Wrecked Stagecoach

Dell and Andrew, perhaps ten and eight years old, doing odd jobs for dad and mother were paid in the amount of $2.50. The town of Sunnyside was approximately two miles long and in the mouth of Whitmore Canyon, we lived in upper town. There was upper town, middle town, and lower town, and then the wide open spaces.

At lower town there lived an Italian kid whose name was Dominick Palonie. He would be about three or four years older than Dell and Andy. Anyway, Dell and Andy gave Dominick the $2.50 for a little kid goat. They named her Nanny. It appears Dominick was herding goats and had a right to sell Dell and Andy that little kid goat. At the time of this writing, Dominick has been dead several years. We went to school and worked in the coal mines with him. He was a fine boy and became a good man. My brother Dell, he also passed away 1968. Dell and Andy had another goat they called Billy. Billy and Nanny became wonder pets. They followed us boys wherever we went. We loved these goats and were very fond of them. We played with them every day.


Andrew Mortensen was our neighbor. He had a large family. His oldest son Mort was the same age as Dell, and Lloyd (Salty) same age as Andy. These four boys, with me always tagging along, borrowed a nice new little real wagon from Jimmy Wilson a kid from another large family. Well, Dell, Mort, Andy, Lloyd worked a couple days making a wagon tongue, hooking it to the Wilson wagon on a pair of double trees, a harness for the goats. After much arguing and sweat, the job was finally done. Now the next thing to do was to hook the goats to the wagon. Billy and Nanny were full grown by this time and they were good and strong. Well, they finally got the goats hooked up to the wagon, then they argued about who was going to ride in the wagon and drive the goats. Dell and Mort said, “We are older, we should drive the goats.” Andy and Salty said, “No, we’re lighter, we should drive the stage coach.” I don’t know how they finally settled the problem, but Salty won out and he was selected to be the one to have the first go round with the stage coach. I think Salty was, by nature, the loudest talker. He was the kind of a kid who always seemed to be in the middle of things. No matter how hot or how rough the going was, old Salty was in the picture.

Old Salty gets in the stagecoach. He said, “Gimme the ribbons-lines boys. Let’s get this stage coach on the road. The mail has gotta go through, wind or snow. Gimme the lines, boys, and turn these ponies loose.” Now all us kids had seen silent Western pictures. The wagon in our minds was a nice big stage coach. The goats, Billy and Nanny, were four head of stage coach horses, and the mail, a couple old papers in a gunny sack. We were ready for business. By this time, a lot of kids had gathered, anxious to see the mail leave town in a cloud of dust.

Dell and Mort each had a hold of Billy and Nanny. Andy handed the lines to Salty, Dell and Mort each let go of Billy and Nanny. Old Salty let out a squall and the mail was on its way! There was a dirt road going up and down the canyon. They had the wagon or stage coach, Billy and Nanny, in the center of the road, thinking the goats would stay in the road. Well, they stayed with the road for about fifty or sixty feet then they crossed to the upper side and off among the rocks, boulders, hitting one big rock after another. The driver, Salty, lost the lines trying to hang on to the Wilson wagon. Holy smokes! Bumping over rocks and hitting one big rock after another, old Salty was thrown out of the wagon or, in our minds, the stage coach.

Now, Billy and Nanny didn’t have Salty’s weight to contend with, the stage coach much lighter, they went much faster. Bumpidy bump over the rocks and boulders. Dell, Mort, Andy, Salty, myself all trying to catch the stage coach team. Pretty soon they hit a big boulder and a piece of the new red wagon box went flying in the air, then a wheel came off, then more wagon box broke off, another wheel. Boy howdy, this is plumb bad! The little Wilson kids crying, “Hey! They’re breaking our wagon all to pieces!” Then Billy and Nanny came completely loose and raced on to the corral and safety. The wagon was almost new but now completely wrecked. Mr. Wilson had at least twelve children, and it was hard for them to come by a wagon. The Wilson kids were crying, other kids were laughing, just a ha hahing. I still laugh! It was really very very exciting and really funny to all us kids, except the Wilson kids who owned the little red wagon. It wasn’t too small, two or three kids could ride in it while a couple kids took hold of the handle and pulled it.

Well, to make a long story short, I, Dell, and Andy told dad and mama, so did the Mortensen boys tell their folks. Our fathers went to the Wilson home and then had them buy a better wagon, and dad and Andrew Mortensen paid for it. Therefore, the Wilsons were happy, we were happy, Nanny and Billy were happy. Everybody happy. A wonderful world to live in.