Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-27
OLD STAGE DAYS.
Some Yarns of Famous Local
Drivers so Years Ago.
One by Beriah Curtis Was Distanced by
Those Told by GeneN Twitchell and
Anson johnson.

Fifty years ago there were three nota-
Bile characters belonging to the stage
driving fraternity in the then little town
of Worcester. To begin with the fore
most, a man destined to rise to the posi-
ton of president of the Boston & Albany
railroad, and also to become United
States congressman, General Twitchell,
who in his career proved himself an all
round athlete in business enterprise
Then there was Beriah Curtis, whose
stage route was from Groton to Worces-
ter; and the last to name was Anson
Johnson, from the School street barns,
a magnificent type of a siX-in-hand
Jehu, who, under Major Burt, was held
responsible for time and safety of the
United States mail from Boston to the
Worcester postoffice.
These men had no duties at the barns
other than to take the reins and start.
Consequently much of their time was at
their own free disposal, and on their re-
turn trip they usually met at the Bonney
Tavern, where the Bay State now is, to
hear and discuss the news of the day,
Storytelling proved a not unimportant
part of their evening conclaves, and in
cldents of their various trips came in for
a share of recital.
Curtis on one occasion told of fast
run from Moore's Tavern at the five
points, now the Summit. According to
Curtis it was in March mud time, just
as the loosening frost left deep holes in
the roads. The coach was half filled with
men and women. 1t lacked then just
thirty minutes of the time the mail
should be delivered in Worcester, and
the mall that day was heavy and bulky,
coming as it did from Lowell and Haver-
hill, and all the way northeast.
Curtis had taken his relay of horses,
four of them, at Moore's, but had pro-
ceeded hardly a hundred yards when a
tire broke. And now I'll give it in Cur
It's own words:
Hardly had the tire parted when the
felioes gave out, and soon the entire rim
of the wheel was gone. l shouted to the
passengers to crowd to the right side so
as to balance the coach, as it was the
off fore wheel that had famed, and at
the same time l sent message to the
leaders that made them shake their
heads as the lash got home; and away
they went at furious pace, eyes to the
ground and ears pricked forward You
should have seen them leap the mud
holes as they stormed down along the
road And, would you believe me? that
broken wheel never touched ground but
once. and that was at Barber's turn,
where the wheel was at disadvantage on
the curve in all that four miles of road
IF it did was not cognizant of the fact. Z
"How quickly did you come in?" quer-
led Johnson.
''It was Just eleven minutes by the
watch until I rounded up to Capt.
Thomas tavern, where Harrison Bliss
was postmaster"
'What sort of watch do you carry
Mr. Cl1rtis?" asked johnson.
"a stop watch; and | tell you it looked
tired Ii stopped when I gave it to the
leader, and started again just as I
threw off the mail bag at the corner of
old Market and Main streets"
Mr. Twitchell remarked that he made
quick time "Just a little short of a
three-minute gait. Did you ever do any
such work. Mr.. Johnson
"Wen," replied johnson, my trips
from Boston are over the old turnpike
mills; and one day my horses took fright
at the Universalist church in South
Shrewsbury. A Universalist church.
you know, Is a rare thing. and would
scare anybody-well, as / said, they got
scared and broke into dead run.
'Twant no use to try to hold 'em; l
might as well 'er pulled at the Fox mill
wheel, for they wouldn't mind the bit
at all Up and down tse turnpike hills
they WENT First the wheels on one side
and then on t'otler wouldn't touch
ground for half a minute. and the wom-
en- was screaming and the men prayin'
or shouten', Pull up; for Gods sake,
driverr But l said: 'Shet up! you scare
the horses
MY! didn't they go, till they reached
the Munroe tavern, down by the pond;
and just then I discovered the bridge
was gone. 1t was the old first foater,
and IL kicked that day with a drove of
horned cattle and drifted from its moor
ings"
9Gracious! Anson; what did you do?"
asked Curtis.
81 shut my eyes and held my breath,
and never came to consciousness until
/ heard the wheels talk on the Worces-
ter side; but tell We there wernt a wet
hair on either hoss and the coach
hadn't dipped a teacupful er water"
Curtis calculated: Gee whew! eight
hundred feet right through the air.
Can't you discount just little for wet
ting, Mr., Johnson?"
mot discount, for when | saw the
bridge was gone, | wheeled in the cap
tain's yard and went home by the way
of Mason's and the north end"
'tSet EN- up. Mr. Bonney It's on me.
said Curtis; land next, Genery, it's yollr.
turn. You sometimes drive fast don't
your" Rta
''Wel, yes, Mr.. Curtis. | was once
coming home over my Barre route, on a.
mot summers day. and circumstances
seemed to compel me to be speedy. T
had made a relay at Austin Flagg,e
tavern up in Bumskit, and had on nv
six white Morgans, with the two stall
lions in lead.
Il noticed as left Paxton a very black