The Overland Stage to California: Personal Reminiscences and Authentic History of the Great Overland Stage Line and Pony Express From the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Overland Stage to California: Personal Reminiscences and Authentic History of the Great Overland Stage Line and Pony Express From the Missouri River to the Pacific OceanThe value of this book lies in its fidelity - in its strict adherence to truth and its faithfulness to fact. It is, first of all, a historical work, the story of an eye-witness; but in the relation of historical incidents it often touches the story of the romance of the plains. Perhaps its principal mission in the future will be to preserve the real spirit of the first gigantic enterprises of the great West. These enterprises were of much moment in their day, but were only the forerunners of greater things. The vastness of the expanse and the conditions existing upon it made it necessary to do things on a greater scale than in the settlement and development of any other portion of the continent. It has been said - and truly said - that the conquest of the great western wilderness, many of the events of which are portrayed in this volume, constitutes the most fascinating romance in all history.Many of these events had their dangers. Sometimes they ended in tragedy, and scenes dark, bloody and pathetic as ever found expression in tale or story. To many a station did the old coaches come down the trail like the wind, sore beset by bloodthirsty savages, who, seeing the prey escape, scattered and vanished across the desert in scurrying dust clouds. Sometimes the driver was dead and the passengers were maimed. More than once the coach was left surrounded by dead and scalped travelers, a ghastly tribute to the cruelty of the savages and the perils of the plains. But the brave pioneers did not falter. They laid strong and deep the foundation of such development and growth of civilization as the world has never before witnessed.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com