History of Atchison County, Kansas. Sheffield Ingalls

the travel was immense, most of the emigration going into the gold mining camps of the Northwest.

      While there was considerable freighting out of Atchison to the West following the opening of the Territory, overland staging did not reach its height until 1861. The era of overland staging from the Missouri river to the Pacific coast lasted altogether about eight years. The first great overland staging enterprise started in 1858, on what is known as the Southern or Butterfield route. This route ran from St. Louis and Memphis, Tenn., intersecting at Ft. Smith, Ark. After being in operation for nearly three years, the route was succeeded by a daily line on the Central route, which ran from the Missouri river five years, first starting at St. Joseph, Mo., July 1, 1861, and then from Atchison in September of that year. On the Central route, the through staging came to a close after the completion of the Union Pacific railroad from Omaha across the continent. Originally the stage enterprise was known as the Overland Mail Company—the Southern or Butterfield line. After it was transferred north and ran in connection with the stages to Denver, it was known as the Central Overland California and Pike’s Peak Express Company. After passing into the hands of Ben Holladay, it became the Overland Stage Line, and finally the name was changed to the Holladay Overland Mail Express Company. In 1866, the line had been consolidated with the Butterfield Overland Dispatch, a stage company which was organized in 1865, with headquarters in Atchison.

      Atchison’s importance as an overland staging terminus was fixed by reason of an order of the United States Postoffice Department. Before the final change, making Atchison headquarters and starting point for the mail, the road from Atchison westward intersected the road from St. Joseph at Kennekuk. The distance from Atchison to Kennekuk was twenty-four miles, while it was about thirty-five miles from St. Joseph, and consequently there was a saving of about nine miles in favor of Atchison. This was an important item, in carrying the mails, and resulted in the order of the Postoffice Department making Atchison the starting point. The distance by the overland stage line from Atchison to Placerville was 1,913 miles, and following the abandonment of the Butterfield or Southern route, it became the longest and the most important stage line in America. There were 153 stations between Atchison and Placerville, located about twelve and one-half miles apart. The local fare was $225.00, or about twelve cents per mile, and as high as $2,000.00 a day was frequently taken in at the Atchison office for passenger fare alone. The fare between Atchison and Denver was $75.00, or a little over eight cents per mile, and to Salt Lake City, $150.00. Local fares ran as high as fifteen cents per mile. Each passenger was allowed twenty-five pounds of baggage. All in excess of that was charged at the rate of $1.00 per pound. During the war, the fare to Denver was increased from seventy-five dollars to $100.00, and before the close of the war, it had reached $175.00 or nearly twenty-seven cents per mile.

      It required about 2,750 horses and mules to run the stage line between Atchison and Placerville. It required, in addition to the regular supply of horses to operate the stages, some additional animals for emergencies, and it was estimated that the total cost of the horses on this stage line was about one-half million dollars. The harness was the finest that could be made, and cost about $150.00 for a complete set of four, or about $55,000.00 for the whole line. The feeding of the stock was one of the big items of expense, and there were annually consumed at each station from forty to eighty tons of hay, at a cost of $15 to $40 per ton. Each animal was apportioned an average of twelve quarts of corn every day, which cost from two to ten cents a pound. In the Salt Lake and California divisions, oats and barley, grown in Utah, were substituted for corn, but which cost about the same.

      There were about 100 Concord coaches which, in the early sixties cost about $1,000.00 each. The company owned about one-half of the stations, in addition to thousands of dollars’ worth of miscellaneous property, at different places along the route. There were superintendents, general and local attorneys, paymasters and division agents, all of whom drew big salaries. Among the stage company’s agents in the late fifties and early sixties were Hugo Richards and Paul Coburn, at Atchison; Robert L. Pease, of Atchison, was also for a time agent at Denver.

      The mail was carried from Atchison west by Forts Kearney, Laramie and Bridges, once a week. The schedule time from the river to Salt Lake City was about eighteen days, and the distance was about 1,200 to 1,300 miles.

      In 1861 a daily overland mail was established out of Atchison, and with the exception of a few weeks in 1862, 1864 and 1865, on account of Indian troubles, the overland was in operation and ran stages daily out of Atchison for about five years. It was the greatest stage line in the world, carrying mail, passengers and express. It was also regarded as the safest and the fastest way to cross the plains, and the mountain ranges. It was equipped with the latest modern four and six horse and mule Concord coaches, and the meals at the eating stations along the route were first-class, and cost from fifty cents to $2.00 each.

      When Atchison was selected as the starting place for the overland mail, it was not certain how long it would remain the eastern terminus of the mail route. The Civil war was at its height, and the rebels were doing much damage to the Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad, which had been constructed in 1859. They tore up the track, burned the bridges, destroyed the culverts, fired into the trains, and placed obstructions along the roadbed, frequently delaying the mail from two to six days. As a result of this condition of affairs, it was feared that Atchison would lose the overland mail, and the Government would change the starting point to some town further north, but because of the advantageous geographical position of Atchison, it was decided that it would be disastrous to make a change, so the Government placed a large number of troops along the entire line of the Hannibal & St. Joe, to insure the safety of the mails, and Atchison continued to be the point of departure for the overland mail, until 1866.

      The stage coaches used by the overland line were built in Concord, N. H. They carried nine passengers inside, and one or two could ride on the box by the driver. Some of the stages were built with an extra seat above and in the rear of the driver, so that three additional persons could ride there, making fourteen, with the driver. Sometimes an extra man would be crowded on the box, making as many as fifteen persons, who could ride on the Concord coach without very much inconvenience.

      This chapter on overland staging would be unfinished, unless some reference was made to Ben Holladay, who played such an important part in the overland staging days of this country. Ben Holladay had a remarkable career. In his early days, when he resided in Weston, Mo., he drove a stage himself. He was a genuine westerner, having run a saloon and tavern in Weston as early as 1838 and 1839. He went overland to California in 1849, and took a train to Salt Lake City with $70,000 worth of goods. He spent some time in Utah, where he made considerable money.

      Besides operating the Overland Stage for over five years, Holladay had other important interests in the West. Among his enterprises was a fleet of passenger steamers, plying between San Francisco and Portland, Ore. At the height of his career he was a millionaire, and few men in the country accumulated wealth more rapidly. He spent his money freely, and squandered vast sums when he was making it. After he had accumulated a fortune, he went to New York to live, and built a most pretentious residence a few miles out of New York, on the Hudson river, which he called Ophir Farm. After he was awarded some good mail contracts by the Government, he built a mansion in Washington, which he furnished superbly, and collected a large classical library, with handsomely bound volumes, and also was a patron of art, collecting fine oil paintings of celebrated masters in Europe and America. He also made a collection of fine bronzes and statuary, and paid $6,000.00 each for two bronze lions.

      It was in 1860 that he came into possession of the Central Overland California Mail Line, but subsequent trouble with the Indians damaged his property to the extent of a half million dollars. His stage stations were burned, and his stock stolen, and stage coaches destroyed. Finally, in 1888, being broken in health and in debt, his Washington home, with its contents, was sold under the hammer.

      He came into possession of practically all the big overland routes by purchase and foreclosure of mortgages, and he made his vast fortune in mail contracts from the Government. He remained at the head of the overland line for about five years, taking possession of it in December, 1861, and disposing of it, including the stations, rolling stock and animals, in the latter part of 1866, to Wells Fargo & Company.

      Mr. Holladay died in