The Overland Mail changing stage coach for celerity wagon,1858, Chapter 12, No. 27

Illustration of the Overland Mail, Frank Leslie's Illustration Newspaper, October 23, 1858. In 1857 Congress authorized a contract with John Butterfield and his associates to open a line to handle mail from the Mississippi River to San Francisco, California. Starting from each terminus, the stages met with a lot of excitement at Guadalupe Pass. The celerity wagons were much lighter than Stage coaches and the service was semi-weekly.