Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1902-04-10
CID S'rAGE(O.ACHES.
THE LINE THAT RAN BETWEEN KAN
sAs AND CALIFORNIA.

1t Cost SG15 For the ThrOu.h Trip,
Donns-i.ow Or. Lend of P;:asen-
gers Amused Thc,.laeiyeN.
The stage line between AtcEi@ on and
\ Placerville, Cal, which ran daily
coaches for about Eve years in lSG0-65,
! WAS the finest ever known i'm the stage
coach business. In equipment no sim
liar line could equal it. 1t Was The
| greatest stage line on the globe. carry
/ Ing passengers, mail and express.
In lSG!Go it cost more for meals be-
tween Aichison and Denver than the
railroad Sire now costs With meals
added The run from Atchison to
| Denver is now made i'm something like
fifteen hours as against s'N days in the
stageco!ch days. At ono time the fare
from .Ntchison To Denver was ;:l15; the
railroad isre at present is $50. The
| quickest ti,le ever made by stage be-
tween Atcl. son and Denver was four
and half days. Ben IIolada.'. own
cr of the line, Travelled by special
coaches from Placcrvillc Cal. to Atch-
ison. 5000 miles, in twelve days and
two hours, beating the regular daily
schedule five days This feat cost IIol-
J laday 100000, but it was great adj
vcrtisemrnt for his line. The stages,
when crowded. carried fifteen persons
besides great quantities of mail and
express.
| One of the coaches used on the Atch-
| ison Placcrville line is now in the
Smithsonian institution at Washing,
ton. After leaving Atchison it was
operated OH the Deadwood line and
was several times captured by Indians
and outlaws. Once when captured by
outlaws it carried 100000 i'm gold. In
| this attack three guards were killed.
| Buffalo Bill heard that the old coach
| had been abandoned and went after it.
using it for years in his Wild west
show. In London it carried the Prince
of MALES. and all the nutables of Eu-
rope examined it With interest. On TIE
| Fourth OF July, 1893, this famous Old
coach WAS exhibited with the wild
west show mt Concord. N. H.. where il
was made. The owners and employees
of he stagccoach factory gave the his
| toric old stage Il great deal of attcn-
ton, and in the parade it bore this
sign: "1S63--IIone Again 1905. "
Including Ntchison and Placcrville.
| there We're lob stations on the line. the
longest in existence Q,913 milesL The
4 fare was 500. or about II cents Il mile.
| The stations We're from ten to fourteen
miles apart. Some days $1,000 WAS
taken in at the stage office i'm AtchiSon
| for fares alone. Each passenger was
| allowed Twenty-Five pounds of baggage:
| each pound of excess cost 81, which
was the price for carrying express
| The fare to Denver during the war Was
| S175. or u cents Il mile per passenger!
| The stages were nearly always crowd
ed. and passengers were often com
PEELED to wait several days ut .ltchison
before they could be accommodated.
4 minister once refused to travel on
Sunday and abandoned his place. He
| did not get Il chance TO 80 until the
| following Sunday and this time he con
| cludCu that, under certain circunStan-
ccs, travelling ON Sunday was eNcusa
| bic. Sometimes passengers booked for
a certain day sold out for Il bonus of
| from $50 10 $50 and waited for Il later
stage.
| The quickest route between New
York and sam Francisco ut that time
was by way of Atchson. The western
terminus of the line was changed from
st. Joseph to .Ntchison ON completion
of the Hannibal aud st. Joseph road to
| this point, us Atchison was eight miles
neaicr Placcrvile than st. Joseph. The
stage line ran Il little north of west
from Aichison. crossing the big Blue
ut Marysville. 100 miles west; thence
continuing i'm IL norlhwesterly course
mp the north side OF the Little Blue
and over the divide into The Platte val
ley, thence by Way of Fort kearncy.
i'iGn Creek ard Julesbcrg to Denver
IT, read between Atchson and Don
vcr WAS in the form of q crescent
9'liilioa's Bluff was 100 miles north of
Nic,iis n and DciMer. The easiest part
OF The Iiae WAS between Atcl son and
i''tit llearncy. The schedule time of
an hour. night and day. including stops
Occasionally the drivers would make
fifteen miles an ho:r and the pasSrn
GERS Thought il very fast The express
messengers received SG2.5O IL month
with free meals. and We're compelled
10 ride beside the driver six days and
nights without rest, except rs they
ron S.1n hi 4 CT.
ton. They received a lay over of nine
days every three weeks On going to
bed after Il trip they frequently slept
twenty-tour honrs without moving
Drivers received from $40 to $50 Il
month and board. On the main line
there We're 300 horses and mules and
100 coaches. The annual cost of opcr.
;lting the line was $2,425,U 900.
The passengers were nearly all men,
and they had hard time amusing
themselves. A gay party of eight once
started from Atchison, and they sang
for two days and nights using ribald
words to old church tunes. Finally
one man proposed collection. With
the money thus raised they bought
jug of whisky at Il station. Then there
were spree and qua,relins and poker
playing. One man said he had been
yobbcd by one of the players and he
Insisted so strongly on II fight that the
stage was stopped and a ring formed
The two drunken men rushed at each
other. bumped each other down and
could not get up. The other men help
ed the fighters to their feet, and the
harmless battle WAS renewed. I'inally