The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-01-14
DE4DWOoD'S FIRST STiGF.
A Vehicular Ruin That Recalls Lively Epi-
soIes of Frontier Life.
IRON tie Ch,od % TrJur.

DEADwoop. : H., Jan. 5.-At the side ~ one
9th mhin thoropghtarcs Of the present Dead
wool there stands an o.. hroEcn-down. worm
out stage coach which has a history Of his
tories. 1t IS loved IS many an oId-timcr In the
Black Hills. because it wa, thc FIRST messenger
between tho western line Of civilization and
their newly acquired home among the rugged
mountains. II was some tire after the lirSt
man entered the hills h. fore n regular stage
coach was put IN between any a. tho e,i! -
ulun2 the border Of civilization and the Black
His IN ming camps.
Durns he year of 1876, 'wo years after the
arrival II Tho hu.s"l expedition at Custer, the
organ iation Ut the Cheyenne" aud Back lills
s'ag. inc was effected AMI The irst stage
coach was sent out from Cheyenne Tor Custer.
III" Indians were unusuH,ty troublesome at
that time and the propristors a. thu stage
cOmuauy were fearful lest Their venture might
com" 10 q 4 -astrOu-rnd because OF the rayages
oftho redskins
one LAY In the summer o, 1875 this frs.
stage coach was started out from Cheyenne
with a load o. Passengers and haCgaTe. and
with The ihmOu1 3rlvrf. "CGlforuia Charlie"
hHt four s,roug horses. 4 constant lookout
wa kept for indians throughout the journey,
bur here wnS n Incident worthy Of mention
on the long "trip aud tho coach reaChe Custer
CIV N safety. The miners ~ that camp went
Wild over the event an the town turLed out
that night FOR n genuine celebration.
The following ddy "toliprula Charlie who
had kept "a ,ey"l heat 'uIing the festivities OF
IN" night PREVIOUS. mai" explanations for a re.
turn, TIN 10 th"yrhne. There were enough
wuuld-tc Iv~-seugers - Al the coach several
times and lots We're drawn, there being twelve
lucky numbers. About {. O'Clock, on a July
day. "Cal,iorn n Char 'p'ciacked his VIII . over
the heads oi MS ,ratrrs and the start was ipala
across the wilderness which lay between Cls-
ter and Cheyenne
Everything went well until the snge coach
reached al cd creek bod. a few miles ont Of
Custer. Her. without n moments warning, a
hand ui Indians. N war paint. sprauG from
nm bpsn and com mpDppI Inlrtpp in A hnoNv
fire upon the coach AMI passengers. 'Caliior-
ria Charlie piled his whir and thore was a
run ransa 2f " 4 lfw d Rl; ysr snlfcn sE? d i9f,@af o N n ut
his seat and fell into the boot ~ the coach.
dead; n bullet having gone through his head
waiting for a wori from N. driver.
IN" Indians Calnc NJ behind the coach on n
mad run, and IN a moment tha coach was sur
rounded ThG twelve rnssrnr"rs YER nrmo
Others. with more grit. attempted ~ shoot out
Of The "oach windows at II" iOdg'nc Indians.
1t seemed TO be tho de,ight Of the redsk.n s 10
near tho coach ant fra directly NJ the passcn-
gers. care being taken, pceming.y thnt the
bu "ts penetrate a coat sleeve. hat or seG,
Finally. two OF the Indians dismountsd from
their ponies NH. going unto the hor-os on the
Gip roy' S Eni 'nsm ans s%' issn an" Wfh b q w,,s y on
away. That was the last seen OF the Indians
or the horses.
lla passengers Whlke1 tWflye niles Dfck To
Custer. 4 posse pursued the Indians. but
their atari had been too good. Next dav the
coach was brought back tn Custer for u fresh
~starrfnr Cheyenne, thotrip being ACCOMPLISHED
without any trouble.
Tn" same coach made frequent trips to Gus
ter during the summer of1S16 aud on Srpt.
- Of the same year the frat run was made
into DeaGw, cd. The distance rom IaadwoOt
10 Chevpnne WA al ont 300 miles. through an
intensely hostile country. Assopu as The stage
rOutn wns thoroughly established. traffic be
cams heavy. For u numh-r OF years, IN to
lSSl. oil OF tho bullion from tho Homestake
iompany's mine was shipped out under heavy
guard Ivy his stage route. II was n perllous
trim 10 make with the gold bricks. and neryy
men went win IN" driver ms gGaria
TIE Northwestern fXpress. stage and
the laws Of Minnesota, with r. Blakcly "a
President and G. " Carpenter nS Secretary
and Treasurer. commenced runnina- q daily
line Of stAce coa'he- IN Nav. 1877, from
Bismarck. whore connection vas made With
the Northern Pacific Railway Company The
lire was transferred IN 1870 from Bismarck
TO Pierre. where Il connected with the Chicago
ana Northwestern Railway AMI in 1SSi it
made connection with the, Fremont. ElkhOrn
and Missouri Valley Railroad at Chadron.
Net. The com pany established q fine limo
Of Concord conrhes between Pierre and Dead
wood in lSSu, and the company carried m
average OF 5000 Passengers yearly and
ll.OOO,OOO pounds Of rxrr"s' and baggage.
The Homes'nkc bullion was carried by this
line for he years 1891 ami 1882. The COM
pany emp.0yed go men. 800 horses AMI 1000
The coming oi the railroads 10 the Black
Hills marked tho decline OF the stage coach
and the diffe rent lines were soon devoid OF
traffic.