The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-12-12
NIANTiC's OLD DAYS.
Railway Trains Stuck in the Mud-The
 Company Danced.

Company Danced.
 New London, Dec. l.-Eugene Davis of Lisle. N. r.. writing his recollections Of Mantle. describes briefly Niantic's halibut industry. some three hundred or more men being engaged In this busi- ness: now there are none. But few of the captains of those days are living. still he recalls Captain, David Msnwar- ring, Marcus Haynes. Willard Beckwlth and few others. To supply these ves- sells required about two hundred and along by the side of the track, William H. B. Cone, father of Charles c. Cone. was the principal wood-sawyer.
 At that time there were only two stores In Mantle, the one kept by Will liam Whaley. and the other by Selden and Smith Cook. and located on the west corner of Pennsylvania avenue, opposite the depot. These merchants supplied the shipping with groceries, and 1t was the custom to buy of the fishermen what codfish they caught while on the banks" These fish were dried on the picket fences in the village, being hung on the pickets by a string around the tail. Thousands of pounds of these codfish were shipped from the station every year.
 Selden and Smith Cook were the depot agents and at that time there was no telegraph office in the station and trains were all run without orders from headquarters. When a train started from New Haven 1t had to get along the best 1t could until it reached New London. At Lyme and at New London cars and passengers were ferried across the river. and at times of extreme low tide ferry boats would get stuck in the mud, and only the rising of the tide would allow 1t to reach the slip. The station agent then had to attend all switches, and do all switching of trains
 In those days the Shore Line was big thing; at least all thought so. The two Fowler brothers were among it's nrst conductors and they did pretty much as they pleased while on the road. In 1850 a company of young people wanted to go to South Lyme to dance and they were anxious to go on the cars. They stated their troubles to one of the Fowler brothers, who was con- ductor of the train going east early in the evening.
 Said he, Boys, you know my orders are not to stop at South Lyme. But I know how anxious you are to attend this dance. If you see the engineer and have something happen will be ignor- ant of the cause" Sure enough, when Lyme was reached, the train stopped and the conductor went forward to learn the cause. He was told by the engineer that something was broken about the engine but it was fixed in short time and MT. Fowler never reported the acci- dent at headquarters.
 The most noticeable change is seen at Crescent beach. In 1850 there were a few Indian families residing in and near the present site of Crescent beach. In small house near the shore lived George Market, Bill Sobuck and one or two others. John and Zach Nonsuch were also members of the tribe of Me- hantics, which owned all that tract now called Crescent beach.
 Sobuck and Market went to New London about every other week and they would take in a supply of fire wa ter" and start for home. On the wav feeling very "chipper," they would frighten all the small boys on the road by their queer antics. One cold winter day Bill Sobuck imbibed a little too much and he was found frozen stiff on the bar.