il a ield Tr f 琀琀er u The B y: r o it n Te爀爀 a i in Ind gs in r nd Sp ts a u , R ocks R he old road is still there, if you look for it. Faint traces skip across the countryside on a southwesterly T diagonal, spanning a corner of Oklahoma from Fort Smith to the Red River. Wells and cisterns and rock-lined springs, rubble, and broken grave markers remain deep in the woods. Stones stood on edge along wagon ruts serve as signposts. They tell the story of four-horse teams drawing stagecoaches at top speed across the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, rushing to bring the United States mail to the Paci昀椀c Coast, a destination nearly By Susan Dragoo 2,800 miles from the journey’s beginning in St. Louis, Missouri. 18