Stagecoach West

by Ralph Moody, Mark Lee Gardner (Introduction)

Stagecoach West is a comprehensive history of stagecoaching west of the Missouri. Starting with the evolution of overland passenger transportation, Moody moves on to paint a lively and informative picture of western stagecoaching, from its early short runs through its rise with the gold rush, its zenith of 1858–68, and beyond. Its story is one of grand rivalries, political chicanery, and gaudy publicity stunts, traders, fortune hunters, outlaws, courageous drivers, and indefatigable detectives. We meet colorful characters such as Charlie Parkhurst, a stagecoach driver who took an amazing secret to his “he” was actually a woman. Using contemporary accounts, illustrations, maps, and photographs to flesh out his narrative, Moody creates one of the most important accounts of transportation history to date.

Genres: History

342 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Ralph Moody was an American author who wrote 17 novels and autobiographies about the American West. He was born in East Rochester, New Hampshire, in 1898 but moved to Colorado with his family when he was eight in the hopes that a dry climate would improve his father Charles's tuberculosis. Moody detailed his experiences in Colorado in the first book of the Little Britches series, Father and I Were Ranchers.

After his father died, eleven-year-old Moody assumed the duties of the "man of the house." He and his sister Grace combined ingenuity with hard work in a variety of odd jobs to help their mother provide for their large family. The Moody clan returned to the East Coast some time after Charles's death, but Moody had difficulty readjusting. Following more than one ill-timed run-in with local law enforcement, he left the family home near Boston to live on his grandfather's farm in Maine. His later Little Britches books cover his time in Maine and subsequent travels through Arizona, New Mexico, Nebraska, and Kansas—including stints as a bust sculptor and a horse rider doing "horse falls" for motion pictures—as he worked his way back toward Colorado while continuing to support his family financially.

Moody's formal education was limited, but he had a lifelong interest in learning and self-education. At age 50, he enrolled in a writing class, which eventually led to the publication of Father and I Were Ranchers. In addition to the Little Britches series, Moody wrote a number of books detailing the development of the American West. His books have been described as crude in the language of the times but are highly praised by Moody's readership and have been in continuous publication since 1950.

After a period as livestock business owner in rural Kansas, Moody sent to Massachusetts for his former sweetheart, Edna. They married and moved to Kansas City. They had three children.—Source

Reviews

[Bill Kohler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great history of the development of the Western US prior to the coming of the transcontinental railroads. Interesting description of what travel was like by stagecoach. Also the development of mail and freight service.

[Daniel Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

History of the west not in terms of the places but the paths between the places.

[Jennifer Forsberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first two or three chapters were interesting