The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-25
THE OLD OVERLAND ROUTE.
william TuIIOck Writes to "The
Thunderer" About IL.
From the London Times.


From the London Times.
The interesting communication in the
Times of April 10 on American rail-
ways, in describing the transcontinen-
tai routes previous to the construction
of the first railway from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, speaks of 1.-The pony ex-
press" and the northern coach service,
by way of Salt Lake City, but omits to
mention that at tina same period. there
was also a southern coach service, by
way OF Arizona and Texas.
This was the line worked by the
Butterfield overland route company"
established in 1850 and subsidized by
the United States government. Its
coaches" small, light New Hampshire
wagons carrying six inside passengers
and sometimes one outside with the
driVer) left San Francisco or st. Louis
twice a week, and usually performed
the distance of 2.S6S miles in twenty
two days and nights, although the
schedule time was twenty-four days
The route taken was considerably long
err than that of the northern coach line,
and was, in fact, the longest coach line
in the world, and an exceedingly inter-
esting one, as / can testify from per-
sonal experience, having traversed its
whole length in the summer OF 1860.
From San Francisco the coaches pro-
ceeded to Los Angeles and on to the
Colorado desert, where they passed for
some miles inside the Mexican frontier
and then on to Fort Yuma and across
Arizona and New Mexico. over table
lands rising no higher than about 1000
feet, to IL Paso. and thence over the
plans of Texas to the Indian Territory
and Arkansas and Missouri, where the
passengers were deposited at the SYRIA
cuse station which was then the west
ern terminus of the already commenced
Pacific railroad. a few hours distance
from st. Louis.
The coaches were occasionally inter-
fered with by the Apaches or other
Indians, and the station keepers were
sometimes killed and the horses or
mules stolen. But the line continued
in operation for nearly two years, UNI
til the events of the Civil War of 1851
broke it up. The Northern coach route,
as your correspondent states. contin-
ued open throughout the war.
Travel by the Butterfield route was
OF an exhlarating nature The first
night or two 1t was somewhat diff
cult to sleep in an upright sitting pos
ture and closely wedged together, with
mail-bags thrust between our feet; but
thenceforward unconsciouSness at night
was perfect, except when we were rous-
ed out for a walk or a meal. The
stations, mostly rough shanties, were
located at distances varying from
twelve to thirty miles. At them, either
twice or sometimes thrice In the twen-
ty-four hours, meals were provided,
consisting chiefly of bread, beans. coffee
and bacon, and for which dollar a
meal was charged.
Where the route was particularly
rough or mountainous, the passengers
were permitted to walk, and the change
was mostly a welcome one, as the con-
slant crowded sitting up for twenty
two days and nights had rather a
cramping effect AT the stations or at
some stream we could get hasty
wash, also very welcome, for occasion
ally the dust and heat were excessive,
especially in the valleys OF the Colo
RADIO and ella rivers.
Many antelopes, coyotes and prairie
marmots, together with an occasional
or horned toad" were seen,
and some Of the most gorgeous sun
set effects. In the three weeks we only
had one storm, or rainfall, and there
was scarcely a single bridge crossed
in the whole distance at that period.
The rivers were traversed by broad fer
ry barges, conveying both vehicle and
passengers.
Some painted and half-naked Apache
Indians were seen at some of the sta
tions, but no attempt at molestation
times, both at earlier and later pc
RODS, they caused an immensely OF
trouble and alarm. For generations
Arizona. New Mexico, and the Mexican
frontier were widely dotted with the
graves of white men murdered by the
Apaches. The United States govern
ment has at length, but after siren
uous exertions, succeeded in reducing
them to order.
One of the interesting aspects of the
Butterfield route consisted in the pc
culiar vegetation of the Arizona des-
erts, chiefly of the cactus family, spiny |
and leathery. The gigantic Cereus, or
Petahaya, is the most striking of these. |
II grows from fifteen to thirty feet
high, and assumes the most fantastic
shapes, sometimes merely columnar
then with rigid branches at right an
giles. or with curves in various d.
rections.
1t took the coach about a week Of
days and nights to cross Texas, so
that one obtained a fair idea of the
size that single state. The trans |
continental American traveller can now
cross from st. LOWS to San Francisco
by several routes. including a railway
which passes over nearly the same
course as the old coach line, but which
necessarily lacks some of the very In
teresting features of the latter.
-e-o-s-