The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-01-19
TRAVEL FIFTY YEARS AGO.
Discomsorts Of Trip South Back in
1S4s.
New York Sun.

People who travel nowadays and
get single ticket straight through to
their destination and have their bag
gage all checked and off their mind at
the starting point have no idea Of
yhat trip by rail meant baokain 1846
and l848, when every State used dif-
ferent money" said the veteran Colo
mel. ssI lived in Brooklyn then, and
snse year, OF once every Two years,
at the furthest, T took my wife and
family to visit my old home in South
Carolina. I have vivid reeollections
Of che struggles which those trips
were, and Of the sense Of relief I felt
when, after several days Of travel, I
landed she party, bandbo1es and all,
safe and sound under the paternal
roof. Occasionally it happened that
some piece Of luggage went assray or
We narrowly escaped losing one of the
children on the way, but generally We
got through all right. There were
few porters on the cars then. except
those employed to look after the rail
roads interests. It was j case OF
every man for himself, whether there
were transfers to be made or eating
houses to be hunted up, and the diff
ference in the currency Of she various
States added considerably to the trav-
ellef's troubles.
ssThis was how it would be. Get
ting OF the ferry boat from Brooklyn,
Ys would pack ourselves into an
omnibus and be trundeled over to the
Cortlandt street ferry to take the train
South. There bought tickets for
Philadelphia, paying for them in New
York money. Arriving at Philadel-
phia, ne were packed into another
bus and were carted across the city
to the railroad station on the other
side. That part Of the journey stands
oRs as most tedious and disagreeable.
There was always delay and much
croHding andiHaiting to see how many
passengers were to be provided for,
and then the bus took its time about
moving. At the station I bought new
tickets that would take us as far as
Baltimore. If I happened to have
any gold along, after paying for lunch
cons, dinners and suppers at the eat
ing houses, I paid for my ticket in
gold. IF not, I used my New York
money or the money that I had got in
Philadelphia, and paid something for
tie exchange. Certain Of the road
houses at that time made regulations
eisher for serving very good fare OF
very bad. The refreshment rooms at
WILMINGTON, Del, were on the good
list.
When we got to Baltimore We were
patinto cars drawn by four magnificent
horses and taken over to the railway
station on the other side Of town in
fine style. Really this was great
improvement on the omnibus system.
and everybody applauded it. The
first street cars had not been put on
in New York very long then. and
Baltimore was considered up to date.
There were two things that that city
was noted for then, its. pretty women
aad It's fine horses. Some of the best
Of the latter were hitched to those
new street ears. At the Baltimore
station tickets were bought for Wash
ingson, and there was fresh changing
Of money. Arriving safe in the Capt.
tal in the early morning, We we're
treated to true Southern breakfast;
ameal that was so good as almost to
make up for the trouble one under
vent to get there. We,a had delicious
fried chicken, hominy that was cooked
as hominy should be, corn uafaes and
cakes, mullins, light and aaky, and all
served by black walters in the deftest
manner. There were only few negro
walters in service in Northern cities
then, and they were always novelty
that interested people greatly, partic-
ularly the children. At Washington
We got tickets for boat travel on the
Potomac to Acquia Greek. The day
Of Acquia Greek, as point Of inter
est and Importance, passed away long
ago, but in 1916 that trip on the Poto-
mac was looked upon as treat. There
vas much to see and enjoy after you
had once counted the children and
got the bandboxes and trunks and
carpet bags off your mind. Every
body used carpet bags in those days,
and sometimes hair-covered trunks,
although the leather trunks, protected
Nv okouf couvaa cnvers ware corsidar