Catch the Stage to Phoenix

Book excerpt: The importance of the stagecoach is often overlooked amidst its romance and legend. It was, in fact, Arizona's first, and for a long while only means of public transportation. If you wanted to travel to or within the Territory in the early days, you had better own a horse or a horse and buggy, or be willing to do a lot of walking. With the advent of stage travel in the late 1860s, all that changed, at least for those well enough off to pay the stagecoach fare. Catch the Stage to Phoenix covers the history of stage-coaching in the early days of the Arizona Territory. Stages traveled from Prescott to Phoenix first via Wickenburg and later through the Black Canyon. The drivers, stage station operators and the travelers, as well, deserve medals for their fortitude and bravery.