Posted By Les Conklin on Jan 30, 2016

Information & TicketsNow folks, if you’ve booked your tickets for the stagecoach ride or are just thinking about it, a brief history lesson will make your ride and the ride of your fellow passengers even more enjoyable. Yup.

As you read the rules below, keep in mind that the angry Indians, and gun-totin’ robbers are long gone, but much of the old West will still be enjoyed without the danger. By the way, if you’d like to learn more, we recommend reading “Roughing It” by Mark Twain. It includes an account of his stagecoach ride from St. Louis to Reno.

Stagecoach Etiquette from “CowPokin’ Fun

In the old days of the West, the only mode of public transportation was the stagecoach. Though on May 10, 1869 the famous “Golden Spike” was driven in Promontory Summit, Utah, and the track completed for America’s first transcontinental railroad, the stagecoach would endure until after the turn of the century, replaced then by the automobile.

Stage stops dotted the western plains like bus depots do today. And like independent bus companies of these modern times, there were independent stagelines during days of old. They came and went, flourished and died, starved out, sold out, and merged with others to grow larger and become stronger. At the top of the heap after such a merger was Wells Fargo & Company Overland Stage.

Journeys by stagecoach were long dusty, and hard. Coaches were usually cramped and loaded down with heavy merchandise and luggage, passengers jammed in like sardines. It was not unusual for as many as twelve to fifteen people to be aboard at one time, some riding up front with the driver and atop the luggage. These crowded conditions required the establishment of company rules; a list of acceptable and unacceptable passenger behavior while aboard.

Wells-Fargo Stage Lines issued these rules for passengers riding in their stagecoaches.

Wells Fargo Rules for Riding the Stagecoach

Adherence to the following rules will insure a pleasant trip for all.

1. Abstinence from liquor is requested but if yon must drink, share the bottle. To do otherwise makes you appear selfish and un-neighborly.

2. If ladies are present, gentlemen are urged to forego smoking cigars and pipes as the odor of same is repugnant to the Gentle Sex. Chewing tobacco is permitted but spit into the wind not against it.

3. Gentlemen must retrain from the use of rough language in the presence of ladies and children.

4. Buffalo robes are provided for your comfort during cold weather. Hogging robes will not be tolerated and the offender will be made to ride with the driver.

5. Don’t snore loudly while sleeping or use your fellow passengers shoulder for a pillow, he or she may not understand and friction may result.

6. Firearms may be kept on your person for use in emergencies. Do not fire them for pleasure or shoot at wild animals as the sound riles the horses.

7. In the event of runaway horses, remain calm. Leaping from the coach in panic will leave you injured, at the mercy of the elements, hostile Indians and hungry coyotes.

8.Gents guilty of un-chivalrous behavior toward lady passengers will be put off the stage. It’s a long walk back. A word to the wise is sufficient.

About the Ride

A limited number of guests at the 2016 Scottsdale Western Cookout Adventure will have the unique opportunity to take an authentic stagecoach ride into the Sonoran Desert. Each ride will last 15 minutes and follow old desert trails and roads that crisscross MacDonald’s Ranch. You will not see any “hostile Indians” or gangs of robbers. You’ll surely see beautiful saguaro cacti, palo verde, and mesquite trees. Since the rides will be taking place late in the afternoon, you might also see a coyote, jack-rabbit, hawk, or other Sonoran wildlife. The stagecoach will be pulled by a team of horses or mules and guided by an experienced cowboy driver.

The stagecoach will depart at 20-minute intervals from the “depot.” Each ride will accommodate from eight to 12 passengers. A limited number of rides are available and tickets are required. Tickets can be purchased online prior to the event or at the event (if available).

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