A Bafflement of Stations

Saturday April 30th The freezing rain turned to sleet and snow as we left Brady. and the snow had started to settle by the time we reached this marker for Machette's Pony Express station....

 ..which unfortunately has been vandalised.  The immense confusion surrounding the stations in this section of the trail includes this one, and knowledge of its existence and site seems to rely largely on local tradition.   There are question marks over the spacing and exact location of Gilman's and Machette's and together with a suggestion that they are one and the same, it makes this site less credible.  But the original plaque on the marker stated that 'The log blacksmith shop nearby is the original building used for shoeing horses' and this building is now at the Lincoln County Historical Museum in North Platte..   It has also been claimed that there was a larger two story building here which is the same one moved to Gothenburg city park by the American Legion in 1931.  Rebuilt as a one story building it is now a tourist attraction.  But then there have been suggestions that it might be part of Cottonwood Springs Pony Express station, which was the next station to the west and certainly existed as a home station and stage stop.  

 According to some sources and a small monument at the side of the road which I missed, the site of Cottonwood Springs station was in this field not far from the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon..

The view is looking south towards the bluffs from East Fort McPherson Rd, a quiet byway which I discovered was actually a part of the old Lincoln Highway!  Cottonwood Springs station was also called McDonald's Ranch, after proprietor Charles McDonald who built a cedar road ranch at the site. In 1860 Burton described Cottonwood Springs as a 'foul tenement' but by 1864/1864 (after the cessation of the Pony Express service) it comprised a substantial two storey building, with a large corral, blacksmith shop and stage and telegraph station. 

 

Less than a mile further on we came to the site of Fort McPherson.  It was not in existence at the time of the Pony Express, and was established shortly afterwards in 1863 as a response to increasing restiveness among the American Indians. It provided a secure point between Fort Kearny and Fort Laramie further up the Platte and was completed in time for the Indian raids of 1864.  In 1866 the name was changed from Fort Cottonwood to Fort McPherson after the Civil War general, but the fort was abandoned in 1880.  The statue below was near the position of the flag post on the parade ground...

 

By this time I was thoroughly cold and miserable in spite of my padded jacket and waterproofs. My second pair of gloves were soaking and my hands like blocks of ice.  At least I was not facing the arctic conditions experienced by pony express riders William Campbell and Richard Cleve who were caught in blizzards between Fort Kearny and Cottonwood Springs and could not even see the trail for snow - Campbell found his way by the tops of tall weeds on either side.  And they did not have the help of kindly local farmer Jo Burge who pressed a dry pair of gloves on a pitiful pensioner!

 

Noticing a large black horse by a ranch at midday, I plodded in to ask if I could shelter and rest up for a while.  Tyler Hughes showed Lady and Mo into a large barn, invited me in for a cup of coffee, and then offered a place to stay overnight.   I had been intending to try and reach North Platte, but compared with the prospect of trudging through the freezing sleet with nowhere to stay, the promise of a warm dry refuge was too tempting!   So instead of shivering outside in bitter weather I found myself dozing in front of the telly with a beer.  Tyler's lovely girlfriend Stacy laid on a huge meal and a constant stream of children from their previous marriages provided entertainment.    

Tyler used to be a boxer, and in fact travelled to the UK to fight Welshman Joe Calzaghe - though with a name like Hughes, Tyler must also be of Welsh descent.

 

The next morning Sunday May 1st and I was even more perplexed to come across a Pony Express marker for Cottonwood Springs about a mile further west, in addition stating it lay about two miles to the north of this point ...

Another source states that it was also called Box Elder station, which yet another source contends was sited at the mouth of Box Elder Canyon about a mile even further to the west.  Just as well the pony express riders were not presented with this bewildering array of information or they would still be galloping.  What is certain is that Cottonwood Springs did exist and was located somewhere in the vicinity of Cottonwood Canyon!

 

A short grazing break, and we received a surprise flying visit... 

...from Lyle Gronewald, President of the Nebraska division of the NPEA, together with his wife, and it was great to put a face to the name at last.   The good news was that he had arranged a place to stay with Bob Majors, a relative of Alexander Majors (descended from his brother) who was one of the three founders of the Pony Express.   Bob and wife Coleen live on a small ranch near North Platte and to the south of the site of Cold Springs Pony Express station, and I received a warm welcome.  Lady and Mo settled into a grassy paddock, Colleen produced a delicious supper, and grandson Kaul sacrificed his bed!    Here they all are ready to go off to a branding the following morning...