Paul Colt's Blog - Posts Tagged "h"
Overland Mail
Those of you who have followed these posts for a while will recall the sectional scrum brought on by choosing a route for the transcontinental railroad. The nation divided north and south over the prospect of a Pacific rail route upsetting the balance of power in the Senate by promoting territorial expansion favoring one side over the other. Low and behold that wasn’t the first time westward transportation faced impasse over the slavery issue. This particular squabble stirred up following the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in California and ran on in background to the railroad dispute.
Gold settled California and made it a prized national possession. Supplying California, defending it and communicating with it all became national priorities. Rail service presented a daunting engineering challenge that would take years to solve even after overcoming the politics of route selection. Communication and commerce couldn’t wait.
Communication in the mid-nineteenth century meant mail. In 1849 the fastest mail route to California left New York by ship bound for Panama. In Panama mail was transported across the isthmus- we hadn’t dug the ditch yet- to a second ship bound for San Francisco. The U.S. government subsidized a service that still cost 80 nineteenth-century-cents an ounce and took a month not counting the time it took your mail to get to its port of departure; and then to its recipient from the port of arrival. There had to be a better way.
In 1857 Congress authorized the award of a contract to carry mail and passengers from the Mississippi River to California by stagecoach. Offer of this contract again begged the question of which route to take. Many viewed a stage route as a precursor to a rail route. Northern interests favored a route from the central plains to the Rockies. Southerners favored a southerly route through territories recently acquired from Mexico. The northern route was considerably shorter than a routing that proceeded west to southern California and from there north to San Francisco.
John Butterfield, one of the founders of American Express and a southerner, advocated for the southern route. He proposed a route originating in Memphis Tennessee to St. Louis, continuing on to California through present day Arkansas, New Mexico and Arizona. Postmaster General Aaron Brown, also a southerner and native of Memphis, awarded the government contract to- you guessed it- Butterfield.
Next week: The Southern Route
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
Gold settled California and made it a prized national possession. Supplying California, defending it and communicating with it all became national priorities. Rail service presented a daunting engineering challenge that would take years to solve even after overcoming the politics of route selection. Communication and commerce couldn’t wait.
Communication in the mid-nineteenth century meant mail. In 1849 the fastest mail route to California left New York by ship bound for Panama. In Panama mail was transported across the isthmus- we hadn’t dug the ditch yet- to a second ship bound for San Francisco. The U.S. government subsidized a service that still cost 80 nineteenth-century-cents an ounce and took a month not counting the time it took your mail to get to its port of departure; and then to its recipient from the port of arrival. There had to be a better way.
In 1857 Congress authorized the award of a contract to carry mail and passengers from the Mississippi River to California by stagecoach. Offer of this contract again begged the question of which route to take. Many viewed a stage route as a precursor to a rail route. Northern interests favored a route from the central plains to the Rockies. Southerners favored a southerly route through territories recently acquired from Mexico. The northern route was considerably shorter than a routing that proceeded west to southern California and from there north to San Francisco.
John Butterfield, one of the founders of American Express and a southerner, advocated for the southern route. He proposed a route originating in Memphis Tennessee to St. Louis, continuing on to California through present day Arkansas, New Mexico and Arizona. Postmaster General Aaron Brown, also a southerner and native of Memphis, awarded the government contract to- you guessed it- Butterfield.
Next week: The Southern Route
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
Shane
Shane is based on a classic western novel by Jack Schaefer. I remember reading it as a kid. Schaefer’s treatment of the fist fight scenes was so vivid you could almost feel the blows. The movie, also a classic, came to the big screen in 1953. Produced in Technicolor by Paramount Pictures, directed by George Stevens based on a screen play by A.B. Guthrie Jr. Critically acclaimed for its landscape cinematography and performances the show starred Alan Ladd in the title role, Van Heflin as homesteader Joe Starrett, Jean Arthur as Joe’s wife Marian and Brandon deWilde as young Joey Starrett with Emile Meyer as rancher Rufus Ryker.
Both book and movie are set in Wyoming in 1889. Range historically open to cattle ranching is being claimed and settled under the Homestead Act of 1862. From that premise the screen play departs from the book to various degrees. We’ll follow the screen play as the TV series would take its lead from the film. Cattle baron Rufus Ryker angered by the homesteaders, wages a war of intimidation to drive them off their land.
A stranger with a mysterious past, known only as Shane arrives at the Starrett farm. When Shane shows interest in Starrett’s troubles, Joe offers him a job. Shane will have none of the intimidation by Ryker or his gunmen and ruffians. He takes a peaceful approach at first; but when the bullying tactics continue Shane fights back.
Young Joey comes to idolize Shane for his toughness and gun skills, much to his mother’s displeasure. When Ryker sets up Joe Starrett for a gunfight intended to kill him, Shane steps in knocks the farmer out and stands in for the showdown. Joey follows him to town. Shane kills Ryker and his assassin. With his gunfighter background exposed Shane rides off over Joey’s pleas “Shane! Come back!”
The TV series cast David Carradine as Shane, with Jill Ireland as a Marion Starrett, widowed for romantic interest and Christopher Shea as Joey. The well made one hour color series never caught on. Carradine wasn’t Alan Ladd. The show aired opposite Jackie Gleason on CBS and Flipper on NBC at a time when western interest had begun to wane.
Next Week: High Chaparral
Return to Facebook to comment
Ride easy,
Paul
Both book and movie are set in Wyoming in 1889. Range historically open to cattle ranching is being claimed and settled under the Homestead Act of 1862. From that premise the screen play departs from the book to various degrees. We’ll follow the screen play as the TV series would take its lead from the film. Cattle baron Rufus Ryker angered by the homesteaders, wages a war of intimidation to drive them off their land.
A stranger with a mysterious past, known only as Shane arrives at the Starrett farm. When Shane shows interest in Starrett’s troubles, Joe offers him a job. Shane will have none of the intimidation by Ryker or his gunmen and ruffians. He takes a peaceful approach at first; but when the bullying tactics continue Shane fights back.
Young Joey comes to idolize Shane for his toughness and gun skills, much to his mother’s displeasure. When Ryker sets up Joe Starrett for a gunfight intended to kill him, Shane steps in knocks the farmer out and stands in for the showdown. Joey follows him to town. Shane kills Ryker and his assassin. With his gunfighter background exposed Shane rides off over Joey’s pleas “Shane! Come back!”
The TV series cast David Carradine as Shane, with Jill Ireland as a Marion Starrett, widowed for romantic interest and Christopher Shea as Joey. The well made one hour color series never caught on. Carradine wasn’t Alan Ladd. The show aired opposite Jackie Gleason on CBS and Flipper on NBC at a time when western interest had begun to wane.
Next Week: High Chaparral
Return to Facebook to comment
Ride easy,
Paul
