Evening star., 1900-07-07
STAGE COACH OF THE PLAINS.
1t Has Long Passed Away. but Some of
the Drivers Live.


Kursu. civ corresnnatlenee1 Chicago Tribune.
Ii has been many years since the old
stage coach numbered through the streets
of this city. but some OF the drivers are
still living AMI one Of them. A. l.. Carpen-
ter is familiar figure about the streets.
The want Of a bridge over the Kansas
r.ver" said Mr.. Carpenter, "0r Kaw river.
as ii was first known. is what made Kan
sas City Wyandotte would naturally have
got all the trade that came to Kansas City
il there had been a bridge. but as it was
the stage business to Mexico, and even TO
Salt Lake and further west. had its head
quarters in Kansas City, and out of this
grew the ou-fitting houses which gave
Kansas City its frs, boom. ! carried some
notable people in my stages then, and oat
was Kit Carson.
There wer. TWO great stage lines. one
operating to Santa Fe and Lne other to san
Diego The government paid SiI,ot~ a year
to the San Diego linc for carrying tho mail.
the stage leaving either terminus once
week. making the "trip in an average of a
lItilr nor" than thirteen days. The stage
company received $i2 ono for carrying mail
to Santa Fc. making the trip twice a month.
The passenger fare to san Diego was So
and forty pounds of baggage allowed. Fol
!rwing the gold discover cs the stages FIRE
quently carried from $lvo.'>I 10 s:@o,vn in
gold du.s; from the gold fields.
"Oae Of The curious things connect ed
with tbs progress OF the times since then
is that ;he trade between Kansas City an |
Mexico j. less than il in the days
OF the stage coach and TX teams, notwith-
standing railroad facilities"
There are no lines Of the old stages in
this part Of the country now. But there
are many persons here who recall the time
WHEN stage line ran from Leavenworth
to this point There was short railroad
line from ST. Joseph. Mo. to Weston, a
T. hours run. and as Weston was on
the Missouri bank. passengers to and from
ST Joseph were fcrried on an old-fashioned
fatboat. much like the scows still in use
| in the east.
The sage driver in those days guide,
humorist and philosopher. There is no
character like him now anywhere He was
| the hero of most of his Stories and the
| traveller who had knocked about much al
| ways insisted on a seat with the driver in
preference TO the best inside because he
| knew he would be entertained. Undoubted-
| ly the driver had experience which made
| m an interesting person, but he soon
4 came to know that the average tourist by
| stage gullib!e. and he seldom failed to
! have recital of hairbreadth escapes
which held the attention of his patrons.
! Even Horace Greeley listened with inter
| cSr and creduity to these yarns. and some
| in the country were told by the stage driy-
| err or suggested by him. One which Arte-
| mus Ward related will be new to the pres
| ent generation. although it is old to the
| a1cients.
| As the coach dashed around the edge of n
| canon. Ward asked the reckless driver II
| he never had any accidents. Tie driver re-
/ piled that occasionally a coach full OF
| people would tumble down a steep decliv-
! ity of a thousand feet or so. and cripple or
| kill the whole lot. But We don't have
any cripples now. when there's an acci-
| dent" said the driver. You see, when We
cripple passenger he sues the company
That makes trouble. So now when We turn-
BILE a lot down, them as is crippled ! takes
| the Inch pin TO. and kills 'em dead. Dead
| folks don't bring lawsuits
The stsry was capped by one of Wards
| uimitable climaxes.
| And thus with anecdote did he cheer
| me along"
But there are no more coaches. few driv.
| ers and A. Ward. 81. sss -- =