It used to take us about twenty five days to make the trip from Council Bluffs to Denver with a load of freight, says William H. Marble, one of the early settlers of the Bluffs, who made several trips across the western plains as driver for John Jones, owner of the Pacific House and manager of a freighting and stage coach business. Marble afterward purchased a team of his own and made several trips across the plains on his own account.

Marble, who resides at 702 Bluff street came to Council Bluffs in the fall of 1856 in company with John Clausen. Clausen and Marble, both originally from Ohio, came from Davenport and Marble, after his arrival, for a time, worked for Mart Hardin, whose farm and headquarters were about four miles southwest of Lake Manawa. Later Marble worked on the steam ferry boat Lizzie Bayliss, which plied between this city and Omaha, and then later for a year or two for the merchandising firm of Tootle & Jackson.

It was during the latter part of the 60's that Marble engaged in the freighting business, making nine trips across the plains for Mr. Jones. Jones had about twelve or thirteen teams, said Mr. Marble in telling of his experience. The teams were all mules and we formed what might be called a fast freight line, for the mules were able to make much better time than the ox teams. We always drove in a body, four mules to the team and we used to string out for a good long distance over the trail. As a general thing there would be twenty five or thirty and sometimes fifty or more teams lined up with us all wending their way westward across the plains and making a great cavalcade.

The trail which we followed led across through Omaha, Columbus, Kearney and then straight on to Denver. The road in those days was good, in fact in some respects it could not be better at the present time. We were able to haul just about all we could pile on the wagons, and wagons in those days were built for service. Such a thing as a breakdown was almost unheard of. All our wagons had good, substantial covers and the wagon boxes were huge affairs compared with the ordinary farm wagon boxes of the present day. The boxes were built to extend out over the wheels and away out both in the front and rear. The wagons for the ox teams were much larger and stronger still than the ones for the mule teams.

The ox teams used to delay us greatly on our trips. Our teams made so much better time that we were always running away from the oxen and coming up with the teams ahead of us. To turn out the go around was simply out of the question for the string of wagons would be so long that, on the unbroken path, we could never have made it. When we caught up with an ox team we simply fell in line and followed along till meal time or the camp place for the night was reached. Then when morning came or the dinner hour was over, we hustled through and got our teams into order and pulled out in the lead.

The Indians were a bad lot in those days and we had to be constantly on our guard. We never went into camp for a single night without forming a regular corral and establishing a guard. Our corrals were formed by making a close circle of our wagons and camping inside the circle. In especially bad territory our entire herd of mules, numbering about fifty, was kept inside. When there were other campers with us they were taken into the circle and for the time being were part of us.

We had good luck all the time I was in the freight service and never but once did we have a bad scare and lose any of our stock. This was one night away out in the Platte Valley near Julesburg. Jones happened to be along on that trip. It was along late in the night when the attack was made and we never were able to learn whether the marauders were Indians or bad white men. It was one of the times when we thought everything was safe and our animals were picketed out a short distance from our corral. The first we knew was when there was a terrible racket raised and our entire herd of mules, between forty and fifty in number, was started off in a gallop. We made a wild scramble for our arms and started on the run after the marauders.

We followed them all the rest of that night and part of the next day until they reached a deep ford. We were getting so close to them that they were unable to get all the animals across and we recovered about thirty of the mules. We gave up the chase and returned to camp and doubling up the wagons behind the teams managed to finish the trip. The loss of the mules was a hard blow to Jones and after that experience he gave up the business.

I bought two teams and made two trips on my own hook, then I got the mining fever, sold out my outfit and with a partner went into the mountains prospecting. We had a pretty tough time of it for a while but finally located a paying vain and cleared up about $10,000 between us for our rights. I came back to Council Bluffs and went into the grocery business and lost all of my share.

Freighting was great business in those days and there was no limit to the business that might have been done if only the outfits could have been secured to carry it across the plains. We had no room for passengers on the out trips, but we carried a good many on the return. We charged $35 per passenger from Denver to Council Bluffs. This was quite a little saving from the stage coach prices of the time and there were a great many who did not mind the slow trip and were glad to make the savings.

There were very few ranches in those days, and Columbus and Kearney were the only towns. Clear across the plains the route had its camp grounds laid out just as carefully and as well defined as if they had been officially determined upon by the government or some other authorized body. These camp grounds were selected always as near as possible to some water supply and with an eye to safety and ease in guarding. They came to be used simply from long custom and the journeys between them were suited to the distance an ox team would make during the day. Sometimes to reach a water supply one would be especially long and again, when necessity demanded, some of them were shorter. While I worked for Tootle & Jackson, I did considerable freighting between Council Bluffs and St. Joseph. This was pretty dangerous business as war times drew on and the bitterness between the north and south reached the fighting. I was shot at a number of times while engaged in this work, but I escaped and lived to put in three years in the army. The freighting business was great. I enjoyed it better than anything else I ever worked at and I'd like nothing better than to live over some of those days again.

William H. Marble, September 2, 1906
[Nonpareil, Council Bluffs, Iowa, submitted by Ann]