Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1941-12-19
Influx of Western Settlers Taxed Facilities
OF Early Railroads, Pioneer Resident Writes
By CHARLES I. O'NETL

In tne SlxtleS ana seventies the
settlement Of the west was mainly
accomplished by means of team and
wagon, an almost endless caravan of
wagons travelled across the plains at
the rate Of say-l5 to 20 miles per
day. Later in the eighties and nineties
most of the travel was by railroad,
great masses OF humanity crowded
through the gateways of Kansas City,
st. Paul and Omaha, eager to get a
home or find employment In the west
Foreigners Of every cline, speaking
unknown tongues, with their bundles
Of clothing, bedding and odd-looking
baggage. thronged the railway sta
lions. Carloads of laborers coming to
build the new extensions of the rail-
roads, mostly OF foreign extraction of
the lower classes, herded together like
cattle. The great number Of them I'M
washed, one could smell them from
afar.
The railway coaches we're usually
crowded, overtaxing the seating Ca
pacity to the utmost. Travel in the
sleeping car was exceedingly light. To
stimulate travel in order to hasten
settlement of the west and to make
business for the future, many induce
ments were offered to the settler.
Immigrant Rates Reduced
Immigrant rates very much reduced,
both for passenger travel and for ship
ment OF household goods, were Of
fered the settler. Then there were
occasional rate wars when tickets were
sold halfway across the continent for
about the price of the present taxi
fare across one of our cities.
personally was a part of both
these settlement movements, going to
Kansas in a covered wagon with my
parents in 1871 and to Montana in
1891 by rail.
In the nineties neither passenger
fares nor freight rates we're made pub
lie and one had to shop around in
getting transportation. Besides the
regular ticket and freight agents there
were many "scalpers" offices, selling
tickets, and private agencies selling
freight service. To illustrate how COM
mon this was I will give two exper-
fences In 1891 I was bookkeeper in
a wholesale lumber office in st. Louis
, The proprietor arranged to 60 to
Kansas City with the lady bookkeeper
who had lived previously near the
latter city. He sent me out to make
the rounds of the ticket scalpers to
obtain the cheapest tickets I could
get to Kansas City. carried out his
orders hterally-too literally-for I
brought in two tickets to Kansas City,
both at greatly reduced prices but
each over different routes. The pro-
prietor did not appreciate my efforts
and Immediately disappeared with the
two tickets, presumably to make some
changes in the routing Of one of them.
To Montana in 1891
Later In the year, 1891, I went to
Montana, going to Kansas City to
purchase my through ticket to that
PARKWAY land. Near the Union depot
which was then down on the river
bottoms, was a long row of ticket
scalpers' offices with signs displayed
in front giving some Of the especial
bargains It mattered not to me which
route I was ticketed for providing
could save a dollar. In fact the longer
the ride for the money the better.
Sometimes the scalper would sell a
regular ticket, he being a means for
the railway to cut prices without re-
ooudAy cSoARSAo apAA1SA
the return portion Of q round trip
ticket; sometimes they patched por-
tons of two or more unused tickets
together, or maybe making up Sec
ton they lacked transportation foE
by leaning the traveller a mileage book
covering the section which they lacked.
One might be routed roundabout ways.
knew Of scalper's ticket routing
the passenger by way Of Pocatello,
Idaho, and Spokane, WASH, to get to
a north Montana point. This ticket
was made up of parts Of two tickets
and the loan Of a mileage book.
After making the round of the
scalpers finally secured ticket to
Great Falls, Mont, for 1872 by way of
st. Paul, this then being the most
direct route. This trip took me six
days from Kansas City. My lunch
basket, an open-top 1O-cent basket,