The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1916-12-28
STAGECOACH DAYS
Travel Often Spelled Misery Be-
fore We Had Railways.
TALE OF A WINTER JOURNEY.
Discomforts and Hardships That Had
to Be Endured by the Passengers In
an Old Style Trip Across the Allie
qheny Mountains In 1916.


gheny Mountains In 1916.
How travelling is metamorphosed
these days, to be sure! Yet some men
fond of handling the ribbons and
some women who want to see the
scenery at their leisure" still regret
1.-THE spanking bays and rocking stage
coach Of the past"
Here is the way the Allegheny noun
tains were crossed in 1916:
at was midwinter when we arrived
at Wheeling, and as the stagecoach
was to start at o'clock in the morn
ing no one thought of going to bed, so
we took our way through the frozen
streets to secure through tickets to
Philadelphia. 1t. was pitch dark and
bitter cold - the damp, penetrating
weather that reaches the very marrow
of our bones.
"The little den, called by courtesy
the office, was filled with passengers
as damp, cold and ill natured as our
selves. There was a handful of coal
burning in small CRATE, and around it
were grouped the round shouldered.
unsympathetic people who were to be
our fellow passengers. They glanced
at us and closed up all the open space
near the fire. as if to say: You don't
get in here. we can tell you. You have
no right to travel in our coach. any
way!
lat one side stood table. and on it
was coffee pot and cups, some sau-
sages frozen stiff and an unattractlve
loaf of bread over which presided
tall darby. who leaned against the wall
fast asleep We were told that we
could get good breakfast twenty
miles away from Wheeling.
cat the appointed time the heavy
old coach came up, and we all clam
bered in and slowed ourselves away
pell nell. A short way from town
there was long hill, up which the
horses toled. so this gave us all time
to settle down for a quiet nap. One
snore after another announced their
success; in few minutes six out OF
the nine passengers were ObliviouS OF
their misery.
"Not being sleepy, studied the snor
ers \ large fat man opposite me had
a short. angry SnOre. He Snored SO
loudly that he woke himself up and
glared about him impudently, as
though he hoped they wouldn't make
that noise again!
'The old lady who was crushing me
up in the corner snored deeply and con-
tentedly.
"Some one off in dark corner had a
genial way of joining in as though he
snored merely to Oblige the passen-
gers; but the grand musician of the
company sat opposite me- never
heard anything approaching him either
for quality or compass. 1t was back
action snore that began in bold agi-
tato movement, suddenly brought up
with jerk and ended with whistle.
1.-The whole band was in full play
when we stopped with tremendous
jerk, and everybody woke up with oaths
or 'Pshawsv over bad jolt. The sum-
NIT gained, there was sharp crack of
the whip, the horses started, and ev-
erybody was jerked violently back
ward. Soon the chorus began again.
however. and joined in till the coach
came to full stop at the table where
the horses were to be changed.
"Stiff and sleepy and cramped from
sitting so long in one position, the sun
now rose and came in at all sorts of
places, waking and binding every
body. What a discontinued lot we
were! And we all hated each other!
"At last, hreakfast-ah, hot coffee,
ham and eggs and buckwheat cakes!
The meal was not half over before we
were band of brothers. We could not
do enough for each other. All was har
mony and peace"
Nor was that all, for they drove into
cold. darkness: the horses fell ON the
icy roads; the stage rocked wildly in
the wind and nearly blew over. TWEEN
ty-four hours Of this a driver frozen
stiff and assisted down from the box
We do it now I'm six hours in a COM
Portable bed, in a warm, well lighted
car. Some modern imps" are mighty
good angels.
Our chief loss has been the great
cheerful, roaring open fires that people
had in those days. The domestic vir
tues began to decay when people were
reduced to sitting around a hole in the
wall or a gloomy metal register. with
out armchairs, stories. songs, grand
parents and little children roasting ap-
pies or popping cOrn-friends and stran-
gers dropping in and getting a warm
welcome. place in the circle and
what Spaniards call 1.-The love of the
fre."-Baltimore News.