The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-07-21
A TIN-PEDDLER'S ADVENTURE.

My occupation through life has been
"a somewhat peculiar one. L have been
"a tin-peddler for fifty-nine years, and
only retired from the business in Novem-
Der, 1881. l was eighty-three years old
in February of the present year, and so
far as l can learn, l am the oldest tin
peddler in New England.
Peddlers in my early days were more
highly esteemed than they are to-day.
The back counties were then very
sparsely settled, and sewing-machne
peddlers, book-agents, Irish linen ped
oilers and all the rest of the genus, were
unknown. The only peddler was the
''Simon-pure'' tin-peddler, who often
carried, in addition to his stock of tin
ware, calicos, women's shoes, pins,
needles, thread, jack-knives, writing
paper, lead-pencils and score of other
knicknacks. To the people, and par
ticularly to the housewives in the re-
mote towns, where the country ''storen
was ten, fifteen, or twenty miles away,
the tin-peddler was welcome visitor
"a real necessity.
For a number of years one of my
routes lay through Oxford County,
Maine, and Gorham, New Hampshire,
thence out to Littleton, Franconia,
Bethlehem, andround southwark again,
past Lake Winnepiseogee.
From 1861 to 1868, | broadened this
route somewhat by including within it
Enrol, n. H., and going up through
DiXville ''notch," so called, and out to
Colebrook on the Connecticut River.
And it was while making my round
through this latter section of country,
in the fall of 1868, that the adventure of
which | am about to speak. befell me.
| had reached Enrol on the Sd of Oc-
tober, and set off from there on the
forenoon of the 4th, to 90 through Dix
vile 'notch " The distance from Enrol
is eleven or twelve miles, the road ex-
tending up the open valley of Clear
Stream-a beautiful drive, particularly
at this season, when the autumn foliage
has taken on its most vivid tints.
Even tin-peddler may have an eye
ways to enjoy this ride up to the; emo notch,
and also the notch itself, with its frown-
ing portal and remarkable row of Alpine
peaks. forming, next to the notch in the
White Mountains, the most striking
scenery in this entire section of coun-
try.
For a number of miles from Enrol
there are farms along Clear Stream; and
with these farmers wives | had con-
siderable trade. 1t was nearly night
when | reached the long stretch of I'M
occupied lands, below the notch. But
| wished to be at Colebrook the next
day, and SO drove on to reach a little
tavern just through the notch, where |
could stay until morning.
| then owned a large, strong, white
faced horse-"Old Charley and my
cart was a large and heavy one. At
this stage of my round, however, had
sold the bulk of my stock of tin ware,
but had taken in a quantity of rags, in
sacks, which were piled up and dashed
on the top of my cart; while inside the
cart | had one or two tubs of butter,
with several fleeces of wool and bale
of yarn. My load, consequently, had
an unwieldly aspect, though it was not
unusually heavy.
But the hill in the notchis hard one,
even when it is in repair; and when |
reached the small DiXville tavern, it was
seven o'clock
These were ''war-times, D." as the reader
will see from the date given above; and
some queer business was reported to be
going on then, back and forth. across
Canada Line "Bounty- Jumpers and
substitute brokers" were PLAYING bo-
peep with Uncle Sam in MANY of these
frontier settlements. Confederate spies
and agents, too, it was said, were
making these places their points of en-
try into the country, and of exit from it.
There were five OF six men, old and
young, at the tavern that night, two or
three of whom impressed me as being
peculiar in appearance and manner; one
especially, tall, well-made, keen-look-
ing man of twenty-five or six, who had
the most vigilant gray-blue eyes | ever
saw set in a human face.
About an hour later, something of q
stir was created in the house by the ar
rival of three more men, who the land
lord told me in an undertone, were
Government detectives. They had
come in from Colebrook
None of these things concerned an
old peddler like myself, however. I
kept my corner, smoked my pipe and
went early to bed, first seeing to it that
old Charley was properly fed and bed
ded, and then taking look to my cart,
which had been drawn under the shed.
The next morning was cloudy and
threatened rain. 1t was one of those
raw, cold, north-easterly storms which
often occur in this region at this season
of the year. was anxious to get on to
Colebrook, however, and taking an
early breakfast, harnessed my horse,
paid my bill and left the tavern,
For some distance westward from the
tavern there were thick spruce woods.
1t looked so likely to rain that drove
on smartly. But somehow the cart
seemed to draw hard; | noticed il at the
very first rise in the road, but as | had
taken on no additional load at the
tavern, | concluded that either my axles
needed looking after, or that old Charley
was feeling tired that morning. AT tho