“To all points in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Montana and the state of Nevada. “Contracts can be made with this Company through their Agents to transport freight from all the eastern cities to all localities in the Territories, the rate to include railroad and overland carriage and all commissions upon the Missouri River. The Company owns its own transportation and gives a through bill of lading which protects shipper from extreme East to the Far West. “EXPRESS DEPARTMENT. “About August, 1865 the Company will have a line of express coaches running daily between Atchison, Kansas and Denver, Colorado; and about September 1st, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and as soon in the Spring as possible, a tri-weekly between Denver and Salt Lake City over which merchandise will be carried at fair express rates. “TIME TO DENVER—EIGHT (8) DAYS. “INSTRUCTIONS: Mark goods for cattle and mule trains: ‘But’d Ov’d Desp’h.’ Mark goods for express: B. O. D. Express, Atchison.” Some changes were afterwards made in the location of the route, but it left as before, in a southwesterly direction to Valley Falls. The business of the new company was very large from the start and grew rapidly. Steamboats discharged great quantities of freight at the Atchison levee for shipment by Butterfield’s line. A large amount also came from St. Joseph by railroad. In one day during July, 1865, nineteen car loads of freight consigned to the Butterfield line at Atchison were received for transportation across the plains. In the following month a train was loaded with 600,000 pounds of merchandise for Salt Lake City. One of the early stages that left Atchison on this line made the run to Junction City, which was 119 miles, in less than twenty-four hours, or at the rate of five and one-half miles an hour, including all stops, but the reorganized Butterfield line was not long in operation before it met with many obstacles. The fact that the Smoky Hill route selected by Butterfield was not guarded by Government troops of soldiers, as the Fort Kearney route was, caused the Indians to make many raids upon the overland trains. A number of severe encounters with Indians were had from time to time, until it became necessary to operate the stages with a mounted guard in advance. It finally became so dangerous that it was difficult to secure messengers and drivers to operate the line. This condition became so serious that the “Overland Dispatch,” which in the meanwhile was becoming more financially embarrassed from day to day, was finally obliged to retire from the field. During the short time that it lasted, it was widely known throughout the western country, and in the East it was known in most of the leading cities. While this company, to some extent, cut down the receipts of the Holladay line, traffic across the plains had become so dull in the sixties that there was not much profit in it for anybody.