the war, it had reached $175.00 or nearly twenty-seven cents per mile. It required about 2,750 horses and mules to run the stage line between Atchison and Placerville. It required, in addition to the regular supply of horses to operate the stages, some additional animals for emergencies, and it was estimated that the total cost of the horses on this stage line was about one-half million dollars. The harness was the finest that could be made, and cost about $150.00 for a complete set of four, or about $55,000.00 for the whole line. The feeding of the stock was one of the big items of expense, and there were annually consumed at each station from forty to eighty tons of hay, at a cost of $15 to $40 per ton. Each animal was apportioned an average of twelve quarts of corn every day, which cost from two to ten cents a pound. In the Salt Lake and California divisions, oats and barley, grown in Utah, were substituted for corn, but which cost about the same. There were about 100 Concord coaches which, in the early sixties cost about $1,000.00 each. The company owned about one-half of the stations, in addition to thousands of dollars’ worth of miscellaneous property, at different places along the route. There were superintendents, general and local attorneys, paymasters and division agents, all of whom drew big salaries. Among the stage company’s agents in the late fifties and early sixties were Hugo Richards and Paul Coburn, at Atchison; Robert L. Pease, of Atchison, was also for a time agent at Denver. The mail was carried from Atchison west by Forts Kearney, Laramie and Bridges, once a week. The schedule time from the river to Salt Lake City was about eighteen days, and the distance was about 1,200 to 1,300 miles. In 1861 a daily overland mail was established out of Atchison, and with the exception of a few weeks in 1862, 1864 and 1865, on account of Indian troubles, the overland was in operation and ran stages daily out of Atchison for about five years. It was the greatest stage line in the world, carrying mail, passengers and express. It was also regarded as the safest and the fastest way to cross the plains, and the mountain ranges. It was equipped with the latest modern four and six horse and mule Concord coaches, and the meals at the eating stations along the route were first-class, and cost from fifty cents to $2.00 each.