The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-02-05
Development of Communication in the
Old West Following the Gold Strikes

was hauled to the East from Salt
Lake. but from Omaha westward.
converts to the new faith, together
with their possessions filled the great
wagons. and overlooked onto this
road, where the strongest, both men
and women walked. From this it
will be evident that their rate Of
progress was slow.
The mail coaches took the south
ern road. For this reason we were
never called upon to make way for
the United States mail. In 1873 II
distinctly remember seeing a man on
horseback in northern Utah forced
to do so. The month vas February,
with the ground covered to a great
depth with snow, which, packed hard
from constant travel, was as if
paved. Forced to leave the beaten
track, the man plunged nearly to his
horses back into the snow, and the
profanity he uttered made my ears
tingle worse than they did from the
prevailing cold weather. Laughing
| derisively, our driver cracked his
long Whiplash, and we Don OutdiS-
tanced the abuse launched at us by
! the unfortunate man as he struggled
back into the road.
In this instance a sledge took the
place of a coach, as was often neces-
sary in winter. It was a long one,
capable of carrying at least ten pas
sengers, three on a seat, and One with
the driver, the baggage and mail be-
? ing dashed onto the rear.
The ordinary Concord coach was
so named from it's place of manufac-
! ture, Concord, New Hampshire, in
! which region it passed it's nOvitiate
/ and proved it's fitness for the severe
} test of western mountain and plains
r travel. It's true name was the Alb
lbOt-DOwning coach. Professor Pax
on thus describes it: eat a pinch it
= would carry IA passengers, nine in
= side and five, including the driver,
: on the box or on the roof seat. It's
= wide-tiTed, heavy wheels were near
: ly as capable as those of the prairie
schooner. It's body was slung or
; stout lather braces, and was shelter.
ed from the weather by stout leath.
er curtains. At the real of the body
d was a projecting boot with leather
cover, in which the scanty baggage
Z of the passengers was carried. TWEEN
II ty-five pounds of personal baggage
d was the usual allowance for a three
weeks journey; many of the passen
-e gers carried their whole allowance il
p a jug. It was on the boot that tn.
mail sacks were packed, and if Their
% was more mail than could be accom-
y modated here, the sacks rode insid
d to the exclusion of passengers"
~ 1t has already been told in thes
columns, how a crafty driver mar
aged, by taking advantage Of thi
lg custom, to force a United States OIL
a fetal to cOnnive in the throwing GU
Sc Of some Congressional Reports, Q
re religious tracts, the driver held to b
D. undesirable for transportation. TIL
lie sacks were piled on the front Sea
Us from which they rolled off, with th
lie able assistance of the driver, Whe
3; the coach was climbing a hill, an
tn cOllided with the official, who insis
p, ed that they should be transferred t
the back seat, on reaching the sun
NIT of the hill. This was done, bJ
in going down hill there was til
same result, when the l~Ong-sufferin
battered official demanded that til
mt offending mail matter should be lie
on the prairie.
Id In mountain travel and Over ba
roads, the 'jerky' was used. This W;
dC a twO-seated vehicle which was s.
u called from the involuntary motto
al it inflicted on the passengers. I a
- Hacking the mechanical knowledge
describe accurately the cOnstrUctiC
of the jerky, but I can feelingly co.
verse at great length on the suffe
ings of riding in one.
The building of the Union Pacif
ended the coach service. The meal
of communication between East al
West had at length become rapid al
comfortable. An educational NOV
might picture the slow development
of the means of transit from Il
prairie schooner, drawn by plOddil
oxen or horses; the brief experime
of using camels on the southern
%serts; the first mail service, viii
travelled by day and camped at nigh
the advent of the Concord stages; t
lshOrt-lived pony express; then t
railroad. This should be follow
by a view Of the same plains a
mountains dotted thick with cOul
less automobiles carrying thousan
on a veritable joyfide along the ira
over which their predecessors had
painfully %jOUrneyed.