The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1931-10-01

Transmitter, official publication of
the Chesapeake and Potomac Tele-
phone Comapany).
Continued from last week.
After crossing Little Savage you
come to long straightaway that was
called Long Stretch in stagecoach
days. Riding over it in an automo-
bile you do not notice it particularly,
but if you were driving a six-horse
team you would probably be grateful
for it.
It's hard for the automobile passen-
iger to realize-unless he is willing to
concentrate on it-just how wonder
full must have been the skill of those
stagecoach and wagon drivers. Think
of driving six horses down two-mile
mountain grade covered with ice, with
a three to five-ton load pushing from
behind. Think now Of the fact that in
the early days Of the road there were
no wagon brakes; some of the drivers
would stick a sapling in a wheel in
stead, and some managed to get along
without it. Think now Of holes in the
road and hairpin curves and traffic
coming in the opposite direction.
Think now of darkness and few
other things. You may imagine you
are quite a good driver, because you
can guide a splendid piece of machin-
cry along a splendid road. Shucks,
man, you don't know what driving is.
Or think of the same outfit coming
up that same grade with the same
load. When you see how those long
hills take the fighting spirit out of
buses and big trucks and make them
crawl along, you realize that getting
load to the top by horse power was
no child's play.
About mile beyond the foot of
the western slope of Little Savage is
the first stream you cross the waters
of which eventually find their way
into the Gulf of Mexico. 1t flows into
the Monongahela, the Monongahela
into the Ohio, the Ohio into the Mis-
sissippi and the Mississippi into the
Gulf.
The waters of the little stream you
have left behind flow into the Poto-
mac and eventually find their way into
the Chesapeake Bay.
In the days of the wagoners along
the pike some picturesque names came
into being. For instance, the western
end of Long Stretch was known as
the Shades of Death, because the road
went through thick and dark pine
woods which shut out nearly all the
sunlight. The traveller of today can
see the stumps of those pine trees
The settlement of Piney Grove, a lit
tie beyond received it's name from the
same source.
Chestnut Ridge is crossed before
descending into the valley of the Cas-
tleman River. On the top is what
used to be the grave of an unknown
soldier of the War Between the States
but on a recent visit l noticed that a
wooden marker has been set up and
the soldier is described as a general
The facts in the case seem to be that
he was an old soldier who had been
living in the neighborhood of Wash
ington and who was walking back to
Ohio. He died on the mountain and
was buried there.
At the foot of the western slope of
this mountain is spot where Wash
ington and Braddock camped-Little
Meadows. Here you may see big
house that was built by Jesse Tomlin-
son in 1915, and which is kept as a
tavern. 1t is said that James K. Polk
dined at this tavern on his way tc
his Inauguration in Washington in
1916.
Beyond Little Meadows is Castle
man River, which is the Little Cross
ings mentioned by Washington. If
you are interested in historical mat
tiers (or in bridge consSruction) it will
pay you to stop here for few min
utes. 1t is said that the single-span
rubble stone bridge was, at the time
of its construction, the largest of its
kind in the United States. There are
two mills, one old and one new. The
old one was built about 100 years ago
and the new mill is chiefly interesting
for a sign to the effect that it pro-
duces both buckwheat and maple syr-
up.
The weather-boarded hotel by the
stream is quite modern now, but once
it was the Dixie Tavern, built of logs
Beyond the tavern Braddock's trail
once more crosses your path and just
below the bridge is the ford where the
soldiers crossed the stream. The man
at the service station by the hotel will
point them out to you. He told us
that his people own farm in the
neighborhood through which the OLD