The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1932-11-11

Nobody knows when the old stage made its
first overland trip from Leayenworth. At the
time of the Civil war it was in service be-
tween the river and Denver Previous TO that,
ii went over the Santa Fe trail and was no
stranger in Santa Fe. Many buffalo were shot
from its hurricane deck, for il served as the
original rubber neck" wagon in the South
west when the tourists from the East went to
sample the thrills in the wide open spaces
Mention of Horace Greeley in connection with
a stage coach recalls the classic story Of Hank
Monk, perhaps the most famous of all western
stage coach drivers Monk was the driver Of
the coach in which the famous editor once rode
from Carson City, New, over the Sierras TO
Placerville, Calf, The story Of that famous
trip is told by Wesley Stout as follows:
Uncle Horace was the most generous Of
men with advice. Thousands Of readers held
their breath until he gave them the signal
TO exhale; and If governments blundered or
the rainfall was excessive. ii was not for lack
Of Uncle Horace's omniscient counsel. Accus-
toned TO cosmic affairs, Greeley saw in Monk
only one more Jehu smelling of horses.
Leaning out the window and peering over
his steel spectacles, the editor informed the
driver that he expected to be in Placerville
on the dot having promised to speak briefly
there before going on to Sacramento, and
wishing TO catch the connecting coach.
yes sir" said Monk blandly, and started
with lurch which upset all. The early miles
were upgrade and the pace moderate, but
once Monk topped the Sierras he opened the
throttle. The normal gait down this alpine
corkscrew was as breath-taking as q shoot
the-chutes, what this must have been is bet
ter left to the Imagination. Greeley made
three attempts to get his head out the win
dow again and was thrown for a loss each
.l,o 5rSx5
his wreath of white chin whiskers bristling
with anger, he shrieked a command to slow
down.
Keep your seat, Horace" Monk called
back. TN get you there on time"
He did This is the story, at any rate, still
told as gospel An admiring populace pre-
scented Monk with a heavy gold watch upon
which was inscribed Keep your seat, Horace"
and thereafter Hank was the commodore Of
the feet. For fifty years after, any far west
ern Impotence was as likely as not to be
squelched with this quotation.
Greeley had ample time to advise the public
Of Placerville from the veranda of the Cary
house. The name of Monk did not appear In
this speech or in Greeley's book, but the latter
does refer TO the ride: yet along this mere
shelf, with hardly place TO each mile where
two meeting wagons can pass"-Greeley is
writing as Of 1S59I''the mail stage was driven
at the rate of ten miles an hour-in one
instance eleyen-or just as fast as four wild
horses could draw it. Our driver was, Of
course, skillful, but had he met a wagon sud-
denly on rounding one of the sharp points
we were constantly passing. a fearful crash
unavoidable. Had his horses seen fit TO
run away-as they did once on the unlocking
of a trace but ar place where he had room
to rein them in out of the road on the upper
sideI know that he could not have held
them, and we might have been pitched head
long down a precipice of 1000 feet; where
all the concern that could have been picked
up afterward would not have been worth two
bits per bushel"
Mark Twain, who was supposed to have
authored the Monk anecdote declared that he
had heard II either S61 or So times in six
years, but that it never had occurred, and was
q poor thing anyhow. Joe Goodman. editor
of the Virginia City Enterprise, was going
East in 1859. Monks parting words to him
were: You tell Horace Greeley i want to
come East, and ask him TO send me pass"
One Of the first acquaintance Goodman ran
across in New York was the editor. Mr..
Greeley have q message for you from Hank
Monk" he began innocently.
Greeley glared. That scoundreli- he broke
In. He has done me more injury than any
other man in America And that was that.
Although we commonly think Of the stage
coach as vehicle Of the trans-Mississippi from
tier. the old Concord coach. the use Of which
became general on all the stage lines Of the
West that no other coach ever supplanted II