Mexico weekly ledger., 1898-05-12
Written for the Ledger.
On Wade and Walkers Line.
BY W. W.

BY W. w. CLENDENIN.
Did you ever travel on it? Well, 1t
is certainly the most independent
route that o man eve Travelled on, for
you walk all the way and wade every
stream that you come to. When You
are travelling on this famous line you
can 60 just as fast Is you please or as
slow as you like and you will feel just
as free and Independent as q "hog on
ice,n for there is no supercilious liver
led iunky of q soulless corporation,
with big brass buttons on his blue coat
and "Conductor'' in gold letters on
the band of his cap, to be everlasting
iy DINING into your ears, "Tiokets."
And 1t beats travelling in a stage coach
all hollow, for, to be dovetailed into a
stage where your fellow passengers
are packed In like sardines in a box
and be bumped and thumped over a
rough road fifty miles or more ia
neither a pleasant nor comfortable
way Of travelling.
And speaking of travelling by stage
reminds me that in the early days of
California all travelling was done in
that way. During the rainy season,
when all of the roads were bottomless,
you would pay an e~xorbitant fare and
then have to walk most of the way
and carry afence reilon your shoulder
to pry the darned old coach out of the
mud every time she got stuck. The
stage companies in those days had the
finest outfits that money could buy,
splendid coaches and thoroughbred
horses, for there was "big money in
it." / saw a six-horse stage from
Sacramento come into the city of
Marysville one afternoon with "A pas
sengers on board and % of them were
riding on the hurricane deck. And
there was some jimdandy stage
drivers in those days and the way
they could handle the whip and rib
bons was a caution. OF all the drivers
in the state old Hank Monk, who
drove on the Carson and Hangtown
route, was the king bee and boss of
the whole outfit. He could start his
six horses at full speed and then throw
an apple in front of them and crush
it with the forward wheel and miss it
with the hind one, or he could miss 1t
with the forward wheel and crush it
with the hind one, just as he chose.
When old Horace Greeley crossed the
plains in 1858 he reached Carson City
many hours behind time and, as he
was billed to lecture In Sacramento
the following night, he was greatly
worried about not being able to get
there in time to fill the appointment.
Now the stage superintendent knew
IL there vas any man on earth who
could get old Horace there in time it
was Hank Monk, so he told Hank to
put the old cuss through in time if he
had to bust every ~hamestring and
bellyband on the whole route. Greeley
was the only passenger on that trip
and when Hank started down the
western slope of the grand old Sierras
he just let his thoroughbreds out for
all they were worth. When going
around a short curve at full speed,
where a sheer precipice dropped hun
dreds OF feet below, he would run the
wheels Of the stage within a few inch
ca of the outer edge of the road, just
to see old Horace hustle to the oppo-
site side of the coach with his eyes
bullying out and his hair standing out
like it does on a frightened cats tail.
Then Hank would crack his long whip
and the horses would increase their
speed and when the wheels would
drop into a chuckhole, Greeley would
bounce out of his seat like a rubber
ball and his old white Andrew jack
son hat coming in contact with the
roof of the stage, it would be smash
ed down over his face clear to his
shoulders. Then, as 500 as old Hor-
@ could claw his hat above his eyes,
he would cuss Hank until the air
turned blue all around him, but Hank
would only smile back at him and say,
"Keep your seat, Mr.. Greeley. I'll
get you there in time"
And old Horace, like the parrot
and the monkey, just had a shell of a
time OF It," for be was bumped and
thumped up and down and all around
the inside Of that coach and when he
reached 5acramento-in time--he was
not in a good condition nor humor to
deliver his famous lecture on the ever
lasting Senegambian, but he did it all
the same.
Poor old Horacei He was us crazy
as a loon on the niger question, but
he was as honest as the day is long
and 1t would have been a thousand
times better for the common people
of this country had he been elected
President instead of Grant. Greeley
spassed in his checks" many years
ago and Hank Monk has also "gone
over the range"
It was on the 18th of August, 1858,
that we stopped at noon on Goose
Greek, at the foot of the Goose Greek
mountains. It was a beautiful place
to camp, fine grass and water, but the
Snake Indians were hostile at that
time and we did not think 1t safe to
stop over night there. Near the creek
under a large oak tree I saw o fine
new wagon with a large trunk in II
that had been abandoned by ite owner,
probably on account Of his cattle hav-
ing been stolen by the Indians. That
afternoon we travelled over a range of
rolling hills to Thousand Spring valley
and, a II was q very hot day, / was
very thirsty when we got into the
valley and came to q stream of very
clear and swift running water. i
thought that / would get a nice cool
drink and, taking a cup from the
wagon, ! ran down to the stream and
you can readily imagine my surprise
when / placed 1t to my lips and found
thst II was almost scalding hot. 1t was
said that there was q thousand springs
In that valley, but they should be
called wells instead of springs, for
they were round holes In the ground
and bottomless, come being cold and