Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-02-27
EDITOR MOVES OWN STORY.
How the Maine Boy Went to Wash
ington in 1847.


Crosby s. Noyes, who has just died
after over half century on the staff
of the Washington Star, told his story
of going to Washington and his early
experiences there in the fiftieth ami
versary number of The Star as
| follows:
In the latter part of December 1S47,
I, sickly youngster, left my home in
Maine for Washington. in quest of
milder climate. Partly for exercise
and partly for econOmy's sake
walked a good part of the way from
| Philadelphia to Washington. On the
| last day of that month l had walked
| from Baltimore as far as Beltsville,
| when ! was Overtaken about shutdown
| by a Jolly old fellow who was driving
! into washington with a load of prod
uce for the Washington market. l
| very promptly accepted his invitation
to ride in with him to the city. but
| afterward concluded that | had better
walked. For it soon appeared that he
only wanted to get to Washington in
! season to place his wagon in good
position for the market next morning.
He stopped at every grogshop on
| the road, and there were a good many
of them at that time on the old, much
| travelled Baltimore and Washington
| turnpike. He not only took many
drinks himself, but insisted that I
should drink with him. In those days
it was a mortal offense to refuse to
drink when invited, and the whisky
sold at those places was vile stuff, bat
as he grew more stupid and less
vgilant | managed to empty my glass
into the spittoon as often as it was re-
plenished.
The weather had meantime turned
very cold. | had no ovcrcoat. and al
together my night ride into Washing
ton was pretty dismal affair. 1t was
nearly midnight when We reached the
city, and just as we came to the
Center Market, then called Marsh
Market, the bells were ringing the old
year out and the new year in.
The market house then was set of
tumble down sheds. moss covered,
doorlcss, and the lodging place for
tramps and Migrants of all sorts.
Back of it was the filthy old canal, the
city cesspool, the receptacle for all the
offal of the city.
] lodged for the night at one Of the
small taverns on 9TH street opposite
the market. called then "Cattail row"
In the morning I paid levy for my
lodging and ftp for a cup of coffee
and some doughnuts at the market
house In those days the old Spanish
silver currency was in use, and the
small coins were the levy" worth
12h cents. and the ftp" Ga cents.
When the coins were worn beyond
FOL Nj wit N
a cross and then passed only for 10
cents or cents respectively. After
my light breakfast / started out to see
Washington, heading first for the
Capitol. as most visitors do
On my way to the Capitol, attracted
by sign, l stopped and engaged
board at the boarding house of
Michael McDermott, southwest corner
of Sd street and Pennsylvania avenue
where Mades' Hotel now is. MIR. Nc
Dcrmott had a large coach factory and
warehouse and his premises, running
through to Missouri avenue. l paid
$3.50 per week for board at Nc |
Dermotts, and got good, substantial
fare. with no frills. McDermott
boarded his workmen, hearty set of
fellows. and what. with their bolster
Gus demands upon Sally, the colored
cook for immediate service, and their
running fire Of critism upon her cook
ing, the meal hour at McDcrmotts
was always a very noisy and jolly
affair. Sally could always answer in
kind to their bantering and give them
plenty of sauce in return.
On engaging board at the moderate
sum of $3.50 per week, my next
thought was as to the means to pay it.
The total of my funds that morning
was $1.621a. l had been engaged by
DR. AlonzO Garcelon afterward the
famous democratic governor of Maine,
to write letters for his paper. the
Lewiston (Me) Journal, and also by
Mathews & Norris. the publishers Of
the Yankee Blade, a popular humor-
Gus paper of that day.
Subsequently | wrote some letters
| for the New York Spirit of the Times
and for the Philadelphia Saturday
Evening Post These We're all popular
| publications then, but the Yankee
Blade and the Spirit of the Times are
dead but the Saturday Evening Post.
the oldest paper in Philadelphia, has
| been started on new career of pros
perity in the hands Of enterprisinE
| men. and has now IA circulation many
times what it had in its most prosper
Gus days in the olden times.
These were all weekly papers. and
as my pay averaged only about 81
! column the income was not large.
| But as was said in explanation of
| George WaShinEtOnS remarkable feat
of throwing silver dollar across the
Potomac river where it was a mil"
| wide a dollar went further in those
days than now.