Staging in the Mendocino Redwoods [pp. 113-131]

THE
OVERLAND
L
MONTHLY.
VOL. XX. (SECOND SERIES.)-AUGUST, I892.-NO. ii6.
STAGING IN THE MENDOCINO REDWOODS. I.
5"- ~-,' F all the stage
-if~~~ routes open to
t he traveler
:'~-~[},f,-;in California,
probably none
a- ig l offersuch wild
diversityof the
picturesque as
\' f ~''1~,5':5- mthe various
~ ~:',, Ma I a=lines intersect /'. ~ is ing Mendocino. These
!:~- ~ -a have their focal point
Be —>- at Ukiah, which is a beauti -/ ful wooded town situated on
the Russian River at the
terminus of the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad.
Before noon on week days one sees
from the windows of the hotel some
half dozen cumbrous, weather-stained
coaches, all entering the main thoroughfare from various side streets, and not
one more than a few minutes behind
the rest. With a finedash and clatter,
and important cracks of the whip, each
driver pulls up his steaming four-in-hand
before the express and post offices opposite, hands out the regulation iron box
and leather mail bags, amid a score of
hearty questions and answers, and then,
with a word to the champing leaders,
the short turn to the hotel is faultlessly
executed, and the cramped passengers
eagerly alight for dinner.
No other personage in a mountain
town has the prestige of the stage driver.
Every one greets him with liking and
respect, and his trifling foibles are
passed over with admirable indulgence. If he
takes a glass too much
when off duty, or spins a
yarn to the utmost limit
of credibility, by tacit
consent the matter is not
emphasized by his pat-
rons. In most instances,
they have known him
since their childhood,
when imagination made
a hero of the stalwart, 7
free-hearted young man
who handled broncos as
if they were rabbits, and
who never failed to give
a lift" to dusty little
legs measuring the long
lane to the country
school.
In fact, one cannot
journey far with a professional driver, before
becoming convinced that
he merits all the grate-
ful recognition so unostentatiously b e s t o w e d
upon him. For years he
has been equal to a tele
VOL. XX.- IO. (Cop)right, 1892, by OVERLANI) MONFHLIY PUIILISIIING( CO.) All rights reserved.
}a.col ( C ompany, r inters.
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