Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-07-03
TRAVEL 70 YEARS AGO
WAS FULL OF AAROSH|PS
Took Almost as Many Weeks as
Hours Now TO Go From st.
Louis TO Phila.

vas made on horseback. steamboat,
stagecoach and railroad. The letter was
written from Philadelphia and New York,
where the merchant had gone in quest OF
new goods for his village store. II is now
IN the possession of Mrs. +. Nj. Will
cox. who was Mr.. Whites daughter.
Mr. White was n native ot Virginia.
lie went To Missouri about the time
the Clemens family moved from Ten
ncssee 20 Florida, in Monroe county.
Roanoke was about twelve miles from
Glnsgow-on-the-Ni Missouri. Glasgow and
Hannibal were the outlets for all the
pioneer trade from northeast Missouri.
Mr.. Whites was the largest store in
Roanoke. It's trade with the planters
and tobacco raisers being heavy. Across
the street was large canvas sign reading:
"rhe Great Western Store There were
no travelling statesmen. Most OF the Mis-
souri merchants bought from st. Louis,
hut now and then some enterprising dealer
travelled To Philadelphia or New York,
where the stores were larger.
Missouri was a far Western point
then. Bevond the river was the wilder
ness through which the hopeful argo-
nauts IN their oX-drawn prairie SchoOners
were then travelling 10 the land of gold.
The pioneer merchant was a man OF large
affairs and well educated as education
went M that period. but he followed the
peculiaritv Of his contemporaries in spell
inc. and that perculiaritv IS followed in
the ,etter he wrote 10 his wife under a
Philadelphia datelne. on Sunday morn
ing. March 23. 1851. 1t says:
"Niy dear Mary: | arrived at this
place on Yesterday evening after a tour of
thirteen travelling DAYS from Glasgow.
where I took a boat 10 Saint Louis. |
IL .,,,-, &bs, DiCbs of March I or,
the fine side wheeled steamer Amazonica.
II was a most pleasant trip all the way to
Pittsburg. though for n while after leav
ing Cincinnati ] was pretty sick But
now am we'll and in good spirits. Thanks
be to God who watches over all his
children and who is watching over YOU
whine | AM on this long and hazardous
journey.
II am stopping at the American House,
on Chestnut street. Yesterday ] was in
troduced 10 somc Of the first merchants
of the city, who were much interested in
the man who had come all the way from
Missouri TO trade with them; was much
taken with their friendly manner and cvi-
dent willingness to do everything they
could do make me feel at home. Some
of them asked me many questions about
our State. and they wanted TO know if the
Indians and wild animals gave us much
trouble in the back country ! told them
the trouble was we didn't find All the bear
and deer we would like to find, for they
were excellent as food.
"lt is not my purpose to buy right
NJ once. l. am going TO look around a
while and take my time so as TO get what
IS best and the lowest price. My purchases
here will be shipped on the great Central
Railway and canal 10 Pittsburg and from
there by boat 10 st Louis, where they will
be reshpped on another boat up the Mis-
souri, TO Glasgow.
/, "Some men from. every large house j.
oliciting me 70 purchase ] find that
the big rush of business is now over
here. and goods have declined a little. so
il will be best 70 wait until ! make some
discoveries before purchasing
New y ork, March 30.-Leaving Pitts
burg a large crowd came on the packet
Atlantic to VOYAGE to Brownsville The
Atlantic is a small boat and only carried
passengers-n goods The distance from
pittsburg 10 Brownsville Is sixty-fve
miles. We left Pittsburg at Q O'Clock at
night and at in the morning we were on
our way to Cumberland. seventv-three
miles from Brownsville. All the way
was over the mountains, the highest
YOU ever saw. and the roadway was
n
many places, sometimes SIX inches deep.
II was pretty cold coming across. Our
conveyance. however. kept moving stead
ily. BY O'Clock We were in the Baltimore
cars. 1913 miles. making the travelling time
fifteen hours To Cumberland, where we
did not wait FIVE minutes BY 9 at night
we were on our road 10 Baltimore, where
we arrived at ) o'clock in the morning
making 1913 miles in lust eight hours
Nine years later the pony express ran
across Missouri from the Mississippi to
the Missouri river, 206 miles, in four hours.
I'VE left Baltimore the same day at
10 O'Clock and landed in this city at ?
o'clock in the afternoon, distance 100
miles There are a great many railways
and canals coming into this city, and since
| have been here | have been informed
there are sailing ships OF different kinds
living al the various wharves. They come
here from all parts Of the world TO get
things we raise on our plantations and
bring in such things as we do not raise IN
exchange.
"On arriving at the depot and going
out INTO the Street / was surrounded
by 100 carriages and pOrters from the
different hotels. SO dense was the crowd
that the passengers from the train could
hardly get by. They would pull and tug
1T you as II they were going TO make you
90 with them whether you were a mind to
or not. When you accept one of them he
attaches a card TO you and by this token
the Others know you have decided to 20
with and let you alone.
Last night while at the hotel ] count
ed sixteen beggars, women, boys and girls,
that came IN and insisted on the travellers
giving them something They have th
idea, IL seems, that people who come here
from a long distance have plenty of noneve
and are very free with IT. They hav e a
way by which they can tell those who trav-
e from those who live here Then we were
next assalled by a stormy lot Of newsbovs
and girls who wanted to sell US DaDers
and pamphlets containing some great
men : speeches. or some discovery of
science. Wherever you 90 these folks
follow you, and nobody, it seems. tries to
stop them. With the beggars, the news
vendors, the carriers and the coachmen
YOU don get a moment S peace until YOU
get in your room and local the door. /
have wanted 10 see New York ali nv life.
having learned il was a place to carry in
ones memory for all time, but If my mem
ory Of the first day lasts, New York win
always seem 70 me what my first night S
dream was-a lot Of skinny people try
ing 70 climb overthe foot Of the bed and
sell US something Or to take me somewhere
for my money