STAGECOACH WEST

by Ralph Moody ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 1967

For the better part of his text, Moody employs a scholarly rather than colorful attack upon the birth, proliferation and demise of the stagecoach in the golden West. And gold is what it was all about. Greatest impetus to the setting up of stage lines between the Mississippi and California was the gold rush of '49, plus the annexing of the new territory taken by the States during the Mexican War. Miners wanted to get to those gold fields pronto. And once some gold was panned, they wanted their dust taken for safe deposit in a bank. Stageline millionaires were made overnight, and then the greatest plum of all was open to the growing industry: giant mail contracts from the government. Moody enjoys rehearsing the physical development of coaches and their adaptation to various terrains and jobs, but an enormous amount of his material is taken up with financing of the lines (perhaps because this was what was most widely recorded in newspapers). Famous drivers and infamous bandits are anecdotalized, as well as battles against the elements and Indians.

Pub Date: June 15, 1967

ISBN: 0803282451

Page Count: -

Publisher: Crowell

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION