Evening journal., 1904-03-29
THE CONCORD COACH
"REMINISCENCES OF THE OLD STAG
ING DAYS IN MISSOURI.

ChivaIrousiy Protectcd-A sketch
of Kit Carson That Does Not Agree
with Ned BuntIine's stories.
The individuals who were born too
late to experience the joys of stage
reaching In the early days Of Missouri,
while they may fellcitate themselves
upon the luxurious and speedy modes
of transportation prevailing at the pres
ent time. can never in the slightest de
gree appreciate the delights stored up
in the memories OF those who recall the
Introduction OF the Concord coach and
their many rides in the same, says the
ST. Louis Globe-Democrat
The vehicle was revelation. a revo-
luton and an evolution that seemed to
leave nothing further to be accomplish
ed for the comfort Of the overland trav-
eler 1t was a cradle on wheels, a par
lor in daytime and comfortable sleep
ing room at night. With its full quota
Of twelve passengers It never seemed
crowded In the summer time, with
its curtains rolled up, It was breezy
and sweet In winter. with its curtains
down, light being admitted through
small glass panes fixed in them. Il was
almost impervous TO cold. the vitiatcd
air being carried Off through ventila-
tors in the roof
In that day also buffalo robes were
4 plentiful and about as cheap as blnn-
kets These robes were finely tanned
with the hair on them, and when the
hides had been taken at the proper sea
son the hair was as soft as the fur Of
some OF the animals taken az this day
for their fur alone They were hexi-
bic and could be handled with as much
facility as the ordinary bed comforter
Of today.
The robes were generally tanned by
Indian squaws through a process IN
which the brains Of the deer and ante
lope We're the principal ingredients,
while many OF them were queerly and
beautifully ornamehted with wild
scenes aud incidents Of life among the
red men in lndelibe colors. Probably
not a robe Of this kind can now be
found in all this land. and were il pos
slble the value OF the same as me-
mento Of old times would be incalcu.
liable.
In cold weather the coaches were
generally furnished with one of these
robes for each seat. while the floor was
covered with sweet, clean hay or straw.
And then, also. at the stations any one
who desired 10 do so could secure some
kind of a foot warmer.
Even in the coldest weather stage
coach travelling was pleasant II was
only In the rainy season that its dis
agreeable aspects materiallzed. Then.
, while the passengers paid an advance
price for passage, it was understood,
IL not mentioned in the contract that
n he would be expected to walk over spe-
= cially bad stretches of the road and,
If necessary, carry a rail TO help pry
= the coach out OF ruts and mudholes,
{ while never hesitating to lend shoul-
der or willing hand to assist the
horses in dragging the coach up the
Z hill
e Under emergencies OF this kind, how
ever. the women and children remained
in the coach. They must be pulled
through dryshod even if it took the
hind and front traces.
While many Of the men who Travelled
In that early day in Missouri were
rough in speech uncouth in manner
and devoid of the table etiquette that
I Is now deemed essential 10 good breed
ing, they were the fewest in number
who did not possess tender hearts and
chivalric souls. Women were as safe
in a Concord coach. even without an
I escort, at that day as If they were in
their own homes, and in more than one
e instance the writer has witnessed the
, carrying of the women in the arms Of
stalwart men from the coach steps to
the dining room Of the station that
they might be free from the discomfort
Of wet or muddy feet. Again. he has
known a great burly fellow to lend his
shoulder as a resting place for the head
Of sleeping woman or one perhaps
suffering from some temporary indls-
position.
! Every woman was lady In the esti-
nation Of the men, and every man be-
lieved that it devolved upon him indi-
vidually 10 care for her.
! Occasionally, however. some brute in
the guise Of a man would appear in the
stagecoach, hut to the credit of the
Missourians Of that day not one Of
them was ever numbered In that class.
n The brute usually was some half edu-
G Gated, supercllous dude. who esteemed
= himself made Of better clay than any
Of his fellow passengers. The writer
d recalls only one specimen OF this genus
homo. and he was called down so
promptly that possibly never thereaft-
! er did he require a similar lesson.
At that day the Mcpherson hotel at
q Boonville was one Of the most whole
e some and best kept hostelries in the
state. The coach stopped there for n
late breakfast. and during the meal
our dude was hard to satisfy. Nothing
pleased him, and consequently he re-
I entered the vehicle in rather an IN hu-
, NOR There were nine passengers in
the coach when II pulled up before the
hotel but during the breakfast three
others had been added, and they occu-
pied one Of the middle seats facing the
front
One OF the three was a man OF seem
ingly forty years Of age, five feet six or
= eight inches tall. with long light hair.
which HING loosely ovcr his eoof COL