When I was writing a chapter for the second volume of my book, The Yankee Road, I told the story of John Butterfield and his Overland Mail Company, which operated a stagecoach line between St. Louis and San Francisco between 1858 and 1861; its existence cut short by the outbreak of the Civil War. The… Continue reading The Second Butterfield Stage (Sort Of)
Tag: Travel
A Unionist and Two Yankees in Montana
When US 20 leaves the western bounds of Yellowstone Park, it passes through the small southern tip of Montana for about ten miles. Montana therefore deserves a spot of recognition in this tale. Let’s focus on the gold rush to Montana during the Civil War, and on two Yankees and a Georgia Unionist who played… Continue reading A Unionist and Two Yankees in Montana
Following Paddy’s Footsteps: Two European “Road Books”
A long time ago, a friend introduced me to the story of the British writer, Patrick Leigh Fermor. At the age of 18 in 1933, being both charming and restless, he decided to walk alone overland from the Hook of Holland to Istanbul. He planned, if that is the word for it, on sleeping in… Continue reading Following Paddy’s Footsteps: Two European “Road Books”
American Road Books
"Not only for Cyrus’ sake did Xenophon march up toward the Persians. But in search of a road which led up to Zeus." Diogenes Laërtius Americans have added, in great numbers, to the road book literature. American stories of travel and roads have been conditioned by the general habit of a people constantly on the… Continue reading American Road Books
Old Professor by the Sea 