Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1911-05-15

mar School Competitions Colonial Post Roads and
Early Mail Service

L
The Following is the essay which won
the grammar school competition in the
state contest OF the Connecticut So
ciety Of Colonial Dames- 1t was writ
| ten by Edwin Pollard Of TaftvilIe, aged
Is. pupil in the Wequonnoc school.
the subject being Colonial Post Roads
and Early Mail Service
Stage coaeh w. Palace Car.
In the days Of the Quakers and Colo
| nists. our brave and hearty old ances-
tors. travelling was not q pleasure az
it is in this generation. Few people
travelled and those who did, did not
| quickly forget their hardships and adj
ventures What a difference in travel
ing in even the fastest stage coach,
going at the rate OF five miles an hour,
| to going in a Pullman palace car at the
| terrific rate of sixty miles an hour. The
age of speed mas developed like q race
horse after going the first quarter of
mile. Now a man travels without
noticing the sensation of rapidity. A
woman going zoo miles in the Colonial
! times was said to be possessed of an
| unusual amount of pure Yankee grit,
while a woman travelling q thousand
miles now is a common thing. Tha
| friendly communication and ccrrespon-
dence OF today was little used, so high
were the rates AMI slow the method.
People would live along without being
| in direct communication with friends,
the stages sometimes taking days for
| trip. If communication was slow, so
was travelling, besides being an under
taking filled with hardships. Mails
costing to 25 cents, to be paid by the
receiver was common on many lines.
and these people would rather have
their friends think of them often and
write to them seldom.
So we come to an incident of a mail
stage started by Cover Tor Lovelace of
New York in December, 1872. The mail
was to be carried from New York ev-
cry month by the postmaster, who was
| to go on horseback. At Hartford he
was to change his horse. this man hay-
| to be postpaid and marked in accord
ance with that and put in bags labeled
! for the different towns. All by letters
| were in an open bag. The only favor
asked of the Boston commonwealth
was to afford and mark the trails over
which this carrier was to pass. Some
times this was an English wagon road.
| but oftener it was a mere Indian trail
| indicated by blazed trees. All rivers
| and bodies of water were to be crossed
in boats This movement developed a
mutual and friendly interest in each OF
| the colonies. And as communication is
started by mail 50 also we come to
| the beginning of actual journeys made
| by individuals.
Madame Knights Journey.
An adventurous lady named Madame
| Knight started on a journey from Bos-
| ton to New York on horseback accom-
panied fy the postman. in 1904. 1t
| was the beginning of a journey Of
hardships and adventures. She started
| from Boston and proceeded on her
journey on horseback and continued
| through swanps until they came to
Billings tavern, where they were to
lodge for the night. The next day at
about O'Clock the pa ty proceeded,
| eating dinner in a tavern The third
day they came to a flooded river which
was running swifter than usual. The
guide led the horse through and the
| swamped canoe propelled vigorously by
| a boy. As soon as they reached the
other side they continued the journey.
When they had ridden few hours
| they came to another fearfully danger
| Gus river. This was crossed in short
time without mishap. They kept on
| as fast as was comfortable until the
| postman, who was ahead of Madame
| knight. sounded his horn, which meant
that they had reached their lodging
| tavern. There they obtained rest, of
i " Itch they were sore in need.
| The next morning at the early hour
| OF they started on their journey to
| Kingston. With them went a French
/ doctor who made the journey mora
1 pleasant. They stopped at the wayside
they were at a good tavern at New
London Here Madame Knight was in
i-vited by the good old minister of the
! town to lodge at his house-an invita-
ticn which she gladly accepted. On
\ the following morning, having found n
| guide. they proceeded on their way to
New Haven. They were fording swift
river when their horse nearly fell to
/! th5 rocky bottom. During the day
they proceeded at rapid pace until
they came to Killingsworth, where they
put I'D for the night
+ Again the next morning they set ont
at an early hour and after riding hard
they reached New Haven at about 2
O'Clock in the afternoon. where Mad
anne Knight discharged her guide and
her journey.
After a long rest, on Dec. s they pro-
| eeeded on the last stage of their jour-
ney. They proceeded day after day,
| taking their meals and sleeping at tav-
| ems, until they reached New York,
! where she rested and started back TO
Boston over the same route. This tale
| is only an example of many similar
| trips
SpringIess and BacseIess.
People travelled mostly in stage
coaches when they were running.
These coaches were springless and
were sheltered inside by curtains. The
seats were merely boards, with 10
backs. there being three of these
! There was always rush for the two
eaa seats, which had the sides of the
/ wagon to support the tired backs. The
roads yer. rough and stony and the
pas sensers; were often joltCd off their
| seats Only to land sprawling on the
ftor. Having to travel far by these
| rude means of conveyance was no
pleasant sensation The meals wes G
1 taken at taverns and sometimes rest
/ was also obtained there, but often
| when night came there was no tavern
| nea. and the weary traveller had 20
endeavor to rest his jolted body as bes'
he could. Oftentimes when he had
4 just gone to sleep he would be awaken
ed by lard shake from the driver and
asked to get out and help pry the
| sunken coach from mud bog Thus
did hard work often pay for a pas
sage
When the passengers reached a tay-
| ern they gladly looked forward to q
! rest for wearied bodies and meals OF
| more than cold meat and vegetables
The tavern fare usually consisted OF
| bacon, lamb, chicken, peas and aspar-
| asus and sauces, with jug of rum
| or wine for the richer class. while the
| poorer had to be content with pota-
| toes, chops and cider The liquors
| were rarely if ever left out; for in
| those days temperance societies had
| not been heard of. Then, rich or poor
| good or bad, strong or weak, all en-
joyed the drink or toast. whether il