The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1932-11-11
AN OLD STAGE COACH AT a
CALIFORNIA FIESTA

FORNlA FIESTA
was New England product. It was made by the
Abbott Downing company of Concord, n. h,
a firm that had its beginnings in wheelwrignt
business founded by Lewis Browning in 1873.
Back in Colonial days coaches at first were
imported from England. Coach building had be
come an accepted English tradition in the Eight
zenith century, and the few colonial coach build
ers had served their apprenticeship in the old
country Philadelphia had several important
shops, and from one of these came the coaches
of General Washington, such as the one in
which he made his tour of the South after he
had been made President.
The peak of travel luxury and perhaps also
of primitive romance came with the fourth
hands, or stage coaches for along their routes
sprang up the historic taverns and the stage
stations which became the political centers and
news distributors of the pioneers. Stage coaches
were carrying passengers before they were
allowed to carry the mail and as they could
only go certain distances at high speed, ii was
necessary to divide the journeys into stages"
of equal length, where the horses could be
changed. II was at these points that the tav-
ems came into being. The East had its stage
driver heroes as well as the later West. 1t took
a steady hand at the reins TO drive stage coach
in the extremely cold winters Of New England
over the rough roads of the period. Heroism
Of vigorous sort called into play. Much
as the New Englander loved his rum and his
tipping at the tavern, the stage coach driver
in .ne winters had to leave il alone-too much
rum meant danger Of freezing to death.
"One New Englander who drove the old stage
from Walpole VT to Montpelier" records one
chronicler of the trails without stopping, went
for fifty years and never drank cup Of coffee
tea or liquor and never once did he sheath his
hands in gloves mittens- Often he would I'll
all the seats with passengers, the rear rack and
the roof Of the coach with luggage and more
passengers and then finally filling his own seat
with more folks picked up, he would ride on the
running board and from there drive his fifey'
team up hill and down dale. around hairpin
curves and across cart bridges. On one stage
route in Massachusetts driver froze to death
one night sitting bolt upright on the box with
the reins of his fourinhand clenched in his rigid
hands.
The close of the Revolution brought independ-
ence TO this country not only in political, but
in industrial domains. This was evident in the
development of transportation. The fine Eng
lish coach was not well adapted to the rough
and often PERCEPTIONS roads of the United
States.
In such states as Vermont, with her Green
mountains, and in New Hampshire. with her
White mountains, once one colony, the demand
grew for vehicle which would be as safe and
comfortable as possible on the steepest and
rockiest grades. The coach developed early in
the last century by the Abbotts of Concord met
this want.
The body Of the coach was built Of stout
white oak braced with iron bands. It was sus-
pended upon two leather thoroughbraces ex-
tending lengthwise of the coach and attached at
each end to standard protruding up from the
axle. These thoroughbraces were made of
straps of leather placed on top of each other
to thickness of about three inches. This leath-
er swing was used in the absence of steel
springs to absorb the jars, and it permitted the
coach to rock slightly forward and back. Be
hind the body was the triangular "boot' for
mail, express or baggage, and at the front,
under the drivers seat, was another leather
compartment 1.-THE front "boot'D for the car
rage of similar articles
The coach had three inside seats, capable of
holding nine passengers. The front seat faced
backward, and the middle one was often a
mere bench-shaped continuance that could be
removed when the floor Of the coach was needed
for mail or express. There was room for an
other passenger sometimes still another was
squeezed IND on the box with the driver and the
messenger; and on some of the coaches furth-
er seat was set up above and behind the driver
capable of holding three passengers An occas-
ional three-passenger seat at the rear of the
top was not unknown; and on such stage IL
passengers might be found
There was frequent crowding, especially when
one or more of the passengers happened to be
of unusual girth. Raphael Pumpelly. who trav-
eled over the Butterfeld route from Upton, Mo-.
TO Tucson, Ariz-, in what was presumably a
Concord coach, gives Us this picture:
The coach was fitted with three seats. and
these were occupied by nine passengers As
the occupants of the front and middle seats
faced each other, it was necessary for these
six people TO interlock their knees; and there
being room inside for only 10 OF the Il legs
outside Of the coach was graced by a foot, now
dangling near the wheel, now trying In vain
to find place Of support An unusually heavy
mail in the boot, by weighing down the rear
kept those Of Us who were on the front seat
constantly bent forward. thus. By taking away
all support from our backs. rendering rest af
all times ont OF the question
C by Western NevrDaoer Cniou-l