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08 - Story of the Pony Express by Glenn D. Bradley · Story of the Pony Express

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  Speaker 1: Chapter eight of the Story of the Pony Express by
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  Speaker 1: Glen D. Bradley. This LibriVox recording is in the public
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  Speaker 1: domain recording by Roger Moline, Chapter eight Early overland mail
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  Speaker 1: routes in the history of overland transportation in America, The
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  Speaker 1: Pony Express is but one in a series of many enterprises.
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  Speaker 1: As emphasized at the beginning of this book, its importance
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  Speaker 1: lay in its opportuneness, in the fact that it appeared
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  Speaker 1: at the psychological moment and fitted into the course of
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  Speaker 1: events at a critical period prior to the completion of
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  Speaker 1: the telegraph, and when some form of rapid transit between
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  Speaker 1: the Missouri River and the Pacific Coast was absolutely needed.
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  Speaker 1: To give adequate setting to this story, a brief account
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  Speaker 1: of the leading overland routes, of which the Pony Express
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  Speaker 1: was but one, seems proper. Before the middle of the
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  Speaker 1: nineteenth century, three great thoroughfares had been established from the
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  Speaker 1: Missouri westward across the continent. These were the Santa Fe,
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  Speaker 1: the Salt Lake, and the Oregon Trails. All had important
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  Speaker 1: branches and lesser stems, and all are to day followed
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  Speaker 1: by important railroads. A splendid testimonial to the ability of
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  Speaker 1: the pioneer path finders in selecting the best routes. Of
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  Speaker 1: these trails, that leading to Santa Fe was the oldest,
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  Speaker 1: having been fully established before eighteen twenty four. The Salt
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  Speaker 1: Lake and Oregon routes date some twenty years later, coming
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  Speaker 1: into existence in the decade between eighteen forty and eighteen fifty.
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  Speaker 1: It is incidentally with the Salt Lake Trail that the
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  Speaker 1: story of the Pony Express mainly deals. The Mormon settlement
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  Speaker 1: of Utah in eighteen forty seven eighteen forty eight, followed
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  Speaker 1: almost immediately by the discovery of gold in California, led
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  Speaker 1: to the first mail route across the country west of
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  Speaker 1: the Missouri. This was known as the Great Salt Lake Mail,
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  Speaker 1: and the first contract for transporting it was let July first,
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  Speaker 1: eighteen fifty to Samuel H. Woodson of Independence, Missouri. By
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  Speaker 1: terms of this agreement, Woodson was to haul the mail
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  Speaker 1: monthly from Independence on the Missouri River to Salt Lake City,
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  Speaker 1: twelve hundred miles and return. Woodson later arranged with some
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  Speaker 1: Utah citizens to carry a mail between Salt Lake City
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  Speaker 1: and Fort Laramie, the service connecting with the Independence mail
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  Speaker 1: at the former place. This supplementary line was put into
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  Speaker 1: operation August first, eighteen fifty one. In the early fifties,
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  Speaker 1: while the California Gold craze was still on, a monthly
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  Speaker 1: route was laid out between Sacramento and Salt Lake City.
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  Speaker 1: Note the reader will keep in mind that during the
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  Speaker 1: early days of California history, practically all communication between that
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  Speaker 1: locality and the East was carried on by steamship from
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  Speaker 1: New York via Panama. This service was irregular and unreliable,
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  Speaker 1: and since the growing population of California demanded a direct
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  Speaker 1: overland route, a four year monthly contract was granted to W. F. McGraw,
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  Speaker 1: a resident of Maryland. His subsidy from Congress was thirteen thousand,
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  Speaker 1: five hundred dollars a year. In those days, it often
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  Speaker 1: took a month to get mail from Independence to Salt
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  Speaker 1: Lake City, and about six weeks for the entire trip.
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  Speaker 1: Although McGraw charged one hundred and eighty dollars fare for
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  Speaker 1: each passenger to Salt Lake City and three hundred dollars
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  Speaker 1: to California, he failed in eighteen fifty six. The unexpired
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  Speaker 1: contract was then let to the Mormon firm of Kimberland Company,
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  Speaker 1: and they kept the route in operation until the Mormon
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  Speaker 1: troubles of eighteen fifty seven, when the government abrogated the agreement.
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  Speaker 1: In the summer of eighteen fifty seven, General Albert Sidney Johnston,
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  Speaker 1: later of Civil War fame, was sent out with a
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  Speaker 1: federal army of five thousand men to invade Utah. After
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  Speaker 1: a rather fruitless campaign, Johnston wintered at Fort Bridger in
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  Speaker 1: what is southwestern Wyoming, not far from the Utah line.
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  Speaker 1: During this interval, army supplies were hauled from Fort Leavenworth,
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  Speaker 1: with only a few way stations for changing teams. This
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  Speaker 1: improvised line, carrying mail occasionally, which went over the old
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  Speaker 1: Mormon Trail via South Pass and Fort's Carney, Laramie, and Bridger,
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  Speaker 1: was for many months the only service available for this
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  Speaker 1: entire region. The next contract for getting mail into Utah
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  Speaker 1: was let in eighteen fifty eight to John M. Hockaday
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  Speaker 1: of Missouri. Johnston's army was then advancing from winter quarters
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  Speaker 1: at Bridger toward the Valley of Great Salt Lake, and
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  Speaker 1: the government wanted mail oftener than once a month in
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  Speaker 1: consideration of one hundred and ninety thousand dollars annually, which
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  Speaker 1: was to be paid in monthly installments. Hackaday agreed to
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  Speaker 1: put on a weekly mail. This route, which ran from
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  Speaker 1: Saint Joseph to Salt Lake City, was later combined with
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  Speaker 1: a line that had been running from Salt Lake to Sacramento,
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  Speaker 1: thus making a continuous weekly route to and from California.
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  Speaker 1: For the combined route, the government paid three hundred and
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  Speaker 1: twenty thousand dollars annually. Its actual yearly receipts were five thousand,
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  Speaker 1: one hundred forty two dollars and three cents. The discovery
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  Speaker 1: of gold in the vicinity of Denver in the summer
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  Speaker 1: of eighteen fifty eight caused another wild excitement and a
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  Speaker 1: great rush, which led to the establishment in the summer
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  Speaker 1: of eighteen fifty nine of the Leavenworth and Pike's Peak
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  Speaker 1: Express from the Missouri to Denver. As then traveled, this
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  Speaker 1: route was six hundred and eighty seven miles in length.
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  Speaker 1: The line was operated by Russell, Majors and Waddell, and
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  Speaker 1: that same year they took over Hockaday's business. As has
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  Speaker 1: already been stated, the new firm of Pony Express fame
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  Speaker 1: called the Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company
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  Speaker 1: consolidated the old California Line, which had been run in
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  Speaker 1: two sections east and west with the Denver Line. In
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  Speaker 1: addition to the pony A Ccias Express, it carried on
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  Speaker 1: a big passenger and freighting business to and from Denver
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  Speaker 1: in California. Turning now to the lines that were placed
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  Speaker 1: in commission. Farther south, the first overland stage between Santa
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  Speaker 1: Fe and Independence was started in May eighteen forty nine.
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  Speaker 1: This was also a monthly service, and by eighteen fifty
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  Speaker 1: it was fully equipped with the famous conquered coaches, which
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  Speaker 1: vehicles were soon to be used on every overland route
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  Speaker 1: in the West. Within five years. This route, which was
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  Speaker 1: eight hundred fifty miles in length and followed the Santa
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  Speaker 1: Fe Trail, now the route of the Atchison, Topeka and
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  Speaker 1: Santa Fe Railroad, had attained great importance. The government finally
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  Speaker 1: awarded it a yearly subsidy of ten thousand, nine hundred
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  Speaker 1: ninety dollars. But as the trail had little or no
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  Speaker 1: military protection except at Fort Union, New Mexico, and for
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  Speaker 1: hundreds of miles was exposed to the attacks of Prairie Indians,
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  Speaker 1: the contractors complained because of heavy losses and sought relief
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  Speaker 1: of the Post Office and War departments. Finally, they were
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  Speaker 1: released from their old contract and granted a new one,
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  Speaker 1: paying twenty five thousand dollars annually, but even then they
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  Speaker 1: fell behind five thousand dollars per year. By special act
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  Speaker 1: passed August third, eighteen fifty four, Congress laid out a
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  Speaker 1: monthly mail route from Neosho, Missouri, to Albuquerque, New Mexico,
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  Speaker 1: with an annual subsidy of seventeen thousand dollars. Since the
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  Speaker 1: Mexican War, this region had come to be of great
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  Speaker 1: commercial and military importance. A little later, in March eighteen
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  Speaker 1: fifty five, the route was changed by the government to
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  Speaker 1: run monthly from Independence and Kansas City, Missouri, to Stockton, California,
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  Speaker 1: via Albuquer Turkey, and the contractors were awarded a yearly
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  Speaker 1: bonus of eighty thousand dollars. This line was also a
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  Speaker 1: financial failure. The early overland routes were granted large subsidies
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  Speaker 1: and the privilege of charging high rates for passengers and freight.
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  Speaker 1: To the casual observer, it may seem strange that practically
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  Speaker 1: all these lines operated at a disastrous loss. It should
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  Speaker 1: be noted, however, that they covered an immense territory, many
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  Speaker 1: portions of which were occupied by hostile Indians. It is
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  Speaker 1: no easy task to move military forces and supplies thousands
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  Speaker 1: of miles through a wilderness. Furthermore, the Indians were elusive
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  Speaker 1: and hard to find. When sought by a considerable force,
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  Speaker 1: they usually managed to attack when and where they were
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  Speaker 1: least expected. Consequently, if protection were secured at all, it
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  Speaker 1: usually fell to the lot of the stage companies to
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  Speaker 1: police their own lines, which was expensive business. Often they
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  Speaker 1: waged single handed Indian campaigns of considerable importance, and the
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  Speaker 1: frontiersmen whom they could assemble for such duty, were sometimes
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  Speaker 1: more effective than the soldiers who were unfamiliar with the
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  Speaker 1: problems of Indian warfare. Added to these difficulties were those
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  Speaker 1: incident to severe weather, deep snow, and dangerous streams. Since
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  Speaker 1: regular highways and bridges were almost unknown in the regions traversed.
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  Speaker 1: Not to mention the handicap and expense which all these
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  Speaker 1: natural obstacles entailed, business on many lines was light and
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  Speaker 1: revenues low. News from Washington about the creation of the
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  Speaker 1: new territory of Utah in September eighteen fifty was not
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  Speaker 1: received in Salt Lake City until January eighteen fifty one,
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  Speaker 1: the report reached Utah by messenger from California, having come
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  Speaker 1: around the continent by way of the Isthmus of Panama.
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  Speaker 1: The winters of eighteen fifty one and fifty two and
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  Speaker 1: eighteen fifty two and fifty three were frightfully severe, and
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  Speaker 1: such expensive delays were not uncommon. The November mail of
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  Speaker 1: eighteen fifty six was compelled to winter in the mountains.
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  Speaker 1: In the winter of eighteen fifty six and fifty seven,
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  Speaker 1: no steady service could be maintained between Salt Lake City
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  Speaker 1: and Missouri on account of bad weather. Finally, after a
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  Speaker 1: long delay, the postmaster at Salt Lake City contracted with
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  Speaker 1: the local firm of Little Hanks and Company to get
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  Speaker 1: a special mail to and from Independence. This was accomplished,
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  Speaker 1: but the ordeal required seventy eight days, during which men
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  Speaker 1: and animals suffered terribly from cold and hunger. The firm
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  Speaker 1: received one thousand, five hundred dollars for its trouble. The
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  Speaker 1: Salt Lake route returned to the government a yearly income
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  Speaker 1: of only five thousand dollars. The route from Independence to Stockton,
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  Speaker 1: which cost Uncle Sam eighty thousand dollars a year, collected
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  Speaker 1: in nine months only one thousand, two hundred and fifty
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  Speaker 1: five dollars in postal revenues, whereupon it was abolished July first,
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  Speaker 1: eighteen fifty nine. By the close of eighteen fifty nine,
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  Speaker 1: there were at least six different mail routes across the continent,
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  Speaker 1: from the Missouri to the Pacific Coast. They were costing
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  Speaker 1: the government a total of two million, one hundred eighty
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  Speaker 1: four thousand, six hundred ninety six dollars and returning three
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  Speaker 1: hundred thirty nine thousand, seven hundred forty seven dollars and
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  Speaker 1: thirty four cents. The most expensive of these lines was
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  Speaker 1: the New York and New Orleans Steamship Company route, which
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  Speaker 1: ran semi monthly from New York to San Francisco via Panama.
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  Speaker 1: This service cost seven hundred and thirty eight thousand, two
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  Speaker 1: hundred and fifty dollars annually and brought in two hundred
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  Speaker 1: and twenty nine thousand, nine hundred and seventy nine dollars
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  Speaker 1: and sixty nine cents. While the steamship people did not
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  Speaker 1: have the frontier dangers to confront them, they were operating
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  Speaker 1: over a roundabout course several thousand miles in extent, and
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  Speaker 1: the volume of their postal business was simply inadequate to
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  Speaker 1: meet the expense of maintaining their business. Note In June
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  Speaker 1: eighteen sixty Congress got into trouble with this company over
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  Speaker 1: postal compensations. The steamship company, it appears, thought its remuneration
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  Speaker 1: too low, and it further protested that the diversion of
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  Speaker 1: mail traffic due to the day daily overland stage line
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  Speaker 1: and the Pony Express would reduce its revenue still further.
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  Speaker 1: Congress finally adjourned without effecting a settlement, and the mail,
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  Speaker 1: which was far too heavy for the overland facilities to
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  Speaker 1: handle at that time, was piling up by the ton
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  Speaker 1: awaiting shipment. Matters were getting serious when Cornelius Vanderbilt came
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  Speaker 1: to the government's relief and agreed to furnish steamer service
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  Speaker 1: until Congress assembled in March eighteen sixty one, provided the
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  Speaker 1: federal authorities would assure him a fair and adequate compensation.
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  Speaker 1: This agreement was affected and the affair settled as agreed
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  Speaker 1: at the expiration of the period. The war and the
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  Speaker 1: growing importance of the overland route made steamship service by
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  Speaker 1: way of the Isthmus quite obsolete. The steamer schedule was
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  Speaker 1: about four weeks in either direction, and the rapidly increasing
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  Speaker 1: population of California soon demanded in the early fifties a
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  Speaker 1: faster and more frequent service. Agitation to that end was
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  Speaker 1: thus started, and during the last days of Pierce's administration,
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  Speaker 1: in March eighteen fifty seven, the Overland Mail Bill was
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  Speaker 1: passed by Congress and signed by the President. This act
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  Speaker 1: provided that the Postmaster General should advertise for bids until
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  Speaker 1: June thirtieth following for the conveyance of the entire lettermail
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  Speaker 1: from such point on the Mississippi River as the contractors
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  Speaker 1: may select, to San Francisco, California, for six years at
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  Speaker 1: a cost not exceeding three hundred thousand dollars per annum
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  Speaker 1: for semi monthly, four hundred fifty thousand dollars per weekly,
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  Speaker 1: or six hundred thousand dollars for semi weekly service to
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  Speaker 1: be performed semi monthly, weekly, or semi weekly at the
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  Speaker 1: option of the Postmaster General. The specifications also stipulated a
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  Speaker 1: twenty five day schedule, good coaches and four horse teams.
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  Speaker 1: Bids were opened July first, eighteen fifty seven. Nine were submitted,
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  Speaker 1: and most of them proposed starting from Saint Louis, thence
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  Speaker 1: going overland in a southwesterly direction, usually via Albuquerque. Only
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  Speaker 1: one bid proposed the more northerly central route via Independence,
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  Speaker 1: Fort Laramie, and Salt Lake. The Post Office Department was
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  Speaker 1: opposed to this trail, and its attitude had been confirmed
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  Speaker 1: by the troubles of winter travel in the past. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: this route had been a failure for six consecutive winters
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  Speaker 1: due to the deep snows of the high mountains which
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  Speaker 1: it crossed. On July second, eighteen fifty seven, the Postmaster
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  Speaker 1: General announced the acceptance of bid number twelve thousand, five
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  Speaker 1: eighty seven, which stipulated a forked route from Saint Louis, Missouri,
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  Speaker 1: and from Memphis, Tennessee, the lines converging at Little Rock, Arkansas.
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  Speaker 1: Thence the course was by way of Preston, Texas, or
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  Speaker 1: as nearly as might be found advisable to the best
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  Speaker 1: point in crossing the Rio Grande above El Paso, and
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  Speaker 1: not far from Fort Fillmore. Thence along the new road
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  Speaker 1: then being opened and constructed by the Secretary of the
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  Speaker 1: Interior to fort Yuma, California. Thence through the best passes
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  Speaker 1: and along the best valleys for safe and expeditious staging
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  Speaker 1: to San Francisco. On September following, a six year contract
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  Speaker 1: was let for this route. The successful firm at once
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  Speaker 1: became known as the Butterfield Overland Mail Company. Among the
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  Speaker 1: firm members were John Butterfield, William B. Dinsmore, D. N. Barney,
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  Speaker 1: William G. Fargo, and Hamilton Spencer. The extreme way length
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  Speaker 1: of the route agreed upon from Saint Louis to San
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  Speaker 1: Francisco was two thousand, seven hundred and twenty nine miles.
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  Speaker 1: The most southern point was six hundred miles south of
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  Speaker 1: South Pass on the old Salt Lake route. Because of
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  Speaker 1: the out of the way southern course followed, two and
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  Speaker 1: one half days more than necessary were nominally required in
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  Speaker 1: making the journey, yet the postal authorities believed that this
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  Speaker 1: would be more than offset by the southerly course being
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  Speaker 1: to a great extent free from winter snows. On September fifteenth,
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  Speaker 1: eighteen fifty eight, after elaborate preparations, the overland mail started
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  Speaker 1: from San Francisco and Saint Louis on the twenty five
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  Speaker 1: day schedule, which was three days less than that of
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  Speaker 1: the water route. The postage rate was ten cents for
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  Speaker 1: each half ounce. The passenger fare was one hundred dollars
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  Speaker 1: in gold. The first trip was made in twenty four days,
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  Speaker 1: and in each of the terminal cities big celebrations were
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  Speaker 1: held in honor of the event, and yet today four
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  Speaker 1: splendid lines of railway cover this distance in about three days.
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  Speaker 1: These stages, to use the westbound route as an illustration,
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  Speaker 1: traveled in an elliptical course through Springfield, Missouri and Fayetteville, Arkansas,
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  Speaker 1: to Van Buren, Arkansas, where the Memphis Mill was received.
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  Speaker 1: Continuing in a southwesterly course, they passed through Indian Territory
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  Speaker 1: and the Choctaw Indian Reserve now Oklahoma, crossed the Red
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  Speaker 1: River at Calvert's Ferry, then on through Sherman, Fort Chadbourne,
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  Speaker 1: and Fort Belknap, Texas, through Guadalupe Pass to El Paso,
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  Speaker 1: thence up the Rio Grande River, through the Masilla Valley
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  Speaker 1: and into western New Mexico now Arizona to two. Then
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  Speaker 1: the journey led up the Hila River to Arizona City,
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  Speaker 1: across the Mojave Desert in southern California, and finally through
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  Speaker 1: the San Joaquin Valley to San Francisco. Today a traveler
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  Speaker 1: could cover nearly the same route, leaving Saint Louis over
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  Speaker 1: the Frisco Railroad, transferring to the Texas Pacific at Fort Worth,
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  Speaker 1: and taking the Southern Pacific at El Paso for the
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  Speaker 1: remainder of the trip. As has been shown, the outbreak
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: of the Civil War in the spring of eighteen sixty
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  Speaker 1: one made it necessary for the federal government to transfer
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  Speaker 1: this big and important route further north to get it
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  Speaker 1: beyond the latitude of the Confederacy. Hence, the Southern route
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  Speaker 1: was formally abandoned on March twelfth, eighteen sixty one, and
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  Speaker 1: the equipment removed to the Central or Salt Lake Trail,
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  Speaker 1: where a daily service was inaugurated. Note the contractors are
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  Speaker 1: said to have been awarded fifty thousand dollars by the
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: government for their trouble in having the agreement broken. About
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: three months was necessary to move all the outfits, and
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: in July eighteen sixty one, the first daily overland mail
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  Speaker 1: running six times a week, was started between Saint Joseph
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  Speaker 1: and Placerville, California, one thousand, nine hundred and twenty miles
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  Speaker 1: by the way of Forts Carney, Bridger and Salt Lake City.
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  Speaker 1: The Hannibal and Saint Joseph Railroad had been built into
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  Speaker 1: Saint Joseph and was doing business by February eighteen fifty nine.
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  Speaker 1: For some time that city enjoyed the honor of being
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  Speaker 1: the eastern stage terminal, but within a year the railroad
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  Speaker 1: was extended to Atchison, about twenty miles down the stream.
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  Speaker 1: The latter place is situated on a bend of the
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: river fourteen miles west of Saint Joseph, and so the
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: terminal honour soon passed to Act since its westerly location
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  Speaker 1: shortened the hall In transferring the Butterfield Line from the
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  Speaker 1: southern to the Central route, it was merged with the
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  Speaker 1: Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company, which already
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  Speaker 1: included the Leavenworth and Pike's Peak Express Company. Under the
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  Speaker 1: leadership of General BELLA. M. Hughes, this line was known
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  Speaker 1: to the government as the Central Overland California Route. As
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  Speaker 1: soon as the transfer was completed through California, stages were
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  Speaker 1: started on an eighteen day schedule, a full week less
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  Speaker 1: time than had been required by the Butterfield Route and
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  Speaker 1: ten days less than that of the Panama Steamers. This
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  Speaker 1: was the most famous of all the stage routes, and
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: except for three interruptions due to Indian outbreaks in eighteen
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  Speaker 1: sixty two, eighteen sixty four and eighteen sixty five, it
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  Speaker 1: did business continuously for several years. Within a few months
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  Speaker 1: came another change of proprietorship, the route, passing on a
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  Speaker 1: mortgage foreclosure into the hands of Benjamin Holiday, a famous
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: stage line promoter, late in eighteen sixty one. Early the
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: following year, Holiday reorganized the management under the name of
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: the Overland Stage Line. This seems to have been what
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: to day is technically known as a holding company for
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: until the expiration of the old Butterfield contract in eighteen
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  Speaker 1: sixty three. He allowed the business east of Salt Lake
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  Speaker 1: City to be carried on by the old co O,
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  Speaker 1: C and P. P Company. West of Salt Lake, the
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  Speaker 1: new Overland Line allowed or sub let the through traffic
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  Speaker 1: to a vigorous subsidiary, the Pioneer Stage Line. Note the
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: Pioneer Line, which had recently come into power and prominence,
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: had gained possession of the equipment west of Salt Lake.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: This line was owned by Lewis and Charles mc lean.
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: Louis mc lean afterward became president of the Wells Fargo
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: Express Company. Holiday was fortunate in securing a new mail
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: contract for the Central Route, which he now controlled, for
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: supplying a six day letter mail service from the Missouri
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: to Placerville, together with away mail to and from Denver
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: and Salt Lake City. He was paid one million dollars
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: a year for the three years beginning July first, eighteen
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: sixty one. At the expiration of this period he was
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: to get eight hundred forty thousand dollars. In the meantime,
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: gold was discovered in Idaho and Montana, and Holiday, encouraged
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: by his big subsidy from the government, put stage lines
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: into Virginia City, Montana, and Boise City, Idaho. In eighteen
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: sixty six, the Butterfield Overland Dispatch, an express and fast
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: freight line, was started above the Smoky Hill route from
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: Topeka and Leavenworth across Kansas to Denver. Within a short time.
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: This organization mainly because of the heavy expense caused by
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: Indian depredations, and was consolidated with the Holiday Company. Just
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: prior to this transfer, mister Holiday received from the Colorado
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: Territorial Legislature a charter for the Holiday Overland Mail and
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: Express Company which was the full and formal name of
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: the new concern. This corporation now owned and controlled stage
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: lines aggregating thirty three hundred miles. It brought the service
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: up to the highest point of efficiency and used only
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: the best animals and vehicles it was possible to obtain.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: In addition to his federal mail bonus, Holiday had the
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: following rates for passenger traffic in force in eighteen sixty three.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: From Atchison to Denver seventy five dollars in eighteen sixty three,
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: from Atchison to Salt Lake City one hundred and fifty
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: dollars in eighteen sixty three, from Atchison to Placerville two
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: hundred and twenty five dollars. In eighteen sixty five, on
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: account of the rise of gold and the depreciation of currency,
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: these rates were increased. The fare from the Missouri River
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: to Denver was changed to one hundred seventy five dollars
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: to Salt Lake three hundred and fifty dollars. The California
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: rate varied from four hundred dollars to five hundred dollars.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: A year later, the fair to Virginia City, Montana was
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: fixed at three hundred and fifty dollars, and the rate
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: to Salt Lake City reduced to two hundred and twenty
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: five dollars. These high rates and Indian dangers did not
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: seem to check the desire on the part of the
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: public to make the overland trip. Stages were almost always crowded,
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: and it was usually necessary for one to apply for
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: reservations several days in advance. Late in the year eighteen
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: sixty six, Holiday's entire properties were purchased by Wells Fargo
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: and Company. Holiday is said to have received one million,
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: five hundred thousand dollars cash and three hundred thousand dollars
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: in express company stock for his interests. Besides these amounts,
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: which covered only the animals, rolling stock, stations, and incidental equipment,
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: Wells Fargoing Company had to pay full market value for
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: all grain, hay and provisions along the line, amounting to
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: nearly six hundred thousand dollars more. This was a new concern,
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: recently chartered by Colorado, which had been quietly gaining power.
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: Within a short time it had exclusive control of practically
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: all the stage, express and freighting business in the West,
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: and this business it held. Meanwhile, the overland stage and
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: freight lines were rapidly shortening on account of the building
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: of the Pacific railroads, and the terminals of the through
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: routes became merely the temporary ends of the fast growing
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: railway lines. By the early autumn of eighteen sixty six,
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: the Kansas Pacific had reached Junction City, Kansas, and the
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: Union Pacific was at Fort Carney, Nebraska. The golden era
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: of the overland stage business was from eighteen fifty eight
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: to eighteen sixty six. After that, the old through routes
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: were but fragments between the tracks of the Central Pacific
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: and Union Pacific roads, which were building east and west
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: toward each other. Wells fargowned company, however, clung to these
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: fragments until the lines met on May tenth, eighteen sixty nine,
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: and a continuous transcontinental railroad was completed. Then they turned
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: their attention to organizing mountain stage and express lines in
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: the railroadless regions of the West, some of which still exist,
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: and they also turned their energies to the railway express business,
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: in which capacity this great firm, the last of the
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: old stage companies, is now known the World over end
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: of chapter eight recording by Roger Molin