Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-03
LAST OF TIE STAGE COACHES.
heminiscenccs of Some of the Once
Profitable Western Lines
From the Tacoma Ledgc r


From the Tacoma Ledger
The stage coach dsys are about over in
Montana and Idaho" said S. F. Shannon,
at the Tacoma last night. With the ex
tension Of the Northern Pacific branch into
Lewiston, Idaho the little stage line into
that town will have 10 give way. There
are but three stage lines left in Montana.
and II is only Il matter of time before they
VIII be gone. But those We're great DAYS,
Hhen the great Gilman-Sauisbury lines
were operating in Montana" and Mr.
Shannon lapsed into silence q moment as
he thought of the old days when he was
aEeitor of that line. stationed q Helena
With the stage coach lines. from their in
Fancy TO their days of power, and then
with the railroad when it was finally com
Pleted through to the Pacific, and now in
other business to look back on those ear
Her ana at least equally happy lays has
been Mr.. ShannOn'S experience He is init
mately acquainted with the heads of the
Northern Pacific, and was with that road
long before the present anagemcnt came
10 the helIn He Is personal friend of the
old-time frontiersman, ana withal good
business man of the later DAYS
Staging now is not what it was in the
early days, he continued. The trouble
now IS that whenever stage line begids to
pay, raj road IS built and the stages have
10 move further off into the newer sections
or the country. l took a ride up through
Okanogan county TO the British Column pia
line short time ago on ~ stages in Cp-
Grafton there. and Ii was one Of the worst
experiences l ever had. The stages are lit
Tie more than mere wagons-not the easy
going six to welve-horse-teamed lux
-trlous coaches, with accommodations for
any number up to thirty-six that We had
In Montana The roads are bad and enc
3olts along over the trails expecting every
minute that the next will be his last He
hausted.
But in the old days we had stages.
Equipment is the word for their furnish
1nSs They were as luxurious as it was
possible 10 make them. They rode like
rocking chairs. On our lines running from
Mandan to MissOula, and from Corfnne
over in Idaho to Helena by way of Deer
Lodge, the coaches had accommoda tions
Tor eighteen, twenty-fotr and thirty-six
ana were drawn by teams of six to twelve
horses 1t was a matter of get there with
them They had the mail contracts, and
were receiving 1894 for every mile thew
carried 6Uo pounds OF baggage and $3.50 for
each extra 100 pounds. They had a monop-
oily of that traffic, and that is what caused
the star route investigation in 1884. The
Coaches could carry 4,Uo0 pounds of ex-
press. and the same amount OF mail ana
baggage, besides their passenger lists. They
averaged eight and half miles over the
entire distance, or nine and half miles
actual running time. This was over noun
tains and plains and in all kinds of wealth
er Our stages used to leave BoZeman In
the morning and arrive in Helena ninety
eight miles away, in the evening.
Montana was, in its stage lines second
only TO California. There will never be
a! other country such as those two for
Sta &c lines The roads were all good and
hard through all kinds OF weather, ard
the horses could fairly fly. There was
money in staging then. The Gilman-Sauls-
bury company are said to have made SlG-
Up,pUO out Of their stage lines and l guess
that is true The mail contracts and the
heavy passenger lists. 70 say nothing of
the express. made the profits count up.
even after they had divided with those in
charge of the mail contracts, and after the
government had forced them to give Up a
part OF tEeir steaHrgs.
There were several hold-ups by road
agents in those days, but as far as 1 can
remember. and l was connected with the
lines during the 'IOs and early sos, We
never lost any bullion.
Montana has only three stage lines left
now, and those run through rich agricul-
tUral districts. Cattle and sheep ranches
are abundant, and the lines are doing q
good business. In a few years the rail-
roads viii become Jealous of them, # they
are rot now. and build through their dis
tricts. Then the stage lines Will be only a
matter of history. Ali the lines run out Of
Living ston, Mont. From Billings Great
Falls and Big Sandy on the Great North
err they run into Livingston. The first
two virtually NEE, q Utica
In Oregon and Washington there are n
few stage lines. but the day for aging
has gone concluded Nh. Shannon. regret
fffIlu