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 the Civil war, 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.