History of Atchison County, Kansas. Sheffield Ingalls

Wednesday Boats, Ben Lewis and Twilight, Alternately. Thursday Boats, Sovereign. Friday Boats, Kate Howard and Minnehaha, Alternately. For Freight or passage apply to G. W. BOWMAN, Agent, Atchison. N. B. Tickets sold through to all the Eastern and Southern Cities.

      OFFICE on the Levee.

      (From Freedom’s Champion, Atchison, March 27, 1858.)

      Squatter Sovereign, Atchison, Dec. 5, 1857:Omaha, Andrew Wineland, Master; J. J. Wilcox, clerk.Freedom’s Champion, Atchison, April 3, 1858:Ben Lewis, T. H. Brierly, Master; W. G. Barkley, clerk.Freedom’s Champion, March 12, 1859:Alonzo Child, D. DeHaven, Master; Stanley Ryland, clerk; H. P. Short, clerk.

CHAPTER X.

       OVERLAND FREIGHTING.

       Table of Contents

      ATCHISON AS AN OUTFITTING POINT—FREIGHTING COMPANIES—PRINCIPAL ROUTES—STAGE LINES—OVERLAND MAIL ROUTES—BEN HOLLADAY—BUTTERFIELD’S OVERLAND DISPATCH—TIME TO DENVER—TABLES OF TIME AND DISTANCES ON VARIOUS ROUTES—STATISTICAL.

      Atchison was chosen as an outfitting point for the Salt Lake freighters, in addition to many other reasons, because we had one of the best steamboat landings on the river, and had the best wagon road in the country leading west. Twenty-four miles west of Atchison this road was intersected by the old overland mail trail from St. Joseph. Leavenworth had laid out a new road west, over which it was planned to run the Pike’s Peak Express stages in the spring of 1859, as well as the mule and ox teams, for Denver and the mountain mining camps. A branch road was also opened to intersect this route from Atchison in the spring of 1859, under the direction of Judge F. G. Adams. The expedition started west from Atchison in the spring of that year, over what is now known and was then known as the Parallel road, then through Muscotah and America City, across into the Big Blue river, near Blue Rapids, and westward through Jewell county. The object of this expedition was to open a shorter route to the mountains than the one opened by the Leavenworth company, and the route proposed did save sixty-five miles distance, and almost twelve hours time. E. D. Boyd, an engineer, measured the entire distance from Atchison to Denver. He also made an accurate report, showing distances and the crossing of streams, and a brief description of the entire route, which was published in the Atchison Champion, in June, 1859. According to that report, the distance from Atchison to Denver was 620 miles. But notwithstanding the advantage of this new road, it was abandoned immediately and never traveled by ox or mule trains out of Atchison, for the reason that the old military road by Fort Kearney and along the Platte river enjoyed Government protection from the Indians, and was settled at intervals almost the entire distance.

      During the period of overland freighting on the plains, more trains left Atchison than any other point on the river. The leading firms engaged in the freighting business were, Stevens & Porter; Dennison & Brown; Hockaday-Burr & Company; J. S. Galbraith: George W. Howe; Brown Brothers; E. K. Blair; I. N. Bringman; Roper & Nesbitt; Harrison Brothers; Henry Reisner; J. C. Peters; P. K. Purcell; R. E. Wilson; Will Addoms; George I. Stebbins; John C. Bird; William Home; Amos Howell; Owen Degan, and a number of others.

      The cost of shipping merchandise to Denver was very high, as everything was carried by the pound, rather than by the hundred pounds rate. Flour, bacon, molasses, whiskey, furniture and trunks were carried at pound rates. The rates per pound on merchandise shipped by ox or mule wagons from Atchison to Denver prior to 1860, were as follows:

Flour	9	cents
Tobacco	12½	cents
Sugar	13½	cents
Bacon	15	cents
Dry goods	15	cents
Crackers	17	cents
Whiskey	18	cents
Groceries	19½	cents
Trunks	25	cents
Furniture	31	cents

      It has been said by those who witnessed the tremendous overland traffic of the late fifties and the early sixties, that those of this generation can form no conception of the enormous amount of traffic overland there was in those days. Trains were being constantly outfitted not only at Atchison, but at other points along the river. Twenty-one days was about the time required for a span of horses or mules to make the trip to Denver and keep the stock in good condition. It required five weeks for ox trains to make the same distance, and to Salt Lake, horses and mules were about six weeks making the trip, and ox trains were on the road from sixty-five to seventy days. It was the ox upon which mankind depended in those days to carry on the commerce of the plains. They were the surest and safest for hauling a large part of the freight destined for the towns and camps west of the Missouri river. Next in importance to the ox, was the mule, because they were tough and reliable, and could endure fatigue.

      The year of 1859 was a big year in the history of Atchison, for in that year the percentage of the growth of the town was greater than any other year in its history. The fact that it was the best point on the Missouri river for the overland staging and freighting outfits, brought it in greater commercial prominence. At that time, Irwin & McGraw were prominent contractors, who were supplying the various military posts on the frontier. The mere fact that these Government trains were started from Atchison, gave the town wonderful prestige.

      It was nothing unusual to see two or three steamboats lying at the levee, discharging freight, and as many more in sight either going up the river from St. Louis, or down the river from St. Joe. It was not uncommon for a boat to be loaded at Pittsburgh, Pa., or Cincinnati, Ohio, going down the Ohio river and up the Mississippi and Missouri to Atchison; it was not an unusual sight to see a whole boat load of wagons and ox yokes, mining machinery, boilers and other material necessary for the immense trade of the West.

      The greater part of the traffic out of Atchison to the West was over the Military road, along the south bank of the Platte, and along this road teams of six to eight yoke of cattle, hauling heavily loaded wagons, and strings of four or six horse or mule teams, formed almost an endless procession.

      The liveliest period of overland trade extended from 1859 to 1866, during which time there was on the plains and in the mountains an estimated floating population of 250,000. The greater majority of the people on the plains produced but few of the necessities of life, and consequently they had to be supplied from the Missouri river. During the closing year of