Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1885-11-12
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=, trcepou3cn5s o. The Ellsworth American
Since Bre; Har,e pave 10 American 1t
erajure 'N8sa Ri" the western >iage-dri-
yer ia, haa a. lmmorla fame. In charao-
ter skeiclc> Of The extreme South. one su.,s
find. the s'sgs driver an important factor.
Year, ago. say ten, he figured arge.y in
action III tie Eastern S'a;es But nov this
portion Of our 6ue country la, been so thor
oush,y in'er,ec'ed 3, railroads, that ii Is
ouy ia remote corners Of ,is'es Ike Maine
and Vermont, tha, an Old fashioned stage
route j. found. Wiz ;he departure Of the
numbering d sage. coseh, the genera! .dea
prevails, that the genuine old .,agt-drlver
with has qaa.ni savings departed also.
IT.. ar mail Of Castine has been car
ried only BY t1qe line since the early date
OF 1873. when George kus,el. sturdy cit
Ken carried the mai on foot, once a week.
from CasiHe to s.. George and intermediate.
places. We wonder II Re vent bareiSoted n
The summer months. If so, he nlusi have
punished himself severely climbing up
"Hardscrshse" with a. lis sharp and roll
ing stones. He carried j, fret tied up in a
br.g., yellow handkerca ef Wouldn't some
Of these fashionable Young aides. ~ho are
80 fond Of wearing ANYTHING ancient. no
mater how hideogs /, =. ike 10 have that
handkerchief TO festoon around Their neoss
We hear th.; rs business increased. so he
va. al last obliged 10 use saddle bags. The
authority does not state whether he then
had a horse or .sddeI himself with the bags.
EASTERN part e the state WAS carried from
Pas.amaquoddv, by Nachas. Gouldsboro,
Sullivan. Trenton and B.uekil 70 Peuob.cot
and back again over the same route by John
Grin1.. Of S.dgSick once in two weeks.
TINS in 1875 and the contract j. sill
exlant. He paid a; the rate Of $3.50
per quarter Of year. He carried the mail
IN a -ma. boat along shore and owing 10
ne storms was often greatly DELAYED in the
delivery Of the NAL. Yet doubt not, rhs;
the descendants Of this same Mr.. Grlndell,
forgetting has delinquenoie., nov gruubi- If
the stage is an hour late
The first mail 10 Ellsworth. ths, ha. been
remembered, was taken by Mr.. Abner Lee
OF Csstine He at first went in great deal
Of .iyle driving fine looking pair Of horses,
bu, ne was fatsd TO oss one of them. For
seNersl wears after be drove with horse
and a heifer hsrnessed together. II must
certainly have presented a novel appearance.
One can slmost picture him driving up to the
step. Of the Eilsicorth tavern with THE odd
pair. and with fns crack Of his whip, a blast
on his horn and jerk al the reins show of
the pace. Of hi. horse and heif-r to the ad-
miring gaze Of the expectant public. which
even in those days was wont TO say. Nv hat
will Yankee think Of next"
The first regular mail carried from Cas-
tine TO B.cksport was in 1919 and it was
taken by Benz. F. Siearns. David Howe.
Esq, vas the postmaster al Castine then
record We cannot tell whether he was APP
pointed under a Republican or Democratic
administration probably there were then
nearly as many applicants for the position
under government as there are nowadays for
similar position. The frst daily mail to
Castine was some time during the month Of
February, 1928. The exact date. when the
mail vas carried bv the different stage-dri-
vers, We have been unable 10 discover. In
til 1850 it was in the hands of many drivers.
Daniel Robinson Of Bucksport is reported
as having driven over the route between
Castine and Bucksport every day Sunday
excepted) for thirty-fvs years. When the
time was up he must have felt like an old
s,ager. Old man Mitchell was another eel
I ebrated stage driver. who did excellent work
for the mail service.
! The stage-driver of earlier DAYS who
seems to live brightest in the memory Of
the Castine people was one John Poland.
He is reported As being young. tall, slim.
Cark ana handsome. he was cOnsl0ereQ
bright as steel and one OF the smartest
drivers in the state. With ali his attractions,
sad to relate, he was rather wild. He and
his wife lived in the tenement house now
cslIeI the Mullett Block. If the whispers
of the neighbors can be believed they did
not live in the most charming state of con-
jugal happiness. She is spoken Of as "hand-
some as a picture, but regular devil
Rather a neat story is told of John Poland
and the way in which he evaded the Jaw.
AT one time sersnade was given in North
Castins; wells we're spoiled, fences torn down
and other mischief done. The owners Of
the property employed the strong right arm
of law to help redress their grievances.
John was among the offenders, but he was
cute enough to keep hidden at all times,
when he was not driving the stage, for when
he vas mail carrier he was under govern