Gilpin observer., 1917-09-13
In TheFOrtieS

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
"the spanking bays and rocking stage
coach of the past"
Here is the way the Allegheny noun
tains were crossed in 1916:
''It was midwinter when we arrived
at Wheeling, and as the stage coach
was to start at five 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 ourselves.
There was handful of coal burning
in small CRATE and around 1t were
grouped the round-shouldered, unsym-
pathetic people who were to be our
fellow passengers. They glanced Mt
us and closed up all the open space
near the fire, rs If to say: You don't
get in here, we can tell you. You
have no right to travel in our coach,
anywayv
"At one side stood a table and on
1t was a coffee pot and cups, some sau-
sages frozen stiff and an unattractlve
loaf Of bread, over which presided a
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
pellmell. A short way from town
there was long hill, up which the
horses toiled, so this gave us all time
to settle down for quiet nap. One
snore after another announced their
success; in a few minutes six out Of
the nine passengers were oblivious Of
their misery.
mot being sleepy, studied the
snorers. A large fat man opposite me
had 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.
"Someone of in a dark corner had
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. I never
heard anything approaching him either
for quality or compass. 1t was back
action snore, that began in bold
agitato movement suddenly brought up
with q jerk and ended in a whistle.
"The whole band was in full play
when we stopped, with a tremendous
Jerk, and everybody awoke with oaths
or 'Pshaws!' over bad jolt. The
summit gained, there was a sharp
crack Of the whip, the horses started
and everybody was jerked violently
backward. Soon the chorus began
again, however, and I Joined in till
the coach came to full stop at the
stable 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 everybody.
What discontented lot we were And
we all hated each other!
"At last. Breakfast! All! 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 harmony 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. driver frozen
stiff and assisted down from the box.
We do 1t now in 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-
t,,es heUan IN. decav whom paoplo x~oro
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-
pies or popping corn-friends and
strangers dropping in and getting
warm welcome, place in the circle
and what Spaniarls call "the love of