What is a “Stage?”
Wasn’t a stage a vehicle? Sometimes terms become misused through
repeated use, and this was the case with the term STAGE. Originally
“stage” was a measure of distance. Coaches traveled from one place to
another in “stages” of about 12-15 miles, and at each end of a “stage”
was a station. A STAGE LINE consisted of as many “stages” as it took to
get from the point of origination to the destination. There were two
types of stations: the SWING station and the HOME station. At a SWING
station the horses would be changed, and at a HOME station the horses
would also be changed but the traveler could have a meal, perhaps spend
the night, and might find a saloon, a store, and a livery. Sometimes
other businesses were built up around a home station.
Locating a station on a route depended on finding necessities, and if
they were not available they would have to be hauled in by wagon. These
necessities included GRASS for the stock; WATER for the stock, farm
animals, personnel and travelers; GAME to feed the personnel and
travelers; and WOOD for heating, cooking, and building. In addition,
stations stocked grain for the stock, and various spare parts and other
items for repair or replacement such as king pins, harness, grease,
horse shoes and nails, wheels or wheel parts, and the tools needed to
keep coaches in good repair and the horses shoed. The horses changed out
at a station one day might be used the following day, or if there were
sufficient horses at a station they might sit out one or two trips
before they returned to the previous station. Teams often went from one
station to another and returned to the previous station for years, and
came to know every detail of that small piece of roadway.
Stagecoaches traveled at the approximate rate of 8 miles per hour, so
the time between stations generally was less than a two hour ride, and
between home stations about a 6 or 7 hour ride.
What is a “stage” coach?
A stagecoach was any FOUR WHEELED VEHICLE pulled by HORSES or MULES. A
stagecoach would carry passengers, express, mails, and freight, though
on any trip the “coach” might be empty. To qualify as being a
“stagecoach” the vehicle had to be a PUBLIC CONVEYANCE, run on an
ESTABLISHED ROUTE, and on a REGULAR SCHEDULE; and even if empty it had
to make the trip as it had to run on schedule, and there might be a full
load on the return run. Stagecoach vehicles included spring wagons or
dead axle wagons, surplus army ambulances, celerity coaches or mud
wagons, and of course the deluxe concord coach. The mud wagon (known
also as the celerity wagon) was used in the mountains and on soft
roadways, if there were passengers, as they were lighter and the wheels
were three inches wide, as opposed to Concord’s two-inch wheels.
Selection of the type of vehicle might be determined by availability,
the terrain – such as mud or soft sand, and the load to be carried IN
EACH direction.
The size of a team depended on a variety of circumstances. First it was
determined by the type of vehicle used and the terrain to be covered;
the weather and the load, both in going from and in returning to the
head office. In the mountains or on the desert a six-up might be
employed, while in level country on good roads a four-up might suffice,
or where there was a light load a buckboard or other wagon might be used
with a two horse team, as this often did the job. However, if there was
bad weather or bad road conditions, the number of animals in a team
might be increased or, if already a six-up, would be driven at a slower
pace.
Part 2
