Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-13
THE sTOGY.
Originated in the COnestOGa Region
of Pennsylvania, Hence Its Name.

Originated in the Conestoga Region
of Pennsylvania, Hence It's Name.
From the Boston Journal.
You may spell it stogy or ''stogie." In the
latter case you follow the example of Mr.
John Farmer, who is so often wrong in his
Dictionary of Americanisms" Mr.. Far
mer, finding and quoting sentence with
the word in the plural, chose his singular
form in defiance of the advice of other die
tionary makers. You may be brave enough
to smoke stogies; you surely have smelled
them, and you know that there has of late
been newspaper controversy over the re-
spective merits Of the Wheeling and Pitts
burg brands. We therefore publish with
pleasure an exhaustive essay by our valued
correspondent, c. w. E.
At home they call it rat tall Its birth
place is the Conestoga country, about Lam
caster, Pa, once famous as the chief high
way from tidewater to the Ohio country
For many years it will be remembered
Lancaster was the greatest town of the in
terror away from salt water and naviga-
ton. The country about Lancaster and the
Conestoga, highly productive, used to carry
It's -four iron and provisions to Philadel-
phia In huge wagons drawn by four, six or
eight powerful horses. and when poor Brad
dock started on his expedition to the Ohio
Franklin, the illustrious, supplied him with
ii dIu llly VI tleSe uODie OututS
The armies of the revolution used chiefly
Conestoga wagons, and made them every
where familiar. When the famous turnpike
from Philadelphia to Lancaster was built
more than century ago, it was to accom-
modate these Conestogas They crowded
the still more famous Cumberland road
built by Uncle Sam to Wheeling, across the
state of Ohio, and drought Indiana and
Illinois.
The Conestoga teamsters liked their to-
bacco and preferred the native weed Some
genius along the road invented the rough
cigar, made Of Pennsylvania or similar to-
bacco, and well adapted In price and vigor
to the sturdy wagoners. They liked it. the
demand increased, and only Edward At
kinson can compute how many millions
were produced in the Conestoga country,
pixies. Like the big wagons, the very Wig
orous cigar. made after the pattern of a
rat tall came to be known as the Cone
stoga soon abbreviated into the more ia
mliar stogy.
Conestoga wagons preceded the revolution,
but the brave stogy came with the more
enlightened nineteenth century, and should
have Mr.. Atkinson's attention. He can
this stunning smoke. the clouds it has pro-
duced, and how the stogy compares with
the Oceanic or the Great Eastern. Pennsyl-
vania has ever been champion OF home
products, and the stogy Is such. Nor Is 1t
in need Of tariff protection, perhaps. since
no tobacco will do for the stogy but the
vigorous growth of Allegheny. mountain
farms. Porto Rico and Manila can DO
much, but they cannot hope to match the
power, the odor. the all-pervadihR energy
Of the true Pennsylvania stogy. It proves
that we are the strongest nation On earth.
And really no army or navy 10 invincible
save that which smokes stogies. 1t Is ell
owing to stogies, perhaps. that Pennsyl-
| vania is 30 strong and its pig iron 60 potent.
and every poet in Wheeling or Pittsburg
win readily see the idyllic resemblance be-
tween stogies and the tallest chimney.