Several hundred thousand passengers were taken through Yellowstone by stagecoaches during the thirty-eight years of their operation. The drivers, therefore, were necessarily men of experience and resourcefulness. Indeed, they were a sovereign group and the cynosure of eyes as they cracked their whips and moved three span of horses away at a half-gallop, half-trot, trained, showy style. They were held in high esteem, as well they might be, for each held a position requiring judgment and skill. Several expert drivers who “tooled” Yellowstone coaches were William Woolsey, Hub Counter, and Oscar Scoda. They were firm in resolution, yet polite in manner, and obliging toward passengers. Generally: ... they were good entertainers, capable of making what would otherwise be a long, tedious night ride seem entirely too short to the passenger, who was fortunate enough to have a seat on the box beside him, and hear him relate his experiences with Indian and stage robber.[226] The driver’s sole duty consisted of handling the stage while on the line; others attended to the feeding and harnessing of the horses, but the teams knew their drivers and responded amazingly to their wills. A driver could flick a fly off the back of his team leaders and bring back his lash without tangling it in the harness or wagon wheels. Day and night these “kings of the whip” flung and pulled the “silk” to those fleet creatures of nature, and over their strength and fears they were ever masters. “Clear the road! Get out of the way thar with your draft teams!” was their good-natured salutation as they swung into view, only to disappear at high speed around a curve or through the lodgepole-lined road. Unrelaxed, they were ever watchful for gullies, boulders, and road agents. As they approached a station they forced their horses into full gallop and brought their coaches up with a grand flourish before the ever-expectant crowd on hand, waiting for friends or the mail. One driver boasted that he could drive his outfit down Beehive Geyser and come out of Old Faithful without losing a hair! The advantages of travel by stage included interesting acquaintances and fresh views into human nature. Close quarters in the wilderness have always been a touchstone, even thus lightly approached. The regular trip lasted five days and always seemed too short. One tourist regretfully observed, “Nothing can be done well at a speed of forty miles a day.”[227] As the stage prepared to pull out some would climb up the sides of the coaches and squeeze into the open seats on the roof. There, each obtained an unobstructed view of the landscape and a good sunburn. Others, less agile or venturesome, would remain in the interior, satisfied with less elevation, wind, and sun, and nearly as much advantage in sight-seeing.