The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-09-08

many pOuuQS. u6y walk erect anu
balance themselves and their burdens
well-students of physical culture
could take lesson from them. Yes,
many and varied were the sounds and
noises on the streets made by the
itinerants voicing their business and
their wares.
There were no Changing metallic
sounds of our modern machines Of
travel and transportation. Our whis-
ties, syrens, gongs and bells; the
putting, rafting, banging of our troll
ley cars, to say nothing of the "Honk
honk" of the dangerous and mostly
ill.smelling automobile. The intre-
pid one, who would have prognosti-
Gated that "horseless carriage, would
have been immured in the insane de-
partment of the ''betterin house"
There were no bicycles, but there
were sounds and songs of birds, and,
yes, of beasts. for hogs ranged the
streets unchecked, as public scaven-
gers, and well-to-do citizens kept
poultry and pigeons in their town
yards. It was no uncommon sight to
see on many roofs good sized pigeon
house, and cattle went from their
homes in town stables to outlying pas
lures, not very far away, and thence
returned. My dear old friend, John
Sartain, the great artist and mezzo-
tint engraver, now deceased, has told
me of meeting the cows at night in
Coates lane, on the outskirts of the
city sixty years ago. This lane is
now Fairmount avenue, in the heart
of the city-built up from the Della
ware to the Schuylkill and far beyond.
We had town crier who added his
voice to the other confused sounds.
He walked slowly, with occasional
stops, crying out lost children, lost
and found articles, notices of things
for sale, of town meetings, in fact,
such local events of temporary inter-
est, as would now be advertised in
your Emtexb,ise and other newspa-
pers. Sometimes he would go to the
lecture or town meeting. and walking
up and down, ringing his bell, would
proclaim from there. If stray do
mestic animal was found, COW or
horse, the finder was required in early
days to put about its neck as sign
"wyth or wreath" Thus bedecked
with green branches the animal was
turned over to the poundkeeper while
it was "cried." The crier had a vast
amount of business in announcing
lottery drawings, and auctions or ven-
dues, which were such a feature of
modes of trade early in the last cen
tury. Some tradesmen had private
criers. Provisions for the care of the
poor have varied comparatively little.
Pauper children were usually bound
out" in private families; after an in
terval of time, in the mid century,
during which such bound service
fell into disrepute, it is again more
or less our custom today, and perhaps
it is the best treatment we know for
infant paupers. There were work
houses for paupers, and adult active
paupers could be sold for a term of
service, the purchaser paying sum
to the town or State. Infrm and
aged paupers were vendued for the
smallest sum for which anyone would
agree to give them their keep"
This sum was paid by the town to
their keeper, and I believe men and
women paupers are still sold in tkis
country.
A steamboat nicknamed "Old Sal"
ran daily in summer from this city to
Bristol, some twenty miles, which
was usually accomplished in four
hours. Bristol was then much re-
sorted to by the beau mende, many
of whom built pretty villas on the
banks of the Delaware. A small
hotel was built-presided over by
Joseph Head, once man of fortune,
but who had wasted his means his
genial manner brought hosts of his
friends to his house. He afterwards
kept the Mansion House on Third
street, the best of its kind. 1t was
near the homes of the Binghams,
Whartons, and other "blue bloods, +"
and had a large following. A sensa-
tion was created in Philadelphia when
steamboat appeared, called the
"Trenton," that ran to Bordentown,
some twenty-six miles in two hours
and half. Passengers then took
stage coach for New Brunswick, when
another steamboat carried them to
New York. If they had good luck
the journey was performed in twelve
hours, but terrible work it was in the
heat of summer. In winter the only
route to New York was by land, the
rivers being closed by ice. The stage
coaches of that day were drawn by
four horses, and carried nine passen-
gers on three parallel benches, more
or less cushioned. A boot behind
carried the baggage. The mails were
conveyed in this fashion, and leaving
Philadelphia at 3 P. M. reached New
York some time next afternoon, and
letters were delivered the following
day. I am glad, and so are you, that
Uncle Sam has improved on that
speed. but that was the ordinary speed
then. On grand occasions such as
delivering the Presidents message,
relays of horses were employed, and
the precious document was whirled
along at the magical % rate of ten
miles the hour.
There were two or three newspa-
pers published here in the morning,
and two in the afternoon. The lead
ing one was the United States Gazette,
of the morning, and of the afternoon
the National Gazette. The papers
were all conducted on very economi-
cal scale, and were chiefly got up by
the editor and a Scissors" man.
Their contents consisted of a short
editorial or two, some paragraphs OF
news few days old, and advertise
ments bv the wear. The press of