The Cordova daily times., 1922-07-26

section of the Northwest that radiates toward the four winds from Sheridan, Wyoming, today is en route on a 900- mile journey to Omaha, Nebraska car rying United States mail and a passen ger, as it did forty two years ago, when it made it's last run into Sheridan over the Rock Creek, Fort Custer and Etchetah Stage and Express Line, braving the perils of an undeyeloped armed guards, who rode the stage to safeguard it's passengers and valu- ables from surprise attacks by bandits or hostile Indian bands
 With a crack from a long black snake whip four pinto ponies, draw ing the old stage, dashed over the Fifth Avenue Hill, the Custer Battle field Highways entrance to Sheridan from the East, and were on their way to Omaha.
 Hundreds of persons gathered in the City Hall square to watch the depart ure of the stage from Sheridan.
 COWBOYS DRIVE COACH
 Swinging the ponies in toward the curbing, the coach's drivers-T. J. and George N. Ostrom, cowboys and pio neers of the Sheridan country dropped from their lofty seats on top of the stage and. as cameras clicked were handed greetings from Mayor c. w. Sheldon to the city of Omaha and a huge consignment of mail--all letters that were enclosed in special envelopes bearing an artists's draw ing of the stage and stamped with the stages cancel, showing that the let ter had been carried aboard the coach These letters also carried descriptive | literature of the coach's mission in the l interest of the Custer Highway and of 1 the historical and scenic beauty fea- lures of the five States the Highway | traverses.
 Paul Hudson, native of the Black Hawk, s. D.. a town on the Custer Highway, and one closely associated with the early history of the stage. was the sole passenger carried by the coach when it left Sheridan. He was en route East on business.
 WILL INTEREST EAST
 It was w. D. Fisher, secretary of the Custer Battlefield Highway Asso- citation and the roads founder, that saw the possibilities of interesting the East in the historical past of this sec tion of the West and-having met with phenomenal success in sending White Eagle, Sioux Indian Chief, American scout and writer of poems of Indian life on a nineteen months tour of the East, with the special objective of carrying greetings to Mrs. Eliza beth Custer, widow of the great gen eral who lost his life on the Custer Battlefield Highway memorializes -- decided to send the old stage on an other mission to the East.
 First interest, of course, in the stage is it's venerable past.
 No information as to the date of it's construction is available, but for more than forty years it has stood in a ne glected barn lot of a former Sheridan hostelry, where in the days when this was one of the few centers of civiliza- tion in a vast plain the inn was haven of good cheer at times the scene of actions that gave this section of the United States the cognomen, "Wild and Woody West"
 CARRIED WELL-KNoWN MEN
 Previous to 1880, when it's last run was made into Sheridan, the old stage saw many years in the express ser vice, and it carried many of the Vests best-known men to some frontier mir ing claim, homestead, on a govern ment land grant, and from these small beginnings of livelihood they have risen to places of prominence in the life of the West, and same have added glory to their nations name.
 Its drivers and guards skirmished with the Indians and bandits, braved the hardships of frontier life and cheered many Fasteners on in their ambition to make their stake" in the mountain ranges of the West
 On it's last ruin from Rapid City to Sheridan the old6oach received hard punishment, which, because it was not to be used again, was never repaired.
 COACH IS STRENGTHENED
 With the nurchaSa of inc coach hy