Riding The Overland Stage, 1861
In 1861, Mark Twain's (real name Samuel Clemens) brother Orion was named Secretary of Nevada Territory. Twain joined his brother for the trip west. (Some contend the young Twain deserted from the Confederate Army to do so.) Eleven years later Twain described his journey in the book Roughing It. Although its approach is humorous, the book's descriptions are accurate. As Twain notes in his preface, "...there is information in the volume; information concerning an interesting episode in the history of the Far West, about which no books have been written by persons who were on the ground in person, and saw the happenings of the time with their own eyes."
The movies create an idyllic impression of riding the overland stage - smooth travel in roomy comfort. Twain paints a much different picture - passengers crammed together with mailbags, jostled by every bump, breathing dust, and at the mercy of Mother Nature. However, for its time, the stagecoach offered the latest technology in travel, carrying its careening passengers across the Western Plains at speeds greater than any other transport available.
Starting Out
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pfstage.htm
