Overland Stage to California

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. 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 sur rounded 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.