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Jack Slade

Description of Slade and Maria Virginia

Alternately a man of courteous manner and a merciless killer, he seemingly escaped the notice of Majors' principled eye when he was taken on by the company as a carry-over from the stumbling…

Montana Vigilantes

Now the Vigilantes—and Slade was one of them—struck. They struck by night, fastening a piece of paper bearing the cryptic 3-7-77 to the cabin doors of those given last warning…

Virginia Slade’s Horse

And Slade gave her the horse he had promised—a thorough-bred that had been stolen by the Blackfeet during a raid on an emigrant train. is name was Billy Bay.

Shooting of Ferin

Two years later, Granville Stuart and his brother James were camped at the mouth of Ham's Fork, where the Oregon Trail twisted across southwestern Wyoming. A short distance behind them,…

William Lightfoot Visscher

Despite the demands of his extracurricular activities, Visscher was a prolific hack in the tradition of Ned Buntline and Colonel Prentiss Ingraham. He published A Thrilling and Truthful History of the Pony Express…

Slade and Gilman Ranch

What is certain is that the division superintendent for the Pony Express who stopped to enlist the Gilman brothers in the crosscountry mail relay was a name that Mark Twain knew well. In…

The Gratification of Slaying an Enemy

"In his correspondence with Einstein, Freud argued that each of us derives a very basic and profound gratification from slaying an enemy, however imaginary the act, and from viewing him…

Molly

"After the [Mexican-American] war he [Jack Slade] married a beautiful girl by the name of Virginia, whom he called 'Molly,' and engaged in the freighting business."

Ferrin’s Grave

"We then ran down the river valley, which was here about one mile in breadth, in a smooth flooring of clay, sprinkled with water- rolled pebbles, overgrown in parts with willow, wild…

Burton on Slade

"Her husband was the renowned Slade:  'Of gougers fierce, the eyes that pierce, the fiercest gouger he.' His was a noted name for 'deadly strife;' he had the reputation of having…

Burton on Bloomers and Virginia Slade

"The Bloomer was an uncouth being ; her hair, cut level with her eyes, depended with the graceful curl of a drake's tail around a flat Turanian countenance, whose only expression was sullen…

Shooting of Ferrin

"In April [1860] we moved from Henry's Fork to the mouth of Ham's Fork, where we remained for a month . . . "While camped here a mule train of…

Virginia Dale Persuades Slade to Move

"Slade next took up a ranch not far from Fort Bridger in western Wyoming, and began freighting. He was in the midst of his enemies—without the protection, of the armed stage company employees. Maria never…

Holladay Goads Slade

"'This is one tough job," [Slade] remarked to his boss, Ben Halladay, owner of the stage company. 'Looks like freightin' is peacefuler.' 'J. A.,' replied Halladay, 'the way to get along is to make folks…

Eye Witness Account of Slade’s Hanging

"J. M. Venable, mining man of Boise, Idaho, is the only living witness [in 1928] of Slade's hanging. He knew him well and describes him as weighing about 160 pounds, five feet eight…

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About

Scott AlumbaughIn early March 2020, I decided to bikepack the length of the Pony Express Trail in Summer 2021, following the Pony Express Bikepacking Route, a nearly all off-road route created by Jan Bennett. You can learn more here >

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