900 Miles on the Butterfield Trail

Part VI. Epilogue—The Dream Ends, But Legends Abide

PART SIX Epilogue Dreams End But Legends Abide John Butterfield John Butterfield had a sad finale to his Overland vision. His problems started in 1859 when Congress, because of internal political conflicts, failed to pass the annual Post Office Appropriation Bill. President James Buchanan refused to call a special session to authorize payments on mail contracts, and the Overland Mail Company , in order to continue, had to make repeated new loans with Wells Fargo and Adams Express Company. The Adams Express loans were covered by the contract payments owed from the Post Office Department; thus, Wells Fargo remained the major risk-taker.' As a result of the increasing debt load of the Overland Mail Companyand policy differences with John Butterfield, Wells Fargo management grew annoyed. Several Wells Fargo directors "expressed concern" about the management and "excessive expenditures" ofthe OMC. The climax came on March 19, 1860, at the board's New York meeting. Danford N. Barney, a Wells Fargo director and an original director of the Overland Mail Company, earlier had demanded the OMC "take steps to secure [Wells Fargo] for advances made" to the amount of $162,400. On that Monday morning, Barney threatened to foreclose on and take over "all [Overland Mail Company] Horses, Mules, Harnesses, stage Coaches, Waggons, and other property effects now owned by it."> Since they could not pay the enormous sum, and the Wells Fargo representatives knew it, Butterfield, the president , felt the threat was unfair and unjustified-and he left the chair in protest. Minutes later, Barney, who had taken over the chair, offered to withdraw the foreclosure petition on one condition: John Butterfield must be removed as president. In the ensuing election by the Overland Mail Company directors, William B. Dinsmore was voted new president. More than a month passed before Butterfield, now a mere token director, attended another board meeting. Thus, Wells Fargo succeeded in ousting the father of the Butterfield Overland Mail Company from the presidency of his company. He was not allowed to resign. The Conklings, relying on earlier data, stated Butterfield had suffered a breakdown and was unable to carry on the job. This, we know today-thanks to Wells Fargo/Overland Mail board minutes-was not the case.-~ A San Francisco newspaper report of April 30, 1860, commenting on the abrupt changes in the Overland Mail Company-the General Superintendent of the Mails had also been replaced and a new director put on the board-made mention of a plan by Butterfield of which little or nothing has been reported by later historians. This was his proposal to establish a pony express run through Texas and the southwest. The newspaper noted, The precise cause of the recent difficulties in the Company is not ascertained; but it is supposed to have grown out of opposition to Mr. Butterfield's earnest desire to start a horse express over the [southern] road in competition with Russell & Majors [who had started the mid-route Pony Express in March, J860]. His associates did not consider such an enterprise desirable, as the distance is so much greater on the Southern route, that it would be impossible to compete with the Salt Lake route, in good weather.4 What Wells Fargo decided became fact, because Wells Fargo was the banker. And as historian Roy S. Bloss noted, the financial fabric of the Overland Mail Company "was largely woven with skeins of Wells Fargo yarn."i The standards ofdiscipline and effiCiency instituted and maintained under Butterfield's regime, were, unfortunately, allowed to relax after he dropped the reins of control in April, 1860. From that time there was a noticeable decline in the general morale of the operating force.... Fort Smith agent Hiram Rumfield denounced these later employees as "a set of ignorant and brutish road-agents."6 A few months after his ouster as president of the Overland Mail Company, Butterfield did suffer a physical breakdown and went into seclusion in Utica, New York, for two years. Some historians believe it was brought on, in great pa~t, by the action of Wells Fargo and the ending of his "grand stage adventure." Butterfield returned to business , heading at least one railroad, the Utica and Waterville Rail Road Company. He was Mayor of Utica in 1865, but suffered a paralytic stroke in October, 1867, and died November 14, 1869. His funeral...