The daily Alaskan., 1917-01-18

Diseomforts and Hardshlps That Had
 to 30 Ehdured by the Passengers In
 an old Style Trip Aoross tho AIls-
 shsny Mountains In 1s4e.
 How travelling Is metamorphosed these days, to be sureI Yet some men fond of handling the ribbons" and some women who want to see the scenery at their leisure" still regret 'the spanking bays and rocking stage coach of the past"
 Here is the way the Allegheny noun tains were crossed in 1S46:
 Tt was midwinter when we arrived at Wheeling, and as the stagecoach was to start at 6 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 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 a small grate, and around 1t 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 wayp
 At one side stood table, and on 1t was a coffee pot and cups, some saul sages frozen stiff and an unattractiye loaf of bread, over which presided tall darky, who leaned against the wall fast asleep. We were told that we could get 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 Dell 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 a quiet nap. One snore after another announced their success; in few minutes six out Of the nine passengers were obllVious of their misery.
 Not being sleepy, I studied the snor- CTS. A 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 a dark corner had a genial way of joining in as though he snored merely to obllge the passen- gers; but the grand musician of the company sat opposite me. never heard anything approaching him either for quality or compass. It was back action snore that began in a bold agi- tato movement, suddenly brought up with a jerk and ended with whistle
 'The whole band was in full play when we stopped with Q tremendous jerk. and everybody woke up with oaths or 'Pshawsr over bad jolt. The sum- init gained, there was a 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.
 "Stif 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 blinding every body. What a discontented lot we werel And we all hated each other!
 "At last, breakfast-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 a 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, a driver frozen stiff and assisted down from the box. We do 1t now in six hours in com- fortable bed, in a warm, well lighted car. Some modern imps' are mighty good angels.
 Our chief loss has been se 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 hole in the wall or a gloomy metal register, with out armchairs, stories, songs, grand parents and little children roasting ap- i ples or popping cOrn-friends and stran- gers dropping in and getting a warm welcome, a place in the circle and what Standards call "the love of the