two-horse route, through q
settled country, is almost more thar
they can hear. They sit on their lofty
seats gloomy and taciturn. They rare
" smile or talk. You must worl
hard II you hope to secure thei'
favor or engage them in converse
tion. The only glympse Of sunlight the.
ever catch through the dun clouds tina
paper their sky il when a dude. Al
Englishman, or fussy old lady be
comes their passenger, Then some
thing like q smile touches up thei
darkly burned faces. and BY the tim
such passenger, or what is left Of him
has reached his destination, they ar
are almost cheerful. The stage
have no springs. The cushions or
stuffed with flint The trail
stony and crossed continuall
with gullies and deep buffalo trails
To one Of these melancholy drivers
drawing his career to Disappointing
close. nothing is SO comforting as I
shoot dude ''tenderfoot'' through tn
stage window upon q jag Of rocks bt
low.
Observing that my driver was In
pensive humor l said nothing more I
him than was necessary to procure pc,
mission to sit up there" with hin
We rode for twenty miles in dead 9
lence. and ut last when We neared til
station at which we were to obtain dir
ner and change OF horses. he turne
to me and said: "Pardner. like 20,
! When / first SEQ you I thort didn'
, But l do. You're the fust man thu
/ ever rid on the top Of my coach ths
didn't start fer to tell me that gol derl
Z ed story about Hank Monk and Horac
Greeley" The ice was broken and "
continued fast friends to the end Of th
ride. n. 7. Tribune.