Clearwater Republican. [volume] (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922, 1914-03-06

COMO At
T" HE crack Of the whip in the
hands Of the expert stage
driver II stir heard In the
Ozarks on both sides Of the
Missouri and Arkansas line.
This rollicking old style vehicle Of
early day travel still carries tn daily
load Of passenger and mail on = hum
dred different trails through the hills.
A thousand little villages that appear
~ ~ specks on the postal map are
served In no other way.
The driver II the Same old charac-
tor We knew 20 ven in the early days
Of the west except that he n modern
ised to some extent He = compaa-
cent. loQuacious. gossipy and genial In
fair weather; grouchy. swearing and
pessimistic In bed. Barring the road
agents and hostile Indians, the over
land trips By stage through the more
isolated sections Of the Missouri and
Arkansas Osarks hold al the roman
tic interest Of the old time trails Of
the west, says the Memphis CommsR-
cial Appeal.
Each Route Has IT. lnterssts.
Each overland route holds it, own
interesting anecdotes. its special
brand Of scenery, it, chactssistics and
individuality. Each driver knows them
all BY heart. Each time 10 talks
about them they are magntned. There
II romantic stranseness in the name
Of every mountain. valley. ridge and
hollow. The stage tolls slowly mp
Pine mountain. dashes gaily around
the mouth Of Coon Hollow or the Lit
tie Sugar Orchard and desesnds into
Turkey Bottom.
Coon Hollow blends gracefully into
Possum walk. way over to the west.
and the driver calls our attention to
Buxzards' Roost. . big white hun On
the river that winds lastly away nike
blue ribbon In the distance. The
eye never grows tired. the scene y
ever changing. From mountain 70
farm. from farm to ridge. from rid0e
to valley. and always NO matter where
you look . creek or river.
Stage travel in the Osarks h slow.
but sure. It II wasted apprshsnsaon
to worry about getting to your d.
tination when you Chamber into o0o q
the numbering old vehicles 1hey a.
ways 90 through. Tho driver takes
~ much pride In coming In on time
- the most punctual engineer on any
Of the other fast trains Of the west
or south. He has reputation to
maintain - well - the skilled rail-
road engineer and be 10 fam to tar
nish It.
He also has Z schedule. furnished
BY Uncle Sans postal department.
that calls for = report every time he
h late. and the average stage driver
isn't called ON to make but few. About
the only thing that win stop him ct
al IL high water. and only then when
the ferry boat II washed away or
sunk. Modern times have modernised
tho stage driver II they haven't his
vehicle.
He does not drink any more and
there II no hidden bottle In the boot
1t 10 not because he docs not want to
drink In most instances. but because
Uncle Sam has put . taboo on 1t. The
taboo was pretty hard to swallow. but
he did-because he liked his Job. No
driver can drink and no liquor can b
carried on any conveyance that car
ries Uncle Sans mail now. He has
discarded the broad brimmed felt hat
for slouch. He has cut OF his long
mustache and discarded the high top
ped boots.
He does not pack any long barreled
guns. He IL held up only by some
weary pilgrim who tries TO work him
for free ride, for which he generally
fAlls II there IL room. It 10 weather
he wants protected from and the gan
has been replaced BY . slicker. That
romantic part Of overland travel that
used to center around the drivers Cos
tune IL NO longer visible. All the rest
IL still intact
In the last nifty years al sizes and
kinds Of horses and mules have besn
tried on the stages Of the hills - ~
I've power. The medium sized horse
has been the greatest and only sue
cess. He has stuck and made good.
Occasionally some man breaks into
the game With large teams. but It isn't
long before they are limping badly.
with tender feet cut to sieceA. The
roads are rocky and their weight an1
gAit make them undesirable.
WltA mules the same foot troubse
has occurred. and besides this, afbsr
~ 6lDs tAav become - slew ~