| Show 1 i Cannonball Green Greatest of All the Stage Coach Drivers Never Lost a Bet New York Telegraph h hAwa Awa Away back in the Caddo County delegation at tb the recent statehood eon con convention at Oklahoma Cit City a tal gray bearded man arose and r reveral several everal other persons on the floor ci most sImultaneously but there thero wa something commanding in the appear alice ance of the man from Caddo which brought him recognition Who is If he everybody was asking His names D Green GreenS S some me one said and then b by way of cx Cannonball Green I Had It not been ifor the invasion of the railroads in the southwest Cannon CannonI I ball bail Green would have been a million millionaire millionaire aire today His system of stage lines was U II a gold old mine was the next best I thing to a railroad His biggest coup was durIng the opening of old mil ma The Rock Island then ran only as asfar asfar far as Creel Creek 16 miles north of the northern border bordel ot of the strip The rhe Rock Island made a contract with Cannonball Green for transporting the passengers from the end of the line on onto onto to the strip at 6 each The first dRY day daytIme tIme the excursions started for the strip the railroad wIred Green that passengers passengers gers would be there thero in the first train It Va was seen that the job was one of magnitude but Green scoured the country and employed every farmer who had a wagon or buggy bugg and with hl his stage line Une carried out the contract Cannonball Green was a good ad advertiser advertiser He owned stage lines all through the west connecting with the Santa Fe Colorado and the Texas Panhandle When the boom struck western estern Kansas Kanse s there was a big de demand demand mand for his stage lines Garden City I and Leoti were after him for a line connecting the towns and asked him to toI tomake make a proposition I Ill come for six town lots in each town and 1000 bonus was his proposition proposition He made the with great OS OSt t The greatest speed ever evel at attained tamed In Garden City up to that time was made by his team and stage coach when he entered the town It w sis s prearranged but In the center of th town a wh wheel el a truck gardeners cart and scattered pump pumpkins i kins cabbage cubbage and everything else all allover I over the street An angry Dutchman the o owner ner ot of the tho cart rushed u tm to him and demand ct damages Green GreenI 1 I was wearing plenty of diamonds He until the cr crowd was sufficient sufficiently I ly Iy large and then Inquired the amount of oC the damage The Dutchman thought 25 would be about right Cannonball Green took out a roll roU with a 3 I O wrap wrapper wrapper per contemptuously peeled off a note and flung it at the truck garden el ci Green made himself solid with his patrons Cannonball Green first ran a stage line from Helena Mont to Ft Denton Benton He established his lines Jines In the south I Iest west est ill lii 1872 The fixed fixel schedule of the route was milet mIJe per day no more and no less Once a driver came in two hour late lata The driver told the proprietor there were no passengers and he lie he would let the horses take It easy The driver drivel was new and andre re a lecture on the treatment of horses Those who knew how to handle them knew that the horses had be n injured by being allowed to take lake It cas easy for in service like that the horses must be forced to accustom them selven to one gaIt and keep it used to make bets with his that he could change teams quicker than any of them could lIght a cigar He always won too for the tho harness was equipped with snaps Uk like those on fire harness and he used to make mako the change chango with without without out stopping Once General Manager Kinsley of oC the Santa Fe was making a trip over one of Greens lines Jines Green alwa always s kept his private coach which he used as a apay apay pay coach When the general manager reached In Kiowa coun county county ty Kansas Cannonball Green informed him that his coach was about to start In 11 the direction ho was ivan going anti and Invited him to accompany him The rho owner Of the stage line ani ana tui R V t f older of tho Fon lit liS time over ocr the tho hot d l f 1 Its hot Green after a tine a Thirsty inquired the owner of 0 th state line Time The Santa Jle Fe mans mouth was tU att a ti d now they suggest ed fr tr Kinsley w wa angry angl at the mention or orthe t the seemingly impossible and sat with without out replying Green sat for a Jf long S time tim without saying ing an anything Th Thea he went to the other side of the coach turned U up a seat and displayed en an k lee chest with as choice a Coll collection of liquid refreshments as could be imag haag inca ined Some time afterward Green received a letter front from the SantA ire r stating staling that Uta t the company was about to send a new private cur car to and ed asked if lie he would like to occupy it ed cd the Invitation and it is needle needIe to tosa sa say the car had been well stocked with cold bottles beforehand In Gnu Cali California fornia Green received another letter from the Santa Fe statin stating that tho th company was about to send a private car back ru as far as and nd In Inquired If he happened to he going that wa way It was not hot until then that Can Call Cannonball Green realized that the rail railroad road company was 8 returning the rout cour courtesy tesy shown an official The stage business was Time The railroads put the stage tae coach out of business Cannonball Green soon it Was Impossible ble to run a at stage l line for a distance of less leN than miles There were fa few places alLot afler thc th territory was opt opened ned where th there rf a railroad within mIles mUe awl amI for distanCes es less than that the stables took all the business It wa soon over oyer Green had made lots Jots of money but had spent It He took a claim In Grant county and wu was elected count county treasurer of that county HI He then settled In Caddo the newest un t ty In the territory where lie he has a farm near noar Bridgeport large lare enough to furnish a profitable livelihood for hi sons Green is no now fiG 65 years of age E and does little but look after It farm farni occasionally |
