The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-12-06

OiscomforfS and Hardshlps mat fac
to Be Endured by the Passengers In
an Old Style Trip Across the Alie'
sheny 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 We're crossed in 1876:
ut was midwinter wnen we arrived
Mt 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. IT. was pitch dari0 and
bitter cold - the damp, penetrating
weather that reaches the very marrow
of our bones.
1.-THE little den, called by courtesy
the office, was filed with passengers
as damp, cold and i'll natuyed as our
selves. There was handful Of coal
burning in small CRATE, and around it
were grouped the round shouldered,
lnsympathetic 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
30 right to travel in our coach, any
way
AT one side stood table, and on II
was a coffee pot and cups. some sau'
sages frozen stiff and an unattractiye
loaf OF bread, over which presided a
tall darby, who leaned against the wall
fast asleep. We were told tina, we
could get a good breakfast twenty
miles away from Wheeling.
"At 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 a long hill, up which the
horses toiled, so this gave us all time
to settle down for Il quiet nap. One
snore after another announced theil
success: I'm few minutes six out Of
the nine passengers We're oblivious OF
their misery.
Not being sleepy. studied the snor-
ers 4 large fat man opposite me had
a short. angry snore. He snored SO
loudly that he woke himself up and
giared 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 a dark corner had a
genial way Of joining in as though he
snored merely TO oblige the passeu-
gers; but the grand musician Of the
company sat opposite me. l never
heard anything approaching him eithe'
for quality or compass II was back
action snore that began in bold agi
tato movement. suddenly brought up
with a jerk and ended with a whistle
THE whole band was in fun play
when we stopped with n tremendous
JERK, and everybody woke up with oaths
or 'Pshaws" over a bad jolt The sum.
init gained, there was sharp crack of
the whip, the horses started. and ov
erybody was jerked violently back
ward. Soon the chorus Logan again
however. and | joined in till the coach
came TO n full stop at the table where
the horses were TO be changed.
''StG 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 disconnected lot we
were! And we all hated each other!
AT last, breakfast ali hot coffee,
ham and eggs and buckwheat cakes.
The meal was not half over before we
we're band Of brothers We could not
10 enough for each other All was har-
mony and peace"
Nor was that all. FOR they drove into
IA severe mountain storm and intense
cold. darkness; the horses fell on the
icy roads; the stage rocked wildly in
the wind and nearly blew over. Twen-
ty-four hours of this. driver frozen
stiff and assisted down from the box.
We do 1t now in six hours in COM
Portable bed, in warm, well lighted
Ger. 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 70 sitting around a hole in the
wall or a gloomy metal register, with
out armchairs. stories songs, grand
PARENTS and little children roasting APP
pies or popping corn-fliends and stran-
gers dropping in and getting warm
welcome, a place in the circle ana
what Spaniards call the love OF the
d9e" Baltimore News.