New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-07-04
STS-R1HRO1DS IN OHIO.

Corre.ropd. nee of The N. Y. Tribune
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Thursday, June ~, lc1i
In 1898 the families of RodOlphus, Edward and Ma
thaniel Doane were ninetytro days in travelling from
Connecticut to Cleveland. few years later the Rev.
Mr.. Bacon, the pioneer missionary to the Western
Reserve, and father of DR.. Bacon of w-lIaven
had Journey almost tedious, and attended with
tremendous hardships. Now Cleveland and New
York City only twenty-four hours apart. The
journey only costs about one-quarter of the num-
Der of hours that it did days tyfve or sixty years
ago.
As late as 1913, when the roads OF pennsylvania
were considered not bad in fact when old travellers
remembering the past, esteemed the roads magnli-
cent it took some six weeks for friend OF nine to
travel from New-York to Newark, Ohio. In 1892
with span of good horses before light carriage, the
Journey could be accomplished in from sixteen to
twenty days and the speed sidered little short
of extraordinary. At that time merchant from the
interior of Ohio thought to accomplish prodigy
of speed to mount coach of William Neil n Co. for
Wheeling, and then one of Reside Il Co.'S coaches
at Wheeling for Baltimore and then the Lightning
Line from Baltimore through Philadelphia for New
York City, there purchasing and shipping his goods,
and getting back home the same route, and all IN Jour
uoeks! 1t was not an all summers job, it took oaty
four weeks.
But now by Albany or Dunkirk the Columbus mer
chant reaches NewYork City in thirty hours, can do
heavy deal in the business way and be home the same
week. In single week he can actually MAKE
greater variety Of purchases in Boston, New-iork,
Philadelphia and Baltimore than he could TOUR weeks
even as recently as in 1882. l remember very well
that year making my first journey to the Buckeye
State in private carriage. At night the wagon ards
about the taverns were full OF Cannestoga wagons,
with their wide and deep feles, dragged frontier to
fifteen miles day, by six, and sometimes eight great
horses. These wagons usually had t of freight to
each horse, and when caravan OF dozen or twenty
of these monster teams might be seen slowly ascending
the Alleghenes, each horses collar surmOunted with
bow of clear ringing bells, it sight to be
bered. In that way thousands of tuns were carried
from Baltimore and Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and
Wheeling requiring not less than three or four weeks
to make the trip way Just compare with these
freight trains which saw in 1882, the monster freight
trains on the New.York Central Erie Pennsy lvana
and Baltimore and Ohio Railroads. and say if might
not call this mighty progress for twenty years.
But as we were jogging along at the dogtrot offory
miles day, well do remember the feelings of amaze
mcnt and envy felt when the mail-coach swept by us
at rate which enabled it to carry passengers and the
mail $50 miles in "a hours That travelling which
filed my youthful imagination quite full What could
be more splendid But now the express trains any
of those great thoroughares to the West swallow up
$50 miles in four hours.
/ have very vivid recollection Of travelling in Ohio
itself in 1929 and this miracle of railroads which
meets us is the more wonderful in the contrast with
what then saw. The National Road was graded and
stoned as far as GAINESVILLE. So far the staging was
Good but west OF that the road was only graded and
what the National Road was ~ the winter no one Can
imagine who has moi seen it with his own eyes, At any
rate il was impossible For this reason the mail route
led through Newark, Granville, Jersey and Black Lick
/ TO Columbus. This road was Passabe in mud-wagons
Every step was into depths profound and as the horse
drew his foot out of the greasy mud for new plunge
the release was announced by report something IKE
a pistoshot The only places where the fast mail
could make time the corderoy bricges across
which the spcedwas often furious but not nail SO much
so as the wrath of bruised and hadead passengers.
And thus was with all the stage routes in the win
ter and often late in the spring. From Columbus to
Wheeling, Portsmouth, or Cleveland, or sandush!
or Indianapolis il was horrid slough, and to travel at
that was never done but under imperious ne
ctssity.
The first railroad track laid in Ohio, think was at
Cincinnati, the Little Miami Railroad, and IN lei
for the first time locomotive IN Ohlo' out IL
years has produced prodlsous change In some re-
spects il is glorious race ground for the iron morse.
Only think Of line of iron rails so miles ne straight as
compass can lay them, aud with the heaviest grade
of fifteen feet to the mile Such line found on the
road between Columbus and Cleveland Tits true there
disadvantages in reference to draining their bitches
and crawling their tracks, but then they rapidly
getting the better of these that their roads Will
become firm any at the East while IN grades and
they have ncsulabe advantages over the east
ern roads. Some Of the roads have already been so
thoroughly drained and grayeled as to be solid aud
smooth AS heart can wish.
The traveller who has known Ohio as IT was 20 and
80 years ago is utterly sstonshed at the changes he
now beholds in the ways and of travel lie can
now visit all the principal points in the State on sub
stantal railroads and in process Of con-
structiOD.
! There is one thing which cannot but astonsh the
traveller and that is to recoec that Ohio boasts near
two millions Of people and yet on many of her main
troo tleye IN 'ul
hu, Cleveland TO indianapolis, Xenia TO Sandusky,
YOU seem TO be travelling most Of the way through
one imuense wilderness Of woods The reason OF this
is that air line roads cannot accommodate every own
and village by running along side Of eaeh. BESIDE
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