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. (Kirkus Reviews)
"Stagecoach West" is a comprehensive history of stagecoaching west
of the Missouri. Starting with the evolution of overland passenger
transportation, Moody moves on to paint a lively and informative
picture of western stagecoaching, from its early short runs through
its rise with the gold rush, its zenith of 1858-68, and beyond. Its
story is one of grand rivalries, political chicanery, and gaudy
publicity stunts, traders, fortune hunters, outlaws, courageous
drivers, and indefatigable detectives. We meet colorful characters
such as Charlie Parkhurst, a stagecoach driver who took an amazing
secret to his death: "he" was actually a woman. Using contemporary
accounts, illustrations, maps, and photographs to flesh out his
narrative, Moody creates one of the most important accounts of
transportation history to date.
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