EARLY DAY STORIES. 11 



ness, unoccupied excepting by wild animals and scattered 

 bands of Indians. This finding of gold gave great impetus 

 to the travel through Nebraska, tens of thousands of peo- 

 ple passing over the road in covered wagons, many of the 

 wagons bearing the legend 'Tikes Peak or bust." 



When this overland trail first came into use about the 

 year 1840 but to a greater extent by 1843, it was used 

 chiefly by emigrants to Oregon, and later to California and 

 still later by the Mormons on their journey to Utah. 



After the discovery of gold in Colorado a vast amount 

 of freighting was done over the road, one firm, that of Rus- 

 sell, Majors and Waddell, it is claimed had about $2,000,000 

 invested in the business, employing 6,000 teamsters, and 

 working 45,000 oxen besides many horses and mules. Be- 

 fore the building of the U. P. Railroad, the freighting and 

 emigrant travel had assumed enormous proportions. There 

 was also a stage line carrying the United States mail and 

 passengers. At first in 1850 there was a stage each way 

 once a month — in 1857 it was increased to a weekly, and 

 in 1861 to a daily service. The fare by stage from Mis- 

 souri river points was $75 to Denver, $150 to Salt Lake, 

 and $225 to Placerville, Calif. 



When these two trails were first traveled — one on the 

 north and one on the south side of the Platte river, each 

 one consisted of a single wagon road, and the travel was 

 almost entirely of wagons drawn by ox teams, there being 

 from two to four yoke of oxen to each covered wagon ; the 

 wagons following one directly behind the other, thus form- 

 ing only a single track or road. Along the left side of the 

 road was a plain foot path made by the drivers. As the 

 traffic increased over the road other tracks were made par- 

 allel with the first one, so that by the year 1860 there were 

 five or six parallel tracks a few feet apart, meandering 

 along up the Platte valley, and so on over the mountains 



