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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41799 ***
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+There were a number of spelling and typographical errors in the original
+text. The handling of each one is noted in the transcriber's note
+at the end of this text. Footnotes have been located at the end of the
+paragraphs where they appear. The underscore character indicates where
+the original is in _italics_.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Yours truly
+ T B. Searight]
+
+
+
+
+ THE OLD PIKE.
+
+ A HISTORY OF
+
+ THE NATIONAL ROAD,
+
+ WITH
+
+ INCIDENTS, ACCIDENTS, AND ANECDOTES
+ THEREON.
+
+ ILLUSTRATED.
+
+ BY
+
+ THOMAS B. SEARIGHT.
+
+ UNIONTOWN, PA:
+ PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR.
+ 1894.
+
+ COPYRIGHT, 1894, BY T. B. SEARIGHT.
+
+ PRESSES OF
+ M. CULLATON & CO.,
+ RICHMOND, IND.
+
+
+
+
+ LETTER FROM JAMES G. BLAINE.
+
+ STANWOOD, BAR HARBOR, MAINE. }
+ September 8th, 1892. }
+
+HON. T. B. SEARIGHT,
+ UNIONTOWN, PA.
+
+MY DEAR FRIEND:--
+
+I have received the sketches of the "Old Pike" regularly and have as
+regularly read them, some of them more than once, especially where you
+come near the Monongahela on either side of it, and thus strike the land
+of my birth and boyhood. I could trace you all the way to Washington, at
+Malden, at Centreville, at Billy Greenfield's in Beallsville, at
+Hillsboro (Billy Robinson was a familiar name), at Dutch Charley
+Miller's, at Ward's, at Pancake, and so on--familiar names, forever
+endeared to my memory. I cherish the desire of riding over the "Old
+Pike" with you, but I am afraid we shall contemplate it as a scheme
+never to be realized.
+
+ Very sincerely,
+ Your friend,
+ JAMES G. BLAINE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+ CONTENTS.
+
+
+ CHAPTER I.
+ PAGES
+ Inception of the Road--Author's Motive in Writing its
+ History--No History of the Appian Way--A Popular Error
+ Corrected--Henry Clay, Andrew Stewart, T. M. T.
+ McKennan, General Beeson, Lewis Steenrod and Daniel
+ Sturgeon--Their Services in Behalf of the Road, etc.,
+ etc. 13-19
+
+ CHAPTER II.
+
+ Origin of the Fund for Making the Road--Acts for the
+ Admission of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri,
+ etc., etc. 20-24
+
+ CHAPTER III.
+
+ The Act of Congress Authorizing the Laying Out and Making
+ of the Road 25-27
+
+ CHAPTER IV.
+
+ Special Message of President Jefferson--Communicating to
+ Congress the First Report of the Commissioners--Uniontown
+ left out, etc. 28-35
+
+ CHAPTER V.
+
+ Pennsylvania grants Permission to make the Road through
+ her Territory--Uniontown Restored, Gist left Out, and
+ Washington, Pennsylvania, made a Point--Heights of
+ Mountains and Hills--On to Brownsville and Wheeling,
+ etc., etc. 36-40
+
+ CHAPTER VI.
+
+ Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury, called upon
+ for Information Respecting the Fund Applicable to the
+ Roads mentioned in the Ohio Admission Act--His
+ Responses 41-43
+
+ CHAPTER VII.
+
+ The Life of the Road Threatened by the Spectre of a
+ Constitutional Cavil--President Monroe Vetoes a Bill
+ for its Preservation and Repair--General Jackson has
+ Misgivings--Hon. Andrew Stewart Comes to the Rescue 44-51
+
+ CHAPTER VIII.
+
+ State Authority Prevails--The Road Surrendered by
+ Congress--The Erection of Toll Gates Authorized--
+ Commissioners Appointed by the States to Receive the
+ Road, etc., etc. 52-56
+
+ CHAPTER IX.
+
+ Plan of Repairs--The Macadam System Adopted--Mr. Stockton
+ offers his services--Captain Delafield made
+ Superintendent, etc., etc. 57-63
+
+ CHAPTER X.
+
+ Lieut. Mansfield superseded by Capt. Delafield--The
+ Turning of Wills Mountain, etc., etc. 64-76
+
+ CHAPTER XI.
+
+ On with the Work--Wooden Bridges Proposed for the New
+ Location up Wills Creek and Braddock's Run--The War
+ Department holds that Wooden Superstructures would be
+ a Substantial Compliance with the Maryland
+ Law--Cumberland to Frostburg, etc. 77-86
+
+ CHAPTER XII.
+
+ Gen. Lewis Cass, Secretary of War, Transmits a
+ Report--More about the Wooden Bridges for the New
+ Location near Cumberland, etc. 87-94
+
+ CHAPTER XIII.
+
+ The Iron Bridge over Dunlap's Creek at Brownsville 95-99
+
+ CHAPTER XIV.
+
+ Appropriations by Congress at Various Times for Making,
+ Repairing, and Continuing the Road 100-106
+
+ CHAPTER XV.
+
+ Speech of Hon. T. M. T. McKennan 107-108
+
+ CHAPTER XVI.
+
+ Life on the Road--Origin of the Phrase Pike Boys--Slaves
+ Driven like Horses--Race Distinction at the Old
+ Taverns--Old Wagoners--Regulars and Sharpshooters--
+ Line Teams 109-115
+
+ CHAPTER XVII.
+
+ Old Wagoners continued--Broad and Narrow Wheels--A
+ Peculiar Wagon--An Experiment and a Failure--Wagon
+ Beds--Bell Teams 116-119
+
+ CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+ Old Wagoners continued 120-126
+
+ CHAPTER XIX.
+
+ Old Wagoners continued--The Harness they Used, etc. 127-133
+
+ CHAPTER XX.
+
+ Old Wagoners continued--An Exciting Incident of the
+ Political Campaign of 1840--All about a Petticoat--A
+ Trip to Tennessee--Origin of the Toby Cigar--The
+ Rubber--The Windup and Last Lay of the Old Wagoners 134-145
+
+ CHAPTER XXI.
+
+ Stage Drivers, Stage Lines and Stage Coaches--The
+ Postillion, etc. 146-155
+
+ CHAPTER XXII.
+
+ Stages and Stage Drivers continued--Character of Drivers
+ Defended--Styles of Driving--Classification of
+ Drivers, etc. 156-163
+
+ CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+ The First Mail Coaches--The Stage Yard at
+ Uniontown--Names of Coaches--Henry Clay and the
+ Drivers--Jenny Lind and Phineas T. Barnum on the Road,
+ etc., etc. 164-174
+
+ CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+ Stages and Stage Drivers continued--Gen. Taylor
+ Approaching Cumberland--Early Coaches, etc. 175-183
+
+ CHAPTER XXV.
+
+ Distinguished Stage Proprietors--Lucius W. Stockton,
+ James Reeside, Dr. Howard Kennedy, William H.
+ Stelle--Old Stage Agents--The Pony Express 184-191
+
+ CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers from Baltimore to
+ Boonsboro--Pen Picture of an Old Tavern by James G.
+ Blaine 192-196
+
+ CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Boonsboro to
+ Cumberland 197-203
+
+ CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Cumberland to
+ the Little Crossings--The City of Cumberland 204-208
+
+ CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Little
+ Crossings to Winding Ridge--Grantsville 209-213
+
+ CHAPTER XXX.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Winding Ridge
+ to the Big Crossings--The State Line--How it is
+ Noted 214-219
+
+ CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Big Crossings
+ to Mt. Washington 220-226
+
+ CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Mt. Washington
+ to Uniontown 227-233
+
+ CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Uniontown--The
+ Town as it Appeared to Gen. Douglass in 1784--Its
+ Subsequent Growth and Improvement, etc., etc. 234-243
+
+ CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Uniontown to
+ Searights 244-249
+
+ CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Searights to
+ Brownsville 250-259
+
+ CHAPTER XXXVI.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Brownsville to
+ Beallsville 260-265
+
+ CHAPTER XXXVII.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Beallsville to
+ Washington 266-272
+
+ CHAPTER XXXVIII.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Washington,
+ Penn.--Washington and Jefferson College--The Female
+ Seminary 273-282
+
+ CHAPTER XXXIX.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Washington to
+ West Alexander 283-289
+
+ CHAPTER XL.
+
+ Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--West Alexander
+ to Wheeling 290-297
+
+ CHAPTER XLI.
+
+ West of Wheeling--Old Stage Lines Beyond the Ohio
+ River--Through Indiana--The Road Disappears Among the
+ Prairies of Illinois 298-310
+
+ CHAPTER XLII.
+
+ Superintendents under National and State Control--Old
+ Mile Posts, etc. 311-318
+
+ CHAPTER XLIII.
+
+ Old Contractors--Cost of the Road--Contractors for
+ Repairs, etc. 319-322
+
+ CHAPTER XLIV.
+
+ Thomas Endsley, William Sheets, W. M. F. Magraw, etc. 323-328
+
+ CHAPTER XLV.
+
+ Dumb Ike--Reminiscences of Uniontown--Crazy Billy, etc. 329-338
+
+ CHAPTER XLVI.
+
+ The Trial of Dr. John F. Braddee for Robbing the U.S.
+ Mails 339-352
+
+ CHAPTER XLVII.
+
+ Visit of John Quincy Adams to Uniontown in 1837--Received
+ by Dr. Hugh Campbell--The National Road a Monument of
+ the Past--A Comparison with the Appian Way 353-356
+
+ APPENDIX.
+
+ Digest of the Laws of Pennsylvania Relating to the
+ Cumberland Road--Unexpended Balances in
+ Indiana--Accounts of Two Old Commissioners--Rates
+ of Toll--Letters of Albert Gallatin, Ebenezer Finley
+ and Thomas A. Wiley--Curiosities of the Old Postal
+ Service
+ 357-384
+
+
+
+
+ ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+ T. B. Searight Frontispiece
+ Old Mile Post 5
+ Stage House and Stables at Mt. Washington 13
+ Gen. Henry W. Beeson 15
+ Hon. Daniel Sturgeon 16
+ Hon. Andrew Stewart 47
+ Old Toll House 53
+ Iron Bridge over Dunlap's Creek 95
+ Hon. T. M. T. McKennan 107
+ Road Wagon 109
+ John Thompson 111
+ Daniel Barcus 112
+ Henry Clay Rush 114
+ Harrison Wiggins 116
+ John Marker 118
+ Ellis B. Woodward 119
+ John Deets 121
+ John Snider 122
+ William Hall 124
+ John Wallace 126
+ Alfred Bailes 129
+ German D. Hair 130
+ Ashael Willison 135
+ Jacob Newcomer 137
+ John Ferren 138
+ Morris Mauler 140
+ James Smith, of Henry 144
+ Stage Coach 146
+ William Whaley 151
+ Redding Bunting 152
+ John Bunting 156
+ Samuel Luman 158
+ Joseph Whisson 162
+ Maj. William A. Donaldson 165
+ William G. Beck 168
+ Henry Farwell 171
+ The Narrows 176
+ Hanson Willison 178
+ Matt. Davis 180
+ John McIlree 182
+ L. W. Stockton 185
+ James Reeside 186
+ William H. Stelle 189
+ John Kelso 204
+ David Mahaney 210
+ John Risler 215
+ The Temple of Juno 217
+ The Endsley House 218
+ The Big Crossings 220
+ Daniel Collier 222
+ Sebastian Rush 225
+ Ruins of John Rush House 226
+ Hon. Samuel Shipley 229
+ Stone House, Darlington's 230
+ James Snyder 232
+ Gen. Ephraim Douglass 235
+ Aaron Wyatt 239
+ The Brownfield House 240
+ Col. Samuel Elder 242
+ The Searight House 245
+ Joseph Gray 247
+ William Shaw 248
+ Abel Colley 250
+ Hon. William Hatfield 252
+ The Johnson-Hatfield House 254
+ The Workman House 256
+ Bridge over the Monongahela 259
+ Old Tavern at Malden 261
+ William Greenfield 263
+ Charles Guttery 265
+ Billy Robinson 267
+ Daniel Ward 268
+ John W. McDowell 270
+ S. B. Hayes 279
+ George T. Hammond 281
+ The Rankin House 283
+ The Miller House 284
+ The "S" Bridge 286
+ David Bell 288
+ Joseph F. Mayes 291
+ Mrs. Sarah Beck 292
+ Col. Moses Shepherd 294
+ Mrs. Lydia Shepherd 295
+ John McCortney 296
+ Bridge over Whitewater River 308
+ Gen. George W. Cass 311
+ William Searight 313
+ William Hopkins 315
+ Daniel Steenrod 320
+ W. M. F. Magraw 327
+ "Crazy Billy" 333
+ German D. Hair House 353
+ Dr. Hugh Campbell 354
+ The Big Water-Trough on Laurel Hill 356
+
+[Illustration: STAGE HOUSE AND STABLES AT MT. WASHINGTON.]
+
+
+
+
+THE OLD PIKE.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+ _Inception of the Road--Author's Motive in Writing its History--No
+ History of the Appian Way--A Popular Error Corrected--Henry Clay,
+ Andrew Stewart, T. M. T. McKennan, Gen. Beeson, Lewis Steenrod and
+ Daniel Sturgeon--Their Services in Behalf of the Road--Braddock's
+ Road--Business and Grandeur of the Road--Old and Odd
+ Names--Taverns--No Beer on the Road--Definition of Turnpike--An Old
+ Legal Battle._
+
+
+The road which forms the subject of this volume, is the only highway of
+its kind ever wholly constructed by the government of the United States.
+When Congress first met after the achievement of Independence and the
+adoption of the Federal Constitution, the lack of good roads was much
+commented upon by our statesmen and citizens generally, and various
+schemes suggested to meet the manifest want. But, it was not until the
+year 1806, when Jefferson was President, that the proposition for a
+National Road took practical shape. The first step, as will hereinafter
+be seen, was the appointment of commissioners to lay out the road, with
+an appropriation of money to meet the consequent expense. The author of
+this work was born and reared on the line of the road, and has spent his
+whole life amid scenes connected with it. He saw it in the zenith of its
+glory, and with emotions of sadness witnessed its decline. It was a
+highway at once so grand and imposing, an artery so largely instrumental
+in promoting the early growth and development of our country's wonderful
+resources, so influential in strengthening the bonds of the American
+Union, and at the same time so replete with important events and
+interesting incidents, that the writer of these pages has long cherished
+a hope that some capable hand would write its history and collect and
+preserve its legends, and no one having come forward to perform the
+task, he has ventured upon it himself, with unaffected diffidence and a
+full knowledge of his inability to do justice to the subject.
+
+It is not a little singular that no connected history of the renowned
+Appian Way can be found in our libraries. Glimpses of its existence and
+importance are seen in the New Testament and in some old volumes of
+classic lore, but an accurate and complete history of its inception,
+purpose, construction and development, with the incidents, accidents and
+anecdotes, which of necessity were connected with it, seems never to
+have been written. This should not be said of the great National Road of
+the United States of America. The Appian Way has been called the Queen
+of Roads. We claim for our National highway that it _was_ the King of
+Roads.
+
+Tradition, cheerfully acquiesced in by popular thought, attributes to
+Henry Clay the conception of the National Road, but this seems to be
+error. The Hon. Andrew Stewart, in a speech delivered in Congress,
+January 27th, 1829, asserted that "Mr. Gallatin was the very first man
+that ever suggested the plan for making the Cumberland Road." As this
+assertion was allowed to go unchallenged, it must be accepted as true,
+however strongly and strangely it conflicts with the popular belief
+before stated. The reader will bear in mind that the National Road and
+the Cumberland Road are one and the same. The road as constructed by
+authority of Congress, begins at the city of Cumberland, in the State of
+Maryland, and this is the origin of the name Cumberland Road. All the
+acts of Congress and of the legislatures of the States through which the
+road passes, and they are numerous, refer to it as the Cumberland Road.
+The connecting link between Cumberland and the city of Baltimore is a
+road much older than the Cumberland Road, constructed and owned by
+associations of individuals, and the two together constitute the
+National Road.
+
+While it appears from the authority quoted that Henry Clay was not the
+planner of the National Road, he was undoubtedly its ablest and most
+conspicuous champion. In Mallory's Life of Clay it is stated that "he
+advocated the policy of carrying forward the construction of the
+Cumberland Road as rapidly as possible," and with what earnestness,
+continues his biographer, "we may learn from his own language, declaring
+that he had to _beg_, _entreat_ and _supplicate_ Congress, session after
+session, to grant the necessary appropriations to complete the road."
+Mr. Clay said, "I have myself toiled until my powers have been exhausted
+and prostrated to prevail on you to make the grant." No wonder Mr. Clay
+was a popular favorite along the whole line of the road. At a public
+dinner tendered him by the mechanics of Wheeling, he spoke of "the great
+interest the road had awakened in his breast, and expressed an ardent
+desire that it might be prosecuted to a speedy completion." Among other
+things he said that "a few years since he and his family had employed
+the whole or greater part of a day in traveling the distance of about
+nine miles from Uniontown to Freeman's,[A] on Laurel Hill, which now,
+since the construction of the road over the mountains, could be
+accomplished, together with seventy more in the same time," and that
+"the road was so important to the maintenance of our Union that he
+would not consent to give it up to the keeping of the several States
+through which it passed."
+
+ [Footnote A: Benjamin Freeman kept a tavern on the old Braddock
+ Road, a short distance south of Mt. Washington.
+ Locating his house on Laurel Hill, was an error of
+ Mr. Clay, but of little consequence, and readily
+ made under the circumstances. A monument was
+ erected, and is still standing, on the roadside near
+ Wheeling, commemorative of the services of Mr. Clay
+ in behalf of the road.]
+
+[Illustration: GEN. HENRY W. BEESON.]
+
+Hon. Andrew Stewart, of Uniontown, who served many years in Congress,
+beginning with 1820, was, next to Mr. Clay, the most widely known and
+influential congressional friend of the road, and in earnestness and
+persistency in this behalf, not excelled even by Mr. Clay. Hon. T. M. T.
+McKennan, an old congressman of Washington, Pennsylvania, was likewise a
+staunch friend of the road, carefully guarding its interests and
+pressing its claims upon the favorable consideration of Congress. Gen.
+Henry W. Beeson, of Uniontown, who represented the Fayette and Greene
+district of Pennsylvania in Congress in the forties, was an indomitable
+friend of the road. He stoutly opposed the extension of the Baltimore
+and Ohio railroad west of Cumberland, through Pennsylvania, and was
+thoroughly sustained by his constituents. In one of his characteristic
+speeches on the subject, he furnished a careful estimate of the number
+of horse-shoes made by the blacksmiths along the road, the number of
+nails required to fasten them to the horses' feet, the number of bushels
+of grain and tons of hay furnished by the farmers to the tavern keepers,
+the vast quantity of chickens, turkeys, eggs and butter that found a
+ready market on the line, and other like statistical information going
+to show that the National Road would better subserve the public weal
+than a steam railroad. This view at the time, and in the locality
+affected, was regarded as correct, which serves as an illustration of
+the change that takes place in public sentiment, as the wheels of time
+revolve and the ingenuity of man expands. Lewis Steenrod, of the
+Wheeling district, was likewise an able and influential congressional
+friend of the road. He was the son of Daniel Steenrod, an old
+tavernkeeper on the road, near Wheeling; and the Cumberland, Maryland,
+district always sent men to Congress who favored the preservation and
+maintenance of the road. Hon. Daniel Sturgeon, who served as a senator
+of the United States for the State of Pennsylvania from 1840 to 1852,
+was also an undeviating and influential friend of the road. He gave
+unremitting attention and untiring support to every measure brought
+before the Senate during his long and honorable service in that body,
+designed to make for the road's prosperity, and preserve and maintain it
+as the nation's great highway. His home was in Uniontown, on the line of
+the road, and he was thoroughly identified with it alike in sentiment
+and interest. He was not a showy statesman, but the possessor of
+incorruptible integrity and wielded an influence not beneath that of any
+of his compeers, among whom were that renowned trio of Senators, Clay,
+Webster and Calhoun.
+
+Frequent references will be made in these pages to the Old Braddock
+Road, but it is not the purpose of the writer to go into the history of
+that ancient highway. This volume is devoted exclusively to the National
+Road. We think it pertinent, however, to remark that Braddock's Road
+would have been more appropriately named Washington's Road. Washington
+passed over it in command of a detachment of Virginia troops more than a
+year before Braddock ever saw it. Mr. Veech, the eminent local
+historian, says that Braddock's Road and Nemicolon's Indian trail are
+identical, so that Nemicolon, the Indian, would seem to have a higher
+claim to the honor of giving name to this old road than General
+Braddock. However, time, usage and common consent unite in calling it
+Braddock's Road, and, as a rule, we hold it to be very unwise, not to
+say downright foolishness, to undertake to change old and familiar
+names. It is difficult to do, and ought not to be done.
+
+From the time it was thrown open to the public, in the year 1818, until
+the coming of railroads west of the Allegheny mountains, in 1852, the
+National Road was the one great highway, over which passed the bulk of
+trade and travel, and the mails between the East and the West. Its
+numerous and stately stone bridges with handsomely turned arches, its
+iron mile posts and its old iron gates, attest the skill of the workmen
+engaged on its construction, and to this day remain enduring monuments
+of its grandeur and solidity, all save the imposing iron gates, which
+have disappeared by process of conversion prompted by some utilitarian
+idea, savoring in no little measure of sacrilege. Many of the most
+illustrious statesmen and heroes of the early period of our national
+existence passed over the National Road from their homes to the capital
+and back, at the opening and closing of the sessions of Congress.
+Jackson, Harrison, Clay, Sam Houston, Polk, Taylor, Crittenden, Shelby,
+Allen, Scott, Butler, the eccentric Davy Crockett, and many of their
+contemporaries in public service, were familiar figures in the eyes of
+the dwellers by the roadside. The writer of these pages frequently saw
+these distinguished men on their passage over the road, and remembers
+with no little pride the incident of shaking hands with General Jackson,
+as he sat in his carriage on the wagon-yard of an old tavern. A coach,
+in which Mr. Clay was proceeding to Washington, was upset on a pile of
+limestone, in the main street of Uniontown, a few moments after supper
+at the McClelland house. Sam Sibley was the driver of that coach, and
+had his nose broken by the accident. Mr. Clay was unhurt, and upon being
+extricated from the grounded coach, facetiously remarked that: "This is
+mixing the Clay of Kentucky with the limestone of Pennsylvania."
+
+As many as twenty-four horse coaches have been counted in line at one
+time on the road, and large, broad-wheeled wagons, covered with white
+canvass stretched over bows, laden with merchandise and drawn by six
+Conestoga horses, were visible all the day long at every point, and many
+times until late in the evening, besides innumerable caravans of horses,
+mules, cattle, hogs and sheep. It looked more like the leading avenue of
+a great city than a road through rural districts.
+
+[Illustration: HON. DANIEL STURGEON.]
+
+The road had a peculiar nomenclature, familiar to the tens of thousands
+who traveled over it in its palmy days. The names, for example, applied
+to particular localities on the line, are of striking import, and
+blend harmoniously with the unique history of the road. With these names
+omitted, the road would be robbed of much that adds interest to its
+history. Among the best remembered of these are, The Shades of Death,
+The Narrows, Piney Grove, Big Crossings, Negro Mountain, Keyser's Ridge,
+Woodcock Hill, Chalk Hill, Big Savage, Little Savage, Snake Hill, Laurel
+Hill, The Turkey's Nest, Egg Nog Hill, Coon Island and Wheeling Hill.
+Rich memories cluster around every one of these names, and old wagoners
+and stage drivers delight to linger over the scenes they bring to mind.
+
+The road was justly renowned for the great number and excellence of its
+inns or taverns. On the mountain division, every mile had its tavern.
+Here one could be seen perched on some elevated site, near the roadside,
+and there another, sheltered behind a clump of trees, many of them with
+inviting seats for idlers, and all with cheerful fronts toward the weary
+traveler. The sign-boards were elevated upon high and heavy posts, and
+their golden letters winking in the sun, ogled the wayfarer from the hot
+road-bed and gave promise of good cheer, while the big trough,
+overflowing with clear, fresh water, and the ground below it sprinkled
+with droppings of fragrant peppermint, lent a charm to the scene that
+was well nigh enchanting.
+
+The great majority of the taverns were called wagon stands, because
+their patrons were largely made up of wagoners, and each provided with
+grounds called the wagon-yard, whereon teams were driven to feed, and
+rest over night. The very best of entertainment was furnished at these
+wagon stands. The taverns whereat stage horses were kept and exchanged,
+and stage passengers took meals, were called "stage houses," located at
+intervals of about twelve miles, as nearly as practicable.
+
+The beer of the present day was unknown, or if known, unused on the
+National Road during the era of its prosperity. Ale was used in limited
+quantities, but was not a favorite drink. Whisky was the leading
+beverage, and it was plentiful and cheap. The price of a drink of whisky
+was three cents, except at the stage houses, where by reason of an
+assumption of aristocracy the price was five cents. The whisky of that
+day is said to have been pure, and many persons of unquestioned
+respectability affirm with much earnestness that it never produced
+delirium tremens. The current coin of the road was the big copper cent
+of United States coinage, the "fippenny bit," Spanish, of the value of
+six and one-fourth cents, called for brevity a "fip," the "levy,"
+Spanish, of the value of twelve and a half cents, the quarter, the half
+dollar, and the dollar. The Mexican and Spanish milled dollar were
+oftener seen than the United States dollar. The silver five-cent piece
+and the dime of the United States coinage were seen occasionally, but
+not so much used as the "fip" and the "levy." In times of stringency,
+the stage companies issued scrip in denominations ranging from five
+cents to a dollar, which passed readily as money. The scrip was similar
+to the postal currency of the war period, lacking only in the artistic
+skill displayed in the engraving of the latter. A hungry traveler could
+obtain a substantial meal at an old wagon stand tavern for a "levy," and
+two drinks of whisky for a "fippenny bit." The morning bill of a wagoner
+with a six-horse team did not exceed one dollar and seventy-five cents,
+which included grain and hay for the horses, meals for the driver, and
+all the drinks he saw proper to take.
+
+The National Road is not in a literal sense a turnpike. A turnpike, in
+the original meaning of the word, is a road upon which pikes were placed
+to turn travelers thereon through gates, to prevent them from evading
+the payment of toll. Pikes were not used, or needed on the National
+Road. It was always kept in good condition, and travelers thereon, as a
+rule, paid the required toll without complaining. At distances of
+fifteen miles, on the average, houses were erected for toll collectors
+to dwell in, and strong iron gates, hung to massive iron posts, were
+established to enforce the payment of toll in cases of necessity. These
+toll houses were of uniform size, angular and round, west of the
+mountains constructed of brick, and through the mountains, of stone,
+except the one six miles west of Cumberland, which is of brick. They are
+all standing on their old sites at this date (1893), except the one that
+stood near Mt. Washington, and the one that stood near the eastern base
+of Big Savage Mountain. At the last mentioned point, the old iron gate
+posts are still standing, firmly rooted in their original foundations,
+and plastered all over with advertisements of Frostburg's business
+houses, but the old house and the old gates have gone out of sight
+forever.
+
+It is curious to note how the word turnpike has been perverted from its
+literal meaning by popular usage. The common idea is that a turnpike is
+a road made of stone, and that the use of stone is that alone which
+makes it a turnpike. The common phrase, "piking a road," conveys the
+idea of putting stones on it, whereas in fact, there is no connection
+between a stone and a pike, and a road might be a turnpike without a
+single stone upon it. It is the contrivance to turn travelers through
+gates, before mentioned, that makes a turnpike. We recall but one
+instance of a refusal to pay toll for passing over the National Road,
+and that was a remarkable one. It grew out of a misconception of the
+scope of the act of Congress, providing for the exemption from toll of
+carriages conveying the United States mails. The National Road Stage
+Company, commonly called the "Old Line," of which Lucius W. Stockton was
+the controlling spirit, was a contractor for carrying the mails, and
+conceived the idea that by placing a mail pouch in every one of its
+passenger coaches it could evade the payment of toll. Stage companies
+did not pay toll to the collectors at the gates, like ordinary
+travelers, but at stated periods to the Road Commissioner. At the time
+referred to, William Searight, father of the writer, was the
+commissioner in charge of the entire line of the road through the state
+of Pennsylvania, and it was fifty years ago. Upon presenting his account
+to Mr. Stockton, who lived at Uniontown, for accumulated tolls, that
+gentleman refused payment on the ground that all his coaches carried the
+mail, and were therefore exempt from toll. The commissioner was of
+opinion that the act of Congress could not be justly construed to cover
+so broad a claim, and notified Mr. Stockton that if the toll was not
+paid the gates would be closed against his coaches. Mr. Stockton was a
+resolute as well as an enterprising man, and persisted in his position,
+whereupon an order was given to close the gates against the passage of
+his coaches until the legal toll was paid. The writer was present,
+though a boy, at an execution of this order at the gate five miles west
+of Uniontown. It was in the morning. The coaches came along at the usual
+time and the gates were securely closed against them. The commissioner
+superintended the act in person, and a large number of people from the
+neighborhood attended to witness the scene, anticipating tumult and
+violence, as to which they were happily disappointed. The drivers
+accepted the situation with good nature, but the passengers, impatient
+to proceed, after learning the cause of the halt, paid the toll,
+whereupon the gates were thrown open, and the coaches sped on. For a
+considerable time after this occurrence an agent was placed on the
+coaches to pay the toll at the gates. Mr. Stockton instituted
+prosecutions against the commissioner for obstructing the passage of the
+United States mails, which were not pressed to trial, but the main
+contention was carried to the Supreme Court of the United States for
+adjudication on a case stated, and Mr. Stockton's broad claim was
+denied, the court of last resort holding that "the exemption from tolls
+did not apply to any other property (than the mails) conveyed in the
+same vehicle, nor to any persons traveling in it, unless he was in the
+service of the United States and passing along the road in pursuance of
+orders from the proper authority; and further, that the exemption could
+not be claimed for more carriages than were necessary for the safe,
+speedy and convenient conveyance of the mail." This case is reported in
+full in 3d Howard U. S. Reports, page 151 _et seq._, including the full
+text of Chief Justice Taney's opinion, and elaborate dissenting opinions
+by Justices McClean and Daniel. The attorneys for the road in this
+controversy were Hon. Robert P. Flenniken and Hon. James Veech of
+Uniontown, and Hon. Robert J. Walker of Mississippi, who was Secretary
+of the Treasury in the cabinet of President Polk. After this decision,
+and by reason of it, the Legislature of Pennsylvania enacted the law of
+April 14th, 1845, still in force, authorizing the collection of tolls
+from passengers traveling in coaches which at the same time carried the
+mail.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+ _Origin of the Fund for Making the Road.--Acts for the Admission of
+ Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri--Report of a Committee of
+ Congress as to the Manner of Applying the Ohio Fund--Distances from
+ Important Eastern Cities to the Ohio River--The Richmond Route
+ Postponed--The Spirit and Perseverance of Pennsylvania--Maryland,
+ "My Maryland," not behind Pennsylvania--Wheeling the Objective
+ Point--Brownsville a Prominent Point--Rivers tend to Union,
+ Mountains to Disunion._
+
+
+Act of April 30, 1802, for the admission of Ohio, provides that
+one-twentieth part of the net proceeds of the lands lying within the
+said State sold by Congress, from and after the 30th of June next, after
+deducting all expenses incident to the same, shall be applied to laying
+out and making public roads leading from navigable waters emptying into
+the Atlantic to the Ohio, to the said State and through the same, such
+roads to be laid out under the authority of Congress, with the consent
+of the several States through which the road shall pass.
+
+Act of April 19, 1816, for the admission of Indiana, provides that five
+per cent. of the net proceeds of lands lying within the said territory,
+and which shall be sold by Congress from and after the first day of
+December next, after deducting all expenses incident to the same, shall
+be reserved for making public roads and canals, of which three-fifths
+shall be applied to those objects within the said State under the
+direction of the Legislature thereof, and two-fifths to the making of a
+road or roads leading to the said State under the direction of Congress.
+
+Act of April 18, 1818, for the admission of Illinois, provides that five
+per cent. of the net proceeds of the lands lying within the said State,
+and which shall be sold by Congress from and after the first day of
+January, 1819, after deducting all expenses incident to the same, shall
+be reserved for the purposes following, viz: Two-fifths to be disbursed
+under the direction of Congress in making roads leading to the State,
+the residue to be appropriated by the Legislature of the State for the
+encouragement of learning, of which one-sixth part shall be exclusively
+bestowed on a college or university.
+
+Act of March 6, 1820, admitting Missouri, provides that five per cent.
+of the net proceeds of the sale of lands lying within the said Territory
+or State, and which shall be sold by Congress from and after the first
+day of January next, after deducting all expenses incident to the same,
+shall be reserved for making public roads and canals, of which
+three-fifths shall be applied to those objects within the State under
+the direction of the Legislature thereof, and the other two-fifths in
+defraying, under the direction of Congress, the expenses to be incurred
+in making a road or roads, canal or canals, leading to the said State.
+
+
+ No. 195.
+
+ NINTH CONGRESS--FIRST SESSION.
+
+ CUMBERLAND ROAD.
+
+ Communicated to the Senate December 19, 1805.
+
+Mr. Tracy, from the committee to whom was referred the examination of
+the act entitled, "An act to enable the people of the eastern division
+of the territory northwest of the river Ohio to form a Constitution and
+State Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on
+an equal footing with the original States, and for other purposes;" and
+to report the manner in which, in their opinion, the money appropriated
+by said act ought to be applied, made the following report:
+
+That, upon examination of the act aforesaid, they find "the
+one-twentieth part, or five per cent., of the net proceeds of the lands
+lying within the State of Ohio, and sold by Congress from and after the
+30th day of June, 1802, is appropriated for the laying out and making
+public roads leading from the navigable waters emptying into the
+Atlantic to the river Ohio, to said State, and through the same; such
+roads to be laid out under the authority of Congress, with the consent
+of the several States through which the road shall pass."
+
+They find that by a subsequent law, passed on the 3d day of March, 1803,
+Congress appropriated three per cent. of the said five per cent. to
+laying out and making roads _within_ the State of Ohio, leaving two per
+cent. of the appropriation contained in the first mentioned law
+unexpended, which now remains for "_the laying out, and making roads
+from the navigable waters emptying into the Atlantic to the river Ohio,
+to said State_."
+
+They find that the net proceeds of sales of land in the State of Ohio,
+
+ From 1st July, 1802, to June 30, 1803, both inclusive, were $124,400 92
+ From 1st July, 1803, to June 30, 1804 176,203 35
+ From 1st July, 1804, to June 30, 1805 266,000 00
+ From 1st July, 1805, to Sept. 30, 1805 66,000 00
+ -----------
+ Amounting, in the whole, to $632,604 27
+
+Two per cent. on which sum amounts to $12,652. Twelve thousand six
+hundred and fifty-two dollars were, therefore, on the 1st day of October
+last, subject to the uses directed by law, as mentioned in this report;
+and it will be discerned that the fund is constantly accumulating, and
+will, probably, by the time regular preparations can be made for its
+expenditure, amount to eighteen or twenty thousand dollars. The
+committee have examined, as far as their limited time and the scanty
+sources of facts within their reach would permit, the various routes
+which have been contemplated for laying out roads pursuant to the
+provisions of the act first mentioned in this report.
+
+They find that the distance from Philadelphia to Pittsburg is 314 miles
+by the usual route, and on a straight line about 270.
+
+From Philadelphia to the nearest point on the river Ohio, contiguous to
+the State of Ohio, which is probably between Steubenville and the mouth
+of Grave creek, the distance by the usual route is 360 miles, and on a
+straight line about 308.
+
+From Baltimore to the river Ohio, between the same points, and by the
+usual route, is 275 miles, and on a straight line 224.
+
+From this city (Washington) to the same points on the river Ohio, the
+distance is nearly the same as from Baltimore; probably the difference
+is not a plurality of miles.
+
+From Richmond, in Virginia, to the nearest point on the river Ohio, the
+distance by the usual route is 377 miles; but new roads are opening
+which will shorten the distance fifty or sixty miles; 247 miles of the
+contemplated road, from Richmond northwesterly, will be as good as the
+roads usually are in that country, but the remaining seventy or eighty
+miles are bad, for the present, and probably will remain so for a length
+of time, as there seems to be no existing inducement for the State of
+Virginia to incur the expense of making that part of the road passable.
+
+From Baltimore to the Monongahela river, where the route from Baltimore
+to the Ohio river will intersect it, the distance as usually traveled is
+218 miles, and on a straight line about 184. From this point, which is
+at or near Brownsville, boats can pass down, with great facility, to the
+State of Ohio, during a number of months in every year.
+
+The above distances are not all stated from actual mensuration, but it
+is believed they are sufficiently correct for the present purpose.
+
+The committee have not examined any routes northward of that leading
+from Philadelphia to the river Ohio, nor southward of that leading from
+Richmond, because they suppose the roads to be laid out must strike the
+river Ohio on some point contiguous to the State of Ohio, in order to
+satisfy the words of the law making the appropriation; the words are:
+"Leading from the navigable waters emptying into the Atlantic, to the
+river Ohio, to the said State, and through the same."
+
+The mercantile intercourse of the citizens of Ohio with those of the
+Atlantic States is chiefly in Philadelphia and Baltimore; not very
+extensive in the towns on the Potomac, within the District of Columbia,
+and still less with Richmond, in Virginia. At present, the greatest
+portion of their trade is with Philadelphia; but it is believed their
+trade is rapidly increasing with Baltimore, owing to the difference of
+distance in favor of Baltimore, and to the advantage of boating down the
+Monongahela river, from the point where the road strikes it, about 70
+miles by water, and 50 by land, above Pittsburg.
+
+The sum appropriated for laying out and making roads is so small that
+the committee have thought it most expedient to direct an expenditure to
+one route only. They have therefore endeavored to fix on that which, for
+the present, will be most accommodating to the citizens of the State of
+Ohio; leaving to the future benevolence and policy of congress, an
+extension of their operations on this or other routes, and an increase
+of the requisite fund, as the discoveries of experience may point out
+their expediency and necessity. The committee being fully convinced that
+a wise government can never lose sight of an object so important as that
+of connecting a numerous and rapidly increasing population, spread upon
+a fertile and extensive territory, with the Atlantic States, now
+separated from them by mountains, which, by industry and an expense
+moderate in comparison with the advantages, can be rendered passable.
+
+The route from Richmond must necessarily approach the State of Ohio in a
+part thinly inhabited, and which, from the nature of the soil and other
+circumstances, must remain so, at least for a considerable time; and,
+from the hilly and rough condition of the country, no roads are or can
+be conveniently made, leading to the principal population of the State
+of Ohio.
+
+These considerations have induced the committee to postpone, for the
+present, any further consideration of that route.
+
+The spirit and perseverance of Pennsylvania are such, in the matter of
+road making, that no doubt can remain but they will, in a little time,
+complete a road from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, as good as the nature of
+the ground will permit. They are so particularly interested to
+facilitate the intercourse between their trading capital, Philadelphia,
+not only to Pittsburg, but also to the extensive country within that
+State, on the western waters, that they will, of course, surmount the
+difficulties presented by the Allegheny mountain, Chestnut Ridge and
+Laurel Hill, the three great and almost exclusive impediments which now
+exist on that route.
+
+The State of Maryland, with no less spirit and perseverance, are engaged
+in making roads from Baltimore and from the western boundary of the
+District of Columbia, through Fredericktown, to Williamsport. Were the
+Government of the United States to direct the expenditure of the fund in
+contemplation upon either of these routes, for the present, in
+Pennsylvania or Maryland, it would, probably, so far interfere with the
+operations of the respective States, as to produce mischief instead of
+benefit; especially as the sum to be laid out by the United States is
+too inconsiderable, alone, to effect objects of such magnitude. But as
+the State of Maryland have no particular interest to extend their road
+across the mountains (and if they had it would be impracticable, because
+the State does not extend so far), the committee have thought it
+expedient to recommend the laying out and making a road from Cumberland,
+on the northerly bank of the Potomac, and within the State of Maryland,
+to the river Ohio, at the most convenient place between a point on the
+easterly bank of said river, opposite to Steubenville, and the mouth of
+Grave creek, which empties into said river Ohio a little below Wheeling,
+in Virginia. This route will meet and accommodate the roads leading from
+Baltimore and the District of Columbia; it will cross the Monongahela
+river, at or near Brownsville, sometimes called Redstone, where the
+advantage of boating can be taken; and from the point where it will
+probably intersect the river Ohio, there are now roads, or they can
+easily be made over feasible and proper ground, to and through the
+principal population of the State of Ohio.
+
+Cumberland is situated at the eastern foot of the Allegheny mountains,
+about eighty miles from Williamsport, by the usual route, which is
+circuitous, owing to a large bend in the river Potomac, on the bank of
+which the road now runs, the distance on a straight line is not more
+than fifty or fifty-five miles, and over tolerable ground for a road,
+which will probably be opened by the State of Maryland, should the route
+be established over the mountains, as contemplated by this report.
+
+From Cumberland to the western extremity of Laurel Hill, by the route
+now travelled, the distance is sixty-six miles, and on a straight line
+about fifty-five; on this part of the route, the committee suppose the
+first and very considerable expenditures are specially necessary. From
+Laurel Hill to the Ohio river, by the usual route, is about seventy
+miles, and on a straight line fifty-four or five; the road is tolerable,
+though capable of amelioration.
+
+To carry into effect the principles arising from the foregoing facts,
+the committee present herewith a bill for the consideration of the
+Senate. They suppose that to take the proper measures for carrying into
+effect the section of the law respecting a road or roads to the State of
+Ohio, is a duty imposed upon Congress by the law itself, and that a
+sense of duty will always be sufficient to insure the passage of the
+bill now offered to the Senate. To enlarge upon the highly important
+considerations of cementing the union of our citizens located on the
+Western waters with those of the Atlantic States, would be an indelicacy
+offered to the understandings of the body to whom this report is
+addressed, as it might seem to distrust them. But from the interesting
+nature of the subject, the committee are induced to ask the indulgence
+of a single observation: Politicians have generally agreed that rivers
+unite the interests and promote the friendship of those who inhabit
+their banks; while mountains, on the contrary, tend to the disunion and
+estrangement of those who are separated by their intervention. In the
+present case, to make the crooked ways straight, and the rough ways
+smooth will, in effect, remove the intervening mountains, and by
+facilitating the intercourse of our Western brethren with those on the
+Atlantic, substantially unite them in interest, which, the committee
+believe, is the most effectual cement of union applicable to the human
+race.
+
+All which is most respectfully submitted.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+_The Act of Congress Authorizing the Laying Out and Making of the Road._
+
+
+ An Act to Regulate the Laying Out and Making a Road from Cumberland,
+ in the State of Maryland, to the State of Ohio.
+
+_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
+States of America in Congress assembled_, That the President of the
+United States be, and he is hereby authorized to appoint, by and with
+the advice and consent of the Senate, three discreet and disinterested
+citizens of the United States, to lay out a road from Cumberland, or a
+point on the northern bank of the river Potomac, in the State of
+Maryland, between Cumberland and the place where the main road leading
+from Gwynn's to Winchester, in Virginia, crosses the river, to the State
+of Ohio; whose duty it shall be, as soon as may be, after their
+appointment, to repair to Cumberland aforesaid, and view the ground,
+from the points on the river Potomac hereinbefore designated, to the
+river Ohio; and to lay out in such direction as they shall judge, under
+all circumstances the most proper, a road from thence to the river Ohio,
+to strike the same at the most convenient place, between a point on its
+eastern bank, opposite the northern boundary of Steubenville, in said
+State of Ohio, and the mouth of Grave creek, which empties into the said
+river a little below Wheeling, in Virginia.
+
+SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the aforesaid road shall be
+laid out four rods in width, and designated on each side by a plain and
+distinguishable mark on a tree, or by the erection of a stake or
+monument sufficiently conspicuous, in every quarter of a mile of the
+distance at least, where the road pursues a straight course so far or
+farther, and on each side, at every point where an angle occurs in its
+course.
+
+SEC. 3. _And be it further enacted_, That the commissioners shall, as
+soon as may be, after they have laid out said road, as aforesaid,
+present to the President an accurate plan of the same, with its several
+courses and distances, accompanied by a written report of their
+proceedings, describing the marks and monuments by which the road is
+designated, and the face of the country over which it passes, and
+pointing out the particular parts which they shall judge require the
+most and immediate attention and amelioration, and the probable expense
+of making the same passable in the most difficult parts, and through the
+whole distance; designating the State or States through which said road
+has been laid out, and the length of the several parts which are laid
+out on new ground, as well as the length of those parts laid out on the
+road now traveled. Which report the President is hereby authorized to
+accept or reject, in the whole or in part. If he accepts, he is hereby
+further authorized and requested to pursue such measures, as in his
+opinion shall be proper, to obtain consent for making the road, of the
+State or States through which the same has been laid out. Which consent
+being obtained, he is further authorized to take prompt and effectual
+measures to cause said road to be made through the whole distance, or in
+any part or parts of the same as he shall judge most conducive to the
+public good, having reference to the sum appropriated for the purpose.
+
+SEC. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That all parts of the road which
+the President shall direct to be made, in case the trees are standing,
+shall be cleared the whole width of four rods; and the road shall be
+raised in the middle of the carriageway with stone, earth, or gravel and
+sand, or a combination of some or all of them, leaving or making, as the
+case may be, a ditch or water course on each side and contiguous to said
+carriageway, and in no instance shall there be an elevation in said
+road, when finished, greater than an angle of five degrees with the
+horizon. But the manner of making said road, in every other particular,
+is left to the direction of the President.
+
+SEC. 5. _And be it further enacted_, That said Commissioners shall each
+receive four dollars per day, while employed as aforesaid, in full for
+their compensation, including all expenses. And they are hereby
+authorized to employ one surveyor, two chainmen and one marker, for
+whose faithfulness and accuracy they, the said Commissioners, shall be
+responsible, to attend them in laying out said road, who shall receive
+in full satisfaction for their wages, including all expenses, the
+surveyor three dollars per day, and each chainman and the marker one
+dollar per day, while they shall be employed in said business, of which
+fact a certificate signed by said commissioners shall be deemed
+sufficient evidence.
+
+SEC. 6. _And be it further enacted_, That the sum of thirty thousand
+dollars be, and the same is hereby appropriated, to defray the expense
+of laying out and making said road. And the President is hereby
+authorized to draw, from time to time, on the treasury for such parts,
+or at any one time, for the whole of said sum, as he shall judge the
+service requires. Which sum of thirty thousand dollars shall be paid,
+first, out of the fund of two per cent, reserved for laying out and
+making roads _to_ the State of Ohio, by virtue of the seventh section of
+an act passed on the thirtieth day of April, one thousand eight hundred
+and two, entitled, "An act to enable the people of the eastern division
+of the territory northwest of the river Ohio to form a constitution and
+State government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on
+an equal footing with the original States, and for other purposes."
+Three per cent. of the appropriation contained in said seventh section
+being directed by a subsequent law to the laying out, opening and
+making roads _within_ the said State of Ohio; and secondly, out of any
+money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, chargeable upon, and
+reimbursable at the treasury by said fund of two per cent. as the same
+shall accrue.
+
+SEC. 7. _And be it further enacted_, That the President be, and he is
+hereby requested, to cause to be laid before Congress, as soon as
+convenience will permit, after the commencement of each session, a
+statement of the proceedings under this act, that Congress may be
+enabled to adopt such further measures as may from time to time be
+proper under existing circumstances.
+
+ _Approved, March 29, 1806._ TH. JEFFERSON.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, }
+ DEPARTMENT OF STATE.}
+
+_To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting_:
+
+I certify that hereto annexed is a true copy of an Act of Congress,
+approved March 29, 1806, the original of which is on file in this
+Department, entitled: "An Act to regulate the laying out and making a
+road from Cumberland, in the State of Maryland, to the State of Ohio."
+
+In testimony whereof, I, James G. Blaine, Secretary of State of the
+United States, have hereunto subscribed my name and caused the seal of
+the Department of State to be affixed.
+
+Done at the City of Washington, this seventh day of March, A. D. 1891,
+and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and
+fifteenth.
+
+ JAMES G. BLAINE.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+ _Special Message of President Jefferson--Communicating to Congress the
+ First Report of the Commissioners--They View the Whole
+ Ground--Solicitude of the Inhabitants--Points Considered--Cumberland
+ the First Point Located--Uniontown Left Out--Improvement of the
+ Youghiogheny--Distances--Connellsville a Promising Town--"A Well
+ Formed, Stone Capped Road"--Estimated Cost, $6,000 per Mile, exclusive
+ of Bridges._
+
+
+ No. 220.
+
+ NINTH CONGRESS--SECOND SESSION.
+
+ January 31, 1807.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+In execution of the act of the last session of Congress, entitled, "An
+act to regulate the laying out and making a road from Cumberland, in the
+State of Maryland, to the State of Ohio," I appointed Thomas Moore, of
+Maryland, Joseph Kerr, of Ohio, and Eli Williams, of Maryland,
+commissioners to lay out the said road, and to perform the other duties
+assigned to them by the act. The progress which they made in the
+execution of the work, during the last season, will appear in their
+report now communicated to Congress; on the receipt of it, I took
+measures to obtain consent for making the road of the States of
+Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, through which the commissioners
+propose to lay it out. I have received acts of the Legislatures of
+Maryland and Virginia, giving the consent desired; that of Pennsylvania
+has the subject still under consideration, as is supposed. Until I
+receive full consent to a free choice of route through the whole
+distance, I have thought it safest neither to accept nor reject,
+finally, the partial report of the commissioners.
+
+Some matters suggested in the report belong exclusively to the
+legislature.
+
+ TH. JEFFERSON.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The commissioners, acting by appointment under the law of Congress,
+entitled "An act to regulate the laying out and making a road from
+Cumberland, in the State of Maryland, to the State of Ohio," beg leave to
+report to the President of the United States, and to premise that the
+duties imposed by the law became a work of greater magnitude, and a task
+much more arduous, than was conceived before entering upon it; from
+which circumstance the commissioners did not allow themselves sufficient
+time for the performance of it before the severity of the weather
+obliged them to retire from it, which was the case in the first week of
+the present month (December). That, not having fully accomplished their
+work, they are unable fully to report a discharge of all the duties
+enjoined by the law; but as the most material and principal part has
+been performed, and as a communication of the progress already made may
+be useful and proper, during the present session of Congress, and of the
+Legislatures of those States through which the route passes, the
+commissioners respectfully state that at a very early period it was
+conceived that the maps of the country were not sufficiently accurate to
+afford a minute knowledge of the true courses between the extreme points
+on the rivers, by which the researches of the commissioners were to be
+governed; a survey for that purpose became indispensable, and
+considerations of public economy suggested the propriety of making this
+survey precede the personal attendance of the commissioners.
+
+Josias Thompson, a surveyor of professional merit, was taken into
+service and authorized to employ two chain carriers and a marker, as
+well as one vaneman, and a packhorse man and horse, on public account;
+the latter being indispensable and really beneficial in excelerating the
+work. The surveyors' instructions are contained in document No. 1,
+accompanying this report.
+
+Calculating on a reasonable time for the performance of the instructions
+to the surveyor, the commissioners, by correspondence, fixed on the
+first day of September last, for their meeting at Cumberland to proceed
+in the work; neither of them, however, reached that place until the
+third of that month, on which day they all met.
+
+The surveyor having, under his instructions, laid down a plat of his
+work, showing the meanders of the Potomac and Ohio rivers, within the
+limits prescribed for the commissioners, as also the road between those
+rivers, which is commonly traveled from Cumberland to Charleston, in
+part called Braddock's road; and the same being produced to the
+commissioners, whereby straight lines and their true courses were shown
+between the extreme points on each river, and the boundaries which limit
+the powers of the commissioners being thereby ascertained, serving as a
+basis whereon to proceed in the examination of the grounds and face of
+the country; the commissioners thus prepared commenced the business of
+exploring; and in this it was considered that a faithful discharge of
+the discretionary powers vested by the law made it necessary to view the
+whole to be able to judge of a preference due to any part of the
+grounds, which imposed a task of examining a space comprehending upwards
+of two thousand square miles; a task rendered still more incumbent by
+the solicitude and importunities of the inhabitants of every part of the
+district, who severally conceived their grounds entitled to a
+preference. It becoming necessary, in the interim, to run various lines
+of experiment for ascertaining the geographical position of several
+points entitled to attention, and the service suffering great delay for
+want of another surveyor, it was thought consistent with the public
+interest to employ, in that capacity, Arthur Rider, the vaneman, who had
+been chosen with qualification to meet such an emergency; and whose
+service as vaneman could then be dispensed with. He commenced, as
+surveyor, on the 22d day of September, and continued so at field work
+until the first day of December, when he was retained as a necessary
+assistant to the principal surveyor, in copying field notes and
+hastening the draught of the work to be reported.
+
+The proceedings of the commissioners are specially detailed in their
+general journal, compiled from the daily journal of each commissioner,
+to which they beg leave to refer, under mark No. 2.
+
+After a careful and critical examination of all the grounds within the
+limits prescribed, as well as the grounds and ways out from the Ohio
+westwardly, at several points, and examining the shoal parts of the Ohio
+river as detailed in the table of soundings, stated in their journal,
+and after gaining all the information, geographical, general and
+special, possible and necessary, toward a judicial discharge of the
+duties assigned them, the commissioners repaired to Cumberland to
+examine and compare their notes and journals, and determine upon the
+direction and location of their route.
+
+In this consultation the governing objects were:
+
+1st. Shortness of distance between navigable points on the eastern and
+western waters.
+
+2d. A point on the Monongahela best calculated to equalize the
+advantages of this portage in the country within reach of it.
+
+3d. A point on the Ohio river most capable of combining certainty of
+navigation with road accommodation; embracing, in this estimate, remote
+points westwardly, as well as present and probable population on the
+north and south.
+
+4th. Best mode of diffusing benefits with least distance of road.
+
+In contemplating these objects, due attention was paid as well to the
+comparative merits of towns, establishments, and settlements already
+made, as to the capacity of the country with the present and probable
+population.
+
+In the course of arrangement, and in its order, the first point located
+for the route was determined and fixed at Cumberland, a decision founded
+on propriety, and in some measure on necessity, from the circumstance of
+a high and difficult mountain, called Nobley, laying and confining the
+east margin of the Potomac so as to render it impossible of access on
+that side without immense expense, at any point between Cumberland and
+where the road from Winchester to Gwynn's crosses, and even there the
+Nobley mountain is crossed with much difficulty and hazard. And this
+upper point was taxed with another formidable objection; it was found
+that a high range of mountains, called Dan's, stretching across from
+Gwynn's to the Potomac, above this point, precluded the opportunity of
+extending a route from this point in a proper direction, and left no
+alternative but passing by Gwynn's; the distance from Cumberland to
+Gwynn's being upward of a mile less than from the upper point, which
+lies ten miles by water above Cumberland, the commissioners were not
+permitted to hesitate in preferring a point which shortens the portage,
+as well as the Potomac navigation.
+
+The point on the Potomac being viewed as a great repository of produce,
+which a good road will bring from the west of Laurel Hill, and the
+advantages which Cumberland, as a town, has in that respect over an
+unimproved place, are additional considerations operating forcibly in
+favor of the place preferred.
+
+In extending the route from Cumberland, a triple range of mountains,
+stretching across from Jenings' run in measure with Gwynn's, left only
+the alternative of laying the road up Will's creek for three miles,
+nearly at right angles with the true course, and then by way of Jenings'
+run, or extending it over a break in the smallest mountain, on a better
+course by Gwynn's, to the top of Savage mountain; the latter was
+adopted, being the shortest, and will be less expensive in hill-side
+digging over a sloped route than the former, requiring one bridge over
+Will's creek and several over Jenings' run, both very wide and
+considerable streams in high water; and a more weighty reason for
+preferring the route by Gwynn's is the great accommodation it will
+afford travelers from Winchester by the upper point, who could not reach
+the route by Jenings' run short of the top of Savage, which would
+withhold from them the benefit of an easy way up the mountain.
+
+It is, however, supposed that those who travel from Winchester by way of
+the upper point to Gwynn's, are in that respect more the dupes of common
+prejudice than judges of their own case, as it is believed the way will
+be as short, and on much better ground, to cross the Potomac below the
+confluence of the north and south branches (thereby crossing these
+two, as well as Patterson's creek, in one stream, equally fordable in the
+same season), than to pass through Cumberland to Gwynn's. Of these
+grounds, however, the commissioners do not speak from actual view, but
+consider it a subject well worthy of future investigation. Having gained
+the top of Allegany mountain, or rather the top of that part called
+Savage, by way of Gwynn's, the general route, as it respects the most
+important points, was determined as follows, viz.:
+
+From a stone at the corner of lot No. 1, in Cumberland, near the
+confluence of Will's creek and the north branch of the Potomac river;
+thence extending along the street westwardly, to cross the hill lying
+between Cumberland and Gwynn's, at the gap where Braddock's road passes
+it; thence near Gwynn's and Jesse Tomlinson's, to cross the big
+Youghiogheny near the mouth of Roger's run, between the crossing of
+Braddock's road and the confluence of the streams which form the Turkey
+foot; thence to cross Laurel Hill near the forks of Dunbar's run, to the
+west foot of that hill, at a point near where Braddock's old road
+reached it, near Gist's old place, now Colonel Isaac Meason's, thence
+through Brownsville and Bridgeport, to cross the Monongahela river
+below Josias Crawford's ferry; and thence on as straight a course as the
+country will admit to the Ohio, at a point between the mouth of Wheeling
+creek and the lower point of Wheeling island.
+
+In this direction of the route it will lay about twenty-four and a half
+miles in Maryland, seventy-five miles and a half in Pennsylvania, and
+twelve miles in Virginia; distances which will be in a small degree
+increased by meanders, which the bed of the road must necessarily make
+between the points mentioned in the location; and this route, it is
+believed, comprehends more important advantages than could be afforded
+in any other, inasmuch as it has a capacity at least equal to any other
+in extending advantages of a highway, and at the same time establishes
+the shortest portage between the points already navigated, and on the
+way accommodates other and nearer points to which navigation may be
+extended, and still shorten the portage.
+
+It intersects Big Youghiogheny at the nearest point from Cumberland,
+then lies nearly parallel with that river for the distance of twenty
+miles, and at the west foot of Laurel Hill lies within five miles of
+Connellsville, from which the Youghiogheny is navigated; and in the same
+direction the route intersects at Brownsville the nearest point on the
+Monongahela river within the district.
+
+The improvement of the Youghiogheny navigation is a subject of too much
+importance to remain long neglected; and the capacity of that river, as
+high up as the falls (twelve miles above Connellsville), is said to be
+equal, at a small expense, with the parts already navigated below. The
+obstructions at the falls, and a rocky rapid near Turkey Foot,
+constitute the principal impediments in that river to the intersection
+of the route, and as much higher as the stream has a capacity for
+navigation; and these difficulties will doubtless be removed when the
+intercourse shall warrant the measure.
+
+Under these circumstances the portage may be thus stated:
+
+From Cumberland to Monongahela, 66-1/2 miles. From Cumberland to a point
+in measure with Connellsville, on the Youghiogheny river, 51-1/2 miles.
+From Cumberland to a point in measure with the lower end of the falls of
+Youghiogheny, which will lie two miles north of the public road, 43
+miles. From Cumberland to the intersection of the route with the
+Youghiogheny river, 34 miles.
+
+Nothing is here said of the Little Youghiogheny, which lies nearer
+Cumberland; the stream being unusually crooked, its navigation can only
+become the work of a redundant population.
+
+The point which this route locates, at the west foot of Laurel Hill,
+having cleared the whole of the Allegheny mountain, is so situated as to
+extend the advantages of an easy way through the great barrier, with
+more equal justice to the best parts of the country between Laurel Hill
+and the Ohio. Lines from this point to Pittsburg and Morgantown,
+diverging nearly at the same angle, open upon equal terms to all parts
+of the Western country that can make use of this portage; and which may
+include the settlements from Pittsburg, up Big Beaver to the
+Connecticut reserve, on Lake Erie, as well as those on the southern
+borders of the Ohio and all the intermediate country.
+
+Brownsville is nearly equi-distant from Big Beaver and Fishing creek,
+and equally convenient to all the crossing places on the Ohio, between
+these extremes. As a port, it is at least equal to any on the
+Monongahela within the limits, and holds superior advantages in
+furnishing supplies to emigrants, traders, and other travelers by land
+or water.
+
+Not unmindful of the claims of towns and their capacity of reciprocating
+advantages on public roads, the commissioners were not insensible of the
+disadvantage which Uniontown must feel from the want of that
+accommodation which a more southwardly direction of the route would have
+afforded; but as that could not take place without a relinquishment of
+the shortest passage, considerations of public benefit could not yield
+to feelings of minor import. Uniontown being the seat of justice for
+Fayette county, Pennsylvania, is not without a share of public benefits,
+and may partake of the advantages of this portage upon equal terms with
+Connellsville, a growing town, with the advantage of respectable
+water-works adjoining, in the manufactory of flour and iron.
+
+After reaching the nearest navigation on the western waters, at a point
+best calculated to diffuse the benefits of a great highway in the
+greatest possible latitude east of the Ohio, it was considered that, to
+fulfill the objects of the law, it remained for the commissioners to
+give such a direction to the road as would best secure a certainty of
+navigation on the Ohio at all seasons, combining, as far as possible,
+the inland accommodation of remote points westwardly. It was found that
+the obstructions in the Ohio, within the limits between Steubenville and
+Grave creek, lay principally above the town and mouth of Wheeling; a
+circumstance ascertained by the commissioners in their examination of
+the channel, as well as by common usage, which has long given a decided
+preference to Wheeling as a place of embarcation and port of departure
+in dry seasons. It was also seen that Wheeling lay in a line from
+Brownsville to the centre of the State of Ohio and Post Vincennes. These
+circumstances favoring and corresponding with the chief objects in view
+in this last direction of the route, and the ground from Wheeling
+westwardly being known of equal fitness with any other way out from the
+river, it was thought most proper, under these several considerations,
+to locate the point mentioned below the mouth of Wheeling. In taking
+this point in preference to one higher up and in the town of Wheeling,
+the public benefit and convenience were consulted, inasmuch as the
+present crossing place over the Ohio from the town is so contrived and
+confined as to subject passengers to extraordinary ferriage and delay,
+by entering and clearing a ferry-boat on each side of Wheeling island,
+which lies before the town and precludes the opportunity of fording when
+the river is crossed in that way, above and below the island. From the
+point located, a safe crossing is afforded at the lower point of the
+island by a ferry in high, and a good ford at low water.
+
+The face of the country within the limits prescribed is generally very
+uneven, and in many places broken by a succession of high mountains and
+deep hollows, too formidable to be reduced within five degrees of the
+horizon, but by crossing them obliquely, a mode which, although it
+imposes a heavy task of hill-side digging, obviates generally the
+necessity of reducing hills and filling hollows, which, on these
+grounds, would be an attempt truly Quixotic. This inequality of the
+surface is not confined to the Allegheny mountain; the country between
+the Monongahela and Ohio rivers, although less elevated, is not better
+adapted for the bed of a road, being filled with impediments of hills
+and hollows, which present considerable difficulties, and wants that
+super-abundance and convenience of stone which is found in the mountain.
+
+The indirect course of the road now traveled, and the frequent
+elevations and depressions which occur, that exceed the limits of the
+law, preclude the possibility of occupying it in any extent without
+great sacrifice of distance, and forbid the use of it, in any one part,
+for more than half a mile, or more than two or three miles in the whole.
+
+The expense of rendering the road now in contemplation passable, may,
+therefore, amount to a larger sum than may have been supposed necessary,
+under an idea of embracing in it a considerable part of the old road;
+but it is believed that the contrary will be found most correct, and
+that a sum sufficient to open the new could not be expended on the same
+distance of the old road with equal benefit.
+
+The sum required for the road in contemplation will depend on the style
+and manner of making it; as a common road cannot remove the difficulties
+which always exist on deep grounds, and particularly in wet seasons, and
+as nothing short of a firm, substantial, well-formed, stone-capped road
+can remove the causes which led to the measure of improvement, or render
+the institution as commodious as a great and growing intercourse appears
+to require, the expense of such a road next becomes the subject of
+inquiry.
+
+In this inquiry the commissioners can only form an estimate by recurring
+to the experience of Pennsylvania and Maryland in the business of
+artificial roads. Upon this data, and a comparison of the grounds and
+proximity of the materials for covering, there are reasons for belief
+that, on the route reported, a complete road may be made at an expense
+not exceeding six thousand dollars per mile, exclusive of bridges over
+the principal streams on the way. The average expense of the Lancaster,
+as well as Baltimore and Frederick turnpike, is considerably higher; but
+it is believed that the convenient supply of stone which the mountain
+affords will, on those grounds, reduce the expense to the rate here
+stated.
+
+As to the policy of incurring this expense, it is not the province of
+the commissioners to declare; but they cannot, however, withhold
+assurances of a firm belief that the purse of the nation cannot be more
+seasonably opened, or more happily applied, than in promoting the speedy
+and effectual establishment of a great and easy road on the way
+contemplated.
+
+In the discharge of all these duties, the commissioners have been
+actuated by an ardent desire to render the institution as useful and
+commodious as possible; and, impressed with a strong sense of the
+necessity which urges the speedy establishment of the road, they have to
+regret the circumstance which delays the completion of the part assigned
+them. They, however, in some measure, content themselves with the
+reflection that it will not retard the progress of the work, as the
+opening of the road cannot commence before spring, and may then begin
+with marking the way.
+
+The extra expense incident to the service from the necessity (and
+propriety, as it relates to public economy,) of employing men not
+provided for by law, will, it is hoped, be recognized, and provision
+made for the payment of that and similar expenses, when in future it may
+be indispensably incurred.
+
+The commissioners having engaged in a service in which their zeal did
+not permit them to calculate the difference between their pay and the
+expense to which the service subjected them, cannot suppose it the wish
+or intention of the Government to accept of their services for a mere
+indemnification of their expense of subsistence, which will be very much
+the case under the present allowance; they, therefore, allow themselves
+to hope and expect that measures will be taken to provide such further
+compensation as may, under all circumstances, be thought neither profuse
+nor parsimonious.
+
+The painful anxiety manifested by the inhabitants of the district
+explored, and their general desire to know the route determined on,
+suggested the measure of promulgation, which, after some deliberation,
+was agreed on by way of circular letter, which has been forwarded to
+those persons to whom precaution was useful, and afterward sent to one
+of the presses in that quarter for publication, in the form of the
+document No. 3, which accompanies this report.
+
+All which is, with due deference, submitted.
+
+ ELI WILLIAMS,
+ THOMAS MOORE,
+ DECEMBER 30, 1806. JOSEPH KERR.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+ _Pennsylvania Grants Permission to Make the Road Through Her
+ Territory--Uniontown Restored, Gist Left Out, and Washington,
+ Pennsylvania, Made a Point--Simon Snyder, Speaker of the
+ House--Pressly Carr Lane, a Fayette County Man, Speaker of the
+ Senate, and Thomas McKean, Governor--A Second Special Message From
+ President Jefferson, and a Second Report of the
+ Commissioners--Heights of Mountains and Hills--On to Brownsville
+ and Wheeling--An Imperious Call Made on Commissioner Kerr._
+
+
+ An Act authorizing the President of the United States to open a road
+ through that part of this State lying between Cumberland, in the
+ State of Maryland, and the Ohio river.
+
+WHEREAS, by an Act of the Congress of the United States, passed on the
+twenty-ninth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and six, entitled
+"An act to regulate the laying out and making a road from Cumberland, in
+the State of Maryland, to the State of Ohio," the President of the
+United States is empowered to lay out a road from the Potomac river to
+the river Ohio, and to take measures for making the same, so soon as the
+consent of the legislatures of the several States through which the said
+road shall pass, could be obtained: And whereas, application hath been
+made to this legislature, by the President of the United States, for its
+consent to the measures aforesaid: Therefore,
+
+SECTION 1. _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
+the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met, and it is
+hereby enacted by the authority of the same_, That the President of the
+United States be, and he is hereby authorized to cause so much of the
+said road as will be within this State, to be opened so far as it may be
+necessary the same should pass through this State, and to cause the said
+road to be made, regulated and completed, within the limits, and
+according to the intent and meaning of the before recited Act of
+Congress in relation thereto; _Provided, nevertheless_, That the route
+laid down and reported by the commissioners to the President of the
+United States, be so altered as to pass through Uniontown, in the county
+of Fayette, and Washington, in the county of Washington, if such
+alteration can, in the opinion of the President, be made, consistently
+with the provisions of an act of Congress passed March 29th, 1806, but
+if not, then over any ground within the limit of this State, which he
+may deem most advantageous.
+
+SEC 2. _And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid_, That such
+person or persons as are or shall be appointed for the purpose of
+laying out and completing the said road, under the authority of the
+United States, shall have full power and authority to enter upon the
+lands through which the same may pass, and upon any land near or
+adjacent thereto, and therefrom to take, dig, cut and carry away such
+materials of earth, stone, gravel, timber and sand as may be necessary
+for the purpose of completing, and for ever keeping in repair, said
+road; _Provided_, That such materials shall be valued and appraised, in
+the same manner as materials taken for similar purposes, under the
+authority of this Commonwealth are by the laws thereof, directed to be
+valued and appraised, and a certificate of the amount thereof shall, by
+the person or persons appointed, or hereafter to be appointed under the
+authority of the United States for the purpose aforesaid, be delivered
+to each party entitled thereto, for any materials to be taken by virtue
+of this act, to entitle him, her or them to receive payment therefor
+from the United States.
+
+ SIMON SNYDER,
+ _Speaker of the House of Representatives_.
+ P. C. LANE,
+ _Speaker of the Senate_.
+
+_Approved, the ninth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and
+seven._
+
+ THOMAS M'KEAN.
+
+
+ TENTH CONGRESS--FIRST SESSION.
+
+ Communicated to Congress February 19, 1808.
+
+_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
+
+The States of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia having, by their
+several acts consented that the road from Cumberland to the State of
+Ohio, authorized by the act of Congress of March 29, 1806, should pass
+through those States, and the report of the commissioners communicated
+to Congress with my message of January 31, 1807, having been duly
+considered, I have approved of the route therein proposed for the said
+road as far as Brownsville, with a single deviation since located, which
+carries it through Uniontown.
+
+From thence the course to the Ohio, and the point within the legal
+limits at which it shall strike that river, is still to be decided.
+
+In forming this decision, I shall pay material regard to the interests
+and wishes of the populous parts of the State of Ohio, and to a future
+and convenient connection with the road which is to lead from the
+_Indian_ boundary near Cincinnati, by Vincennes, to the Mississippi, at
+St. Louis, under authority of the act of April 21, 1806. In this way we
+may accomplish a continuous and advantageous line of communication from
+the seat of the General Government to St. Louis, passing through several
+very interesting points, to the Western country.
+
+I have thought it advisable, also, to secure from obliteration the trace
+of the road so far as it has been approved, which has been executed at
+such considerable expense, by opening one-half of its breadth through
+its whole length.
+
+The report of the commissioners herewith transmitted will give
+particular information of their proceedings under the act of March
+29, 1806, since the date of my message of January 31, 1807, and will
+enable Congress to adopt such further measures, relative thereto, as
+they may deem proper under existing circumstances.
+
+ TH. JEFFERSON.
+
+FEBRUARY 19, 1808.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The undersigned, commissioners appointed under the law of the United
+States, entitled "An act to regulate the laying out and making a road
+from Cumberland, in the State of Maryland, to the State of Ohio," in
+addition to the communications heretofore made, beg leave further to
+report to the President of the United States that, by the delay of the
+answer of the Legislature of Pennsylvania to the application for
+permission to pass the road through that State, the commissioners could
+not proceed to the business of the road in the spring before vegetation
+had so far advanced as to render the work of exploring and surveying
+difficult and tedious, from which circumstance it was postponed till the
+last autumn, when the business was again resumed. That, in obedience to
+the special instructions given them, the route heretofore reported has
+been so changed as to pass through Uniontown, and that they have
+completed the location, gradation and marking of the route from
+Cumberland to Brownsville, Bridgeport, and the Monongahela river,
+agreeably to a plat of the courses, distances and grades in which is
+described the marks and monuments by which the route is designated, and
+which is herewith exhibited; that by this plat and measurement it will
+appear (when compared with the road now traveled) there is a saving of
+four miles of distance between Cumberland and Brownsville on the new
+route.
+
+In the gradation of the surface of the route (which became necessary) is
+ascertained the comparative elevation and depression of different points
+on the route, and taking a point ten feet above the surface of low water
+in the Potomac river at Cumberland, as the horizon, the most prominent
+points are found to be elevated as follows, viz.:
+
+ Feet. 10ths.
+ Summit of Wills mountain 581 3
+ Western foot of same 304 4
+ Summit of Savage mountain 2022 24
+ Savage river 1741 6
+ Summit Little Savage mountain 1900 4
+ Branch Pine Run, first Western water 1699 9
+ Summit of Red Hill (after called Shades of Death) 1914 3
+ Summit Little Meadow mountain 2026 16
+ Little Youghiogheny river 1322 6
+ East Fork of Shade Run 1558 92
+ Summit of Negro mountain, highest point 2328 12
+ Middle branch of White's creek, at the west foot of Negro
+ mountain 1360 5
+ White's creek 1195 5
+ Big Youghiogheny river 645 5
+ Summit of a ridge between Youghiogheny river and Beaver
+ waters 1514 5
+ Beaver Run 1123 8
+ Summit of Laurel Hill 1550 16
+ Court House in Uniontown 274 65
+ A point ten feet above the surface of low water in the
+ Monongahela river, at the mouth of Dunlap's creek 119 26
+
+The law requiring the commissioners to report those parts of the route
+as are laid on the old road, as well as those on new grounds, and to
+state those parts which require the most immediate attention and
+amelioration, the probable expense of making the same passable in the
+most difficult parts, and through the whole distance, they have to state
+that, from the crooked and hilly course of the road now traveled, the
+new route could not be made to occupy any part of it (except an
+intersection on Wills mountain, another at Jesse Tomlinson's, and a
+third near Big Youghiogheny, embracing not a mile of distance in the
+whole) without unnecessary sacrifices of distances and expense.
+
+That, therefore, an estimate must be made on the route as passing wholly
+through new grounds. In doing this the commissioners feel great
+difficulty, as they cannot, with any degree of precision, estimate the
+expense of making it merely passable; nor can they allow themselves to
+suppose that a less breadth than that mentioned in the law was to be
+taken into the calculation. The rugged deformity of the grounds rendered
+it impossible to lay a route within the grade limited by law otherwise
+than by ascending and descending the hills obliquely, by which
+circumstance a great proportion of the route occupies the sides of the
+hills, which cannot be safely passed on a road of common breadth, and
+where it will, in the opinion of the commissioners, be necessary, by
+digging, to give the proper form to thirty feet, at least in the breadth
+of the road, to afford suitable security in passing on a way to be
+frequently crowded with wagons moving in opposite directions, with
+transports of emigrant families, and droves of cattle, hogs, etc., on
+the way to market. Considering, therefore, that a road on those grounds
+must have sufficient breadth to afford ways and water courses, and
+satisfied that nothing short of well constructed and completely finished
+conduits can insure it against injuries, which must otherwise render it
+impassable at every change of the seasons, by heavy falls of rain or
+melting of the beds of snow, with which the country is frequently
+covered; the commissioners beg leave to say, that, in a former report,
+they estimated the expense of a road on these grounds, when properly
+shaped, made and finished in the style of a stone-covered turnpike, at
+$6,000 per mile, exclusive of bridges over the principal streams on the
+way; and that with all the information they have since been able to
+collect, they have no reason to make any alteration in that estimate.
+
+The contracts authorized by, and which have been taken under the
+superintendence of the commissioner, Thomas Moore (duplicates of which
+accompany this report), will show what has been undertaken relative to
+clearing the timber and brush from part of the breadth of the road. The
+performance of these contracts was in such forwardness on the 1st
+instant as leaves no doubt of their being completely fulfilled by the
+first of March.
+
+The commissioners further state, that, to aid them in the extension of
+their route, they ran and marked a straight line from the crossing place
+on the Monongahela, to Wheeling, and had progressed twenty miles, with
+their usual and necessary lines of experiment, in ascertaining the
+shortest and best connection of practical grounds, when the approach of
+winter and the shortness of the days afforded no expectation that they
+could complete the location without a needless expense in the most
+inclement season of the year. And, presuming that the postponement of
+the remaining part till the ensuing spring would produce no delay in the
+business of making the road, they were induced to retire from it for the
+present.
+
+The great length of time already employed in this business, makes it
+proper for the commissioners to observe that, in order to connect the
+best grounds with that circumspection which the importance of the duties
+confided to them demanded, it became indispensably necessary to run
+lines of experiment and reference in various directions, which exceed an
+average of four times the distance located for the route, and that,
+through a country so irregularly broken, and crowded with very thick
+underwood in many places, the work has been found so incalculably
+tedious that, without an adequate idea of the difficulty, it is not easy
+to reconcile the delay.
+
+It is proper to mention that an imperious call from the private concerns
+of Commissioner Joseph Kerr, compelled him to return home on the 29th of
+November, which will account for the want of his signature to this
+report.
+
+All of which is, with due deference, submitted, this 15th day of
+January, 1808.
+
+ ELI WILLIAMS,
+ THOMAS MOORE.
+
+NOTE.--It will be observed that Keyser's Ridge, which is unquestionably
+the highest point on the road, is not mentioned by the commissioners.
+This is, no doubt, because, at the date of their report, the locality
+did not bear the name Keyser's Ridge, and was known as a peak of Negro
+mountain. Soon after the location of the road, one Keyser acquired the
+property at the ridge, and it took its name from him. It will also be
+observed that the measurement of heights by the commissioners was made
+from "a point ten feet above the surface of low water in the Potomac at
+Cumberland." A table of heights given in a subsequent chapter, the
+authority for which is not ascertainable, differs from that in the
+commissioners' report, but their report must be accepted as accurate
+from their point of measurement. The other table referred to gives the
+heights above the Atlantic and above Cumberland, and embraces more hills
+than the commissioners' report.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER VI.
+
+ _Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury, called upon for
+ Information respecting the Fund Applicable to the Roads mentioned
+ in the Ohio Admission Act--His Responses._
+
+
+ TENTH CONGRESS--FIRST SESSION.
+
+ Communicated to the House of Representatives March 8, 1808.
+
+ TREASURY DEPARTMENT. March 3, 1808.
+
+_Sir_: In answer to your letter of the 1st instant, I have the honor
+to state:
+
+ 1st. That the 5 per cent. reserved by the act of 30th April, 1802,
+ on the net moneys received for public lands in the State of Ohio, sold
+ since 1st July, 1802, has amounted to the following sums, viz:
+
+ From 1st July, 1802, to 30th June, 1803 $ 6,220 00
+ From 1st July, 1803, to 30th June, 1804 8,810 17
+ From 1st July, 1804, to 30th June, 1805 13,994 30
+ From 1st July, 1805, to 30th June, 1806 31,442 20
+ From 1st July, 1806, to 30th June, 1807 28,827 92
+ From 1st July, 1807, to 31st December, 1807 (estimated) 15,000 00
+ -----------
+ $104,294 59
+
+
+ And that the said 5 per cent. will henceforth probably amount to
+ $30,000 a year.
+
+
+ 2d. That, of the $30,000 appropriated by act of 29th March, 1806, there
+ has been expended, in laying out the Cumberland road from Cumberland to
+ Brownsville, about $10,000
+ That there may be wanted to complete the location, about 5,000
+ -------
+ $15,000
+
+
+ 3d. That contracts have been made for opening one-half of the breadth of
+ said road, which, as verbally informed by one of the commissioners, will
+ require about $3,000, leaving, probably, about $12,000 of the
+ appropriation for the further improvement of the road.
+
+ 4th. That the portion of the road actually located and confirmed, no
+ part of which exceeds an angle of five degrees, extends from the
+ navigable waters of the Potomac, at Cumberland, to the navigable waters
+ of the Monongahela, at Brownsville (Red Stone Old Fort), and it is
+ stated, though no official report has been made to me, at about seventy
+ miles.
+
+ 5th. That that road can be considered as a national object only if
+ completed as a turnpike, whereby all the flour and other produce of the
+ western adjacent countries may be brought to a market on the Atlantic
+ shores; and the transportation of all the salt and other commodities and
+ merchandise whatever, imported from the Atlantic ports to the western
+ country generally, may be reduced probably one dollar per cwt.
+
+ And, Lastly, that the expense of completing that part of the road in
+ such manner, is estimated at $400,000.
+
+ I have the honor to be, respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,
+
+ ALBERT GALLATIN.
+
+ Hon. John Montgomery, of Maryland, Chairman, etc., in Congress.
+
+
+ COMMITTEE ROOM, Dec. 22, 1808.
+
+_Sir_: The committee appointed on the message of the President,
+transmitting a report of the commissioners concerning a road from
+Cumberland to Ohio, have directed me to request that you would cause to
+be laid before them such information as may be in possession of the
+Treasury Department respecting the fund applicable by law to "the laying
+out and making public roads leading from the navigable waters emptying
+into the Atlantic, to the Ohio," etc. (1) The unexpended balance of the
+$30,000 appropriated by the act of the 29th of March, 1806; (2) The
+amount of moneys, exclusive of the above, now in the treasury, and in
+the hands of the receiver of public moneys, applicable to that object;
+and (3) an estimate of the probable amount of moneys that will accrue to
+the fund within the two succeeding years.
+
+I have the honor to be, very respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,
+
+ JEREMIAH MORROW.
+
+To the Hon. Secretary of the Treasury.
+
+
+ TENTH CONGRESS--SECOND SESSION.
+
+ _Cumberland Road._
+
+ Communicated to the House of Representatives, February 16, 1809.
+
+ TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Dec. 29, 1808.
+
+_Sir_: In answer to your letter of the 22d instant. I have the honor
+to state, for the information of the committee:
+
+ 1st. That the unexpended balance of the appropriation, made by the act
+ of March 29, 1806, for opening a road from Cumberland, on the Potomac,
+ to the river Ohio, amounts to $16,075.15; part of which sum will
+ probably be wanted in order to complete the location and opening of the
+ road. It is probable that about $13,000 will remain applicable to making
+ the road.
+
+ 2dly. That the total amount received, either at the treasury, or by the
+ receivers of public moneys on account of roads, and calculated at the
+ rate of 5 per cent, of the net proceeds of the sales of lands in the
+ State of Ohio, subsequent to the 30th day of June, 1802, was, on
+
+ the 30th day of September last $104,692
+ leaving, if that mode of calculating be correct, and after
+ deducting the sum appropriated by the above mentioned act 30,000
+ --------
+ a sum applicable to the road of $ 74,692
+ in addition to the above mentioned unexpended balance of 16,075
+ --------
+ and making together a sum of $ 90,767
+ But if the amount applicable to roads be calculated at the
+ rate of 2 per cent. only, on the net proceeds of the sales of
+ lands, this will, on the 30th of September last, have produced
+ only $ 41,876
+ from which, deducting the appropriation of 30,000
+ --------
+ leaves an unappropriated balance of $ 11,876
+ which, added to the unexpended balance of the appropriation 16,075
+ --------
+ makes an aggregate of only $ 27,951
+
+
+ 3dly. That the probable receipts on account of that fund may, for the
+ two ensuing years, be estimated at $22,500 a year, if calculated at the
+ rate of 5 per cent., and at $9,000 a year, if calculated at the rate of
+ 2 per cent. on the sales of lands.
+
+ I have the honor to be, respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,
+
+ ALBERT GALLATIN.
+
+ Hon. Jeremiah Morrow, Chairman of the Land Committee.
+
+ P.S.--Amount of the 2 per cent. of the net proceeds of the lands
+ within the State of Ohio:
+
+ From 1st July, 1802, to 30th June, 1803, 2 per cent. $ 2,400.00
+ From 1st July, 1803, to 30th June, 1804, 2 per cent. 3,524.06
+ From 1st July, 1804, to 30th June, 1805, 2 per cent. 5,597.72
+ From 1st July, 1805, to 30th June, 1806, 2 per cent. 11,243.55
+ From 1st July, 1806, to 30th June, 1807, 2 per cent. 9,120.75
+ From 1st July, 1807, to 30th June, 1808, 2 per cent. 9,902.80
+ Estimated July, 1808, to 31st October, 1808, 2 per cent. 2,815.60
+ ----------
+ Total $44,692.48
+
+ The sum of $30,000 appropriated per act of 29th of March to be
+ paid therefrom; of which $13,924.85 seems to have been paid.
+
+ A. G.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER VII.
+
+ _The Life of the Road Threatened by the Spectre of a Constitutional
+ Cavil--President Monroe Vetoes a Bill for its Preservation and
+ Repair--General Jackson has Misgivings--Hon. Andrew Stewart comes
+ to the Rescue._
+
+
+ SPECIAL MESSAGE.
+
+ MAY 4, 1822.
+_To the House of Representatives_:
+
+Having duly considered the bill, entitled "An act for the preservation
+and repair of the Cumberland Road," it is with deep regret (APPROVING,
+AS I DO, THE POLICY), that I am compelled to object to its passage, and
+to return the bill to the House of Representatives, in which it
+originated, under a conviction that Congress do not possess the power,
+under the Constitution, to pass such a law. A power to establish
+turnpikes, with gates and tolls, and to enforce the collection of the
+tolls by penalties, implies a power to adopt and execute a complete
+system of internal improvements. A right to impose duties to be paid by
+all persons passing a certain road, and on horses and carriages, as is
+done by this bill, involves the right to take the land from the
+proprietor on a valuation, and to pass laws for the protection of the
+road from injuries; and if it exist, as to one road, it exists as to any
+other, and to as many roads as Congress may think proper to establish. A
+right to legislate for one of these purposes, is a right to legislate
+for the others. It is a complete right of jurisdiction and sovereignty
+for all the purposes of internal improvement, and not merely the right
+of applying money under the power vested in Congress to make
+appropriations (under which power, with the consent of the States
+through which the road passes, the work was originally commenced, and
+has been so far executed). I am of opinion that Congress do not possess
+this power--that the States individually cannot grant it; for, although
+they may assent to the appropriation of money within their limits for
+such purposes, they can grant no power of jurisdiction of sovereignty,
+by special compacts with the United States. This power can be granted
+only by an amendment to the Constitution, and in the mode prescribed by
+it. If the power exist, it must be either because it has been
+specifically granted to the United States, or that it is incidental to
+some power, which has been specifically granted. If we examine the
+specific grants of power, we do not find it among them, nor is it
+incidental to any power which has been specifically granted. It has
+never been contended that the power was specifically granted. It is
+claimed only as being incidental to some one or more of the powers
+which are specifically granted. The following are the powers from which
+it is said to be derived: (1) From the right to establish post offices
+and post roads; (2) From the right to declare war; (3) To regulate
+commerce; (4) To pay the debts and provide for the common defence and
+general welfare; (5) From the power to make all laws necessary and
+proper for carrying into execution all the powers vested by the
+Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any
+department or officer thereof; (6) And lastly, from the power to dispose
+of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory
+and other property of the United States. According to my judgment, it
+cannot be derived from either of these powers, nor from all of them
+united, and in consequence it does not exist. Having stated my
+objections to the bill, I should now cheerfully communicate at large the
+reasons on which they are founded, if I had time to reduce them to such
+form as to include them in this paper. The advanced stage of the session
+renders that impossible. Having, at the commencement of my service in
+this high trust, considered it a duty to express the opinion that the
+United States do not possess the power in question, and to suggest for
+the consideration of Congress the propriety of recommending to the
+States an amendment to the Constitution, to vest the power in the United
+States, my attention has been often drawn to the subject since, in
+consequence whereof, I have occasionally committed my sentiments to
+paper respecting it. The form which this exposition has assumed is not
+such as I should have given it had it been intended for Congress, nor is
+it concluded. Nevertheless, as it contains my views on this subject,
+being one which I deem of very high importance, and which, in many of
+its bearings, has now become peculiarly urgent, I will communicate it to
+Congress, if in my power, in the course of the day, or certainly on
+Monday next.
+
+ JAMES MONROE.
+
+General Jackson, in his famous veto of the Maysville Road bill (May 27,
+1830), refers to the Cumberland Road, and to the above message of
+President Monroe, in the following terms;
+
+"In the administration of Mr. Jefferson we have two examples of the
+exercise of the right of appropriation, which, in the consideration that
+led to their adoption, and in their effects upon the public mind, have
+had a greater agency in marking the character of the power than any
+subsequent events. I allude to the payment of fifteen millions of
+dollars for the purchase of Louisiana, and to the ORIGINAL APPROPRIATION
+FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CUMBERLAND ROAD; the latter act deriving
+much weight from the acquiescence and approbation of three of the most
+powerful of the original members of the confederacy, expressed through
+their respective legislatures. Although the circumstances of the LATTER
+CASE may be such as to deprive so much of it as relates to the actual
+construction of the road of the force of an obligatory exposition of the
+Constitution, it must nevertheless be admitted that so far as the mere
+appropriation of money is concerned, they present the principle in its
+most imposing aspect. No less than twenty-three different laws have been
+passed through all the forms of the Constitution, appropriating upwards
+of two millions and a half of dollars out of the national treasury in
+support of that improvement, with the approbation of every president of
+the United States, including my predecessor, since its commencement. The
+views of Mr. Monroe upon this subject were not left to inference. During
+his administration, a bill was passed through both houses of Congress,
+conferring the jurisdiction and prescribing the mode by which the
+federal government should exercise it in the case of THE CUMBERLAND
+ROAD. He returned it with objections to its passage, and in assigning
+them, took occasion to say that in the early stages of the government he
+had inclined to the construction that it had no right to expend money
+except in the performance of acts authorized by the other specific
+grants of power, according to a strict construction of them; but that on
+further reflection and observation his mind had undergone a change; that
+his opinion then was: 'that Congress had an unlimited power to raise
+money, and that in its appropriation they have a discretionary power,
+restricted only by the duty to appropriate it to purposes of common
+defence and of general, not local, National, not State benefit;' and
+this was avowed to be the governing principle through the residue of his
+administration."
+
+[Illustration: HON. ANDREW STEWART.]
+
+On the 27th of January, 1829, the Hon. Andrew Stewart, of Pennsylvania,
+in a vigorous speech on the floor of Congress, repelled the proposition
+that the general government was lacking in power and authority to make
+and preserve the road, from which the following extracts are taken:
+
+"Mr. Stewart expressed his regret that gentlemen had deemed this a fit
+occasion to draw into discussion all the topics connected with the
+general power over the subject of internal improvements. If repeated
+decisions, and the uniform practice of the government could settle any
+question, this, he thought, ought to be regarded as settled. The
+foundation of this road (the National or Cumberland) was laid by a
+report made by Mr. Giles, the present Governor of Virginia, in 1802, and
+was sanctioned the next session by a similar report, made by another
+distinguished Virginian (Mr. Randolph), now a member of this House--it
+was the offspring of Virginia, and he hoped she would not now abandon it
+as illegitimate. Commenced under the administration of Mr. Jefferson, it
+had been sanctioned and prosecuted by every president, and by almost
+every Congress, for more than a quarter of a century.* * * *
+
+"Without roads and canals, of what avail was it to the people of the
+West to possess a country, abounding with all the essential elements of
+wealth and prosperity--of what avail was it to have a country abounding
+with inexhaustible mines of coal and ore; to possess a fruitful soil and
+abundant harvests, without the means of transporting them to the places
+where they were required for consumption? Without a market, the people
+of the West were left without a motive for industry. By denying to
+this portion of the Union the advantages of internal improvements, you
+not only deprive them of all the benefits of governmental expenditures,
+but you also deprive them of the advantages which nature's God intended
+for them. Possessing the power, how, he asked, could any representative
+of the interior or western portions of this Union vote against a policy
+so essential to the prosperity of the people who sent him here to guard
+their rights, and advance their interests? * * * *
+
+"The right of this government to construct such roads and canals as were
+necessary to carry into effect its mail, military, and commercial
+powers, was as clear and undoubted as the right to build a post office,
+construct a fort, or erect a lighthouse. In every point of view the
+cases were precisely similar, and were sustained and justified by the
+same power." * * * *
+
+The power, said Mr. S., "to establish post offices and post roads,"
+involves the power and duty of transporting the mail, and of employing
+all the means necessary for this purpose. The simple question, then, was
+this: Are roads necessary to carry the mail? If they were, Congress had
+expressly the right to make them, and there was an end to the question.
+Roads were, he contended, not only necessary to carry into effect this
+power, but they were absolutely and indispensably necessary; you cannot
+get along without them, and yet we are gravely told that Congress have
+no right to make a mail road, or repair it when made! That to do so
+would ruin the States and produce consolidation--ruin the States by
+constructing good roads for their use and benefit; produce consolidation
+by connecting the distant parts of the Union by cheap and rapid modes of
+inter-communication. If consolidation meant to confirm and perpetuate
+the Union, he would admit its application, but not otherwise. But we are
+told that the _States_ will make roads to carry the mails. This was
+begging the question. If the States would make all the roads required to
+carry into effect our powers, very well; but if they did not, then we
+may undoubtedly make them ourselves. But it was never designed by the
+framers of the Constitution that this government should be dependent on
+the States for the means of executing its powers: "its means were
+adequate to its ends." This principle was distinctly and unanimously
+laid down by the Supreme Court in the case already referred to: "No
+trace," says the Chief Justice, "is to be found in the Constitution of
+an intention to create a dependence of the government of the Union on
+the States for the execution of the powers assigned to it--its means are
+adequate to its ends. To impose on it the necessity of resorting to
+means it cannot control, which another government may furnish or
+withhold, would render its course precarious, the result of its measures
+uncertain, and create a dependence on other governments, which might
+disappoint the most important designs, and is incompatible with the
+language of the Constitution." And this was in perfect harmony with the
+constant and uniform practice of the government. * * *
+
+Mr. S. begged gentlemen to turn their attention for a moment to the
+statute book, and see what the practice of the government had been; what
+had been already done by Congress in virtue of this power of
+"establishing post offices and post roads." In 1825 an act had been
+passed, without a word of objection, which went infinitely further than
+the bill under consideration. His colleague (Mr. Buchanan) was then a
+member of this House, and, no doubt, voted for it. His eloquence was
+then mute--we heard nothing about States rights, spectres, and sedition
+laws. This bill, regulating the post office establishment, not only
+created some thirty or forty highly penal offences, extending not only
+over the Cumberland Road, but over every other road in the United
+States, punishing with severest sanctions, even to the taking away the
+liberty and the lives of the citizens of the States, and requiring the
+State courts to take cognizance of these offences and inflict these
+punishments. This was not all: this act not only extended over all the
+mail roads, but all other roads running parallel with them, on which all
+persons are prohibited, under a penalty of fifty dollars, from carrying
+letters in stages or other vehicles performing regular trips; and
+authorizing, too, the seizure and sale of any property found in them for
+the payment of the fines. The same regulations applied to boats and
+vessels passing from one town to another. Compare that bill with the one
+under debate. This bill had two or three trifling penalties of ten
+dollars, and was confined to one road of about one hundred and fifty
+miles in extent, made by the United States, while the other act, with
+all its fines and forfeitures, pains and penalties, extended not only to
+all the mail roads in the United States, but also to all parallel roads;
+yet no complaint was then heard about the constitutionality of this law,
+or the dreadful consequences of carrying the citizens hundreds of miles
+to be tried. Under it no difficulties had ever been experienced, and no
+complaint had ever been heard. There had been no occasion for appointing
+United States Justices and creating federal courts to carry this law
+into effect, about which there was so much declamation on this occasion:
+this was truly choking at gnats and swallowing camels. To take away
+_life_ by virtue of the post office power for robbing the mail, is
+nothing; but to impose a fine of ten dollars for wilfully destroying a
+road which has cost the government a million of dollars, is a dreadful
+violation of State rights! An unheard of usurpation, worse than the
+sedition law; and went further towards a dissolution of the Union than
+any other act of the government. Such were the declarations of his
+colleague; he hoped he would be able to give some reason for thus
+denouncing this bill, after voting for the act of 1825, which carried
+this same power a hundred times further than this bill, both as regards
+the theatre of its operations, and the extent of its punishments.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Having thus established, and, as he thought, conclusively, the right to
+construct roads and canals for mail and military purposes, he came next
+to say a few words on the subject of those which appertained to the
+express power of "regulating commerce with foreign nations and _among
+the several States_." This power carried with it, as a necessary
+incident, the right to construct commercial roads and canals. From this
+grant Congress derived exactly the same power to make roads and canals
+that it did sea-walls, light-houses, buoys, beacons, etc., along the
+seaboard. If the power existed over the one it existed over the other in
+every point of view; the cases were precisely parallel; it was
+impossible to draw a distinction between them. This power was essential
+to every government--there was no government under the sun without it.
+All writers on national law and political economy considered the right
+to construct roads and canals as belonging to the commercial power of
+all governments. * * *
+
+There were great arteries of communication between distant divisions of
+this extensive empire, passing through many States or bordering upon
+them, which the States never could and never would make. These works
+were emphatically national, and ought to be accomplished by national
+means.
+
+He instanced the road now under consideration--it passed through
+Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, yet neither of these States would
+have given a dollar to make it. It passed mostly through mountainous and
+uninhabited regions. He adverted to the Potomac, Ohio, and Mississippi
+rivers. Important as these were to all the States, yet they were the
+internal concerns of none--they were mere boundaries to which the States
+would give nothing, while they had so many objects exclusively internal
+requiring all their means. For these reasons he was utterly opposed to
+the project of dividing the surplus revenue of the general government
+among the several States; this would be to surrender the national means
+which the people had confided to this purpose to mere local and
+sectional objects, while those truly national would remain forever
+unprovided for. He did not claim for this government the power to make
+roads and canals for all purposes. The powers of this government and of
+the States were distinct and well defined. To the national government
+belonged, under the Constitution, the power of making national roads and
+canals for national purposes. To the States belonged the power of
+providing for state and local objects. The roads and canals projected
+and executed by the States and private companies were often highly
+important in a national point of view; and to such, in his opinion, this
+government ought always to afford aid in a proportion corresponding with
+the interest the nation had in their accomplishment. When individuals
+were willing to go before and vest millions of their private funds in
+works strictly and truly national, connecting the remote sections of the
+Union together (of which we had two distinct examples, one in this
+district and the other in a neighboring city, Baltimore), could this
+government, charged with the care and guardianship of all the great
+interests of the nation, look on with cold indifference? Was it not our
+duty to lend a helping hand to encourage, to cheer, and to sustain them
+in their noble and patriotic efforts? * * * *
+
+Mr. Stewart said he would now proceed to answer, as briefly as possible,
+some leading arguments urged by gentlemen in opposition to the bill
+under consideration. His colleague (Mr. Buchanan) had said that this
+bill proposed a greater stretch of power than the sedition law. This was
+an argument "ad captandum vulgus." He would not do his colleague the
+injustice to suppose that he was so ignorant of the Constitution of his
+country as seriously to address such an argument to the understanding of
+this House. The bill under consideration was necessary to carry into
+effect the express power of transporting the mail. What power of this
+government was the sedition law intended to carry into effect? None. It
+was therefore not only clearly unconstitutional on this ground, but it
+went directly to abridge the freedom of the press, and, of course, was a
+plain and palpable violation of that provision in the Constitution,
+which declares that "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of
+speech or of the press." Now, if his colleague could show any provision
+in the Constitution in the slightest degree impugning the right of
+Congress to pass this bill, then he might have some excuse for offering
+such an argument, otherwise he had none. The gentleman had, in a very
+labored effort, endeavored to prove that this government had no kind of
+jurisdiction or control whatever over this road. Yet his own amendment
+recognized the existence of the very power which he denies. By his
+amendment he proposes what? That this government shall cede the roads to
+the States, with the power to erect gates and collect as much toll as
+was necessary to keep it in repair. But his whole argument went to prove
+that Congress did not possess the very power which his amendment assumed
+and proposed to the States. The gentleman's amendment, and his speech
+therefore, were at open war with each other, and would perhaps both
+perish in the conflict. Certainly, both could not survive--one or the
+other must fall.
+
+The gentleman, proceeding in his argument, had assumed premises which
+nobody would admit, and then, with an air of great triumph, he drew
+conclusions which even his own premises would not support. He takes for
+granted that this government, with all its mail, military, and
+commercial powers, has no more right to make a road to carry these
+powers into effect, through a State, than any individual possessing none
+of these powers would have. Thus, having assumed what was utterly
+inadmissible, he triumphantly inquires whether an individual, having
+obtained leave to make a road through another's land, could put up gates
+and exact toll? The gentleman says, surely not. But he said, surely yes,
+unless expressly prohibited by the contract. Suppose, by permission, I
+build a mill, said Mr. S., upon that gentleman's estate, and construct a
+bridge and turnpike road to get to it, have not I as much right to
+demand toll at the bridge as at the mill? Most undoubtedly; so that the
+gentleman's premises and his conclusions were alike fallacious and
+unsound. This position had been taken by both the gentlemen from
+Virginia (Mr. Barbour and Mr. Archer), to whom he would make the same
+reply. A most extraordinary argument had been advanced against military
+roads: the public enemy may get possession of them in war!! Was it
+possible that an American statesman could, at this time of day, urge
+such an argument? It might be addressed to a set of timid savages,
+secure in the midst of the wilderness. The enemy get possession of our
+roads, and therefore not make them! Such cowardly arguments would
+deprive us of every possible means of defence. The enemy, it might be
+said with equal propriety, may get our ships, our forts, our cannon, our
+soldiers, and therefore we ought not to provide them. What would the
+brave freemen of this country say to the men who would deny them roads
+to travel on, lest the enemy might take them from us in war? They would
+reply, with Spartan magnanimity, "Let them come and take them." * * *
+
+A great deal has been said on the subject of jurisdiction; that, if it
+existed at all, it must be exclusive; that it could not attach to soil,
+and much metaphysical refinement of this sort, which had little to do
+with the subject. On this point, the only sound and practical rule was,
+that this government had a right to assume such jurisdiction over their
+roads as was necessary for their preservation and repair by such means
+as should be deemed most expedient, leaving everything beyond that to
+the States. Thus far the Constitution declared the legislation of
+Congress to be "the supreme law of the land, anything in the
+constitution and laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding."
+This left to the laws of the States, the right to punish all offences
+and other acts committed upon the road, in the same manner as though
+they had occurred in any other part of their territory. Such had been
+the uniform practice of the government in executing all its powers up to
+the present time, and no complaint had ever been made or inconvenience
+experienced.
+
+It has been universally conceded on all hands in this debate, that the
+consent of the States could not confer any jurisdiction or powers on
+this government beyond what it had derived from the Constitution. This
+was too clear a proposition to admit of doubt. Yet the names of
+Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Gallatin, were introduced and relied on.
+Did gentlemen forget that Mr. Gallatin was the very first man that ever
+suggested the plan for making the Cumberland road, and that it had been
+sanctioned and actually constructed under the administrations of
+Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe? Their opinions were thus reduced to
+practice, which was the best evidence in the world--"By their fruits
+shall ye know them."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+ _State Authority prevails--The Road surrendered by Congress--The
+ erection of Toll Gates authorized--Commissioners appointed by the
+ States to receive the Road--They wrangle over its bad condition,
+ and demand that it be put in thorough repair by Congress, before
+ the States will accept it--Old and familiar names of the
+ Commissioners--The Road accepted by the States._
+
+
+At the session of the year 1831, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed a
+bill, which was approved April 4th, of that year, by George Wolf,
+governor, the preamble to, and the first, and part of the second, and
+all of the tenth sections of which read as follows:
+
+ "Whereas, that part of the Cumberland Road lying within the State of
+ Pennsylvania is in many parts in bad condition for want of repairs,
+ and as doubts have been entertained whether the United States have
+ authority to erect toll gates on said road, and collect toll; and as a
+ large proportion of the people of this commonwealth are interested in
+ said road, and its constant continuance and preservation; therefore,
+
+ SECTION 1. _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
+ of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in general assembly met, and it
+ is hereby enacted by authority of the same_; That as soon as the
+ consent of the government of the United States shall have been
+ obtained, as hereinafter provided, WILLIAM F. COPLAN, DAVID DOWNER, of
+ Fayette county, STEPHEN HILL, BENJAMIN ANDERSON, of Washington county,
+ and THOMAS ENDSLEY, of Smithfield, Somerset county, shall be, and they
+ are hereby appointed commissioners, a majority of whom shall be
+ sufficient to transact business, who shall hold their offices for
+ three years after the passage of this act, after which the right of
+ appointing said commissioners shall vest in the governor of this
+ commonwealth, to build toll houses, and erect toll gates at suitable
+ distances on so much of the Cumberland Road as lies within the State
+ of Pennsylvania; _Provided_, that if any one or more of the
+ commissioners should die, resign, or refuse to serve, the Governor
+ shall appoint one or more other commissioners to fill the vacancies so
+ happening; _And provided, also_, that nothing herein contained shall
+ be construed to prevent the Governor from re-appointing the
+ commissioners named in this act, if he thinks proper.
+
+ SEC. 2. That for the purpose of keeping so much of the said road in
+ repair as lies within the State of Pennsylvania, and paying the
+ expense of collection and other incidental expenses, the
+ commissioners shall cause to be erected on so much of the road as
+ passes within this State at least six gates, and that as soon as said
+ gates and toll-houses shall be erected, it shall be the duty of the
+ toll collectors, and they are hereby required to demand and receive
+ for passing the said gates, the tolls hereafter mentioned; and they
+ may stop any person riding, leading or driving any horses, cattle,
+ sulky, chair, phæton, cart, chaise, wagon, sleigh, sled or other
+ carriage of burden or pleasure from passing through the said gates,
+ until they shall respectively have paid for passing the same, that is
+ to say: (Here follow the rates).
+
+ SEC. 10. That this act shall not have any force or effect, until the
+ Congress of the United States shall assent to the same, and until so
+ much of the said road as passes through the State of Pennsylvania, be
+ first put in a good state of repair, and an appropriation made by
+ Congress for erecting toll-houses and toll-gates thereon, to be
+ expended under the authority of the commissioners appointed by this
+ act: _Provided_, The legislature of this State may at any future
+ session thereof, change, alter or amend this act, provided that the
+ same shall not be so altered or amended, as to reduce or increase the
+ rates of toll hereby established, below or above a sum necessary to
+ defray the expenses incident to the preservation and repair of said
+ road, for the payment of the fees or salaries of the commissioners,
+ the collectors of tolls, and other agents. _And provided further_,
+ That no change, alteration, or amendment, shall ever be adopted, that
+ will in any wise defeat or affect, the true intent and meaning of this
+ act."
+
+Ohio was a little in advance of Pennsylvania in accepting the road, and
+less exacting in her terms. The legislature of that State, on the 4th of
+February, 1831, passed an act authorizing the acceptance, without
+requiring that the road should be put in repair as a condition
+precedent. On the 23d of January, 1832, Maryland, by an act of her
+legislature, agreed to accept the road upon the same condition required
+by Pennsylvania, and on the 7th of February, 1832, Virginia accepted in
+an act similar to that of Ohio. On the 3d of July, 1832, Congress
+declared its assent to the above mentioned laws of Pennsylvania and
+Maryland in these words: "To which acts the assent of the United States
+is hereby given, to remain in force during the pleasure of Congress,"
+and on the 2d of March, 1833, assented to the act of Virginia with a
+similar limitation.
+
+[Illustration: TOLL HOUSE.]
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ JANUARY 19, 1835.
+
+ REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE HOUSE, TO
+ WHICH IS COMMITTED BILL NO. 221.
+
+ _To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in
+ Congress assembled:_
+
+The undersigned beg leave to represent that they have been appointed
+commissioners, under the act of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, to
+accept from the general government so much of the Cumberland Road as
+lies within the limits of that State, and erect toll gates as soon as
+it is put in such a state of repair as is required by the provisions of
+that act. That they have every disposition to relieve the government
+from the burden of the road, so soon as they can feel themselves
+justified, under the law, in doing so; but they beg leave to
+respectfully represent that the road has not yet been put in that
+condition that would enable them to accept of it.
+
+On some parts no more than six inches, and west of the Monongahela
+river, three inches only of metal have been put upon it, and it is
+apparent that this will be totally insufficient to preserve it under the
+heavy travel upon that road. Besides, the bridges throughout the whole
+road remain untouched. Under these circumstances, it is impossible for
+us, in the discharge of our duty, to accept of it; and we would most
+earnestly but respectfully urge upon Congress the propriety of making
+such an appropriation as will complete the repairs in a substantial
+manner, as required by the act of our own legislature. We will not
+undertake to prescribe the amount which may be necessary; but, to
+satisfy your honorable bodies that we are disposed to go as far as the
+faithful discharge of our duty will permit, we hereby pledge ourselves,
+so soon as Congress shall make an appropriation of so much money as may
+be estimated by the department as necessary for that purpose, to accept
+of the road, and have toll gates erected without delay. We, therefore,
+beg leave most respectfully to submit to the wisdom of your honorable
+bodies to determine whether it will be better to make the necessary
+appropriation to justify us in accepting the road, and relieving the
+government from all future charge, or to keep it in its present state,
+subject to annual appropriations for its preservation, as heretofore.
+
+ THO. ENDSLEY.
+ STEPHEN HILL.
+ DAVID DOWNER.
+ WILLIAM F. COPLAN.
+ January 7, 1835. BENJAMIN ANDERSON.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+_To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the
+ United States in Congress assembled_:
+
+The undersigned beg leave to represent that they have been appointed
+commissioners, under the act of Assembly of the State of Maryland, to
+report to the Governor and Council of said State when that part of the
+Cumberland Road which lies within the limits of said State shall have
+been put in that state of repair contemplated by the act of Congress,
+and the act of Assembly of the State of Maryland, agreeing to receive
+the road and to keep it in repair; that they will with great pleasure
+report the road to the Governor and Council the moment they can with
+propriety do so. And they beg leave to represent that they feel
+authorized to say that the Governor and Council will, with great
+pleasure, authorize them to receive the road whenever it shall be put in
+that condition which would justify the State in accepting it. They
+further represent that the road has not yet been put in that condition
+that would justify them in advising the State to receive it. On some
+parts of the road no more than three and a half inches of metal has been
+put, and it is evident that this covering will be totally insufficient
+to preserve it in a fit state for use under the heavy travel which is
+constantly passing over it. The bridges also, throughout the whole
+distance, remain in a ruinous and dilapidated condition. They further
+respectfully represent that the new location from Cumberland, through
+the narrows of Wills creek and along Braddock's run, a distance of
+upwards of six miles, has had but three and a half inches of metal upon
+it; and the bridge over Wills creek and the bridges over Braddock's run
+were to be permanent stone structures, by the act of Assembly of
+Maryland, authorizing the President to change the location of the road.
+The undersigned are also advised that it is contemplated by the
+superintendent to put up wooden structures for bridges, in lieu of the
+stone bridges required by the act of Assembly of Maryland, authorizing
+the change in the location of the road, which would be in direct
+violation of that act. They further represent that the floors of wooden
+bridges must be removed every two or three years, and the whole
+structure of the bridges themselves must be built every twenty or
+twenty-five years.
+
+Under these circumstances it would be impossible for the undersigned, in
+the discharge of their duty, to recommend to the State the acceptance of
+the road. And they would most earnestly but respectfully urge upon
+Congress the propriety of making such an appropriation as will be
+sufficient to complete the repairs on the old road, and to finish the
+new location in a substantial manner, as contemplated and required by
+the act of the Legislature of Maryland. The undersigned will not
+undertake to prescribe the sum which may be necessary for this purpose;
+but, to satisfy your honorable bodies that they are disposed to go as
+far as the faithful discharge of their duty will permit, they hereby
+pledge themselves that so soon as Congress shall make an appropriation
+of so much money as may be estimated by the department as necessary for
+the completion of the repairs of the old road, and the finishing of the
+road on the new location, together with the construction of permanent
+stone bridges, they will forthwith report to the Governor and Council
+the state of the road, and recommend that the State receive such part of
+the road as may be completed, and to collect tolls on it to keep it in
+repair, thereby relieving the United States from any further expense for
+repairs on such part. They further beg leave most respectfully to submit
+to the wisdom of your honorable bodies to determine whether it will be
+better to make the necessary appropriation to enable them to recommend
+the road as in a fit condition to be received by the State, and thus
+relieve the government from any further burden, or to let it remain in
+its present state, subject to appropriations for its preservation, as
+heretofore.
+
+ JOHN HOYE,
+ MESHECK FROST,
+ Commissioners of the State of Maryland.
+
+On April 1, 1835, Pennsylvania accepted the road in the following
+brief terms, embodied in the third section of an act of her legislature
+of that date: "The surrender by the United States of so much of the
+Cumberland Road as lies within the State of Pennsylvania is hereby
+accepted by this State, and the commissioners to be appointed under
+this act are authorized to erect toll gates on the whole or any part of
+said road, at such time as they may deem it expedient to do so."
+
+Maryland, Virginia, and Ohio also accepted the road, and thenceforth
+it was, and remains under the control of the several States
+through which it passes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+ _Plan of Repairs--The Macadam System adopted--Mr. Stockton offers his
+ services--Capt. Delafield made Superintendent--The Road in a bad
+ condition--Permission asked to deviate from instructions, and
+ refused--Capt. Giesey lifted the old road bed indiscriminately--
+ First defects to be remedied--Lieut. Mansfield at Uniontown--Plan
+ emphasized in notices for contracts--Free passage for water a first
+ consideration._
+
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, July 23, 1832.
+
+_Lt. J. K. F. Mansfield, Corps of Engineers_:
+
+SIR: By direction of the Secretary of War, you have been assigned,
+temporarily, to the superintendence of the repairs of the Cumberland
+Road east of the Ohio river; and in the discharge of your duties in this
+capacity, you will be governed by the following instructions:
+
+1st. Respecting the parts to be repaired. The extreme limits within
+which your operations will be confined are, the point of intersection of
+the road with the western boundary line of the State of Pennsylvania,
+and Cumberland, in the State of Maryland; the dividing line between
+these States will be considered as dividing the line of the road to be
+repaired into two divisions, and the division within the State of
+Pennsylvania will be subdivided into six equal sections, and that within
+the State of Maryland, into two; then, having made a thorough
+examination of each of these sections, with a view to make yourself
+acquainted with their exact condition, you will classify them in the
+order of their condition, placing the worst first, the next worst
+second, and so on, making the best the last. You will then make an
+estimate for the repairs of each of these sections, to ascertain how far
+the appropriation, which is one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, will
+go toward repairing the whole road. Separate contracts will then be made
+for executing the repairs, commencing with No. 1, and passing regularly
+through the sections, as classified, to the best section; and these
+repairs will be prosecuted with as much despatch as the nature of the
+case will allow. Should you deem it advisable, in letting out these
+sections, to retain any portion of them which may seem to require but
+slight repairs, and which repairs could be executed with greater economy
+by having overseers and laborers to act under your immediate direction,
+you are at liberty to do so, bearing in mind, however, that whenever the
+repairs of the road can be made with equal economy, it is the wish of
+the department that they should be made by contract. As soon as one or
+more of these sections are finished, you will notify the commissioners
+appointed to receive this road by the laws of Pennsylvania and Maryland,
+approved, that of the former on the 4th day of April, 1831, and that of
+the latter on the 4th day of January, 1832, that these sections are
+ready to be turned over to the State, and you will accordingly turn them
+over.
+
+2d. Respecting the mode of repairs. In order to insure efficient and
+permanent repairs, they are to be made on that which is called the
+Macadam system; that is to say, the pavement of the old road must be
+entirely broken up, and the stones removed from the road; the bed of
+which must then be raked smooth, and made nearly flat, having a rise of
+not more than three inches from the side to the center, in a road thirty
+feet wide; the ditches on each side of the road, and the drains leading
+from them, are to be so constructed that the water cannot stand at a
+higher level than that which is eighteen inches below the lowest part of
+the surface of the road; and, in all cases, when it is practicable, the
+drains should be adjusted in such a manner as to lead the water entirely
+from the side ditches. The culverts are to be cleared out, and so
+adjusted as to allow the free passage of all water that may tend to
+cross the road.
+
+Having thus formed the bed of the road, cleaned out the ditches and
+culverts, and adjusted the side drains, the stone, reduced to a size not
+exceeding four ounces in weight, must be spread on with shovels, and
+raked smooth. The old material should be used only when it is of
+sufficient hardness, and no clay or sand must be mixed with the stone.
+
+In replacing the covering of stone, it will be found best to lay it on
+in strata of about three inches thick, admitting the travel for a short
+interval on each layer, and interposing such obstructions from time to
+time as will insure an equal travel over every portion of the road;
+taking care to keep persons in constant attendance to rake the surface
+when it becomes uneven by the action of the wheels of carriages. In
+those parts of the road, if any, where materials of good quality cannot
+be obtained from the road in sufficient quantity to afford a course of
+six inches, new stone must be procured to make up the deficiency to that
+thickness; but it is unnecessary, in any part, to put on a covering of
+more than nine inches. None but limestone, flint or granite, should be
+used for the covering, if practicable; and no covering should be placed
+upon the bed of the road till it has become well compacted and
+thoroughly dried. At proper intervals, on the slopes of hills, drains or
+paved catch-waters must be made across the road, when the cost of
+constructing culverts would render their use inexpedient. These
+catch-waters must be made with a gradual curvature, so as to give no
+jolts to the wheels of carriages passing over them; but whenever the
+expense will justify the introduction of culverts, they will be used in
+preference; and in all cases where the water crosses the road, either in
+catch-waters or under culverts, sufficient pavements and overfalls must
+be constructed to provide against the possibility of the road or banks
+being washed away by it.
+
+The masonry of the bridges, culverts, and side walls, must be repaired,
+when it may be required, in a substantial manner, and care must be taken
+that the mortar used be of good quality, without admixture of raw clay.
+All the masonry to be well pointed with hydraulic mortar, and in no case
+must the pointing be put on after the middle of October; all masonry
+finished after this time will be well covered, and pointed early in the
+following spring. Care must be taken, also, to provide means for
+carrying off the water from the bases of walls, to prevent the action of
+frost on their foundations; and it is highly important that all
+foundations in masonry should be well pointed with hydraulic mortar to a
+depth of eighteen inches below the surface of the ground.
+
+As the laws on the subject of this road do not seem to justify a
+deviation from the original location, you will be careful to confine
+your operations to the road as you find it located; but, as it is
+believed that its axis may be dropped without adding much to the expense
+in those places where its inclination with the horizon exceeds four
+degrees, you are authorized, under the exercise of a sound discretion,
+to make this change.
+
+In making your contracts, it must be understood that you are to have the
+general supervision of their execution, and that it will be your duty to
+see that all labor and materials (provided for by them) be applied in
+the most faithful and substantial manner. These contracts must provide
+in their specifications for all the work that can be anticipated, and
+should it happen that additional stipulations are afterwards found to be
+necessary for either workmanship or supplies not originally provided
+for, the facts must be reported to this department, and, with its
+approbation, if obtained, new contracts will be made for the additional
+services and supplies required; and it must be distinctly understood by
+the contractors that no payment will be made for work not provided for
+by their contracts.
+
+Mr. L. W. Stockton, of Uniontown, has been engaged on this road and is
+intimately acquainted with every part of it, as well as with the
+adjacent country; and, as he has offered his services, you would do well
+to call upon him and avail yourself of them in any capacity that may
+seem to you best.
+
+As soon as it can be done, a drawing of the whole road, with details of
+construction, will be forwarded, to be filed in this office.
+
+You will take up your headquarters at any point on the road where your
+services may appear to you to be most needed; and, as soon as you shall
+have completed such an examination of the road as will place you in
+possession of the information necessary to draw up the specifications to
+your contracts, you will invite proposals for those contracts through
+the public prints. These contracts will be closed with as little delay
+as the interest of the road will allow, when the work will be commenced,
+and the contracts, together with the proper estimates, forwarded to
+this office. For the mode of making these estimates, keeping your
+accounts, and conducting your correspondence with this office, you are
+referred to the regulations of the Engineer Department.
+
+Captain Delafield has been assigned to the permanent superintendence of
+the repairs of this road, and has been directed to join you on or before
+the 1st of October next. You will, therefore, immediately on his
+arrival, turn over to him these instructions, together with all the
+papers and public property that may be in your possession relating to
+the road. As soon as you shall have completed the necessary examinations
+on the road, you will commence and continue the repairs simultaneously
+in both States.
+
+You will make application for such instruments and funds as may appear
+necessary to enable you to execute the foregoing instructions.
+
+ I am, &c.,
+ C. GRATIOT,
+ Brigadier General.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ CUMBERLAND, MD., August 1, 1832.
+
+_Sir_: I have this evening returned from a general reconnoissance
+of the road in this State. I find the road in a shocking condition, and
+every rod of it will require great repair; some of it is now almost
+impassable. I purpose leaving here to-morrow, on a particular
+measurement and survey of the road as it is, and the requisites to put
+it in complete repair.
+
+The object of this communication is to request to be permitted
+to deviate, according to circumstances, from so much of my instructions
+as requires the old bed in all cases to be lifted, and the rise in
+the middle three inches; for there are parts of the road where the top
+of the old bed is full low, and where it will be more expensive, and
+less firm, to remove the old bed and fill in with earth, than to bring
+stone and Macadamize on the top of the old bed to the thickness of
+nine inches; and there are cases on the sides of the mountains where
+a greater rise than three inches, such, for instance, as some parts of it
+now have, which is more advantageous than a less one to confine the
+water to the gutters in cases of torrents, and thereby preventing a
+general sweep over the whole road, which would carry off the smallest
+stuff of a Macadamized road.
+
+The repairs made by Mr. Giesey, about two years since, have the
+radical fault resulting from having lifted the old road indiscriminately,
+and not giving sufficient rise to the center for a mountainous country.
+
+ I have the honor to be, sir,
+ Very respectfully, your most obedient,
+ J. K. F. MANSFIELD,
+ Lieut. of Engineers.
+
+Gen. Chas. Gratiot, Chief Engineer.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, August 9, 1832.
+
+_Sir_: Your letter of the 1st instant, requesting permission to deviate,
+according to circumstances, from so much of the instructions of the
+department to you, on the subject of the repairs of the Cumberland Road,
+as requires the old road in all cases to be lifted, and the rise in the
+middle to be made three inches, has been under consideration, and I have
+to inform you that this permission cannot be granted.
+
+In withholding the sanction of the department to any deviation from the
+prominent features of your instructions on the subject of these repairs,
+it may, perhaps, be proper to state, for your information, the views of
+the department on this subject.
+
+By referring to the report of Mr. Weaver, a printed copy of which you
+have in your possession, who made an examination of the Cumberland Road
+in 1827, you will perceive that the mode of constructing it was that of
+digging a trench, or of sinking the bed of the road below the natural
+surface of the ground; that this trench was filled with large stones,
+and that these were covered with stones a size smaller, and so on. By
+this construction, it was intended that the weight of the carriages
+passing over the road should be supported by the large stones, and that
+the smaller stones were only intended to present an even surface for the
+easy passage of vehicles over it. The great objections to this
+construction are, that the bed being lower than the surface of the
+ground on each side, the ditches can hardly ever be sunk sufficiently
+deep to intercept the passage of water from the ground adjacent to the
+road to the ditch or trench in which the road is made; this water, by
+keeping the bed constantly wet, would cause the heavy stones of the
+first layer to sink into the ground, and thus break up the surface of
+the road, and allow the free passage of water through the covering
+itself. In the winter, the frost acting upon the bed, rendered wet by
+the free passage of water to it in every direction, would heave the
+stones to such a degree that the road in a little time would be
+perfectly impassable; and if any evidence, in addition to that presented
+by the testimony of the most experienced and approved road builders,
+were necessary to convince the department that the present dilapidated
+state of the road under your charge is owing entirely to the operation
+of the causes above alluded to, it is believed that that evidence is
+found in the report made by Capt. Delafield, who inspected the repairs
+of this road made by Mr. Giesey. By pursuing the course suggested in
+your letter, it is believed that these objections and difficulties would
+still obtain, and that in a little time, however faithfully the repairs
+might be made on the top of the large stones, the road would be in as
+bad order as it is at present, since the great cause of these evils
+would remain, viz.: that of having the bed which supports the stones,
+and which in fact should be the real support of the traffic on the
+road, lower than the neighboring ground.
+
+It is the intention of the department that the defects of the first
+construction of the road shall be remedied in its repair, and as it is
+believed that the adoption, as nearly as practicable, of the Macadam
+system, in all its important features, presents the only means of
+effecting this remedy, and as this system forms the basis of your
+instructions, it is recommended that they be departed from as little as
+possible.
+
+It is by no means the intention of the department to take from you all
+discretion in the discharge of your duties; such a course would defeat
+the object had in view in sending an officer of engineers on the road;
+but it is believed to be highly important that the exercise of this
+discretion should be limited to an extent that will insure the adoption
+of such principles and rules as cannot fail to render these repairs
+permanent. For these principles and rules, you are referred to Mr.
+Macadam's work on the construction and repairs of roads, a copy of which
+is in your possession. In removing the metal from the old road, whenever
+hollows present themselves in the old bed, it is recommended that they
+be filled with earth; indeed, the whole bed of the road should be
+elevated, and its form given to it, before any of the covering of stone
+be replaced. The earth necessary for this may be taken from the ditches,
+or even from the sides of the road, where it can be done without
+encroaching upon the privileges of persons residing on the road.
+
+ I am, &c., &c.,
+ C. GRATIOT.
+ Lt. J. K. F. Mansfield,
+ Corps of Engineers, Uniontown, Pa.
+
+
+ EXTRACTS FROM NOTICES FOR CONTRACTS.
+
+ PLAN OF REPAIRS.
+
+The plan for repair is to lift the pavement of the old road in all
+cases, and deposit the stone off the bed; then to repair the culverts,
+clear the drains, ditches, and culverts, so as to admit the free passage
+of water, and graduate the bed of the road, so that, when well packed by
+travel or other means, it will be three inches higher in the middle than
+at either side, for a bed of thirty feet. Having thus formed the bed of
+the road, the hard stone (if there be any) of the old road, broken to a
+size not exceeding four ounces, is to be placed on the bed of the road
+to a breadth of twenty feet, and a thickness not exceeding nine inches,
+and in cases where there is a deficiency of the old material, limestone
+or whinstone is to be procured to supply the deficiency to the required
+thickness of nine inches. Catch-waters and hollow-ways to be permanently
+constructed on the sides of hills, and at other places where it will be
+thought necessary by the superintending engineer, but in no case to
+exceed one in every twelve rods. In those sections where pieces of
+hitherto Macadamized road are included, the sand is to be taken off,
+and, before new metal is added, the surface loosened with a pick. The
+metal added to be three inches thick in the cases heretofore
+Macadamized.
+
+ JOS. K. F. MANSFIELD,
+ Lieutenant Corps of Engineers.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, August 27, 1832.
+
+_Sir_: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 24th
+inst., inclosing two printed advertisements for proposals to contract
+for the repairs of the Cumberland Road under your charge.
+
+In answer, the department would call your attention to your remarks
+under the head "Plan of Repairs," and would suggest that, instead of
+removing the stones from the bed of the road before the drains, ditches,
+and culverts are put in repair, to allow the free passage of water from
+the road, this latter operation should be first attended to, to the end
+that the removal of the stone from the road might be effected without
+the fear of being annoyed by the accumulation of water from heavy rains.
+Besides, thus preparing the drains, ditches, &c., in the first place,
+would enable the bed to become perfectly dry by the time the stones are
+prepared to be replaced.
+
+ I am, &c.,
+ C. GRATIOT.
+
+ Lt. J. K. F. Mansfield,
+ Corps of Engineers, Uniontown, Pa.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+ _Lieut. Mansfield superseded by Capt. Delafield--The Turning of Wills
+ Mountain--Contractors not Properly Instructed--Capt. Delafield
+ suggests a Change of Plan, and enforces his Views by Copious
+ Quotations from Macadam--He is Permitted to exercise his own
+ Discretion--Too much sand between Uniontown and
+ Cumberland--Operations at Wills Creek suspended--A Collision with
+ the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company--The difficulty adjusted, and
+ operations resumed._
+
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, October 5, 1832.
+
+_Sir_: On the arrival of Captain Delafield, of the engineers, on the
+Cumberland Road in Pennsylvania and Maryland, you will hand to him the
+enclosed communication, which assigns to him the superintendence of the
+repairs of that road which have heretofore been conducted under your
+supervision. You will, also, turn over to him all the funds, books,
+papers, and public property in your possession appertaining to this
+road, and close your account with it.
+
+ Very respectfully, &c.,
+ By order: WM. H. C. BARTLETT,
+ Lieut, and Assistant to Chief Engineer.
+
+ Lieut. J. K. F. Mansfield,
+ Corps of Engineers, Uniontown, Pa.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Uniontown, December 13, 1832.
+
+_Sir_: The surveys of a route for turning Wills mountain by the valley
+of Braddock's run and Wills creek are progressing, being retarded only
+by the weather. I have examined the whole route, and can confirm the
+most satisfactory account you may have heard of it. The ground over
+which the road will pass is a uniform inclined plane, requiring very few
+culverts, two small bridges over Braddock's run of about fifteen feet
+span each, with side hill in no other part than about 300 yards in the
+"Narrows" of Wills creek, where a most simple and expedient plan will be
+to use the level and smooth bottom of the creek for the road, by
+building a wall not to exceed ten feet in height, thus throwing the
+stream on the opposite bank, peculiarly well formed for this
+construction, being a low bottom of alluvion. The idea of cutting into
+the mountain would be expensive, and no better than throwing the creek
+from its present bed.
+
+On the arrival of Mr. Pettit, I shall divide the road into four
+sections, giving him one. The present condition of the road is most
+unpromising. Nearly every contractor has formed his bed in the valley
+made by the removal of the old pavement, the consequence of which is,
+that, with the mild season and rainy weather, the bed is not drained,
+nor can it be, until the side roads are cut down to the bottom of the
+stone strata--a measure I directed as the only means of correcting the
+evil. Time, and the headstrong obstinacy of some of the contractors,
+have prevented much of the work being so attended to. All the contracts
+made by Lieut. Mansfield distinctly specify that the road for 30 feet in
+width shall be graded in such manner as to avoid this difficulty; yet in
+carrying the contracts into effect, the superintendents have, in no
+instance, instructed the contractors in the proper course. They have, in
+most instances too, permitted the stone to be broken on the road; the
+consequences of this are, much sand and dirt in the metal, and a bed
+graded without proper attention. This is the more remarkable, as in my
+report on the work executed two years since by one of the present
+superintendents, these errors were pointed out as serious evils, yet
+they are not corrected. It must be expected, therefore, that all that
+part of the road now under construction will be very indifferently made,
+and by no means such as the Macadam system calls for. By the time the
+superintendents acquire a knowledge of their business, the present
+contracts will be completed. Instead of giving out any more of the work
+under the present system, as I had contemplated and advertised, I shall
+postpone doing so until I am better assured that the work can be
+properly executed. I look anxiously for Mr. Pettit, trusting his
+intelligence may correct some of the defects in the section he will be
+called upon to superintend.
+
+To instruct the superintendents in their duties, I shall be compelled to
+have printed a manual or primer, with a few lithographic sections, that
+the sight may aid the mind in a proper understanding of the business. To
+persevere in the present plan, where neither contractors,
+superintendents, nor laborers, understand their business, is highly
+inexpedient, and I shall forthwith commence maturing a system that must
+be productive of more good with less money, or it were better to leave
+the work undone, for I am satisfied that durability can not be looked
+for under the present system.
+
+My first business will be to draw the operations to a close, and then
+endeavor to bring about the correction. You will be apprised of my views
+before carrying any of them into effect, observing that, in anticipation
+of a change, I have suspended making the contracts alluded to in my
+communication of the 27th ultimo.
+
+ Respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ RICH'D DELAFIELD,
+ Captain of Engineers.
+ Brig. Gen. Charles Gratiot,
+ Chief Engineer.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ BALTIMORE, May 6, 1833.
+
+_Sir_: The instructions of the department of the 23d July last, relating
+to the method of repairing the Cumberland Road east of the Ohio, are
+founded upon principles upon which I differ in opinion, and beg leave to
+request your reconsideration, involving, as they do, an expenditure of
+not less than $250,000, when compared with what I judge to be the most
+judicious method of making the repairs.
+
+It is in relation to the propriety of breaking up the old bed of the
+road in all cases. I apprehend the department was not aware that the bed
+is a substantial, yet rough pavement, and not formed of loose, detached
+masses of quarry stone thrown together, without order. It is important
+to consider this particular when examining the authorities on road
+making.
+
+My own views are that it is decidedly preferable to retain the old
+pavement in all cases where its continuity is unbroken, even mending
+small parts that may be deranged, and Macadamizing over it. In this, I
+think, I am borne out by Macadam, Dean, Telford, and Farey, whose ideas
+on the subject are annexed, as extracted from "Macadam on Roads."
+
+The only two arguments against the method I propose are, first, that the
+metal will grind to dust by being placed over large stone. In answer to
+which, I say, that the road passing through a rocky country, even after
+removing the pavement, there still remains a rocky foundation; and where
+the pavement is well bedded in sand or clay, we have all the elasticity
+necessary from the clay or sand bed through the pavement. In support of
+which, see the sample of metal taken from the road through Uniontown,
+where the under strata have not worn or crushed an iota, presenting
+angles as sharp as the day they were first placed there. Were the metal
+placed upon an unyielding rock, it would doubtless soon grind to dust;
+but placing it upon a pavement laid in sand or gravel, preserves the
+elasticity so necessary for this kind of road. Second: That large stone,
+placed under Macadam metal, will work to the surface. This is doubtless
+true when detached pieces are surrounded by the metal, but with a
+pavement the case is very different. I find pieces of this Cumberland
+Road, repaired as far back as 1827, by Mr. Ewing, over the old pavement,
+in perfect order to this day; as, also, some parts done in this way by
+Giesey in 1829, that are much better than any of the repairs he made at
+the same time; and a piece through Uniontown, by the authorities of the
+place, in 1830, remains in perfect order.
+
+I have been led to reflect upon this subject from learning that the Ohio
+road had cut through and was impassable at certain places during the
+months of February and March, and seeing the state of the road under my
+supervision between Cumberland and Wheeling, comparing the parts
+repaired last season, those under Giesey, Ewing, and the town
+authorities, with the old pavement that has stood sixteen years without
+a cent of money in repair, and to this day is a very good wagon road,
+rough, it is true, yet never cutting through during the fall, winter,
+or spring, where the pavement is continuous. To throw away so firm a
+foundation I cannot think advisable, and beg you to reflect upon the
+subject and favor me with your views.
+
+The road in Ohio has worn six years (nearly) without repairs, and was
+impassable this spring. The old Cumberland Road has worn sixteen years,
+and mile after mile has never been known to cut through at any season.
+Parts of it covered with Macadamized metal, and worn for five years, are
+in fine order, and present a very smooth surface, never having cut
+through. Other parts, where the old pavement has been removed and
+Macadamized, were impassable during the spring after three years' wear.
+We have to bear in mind the impossibility of keeping the ditches and
+drains open in the mountains during the winter. Ice forming in the
+drains will, of course, throw the melting snows on the surface of the
+road, which is destructive to a Macadamized road on clay or sand,
+whereas, if on the old pavement, it has strength enough to resist the
+travel until either dried by frost, or sun. This is a consideration that
+the English road-makers had not to consider with the same weight. As to
+keeping the drains open, and the road surface free from water in the
+winter, I conceive it impracticable in the mountains; hence the further
+propriety of preserving a foundation that will secure a firm road at all
+seasons, even if the wear should prove some five or ten per cent. more
+rapid, which I do not even think will be the case on the plan suggested
+of Macadamizing upon a pavement, and not on an unyielding, rocky bottom.
+
+ Respectfully, your obedient servant,
+
+ RICHARD DELAFIELD,
+ Captain of Engineers.
+
+ Brig. Gen. C. Gratiot,
+ Chief Engineer.
+
+
+ EXTRACTS FROM "MACADAM ON ROADS," MADE BY CAPTAIN DELAFIELD IN SUPPORT
+ OF HIS VIEWS RELATING TO THE PAVEMENT FORMING THE BED OF THE
+ "CUMBERLAND ROAD EAST OF THE OHIO."
+
+Page 39.--"It would be highly unprofitable to lift and relay a road,
+even if the materials should have been originally too large. The road
+between Cirencester and Bath is made of stone too large in size. In this
+case I recommend cutting down the high places," &c.
+
+Page 40.--"A part of the road in the Bath district is made of freestone,
+which it would be unprofitable to lift. Other cases of several kinds
+have occurred where a different method must be adopted, but which it is
+impossible to specify, and must be met by the practical skill of the
+officer, and who must constantly recur to general principles."
+
+Page 42.--"The price of lifting a road, &c., leaving the road in a
+finished state, has been found in practice to be from 1d. to 2d. per
+superficial yard, lifted four inches deep."
+
+Page 47.--"It is well known to every skillful and observant road-maker,
+that if strata of stone of various sizes be placed on a road, the
+largest stones will constantly work up." (This is in no manner
+applicable to a pavement, and a road made even in the manner he alludes
+to was lifted only four inches deep.--R. D.)
+
+Page 105.--"How deep do you go in lifting the roads? That depends upon
+circumstances, but I have generally gone four inches deep. I take up the
+materials four inches, and, having broken the large pieces, I put them
+back again."
+
+"Does the plan which you have mentioned, of breaking up the roads, apply
+to gravel roads, or only to those roads composed of hard stones? In
+gravel roads, and in some other roads, it would be impossible to break
+them up to advantage; and, in several places, I should think it
+unprofitable to lift a road at all. I did not order the road near
+Reading to be lifted, but I directed, whenever a large piece of flint
+was seen, it should be taken up, broken, and put down again. I am
+speaking of a gravel road now."
+
+Page 107.--"There are other cases besides that of gravel, in which I
+should think it unprofitable to lift a road. The road between ---- and
+---- is made of very soft stone, and is of so brittle a nature, that if
+it were lifted it would rise in sand, and there would be nothing to lay
+down again that would be useful. I should not recommend lifting of
+freestone roads, for the same reason, because it would go so much to
+sand that there would be very little to lay down again. I will explain
+what I have done to the road between Cirencester and Bath. I was obliged
+to lift a little of the sides of the road, in order to give it shape,
+but in the center of the road we 'shoved it.' It was before in the state
+which the country people call gridirons: that is, it was in large
+ridges, with long hollows between, and we cut down the high part to a
+level with the bottom of the furrows, and took the materials and sifted
+them at the side of the road, and returned what was useful to the
+center."
+
+(So far we have the views of Mr. Macadam. From the same work I continue
+to quote.--R. D.)
+
+Page 153.--"Considering the very great traffic upon Whitechapel road, is
+it your opinion (addressed to Mr. Farey) that it would be advantageous
+to pave any part of that road? I think it would be desirable to pave it
+within some feet of the footpath," &c.
+
+Page 158.--"In the neighborhood of London the materials that are to be
+procured are of too tender and brittle a nature to endure the wear of
+the heavy carriages. I, therefore, am of the opinion that it would be
+proper to pave the sides of all the principal entrances into London."
+
+Page 166.--"James Walker says, 'The traffic upon the Commercial rail
+road, both up and down, is very great. I am quite sure that the expense
+of this road would have been very much greater, probably much more than
+doubled, if it had not been paved. The road has been paved for about
+sixteen years, and the expense of supporting it has been small. During
+the thirteen years that the East India dock branch has been paved, the
+paving has not cost £20.'"
+
+Page 167.--"But as the paving is always preferred for heavy carriages,"
+&c.
+
+Page 172.--"The thickness ought to be such, that the greatest weight
+will not effect more than the surface of the shell, in order to spread
+the weight which comes upon a small part only of the road over a large
+portion of the foundation."
+
+Page 173.--"If the foundation is bad, breaking the bottom stone into
+small pieces is expensive and injurious, upon the principle I have above
+described, for the same reason that an arch formed of whole bricks, or
+deep stones, is preferred to one of the same materials broken into
+smaller pieces, for, in some countries, the materials will admit of the
+foundation of the road being considered as of the nature of a flat arch,
+as well as being supported by the strata directly under it. But the
+error of laying stones in large pieces upon the surface is more common
+and more injurious."
+
+Page 183.--"James Dean says, 'Near to great towns it would be highly
+advantageous if the center of the road, for about twelve feet in width,
+were to be paved with hard, well-squared stones, nine inches deep.'"
+
+Page 188.--"Thomas Telford, Esq., says, 'The improvements made in North
+Wales I beg leave to submit as models for the roads through hilly
+countries. Great pains have been taken in constructing firm and
+substantial foundations for the metallic part of the roadway.'"
+
+Page 189.--"There has been no attention paid to constructing a good and
+solid foundation for the roadway."
+
+Page 192.--"Are you of the opinion that it would be advisable or
+practicable to procure, from any particular part of the country, better
+materials, so as to form perfect roads without the necessity of paving
+them? That these materials could be procured, is evident; but I am
+satisfied that the most economical and preferable mode would be by the
+means of paving."
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT.
+ WASHINGTON. May 8, 1833.
+
+_Sir_: Your communication of the 6th instant, submitting your views in
+regard to lifting the old bed in prosecuting the repairs of the
+Cumberland road east of the Ohio, and requesting a reconsideration of so
+much of the instructions of the department of the 23d July last as
+relates to this matter, has just been received. That part of the
+instructions alluded to, which requires that the old bed shall, in all
+cases, be taken up, will be considered as suspended, and you are hereby
+authorized to exercise your discretion in this particular.
+
+ Very respectfully, &c.,
+ C. GRATIOT, Brig. General.
+ Capt. R. Delafield,
+ Corps of Engineers, Uniontown, Pa.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ UNIONTOWN, PA., June 11, 1833.
+
+_Sir_: I find upon an examination of the National Road, under your
+superintendence, from Cumberland to this place, that too great a portion
+of sand and other perishable stone has been allowed to be put on it. In
+almost the whole distance, little or no regard has been paid to the
+keeping the side drains open, at least sufficiently so to carry the
+water freely from the road. The culverts are too few and small,
+particularly on the long slopes; and the manner of constructing the
+hollow-ways and catch-waters is defective. These errors of construction
+cause the water, in many places, to pass over the road, to its rapid
+destruction. I am aware of the difficulties you have to contend with
+under the contract system, and that to this cause most of the evils
+complained of may be traced. As it is all important that they should be
+remedied, as soon as practicable, you will enforce the early completion
+of the several contracts, according to their conditions, after making
+due allowance for the stoppage arising from your order for suspending
+operations during last winter. On the completion of the road, should it
+be found not to possess the requisite properties to secure its
+permanency, you will make such additions under your own agency as will
+place it in the condition contemplated by the government, before turning
+it over to the States. Not less than six inches of lime or sandstone
+should be put upon the surface, and where lime is exclusively used, the
+thickness should not be less than nine inches. The side ditches should,
+when practicable, be at least eighteen inches below the bed of the road;
+and when this cannot be done, culverts, 2'×3', should be constructed at
+convenient distances to carry off the water, which, in no instance,
+should be allowed to rise above the level of the bed of the road. The
+catch-waters should be constructed in such a manner, that while they
+subserve the purposes for which they are intended, they should admit the
+passage of vehicles without jolting; and, in every case, with a view to
+prevent their being washed into deep gullies. As this frequently happens
+when they are constructed with broken stone, it will be proper to pave
+them with shingle stones, if to be had; or, when this cannot be
+obtained, with limestone firmly imbedded in the road. It should
+especially be observed that, before breaking up the road for the
+reception of the metal, the ditches should be first prepared, and then
+the culverts. This will keep the roadway dry for travel, and better
+prepare it for the reception of its covering. As it is found
+impracticable to keep the travel from the center of the road, and the
+deep ruts that are formed, then, as a consequence, I would recommend,
+instead of the present system of blocking, that rakers should be
+constantly employed to preserve the transverse profile. If it does not
+come within the spirit of the contract, that this labor should be
+performed by the contractors, you will hire men to do it yourself. This
+operation, in addition to the draining system before recommended, will,
+it is presumed, preserve the road from further ruin, and place it in a
+condition to receive its last coat of limestone. Finally, while
+studying due economy in your administration of the affairs of the road,
+you should constantly bear in mind that the wishes of the government are
+to have a superior road, both as regards workmanship, and the quality of
+the materials used in its construction. With this understanding, it is
+expected that you will avail yourself of all the facilities within your
+reach to effect, in a satisfactory manner to yourself and the public at
+large, the great end proposed--the construction of a road unrivaled in
+the country. These are the views and special instructions of the
+Secretary of War.
+
+ I am, respectfully, &c.,
+ C. GRATIOT, Brig. General.
+ Capt. R. Delafield,
+ Corps of Engineers, Uniontown, Pa.
+
+ * * * * *
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, July 16, 1833.
+
+_Sir_: You will forthwith cause all operations to cease on that
+part of the new location of the Cumberland Road on the east of Wills
+creek. You shall in a few days receive further instructions on this
+subject.
+
+ Very respectfully, &c.,
+ WM. H. C. BARTLETT,
+ Lieut. and Assistant to Chief Engineer.
+
+ Capt. R. Delafield,
+ Corps of Engineers, Uniontown, Pa.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, July 20, 1833.
+
+_Sir_: On the 16th you were advised to delay any further action as to
+the location of the Cumberland Road until you were again written to.
+
+Mr. Purcell reports to the Board of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
+Company that the road being at the site now chosen will occasion an
+increased cost to the Canal Company of upwards of $16,000. It is very
+desirable to avoid this state of things, for, as their charter claims
+precedence, it would necessarily create a demand upon the government
+commensurate with the injury sustained.
+
+Major Eaton, president of the Canal Company, will direct Mr. Purcell,
+the engineer, to proceed forthwith to Cumberland, with you, to ascertain
+the best mode of making the location by which to avoid any injury or
+increased expense to the Canal Company. You are instructed to confer
+freely with Mr. Purcell, holding the object suggested steadily in view,
+and give such direction to the location of the road as may best attain
+this object. This done, you will forward a plan of the route agreed on,
+and a minute detail of everything, particularly what increased expense
+to the Canal Company will probably be occasioned. On receiving your
+report, the case will be considered here, and you be advised immediately
+of the course to be pursued.
+
+ Very respectfully, &c., &c.,
+ By order: WM. H. C. BARTLETT,
+ Lieut. and Assistant to Chief Engineer.
+
+ Capt. R. Delafield,
+ Corps of Engineers, Uniontown, Pa.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ PHILADELPHIA, July 26, 1833.
+
+_Sir_: The order of your department of the 16th instant was received by
+me at Cumberland, and its injunctions forthwith carried into effect. The
+communication of the 20th has since been received, explanatory of that
+order. In relation to locating that part of the National Road that might
+probably interfere with the Canal Company, measures were taken to
+procure from the Company such information as would enable me to locate
+the road without coming in contact with any part of the Canal route;
+and, so far as the information was furnished, I have endeavored so to
+do. I enclose copies of the letter and information received from the
+president of the company, in reply to a request for such information as
+would enable me to "ascertain at what point the Chesapeake and Ohio
+Company contemplate erecting their dam across Wills creek, and to what
+height it will be raised above low water. The information desired is for
+enabling me to locate the bridge for the road at a point, and elevate
+its arches to such a height that the interest of the Canal Company will
+not be effected; and that I may at the same time, fulfill the objects
+contemplated by the law authorizing the new location."
+
+In reply to which you will perceive "the location of the canal is that
+recommended by General Bernard, and the Board of Internal Improvement,
+over which he presided," and that it was proposed to feed the canal at
+Cumberland, and below by a dam to be erected across the Potomac about a
+mile above Cumberland. The water of the Potomac was to be carried over
+Wills creek twenty-one or two feet above ordinary water in the creek.
+
+Such is the information furnished me by the president of the Canal
+Company, and by which I have been governed in the location of the road.
+On the eastern side of Wills creek the grading is finished to the site
+of the bridge; on the western side I have directed no work to be
+executed that can have any bearing upon this point.
+
+You perceive it has been my study to avoid conflicting with the
+interests of the Canal Company; but, from the want of knowing the exact
+location of their works, will occasion to them an increased expense, as
+reported by Mr. Purcell, of 16,000 dollars if the bridge is constructed
+at the point now chosen. If, then, the Company will cause the Canal to
+be located through the gap of Wills mountain, and give me bench marks
+from which to ascertain the cuttings and embankments they propose
+making, I will then locate the road on such ground as not to interfere
+in any manner with their operations, and such as shall be most
+advantageous for the public interest. I judge the communication of the
+department was written under the impression that an interference with
+the works of the Canal Company was unavoidable, and that some compromise
+of advantages and disadvantages would necessarily have to be made. Such,
+however, I do not conceive to be the case.
+
+I have located as high up the creek as would give room for a six horse
+team to turn off and on a bridge at right angles with the stream with
+facility. If the Canal Company make choice of this ground, I have but to
+make a bridge oblique with the current, and thus avoid the work of the
+Canal Company. To ascertain this, it is essential that the Canal Company
+should make choice of the ground and locate their works; after having so
+done, if they will favor me with plans and sections, with bench marks of
+reference of the part in the valley of the creek, the road shall be made
+not to interfere with their interest, which has always been looked upon
+by me as claiming precedence.
+
+I have here pointed out a course for the consideration of the
+department, differing materially from the one ordered by the letter of
+the 20th instant. First, in consideration of its not being acquainted
+with the nature of the case, and, next, with its requiring me to perform
+a service in no way necessary to a proper understanding of the interests
+of the Government connected with the road; to do which, surveys, levels,
+calculations of excavation and embankment must be made, that the time of
+neither myself nor the officers associated with me could accomplish.
+
+What I ask is, information from the Company as to their own works
+solely. It will suffice for all purposes connected with the location of
+the road.
+
+Be pleased to address me at New Castle, and on any matter relating to
+the section of the road near Cumberland requiring immediate attention, a
+copy of the communication forwarded to Lieutenant Pickell, at that
+place, would prevent any delay; Lieutenant P. being the officer to whom
+I have assigned this particular section of the road.
+
+ Respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ RICH'D DELAFIELD.
+ Captain of Engineers.
+ Brig. Gen. Charles Gratiot.
+ Chief Engineer.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ WASHINGTON, D. C., May 10, 1832.
+
+_Sir_: Your letter to Mr. Ingle, the clerk of the Chesapeake and Ohio
+Canal Company, has been handed over to me, and I am authorized, on the
+part of the president and directors, to express to you our thanks for
+the considerate regard you have paid to the location adopted by the
+Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, for the part of their work which
+will pass through Cumberland. The location adopted is that recommended
+by General Bernard, and the Board of Internal Improvement, over which he
+presided.
+
+When the proposed change of the Cumberland Road immediately above the
+town was under consideration of the Committee on Roads and Canals, I
+suggested the very precaution you now practice, which was to see that no
+conflict would arise in hereafter conducting the canal over its long
+established route, by a conflict with the location of the improved road,
+the value of which I know well how to appreciate. The hill above
+Cumberland, which it is proposed to avoid, was the worst between that
+place and Wheeling, if reference be had to the inclination of its
+surface. General Bernard proposed to feed the canal at Cumberland, and
+for some distance below it, as far, at least, as the mouth of the South
+branch, by means of a dam to be erected at a ledge of rocks crossing the
+Potomac about a mile above Cumberland. The dam was to be elevated so
+high as to conduct the canal over Wills creek at Cumberland, with an
+elevation of twenty-one or twenty-two feet above ordinary water in the
+creek. This was to be effected by an aqueduct across the creek. I
+presume at this season of the year the ledge of rocks is visible above
+Cumberland. Enclosed I send you extracts from General Bernard's report,
+which accompanied the President's message to Congress of December 9,
+1826, and is now a congressional record. From that you may perhaps infer
+all that is essential to your purpose of avoiding a collision with the
+rights of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, who have adopted for
+the location of the canal General Bernard's report.
+
+ C. F. MERCER,
+ President of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company.
+
+
+ EXTRACTED--PAGE 55, DOC. NO. 10, 19TH CONGRESS,
+ 2D SESSION.--EXECUTIVE PAPERS.
+
+"The difficulties of this passage (down Wills creek) are great, and
+continue for more than a mile. The ground then becomes favorable
+(_i.e._, in descending Wills creek from the west), permitting the canal
+to pass at the outskirts of Cumberland, to join with the eastern
+section. Adjoining Cumberland, the canal will receive a feeder from the
+Potomac for a supply below, and more especially to complete what is
+necessary in relation to the first subdivision of the eastern section.
+
+"This feeder is proposed to be made navigable, in order to accommodate
+the trade of the Potomac above Cumberland. Its length is one mile, its
+width at the water line thirty feet, its depth four feet. At its point
+of departure from the Potomac, a basin is formed in the bed of the
+river, by means of a dam erected at the first ledge above Cumberland.
+
+"This basin, comprehending an extent of about eight miles, will afford a
+constant supply of water, and also accommodate the canal trade of the
+Potomac. The levees around the basin, the dam, the guard lock of the
+feeder, and its aqueduct over Wills creek, are included in the estimate
+of this subdivision.
+
+"In the table of quantities and cost, this feeder is made to cost a very
+large sum (two or three words illegible in the MS.) if the dam above
+Cumberland is supposed to be ever changed from the above location. The
+aqueduct over Wills creek is computed to cost $41,601; the length of the
+aqueduct, seventy yards; the number of arches, three; the span of the
+arch, thirty feet; the height of the piers, sixteen feet."
+
+The above is a true copy.
+ C. F. MERCER.
+May 10, 1833.
+
+ * * * * *
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, August 10, 1833.
+
+_Sir_: The Secretary of War has just returned to this place, having
+passed over the Cumberland Road east of the Ohio. He feels great
+interest in this road, and is anxious that the operations on it shall be
+so directed as to obtain the best possible results. His confidence in
+your ability induced him to select you as its superintendent, knowing
+that under your management his wishes would be realized; and deeming it
+a work of much greater importance than that with which you are occupied
+on the Delaware, he has expressed a wish that by far the greater portion
+of your time should be passed upon the road. You will, therefore, repair
+to Cumberland without loss of time, ascertain the exact location of the
+Chesapeake and Ohio canal along the valley of Wills creek, and so adjust
+that of the road as shall remove the present difficulties, and avoid any
+interference with the interests of the Canal Company. This being done,
+you will communicate to the department the result.
+
+ Very respectfully, &c.,
+ WM. H. C. BARTLETT,
+ Lt. and Ass't to Ch. Eng'r.
+ Capt. R. Delafield,
+ Corps of Engineers, New Castle, Del.
+
+ * * * * *
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, September 12, 1833.
+
+_Sir_: Your letter of the 9th instant, enclosing a plan and sections of
+part of Wills' creek, exhibiting the location of the National Road "as
+now constructed;" the ground selected by the engineer of the Chesapeake
+and Ohio Canal Company for its canal, and the new location of the
+National Road, in consequence of the Canal Company having made choice of
+the route upon which the road was constructed, has been received. The
+plan has been submitted, with the approval of this department, to the
+Secretary of War, and by him adopted; and the construction of the road
+on the new location will, therefore, be proceeded with.
+
+ I am, sir, &c.,
+ C. GRATIOT,
+ Brig. General.
+ Capt. R. Delafield,
+ Corps of Engineers, Cumberland, Md.
+
+ * * * * *
+ CUMBERLAND ROAD, AT STODDARD'S, MD.,
+ September 17, 1833.
+
+_Sir_: I enclose herewith plan and sections of part of the Cumberland
+Road between Cumberland and Frostburg, where an alteration has just been
+made in the location, by which a very steep hill is avoided, and the
+distance decreased.
+
+By the new route there is a slope of 18-2/10 feet in a distance of
+1,600; by the old road the slope was 53.9' in 700 feet on one side of
+the hill, and 35.7' in 900 feet on the other side.
+
+This is now undergoing construction. The foundation of the center pier
+of the bridge over Wills creek is raised above water. Respectfully, your
+obedient servant,
+
+ RICH'D DELAFIELD,
+ Captain of Engineers.
+ Brig. Gen. Charles Gratiot.
+ Chief Engineer.
+
+ * * * * *
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT.
+ WASHINGTON, September 25, 1833.
+
+_Sir_: Your letter of the 17th inst., enclosing a plan and sections of
+part of the Cumberland Road between Cumberland and Frostburg, where you
+had made an alteration in the location, thereby avoiding a steep hill,
+and decreasing the distance, was duly received; and I have to inform you
+that the alteration referred to has been approved. I am, &c.,
+
+ C. GRATIOT,
+ Brig. General.
+ Capt. R. Delafield,
+ Corps of Engineers, Cumberland, Md.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+ _On with the work--Wooden Bridges proposed for the new location up
+ Wills Creek and Braddock's Run--The War Department holds that
+ Wooden Superstructures would be a Substantial Compliance with the
+ Maryland law--New instructions issued from Wheeling--The old bed to
+ be retained--Two classes of work--Frauds by Contractors--Form for
+ Contracts forwarded from Brownsville--Report and Estimate called
+ for by the Senate--The law of Congress renders a change of plan
+ necessary--The Secretary of War greatly interested in the
+ Road--Cumberland to Frostburg._
+
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, June 25, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: In addition to the views of the department, communicated to you
+this morning, I now have to request that you will proceed to apply the
+funds available for the Cumberland Road east of the Ohio, with the
+utmost despatch consistent with the public interest. It is greatly to be
+desired that the repairs of this road may be completed before the
+termination of the coming fall.
+
+ I am, &c .,
+ C. GRATIOT,
+ Brigadier General.
+ Capt. R. Delafield,
+ Corps of Engineers, New Castle, Del.
+
+
+ CUMBERLAND, Md., July 23, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: I beg leave to call your attention to the act of the Legislature
+of Maryland, giving its consent to change the location of the National
+Road near this place, to turn Wills mountain by the route of Wills creek
+and Braddock's run, in which it is provided that certain bridges shall
+be constructed of stone, and to compare this act with that of the last
+session of Congress, and inform me whether or not I will be justified in
+constructing the bridges with stone abutments and wing-walls, and
+_wooden_ superstructures. There is a necessity growing out of the cost,
+the law requiring the road to be finished with $300,000.
+
+From the most advantageous offers received, the bridge over Wills creek
+will not cost less than $15,000, constructed of stone, and if built of
+wood, planed, and painted with three coats of white lead, roofed with
+shingles, will cost not to exceed $7,000. There are two other bridges on
+the same new route to be constructed, the ratio of expense of which will
+not materially vary. * * *
+
+ Respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ RICH'D DELAFIELD,
+ Captain of Engineers.
+ Brig. Gen. Charles Gratiot,
+ Chief Engineer.
+
+
+ CUMBERLAND, July 24, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: I have just finished comparing the numerous offers for work to be
+done on the 16 miles of road immediately west of this place. There is
+great competition among very excellent and responsible men of the
+country, as well as from the railroad and canal below us.
+
+The offers for the bridge render its construction with stone next to
+impracticable, under the law, to finish the road with $300,000. They are
+as follows: $22,000, $21,930, $23,323, $22,680, $24,000.
+
+To construct the abutments I have offers at $3.80 cents per perch; that
+would, with the superstructure of wood, make the whole cost not to
+exceed $6,500 to $7,000. We cannot with propriety expend so large a sum
+for a stone bridge, with such limited means. I strongly recommend a
+wooden superstructure if compatible with existing laws under which we
+act, and beg to be advised as requested in my letter of yesterday.
+
+ Respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ RICH'D DELAFIELD,
+ Captain of Engineers.
+ Brig. Gen. Charles Gratiot,
+ Chief Engineer.
+
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT.
+ WASHINGTON, July 29, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: It has just been determined by the War Department that the
+substitution of wood for stone, in the superstructures of the bridges on
+the new piece of road around Wills hill would be deemed by the State of
+Maryland a substantial compliance with the requirements of her law
+giving assent to the change from the old to the present location of that
+part of the road. You will, therefore, build the abutments of those
+bridges in a good and durable manner, of the best stone to be had in
+your immediate neighborhood, and make the superstructure of wood. These
+last, when completed, must be well covered, and painted in the best
+manner. This is communicated in answer to your two letters of the 23d
+and 24th instant, on the subject, which are at hand.
+
+ I am, &c.,
+ C. GRATIOT.
+ Capt. R. Delafield,
+ Corps of Engineers. Cumberland, Md.
+
+
+ COPY OF INSTRUCTIONS SENT BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE CUMBERLAND
+ ROAD, EAST OF THE OHIO, TO EACH OF HIS ASSISTANTS ON THE LINE OF
+ THE ROAD.
+ WHEELING, May 29, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: In conducting the operations for repairing the section of the
+road under your supervision, during the present season, two very
+important alterations will be made in the system of last year.
+
+The first is to retain, in all cases, the old bed or pavement, breaking
+down with sledges the prominent or projecting pieces into the ruts and
+holes, and smoothing the grade with quarry chips, or stone broken on the
+face of the road with sledge-hammers, slightly covering the bed so
+prepared with the earth from the ditches, observing to put no more earth
+than is barely sufficient to prevent the metal coming in contact with
+the large stone of the bed.
+
+Where there is no stone in the old bed, restore the grade with the best
+and hardest material to be found in the vicinity, making it a point to
+have stone to fill the large holes. This formation of the bed for the
+metal on top of the old bed will enable large and sufficient ditches to
+be formed for carrying off the water. The most particular attention must
+be given to these ditches, as upon them depends the preservation of the
+road.
+
+All the earth taken from the ditches, side roads, and slopes, not
+required to make good the grade and side roads, must be thrown down the
+hill side, and on no account whatever upon the slope of a side hill
+cutting, from whence it soon washes back into the ditches. The minimum
+size of the ditches should not be less than three feet wide on top, one
+foot deep, and one foot wide in the bottom; the whole depth to be below
+the bed of the road. Rock and peculiar side slopes can alone prevent
+this being practiced.
+
+The side slopes must be cut to a slope of 45, with berms, as a minimum;
+and as low as 60 wherever it is practicable.
+
+Wherever earth is required for a filling to make good the side roads,
+require that it be taken from some near side slope or other point that
+will improve such part of the road. The minimum side road is to be five
+feet; wherever the natural ground will permit, cause it to be increased
+to admit of summer roads, placing the ditches outside of such increased
+side road.
+
+The second alteration is, to have the whole work done by contract,
+instead of job work and day labor, as was practiced last year.
+
+To effect this, the greatest precaution is necessary to specify what
+work has to be done on each chain of four rods of the road, the
+particular grade for such portion, the depth and size of the ditches,
+the side roads and slopes, and from whence the required earth is to be
+taken to restore the grade, and where the surplus earth is to be taken
+from the ditches, drains, side slopes, &c.
+
+In the delivery of stone for the metal, the contract must provide that
+the stone be delivered and broken on the side roads in rectangular piles
+or strings of such dimensions as you require on the several parts of the
+road, and the measurement made of the cubic contents of the stone thus
+prepared; from which measurement you will ascertain the number of
+perches, by previously having a mass, containing five perches of stone,
+as it comes from the quarry, as compactly piled as can be without the
+use of a hammer, taking large and small indiscriminately. Have this mass
+broken to the size of four ounces; ascertain the cubic contents of the
+bulk it shall produce, the fifth part of which you will take as a perch,
+and the unit of measurement for paying for the number of perches to be
+delivered.
+
+The metal is to be thrown on the road at such favorable periods as you
+shall designate, after it has been measured, and not until the
+contractor has prepared the required quantity for half a mile at a time.
+
+You will require the contractor to commence the grade at one end of the
+piece he is to repair, and continue regularly through, not permitting
+him to seek the parts requiring least work to execute first; and when
+delivering stone, to commence the delivery at a point giving a mean
+distance for hauling from the quarry; a mean rate of payment is then
+equitable, otherwise it would not be.
+
+The work on your section may be divided into two distinct classes: the
+one, where nothing has as yet been done; and the other, the part graded
+and stone prepared for the metal during the past season.
+
+On the first class, you will make contracts to grade, deliver, and put
+on three perches of limestone where the old bed remains firm, and four
+perches where the old bed has disappeared, requiring the grade to be
+finished by the 15th of October; and if the metal is all prepared by
+that date, to be put on by the 1st of November, the contractor
+continuing to rake the road, change the travel, and preserve the whole
+work in order, until the succeeding 1st of April. Should the contractor,
+however, not be able to prepare the metal to put it on the road by the
+1st of November, then he is to preserve the grade of the road in order
+until the first favorable state of the weather after the 15th of March
+ensuing, when he is to put on the metal, raking and smoothing the
+surface for twenty days after the whole metal shall have been put on the
+road.
+
+You will observe that the contract is to call for preserving the road in
+either case during the winter; in one case, by adding metal, raking,
+&c., and in the other, by breaking with a sledge stone to fill the ruts,
+covering such stone in the spring lightly before putting on the metal.
+
+The second class of work is the unfinished part of last year's
+operations, upon which there will be time to put three and a half
+additional perches per rod on such parts as were covered last year, and
+four perches per rod on such as had none, requiring that it be put on by
+the 1st of November, and be preserved, raked, &c., until the succeeding
+1st of April, during the winter filling ruts made by travel with
+additional metal, to be prepared and ready at convenient points on the
+road.
+
+For the culverts you will make a contract with one person for all that
+may be necessary on half your section, and with a second person for the
+other half, the work to be paid by the perch of twenty-five cubic feet,
+measured by the plan and dimensions you shall designate for each
+locality, and according to which plan the work must be constructed. For
+this work you will require the stone to be of good proportions, with
+parallel beds and faces, and not smaller than two cubic feet in each
+piece, in no case ever permitting a stone to be placed "on edge," a very
+common practice, destructive of good masonry. The covering stone to be
+of such additional dimensions as you shall judge necessary for each
+locality. The bottoms of the culverts to be paved or flagged with stone,
+and such an apron constructed at each end as to guard against the ends
+being undermined by the passage of the water.
+
+The repairs of the masonry of the bridges and walls on Wheeling Hill it
+is very desirable to effect by contract, if practicable. On Wheeling
+Hill the object may be effected by requiring the masonry to conform with
+that already executed, particularly in regard to the size and quality of
+the stone, paying for it by the perch measured in the wall when
+finished, reserving the one-fifth of the value from monthly payments as
+security for the faithful execution of the whole work. The repairs of
+the bridge may be executed in like manner, specifying the masonry of the
+bridge now building over Wheeling Creek as the standard, excepting
+stones placed on edge.
+
+It is desirable to postpone the repair of all masonry to the latest
+date, excepting only such parts as are necessary to perfect the grade;
+you will make your contracts accordingly. The masonry of the culverts
+and some of the bridges must be finished in time, including the filling
+to make good the roadway, to permit the contractor for grading to comply
+with his agreement. The usual one-fifth of the value of work done being
+retained until the expiration of the time for completing the whole work,
+when this sum is to be applied either to carry into effect the remaining
+provisions of the agreement, as stipulated to be executed, or paid to
+the contractor, if the work has been faithfully executed according to
+the tenor of the agreement.
+
+You will make all your payments by checks drawn on the bank through
+which I shall make your remittances, taking duplicate receipts for
+moneys thus paid, attached to a bill giving the quantity rate, cost, and
+date of the receipt of the article clearly and distinctly expressed.
+
+Your check book must be added up, and the balance in bank ascertained
+every Saturday evening, which balance must be reported in the weekly
+reports to be forwarded to me, as required last season.
+
+The balance of your account, as appears by your ledger account with me,
+must also form an item in the weekly report. The assistant engineer
+will make an inspection of these books, and report to me whenever he
+comes on your section of the road.
+
+The receipted vouchers you will forward to the office at Brownsville, of
+all payments made during the week at the end of such week, reserving the
+duplicate until called for by myself or the assistant engineer.
+
+So soon as you are apprised by me of funds being available you will
+immediately advertise by hand bills, and through the public prints, that
+contracts will be made for repairing the section of road under your
+supervision, and that proposals for executing the work will be received
+for twenty days from the date of your advertisement, for repairing each
+mile of the road according to stipulations and particular information,
+to be had on enquiring of you on or after such date as you are enabled
+to collect it. Let the advertisements express that the repairs consist
+principally in grading the road over the old bed, cleaning out the
+ditches and drains, restoring the side roads to their width of five feet
+and covering the road thus prepared with limestone broken to four ounce
+pieces, in such quantities as shall be specified for each rod, varying
+from two to four perches per rod, and keeping the whole in order until
+the first of April next, by which date the contracts are to be
+completed.
+
+To ascertain the work to be done on the different mile sections, and on
+the particular parts of each mile, you will, the instant funds are
+available, make a measurement of the road, noting the work to be done on
+each chain (as specified in the previous parts of this communication) in
+the most minute detail.
+
+This statement, reduced as much as practicible to a tabular form, you
+will cause to be printed, as the information to be given to persons upon
+which to make their proposals, and it will be embodied in or attached to
+the articles of agreement as a specification of the work to be done.
+
+As you will find it convenient to have the prepared metal piled in
+uniform masses, admitting of the application of a gauge to ascertain
+whether or not the required quantity is in the pile, you will cause such
+gauges to be made with slopes of 45 degrees and in no instance permit a
+measurement of stone to be made without having previously verified the
+dimensions of the gauge. The necessity for this you will perceive by
+reflecting that the end of the gauge may be cut off and the angles
+altered to make a material difference in the quantity, without being
+perceptible to the eye.
+
+The following are some of the frauds heretofore practiced, and now
+enumerated that you may look cautiously to their not being practiced
+upon your section of the road: i 1st. Diminishing the size and altering
+the angle of the gauge.
+
+2d. Loosening the pile of metal just before the measurement, to increase
+its bulk.
+
+3d. Concealing or covering up in the piles of metal large masses of
+stone or other matter.
+
+4th. Breaking stone of a softer or otherwise inferior quality than the
+sample agreed upon.
+
+5th. Breaking the metal to a larger size than that agreed upon.
+
+6th. Removing the prepared metal from one point to another after it has
+been measured.
+
+7th. Taking metal from the face of the road, of the first or second
+stratum, to make it appear the desired quantity has been broken to fill
+the gauge.
+
+8th. On parts of the road where limestone has already been delivered,
+wagoners, with a partial load, passing from the quarries to the point of
+delivery, have been detected in stealing a piece from several piles,
+thus making a full load from what has already been paid for.
+
+Very many other frauds have been detected upon receiving and paying for
+stone perches before breaking. No corrective offers for the many that
+may be practiced under this system. It is, therefore, in no case, to be
+adopted. Always measuring the stone after it is broken, and reserving
+one-fifth of its value until the whole agreement has been fully and
+faithfully complied with, are the best securities against fraudulent
+practices.
+
+Immediately after concluding the contracts on your section for the
+season, you will forward me a statement of the funds required to carry
+them into effect, and the times such funds will probably be required.
+
+ Respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ RICH'D DELAFIELD,
+ Captain of Engineers.
+
+
+ PHILADELPHIA, December 28, 1834.
+
+_Sir:_ The enclosed letter of the 29th May was prepared as the
+instructions for Lieutenant Vance, conducting the operations on the
+seventh division of the road, and a copy thereof was forwarded to the
+officer of each division, with directions to conform thereto on their
+respective sections, suiting the phraseology to their divisions.
+
+On the 27th June, on being made acquainted with the particulars of the
+act of Congress making the appropriation for the year's service, the
+following instructions were communicated to the officers of the several
+divisions, slightly changed to suit each particular division:
+
+ "_Sir:_ Funds having been made available for continuing the repairs of
+ the Cumberland Road, east of the Ohio, you will cause the preparatory
+ measures to be taken immediately, and notice given as required by my
+ letter of the 29th of May, a copy of which has been forwarded to you
+ from Brownsville.
+
+ "The act of Congress grants a specific sum for finishing the repairs
+ of the road; you will, therefore, in your arrangements, provide for
+ the stone bridges on the new road, and three and a half perches of
+ stone to the rod on the surface of the road as metal; the latter to be
+ furnished by the 31st of December, and kept raked and additional metal
+ put on until the 15th day of February ensuing; the masonry of the
+ bridges to be finished by the 15th of October, with proposals of the
+ terms for finishing the same work by the 30th day of June, 1835.
+
+ "The form of a contract has also been forwarded to you from
+ Brownsville, which, with the letter of instructions accompanying it,
+ connected with the tenor of this communication, you will make your
+ guide in the management of the section of road confided to your
+ supervision.
+
+ "You will observe the form of the contract provides for work that may
+ not occur in your division. You will, in preparing the form to be
+ printed, be cautious to suit the same to your particular division, as
+ to distance, &c., &c. Mile sections are desirable for subdividing the
+ road, and as the portion to be given under contract to an individual:
+ on your division other subdivisions will be found more convenient, and
+ your attention must, in consequence, be given to make the phraseology
+ of the instrument conform with the facts of the case.
+
+ "Hereafter, you will commence and continue your weekly reports to me.
+ Apprise me of the date you limit the reception of proposals, that I
+ may be with you at the time.
+
+ "RICH'D DELAFIELD, Captain of Engineers."
+
+The instructions to the officer of the third division required him
+to provide for the work to be done on his division not exceeding three
+and a half perches of stone to a rod on the surface of the road as metal,
+reducing the quantity to two or one perch, as might be requisite to
+keep the whole in repair until finally completed.
+
+For a copy of the form of contract forwarded to the officers of the
+several divisions, see the contracts on file in your office, for the
+_fourth_ division of the road.
+
+I enclose the statement called for by the letter of your department
+of the 9th instant.
+
+
+ Respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ RICH'D DELAFIELD,
+ Captain of Engineers.
+ Brig. Gen. Charles Gratiot,
+ Chief Engineer.
+
+
+ REPORT AND ESTIMATE FOR THE CUMBERLAND ROAD EAST OF THE OHIO, UNDER A
+ RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, CALLING FOR THE
+ CONDITION OF THE MASONRY, THE THICKNESS OF METAL ON VARIOUS PARTS,
+ &c., &c., DECEMBER, 1834.
+
+The plan of repair adopted and continued for this road to July, 1834,
+was that of Macadam, with nine inches of metal in three strata.
+
+The provisions of the act of Congress of the last session made a change
+in the plan of operation necessary. The sum of $300,000 was appropriated
+to finish the repairs of the road from Cumberland to Wheeling, a
+distance of one hundred and thirty-two miles, of which fifty-four miles
+had not been commenced.
+
+To conform with the provisions of the law, it became necessary to
+confine the expenditure of this sum to the most indispensable parts of
+the system, and adopt a less expensive and less permanent repair;
+abandoning the plan of finishing the mountain division with limestone
+throughout, and to a width of twenty feet; confining the metal on the
+more expensive parts of these divisions to a width of from twelve to
+fifteen feet, instead of twenty; abandoning further repairs to the
+masonry of the parapets of the bridges; depositing the stone that had
+been prepared for this purpose on the side roads, and leaving the side
+walls on Wheeling Hill in their unfinished state; limiting the stratum
+of metal to be put on this season to three perches and a half, on an
+average, per rod, on the whole line of the road; transporting the stone
+that had previously been collected for an additional thickness of metal
+to parts that had not been supplied with any; substituting wooden
+bridges for stone over Wills creek and Braddock's run, and abandoning
+altogether the construction of any bridge over Dunlap's creek. The
+repairs thus modified are fast drawing to a close, when the road will
+present parts covered with thicknesses of metal varying from three to
+nine inches, as follows:
+
+First division, in Maryland, sixteen miles, one hundred and sixty rods,
+including new location, is covered with three inches of metal.
+
+Second division, in Maryland, sixteen miles, one hundred and ninety-four
+rods, is covered with six inches of metal.
+
+Third division, in Pennsylvania, two hundred rods, is covered with four
+inches and a half of metal.
+
+Third division, in Pennsylvania, twenty-five miles, one hundred rods, to
+a width of from twelve to fifteen feet, is covered with nine inches of
+metal.
+
+Fourth division, in Pennsylvania, one mile, seven rods, is covered with
+three inches of metal.
+
+Fourth division, in Pennsylvania, fourteen miles, one hundred and
+twenty-three rods, to a width of from twelve to fifteen feet, is covered
+with six inches of metal.
+
+Fifth division, in Pennsylvania, eighteen miles, nine rods, is covered
+with three inches of metal.
+
+Sixth division, in Pennsylvania, twenty-one miles, two hundred and
+seventy-three rods, is covered with three inches of metal.
+
+Seventh division, in Virginia, five miles, is covered with three inches
+of metal.
+
+Seventh division, in Virginia, nine miles, two hundred and sixteen rods,
+is covered with six inches of metal.
+
+The number of inches of metal put on that part which has been located
+anew, the first six miles of the first division, being three inches, and
+the number of inches of metal put upon that part of the road which lies
+between the Monongahela and the Ohio, the fifth, sixth, and seventh
+divisions, being three inches of metal on forty-four miles and two
+hundred and eighty-two rods, and six inches of metal on nine miles and
+two hundred and sixteen rods.
+
+To make this a permanent and substantial road, such that the heavy
+transportation wagons shall not force their wheels through the metal
+into the bed, not less than the original contemplated thickness of three
+strata of three inches each, or the same number of strata of three
+perches and a half of stone each, appears sufficient. That three inches
+of metal will not suffice to bear up the travel passing over this road,
+is proved by the experience of the last two years. Nor will six inches
+answer the purpose on all parts of the road, during a long or continued
+wet spell of weather, when, from absorption alone, the solidity and
+contiguity of the metal has become weakened and lessened. On the crests
+of the hills it will be solid, with a thickness of six inches, when, in
+the valley and grades under one degree, the evidence of its
+insufficiency are apparent. Nothing less than the three strata of three
+inches each has been found sufficient; the last stratum being unequally
+applied according to the firmness and dryness, and the slope or grade of
+the bed. Such was judged necessary for a Macadam road from Cumberland to
+Wheeling, and the results tend to confirm the necessity of a thickness
+of nine inches on an average, to secure the object contemplated by the
+instructions of the Chief Engineer.
+
+The condition of the masonry on the whole line of the road is in an
+unfinished state, so far as regards many of the parts upon which repairs
+have been commenced; and where nothing had been done toward repairing
+the bridges, many of their side-walls or parapets are in a dilapidated
+state, or torn down to the level of the roadway. In repairing the road
+under the last act of Congress, no more masonry was undertaken than the
+construction of culverts to drain the road, and repairing such parts as
+were necessary to perfect the roadway twenty feet in width; all other
+parts were left in the unfinished and decayed state in which they were
+when the appropriation of the year caused an abandonment of further
+repairs to this part of the work.
+
+To carry into effect the repairs originally contemplated, and to secure
+the uniform strength throughout the whole line of the road equivalent to
+nine inches of metal, the following sums will be necessary, after
+applying the means now on hand, and which are pledged for the work
+commenced and contracted for in July last.
+
+By reference to the annexed statement, it will be perceived the price
+per perch for delivered stone prepared as metal on the road varies from
+ninety-three cents to $2.50, and is stated for each section throughout
+the whole line of the road. Three quarries supply upward of twenty miles
+of the road, there being none nearer or accessible. Quarries of the best
+limestone are numerous and not remote from the road between Wheeling and
+the eastern base of Laurel hill; from thence to Frostburg they are few
+in number, situated in deep ravines, and remote from the road; from
+Frostburg to Cumberland they are comparatively numerous and of easy
+access. It will be seen that the price agrees with the difficulty of
+procuring the stone, and in the ratio above stated, from ninety-three
+cents to $2.50 per perch.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+ _Gen. Lewis Cass, Secretary of War, transmits a Report--More about the
+ Wooden Bridges for the New Location near Cumberland--The War
+ department thinks they will do--John Hoye stoutly Objects--The
+ Governor of Maryland takes a hand against Wooden Bridges--John Hoye
+ to the Front Again--The Pennsylvania Commissioners make another
+ demand that the Road be put in Repair._
+
+
+ WAR DEPARTMENT, January 3, 1835.
+
+_Sir_: Herewith I have the honor to transmit a report from the Chief
+Engineer, which furnishes the information called for by the resolution
+of the House of Representatives of the 12th ultimo, respecting the
+Cumberland Road east of the Ohio.
+
+ Very respectfully, your most obedient servant,
+ LEW. CASS.
+ Hon. John Bell,
+ Speaker of the House of Representatives.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, January 3, 1835.
+
+_Sir_: I have the honor to hand you the information called for by the
+House of Representatives on the 12th ultimo, relating to the Cumberland
+Road east of the Ohio,
+
+ And remain, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ C. GRATIOT,
+ Chief Engineer.
+ The Hon. Lewis Cass,
+ Secretary of War.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, July 28, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: In making the repairs of the Cumberland Road east of the Ohio
+river, it was deemed expedient, in the fall of 1832, to change that part
+of the old location which is immediately west of Cumberland, in the
+State of Maryland, for the purpose of turning Wills hill. By this an
+abrupt rise of several hundred feet would be avoided. A survey,
+preparatory to this change, was made, and the result submitted to
+Congress, in the session of 1832-'33; the proposed change was
+authorized, and the location, as exhibited on the drawing of the survey,
+adopted. This change of location involved the construction of a bridge
+over the mill-race in the town of Cumberland, and another over Wills
+creek, as well as other bridges of minor importance, with several
+culverts. The Legislature of the State of Maryland passed an act giving
+assent to the change in question, with the proviso, however, "that the
+part of the road embraced in this change should be made of the best
+material, upon the Macadam plan, and that a good, substantial stone
+bridge should be made over the mill-race, in the town of Cumberland, and
+over Wills creek at the place of crossing, and that substantial stone
+bridges and culverts should be made wherever the same may respectively
+be necessary along the line of said road."
+
+In the estimates which were prepared, and submitted at the commencement
+of the last session of Congress for its action, the sum proposed for the
+completion of the repairs of the entire road from Cumberland to the Ohio
+river, contemplated the erection of the bridges on the new location, in
+conformity to the requirements of the law of Maryland just referred to.
+But, as is known to you, more than one-half of this sum was stricken
+from the bill, which embodied the whole amount of the estimate. The act
+appropriating the remainder requires that the whole of the repairs shall
+be completed for this diminished sum. Under these circumstances, it
+becomes necessary to change the plan upon which it was proposed to
+execute the work, and the object of this communication is to ascertain
+the extent to which the department may be allowed to carry this change
+on the new part of the road embraced by the law of Maryland. If the
+bridges alluded to be built of stone, the expense will be much greater
+than the sum allotted to that section would bear: whereas, if the
+abutments be built of stone, and the superstructure of wood, the same
+ends would be attained as would result from bridges built entirely of
+stone, but the letter of the Maryland law would be departed from. Good
+wooden superstructures, well covered and painted, would last, with a
+little care, at least forty years, and perhaps longer. To abandon this
+new location, and return to the old road, would be to sacrifice a large
+amount of money already expended on the former, which is now in a state
+of forwardness, and would soon be finished. Besides, a bridge must, in
+any event, be constructed over Wills creek, and every consideration of
+convenient and easy traveling conspires to render its location on the
+new line of the road desirable.
+
+The officer charged with the repairs of the road is now engaged in
+giving out the work to contract, and making other arrangements necessary
+to a speedy application of the funds. It is, therefore, very desirable
+that an early decision may be had of this question, and it is
+accordingly respectfully requested.
+
+ I have the honor to be, &c.,
+ C. GRATIOT, Brig. Gen.
+ Hon. Secretary of War.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+I approve of the course recommended by General Gratiot with
+regard to the bridges--the abutments to be of stone, and the superstructure
+of wood--believing that such a course would be deemed by
+Maryland a substantial compliance with the law, under the circumstances
+of the case.
+
+ JOHN FORSYTH,
+ Act. Sec'y of War.
+July 28, 1834.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ CUMBERLAND, August 5, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: I was this day informed that the bridge across Wills creek, on
+the new location of the Cumberland road up Braddock's run, is to be
+built of wood. By the act of the Legislature of Maryland, authorizing
+the President to change the location of the road, it is enacted that the
+road may be located up Wills creek through the narrows, provided the
+bridges were all built of stone. I am decidedly of the opinion that, by
+the provisions of that law, the President had no right to change the
+location of the road unless he strictly complied with every provision
+and requisition of said law. You will, on examination of the act of
+Maryland, passed at December session, 1832, chapter 55, see that the
+bridges are to be all built of stone. I sincerely hope you will, on
+examining the law, and reflecting on the subject, direct the bridges to
+be built in strict compliance with the law authorizing the change in
+location; it would, in all probability, save money and time.
+
+I am sure the State will not receive the road without the stone bridges.
+I shall be gratified to hear from you on this subject by return mail.
+
+ Your most obedient,
+ JOHN HOYE.
+ General C. Gratiot.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, August 14, 1834.
+
+ _Sir_: Your communication in behalf of the citizens of Cumberland,
+ remonstrating against the erection of bridges of wooden
+ superstructures over Wills creek, &c., addressed to me under date of
+ 6th instant, is received. The measure to which the citizens of
+ Cumberland object, grows, of necessity, out of existing
+ circumstances; and the bridges will have to be built in the manner
+ and of the materials named in the instruction of the department to
+ the superintendent of the road, or the new location to turn Wills
+ hill must be abandoned. The people of Cumberland are doubtless aware
+ that estimates were submitted to Congress last fall for funds
+ sufficient to put up the structures in conformity with the law of
+ Maryland, to which you refer; and it is hoped that they are also
+ aware that these funds were reduced more than one-half in amount,
+ and that the act appropriating the residue imposes the task of
+ completing all the repairs on the whole road east of the Ohio, with
+ the sum rendered available by it. You will perceive, sir, that
+ there was no other course left to the department than to change the
+ plan and system of repairs.
+
+ The bridges which it is proposed to construct will, with care, last
+ at least forty years.
+
+ Very respectfully, &c.,
+ C. GRATIOT,
+ Brig. Gen. and Chief Engineer.
+ B. S. Pigman, Esq., Cumberland, Md.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
+ ANNAPOLIS, September 10, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: By an act of the General Assembly, passed at December session,
+1832, (of which, at your request, an authenticated copy was transmitted
+to you on the 29th day of March, 1833), the consent of this State was
+given to a change of the location of a part of the Cumberland or
+National Road within our limits, upon certain conditions; among which,
+"that a good and substantial stone bridge shall be made over the
+mill-race in the town of Cumberland, and over Wills creek at the place
+of crossing, and that substantial stone bridges or culverts shall be
+made wherever the same may respectively be necessary along the line of
+said road."
+
+By the same act, John Hoye and Meshach Frost, Esqrs., and the
+superintendent for the time being of the said road, appointed by the
+President of the United States, were appointed commissioners "to report
+the said National Road, when finished and repaired within the limits of
+this State, to the Governor and Council."
+
+A communication has been received from John Hoye, Esq., in which he
+states that "the War Department has now directed and contracted to have
+all the bridges on said new location built of wood."
+
+I beg leave to call your attention to this subject, in the fullest
+confidence that there has been some mistake or misapprehension on the
+part of some of the agents or persons employed upon the work in
+question, and that you will cause the terms and conditions upon which
+the consent of the State was given to the proposed improvements to be
+respected and carried into effect.
+
+ With great respect, I have the honor to be,
+ Your obedient servant,
+ JAMES THOMAS.
+ Hon. Lewis Cass,
+ Secretary of War.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ WAR DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, September 12, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: I have had the honor to receive your letter of the 10th instant,
+respecting the construction of the bridge on the National Road near
+Cumberland, and for your information I beg leave to enclose the
+accompanying report from the Engineer Department, which explains the
+course which has been taken, and the necessity of it. I trust that you
+will find that the act of the State of Maryland has been substantially
+complied with, and certainly so far as the means within this department
+permitted.
+
+ Very respectfully, &c.
+ LEW. CASS.
+ His Excellency James Thomas,
+ Governor of Maryland, Annapolis.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, September 12, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: In answer to your inquiries of this morning respecting certain
+bridges on the Cumberland Road, in the State of Maryland, I have the
+honor to submit the following statement:
+
+In applying the money appropriated by Congress at the session of 1831
+and '32, for the repairs of the Cumberland Road east of the Ohio river,
+it was deemed highly important to change the location of that part of
+the road immediately west of Cumberland to turn Wills mountain, as, by
+that means, a rise of several hundred feet, within a few miles, would be
+avoided. A survey was accordingly made, and submitted to Congress, and
+the change was approved. The State of Maryland assented, provided the
+part of the road embraced in the change should be "made of the best
+materials, upon the Macadam plan, and that a good and substantial stone
+bridge should be made on the mill-race, in the town of Cumberland, and
+over Wills creek at the place of crossing, and that substantial stone
+bridges and culverts should be made wherever the same may respectively
+be necessary along the line of said road."
+
+Estimates were prepared last fall for the entire completion of the
+repairs of the road from Cumberland to the Ohio. These estimates, which
+contemplated the construction and erection of bridges, in strict
+conformity with the law of Maryland giving her consent to the change of
+location, were submitted to Congress at the commencement of its recent
+session, and amounted to six hundred and fifty-two thousand one hundred
+dollars. Full and ample explanations accompanied these estimates, so
+there could have been no misunderstanding respecting them. A bill of
+appropriation was introduced, embracing their entire amount. This
+amount, after much discussion, was reduced to less than one-half,
+to-wit: $300,000, and the bill became a law, containing a section which
+requires that as soon as the sum of $300,000, or as much thereof as is
+necessary, shall be expended on the road agreeably to the provisions of
+this act, the same shall be surrendered to the States, respectively,
+through which the road passes; "and the United States shall not
+thereafter be subject to any expense for repairing said road." Under
+these circumstances, it was plain that the system of repairs upon which
+the estimates were predicated could not be executed, and a change
+became necessary. The stone bridges referred to in the law of Maryland
+constituted a heavy item in the estimates, and it was entirely out of
+the question to build them without absorbing more of the appropriation
+than the absolute requirements of other sections of the road would
+admit. There being no obligation to finish the new location further than
+that imposed by the very great advantage resulting from its adoption,
+the question arose whether it would be best to abandon it, and return to
+the old road or not. After adopting every expedient, consistent with a
+faithful execution of the law, to diminish the expenses on other
+portions of the road, it was found that a sufficient sum would be left
+to construct this new portion of the best material, on the Macadam plan,
+and to build the abutments and piers of all the bridges on it of good
+stone, and in the best manner, provided the superstructures were made of
+wood. This was the best that could be done; and when it was considered
+that these superstructures, being made of the best materials, would,
+when covered and well painted, last, with a little care, from thirty to
+forty years, it was recommended to the acting Secretary of War, during
+your absence, to adopt them in preference to surrendering all the
+benefits that will result from the new road. The acting Secretary,
+considering that the approval of the measure would, under this state of
+things, be a substantial compliance with the law of Maryland, directed
+instructions to that effect to be issued to the superintendent of the
+road, which was accordingly done.
+
+
+ With great respect, &c.,
+ By order: WM. H. C. BARTLETT,
+ Lieut. and Assist. to Chief Engineer.
+ The Hon. Secretary of War.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ CUMBERLAND, December 12, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: As one of the commissioners appointed by the Legislature of
+Maryland to report to the Governor and Council of said State when that
+part of the National Road within the limits of this State shall have
+been repaired agreeably to the provisions of the law of the State
+agreeing to receive that part of the road lying within the limits of
+this State; and a further act of the Legislature of Maryland,
+authorizing the President of the United States to change the location of
+a part of said road within the limits of Maryland, the change of
+location was authorized to be made on certain and positive conditions
+that the bridges over Wills creek and Braddock's run should all be
+permanent stone bridges; and the road to be constructed with the best
+materials, on the Macadam plan (see the law of Maryland, passed December
+session, 1832, chapter 55). The plan of the bridges has been changed by
+the superintendent to wooden bridges, in direct violation of the
+engagements with this State. The President had no right to change the
+location of the road, unless the law of this State authorizing the
+change was fully complied with.
+
+The "metal" on the new location is not more than three and a half
+inches, and every wagon that passes over it, when the road is wet, cuts
+entirely through the stone, and turns up the clay. I am advised that
+there is a part of the road, fourteen miles west of Cumberland, which
+has had but three and a half inches of metal put on it over the original
+pavement. I am gratified to have it in my power to state that, from
+observation, and the best information I have been able to collect, the
+last appropriation for the road has been most judiciously expended. I
+believe that it is the first that has been well laid out.
+
+I must say that we cannot report in favor of this State receiving the
+road until the permanent stone bridges are erected, and the road in that
+state of repair contemplated by the law.
+
+I beg leave to refer you to my letter to General C. Gratiot, dated in
+August last, which, with my communication to his excellency James
+Thomas, Governor of Maryland, a copy of which, I presume, he
+communicated to your department during the last summer, you will please
+to consider a part of this communication. I should have addressed you at
+an earlier period, but was prevented by severe indisposition.
+
+ I remain, with respect, your most obedient,
+ JOHN HOYE.
+ Hon. Lewis Cass,
+ Secretary of War, Washington City.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ NOVEMBER 17, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: The undersigned commissioners, appointed by the Governor of
+Pennsylvania to erect gates and superintend the collection of tolls on
+the Cumberland Road "after it shall be put in a good state of repair by
+the United States," respectfully represent:
+
+That, from a full and careful examination of the subject, they are
+satisfied that they are not authorized, by the terms of the law under
+which they are appointed, to accept the road from the United States, or
+erect gates for the collection of tolls, until provision is made by
+Congress for completing the repairs on the plan already adopted by the
+agents of the United States, and sanctioned by several appropriations to
+carry it into effect. Without this it is evident that a considerable
+portion of the road, which has received but a single stratum of stone,
+will be left in a condition so weak and imperfect as soon to become
+again totally impassable for a considerable portion of the year.
+
+The law of Pennsylvania expressly requires that, before the road is
+accepted by the Commissioners, it must be put in good and complete
+repair by the United States. To this act and all its provisions,
+Congress, on the 3d of July, 1832, gave its assent; an appropriation was
+made, and a plan of repair was accordingly adopted by the agents of the
+government, and two subsequent appropriations made by Congress to carry
+this plan and compact into effect. The complete repair of the road is
+made by the compact a condition precedent to be performed by the United
+States. It is not performed, as appears by the report of the agents of
+the United States, and, until it is, the Commissioners appointed by the
+State cannot be justified in accepting the road or exacting tolls.
+Besides, it is evident that the tolls established, even if raised to the
+maximum, will be totally inadequate to the preservation and repair of
+the road, unless first put in a state of complete and substantial
+repair. This, a statement of a single fact will fully demonstrate. It
+appears by a report lately received from the superintendent of that part
+of the road which lies between Hagerstown and Cumberland, that the tolls
+there collected amount to $312 per mile per annum; of this $45 is
+required to pay gate keepers and superintendents, leaving $267 for
+repairs. The tolls on that part of the road are more than three times as
+high as those proposed on this, so that the amount of tolls applicable
+to the repair of this road will not exceed $89 per mile per annum, a sum
+barely sufficient to preserve the road after it is put in the best
+possible state of repair. The undersigned do not presume to prescribe a
+plan of repair; they are satisfied with that adopted and partly executed
+by the agents of the United States; and they now distinctly declare and
+pledge themselves, that so soon as Congress shall appropriate the sum
+required by the Secretary of War to complete the repair of the road on
+the plan adopted in his report at the last session, we will, with all
+possible despatch, proceed to erect the gates, and relieve the United
+States from all further charge or expense on account of said road, after
+the appropriation so made shall be expended.
+
+ Very respectfully, your most obedient servants,
+ THOMAS ENDSLEY.
+ DANIEL DOWNER.
+ WILLIAM F. COPLAN.
+ STEPHEN HILL.
+ BENJAMIN ANDERSON.
+ Hon. Lewis Cass,
+ Secretary of War.
+
+ NOTE.--The bridges near Wills creek were in the end built of
+ stone.
+
+[Illustration: IRON BRIDGE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+ _The Iron Bridge over Dunlap's Creek at Brownsville--Interesting
+ facts relating to its projection and construction--The first
+ step--Several respectable Gentlemen of Brownsville call the
+ attention of the Government's Agent to the subject._
+
+
+ NATIONAL ROAD, 85-5/8 MILES FROM CUMBERLAND,
+ August 15, 1832.
+
+_Sir_: Yesterday, as I passed through Brownsville, I was waited on by
+several of the most respectable gentlemen of that place, who were
+anxious to have me examine the bridge over Dunlap's creek, between
+Brownsville and Bridgeport, to see its condition, and to give my opinion
+as to its renewal. Accordingly, I observed that I thought the bridge
+would not stand a twelve-month, and that I did not feel myself
+authorized to renew it, as the bridge had never been made by the
+government, but recommended that they write to the department for a
+decision; and, agreeably to their request, observed that I would
+likewise report the actual condition of the bridge. Consequently, I
+enclose to the department a leaf from my note book, giving a rough
+sketch of the bridge, and pointing out its defects. The reason why this
+bridge was not originally constructed by the government, as well as a
+bridge over the Monongahela river, are better known to the department
+than I am able to conjecture.
+
+I have to observe that a company is now constructing a substantial
+bridge over the Monongahela river, across from Bridgeport, thereby
+making the bridge over Dunlap's creek an important link in the road; and
+that a bridge, to ensure the purpose of a common highway, would not be
+suitable for the only connecting point between two important and
+increasing towns.
+
+ I have the honor to be, sir,
+ Very respectfully, your most obedient servant,
+ J. K. F. MANSFIELD,
+ Lieutenant Corps of Engineers.
+ Gen. C. Gratiot,
+ Chief Engineer.
+
+
+ THE SUBJECT TO BE EXAMINED.
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, August 20, 1832.
+
+_Sir_: Your letter of the 15th inst., informing the department that you
+had, at the request of the citizens of Brownsville, made an examination
+of the bridge over Dunlap's creek, with a view to an opinion on the
+question of its removal, and transmitting a rough sketch of the bridge
+as it at present exists, is received.
+
+In consequence of the views presented in your letter, it will be
+necessary to make a thorough examination of this bridge to ascertain
+whether it is sufficiently substantial to answer all the purposes of the
+road, by putting proper repairs upon it, or whether it will be necessary
+to remove it entirely, and to build a new one.
+
+You will accordingly make this examination, and with your report on the
+subject you will transmit such drawings and explanatory notes as may be
+necessary to present a full and clear view of the repairs, or new
+bridge, as the case may be, accompanied by the proper estimates for
+their execution.
+
+You will also ascertain, by the best oral testimony that can be obtained
+in the vicinity of the bridge, whether it is on the line of the road as
+originally located, and make known the fact in your report.
+
+The Secretary of War has been written to on the subject, and, as soon as
+his decision is known at the department, you will be instructed
+accordingly.
+
+ I am, &c., &c.,
+ C. GRATIOT.
+ Lieut. J. K. P. Mansfield,
+ Corps of Engineers, Uniontown, Pa.
+
+
+ AN EXAMINATION MADE, AND AN ADVERSE DECISION RENDERED.
+
+ UNIONTOWN, PA., August 24, 1832.
+
+_Sir_: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the letter of the
+department on the subject of the bridge over Dunlap's creek, at
+Brownsville, and to state that I have completed the examination of the
+road to the Virginia line, and have already given out notices for
+contracts, two of which are enclosed for the perusal of the department.
+
+ I am, &c.,
+ J. K. F. MANSFIELD,
+ Lieutenant Corps of Engineers.
+ Gen. Charles Gratiot,
+ Chief Engineer.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, October 11, 1832.
+
+_Sir_: You were informed by letter from the department, under date of
+20th August last, that the Secretary of War had been written to on the
+subject of building a new bridge over Dunlap's creek in the place of
+that which is at present in the line of the Cumberland Road, between
+Brownsville and Bridgeport, and which was referred to in your
+communication to the Chief Engineer of the 15th of August last. I now
+have to inform you that the Secretary of War has decided that the bridge
+in question cannot be built at the expense of the government, under the
+law making appropriation for the repairs of the Cumberland Road east of
+the Ohio river.
+
+ Very respectfully, &c.,
+ By order: WM. H. C. BARTLETT,
+ Lieut. of Engineers, and Assistant to Chief Engineer.
+
+ Lieut. J. K. F. Mansfield,
+ Corps of Engineers, Uniontown, Pa., or Capt. Delafield.
+
+
+ THE DECISION REVERSED, AND THE BRIDGE TO BE BUILT.
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, May 13, 1833.
+
+_Sir_: The Secretary of War has determined that a new bridge shall be
+built across the mouth of Dunlap's creek, in the line of the Cumberland
+Road; you will, therefore, be pleased to submit a plan, and estimate,
+with as little delay as practicable, with the view to the erection of
+this bridge during the present year.
+
+ I am, sir, &c.,
+ C. GRATIOT,
+ Brig. General.
+ Capt. R. Delafield,
+ Corps of Engineers, Uniontown, Pa.
+
+
+ A SERIOUS QUESTION AS TO LOCATION ARISES--A REQUEST THAT BARRIERS BE
+ USED ON THE ROAD.
+
+Extract from a letter dated BROWNSVILLE, May 14, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: To establish the location of Dunlap's creek bridge, I desire the
+field notes of the commissioners, if on file in your office, and Mr.
+Shriver's notes of location. From these, I am inclined to believe it
+will appear that the most favorable route for the bridge was pointed out
+by the commissioners, and the route over the bridge now used, no part of
+the National Road, but a county bridge, that we have no right to
+interfere with. May I request such information as is within your reach
+on this subject?
+
+The road may be called a very excellent turnpike between this and
+Frostburg, at the present time; so smooth that already the stage
+proprietors have commenced the use of a "rough lock," that materially
+injures the surface. Some defects are clearly observable, growing out of
+the constant travel and wear of the center of the road from the
+prohibition to use barriers to change the travel.
+
+Without being permitted to use barriers of logs, stumps and stones, it
+is out of our power ever to make a perfect Macadamized road, and far
+from being as good as the expenditure should produce. Such a system has
+been resorted to on every road I have seen made, and every officer
+associated with me concurs in the opinion that we cannot succeed without
+using them. Permit me to ask a reconsideration of the order prohibiting
+their use.
+
+ Respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ RICH'D DELAFIELD,
+ Captain of Engineers.
+ Brig. Gen. Charles Gratiot,
+ Chief Engineer.
+
+
+THE USE OF BARRIERS PERMITTED--A ROAD BEGINNING AT UNIONTOWN, AND
+ ENDING AT WASHINGTON.
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, May 20, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: Your communication, dated the 14th instant, was duly received. In
+conformity with your request, a detail of two officers, as your
+assistants on the Cumberland Road, has been applied for. Herewith is
+transmitted a book containing, as stated, "the notes of a location of
+the United States western road, beginning at Uniontown, and ending at
+the turnpike near Washington," which is the only document among the
+papers transferred from the Treasury Department to this office, relating
+to the Cumberland Road, embraced in the notes, required to be forwarded
+to you.
+
+(On the subject of regulating the travel so as to preserve the surface
+of the road from injury mentioned in your letter, you will again resort
+to the use of barriers, wood only, to be used for the purpose, and
+placed only on one side of the road at the same time, provided the
+object can thus be accomplished, and so elevated as to be very
+conspicuous, that the travel by night may not be endangered by the
+barriers.)
+
+ I am, &c.,
+ C. GRATIOT,
+ Brig. General.
+ Capt. R. Delafield,
+ Corps of Engineers, Brownsville, Pa.
+
+
+A BIG APPROPRIATION, BUT THE BRIDGE ABANDONED.
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, June 25, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: Three hundred thousand dollars have just been appropriated for
+the repairs of the Cumberland Road east of the Ohio. You will perceive
+by the law, a printed copy of which is herewith enclosed, that the
+intention is that this sum shall complete the repairs. You will,
+therefore, take your measures accordingly, and put the road in as good
+condition as this sum will admit of. The new section to turn Wills hill
+will be completed on the plan already commenced, but the plan of
+operations on the other sections must be modified to suit the
+requirements of the law. The iron bridge over Dunlap's creek will be
+abandoned. Your project, when matured, will be transmitted for the
+approval of the department.
+
+ Very respectfully, &c.,
+ By order: WM. H. C. BARTLETT.
+ Lieut. and Assistant to Chief Engineer.
+ Capt. R. Delafield,
+ Corps of Engineers, New Castle, Del.
+
+
+ANOTHER AND FINAL CHANGE--THE BRIDGE TO BE BUILT ON THE SITE OF THE
+ OLD ONE.
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
+ WASHINGTON, August 14, 1834.
+
+_Sir_: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your communication, dated
+31st ultimo, in reference to the bridge over Dunlap's creek, on the
+Cumberland Road, east of the Ohio. The subject of rebuilding this bridge
+was brought to the notice of the Secretary of War during the summer of
+1832, when he refused to take any action in the matter, on the ground
+that it was a county bridge, which should be repaired or rebuilt by the
+county authorities, as the United States, in adopting a system of
+repairs, had undertaken to repair only that which they had originally
+constructed. It was thought on the other side, that notwithstanding the
+United States had not built this bridge, yet, as they had enjoyed the
+free benefit of it, and as it lay on the tacitly acknowledged line of
+the road, they were bound, under the act of Congress authorizing the
+repairs of the road to work on every part of it without reference to
+original constructors or proprietors. In this state of the case, it was
+submitted to Mr. Taney, then Attorney General, who decided verbally in
+favor of the latter view, and instructions in conformity thereto were
+issued to the superintendent of the road, requiring him to cause the
+bridge to be either repaired or rebuilt. This question having been
+settled, the next is, whether Dunlap's creek can be crossed at any other
+point than where the county bridge now stands. It is the opinion of the
+department that it cannot. It would seem there is no evidence on record
+that any location was ever finally fixed upon by the commissioners, and
+reported by them to the President, for the part of the road in the
+immediate vicinity of this creek; but the fact that the road was
+actually made in its present location, and used ever since its original
+construction, without any opposition, is strong proof that this route
+was adopted by the Government; at all events, in the absence of all
+other evidence, the department feels constrained to act upon this. Now,
+the appropriations having been made for the repairs of the road, and not
+for constructing any part of it, except the new section to turn Wills
+hill, it is not perceived how any part of the funds can be applied to
+the new location proposed by you. These views having been submitted to
+the acting Secretary of War, he concurs in them. Your operations will,
+therefore, be confined to the old road on which the bridge must be
+located.
+
+ Very, &c.,
+ C. GRATIOT,
+ Capt. Richard Delafield,
+ Corps of Engineers, Brownsville, Pa.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+ _Appropriations by Congress at various times for Making, Repairing,
+ and Continuing the Road--Aggregate of Appropriations,
+ $6,824,919.33._
+
+
+ 1. Act of March 29, 1806, authorizes the President to
+ appoint a commission of three citizens to lay out
+ a road four rods in width "from Cumberland or a
+ point on the northern bank of the river Potomac in
+ the State of Maryland, between Cumberland and the
+ place where the main road leading from Gwinn's to
+ Winchester, in Virginia, crosses the river, * * *
+ to strike the river Ohio at the most convenient
+ place between a point on its eastern bank,
+ opposite to the northern boundary of Steubenville
+ and the mouth of Grave creek, which empties into
+ the said river a little below Wheeling, in
+ Virginia." Provides for obtaining the consent of
+ the States through which the road passes, and
+ appropriates for the expenses, to be paid from the
+ reserve fund under the act of April 30, 1802 $ 30,000 00
+
+ 2. Act of February 14, 1810, appropriates to be
+ expended under the direction of the President, in
+ making the road between Cumberland and Brownsville,
+ to be paid from fund act of April 30, 1802 60,000 00
+
+
+ 3. Act of March 3, 1811, appropriates to be expended
+ under the direction of the President, in making the
+ road between Cumberland and Brownsville, and
+ authorizes the President to permit deviations from
+ a line established by the Commissioners under the
+ original act as may be expedient; _Provided_, that
+ no deviation shall be made from the principal
+ points established on said road between Cumberland
+ and Brownsville, to be paid from fund act of April
+ 30, 1802 50,000 00
+
+ 4. Act of February 26, 1812, appropriates balance of
+ a former appropriation not used, but carried to
+ surplus fund 3,786 60
+ ------------
+ _Carried forward_ $ 143,786 60
+
+ _Brought forward_ $ 143,786 60
+
+ 5. Act of May 6, 1812, appropriates to be expended
+ under direction of the President, for making the
+ road from Cumberland to Brownsville, to be paid
+ from fund act of April 30, 1802 30,000 00
+
+ 6. Act of March 3, 1813 (General Appropriation Bill),
+ appropriates for making the road from Cumberland to
+ the State of Ohio, to be paid from fund act of
+ April 30, 1802 140,000 00
+
+ 7. Act of February 14, 1815, appropriates to be
+ expended under the direction of the President, for
+ making the road between Cumberland and Brownsville,
+ to be paid from fund act of April 30, 1802 100,000 00
+
+ 8. Act of April 16, 1816 (General Appropriation Bill),
+ appropriates for making the road from Cumberland to
+ the State of Ohio, to be paid from the fund act,
+ April 30, 1802 300,000 00
+
+ 9. Act of April 14, 1818, appropriates to meet claims
+ due and unpaid 52,984 60
+
+ Demands under existing contracts 260,000 00 from money
+ in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
+
+ 10. Act of March 3, 1819, appropriates for existing
+ claims and contracts 250,000 00
+
+ Completing road 285,000 00 To be paid from reserved
+ funds, acts admitting Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.
+
+ 11. Act of May 15, 1820, appropriates for laying out
+ the road between Wheeling, Va., and a point on the
+ left bank of the Mississippi river, between St.
+ Louis and the mouth of the Illinois river, road to
+ be eighty feet wide and on a straight line, and
+ authorizes the President to appoint Commissioners.
+ To be paid out of any money in the treasury not
+ otherwise appropriated 10,000 00
+
+ 12. Act of April 11, 1820, appropriates for completing
+ contract for road from Washington, Pa., to
+ Wheeling, out of any money in the treasury not
+ otherwise appropriated 141,000 00
+
+ 13. Act of February 28, 1823, appropriates for repairs
+ between Cumberland and Wheeling, and authorizes the
+ President to appoint a superintendent at a
+ compensation of $3.00 per day. To be paid out of
+ money not otherwise appropriated 25,000 00
+ -------------
+ _Carried forward_ $1,737,771 20
+
+ _Brought forward_ $1,737,771 20
+
+ 14. Act of March 3, 1825, appropriates for opening and
+ making a road from the town of Canton, in the State
+ of Ohio, opposite Wheeling, to Zanesville, and for
+ the completion of the surveys of the road, directed
+ to be made by the act of May 15, 1820, and orders
+ its extension to the permanent seat of government
+ of Missouri, and to pass by the seats of government
+ of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, said road to
+ commence at Zanesville, Ohio; also authorizes the
+ appointment of a superintendent by the President,
+ at a salary of $1,500 per annum, who shall make all
+ contracts, receive and disburse all moneys, &c.;
+ also authorizes the appointment of one
+ commissioner, who shall have power according to
+ provisions of the act of May 15, 1820; $10,000 of
+ the money appropriated by this act is to be
+ expended in completing the survey mentioned. The
+ whole sum appropriated to be advanced from moneys
+ not otherwise appropriated, and replaced from
+ reserve fund, acts admitting Ohio, Indiana,
+ Illinois, and Missouri 150,000 00
+
+ 15. Act of March 14, 1826 (General Appropriation
+ Bill), appropriates for balance due superintendent,
+ $3,000; assistant superintendent, $158.90;
+ contractor, $252.13 3,411 03
+ from moneys not otherwise appropriated.
+
+ 16. Act of March 25, 1826 (Military Service),
+ appropriates for continuation of the Cumberland
+ Road during the year 1825 110,749 00
+
+ 17. Act of March 2, 1827 (Military Service),
+ appropriates for construction of road from Canton
+ to Zanesville, and continuing and completing the
+ survey from Zanesville to the seat of government of
+ Missouri, to be paid from reserve fund, acts
+ admitting Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri 170,000 00
+ For balance due superintendent, from moneys not
+ otherwise appropriated 510 00
+
+ 18. Act of March 2, 1827, appropriates for repairs
+ between Cumberland and Wheeling, and authorizes the
+ appointment of a superintendent of repairs, at a
+ compensation to be fixed by the President. To be
+ paid from moneys not otherwise appropriated. The
+ language of this act is, "For repairing the public
+ road from Cumberland to Wheeling" 30,000 00
+ -------------
+ _Carried forward_ $2,202,441 23
+
+ _Brought forward_ $2,202,441 23
+
+ 19. Act of May 19, 1828, appropriates for the
+ completion of the road to Zanesville, Ohio, to be
+ paid from fund, acts admitting Ohio, Indiana,
+ Illinois, and Missouri 175,000 00
+
+ 20. Act of March 2, 1829, appropriates for opening
+ road westwardly, from Zanesville, Ohio, to be paid
+ from fund, acts admitting Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
+ and Missouri 100,000 00
+
+ 21. Act of March 2, 1829, appropriates for opening
+ road eighty feet wide in Indiana, east and west
+ from Indianapolis, and to appoint two
+ superintendents, at $800 each per annum, to be paid
+ from fund, acts admitting Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
+ and Missouri 51,600 00
+
+ 22. Act of March 3, 1829, appropriates for repairing
+ bridges, &c., on road east of Wheeling 100,000 00
+
+ 23. Act of May 31, 1830 (Internal Improvements),
+ appropriates for opening and grading road west of
+ Zanesville, Ohio, $100,000; for opening and grading
+ road in Indiana, $60,000, commencing at
+ Indianapolis, and progressing with the work to the
+ eastern and western boundaries of said State; for
+ opening, grading, &c., in Illinois, $40,000, to be
+ paid from reserve fund, acts admitting Ohio,
+ Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri; for claims due and
+ remaining unpaid on account of road east of
+ Wheeling, $15,000; to be paid from moneys in
+ the treasury not otherwise appropriated 215,000 00
+
+ To this act is appended the following note:
+
+ "I approve this bill, and ask a reference to my
+ communication to Congress of this date in relation
+ thereto.
+ "ANDREW JACKSON."[B]
+
+ ------------
+ _Carried forward_ $2,844,041 23
+
+ [Footnote B: The following is the communication referred to by
+ President Jackson:
+
+ SPECIAL MESSAGE.
+
+ MAY 30, 1830. _To the Senate of the United States_:
+
+ _Gentlemen_: I have approved and signed the bill entitled
+ "An act making appropriations for examinations and
+ surveys, and also for certain works of internal
+ improvement," but as the phraseology of the section,
+ which appropriates the sum of eight thousand dollars for
+ the road from Detroit to Chicago, may be construed to
+ authorize the application of the appropriation for the
+ continuance of the road beyond the limits of the
+ territory of Michigan, I desire to be understood as
+ having approved this bill with the understanding that the
+ road, authorized by this section, is not to be extended
+ beyond the limits of the said territory.
+
+ ANDREW JACKSON.]
+
+ _Brought forward_ $2,844,041 23
+
+ 24. Act of March 2, 1831, appropriates $100,000 for
+ opening, grading, &c., west of Zanesville,
+ Ohio; $950 for repairs during the year 1830;
+ $2,700 for work heretofore done east of Zanesville;
+ $265.85 for arrearages for the survey from
+ Zanesville to the capital of Missouri; and $75,000
+ for opening, grading, &c., in the State of Indiana,
+ including bridge over White river, near Indianapolis,
+ and progressing to eastern and western boundaries;
+ $66,000 for opening, grading, and bridging in
+ Illinois; to be paid from the fund, acts admitting
+ Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri 244,915 85
+
+ 25. Act of July 3, 1832, appropriates $150,000 for
+ repairs east of the Ohio river; $100,000 for
+ continuing the road west of Zanesville; $100,000
+ for continuing the road in Indiana, including
+ bridge over east and west branch of White
+ river; $70,000 for continuing road in
+ Illinois; to be paid from the fund acts admitting
+ Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, 420,000 00
+
+ 26. Act of March 2, 1833, appropriates to carry on
+ certain improvements east of the Ohio river,
+ $125,000; in Ohio, west of Zanesville, $130,000;
+ in Indiana, $100,000; in Illinois, $70,000; in
+ Virginia, $34,440 459,440 00
+
+ 27. Act of June 24, 1834, appropriates $200,000 for
+ continuing the road in Ohio; $150,000 for
+ continuing the road in Indiana; $100,000 for
+ continuing the road in Illinois, and $300,000 for
+ the entire completion of repairs east of Ohio, to
+ meet provisions of the Acts of Pennsylvania (April
+ 4, 1831), Maryland (Jan. 23, 1832), and Virginia
+ (Feb. 7, 1832), accepting the road surrendered to
+ the States, the United States not thereafter to be
+ subject for any expense for repairs. Places
+ engineer officer of army in control of road
+ through Indiana and Illinois, and in charge of all
+ appropriations. $300,000 to be paid out of any
+ money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,
+ balance from acts admitting Ohio, Indiana and
+ Illinois 750,000 00
+
+ 28. Act of June 27, 1837, (General Appropriation) for
+ arrearages due contractors 1,609 36
+ -----------
+ _Carried forward_ $4,720,006 44
+
+ _Brought forward_ $4,720,006 44
+
+ 29. Act of March 3, 1835, appropriates $200,000 for
+ continuing the road in the State of Ohio; $100,000
+ for continuing road in the State of Indiana; to be
+ out of fund acts admitting Ohio, Indiana and Illinois,
+ and $346,186.58 for the entire completion of
+ repairs in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia;
+ but before any part of this sum can be expended
+ east of the Ohio river, the road shall be
+ surrendered to and accepted by the States through
+ which it passes, and the United States shall not
+ thereafter be subject to any expense in relation
+ to said road. Out of any money in the Treasury not
+ otherwise appropriated 646,186 58
+
+ 30. Act of March 3, 1835, (Repair of Roads)
+ appropriates to pay for work heretofore done by
+ Isaiah Frost on the Cumberland Road, $320; to pay
+ late Superintendent of road a salary, $862.87
+ 1,182 87
+
+ 31. Act of July 2, 1836, appropriates for continuing
+ the road in Ohio, $200,000; for continuing road in
+ Indiana, $250,000, including materials for a
+ bridge over the Wabash river; $150,000 for
+ continuing the road in Illinois, provided that the
+ appropriation for Illinois shall be limited to
+ grading and bridging, and shall not be construed
+ as pledging Congress to future appropriations for
+ the purpose of macadamizing the road, and the
+ moneys herein appropriated for said road in Ohio
+ and Indiana must be expended in completing the
+ greatest possible continuous portion of said road
+ in said States so that said finished part thereof
+ may be surrendered to the States respectively; to
+ be paid from acts admitting Ohio, Indiana,
+ Illinois and Missouri 600,000 00
+
+ 32. Act of March 3, 1837, appropriates $190,000 for
+ continuing the road in Ohio; $100,000 for
+ continuing the road in Indiana; $100,000 for
+ continuing road in Illinois, provided the road in
+ Illinois shall not be stoned or graveled, unless
+ it can be done at a cost not greater than the
+ average cost of stoning and graveling the road in
+ Ohio and Indiana, and provided that in all cases
+ where it can be done the work to be laid off in
+ sections and let to the lowest substantial bidder.
+ Sec. 2 of the act provides that Sec. 2 of act of
+ July 2, 1836, shall not be applicable to
+ expenditures hereafter made on the road, and
+ $7,183.63 is appropriated by this act for repairs
+ east of the Ohio river; to be paid from the acts
+ admitting Ohio, Indiana and Illinois 397,183 63
+ -------------
+ _Carried forward_ $6,364,559 52
+
+ _Brought forward_ $6,364,559 52
+
+ 33. Act of May 25, 1838, appropriates for continuing
+ the road in Ohio, $150,000; for continuing it in
+ Indiana, including bridges, $150,000; for
+ continuing it in Illinois, $9,000; for the
+ completion of a bridge over Dunlap's creek at
+ Brownsville; to be paid from moneys in the
+ Treasury not otherwise appropriated and subject to
+ provisions and conditions of act of March 3, 1837 459,000 00
+
+ 34. Act of June 17, 1844, (Civil and Diplomatic)
+ appropriates for arrearages on account of survey
+ to Jefferson, Mo. 1,359 81
+ -------------
+ Total $6,824,919 33
+
+ NOTE--The appropriation of $3,786 60, made by act of Feb. 26, 1812,
+ is not included in the above total for the reason that it was a
+ balance from a former appropriation.
+
+ The act of March 3, 1843, appropriates so much as is necessary to
+ settle certain claims on contract for building bridges over
+ Kaskaskia river and constructing part of Cumberland Road.
+
+[Illustration: HON. T. M. T. McKENNAN.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+ _Speech of Hon. T. M. T. McKennan, delivered in Congress, June 6,
+ 1832--The Road a Monument of National Wealth and Greatness--A Bond
+ of Union--Business of the Road--Five Thousand Wagons unload in
+ Wheeling in a single year--Facilities afforded by the Road for
+ transporting the Mails and Munitions of War._
+
+
+This road, Mr. Speaker (the National Road), is a _magnificent
+one_--magnificent in extent; it traverses seven different States of this
+Union, and its whole distance will cover an extent of near eight hundred
+miles. Magnificent in the difficulties overcome by the wealth of a
+nation, and in the benefits and advantages and blessings which it
+diffuses, east and west, far and wide, through the whole country. It is,
+sir, _a splendid monument of national wealth and national greatness, and
+of the deep interest felt by the government in the wealth and prosperity
+and happiness of the people_.
+
+It is not, sir, like the stupendous monuments of other countries and of
+other times, which have been erected merely for the purpose of show and
+of gratifying the pride of some despotic monarch; but this and all
+similar national improvements are _works of utility; they tend to cement
+the bond of union; they bring together the distant parts of this exalted
+republic; they diffuse wealth and happiness among a free people, and
+will be a source of never failing prosperity to millions yet unborn_.
+
+It is, sir, _a great commercial, military, mail, national work_. To give
+the House, or those of its members who are unacquainted with the fact,
+some idea of the immense commercial advantages which the eastern as well
+as the western country has derived from the construction of this road,
+let me call their attention to the amount of merchandise transported to
+the Ohio river in a single year after its completion; and here, sir, I
+avail myself of an estimate made by an honorable member of the other
+House on another occasion, when he strongly urged the propriety and
+importance of the extension of the road through the State of Ohio.
+
+In the year 1822, shortly after the completion of the road, a single
+house in the town of Wheeling unloaded 1,081 wagons, averaging about
+3,500 pounds each, and paid for the carriage of the goods $90,000. At
+that time there were five other commission houses in the same place, and
+estimating that each of them received two-thirds the amount of goods
+consigned to the other, there must have been nearly 5,000 wagons
+unloaded, and nearly $400,000 paid as the cost of transportation. But,
+further, it is estimated that at least every tenth wagon passed through
+that place into the interior of Ohio, Indiana, &c., which would
+considerably swell the amount. These wagons take their return loads and
+carry to the eastern markets all the various articles of production and
+manufacture of the West--their flour, whisky, hemp, tobacco, bacon, and
+wool. Since this estimate was made, the town of Wheeling is greatly
+enlarged; its population has nearly doubled; the number of its
+commercial establishments has greatly increased; and the demand for
+merchandise in the West has increased with the wealth and improvement
+and prosperity of the country.
+
+But, further, sir, before the completion of this road, from four to six
+weeks were usually occupied in the transportation of goods from
+Baltimore to the Ohio river, and the price varied from six to ten
+dollars per hundred. Now they can be carried in less than half the time
+and at one-half the cost, and arrangements are making by some
+enterprising gentlemen of the West to have the speed of transportation
+still increased, and the price of carriage diminished.
+
+Equally important are the benefits derived by the government and the
+people from the rapid, regular, and safe transportation of the mail on
+this road. Before its completion, eight or more days were occupied in
+transporting the mail from Baltimore to Wheeling; it was then carried on
+horseback, and did not reach the western country by this route more than
+once a week. Now it is carried in comfortable stages, protected from the
+inclemency of the weather, in forty-eight hours; and no less than
+twenty-eight mails weekly and regularly pass and repass each other on
+this road. To show this fact, and the absolute necessity and importance
+of keeping the road in a good state of repair, in order to enable the
+postoffice department to fulfill the expectations of the public, I will
+ask the favor of the clerk to read to the House a communication received
+from the Postmaster General on the subject. [Here the clerk read an
+extract from a letter of the Postmaster General]. The facilities
+afforded by such a road in time of war for the transportation of the
+munitions of war, and the means of defence from one point of the country
+to another, need scarcely be noticed; they must be palpable and plain to
+every reflecting mind, and I will not take up the time of the House in
+detailing them.
+
+As I said before, the road traverses seven different States of this
+Union, and in its whole extent will cover a distance of near 800 miles.
+Who, then, can doubt its nationality? Who can question the allegation
+that it is an immensely important national work? _Who can reconcile it
+to his conscience and his constituents to permit it to go to
+destruction?_
+
+[Illustration: ROAD WAGON]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+ _Life on the Road--Origin of the Phrase Pike Boys--Slaves Driven Like
+ Horses--Race Distinction at the Old Taverns--Old Wagoners--Regulars
+ and Sharpshooters--Line Teams--John Snider, John Thompson, Daniel
+ Barcus, Robert Bell, Henry Clay Rush, and other Familiar Names._
+
+
+As the phrase "Pike Boys" is frequently used in this volume, it is
+considered pertinent to give its origin. When first used, it was
+confined in its application to boys--sons of wagoners, stage drivers,
+tavern keepers, farmers, and in fact the sons of persons of every
+occupation who lived on or adjacent to the road, in the same sense that
+the boys of a town are called "town boys." Its meaning and import,
+however, expanded in course of time, until it embraced, as it now does,
+all persons in any manner and at any time identified with the road,
+whether by residence or occupation, and without "regard to age, race,
+color or previous condition of servitude," as the statute puts it, for
+be it remembered that negro slaves were frequently seen on the National
+Road. The writer has seen them driven over the road arranged in couples
+and fastened to a long, thick rope or cable, like horses. This may seem
+incredible to a majority of persons now living along the road, but it is
+true, and was a very common sight in the early history of the road and
+evoked no expression of surprise, or words of censure. Such was the
+temper of the times. There were negro wagoners on the road, but negro
+stage drivers were unknown. Stage driving was quite a lofty calling, and
+the acme of many a young man's ambition. The work was light and the
+whirl exciting and exhilarating. Wagoners, white and black, stopped over
+night at the same taverns, but never sat down together at the same
+table. A separate table was invariably provided for the colored
+wagoners, a custom in thorough accord with the public sentiment of the
+time, and seemingly agreeable to the colored wagoners themselves.
+Country life in the olden time was enlivened by numerous corn huskings,
+balls, spelling matches, school exhibitions and frolics of all kinds.
+Young men and boys along the road, were in the habit of attending these
+gatherings, going as far as three miles and more in the back country, to
+reach them, some on foot and others on horseback. A young man would
+think nothing of getting a girl up behind him on a horse, and hieing
+away after nightfall, four and five miles to a country dance, and many
+of the girls of the period considered it but pleasant recreation to walk
+two or three miles with their lovers, to a spelling match or a revival
+meeting. A feeling of jealousy always existed between the young men and
+boys, living along and near the road, and those in the back country, and
+the occasions before mentioned furnished opportunities from time to time
+for this feeling to break out, as it often did, in quarrels and fights.
+The country boys would get together in anticipation of an approaching
+gathering at some school house, and organize for offense or defense, as
+the exigencies might require, always calling their rivals and imaginary
+enemies, "Pike Boys," and this was the origin of that familiar phrase.
+
+The men who hauled merchandise over the road were invariably called
+wagoners, not teamsters, as is the modern word, and they were both,
+since Webster defines wagoner as one who conducts a wagon, and teamster
+as one who drives a team. The teams of the old wagoners consisting, as a
+rule, of six horses, were very rarely stabled, but rested over night on
+the wagon yards of the old taverns, no matter how inclement the weather.
+Blankets were used to protect them in the winter season. Feed troughs
+were suspended at the rear end of the wagon bed, and carried along in
+this manner, day after day all the year round. In the evening, when the
+day's journey was ended, the troughs were taken down and fastened on the
+tongues of the wagon to which the horses were tied, three on a side,
+with their heads to the trough. Wagoners carried their beds, rolled up,
+in the forepart of the wagon, and spread them out in a semi-circle on
+the bar room floor in front of the big bar room fire upon going to rest.
+Some of the old bar room grates would hold as much as six bushels of
+coal, and iron pokers from four to six feet in length, weighing eight
+and ten pounds, were used for stirring the fires. To get down an icy
+hill with safety, it was necessary to use an ice cutter, a rough lock,
+or a clevis, and sometimes all combined, contingent upon the thickness
+and smoothness of the ice, and the length and steepness of the hill. The
+ice cutter was of steel or iron, in appearance like a small sled, fitted
+on the hind wheels, which were first securely locked. The rough lock was
+a short chain with large, rough links, and the clevis was like that used
+on an ordinary plow, except that it was larger and stronger. These
+instruments were essential parts of the wagoners' "outfit." There were
+two classes of wagoners, the "regular" and the "sharpshooter." The
+regular was on the road constantly with his team and wagon, and had no
+other pursuit than hauling goods and merchandise on the road. The
+sharpshooters were for the most part farmers, who put their farm teams
+on the road in seasons when freights were high, and took them off when
+prices of hauling declined; and there was jealousy between the two
+classes. The regular drove his team about fifteen miles a day on the
+average, while the sharpshooter could cover twenty miles and more. Line
+teams were those controlled by an association or company. Many of the
+regular wagoners became members of these companies and put in their
+teams. The main object of the combination was to transport goods more
+rapidly than by the ordinary method. Line teams were stationed along
+the road, at distances of about fifteen miles, and horses were exchanged
+after the manner of the stage lines. Many of the old wagoners had
+bull-dogs tied at the rear of their wagons, and these dogs were often
+seen pressing with all their strength against the collar about their
+necks, as if to aid the horses in moving their load; and this is
+probably the origin of the common form of boast about a man being equal
+in strength to "a six-horse team with a cross dog under the wagon."
+
+[Illustration: JOHN THOMPSON.]
+
+The whip used by old wagoners was apparently five feet long, thick and
+hard at the butt, and tapering rapidly to the end in a silken cracker.
+Battley White, of Centerville, Washington county, Pa., made more of
+these whips than any other man on the road. The interior of his whip was
+a raw hide. John Morrow, of Petersburg, Somerset county, Pa., also made
+many whips for the old wagoners. There was another whip, much used by
+old wagoners, known as the "Loudon Whip." The inner portion of this whip
+was an elastic wooden stock, much approved by the wagoners. It was
+manufactured in the village of Loudon, Franklin county, Pa., and hence
+its name. It was used almost exclusively on what was called the "Glade
+Road," from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, _via_ Chambersburg and Bedford.
+
+Some of the old wagoners of the National Road became rich. John Snider
+was one of these. He drove a six-horse team on the road for twenty
+years, and died on his farm near Uniontown in December, 1889, much
+lamented. Few men possessed more of the higher attributes of true
+manhood than John Snider. The author of this volume gratefully and
+cheerfully acknowledges his indebtedness to John Snider for many of the
+facts and incidents it contains. He was a clear-headed, intelligent,
+sober, discreet, and observing man, whose statements could be relied on
+as accurate.
+
+It would be an impossible task to collect the names of all the old
+wagoners of the National Road. They number thousands, and many of them
+left the road long since to seek fortunes in new and distant sections of
+our widely extended country. The most of them have gone to scenes beyond
+the boundaries of time. It is the author's aim to collect as many of
+their names as is practicable and write them down in history. The names
+of John Thompson, James Noble, and John Flack are recalled. These worthy
+old wagoners are still living in the vicinity of Taylorstown, Washington
+county, Pa., and highly respected by all their neighbors. The point at
+which they first entered upon the road was the famous "S" bridge.
+Thompson drove his father's team when quite young, in fact, a mere boy.
+The first trip he made over the road was in the spring of 1843, in
+company with the veteran wagoner, George Hallam, of Washington, Pa.
+Thompson's father was a pork packer, and the youthful wagoner's "down
+loads," as those moving eastwardly were called, consisted for the most
+part of bacon. His recollections of the road are vivid, and warmly
+cherished. He can sit down in a room, at his comfortable home, and "in
+his mind's eye" see every mile post along the road and recall the
+distances to points inscribed thereon. In the year 1852, he went to
+California, engaged in mining, and was successful. With the instinct
+planted in every human breast, he returned to his native land, and with
+his accumulations bought his father's homestead farm. The old farm
+enhanced in value by reason of the oil developments, and landed the old
+wagoner in the ranks of the rich.
+
+The name Noble is a familiar one on the National Road, and suggestive of
+rank. "Watty" and William Noble were stage drivers. James Noble, the old
+wagoner, drove a team for the late Hon. Isaac Hodgens, who was at one
+time a pork salter. He remained on the road as a wagoner until its tide
+of business ceased, and retired to Taylorstown to take his chances in
+the on-moving and uncertain affairs of life. He seemed possessed of the
+idea that there was undeveloped wealth in the vicinity of Taylorstown,
+and made up his mind to gain a foothold there and wait the coming of
+events. He managed by the exercise of industry and economy to become the
+owner of a farm, and the discovery of oil did the rest for him. He is
+rich.
+
+John Flack's career is similar to those of Thompson and Noble,
+culminating in like good fortune. "He struck oil, too."
+
+We have in the story of these old wagoners, examples of the
+possibilities for achievement, under the inspiring genius of American
+institutions. Poor boys, starting out in life as wagoners, with wages
+barely sufficient for their subsistence, pushing on and up with
+ceaseless vigilance, attaining the dignity of farmers, in all ages the
+highest type of industrial life, and now each bearing, though meekly,
+the proud title of "freeholder," which Mr. Blaine said in his celebrated
+eulogium of Garfield, "has been the patent and passport of self-respect
+with the Anglo-Saxon race ever since Horsa and Hengist landed on the
+shores of England."
+
+[Illustration: DANIEL BARCUS.]
+
+Otho and Daniel Barcus, brothers, were among the prominent wagoners of
+the road. They lived near Frostburg, Md. Otho died at Barton, Md., in
+1883. Daniel is now living in retirement at Salisbury, Somerset county,
+Pa. In 1838 he engaged with John Hopkins, merchant at the foot of Light
+and Pratt streets, Baltimore, to haul a load of general merchandise,
+weighing 8,300 pounds, to Mt. Vernon, Ohio. "He delivered the goods in
+good condition" at the end of thirty days from the date of his departure
+from Baltimore. His route was over the National Road to Wheeling, thence
+by Zanesville and Jacktown, Ohio, thence thirty-two miles from the
+latter place to the point of destination, the whole distance being 397
+miles. He received $4.25 per hundred for hauling the goods. At Mt.
+Vernon he loaded back with Ohio tobacco, 7,200 pounds in hogsheads, for
+which he received $2.75 per hundred. On the return trip he upset,
+between Mt. Vernon and Jacktown, without sustaining any damage, beyond
+the breaking of a bow of his wagon bed, and the loss caused by
+detention. The expense of getting in shape for pursuing his journey, was
+the price of a gallon of whisky. Mt. Vernon is not on the line of the
+road, and Mr. Barcus writes that "when he reached the National Road
+at Jacktown, he felt at home again." Mr. Barcus also states in a letter
+to the writer of these pages, that the first lot of goods shipped over
+the Baltimore and Ohio railway, after its completion to Cumberland,
+destined for Wheeling, was consigned to Shriver and Dixon, commission
+merchants of Cumberland, and by that firm consigned to Forsythe and Son,
+of Wheeling. This lot of goods aggregated 6,143 pounds, an average load
+for a six-horse team, and Mr. Barcus contracted with Shriver and Dixon
+to haul it through to Wheeling in six days for fifty cents a hundred,
+which he accomplished. He further states that a delegation of wholesale
+and retail merchants of Wheeling met him at Steenrod's tavern, east of
+Wheeling Hill, and escorted him to town, then a place of 4,000 or 5,000
+inhabitants, and in the evening there was public rejoicing over the
+unprecedented event of goods reaching Wheeling from Baltimore in the
+short space of seven days. Mr. Barcus concludes his letter as follows:
+"I stayed many nights at Hopwood with Wilse Clement, and many with Natty
+Brownfield, in Uniontown. I often stayed with Arthur Wallace, five miles
+east of Brownsville. I remember one night at Wallace's, after caring for
+my team, I accompanied his two fine and handsome daughters to a party
+about a mile distant in the country, where I danced all night, till
+broad daylight, and then walked home with the girls in the morning."
+
+John Grace was another old wagoner, who became wealthy. The old pike
+boys will remember him as the driver of a black team. He was a Maryland
+man. When the old road yielded its grasp on trade, to the iron railway,
+Grace settled in or near Zanesville, Ohio, where he still lives, or was
+living a few years ago, worth a hundred thousand dollars. He transported
+his family to Ohio in his big road wagon.
+
+Jesse Franks, and his son Conrad, of High House, Fayette county, Pa.,
+were old wagoners. Conrad's team ran off near Cumberland, on one of his
+trips, overthrowing the wagon, and causing an ugly dislocation of
+Conrad's thigh, from which he suffered great pain for many weeks.
+
+John Manaway, late owner of the Spottsylvania House, Uniontown, drove a
+team on the road for many years, and no man enjoyed the business more
+than he.
+
+There was an Ohio man of the name of Lucas, called Gov. Lucas, because a
+man of like name was an early Governor of Ohio, who was an old wagoner,
+and his team consisted of but five horses, yet he hauled the biggest
+loads on the road. He was the owner of the team he drove. In the year
+1844, one of his loads weighed twelve thousand pounds--"one hundred and
+twenty hundred," as the old wagoners termed it, and the biggest load
+ever hauled over the road up to that date.
+
+William King, of Washington county, Pa., an old wagoner, was noted for
+his steady habits. On one of his trips over the road, and going down the
+eastern slope of Laurel Hill, when it was covered with ice, his wagon
+slipped from the road and fell over the bank near the old Price
+residence, dragging the team after it. Strange to say, the horses were
+uninjured and but little damage done to the wagon. The contents of the
+load were Ohio tobacco and bacon. After getting things restored, King
+drove to Jimmy Snyder's, stayed all night, and the next morning
+proceeded on his journey to Baltimore. He was the owner of a farm in
+Washington county.
+
+Joseph Thompson, an old wagoner on the road, is now and has been for
+many years in charge of the large and valuable coal farm belonging to
+the estate of the Hon. James G. Blaine, on the Monongahela river, near
+Pittsburg. A trusty old wagoner, he has approved himself the trusty
+agent of the great statesman.
+
+Jacob Probasco was an old wagoner, and also kept a tavern at Jockey
+Hollow. He went west and founded a fortune.
+
+Joseph Lawson, an old wagoner, kept tavern for many years in West
+Alexander, Washington county, Pa., and died the possessor of a valuable
+estate. The author of this book took dinner, in 1848, at Lawson's
+tavern, in company with James G. Blaine, the late distinguished
+Secretary of State.
+
+Matthias Fry, an old wagoner, kept the Searight House in 1840, and
+subsequently presided as landlord over several houses at different times
+in Hopwood. He was one of the best men on the road. His large and well
+proportioned form will be readily recalled by the old pike boys. He was
+a native of Old Virginia, and died in Hopwood.
+
+David Hill was one of the most noted wagoners of the road. He was an
+active, bustling man, and given to witty sayings. He belonged to
+Washington county, Pa., and was the father of Dr. Hill, of Vanderbilt,
+and the father-in-law of the Rev. J. K. Melhorn, who preached for many
+years in the vicinity of McClellandtown, Fayette county, Pa.
+
+Andrew Prentice, who died recently in Uniontown, the possessor of
+considerable money, drove a team on the old road in his early days.
+
+Henry Clay Rush, a prominent citizen of Uniontown, and ex-jury
+commissioner, was once the proud driver of a big six-horse team. He
+drove through from Baltimore to Wheeling, and can recount incidents of
+every mile of the road to this day. None of the old pike boys enjoys
+with keener relish a recital of the stories of the old pike than Rush.
+
+William Worthington, who died not long since in Dunbar township, Fayette
+county, Pa., aged upwards of ninety years, was one of the earliest
+wagoners on the road. When he made his first trip he was only thirteen
+years old, and the road was then recently opened for travel. He
+continued as a wagoner on the road for many years, and located in Dunbar
+township, where he purchased property, which subsequently became very
+valuable by reason of the coal development.
+
+William Chenriewith, who recently, and probably at the present time,
+keeps a hotel near Bedford Springs, was an old wagoner of the National
+Road.
+
+[Illustration: HENRY CLAY RUSH.]
+
+John Thomas, who kept a hotel and livery stable in Baltimore, was an old
+wagoner, and is well remembered along the road.
+
+George Buttermore, father of Dr. Smith Buttermore, of Connellsville, was
+at one time a wagoner on the National Road.
+
+John Orr, now a prosperous and well-known farmer of the vicinity of West
+Newton, Westmoreland county, Pa., was an old wagoner of the road.
+
+James Murray, an old wagoner, is remembered for his extravagance of
+speech. One of his sayings was, that "he saw the wind blow so hard on
+Keyser's Ridge, that it took six men to hold the hair on one man's
+head."
+
+E. W. Clement, of Hopwood, was an old wagoner, and invariably used bells
+on his horses. He subsequently kept a tavern in Hopwood, and built the
+house there known as the "Shipley House."
+
+Robert Bell was an old wagoner with quaint ways. He was rich, and owned
+his team, which was the poorest equipped of any on the road. Horses in
+his team were not infrequently seen without bridles. He was a trader,
+and often bought the goods he hauled and sold them out to people along
+the road. His reputation for honesty was good, but he was called "Stingy
+Robert."
+
+George Widdle, an old wagoner of the age of eighty and upwards, still
+living in Wheeling, drew the single line and handled the Loudon whip
+over a six-horse team for many years, between Wheeling and Baltimore,
+and accounts the days of those years the happiest of his existence. He
+was also a stage driver for a time. Nothing affords him so much pleasure
+as a recital of the incidents of the road. He says there never were such
+taverns and tavern keepers as those of the National Road in the days of
+its glory, and of his vigorous manhood.
+
+James Butler, like Bell, was a trader. Butler drove a "bell team," as
+teams with bells were called. He was a Virginian, from the vicinity of
+Winchester. It was the tradition of the road that he had a slight
+infusion of negro blood in his veins, and this assigned him to the side
+table of the dining room. When he quit the road he returned to
+Winchester, started a store, and got rich.
+
+Neither tradition or kindred evidence was necessary to prove the race
+status of Westley Strother. He showed up for himself. He was as black as
+black could be, and a stalwart in size and shape. He was well liked by
+all the old wagoners, and by every one who knew him. He was mild in
+manner, and honest in purpose. He had the strongest affection for the
+road, delighted in its stirring scenes, and when he saw the wagons and
+the wagoners, one after another, departing from the old highway, he
+repined and prematurely died at Uniontown.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+ _Old Wagoners continued--Harrison Wiggins, Morris Mauler, James
+ Mauler, John Marker, John Bradley, Robert Carter, R. D. Kerfoot,
+ Jacob F. Longanecker, Ellis B. Woodward--Broad and Narrow Wheels--A
+ peculiar Wagon--An experiment and a failure--Wagon Beds--Bell
+ Teams._
+
+
+Harrison Wiggins, widely known as a lover of fox hunting, and highly
+respected as a citizen, was one of the early wagoners. His career as a
+wagoner ceased long before the railroad reached Cumberland. He hauled
+goods from Baltimore to points west. His outfit, team and wagon, were
+owned by himself and his father, Cuthbert Wiggins. Harrison Wiggins was
+born in the old Gribble house, two miles east of Brownsville, on the
+30th of April, 1812. About the year 1817 his father moved to Uniontown,
+and kept a tavern in a frame building which stood on the lot adjoining
+the residence of P. S. Morrow, Esq. He remained here until 1821, when he
+went to the stone house at the eastern base of Chalk Hill, and was its
+first occupant. His house at Uniontown numbered among its patrons, Hon.
+Nathaniel Ewing, Samuel Cleavenger, Mr. Bouvier, John A. Sangston, John
+Kennedy, John Lyon, and other eminent men of that period. In 1832 or
+'33, Harrison Wiggins married a daughter of John Risler, a noted tavern
+keeper of the road, one of the very best, a talent which descended to
+his children. At the date of the marriage Mr. Risler was keeping the
+stone house at Braddock's run, and the wedding occurred in that house.
+In 1839 Harrison Wiggins went to Iowa, with a view of locating in that
+State, but returned the next year and leased the property on which he
+now lives from Charles Griffith. In ten years thereafter he bought this
+property, and it has been his home for more than half a century. Under
+the careful and sagacious management of Mr. Wiggins, it has become one
+of the prettiest and most valuable properties in the mountains. It has
+been a long time since he was a wagoner, but he enjoys a recital of the
+stirring scenes he witnessed on the old road in the days of its glory.
+
+[Illustration: HARRISON WIGGINS.]
+
+There is not a more familiar name among the old pike boys than that of
+Morris Mauler. He was an old wagoner, stage driver and tavern keeper. He
+was born in Uniontown in the year 1806. The house in which he first
+beheld the light of day, was a log building on the Skiles corner, kept
+as a tavern by his father. Before he reached the age of twenty-one he
+was on the road with a six-horse team and a big wagon, hauling goods
+from the city of Baltimore to points west. He continued a wagoner for
+many years, and afterward became a stage driver. He drove on Stockton's
+line. From stage driving he went to tavern keeping. His first venture as
+a tavern keeper was at Mt. Washington, when the old tavern stand at that
+point was owned by the late Hon. Nathaniel Ewing. He subsequently and
+successively kept the old Probasco house at Jockey Hollow, the old
+Gaither house, the Yeast house, and a house in Hopwood. He always
+furnished good entertainment for strangers and travelers, as well as for
+friends and acquaintances, and as a consequence, was well patronized. He
+died about seven years ago at Fairchance, and when his light went out a
+shadow of sorrow passed over the hearts of all the old pike boys.
+
+James Mauler, a son of Morris, above mentioned, is also an old wagoner.
+He went on the road with a team in the year 1830, and remained on it as
+long as he could obtain a load of goods to haul over it. He is still
+living and in robust health, at Brownfield station, four miles south of
+Uniontown.
+
+[Illustration: JOHN MARKER.]
+
+John Marker, now residing in the east end of Uniontown, is an old
+wagoner. He was born at the Little Crossings in the State of Maryland,
+in the year 1816, and while yet a lad began to drive a team on the road
+for Joseph Plucker. In 1839 he quit the service of Plucker and came to
+Wharton township, Fayette county, Pa., and soon thereafter began driving
+again, first for Sebastian Rush and next for Nicholas McCartney. He is a
+near relative of the Shipley, McCollough and McCartney families, all of
+the old pike. Marker says he never suffered an "upset" himself, but saw
+a great many "upsets" on the road. He also states that he saw a stage
+driver killed near Little Crossings in 1835 by the "running off" of his
+team and the "upsetting" of the coach. The name of this unfortunate
+stage driver was James Rhodes, and he drove on Stockton's line. John
+Marker, in his prime, was one of the stoutest men on the road, upwards
+of six feet in height, and rounded out in proportion, but, being of an
+amiable temperament, he never engaged in broils, realizing, no doubt,
+and acting upon the poetic sentiment that:
+
+ "It is excellent to have a giant's strength,
+ But tyrannous to use it as a giant."
+
+He still clings to the old road, breaking stone to repair it, when his
+health will permit. He is in the 76th year of his age.
+
+John Bradley, brother of Daniel, of Jockey Hollow, is an old wagoner. He
+drove a team for Benjamin Brownfield, Jr., now residing near Newark,
+Ohio., son of Col. Ben., the centennarian of South Union township, and
+grand marshal of Democratic processions of the olden time. John Bradley
+also worked on the construction of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad in
+1839, near Oldtown, Md., fifteen miles east of Cumberland. His employer
+on this work was the late Zalmon Ludington, of Uniontown, who had a
+contract at the point mentioned. John Bradley is now living in the city
+of Pittsburg.
+
+Robert Carter was a well known old wagoner, a native of Washington
+county, Pa., a "regular," and a very energetic, persevering and keen
+sighted man. He took a prominent part in many of the festivities of the
+old road, but never lost his head. He was a money maker, and unlike most
+of that class, kind hearted and generous. He married the eldest daughter
+of Thomas Moxley, the old tavern keeper, whose house was three miles
+west of Uniontown. After his marriage he bought a small farm, known as
+the Solomon Colley farm, near Hatfield's, in Redstone township, Fayette
+county, Pa., subsequently merged in the Hatfield estate. He operated
+this farm for a short time, but while engaged as a farmer, kept his team
+on the road in charge of a hired driver. He sold his farm and leased the
+Bar house in Bridgeport, and kept tavern there for some time. When
+business ceased on the road, he gave up his team and his tavern, and
+moved with his family to Iowa, where he engaged extensively in farming
+and stock raising.
+
+R. D. Kerfoot, the well known miner and labor leader of Everson, was at
+one time a wagoner on the National Road. He was born in Lancaster
+county, Pa., and before reaching the full stature of manhood in point of
+age, went to Washington county, Md., where he engaged as a driver for
+one J. B. Bear, a farmer of that county and State, and was put in charge
+of a fine six-horse team, and a broad wheeled wagon, with which he
+hauled goods, wares and merchandise to and from Baltimore and Wheeling.
+He enjoyed the stirring scenes of the old road, and recalls with a keen
+relish the bounteous tables of the old taverns.
+
+Jacob F. Longanecker, who served as county commissioner of Fayette
+county, Pa., from 1854 to 1857, was an old wagoner. He owned a farm in
+German township, and was a good practical farmer, but spent much of his
+time, for many years, on the road with his team. He enjoyed life on the
+road, and seemed loath to relinquish the occupation of a wagoner.
+
+[Illustration: ELLIS B. WOODWARD.]
+
+Ellis B. Woodward, of Menallen township, Fayette county, Pa., is an old
+wagoner with experience hardly sufficient to entitle him to be classed
+as a "regular," and yet almost enough to take him from the list of
+"sharp-shooters." He kept his big road wagon on his farm for many years
+after the road ceased to be a profitable avenue of transportation, and
+felt a pride in exhibiting it as a reminder of his identification with
+the great highway, in the days of its prosperity. He still lives and
+warmly cherishes the memories of the old road.
+
+The first wagons used on the National Road were made with narrow rimmed
+wheels, like those in use at the present day on farms and country roads.
+It was not long, however, after the opening of the road, until the broad
+wheeled, or "broad tread wagon," as it was called, was introduced, and
+came into general use by the "regulars." The "sharpshooters," as a rule,
+retained the narrow tread, as their wagons were designed mainly for farm
+service. The width of the broad tread was about four inches, and lighter
+tolls were exacted at the gates from broad than from narrow tread
+wagons for the obvious reason that narrow wheels cut deeper into the
+road than broad wheels.
+
+A gentleman of Wheeling interested in the transportation business at one
+time, conceived the idea of constructing a wagon that would make so wide
+a track as to be allowed to pass over the road for a very low rate of
+toll, if not entirely exempt. His model was a wagon with the rear axle
+four inches shorter than the front one, so that a track was made of
+eight inches in width. To this wagon nine horses were attached--three
+abreast. It passed over the road several times, with Joseph Sopher as
+driver, attracting much attention, but turning out a failure as well in
+the matter of saving toll as in being an impracticable vehicle of
+transportation.
+
+The bed of the regular road wagon was long and deep, bending upward at
+the bottom in front and rear. The lower broad side was painted blue,
+with a movable board inserted above, painted red. The covering was of
+white canvas stretched over broad wooden bows, so that the old road
+wagon, probably more as a matter of taste than design, disclosed the
+tri-colors of the American escutcheon, red, white and blue.
+
+An average load was 6,000 pounds, but loads weighing 10,000 pounds, "a
+hundred hundred," as all old wagoners boastfully put it, were frequently
+hauled over the road.
+
+The reader who never saw the endless procession on the old pike, in the
+days of its glory, may have the impression that the bells used by some
+of the old wagoners on their teams were like sleigh bells, or those of
+the milk wagon of the present day, and in like manner strapped around
+the horses. But that was not the way of it. The bells of the old
+wagoners were cone shaped, with an open end, not unlike a small dinner
+bell, and were attached to a thin iron arch, sprung over the tops of the
+hames. The motion of the horses caused a quiver in the arch, and the
+bell teams moved majestically along the road attracting attention and
+eliciting admiration. The great majority of wagoners did not use bells.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+ _Old Wagoners continued--John Deets--His story told by himself--David
+ Church--John Snider loads up with Butter--Billy Ashton, John
+ Bradfield, Frank Bradfield--An Escapade--William Hall, Henry
+ Puffenberger and Jacob Breakiron--Collision between a "regular" and
+ a "sharpshooter"--Joseph Lawson, Jeff. Manypenny, Joseph Arnold,
+ The Sophers, Robert Beggs, Thomas Gore, and John Whetsel._
+
+
+John Deets was a wagoner on the road as early as 1826, before the
+invention of the rubber, or at least before its application to wagons on
+the National Road. He had a brother, Michael, who preceded him as a
+wagoner on the road. John Deets located in Guernsey county, Ohio, in
+1835, whence he went from Menallen township, Fayette county, Pa. He is
+still living. The following from his own pen furnishes a graphic account
+of life on the road in his day:
+
+MR. SEARIGHT: I will try to give you as much information as I can at
+this time. My brother, Michael Deets, about four years older than
+myself, was among the first that wagoned on the pike. That was about the
+year 1822. He first drove his father's team, and the first load of goods
+he hauled from Baltimore was to Uniontown for Isaac Beeson or Isaac
+Skiles, I am not certain which. After that he drove for Abram Beagle,
+who lived in the west end of Uniontown. After that he bought a team, and
+a few years after bought two more, so that he owned three teams at one
+time. He drove one of the teams himself and hired drivers for the other
+two. The team he drove himself was a bell team. One of his drivers was
+George Richards, and the other, Jesse Barnet, a colored man, who lived
+in the east end of Uniontown. When they took up the old bed of the road,
+and macadamized it, my brother took a contract and put his teams to
+hauling stones. After finishing his contract, he resumed the hauling of
+merchandise on the road and continued until about 1837, when he moved to
+Ohio, thence to Illinois, and thence to Missouri, where he died.
+
+[Illustration: JOHN DEETS.]
+
+The pike boys had some hard times and they had some good times. They
+were generally very fond of sport, and mostly tried to put up where the
+landlord was a fiddler, so that they could take a hoe-down. Every one
+carried his own bed, and after they had all the sport they wanted they
+put their beds down on the floor in a circle, with their feet to the
+fire, and slept like a mouse in a mill. They were generally very
+sociable and friendly with each other, but I must note one thing just
+here: Two of the boys met at David Barnett's, some three miles east of
+Hancock, and got into a dispute, which was not often the case. Elias
+Meek and Abner Benley were the two. Meek was for fight, Benley was for
+peace. But Meek pushed on Benley and Benley run, but Meek caught him.
+Then Benley knew he had to fight, and turned on Meek and gave him a
+wonderful thrashing, so that he was not able to drive his team for some
+time. And now with regard to getting up and down the hills. They had no
+trouble to get up, but the trouble was in getting down, for they had no
+rubbers then, and to tight lock would soon wear out their tires. They
+would cut a small pole about 10 or 11 feet long and tie it to the bed
+with the lock chain and then bend it against the hind wheel and tie it
+to the feed trough, or the hind part of the wagon bed, just tight enough
+to let the wheel turn slow. Sometimes one driver would wear out from 15
+to 20 poles between Baltimore and Wheeling. Sometimes others would cut
+down a big tree and tie it to the hind end of the wagon and drop it at
+the foot of the hill. When there was ice, and there was much of it in
+winter, they had to use rough locks and cutters, and the wagon would
+sometimes be straight across the road, if not the hind end foremost. The
+snow was sometimes so deep that they had to go through fields, and
+shovel the drifts from the fences, and often had to get sleds to take
+their loads across Nigger Mountain, and on as far as Hopwood. Those of
+us who had to go through the fields were three days going nine miles.
+This was in the neighborhood of Frostburg, Md. There were no bridges
+then across the Monongahela or the Ohio rivers. Wagoners had to ferry
+across in small flat-boats, and sometimes to lay at the rivers for some
+days, until the ice would run out or the river freeze over. A small
+bridge across Dunlap's creek, at Brownsville, broke down with one of the
+pike boys and did a great deal of damage. Sometimes a barrel of coffee
+would spring a leak and the coffee would be scattered along the road,
+and women would gather it up and be glad for such a prize. The writer
+has scattered some in his time. Some of the old citizens of Uniontown,
+no doubt, well remember the time, when scores of poor slaves were driven
+through that place, handcuffed and tied two and two to a rope that was
+extended some 40 or 50 feet, one on each side. And thousands of droves
+of hogs were driven through to Baltimore, some from Ohio. Sometimes they
+would have to lay by two or three days on account of the frozen road,
+which cut their feet and lamed them. While the writer was wagoning on
+the old pike, the canal was made from Cumberland to Harper's Ferry. The
+pike boys were bitterly opposed to railroads and so were the tavern
+keepers. The writer heard an old tavern keeper say "he wished the
+railroad would sink to the lower regions." That great phenomenon that
+occurred the 13th of November, 1833, or, as it is often called, the
+Shooting stars. That circumstance caused a great deal of excitement.
+Some became very much alarmed, and it was reported that some went crazy,
+and thought the world was coming to an end. The writer was at Hopwood
+that night with his team and wagon. The phenomenon was also seen in
+Ohio. It was reported in Ohio that there was a box of money hid on the
+old Gaddis farm, near the pike, about two miles west of Uniontown,
+supposed to have been hid there by Gen. Braddock. It was sought for but
+never found. The taverns we mostly put up at in Baltimore were the
+Maypole, on Paca street, south of Gen. Wayne, and at Thomas Elliott's,
+near the Hill market; and where we mostly loaded our goods was at J.
+Taylor & Sons and at Chauncey Brook's, on Baltimore and Howard streets.
+Our first day's drive out of Baltimore was 19 miles, to Enoch Randall's,
+or 20, to John Whalon's. The second day to Frank Wathers--who could
+almost outswear the world. And one thing more: Before this writer became
+a pike boy he plowed many a day with a wooden mold-board plow, and after
+being engaged on the road for about ten years, he left the road and went
+to Ohio, and then made a public profession of religion and united with
+the Baptist church. In conclusion, will say to make as good a history as
+you possibly can, and I hope you shall be well rewarded for your labor,
+and above all never forget your Creator, as in Him we live, move and
+have our being.
+
+ Yours respectfully,
+ JOHN DEETS.
+
+David Church was an old wagoner, a native of Wheeling, and when the old
+pike ceased to ring with the clatter of travel and trade, he purchased a
+farm in Wharton township, near Farmington, Fayette county, Pa., took up
+his residence thereon, and died a mountain farmer. He was a large, fat
+man, of ruddy complexion and reddish hair. The leader in his team was of
+a dun color, and as it approached the old taverns and the big
+water-troughs, was recognized as the team of David Church by the color
+of the leader. Charley Rush often invited Church to take a chair and be
+seated when he visited the store at Farmington, but he invariably
+declined, remarking that he could rest as well standing as sitting. He
+felt like nearly all the old wagoners, that his occupation was gone when
+transportation ceased on the old road, and could never fully adapt
+himself to the new order of things.
+
+[Illustration: JOHN SNIDER.]
+
+In the year 1842 John Snider hauled a load of butter from Wheeling to
+Washington, D. C. The owner of this butter was a man by the name of
+Oyster, a butter dealer of Wheeling. He could have shipped his butter
+from Cumberland to its destination by rail, as the Baltimore & Ohio road
+had just then been finished to Cumberland; but his animosity against
+railroads was so deep-seated that he engaged Snider to haul it all the
+way through with his big team. On his way to Washington with this load
+he struck off from the National Road at Frederick City, Maryland. He
+reached that city on Christmas night and "put up" at Miller's tavern.
+The guests of that old tavern danced all of that night, and early in the
+morning of the day after Christmas, Snider "pulled out" on a strange
+road for the city of Washington with his load of butter. He was three
+days on a mud road between Frederick and Washington, but, nevertheless,
+delivered his butter in "good condition" to the consignee. This butter
+was bought up in small quantities in the vicinity of Wheeling for ten
+cents per pound, and Snider got two dollars and fifty cents per hundred
+pounds for hauling it to Washington.
+
+William Ashton, a well-known old wagoner, was an Englishman by birth. He
+was also an old tavern keeper. He was noted for his mental vivacity, and
+for his achievements as an athlete. At Petersburg he once bounded over
+the top of one of the big road wagons with the aid of a long pole. He
+kept a tavern at Funkstown, seventy miles west of Baltimore, and was
+largely patronized by wagoners. While keeping tavern he had two teams on
+the road in charge of hired drivers. This was as early as 1835. His
+drivers were Samuel Kelly and William Jones, and they hauled goods from
+Hagerstown, Maryland (then the terminus of the railroad), to Terre
+Haute, Indiana, and to Springfield, Illinois, involving a trip of four
+months duration, and the compensation was six dollars per hundred
+pounds.
+
+John Bradfield was one of the most prominent old wagoners on the road.
+He was the general agent of the first transportation company on the
+road. He was also a tavern keeper. He kept the brick house west of, and
+a short distance from, Petersburg, and owned it. He was a native of
+Virginia.
+
+Frank Bradfield, son of John, before mentioned, was also a wagoner.
+Fifty years ago, when but a boy, he drove one of his father's teams to
+Baltimore, "pulled up" on the wagon yard of the old Maypole tavern, in
+that city, attended to his team, remained over night, and the next day
+mysteriously disappeared. Search was instituted, but he could not be
+found. He had enlisted as a soldier in the regular army. His friends
+thought he was dead. He served through the Mexican war, and yet his
+relatives knew not of his existence. When that war was over he stepped
+one morning from a steamboat to the wharf at Brownsville. Nobody
+recognized him. He took a seat in a coach at Brownsville, and in a few
+hours thereafter entered his father's house, near Petersburg. He called
+for supper and lodging, and the person he addressed was his father, who
+did not recognize him, and to whom he did not make himself known. Supper
+was announced, and his father showed him to the dining room and
+withdrew. His mother, who was attending at the table, immediately after
+he was seated, recognized him, and fell fainting in his arms, and there
+was joy in that household, although inaugurated by a great shock. Frank
+Bradfield subsequently became a clerk in the Adams Express Company, and
+entered the Pittsburg office when it was first established in that city,
+and remained in its service until his death, a few years ago. He has a
+brother at this time in the office of the Adams Express Company at
+Pittsburg, where he has been employed for many years, and esteemed as a
+faithful and efficient clerk.
+
+William Hall was a fine specimen of the old wagoner in the palmy days
+of the road--a regular of regulars, zealous in his calling, and jealous
+of his rights. Robert Bell, the quaint old wagoner before referred to,
+was his uncle and his friend, who, it is said, rendered him substantial
+aid in securing a foothold on the great National highway. There was a
+certain kind of _esprit de corps_ among the old regular wagoners, and
+William Hall possessed it in a high degree. He was well attired, and
+clean in person and conversation. He was born in Adams county,
+Pennsylvania, and his first appearance on the road was in the year 1838.
+He was a great admirer of Thomas Corwin, and was in Ohio with his team
+on the day that old-time statesman and orator was chosen Governor, a
+circumstance he frequently referred to in after years with feelings of
+pride and pleasure. He married a daughter of Aaron Wyatt, and
+granddaughter of Major Paul, old tavern keepers, and this formed a
+silken cord that bound him to the destinies of the old pike. In the
+declining years of the road he became a stage proprietor, and in
+conjunction with Redding Bunting (not a stranger to these pages),
+operated a line of coaches between Cumberland and Washington,
+Pennsylvania. This line had nothing of the whirl and dash of the older
+lines of coaches. When wagons and stages ceased to enliven the road,
+William Hall located in Cumberland, and is living there at this time,
+one of the leading citizens of that place. Soon after he cast his lot in
+Cumberland he was appointed Superintendent of the Maryland Division of
+the road by Governor Hicks, and served in that office for a number of
+years previous to the late war. He had a brother, Robert, who was also
+an old wagoner, and subsequently, and for several years, a postal clerk
+on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad between Cumberland and Pittsburg.
+
+Henry Puffenberger, a "regular," given to blustering, but not a vicious
+man, and Jacob Breakiron, a "sharpshooter" and a fat man, met one day on
+the road and indulged in a wrangle about the right of way. Strings of
+fresh broken stone on either side of the road, as was often the case,
+left but a narrow passage where the meeting occurred, and this led to
+the difficulty. "Old Puff," as he was called, demanded of Breakiron,
+with an air of authority, that he should "turn out." Breakiron declined
+to obey, and showed a determined spirit of resistance. After an exchange
+of angry words Puffenberger inquired of Breakiron his name, and he
+answered, "my name is Breakiron." "That," said Puffenberger, "is a hard
+name, but you look harder than your name." "I am as hard as my name,"
+said Breakiron, "and what is your name?" "Puffenberger," was the reply.
+"That," said Breakiron, "is a windy name." "Yes," rejoined Puffenberger,
+"but there is thunder with it." After this explosion of wit the
+contestants compromised, shook hands, and passed without colliding.
+Puffenberger was a Maryland man, became a Confederate soldier, and was
+killed in battle. Breakiron was a farmer of Georges township, Fayette
+county, Pennsylvania, and died on his farm a number of years ago.
+
+[Illustration: WILLIAM HALL.]
+
+Turner Brown, brother of Henry, famous for the big loads he hauled, was
+an old wagoner. After a number of years' experience as a wagoner he
+moved to Ohio and settled in Guernsey county, where he became wealthy
+and was elevated to the office of Probate Judge. Persons who remember
+him say he was "pompous" in manner, but honest in his dealings. He was a
+native of Fayette county, Pa., born and reared in the vicinity of
+Brownsville, and of the family of Browns prominently identified with the
+National Road in its early days. He had a number of sons, three of
+whom--Samuel, Turner and Levi--were Union soldiers in the late war.
+Another, Thomas, published for a time _The Ohio Farmer_, at Cleveland;
+and another, William, took to theology, and is engaged in missionary
+work in some remote quarter of the globe.
+
+Joseph Lawson was, like his fellow teamster, John Galwix, considered a
+fancy wagoner. He took pride in his calling, and his team consisted of
+six stallions, well mated and of gigantic size. The gears he used were
+the very best of the John Morrow pattern, and his "outfit" attracted
+attention and evoked words of praise from the throngs that lined the
+road in that day. There was a regulation tread and an air about the old
+wagoner, especially of the regular line, that rose almost, if not
+altogether, to the standard of dignity.
+
+Jeff. Manypenny was an old wagoner, and a son of the old tavern keeper
+of Uniontown, referred to in a subsequent chapter.
+
+Joseph Arnold is said to have hauled the first "eighty hundred load"
+ever hauled on the road, and it gave him great fame. It was in 1837.
+
+Joseph Sopher tried the experiment of using nine horses in his team,
+driven three abreast. It did not prove practicable or profitable, and he
+soon abandoned it and returned to the ordinary six-horse team. There
+were four Sophers on the road and they were brothers, viz: Joseph,
+Nimrod, Jack and William, and they were stage drivers as well as
+wagoners.
+
+Robert Beggs, an old wagoner, prosecuted Jacob Probasco for perjury. The
+prosecution grew out of an affidavit made by Probasco alleging that
+Beggs, who was indebted to him, was about to remove his goods from the
+State with intent to defraud his creditors. This prosecution gave
+Probasco much trouble and involved him in considerable expense, and is
+said to have been the cause of his removal from Fayette county,
+Pennsylvania.
+
+Thomas Gore was one of the first wagoners on the road, and a regular. He
+lived in Hopwood when that village was known as Woodstock. He drove a
+"bell team," and owned it. He was well known all along the road, but it
+is so long ago that but few of the pike boys of this day remember him.
+He gave up wagoning long before business ceased on the road, and settled
+in Franklin township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, where he died thirty
+years ago. Robinson Addis, a well known and much esteemed citizen of
+Dunbar township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, married a daughter of
+Thomas Gore; and a grandson of the old wagoner, bearing the name Thomas
+Gore Addis, is one of the trusted and trustworthy superintendents of the
+H. Clay Frick Coke Company, with headquarters at Brownfield Station, on
+the Southwest Railway.
+
+John Whetzel, called "Johnny," a regular old wagoner, was small in
+stature, quiet in disposition, and of swarthy complexion. He talked but
+little, rarely using a word beyond the size of a monosyllable, and was
+well known and highly esteemed all along the road. When the career of
+the road as a great National highway ended, "Johnny" Whetzel retired to
+a farm in Saltlick township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, where he
+still lives, bending under the weight of many years, but enjoying the
+confidence and respect of all his neighbors.
+
+[Illustration: JOHN WALLACE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+ _Old Wagoners continued--The Harness they Used--John Morrow a maker of
+ Harness--Capt. Elias Gilmore encounters a Man Eater--Perry Gaddis,
+ William G. Patterson, Alfred Bailes, the Scarboroughs and
+ McLaughlins--Hill, who respected Sunday--James Riley and Oliver
+ Pratt, Robert Carr, Robert Allison, David Herr, William Keefer,
+ Abram Beagle, Samuel Youman, Robert Cosgrove, James Brownlee, John
+ Collier, Darius Grimes, Fielding Montague, James Smith, Elisha
+ Maxon, Jacob Marks, Thomas Starr, Thomas Hastings, Henry Foster,
+ John Smasher, Maj. Jesse B. Gardner, McWilliams, Pixler, Riley and
+ Hankins._
+
+
+John Morrow, of Petersburg, mentioned herein before as a manufacturer of
+the wagoner's whip, was likewise a saddle and harness maker, and had the
+reputation of making the best harness on the road. He was a man of thin
+visage and energetic habit.
+
+Gears was the name old wagoners applied to harness. The gears used on
+the team of the regular wagoner were of immense proportions. The back
+bands were fifteen and the hip straps ten inches wide, and heavy black
+housing covered the horses' shoulders down to the bottom of the hames.
+The traces used were iron chains with short and thick links. It required
+a strong man to throw these heavy gears on the back of a big horse.
+Heavy and broad as they were, these gears were not out of proportion to
+the large fat horses of the old teams, and looked well on their broad
+and shining backs. The wagoner's saddle was unique. It was made over an
+ordinary wooden model, covered with thick, black leather, and had long
+and wide skirts or aprons, cut straight on the edges and ends. Daniel P.
+Gibson, the well known capitalist of Uniontown, learned the trade of
+saddle and harness making with John Morrow in Petersburg, and worked
+many a day on the big gears and odd saddle, above described.
+
+Capt. Elias Gilmore was not strictly an old wagoner, but a pike boy to
+all intents and purposes, yet his home was not immediately on the road.
+He had a team which he employed for the most part in hauling stones for
+repairs on the road. He was a contractor, and an energetic one. He was
+an amiable man, in a general way, but given at times to pugilistic
+encounters, and it is said that no man along the road could outdo him in
+a fight. A stage driver once came upon the road who was called "the man
+eater." He drove from Uniontown to Mt. Washington on the Good Intent
+line. Gilmore, hearing of this famous "man eater," was desirous of
+meeting him, and calling one day at Mt. Washington, inquired where he
+was. Upon being introduced, Gilmore said to him: "You are a pretty
+stout looking man, but I can lick you," and at it they went, without
+further ceremony, and Gilmore did lick him. At another time Gilmore was
+in Uniontown with a load of lumber, and stood his team across the
+street, which caused John P. Sturgis, who was constable then, to take
+him to task for obstructing the street, whereupon Gilmore fell upon
+Sturgis and gave him a tremendous beating, for which he was fined by the
+burgess. Gilmore was born in Wharton township, Fayette county, Pa., and
+owned and lived on a farm near "Sugar Loaf," in the vicinity of
+Ohiopyle. His wife was a sister of Boss Rush, "the prince of landlords."
+Captain Gilmore moved, with his family, to Illinois thirty years ago,
+and subsequently to York county, Nebraska, where he is still living in
+comfortable circumstances, a farmer and stock dealer. He long since
+abandoned the profitless pastime of sowing wild oats, and is esteemed as
+one of the most respectable and influential citizens of Nebraska. John
+Rush, a brother of Boss, and brother-in-law of Gilmore, an old wagoner
+and tavern keeper, went west with Gilmore, and lives near him now, in
+Nebraska.
+
+Perry Gaddis, who died a few years ago at Dunbar, Pennsylvania, was an
+old wagoner. His first service on the road as driver was for Isaac
+Bailey, who kept a tavern near the old red house east of Brownsville,
+subsequently postmaster at Brownsville, and a member of the Fayette
+county, Pennsylvania, bar. Gaddis married a daughter of Robert Shaw, an
+old tavern keeper, and many years ago steward of the county home near
+Uniontown. She was a schoolmate of the author of these pages, as was
+also her sister, who became the wife of Robert S. McDowell, another well
+known pike boy. William D. Beggs, father-in-law of the late Dr. Smith
+Fuller, blessed be his memory, was our faithful old teacher. Mrs.
+Gaddis, Perry's widow, is still living at Dunbar.
+
+[C]William G. Patterson, of Jefferson township, Fayette county,
+Pennsylvania, an old wagoner, has a record worthy of special mention.
+When on the road he was called "Devil Bill," and this name followed him
+to his farm, and adhered to him for many years. To see him now at his
+ancestral home, bending beneath his four score years and more, gentle in
+manner and intelligent and entertaining in conversation, surrounded by
+all the needful comforts of this life, one wonders how he ever got the
+name of "Devil Bill." His first appearance on the National Road as a
+driver was in the year 1820, when he assisted in driving a lot of hogs
+for his father to Baltimore. It required almost a month to drive a lot
+of hogs from the vicinity of Brownsville to the city of Baltimore. He
+made his first trip over the road as a wagoner in 1823, going clear
+through to Baltimore. The first team he drove was his father's, but it
+was not long until he became the owner of a team himself. He was on the
+road many years as a wagoner. The farm on which he now resides descended
+from his grandfather to his father, and then to himself. His father died
+on this farm on Christmas day of the year 1827. His grandfather came
+out from Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, at an early day.
+
+[Footnote C: Died in Iowa in 1892.]
+
+[Illustration: ALFRED BAILES.]
+
+Alfred Bailes, of Dunbar, Pennsylvania, is probably the oldest man
+living who drove a team on the National Road. He was first a wagoner,
+and subsequently and for many years a stage driver. He was born in
+Loudon county, Virginia, and came upon the road about the year 1830, at
+the solicitation of John Bradfield, who was also a native of Virginia,
+and agent of the first line of wagons on the road. Alfred Bailes was
+born in 1804, and although closely approaching his ninetieth year, his
+eye is undimmed and his natural vigor unabated. Samuel Luman, of
+Cumberland, is two years younger than Bailes, but two years his senior
+as a stage driver. Bailes was one of the most commanding figures on the
+road, upwards of six feet in height, with broad chest and shoulders, and
+long arms. Noted for great strength, he was never quarrelsome. As a
+driver he performed his functions faithfully and carefully. He is a most
+interesting relic of the road, and his memory is well stored with
+interesting reminiscences of its faded glory.
+
+Samuel and William Scarborough were old wagoners. They lived on the old
+William Elliott farm, in Jefferson township, Fayette county, Pa., and
+were brothers. William Hogg, the pioneer merchant of Brownsville, was
+the owner of the William Elliott farm at the time referred to, and the
+Scarboroughs paid their rent by hauling a load of merchandise for Mr.
+Hogg once a year, from Baltimore to his store in Brownsville.
+
+George McLaughlin, still living near Uniontown, but now, and for a long
+time, a sufferer from rheumatism, is an old wagoner. It may be that
+exposure, when a wagoner, to the snow storms of the mountains, is the
+source of the rheumatism which now afflicts him. His brother, Abraham,
+who lives at Mt. Braddock, is also an old wagoner, and, when a boy,
+broke stone on the pike at a "levy" a perch.
+
+There was an old wagoner whose name was Hill, and he lived at
+Triadelphia, now West Virginia, then "Old Virginia never tire," who
+never drove his team on Sunday. He seems not to have lost anything by
+resting his team and himself on Sunday, for he made as good time on his
+trips as any other wagoner, and in the end became rich.
+
+Michael Teeters, a spluttering old wagoner, was noted for his profanity.
+He was possessed with the fatal delusion that hard swearing was evidence
+of superior intelligence. He, of course, had some good traits, as the
+worst of men have; but when age and infirmity came upon him, he
+exchanged the tramp over the hills of the old pike for a "walk over the
+hills to the poor house," and died in the county home of Washington
+county, Pennsylvania. Had he followed the example of Hill, who rested on
+Sunday, it may not be said that he would have grown rich, but it is
+pretty certain that the surroundings of his dying hours would have been
+different from what they were.
+
+James Riley and Oliver Pratt were among the oldest of the old
+wagoners--veterans in every sense. Riley was a large man, with florid
+face and very white hair, and was called "Old Whitey." He lived and died
+in Hopwood. Pratt was also a large man, and stout, a steady drinker,
+with red-rimmed eyes. He was a good driver, and devoted to his calling.
+He married a Miss Bird, of the old family of that name, in Henry Clay
+township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and when flush times ended on
+the road, went west and died, far from the scenes of the grand old
+highway.
+
+Robert Carr, who died in Uniontown about two years ago, was an old
+wagoner. He was on the road as early as 1825. He drove first for
+Benjamin Miller, grandfather of Ben, Sam and Jeff Miller, of Uniontown.
+He subsequently married a daughter of Abner Springer, of North Union
+township, Fayette county, who owned a road team which was placed in
+charge of Carr, and he drove it several years. He was also a stage
+driver.
+
+Robert Q. Fleming, now residing in Uniontown, is an old wagoner. He
+hauled whiskey from the old Overholt distillery, near Mt. Pleasant, to
+Baltimore for many years, and loaded back with merchandise to various
+points in the west. One of his earliest back loads consisted of oysters
+for Pittsburg, _via_ Brownsville. The oyster boxes were piled up to the
+canvass covering, and upon reaching Brownsville he was required to drive
+down the wharf to the steamboat landing, which was "sidling," and at the
+time icy. Some of the top boxes fell out and were broken, whereupon the
+bystanders helped themselves to fresh shell oysters. They were not
+carried away, but the eager oyster lovers picked them up, cracked open
+the shells on the wagon wheels and gulped down the juicy bivalves on the
+ground. Fleming was "docked," as they termed the abating of loss, from
+the freight charges.
+
+Robert Allison, one of the best known of the old wagoners, was a
+fighting man. He did not seem to be quarrelsome, yet was often, as by
+some sort of untoward destiny, involved in pugilistic encounters along
+the road. In one of these at Fear's tavern, on Keyser's Ridge, he bit
+off the nose of a stage driver.
+
+David Harr was a good fiddler, and William Keefer was a good dancer, and
+these two old wagoners warmed the bar room of many an old tavern between
+Baltimore and Wheeling, in the good old days when every mile of the
+National Road bristled with excitement.
+
+Abram Beagle was a widely known old wagoner. He lived with David
+Moreland in Uniontown as early as 1820, and probably before that time,
+and subsequently became a tavern keeper. The house he kept was twelve
+miles east of Wheeling, and he married it. That is to say: The Widow
+Rhodes owned the tavern stand, and he married _her_. He kept a good
+house, and was largely patronized. Old citizens of Uniontown who
+remember Abram Beagle, and there are not many of them living, speak of
+him as a good and worthy citizen of the olden time.
+
+[Illustration: GERMAN D. HAIR.]
+
+Samuel Youman, of Washington county, Pa., was an old wagoner, stage
+driver and tavern keeper. He drove stage from Hillsboro to Washington,
+and subsequently kept tavern in Hillsboro. He had the distinction of
+being next to the largest man on the road, "Old Mount" being admittedly
+the largest. Youman was a man full of zeal, as to all pursuits and
+interests relating to the National Road. He understood the art of
+driving horses to perfection, was kindly in disposition, and attracted
+attention by reason of his immense size. He had a son, Israel, who was
+also a stage driver and a lively fellow. Father and son are presumably
+both dead, but the marks they made on the memories of the old pike are
+indelible.
+
+Poor old Robert Cosgrove, who once traversed the road with all the pride
+and pomp of a "regular," finally succumbed to the adverse tides of life
+and time, and to avoid "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,"
+took refuge in the "county home," where he remains, indulging the
+memories of better days and awaiting the summons to rejoin the
+companionship of old wagoners who have passed over the dark river.
+
+James Brownlee was one of the old wagoners who suffered the experience
+of a genuine "upset." It occurred near Hagen's tavern, east of
+Cumberland. He had a high load, and encountered a big snow drift which
+he thought he could overcome by pulling out and around, but he failed,
+and his wagon capsized. His main loss was in time, which was "made up"
+by the good cheer at Hagen's old tavern.
+
+John Collier, father of Daniel Collier, was a wagoner on the road when
+it was first opened up for travel. He had been a wagoner on the Braddock
+road for years before the National Road was made. He lived in Addison,
+Somerset county, Pa., as early as 1795, and was one of the foremost
+wagoners of his day. He was the grandfather of Mrs. Amos S. Bowlby, of
+Fayette street, Uniontown.
+
+Darius Grimes was among the first crop of wagoners, and gave up the whip
+and line long before the termination of the road's prosperous era. When
+the writer first knew him he was living a retired life on the roadside
+at the foot of Graham's lane, three miles west of Uniontown. He was one
+of the earliest tavern keepers on the road, beside being a wagoner. He
+kept the old Abel Colley house, west of and near Searight's, before Abel
+Colley owned that property, and that was a long time ago. William
+Johnson, farmer and dealer in fruits and vegetables, well known to the
+people of Uniontown, married a daughter of Darius Grimes.
+
+Fielding Montague, an old wagoner and stage driver, is still living on
+the road. His residence is in Henry Clay township, Fayette county,
+Pennsylvania, where his sleep is undisturbed by the clatter which in
+other years was heard at all hours of the night as well as day. Montague
+was not a driver on the old stage lines, but after they were withdrawn
+from the road, drove the mail hack for a considerable length of time
+between Uniontown and Somerfield. He was, however, a regular wagoner in
+the palmy days of the road.
+
+[D]James Smith, now living in Wharton township, Fayette county,
+Pennsylvania, well and favorably known, is an old wagoner. He enjoyed
+the grand march along the old road, and was deeply grieved when
+stillness took the place of the bustling activity that marked its palmy
+days. The old veteran is bending to the storms of time, but glows with
+enthusiasm when recounting the scenes he witnessed on the old highway
+"in the days of yore."
+
+[Footnote D: Deceased.]
+
+Elijah Maxon was an old wagoner. His home was near the Charlestown
+school house, in Luzerne township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania. He
+owned the team he drove, and made money on the road. He moved west many
+years ago, and in all probability has gone to that bourne whence no
+traveler returns.
+
+Jacob Marks was an old wagoner, and subsequently, like so many of his
+fellows, became a tavern keeper. He first kept the stone house at
+Malden, between Brownsville and Centreville, and afterward the old
+Workman House at Brownsville. The glory of the old road had departed
+before he took charge of the Workman House, and business was dull; but
+the road was flush when he entertained the public at Malden, and he did
+a thriving business there.
+
+Thomas Starr was an old wagoner, and drove for John Riley, an old tavern
+keeper of Bridgeport, Fayette county, Pa. The old citizens of Bridgeport
+and Brownsville will remember Starr and Riley, as they were conspicuous
+pike boys in their day.
+
+Thomas Hastings was an old wagoner and tavern keeper. He kept the house
+well known and well patronized in his day about four miles east of
+Washington.
+
+Henry Foster, late of North Union township, Fayette county, Pa., a well
+known farmer in his day, was an old wagoner. He drove a six-horse team
+to Baltimore in 1837, when but nineteen years old. His first load was
+bacon, consigned to a Baltimore house by Edward Gavin, of Uniontown. His
+return load was merchandise, consigned to William Bryson, a merchant of
+that day at Uniontown.
+
+David Blakely was an old wagoner and became a tavern keeper. He kept a
+tavern in Washington in 1838, and subsequently in Wheeling. He was a
+prominent man, well known all along the road. He was also an agent of
+one of the transportation lines, and a very competent man for that
+business.
+
+John Smasher, an old wagoner, was noted as a nimble and expert dancer,
+and had many opportunities to display his talent in this line on the old
+road. It frequently happens that a good dancer makes a ready "smasher."
+
+Major Jesse B. Gardner, of Uniontown, ex-jury commissioner and
+ex-soldier of two wars, drove a team several trips on the old road for
+Archibald Skiles, who kept a tavern at Monroe, and was a thorough pike
+boy.
+
+Huston McWilliams, Joseph Pixler and John Riley were old wagoners who
+retired to farms in German township when the steam railway usurped the
+functions of the old pike.
+
+William Hankins, a well known farmer of North Union township, still
+living, is an old wagoner, and made many a dollar on the road. He is
+a son of James Hankins, who owned the farm at Frost's Station, and was
+reputed to have a barrel of money. One Hook, P. U., merchant and
+auctioneer of Uniontown, and member of the Legislature, was accustomed
+to speak of ready cash as "Hankins' Castings," in allusion to the
+Hankins barrel. He had a small store in an old frame house near the
+store room and residence of the late Col. Ewing Brownfield, on which he
+nailed a rough board for a sign, bearing the legend: "Hook and Hankins
+versus Boyle and Rankin." Boyle and Rankin kept a rival store further up
+town. Hook also frequently advertised his business under the firm name
+of "Hook and Wife." He was well known and is well remembered by the old
+citizens of Uniontown.
+
+James Ambrose was a regular. He drove from Baltimore to Wheeling. He was
+a strong driver, and well known on the road. He married the youngest
+daughter of Robert Shaw, the old tavern keeper near Braddock's Grave.
+After business ceased on the road, he engaged in mining coal in the
+Connellsville coke district, and died near Vanderbilt, in January, 1892.
+His wife survives him.
+
+Isaac Hurst was a sharpshooter, and appeared on the road near the close
+of its prosperous era. He hauled flour from his father's mill on
+George's Creek, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, to Cumberland, and "loaded
+back" with merchandise to Brownsville. His experience on the road as a
+wagoner was confined between the points named. He subsequently became
+first, Treasurer, and afterward, Commissioner of Fayette county,
+Pennsylvania. He is still living in Uniontown, pursuing the calling of a
+contractor, and taking an active interest in public affairs.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+ _Old Wagoners continued--An Exciting Incident of the Political
+ Campaign of 1840--All about a Petticoat--Neri Smith, Isaac Stuck,
+ John Short, William Orr, Ashael Willison--A Wagoner
+ Postmaster--Robert Douglas--A Trip to Tennessee--Abram Brown,
+ William Long, Samuel Weaver--A Quartet of Bell Teams--A Trio of
+ Swearing Men--A Peculiar Savings Bank--William C. McKean and a Long
+ List of other Old Wagoners--Graphic Description of Life on the Road
+ by Jesse J. Peirsol, an Old Wagoner--Origin of the Toby Cigar--The
+ Rubber--The Windup and Last Lay of the Old Wagoners._
+
+
+The political campaign of 1840, as is well known, was one of the most
+spirited and exciting contests ever witnessed in the United States. It
+was a campaign made memorable by log cabins, hard cider, coon skins and
+glee clubs. William Henry Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe, and
+grandfather of the late chief executive, Benjamin Harrison, was the Whig
+candidate for President, and John Tyler, of Virginia, was his running
+mate, and the whole country resounded with shouts for "Tippecanoe and
+Tyler too." Martin Van Buren was the Democratic candidate for President,
+and his associate on the ticket was Col. Richard M. Johnston, of
+Kentucky. Harrison and Tyler were triumphantly elected. One day during
+this exciting campaign Neri Smith, an old wagoner, drove his big
+six-horse team through Uniontown, exhibiting from the front of his wagon
+a petticoat, in allusion to a partisan and groundless charge of
+cowardice made against General Harrison, the Whig candidate. The coming
+of the wagon with the petticoat was made known to the Whigs of Uniontown
+before it reached the place, and a delegation met Smith a short distance
+east of town and requested him to take down the offensive symbol, but he
+stubbornly refused. Upon reaching Uniontown an attempt was made by some
+of the muscular Whigs, led by John Harvey, to "tear down the dirty rag,"
+but an equal number of muscular Democrats rallied to the support of the
+old wagoner, and the attempt failed. The affair caused great excitement
+in Uniontown, leading to violence and almost to the shedding of blood.
+
+Isaac Stuck, now residing in Perryopolis, Fayette county, Pennsylvania,
+in service on the extensive Fuller estate, near that place, was an old
+wagoner, and is not forgotten and never will be forgotten by the old
+pike boys. He drove a fine "bell team," which was notice to all the
+world that he was on the road in earnest and to stay. The team belonged
+to William Stone, the well remembered old farmer of Menallen, and tanner
+of Uniontown.
+
+[Illustration: ASHAEL WILLISON.]
+
+John Short, an old wagoner, retired from the road at an early day and
+took up his abode in Franklin township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania.
+Before going on the road he learned the trade of a cooper, and upon
+leaving it resumed work at his trade. He was a good mechanic, and made
+most of the barrels used at Cook's and Sharples' mills, on Redstone
+creek, for many years. His team on the road was a good one, and he owned
+it. He met with an accident while working at his trade by cutting his
+knee with an adze, which crippled him for life. He died in Franklin
+township about eight years ago, aged nearly eighty. The old citizens of
+Franklin township all knew and respected him.
+
+William Orr, a well known old wagoner, died of cholera at Keyser's Ridge
+in 1853. He left three sons. One of them died a soldier of the Northern
+army in the late war, leaving a widow surviving him, now residing in
+Cumberland and drawing a pension. Another son of the old wagoner is a
+watchman at the rolling mill in Cumberland, and the third is on the
+police force of that city.
+
+Ashael Willison, another of the old wagoners, is still living in
+Cumberland, and one of the most prominent citizens of that place. He was
+postmaster at Cumberland during the first administration of President
+Cleveland. From the saddle horse of a six-horse team on the old pike to
+the control of a city postoffice is distinctively an American idea, and a
+good one. The old wagoner made a capital postmaster. Mr. Willison is now
+deputy collector of Internal Revenue for the State of Maryland.
+
+Robert Douglas, father of the well known real estate dealer of
+Uniontown, was an old wagoner. He owned his team and wagon, and hauled
+between Baltimore and Wheeling at an early day. He resided near West
+Newton, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and died there in 1861. He
+was esteemed as an honest man, and was one of the few pike boys who
+never took a drink of liquor.
+
+In the year 1839 John Snider, Isaac Browning and Black Westley, made a
+trip with their teams from Baltimore to Jonesboro, Tennessee, a distance
+of six hundred miles. They were loaded with goods for Jonesboro
+merchants, and were paid six dollars a hundred for hauling them. On
+their return they drove with empty wagons to Lynchburg, Virginia, a
+distance of two hundred miles, where they loaded up with pig lead, and
+got two dollars a hundred for hauling it to Baltimore.
+
+Abram Brown, the wealthy land owner of the vicinity of Uniontown, was an
+old wagoner, a "sharpshooter," and always lucky in avoiding losses while
+pushing over the mountains. While on the road as a wagoner he formed the
+acquaintance of the girl who subsequently became his wife. She was
+Hannah, now deceased, the eldest daughter of Abel Colley, who kept the
+old tavern a short distance west of Searights. His wife was a good
+woman, and her seemingly premature death was much lamented by a wide
+circle of friends.
+
+William Long, an old wagoner, after quitting the road, went to Beaver
+county, Pennsylvania, and died there; and Samuel Weaver, a well
+remembered old wagoner, died about seven years ago in New Cumberland,
+West Virginia.
+
+John Galwix, Black Wesley, Wilse Clement and James Pelter used bells on
+their teams. Galwix was called a "crack" wagoner, "swell," as it would
+be termed at this day.
+
+Stephen Golden, an old wagoner, drove a team for John Gribble, who for
+many years kept the red tavern two miles east of Brownsville.
+
+John Strong, one of the earliest regular wagoners, is still living in
+Cumberland, and has been Coroner at that place for many years.
+
+John Kelso, a steady old regular, well remembered and well liked, died
+at Cumberland about two years ago.
+
+Robert Nelson was run over by his wagon many years ago, and died from
+injuries inflicted by the accident.
+
+Col. James Gardner was an old wagoner and an old soldier. He was a
+native of Winchester, Virginia, but spent the greater portion of his
+life in Uniontown.
+
+John Phillips, of Washington county, Pennsylvania, an old wagoner, was
+noted for using the heaviest gears on the road. When in need of new ones
+he ordered them an inch wider than the widest in use. The gear pole boys
+at the old taverns groaned under the weight of Phillips' gears.
+
+William C. McKean, nine years a deputy Sheriff of Fayette county,
+Pennsylvania, was in early life a regular wagoner of the road. He was a
+native of German township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and died in the
+Sheriff's house, at Uniontown, in 1859. He was noted for his energy and
+habit of pushing things. The prominent young attorney of Uniontown of
+the same name is a nephew of the old wagoner.
+
+Peter Skiles, an old wagoner of the vicinity of Uniontown, died in
+Cumberland of typhoid fever, while at that place with his team and
+wagon.
+
+Christian Herr, an old wagoner, was a very profane man, going to show
+that there is nothing in a name. He, Wilse Clement and Michael Teeters
+were the hardest swearers on the road.
+
+Wyney Hunter, still living, an octogenarian, and rich, was an old
+wagoner. His residence is on the roadside five miles east of Hagerstown,
+Maryland.
+
+Charles Allum and James Brownlee drove for Leonard Vail, an old
+pork-packer of the vicinity of Prosperity, Washington county,
+Pennsylvania. Lott Lantz, of Willow Tree, Greene county, Pennsylvania,
+had a pork-packing establishment in the olden time, and sent his produce
+over the road to Baltimore by the regular broad wheeled wagons in charge
+of hired drivers.
+
+Isaac Browning, an old wagoner, at one time owned the "Browning farm,"
+near Uniontown, whence its name is derived. This farm now belongs to
+Robert Hogsett.
+
+John Wright, an old wagoner, is still living in Salisbury, Somerset
+county, Pennsylvania, and has passed the ninetieth mile-post of his age.
+
+[Illustration: JACOB NEWCOMER.]
+
+Capt. James Gilmore was a sharpshooter. He owned a little farm in
+Menallen township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, which he sold long ago
+and went West.
+
+Noble McCormick, a regular old wagoner, was, while on the road, the
+owner of the Semans farm, near Uniontown. He sold his farm to Thomas
+Semans and went West. He is remembered as an habitual wearer of the
+broad-rimmed, yellow, long-napped regulation hat.
+
+John Christy, an old wagoner, was eccentric as to his apparel, and
+careful of his money. He wore a full suit of buckskin, and improvised a
+savings bank by boring holes in blocks in which he placed his money, and
+secured it by plugging up the holes.
+
+Charles Guttery, who recently died at an advanced age in Beallsville,
+Washington county, Pennsylvania, was one of the best known and most
+esteemed old wagoners of the road. After many years experience as a
+wagoner, he devoted the remainder of his life to tavern keeping.
+
+John Yardley, as the saying goes, was a natural born wagoner. He loved
+the occupation, and was faithful in it, for many years. He was born in
+Maryland, but lived a long time at Searights, where he died. He was the
+father of William and Gus Yardley, of Uniontown.
+
+David Newcomer, a farmer of German township, Fayette county,
+Pennsylvania, who served a term as County Commissioner, belongs to the
+long list of wagoners. His father, Jacob Newcomer, and Jacob F.
+Longanecker went to Loudon, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, in the year
+1849, and each bought a new wagon and a new whip at that place. Jacob
+Newcomer soon thereafter became afflicted with rheumatism, and turned
+over his team and wagon to his son David, who traversed the road until
+the close of its busy era. Jacob Newcomer died in 1866, on the farm now
+owned and occupied by his son David.
+
+John Ferren drove a six-horse team on the road many years for William
+Searight, and is remembered as a careful and discreet driver and an
+honest and industrious man. At the close of active business on the road,
+and while yet under the influence of its ancient grandeur, he married a
+daughter of "Wagoner Billy Shaw," and with his newly-wedded wife went to
+Iowa to work out his destiny, where he has achieved success as a farmer.
+
+James E. Kline, a driver for Jacob A. Hoover, was a soldier in the late
+war between the States, and died in German township, Fayette county,
+Pennsylvania, after the conflict ended.
+
+Robert Hogsett, the millionaire farmer, stock dealer, manufacturer, and
+coke operator of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, was a sharpshooter, and
+hauled many a load of goods from Cumberland to Brownsville at
+remunerative rates per hundred. His "down loads" consisted for the most
+part of corn of his own raising, which he sold out through the mountains
+at good prices.
+
+Hiram Hackney, for many years a prosperous farmer of Menallen township,
+Fayette county, Pennsylvania, now a retired resident of Uniontown, and a
+director in the First National Bank of that place, was a sharpshooter
+and a drover.
+
+Samuel Flowers was one of the earliest wagoners on the road, and of the
+regular order. He was a tall man, of quiet demeanor. His home was on Egg
+Nog Hill, where he lived until called away by the last summons.
+
+John Means, an old wagoner, was killed by an accident on the road near
+Wheeling.
+
+John Munce, of Washington, Pennsylvania, who became rich through the oil
+development in the vicinity of that place, is an old wagoner. He is
+still living.
+
+John Olwine was an old wagoner, and by his union with the Widow Metzgar
+became a tavern keeper. He died at Chalk Hill a few years ago.
+
+John Neff, an old wagoner, subsequently became a member of the Maryland
+Legislature, and played the role of statesmanship as gracefully as he
+drove a six-horse team on the old pike.
+
+Abner and David Peirt, brothers, were natives of Lancaster county,
+Pennsylvania--steady-going straightforward, honest "Pennsylvania Dutch,"
+and wagoners on the road with teams of the genuine Conestoga strain.
+
+John McIlree, called "Broadhead," was an old wagoner and a native of
+Adams county, Pennsylvania; and James Bell, William and Robert Hall were
+natives also of Adams county.
+
+Arthur Wallace, an old wagoner devoted to the road, and esteemed for
+many good qualities of head and heart, subsequently became a tavern
+keeper. He was the father-in-law of Peter Frasher, the adamantine
+Democrat of 1844, and up to the date of his death, in 1893. Charles
+Wallace, a brother of Arthur, and an old wagoner, was killed by an
+accident on Laurel Hill many years ago.
+
+William Reynolds, mentioned under the head of old tavern keepers, was
+likewise an old wagoner. He was on the road with a team as early as
+1832. His son, John, present postmaster at Confluence, Somerset county,
+Pennsylvania, was also a wagoner.
+
+Samuel Trauger, an old wagoner, fell from his lazy board while
+descending Laurel Hill, and was killed, the hind wheel of his wagon
+running over him.
+
+John Curtis, who drove for William King, was accounted one of the best
+drivers on the road. His companions called him a "strong driver,"
+meaning that he was skillful and careful. He followed the tide of
+emigration, and became a stage driver west of the Ohio river.
+
+James and Benjamin Paul, sons of Major William Paul, were old wagoners.
+
+Joseph Doak, of Washington county, Pennsylvania, was an old wagoner,
+subsequently a tavern keeper, and later a superintendent of the road.
+
+[Illustration: JOHN FERREN.]
+
+Martin Horn, a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, was known as
+the "swift wagoner." He made the trip from Cumberland to Wheeling with
+his six-horse team and a big load, in five days.
+
+The following old wagoners were residents, when at home, and citizens of
+Fayette county, Pennsylvania: Harvey Grove, Adam Yeast, Solomon Bird,
+Louis Langley, James Paul, Joseph Wells, Isaiah Fouch, Ellis Campbell,
+William Sullivan, George Miller, William Bird, Barney Neiman, Jesse
+Hardin, John Hardin, James Marshall, Samuel Sidebottom, John Rutledge,
+Robert Hogsett, Samuel Milligan, Thomas Cook, Benjamin Paul, Jeff Nixon,
+George Miller, Moses Richer, John Rankin, Peter Fowler, William Ball,
+James Henshaw, William McShane, Henry Frasher, Peter Frasher, Jacob
+Wolf, West Jones, Daniel Turney, Eli Marlow, William Turney, William
+Cooper, Dawson Marlow, Robert Henderson, John Ferren, Robinson Murphy,
+Parker McDonald, William Betts, Rezin Lynch, Joseph Bixler, Moses
+Husted, William Pastoris, John McClure, Thomas Cochran, William Peirsol,
+Robert Lynch, Morgan Campbell, Martin Leighty, John Stentz, Philip D.
+Stentz, William Bosley, Charles McLaughlin, J. Monroe Bute, John Canon,
+Levi Springer, George Dearth, John McCurdy, Calvin Springer, Zachariah
+Ball, Michael Cochran, Caleb Hibbs, Jacob Newcomer, John Rinehart,
+Benjamin Goodwin, Harvey Sutton, Clark Hutchinson, James Ebbert, Mifflin
+Jeffries, Jacob Vance, William Ullery, Abram Hall, George Tedrick,
+Alexander Osborn, James Abel, Harper Walker, Jerry Fouch, Elias Freeman,
+George Wilhelm, father of Sheriff Wilhelm, of Uniontown, Caleb Langly,
+Jacob Wagoner, Oliver Tate, Jacob Strickler, George Shaffer, John
+Newcomer, Jesse J. Peirsol, James Shaffer, Samuel Harris, Caleb Antrim,
+William Cooper, Andrew Prentice, Ira Strong, William Gray, William
+Kennedy, Samuel Hatfield, Bernard Dannels, Stewart Henderson, David
+Dunbar, George Grace, Dicky Richardson, Reuben Woodward, John King, John
+Williams, George McLaughlin, Darlington Jeffries, John Nelson, John
+Moore, Bazil Sheets, Isaac Young, Jerry Strawn, Samuel Renshaw, Reuben
+Parshall, Hiram Hackney, James Martin.
+
+The following were of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and there were
+many others from that county, as well as from Fayette and the other
+counties mentioned, whose names, very much to the writer's regret, are
+unascertainable: Eberon Hurton, James Bradley, Jerome Heck, James
+Dennison, James Bard, Thomas Bailes, Charles Thurston, William Kirkman,
+Otho Hartzell, Seldon King, William King, Zeph Riggle, John Guttery,
+Samuel Charlton, George Hallam, Lewis Hallam, David Hill, Charles
+Reddick, John Reddick, Joseph Arnold, Moses Kline, James Brownlee,
+Elisha Brownlee, Charles Allen, Philip Slipe, John Valentine, Daniel
+Valentine, John Quinter, Robert Magee, William Robinson, Arthur
+Robinson, John Cook, William Darlington, Griffith Darlington, Joseph
+Whisson, David Blakely, Samuel Boyd, Joseph King, Joseph Sopher, Nimrod
+Sopher, Jack Sopher, Peter Shires, John Smith, James Smith, Thomas
+Flack, James Blakely, William Darr, Robert Beggs, Josiah Brown, called
+"Squire" Brown, James Arthur, George Munce, Joseph Lawson, Robert
+Judson, John A. Smith, Elisha Ely, Charles Bower, William Dennison, John
+Phillips, Joseph Doak, Moses Little, Samuel Guttery, William Shouse,
+William Jones, Robert Sprowl, William Hastings, James Thompson, Robert
+Doak, James Doak, Charles Allen, John Hastings (called Doc).
+
+The following were of Allegheny county, Maryland: Isaac Browning, James
+Browning, Michael Humbert, George McGruder, Peter Hager, Nathan Tracy,
+Thomas Plumer, Richard Gray (colored), Ben Carter, James McCartney,
+Joseph Brooks, John Carlisle, Joseph Turner, William Yeast, John Curtis,
+Louis Smith, John Smith, Fred Shipley, Alex. Greer, John Keener, David
+Swaggart, George Lehman, Andrew Lehman, William McClintock, Jacob
+Albright, Thomas Ashbel, Charles McAleer, Caleb Madden, William Lowry,
+Augustus Butler, John Sheeres, Edward Finch, James Clary, Daniel Barcus,
+Ashael Willison, Hanson Willison, Joseph Strong, Thomas Plumer, Josiah
+Porter, John Kelso, John Magraw, Ira Ryan, John Ryan, Moses McKenzie,
+Moses Porter, Henry Porter, John Porter, George Huff, Lewis Lachbaus,
+Neil Connor, John Long, George Long, Upton Long, William Dixon, Hanson
+Clary, James Porter, Josiah McKenzie.
+
+The following were of Washington county, Maryland: Abram Herr, Fred
+Herr, David Herr, John Coffman, Samuel Kelly, William Jones, Joseph
+Watt, John Brentlinger, James Ambrose, James Dowler, William Ford,
+Robert Fowler, Peter Hawes, Samuel Emert, Michael Welty, John Duvall,
+Andrew Arnett, John Reinhart, Hiram Sutton, John Thomas, William Thomas,
+Barney Hitchin, Emanuel McGruder, William Orr, Emanuel Griffith, Michael
+Miller, John Makel, John Neibert, Samuel Brewer, Henry Stickle, Ezra
+Young, Joshua Johnson, Samuel Boyd, Joseph Myers, William Keefer, Peter
+Urtz, Jonas Speelman, Thomas Flack, David Connor, Eli Smith, John
+Galwix, Henry Urtz, Henry Puffenberger. John Snider, was born in
+Washington county, Maryland.
+
+The following were of Somerset county, Pennsylvania: Michael Deets,
+Samuel Wable, Clem Engle, Samuel Thompson, John Livengood, Isaac Light,
+John Sloan, Joseph Light, Abram Hileman, Joseph Hileman, William
+Lenhart, Daniel Augustine, Andrew Hebner, James Klink, Andrew Bates,
+Robert Duncan, Robert Allison, John Dunbar, Alex. Dunbar, Joseph Skelly,
+James Irvin, John Fleck, William Moonshire, Thomas Collier, Frank
+Bradfield, Samuel Shoaf, John Bradfield, Eli Marble, Henry Renger,
+Michael Longstaff, John Mitchell, William McClintock, still living at
+Salisbury, nearly ninety years old.
+
+[Illustration: MORRIS MAULER.]
+
+The following were from the State of Ohio: James Gregory, William
+Hoover, David Hoover, Christian Hoover, Gov. Lucas, William Morely,
+Philip Slife, Samuel Breakbill, John Carroll, William Lefevre, John
+Lefevre, Alby Hall, Solomon Mercer, Jacob Breakbill, Joseph McNutt, John
+Scroggins, William Archie, Elias Petticord, Harvey Hamilton, Pryn
+Taylor, Alex. McGregor, Westley McBride, William George, Michael Neal,
+Tim Taylor, Joseph Vaughn, William Whittle, Daniel Kildo, Marion
+Gordon, Martin Kildo, George Clum, Oliver Mahon, William Chaney, Abner
+Bailey, Matthias Meek, John A. Smith, George Zane, Samuel Paxon,
+Benjamin McNutt, Knox Keyser, B. F. Dillon, Valentine Mann, Jacob Mann,
+Benjamin Corts, John Whittle, John Johnson (Old Sandy), William
+McDonald, John Moss, William Tracy, Joseph Watson, George Schaffer,
+William Reynolds, not the old tavern keeper.
+
+Ohio county, Virginia, contributed the following names to the list of
+old wagoners: Wash. and Hiram Bennett, John Frasher, John Moss, John
+Weyman, Joseph Watson, Michael Detuck, James Johnson, David Church,
+William Brooks, Robert Boyce, Allen Davis, Thomas McDonald, James Jones,
+Charles Prettyman, John Christy, John Curtis, William, Adam, and David
+Barnhart, George Weddel, and William Tracy.
+
+Greene county, Pennsylvania, contributed the following well remembered
+veterans: Christian and Washington Adams, John Snyder (not the old
+regular), Philip Snyder, George Miller, Samuel Milligan, Caldwell
+Holsworth, Joseph Milligan, Joseph Craft, Jack Dunaway, Otho W. Core,
+Thomas Chambers, Samuel Minor, Jacob Hart.
+
+Frederic county, Maryland, contributed the following: John Crampton,
+Joseph Crampton, Samuel Brewer, Ross Fink, Grafton Shawn, Henry Smith,
+Jacob Wagoner, John Fink, John Miller, William Miller, and Henry
+McGruder.
+
+Jacob and James Tamon were of Baltimore.
+
+James Walker, Daniel Keiser, John Keiser, and Sharp Walker were of
+Franklin county, Pennsylvania.
+
+The home of the regular wagoner was on the road, and a good home it was,
+in so far as mere subsistence and stimulus to the senses were concerned,
+and it is his nativity, that the author has endeavored to note. Regulars
+and sharpshooters are listed herein indiscriminately, but a majority of
+the names given as of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, are those of
+sharpshooters. The residences and homes of the following old wagoners
+could not be accurately ascertained, but they are familiar names, all
+well remembered by old inhabitants of the roadside, viz: William Kieger
+(a lively fellow, and a "regular"), James Dunbar, William Keefer, Rafe
+Rutlege, Samuel Jackson, Benjamin Hunter, David Greenland, John
+Strauser, Jacob Cox, Jonathan Whitton, Gus Mitchell, Samuel Dowly, James
+Patton, Joseph Freeman, James Hall, William Purcell, Samuel Rogers, John
+Nye, Israel Young, James Davis, Jacob Beem, Isaac Young, Martin Irwin,
+James Parsons, James Kennedy, Isaac Shaffer, John Lynch, Michael
+Longstaff, George Nouse, Peter Penner, James Shaffer, John McClure, John
+Cox, William Cox, Joseph Cheney, Frank Mowdy, Caldwell Shobworth, James
+Jolly, Andrew Sheverner, Jacob and James Layman, John Crampton, Henry
+Smith, William Miller, John Miller, Henry McGruder, Elias McGruder,
+Michael Miller, John Seibert, Henry Stickle, Ezra Young, Jonas Speelman,
+David Connor, Eli Smith, Jacob Everson, Nathaniel Everson. Joseph Shaw,
+James Irvin, John Chain, William Wiglington, Doug. Shearl, Marion
+Ritchie, John Vandyke, John Alphen, Daniel Carlisle, George Burke,
+Thomas Ogden, Michael Abbott, Charles Genewine, Herman Rolf, Isaac
+Manning.
+
+The following letters from Jesse J. Peirsol, now a prosperous farmer of
+Franklin township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, of vigorous health and
+unimpaired memory, furnish a graphic description of life on the road in
+its palmy days:
+
+ December 3, 1892.
+MR. T. B. SEARIGHT:
+
+_Dear Sir_: I have stayed over night with William Sheets, on Nigger
+mountain, when there would be thirty six-horse teams on the wagon yard,
+one hundred Kentucky mules in an adjacent lot, one thousand hogs in
+other enclosures, and as many fat cattle from Illinois in adjoining
+fields. The music made by this large number of hogs, in eating corn on a
+frosty night, I will never forget. After supper and attention to the
+teams, the wagoners would gather in the bar room and listen to music on
+the violin, furnished by one of their fellows, have a "Virginia
+hoe-down," sing songs, tell anecdotes, and hear the experience of
+drivers and drovers from all points on the road, and when it was all
+over, unroll their beds, lay them down on the floor before the bar room
+fire, side by side, and sleep, with their feet near the fire, as soundly
+as under the paternal roof. Coming out from Cumberland in the winter of
+1851 or 1852, we stopped one night with Hiram Sutton, at Sand Springs,
+near Frostburg. The night was hazy, but not cold. We sat on our buckets,
+turned bottom up, and listened to a hundred horses grinding corn. One of
+our number got up in the night and complained that snow was falling on
+his face. This aroused us all, and we got up, went to the door and
+witnessed the most blinding snow storm I ever saw. Some of the horses
+broke loose from the tongue, and we had difficulty in finding them. We
+stayed up till morning, when the snow had risen to the hubs of the front
+wheels. We hitched eight or ten horses to a wagon, pulled out to
+Coonrod's tavern, one mile west, and returned to Sutton's for another
+wagon, and in this way all reached Coonrod's. The next morning we pulled
+out again, and on little Savage mountain found the snow deeper than
+ever, and a gang of men engaged in shoveling it from the road. I got
+stuck and had to be shoveled out. We reached Tom Johnson's that night,
+making three miles in two days. The next day John Ullery, one of our
+number upset at Peter Yeast's, and a barrel of Venetian Red rolled out
+from his wagon, which painted the snow red for many miles, east and
+west. We stayed with Yeast the third night after the storm. In the
+winter of 1848 a gang of us went down, loaded with tobacco, bacon, lard,
+cheese, flour, corn, oats and other products. One of our number was an
+Ohio man, named McBride. His team consisted of seven horses, the seventh
+being the leader. His load consisted of nine hogsheads of tobacco, five
+standing upright in the bed of his wagon, and four resting crosswise on
+top of the five. The hogsheads were each about four feet high and three
+and a half feet in diameter at the bulge, and weighing from nine to
+eleven hundred pounds each. This made a "top-heavy load," and on the
+hill west of Somerfield, and near Tom Brown's tavern, the road icy,
+McBride's load tumbled over, the tobacco in the ditches, and the horses
+piled up in all shapes. The work of restoring the wreck was tedious, and
+before we got through with it we had the aid of thirty or forty wagoners
+not of our company. Of course the occasion brought to the ground a
+supply of the pure old whisky of that day, which was used in moderation
+and produced no bad effects. After we had righted up our unfortunate
+fellow wagoner, we pushed on and rested over night at Dan Augustine's,
+east of Petersburg.
+
+ Yours truly,
+ JESSE J. PEIRSOL.
+
+
+ANOTHER LETTER FROM THE SAME PERSON ON THE SAME SUBJECT.
+
+ February 2, 1893.
+
+In September, 1844 or 5, my father came home from Uniontown late at
+night, and woke me up to tell me that there had been a big break in the
+Pennsylvania Canal, and that all western freights were coming out over
+the National Road in wagons. The stage coaches brought out posters
+soliciting teams. By sunrise next morning, I was in Brownsville with my
+team, and loaded up at Cass's warehouse with tobacco, bacon, and wool,
+and whipped off for Cumberland. I drove to Hopwood the first day and
+stayed over night with John Wallace. That night Thomas Snyder, a
+Virginia wagoner, came into Hopwood with a load of flour from a back
+country mill. When we got beyond Laurel Hill, Snyder retailed his flour
+by the barrel to the tavern keepers, and was all sold out when we
+reached Coonrod's tavern, on Big Savage. I was a mere boy, and Snyder
+was especially kind and attentive to me. After we pulled on to Coonrod's
+yard Snyder told me to unhitch and feed, but leave the harness on. At
+midnight we rose, hitched up, Snyder lending me two horses, making me a
+team of eight, pulled out, and reached Cumberland that night. On leaving
+Coonrod's the night was dark, and I shall never forget the sounds of
+crunching stones under the wheels of my wagon, and the streaks of fire
+rolling out from the horses' feet. In Cumberland, we found the
+commission houses, and the cars on sidings filled with goods, and men
+cursing loudly because the latter were not unloaded. Large boxes of
+valuable goods were likewise on the platform of the station, protected
+by armed guards. After unloading my down load I re-loaded at McKaig &
+Maguire's commission house for Brownsville, at one dollar and
+twenty-five cents a hundred. We reached Brownsville without incident or
+accident, made a little money, and loaded back again for Cumberland. On
+my return I found plenty of goods for shipment, and loaded up at
+Tuttle's house for Wheeling, at two dollars and twenty-five cents a
+hundred. In coming back, it looked as if the whole earth was on the
+road; wagons, stages, horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, and turkeys without
+number. Teams of every description appeared in view, from the massive
+outfit of Governor Lucas down to the old bates hitched to a chicken
+coop. The commission merchants, seeing the multitude of wagons, sought
+to reduce prices, whereupon the old wagoners called a meeting and made a
+vigorous kick against the proposed reduction. It was the first strike I
+ever heard of. Nothing worried a sharpshooter more than lying at expense
+in Cumberland waiting for a load. Two of the "sharps," unwilling to
+endure the delay caused by the strike, drove their four-horse rigs to a
+warehouse to load at the reduction. This excited the "regulars," and
+they massed with horns, tin buckets, oyster-cans and the like, and made
+a descent upon the "sharps," pelting and guying them unmercifully. An
+old wagoner named Butler commanded the striking regulars with a pine
+sword, and marched them back and forth through the streets. Finally the
+police quelled the disturbance, and the "sharps" loaded up and drove out
+sixteen miles, to find their harness cut and their axles sawed off in
+the morning. In this dilemma an old regular, going down empty for a
+load, took the contract of the "sharps," and made them promise to never
+return on the road, a promise they faithfully kept.
+
+ Yours truly,
+ JESSE J. PEIRSOL.
+
+Many old wagoners wore a curious garment called a hunting shirt. It was
+of woolen stuff, after the style of "blue jeans," with a large cape
+trimmed with red. It was called a hunting shirt because first used by
+hunters in the mountains.
+
+The origin of Pennsylvania tobies is worth recording, and pertinent to
+the history of the old wagoners. The author is indebted to J. V.
+Thompson, esq., president of the First National bank of Uniontown, for
+the following clipping from a Philadelphia paper concerning the "toby:"
+"It appears that in the old days the drivers of the Conestoga wagons, so
+common years ago on our National Road, used to buy very cheap cigars. To
+meet this demand a small cigar manufacturer in Washington, Pennsylvania,
+whose name is lost to fame, started in to make a cheap 'roll-up' for
+them at four for a cent. They became very popular with the drivers, and
+were at first called Conestoga cigars; since, by usage, corrupted into
+'stogies' and 'tobies.' It is now estimated that Pennsylvania and West
+Virginia produce about 200,000,000 tobies yearly, probably all for home
+consumption."
+
+[Illustration: JAMES SMITH, OF HENRY.]
+
+It is probable that the manufacturer referred to in the above was George
+Black, as that gentleman made "tobies" in Washington at an early day,
+and continued in the business for many years, and until he became quite
+wealthy. In his later days his trade was very large and profitable. Old
+wagoners hauled his "tobies" over the road in large quantities, as they
+did subsequently the Wheeling "tobies," which were, and continued to be,
+a favorite brand. Many habitual smokers prefer a Washington or a
+Wheeling "toby" to an alleged fine, high priced cigar, and the writer
+of these lines is one of them. As has been noted, the "rubber," called
+brake at this day, was not in use when the National Road was first
+thrown open for trade and travel. Instead, as related by John Deets,
+sapplings, cut at the summit of the hills, were shaped and fashioned to
+answer the ends of the "rubber," and at the foot of the hills taken off
+and left on the roadside. E. B. Dawson, esq., the well known, well
+posted and accurate antiquarian of Uniontown, and, by the way, deeply
+interested in the history of the National Road, is authority for the
+statement that one Jones, of Bridgeport, Fayette county, Pennsylvania,
+claimed to be the inventor of the "rubber." He, however, never succeeded
+in obtaining letters patent, if, indeed, he ever applied. There were
+other claimants, among them the Slifers, of Maryland, mentioned
+elsewhere in these pages. The real and true inventor seems to be
+unknown, and yet it is an invention of vast importance, and with legal
+protection would have yielded the inventor an immense fortune.
+
+Old wagoners, as a class, were robust, hardy, honest and jovial. But one
+of the long list is remembered as a criminal. His name was Ben Pratt,
+and he belonged to Philadelphia. He turned out to be a counterfeiter of
+coin and currency, and suffered the punishment that all counterfeiters
+deserve. Many old wagoners were fond of fun and frolic, but very few of
+them were intemperate, although they had the readiest opportunities for
+unrestrained drinking. Every old tavern had its odd shaped little bar,
+ornamented in many instances with fancy lattice work, and well stocked
+with whiskey of the purest distillation, almost as cheap as water. In
+fact all kinds of liquors were kept at the old taverns of the National
+Road, except the impure stuff of the present day. The bottles used were
+of plain glass, each marked in large letters with the name of the liquor
+it contained, and the old landlord would place these bottles on the
+narrow counter of the little bar, in the presence of a room filled with
+wagoners, so that all could have free access to them. None of the old
+tavern keepers made profit from the sales of liquor. They kept it more
+for the accommodation of their guests, than for money making purposes.
+There was probably a tavern on every mile of the road, between
+Cumberland and Wheeling, and all combined did not realize as much profit
+from the sales of liquor in a year as is realized in that time by one
+licensed hotel keeper of Uniontown, at the present day.
+
+When, at last, the Conestoga horse yielded up the palm to the Iron
+horse, and it became manifest that the glory of the old road was
+departing, never to return, the old wagoners, many of whom had spent
+their best days on the road, sang in chorus the following lament:
+
+ "Now all ye jolly wagoners, who have got good wives,
+ Go home to your farms, and there spend your lives.
+ When your corn is all cribbed, and your small grain is good,
+ You'll have nothing to do but curse the railroad."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+ _Stage Drivers, Stage Lines and Stage Coaches--The Postilion--Changing
+ Horses--He comes, the Herald of a Noisy World--Pioneer
+ Proprietors--Peter Burdine and his Little Rhyme--Anecdote of Thomas
+ Corwin--Johny Ritter--Daniel Brown, his sad Ending--Soldier
+ Drivers--Redding Bunting--Joseph and William Woolley--Andrew J.
+ Wable--James Burr._
+
+
+ "My uncle rested his head upon his hands and thought of the busy
+ bustling people who had rattled about, years before, in the old
+ coaches, and were now as silent and changed; he thought of the
+ numbers of people to whom once, those crazy, mouldering vehicles
+ had borne, night after night, for many years, and through all
+ weathers, the anxiously expected intelligence, the eagerly looked
+ for remittance, the promised assurances of health and safety, the
+ sudden announcement of sickness and death. The merchant, the lover,
+ the wife, the widow, the mother, the school boy, the very child who
+ tottered to the door at the postman's knock--how had they all
+ looked forward to the arrival of the old coach! And where were they
+ all now?"--_Charles Dickens._
+
+[Illustration: STAGE COACH]
+
+Stage drivers as a class did not rank as high morally as wagoners, but
+despite this there were among them men of good sense, honest intentions
+and steady habits. As typical of the better class, the reader who is
+familiar with the old road will readily recall Redding Bunting, Samuel
+Luman, Elliott Seaburn, Watty Noble, James Carroll, Aquila and Nat
+Smith, William Scott, David Gordon, James Burr, William Robinson, John
+Huhn, David Bell, John Guttery, John Ritter, Joseph Henderson and Peter
+Null. Others will be instantly recognized as their names shall appear on
+these pages. It is the sincere belief of all old pike boys that the
+stage lines of the National Road were never equalled in spirit and dash
+on any road, in any age or country. The chariots of the Appian Way,
+drawn by the fastest horses of ancient Italy, formed a dismal cortege in
+comparison with the sprightly procession of stage coaches on the old
+American highway. The grandeur of the old mail coach is riveted forever
+in the memory of the pike boy. To see it ascending a long hill,
+increasing speed, when nearing the summit, then moving rapidly over the
+intervening level to the top of the next hill, and dashing down it, a
+driver like the stately Redding Bunting wielding the whip and handling
+the reins, revealed a scene that will never be forgotten. And there was
+another feature of the old stage lines that left a lasting mark on
+memory's tablet. It was the "Postilion." A groom with two horses was
+stationed at the foot of many of the long hills, and added to the
+ordinary team of four horses to aid in making the ascent. The summit
+gained, the extra horses were quickly detached and returned to await and
+aid the next coming coach, and this was the "Postilion." Nathan Hutton
+is a well remembered old postilion. He was a tall, spare man, and lived
+in a small log house on the roadside, a short distance west of the old
+Johnson tavern, and four and a half miles east of Brownsville. At the
+foot of the hill below his house, he re-enforced the coaches with his
+postilion both ways, east and west, up Colley's hill, going west, and
+the equally long hill, coming east from that point. When he wanted a man
+or horse to be faithful to duty he exhorted him to "stand by his 'tarnal
+integrity." The old postilion bade adieu to the scenes of earth long
+ago, and nothing is left to indicate the spot where his lowly dwelling
+stood except a few perishing quince bushes.
+
+Hanson Willison, of Cumberland, when a boy rode postilion for Samuel
+Luman, and for Alfred Bailes. John Evans and Jacob Hoblitzell rode
+postilion through the mountains, east of Keyser's Ridge. Martin Massey
+rode out from Brownsville, and Thomas M. Fee, now crier of the courts of
+Fayette county, Pennsylvania, rode out from Uniontown, over Laurel Hill.
+
+Excitement followed in the wake of the coaches all along the road. Their
+arrival in the towns was the leading event of each day, and they were so
+regular in transit that farmers along the road knew the exact hour by
+their coming, without the aid of watch or clock. They ran night and day
+alike. Relays of fresh horses were placed at intervals of twelve miles,
+as nearly as practicable. Ordinarily a driver had charge of one team
+only, which he drove and cared for. Mail drivers, however, in many
+instances, drove three or four teams and more, which were cared for by
+grooms at the stations. Teams were changed almost in the twinkling of an
+eye. The coach was driven rapidly to the station, where a fresh team
+stood ready harnessed and waiting on the roadside. The moment the team
+came to a halt the driver threw down the reins, and almost instantly the
+incoming team was detached, the fresh one attached, the reins thrown
+back to the driver, who did not leave his seat, and away again went the
+coach at full speed, the usual group of loafers, meanwhile, looking on
+and enjoying the exciting scene. The horses used were showy and superb,
+the admiration of all who beheld them. Mr. Stockton had a strain called
+the "Murat," and another known as the "Winflower," which have become
+extinct, but many expert horsemen contend that they have not, in later
+days, been surpassed for nerve, beauty or speed. A peculiar affliction
+came upon many of the "wheel horses," expressed by the phrase "sprung in
+the knees." It is said to have been produced by the efforts of the
+horses in "holding back," while descending the long and steep hills.
+
+There was one mail coach that was especially imposing. On its gilded
+sides appeared the picture of a post boy, with flying horse and horn,
+and beneath it in gilt letters this awe inspiring inscription:
+
+ "He comes, the herald of a noisy world,
+ News from all nations lumbering at his back."
+
+No boy who beheld that old coach will ever forget it. The coaches were
+all handsomely and artistically painted and ornamented, lined inside
+with soft silk plush. There were three seats furnished with luxurious
+cushions, and three persons could sit comfortably on each, so that nine
+passengers made a full load as far as the interior was concerned. A seat
+by the side of the driver was more coveted in fair weather than a seat
+within. During the prosperous era of the road it was not uncommon to see
+as many as fifteen coaches in continuous procession, and both ways, east
+and west, there would be thirty each day.
+
+James Kinkead, Jacob Sides and Abraham Russell put on the first line of
+passenger coaches west of Cumberland, and as early as 1818 John and
+Andrew Shaffer, Garrett Clark, Aaron Wyatt, Morris Mauler, John Farrell,
+Quill and Nathan Smith, and Peter Null, were drivers on this line. The
+Smiths and Null drove in and out from Uniontown. One of the Smiths
+subsequently became the agent of a stage line in Ohio. James Kinkead,
+above mentioned, was the senior member of the firm of Kinkead, Beck and
+Evans, who built most of the large stone bridges on the line of the
+road. This early line of stages was owned and operated in sections.
+Kinkead owned the line from Brownsville to Somerfield; Sides, from
+Somerfield to the Little Crossings, and thence to Cumberland Russell was
+the proprietor. Kinkead sold his section to George Dawson, of
+Brownsville, and Alpheus Beall, of Cumberland, bought out Russell's
+interest. This line was subsequently purchased by, and merged in, the
+National Road Stage Company, the principal and most active member of
+which was Lucius W. Stockton. The other members of this company were
+Daniel Moore, of Washington, Pennsylvania, Richard Stokes and Moore N.
+Falls, of Baltimore, and Dr. Howard Kennedy, of Hagerstown, Maryland.
+After the death of Mr. Stockton, in 1844, Dr. Kennedy and Mr. Acheson
+were the active members of the firm. John W. Weaver put a line of stages
+on the road at an early day, known as the People's Line. After a short
+run it was withdrawn from the road east of Wheeling, and transferred to
+the Ohio division. Previous to 1840, James Reeside put on a line which
+Mr. Stockton nick-named the "June Bug," for the reason, as he alleged,
+it would not survive the coming of the June bugs. Mr. Stockton
+subsequently bought out this line and consolidated it with his own.
+There was a line of stages on the road called the "Good Intent," which
+came to stay, and did stay until driven off by the irresistible force of
+the Steam King. This line was owned by Shriver, Steele & Company, and
+was equal in vim, vigor and general equipment to the Stockton line. The
+headquarters of the Good Intent line at Uniontown was the McClelland
+house. There passengers took their meals, and the horses were kept in
+the stables appurtenant. The "old line" (Stockton's) had its
+headquarters at the National house, on Morgantown street, now the
+private residence of that worthy and well known citizen, Thomas Batton.
+This little _bon mot_ is one among a thousand, illustrative of the
+spirit of the competition between these rival lines. There was one Peter
+Burdine, a driver on the Good Intent line, noted for his dashing
+qualities, who was accustomed to give vent to his fidelity to his
+employers, and his confidence in himself in these words:
+
+ "If you take a seat in Stockton's line,
+ You are sure to be passed by Pete Burdine."
+
+And this became a popular ditty all along the road.
+
+On authority of Hanson Willison, the old stage driver of Cumberland, the
+first line of stages put on the road east of Cumberland, in opposition
+to the Stockton line, was owned, from Frederic to Hagerstown, by
+Hutchinson and Wirt; from Hagerstown to Piney Plains, by William F.
+Steele; from Piney Plains to Cumberland, by Thomas Shriver.
+
+Thomas Corwin, the famous Ohio statesman and popular orator of the olden
+time, was not a stage driver, but he was a wagoner, and one of the
+rallying cries of his friends, in the campaign that resulted in his
+election as governor, was: "Hurrah for Tom Corwin, the wagoner boy."
+The introduction of his name, in connection with stages and stage
+drivers, becomes pertinent in view of the following anecdote: Corwin was
+of very dark complexion, and among strangers, and in his time, when race
+distinction was more pronounced than now, often taken for a negro. On
+one occasion, while he was a member of Congress, he passed over the road
+in a "chartered coach," in company with Henry Clay, a popular favorite
+all along the road, and other distinguished gentlemen, en route for the
+capital. A chartered coach was one belonging to the regular line, but
+hired for a trip, and controlled by the parties engaging it. The party
+stopped one day for dinner at an old "stage tavern," kept by Samuel
+Cessna, at the foot of "Town Hill," also known as "Snib Hollow,"
+twenty-five miles east of Cumberland. Cessna was fond of entertaining
+guests, and particularly ardent in catering to distinguished travelers.
+He was, therefore, delighted when this party entered his house. He had
+seen Mr. Clay before, and knew him. The tall form of Mr. Corwin
+attracted his attention, and he noted specially his swarthy complexion,
+heard his traveling companions call him "Tom," and supposed he was the
+servant of the party. The first thing after the order for dinner was a
+suggestion of something to relieve the tedium of travel, and excite the
+appetite for the anticipated dinner, and it was brandy, genuine old
+cogniac, which was promptly brought to view by the zealous old landlord.
+Brandy was the "tony" drink of the old pike--brandy and loaf sugar, and
+it was often lighted by a taper and burnt, under the influence of a
+popular tradition that "if burnt brandy couldn't save a man" in need of
+physical tension, his case was hopeless. When the brandy was produced,
+the party, with the exception of Corwin, stepped up to the bar and each
+took a glass. Corwin, to encourage the illusion of the old landlord,
+stood back. In a patronizing way the landlord proffered a glass to
+Corwin, saying: "Tom, you take a drink." Corwin drank off the glass, and
+in an humble manner returned it to the landlord with modest thanks.
+Dinner was next announced, and when the party entered the dining room, a
+side table was observed for use of the servant, as was the custom at all
+old taverns on the road at that time. Corwin, at once recognizing the
+situation, sat down alone at the side table, while the other gentlemen
+occupied the main table. The dinner was excellent, as all were at the
+old taverns on the National Road, and while undergoing discussion, Mr.
+Clay occasionally called out to the lone occupant of the side table:
+"How are you getting on, Tom?" to which the modest response was, "Very
+well." After dinner the old landlord produced a box of fine cigars, and
+first serving the distinguished guests, took one from the box and in his
+hand proffered it to Mr. Corwin, with the remark: "Take a cigar, Tom?"
+When it was announced that the coach was in readiness to proceed on the
+journey, Mr. Clay took Corwin's arm, and, approaching the old landlord,
+said: "Mr. Cessna, permit me to introduce the Hon. Thomas Corwin, of
+Ohio." Cessna was thunder-struck. His mortification know no bounds.
+Observing his mental agony, Mr. Corwin restored him to equanimity by
+saying: "It was all a joke, Mr. Cessna; do not, I beg you, indulge in
+the slightest feeling of mortification. I expect to be back this way
+before long, and will call again to renew acquaintance, and take another
+good dinner with you."
+
+John Ritter, affectionately and invariably, by his acquaintances, called
+"Johnny," was noted for his honesty and steady habits. For many years
+after staging ceased on the road, he was a familiar figure about
+Washington, Pennsylvania. He assisted Major Hammond for thirty years in
+conducting the Valentine house, and acted as agent for Brimmer's line of
+mail hacks, and other similar lines, after the great mail and passenger
+lines were withdrawn. He was a bachelor, and a soldier of 1812, and drew
+a small pension. He died at the Valentine house, in Washington, on
+January 28th, 1879, in the eightieth year of his age, leaving behind him
+a good name and many friends.
+
+The first line of passenger coaches put on the road between Brownsville
+and Wheeling was owned, organized and operated by Stephen Hill and Simms
+and Pemberton. This was in 1818, and a continuation of the early line
+before mentioned from Cumberland to Brownsville. Stephen Hill, while a
+stage proprietor, was also a tavern keeper in Hillsboro, Washington
+county, a small town, but an old town, which probably derived its name
+from his family. Under the inspiration of modern reformation, so called,
+the name of this old town has been changed and languishes now under the
+romantic appellation of Scenery Hill. When it was Hillsboro, and a stage
+station of the old pike, it was a lively little town. Under its
+present picturesque name it remains a little town, but not a lively one.
+The change of name, however, has not yet penetrated the thinned ranks of
+the old pike boys, and they still refer to it as Hillsboro.
+
+[Illustration: WILLIAM WHALEY.]
+
+The next station west of Hillsboro, where stage horses were changed,
+twelve miles distant, was Washington, where passengers also took meals.
+The Good Intent line stopped at the Mansion house, situate at the upper
+end of the town, and the "Old Line" stopped at the National, in the
+lower end. The next changing place west of Washington was Claysville,
+the next Roneys Point, and thence to Wheeling. About the year 1846 the
+Good Intent line stopped its coaches, or a portion of them, at the
+Greene house in Washington, kept by Daniel Brown, who, previous to that
+date, had, for a time, been a road agent of that line. Of all the good
+taverns on the road there were none better than Brown's. He had his
+peculiarities, as most men have, but he knew how to keep a hotel. He
+enjoyed the occupation of entertaining guests, and glowed with good
+feeling while listening to the praises bestowed upon his savory spreads.
+This popular old landlord came to a sad and untimely end by being cut to
+pieces in a mill by a buzz saw, on what was once called the plank road,
+leading from Washington through Monongahela City, West Newton, Mt.
+Pleasant, Somerset and Bedford to Cumberland. Stages ran on that road,
+and at the time of the accident, Mr. Brown was in the service of a stage
+company and at the saw mill to urge forward the work of getting out
+plank for the road.
+
+David Sibley, an old driver on Stockton's line, went with the Fayette
+county "boys in blue" to Mexico in 1847, a member of Co. H, 2d regiment
+of Pennsylvania volunteers. He participated in the engagement at Cerro
+Gordo, emerged from that conflict unscathed, but died soon after at
+Pueblo from ailments incident to an inhospitable climate.
+
+William Whaley, a soldier of the war between the States, and a son of
+Capt. James Whaley, a soldier of 1812, was an old stage driver. He was
+born in Connellsville, but spent the prime of his life in Uniontown, and
+on the road. He used to tell the boys that one of the horses of his team
+died coming down Laurel Hill, but that he held him up until he reached
+the McClelland house in Uniontown. Whaley drove for a time on the
+Morgantown route from Uniontown, and died in the latter place twenty
+years and more ago.
+
+James Turner, a Somerset county man, an old stage driver, also
+volunteered as a soldier in the Mexican war, and started out a member of
+Co. H, above mentioned. In crossing the Gulf he fell down a hatchway of
+the vessel and was killed, and the mortal remains of the old driver were
+buried in the deep sea.
+
+James Gordon, a well remembered old stage driver, went with Co. H to
+Mexico, and died in the capital city of that Republic. He was the
+father-in-law of Peter Heck, a former postmaster of Uniontown.
+
+Samuel Sibley, probably a brother of David, before mentioned, was a
+well-known driver. He was small in stature, but alert in movement. It
+was he who drove the coach that upset on a stone pile in the main street
+of Uniontown with Henry Clay as a passenger, the details of which have
+elsewhere been given.
+
+Ben Showalter is remembered as an old driver, who sang little songs and
+performed little tricks of legerdemain for the amusement of the boys. He
+went to the war between the States as a private in Major West's cavalry
+of Uniontown, and died in the service.
+
+[Illustration: REDDING BUNTING.]
+
+Redding Bunting, mentioned before, was probably more widely known and
+had more friends than any other old stage driver on the road. His entire
+service on the road, covering many years, was in connection with the
+"old Line." He was a great favorite of Mr. Stockton, the leading
+proprietor of that line. His commanding appearance is impressed upon the
+memories of all who knew him. He stood six feet six inches high in his
+stockings, and straight as an arrow, without any redundant flesh. His
+complexion was of a reddish hue and his features pronounced and
+striking. His voice was of the baritone order, deep and sonorous, but he
+was not loquacious and had a habit of munching. He was endowed with
+strong common sense, which the pike boys called "horse sense," to
+emphasize its excellence. He was affable, companionable and convivial.
+He was a native of Fayette county, Pa., and born in Menallen township.
+He was not only a stage driver, but a trusted stage agent, stage
+proprietor, and also a tavern keeper. He once owned the property now
+known as the "Central Hotel," in Uniontown, and if he had retained it
+would have died a rich man. Despondency and depression of spirits seemed
+to have encompassed him, when business ceased on the road, and he
+appeared as one longing for the return of other and better days. During
+the presidency of Mr. Van Buren, it was deemed desirable by the
+authorities that one of his special messages should be speedily spread
+before the people. Accordingly arrangements were made by the Stockton
+line, which had the contract for carrying the mails, to transmit the
+message of the President with more than ordinary celerity. The Baltimore
+and Ohio railroad at the time was not in operation west of Frederic
+City, Maryland. Mr. Bunting, as agent of the company, repaired to that
+point to receive the coming document and convey it to Wheeling. He sat
+by the side of the driver the entire distance from Frederic to Wheeling
+to superintend the mission and urge up the speed. The distance between
+the points named is two hundred and twenty-two miles, and was covered in
+twenty-three hours and thirty minutes. Changes of teams and drivers were
+made at the usual relays, and the driver who brought the flying coach
+from Farmington to Uniontown was Joseph Woolley, who made the sparks fly
+at every step, as he dashed down the long western slope of Laurel Hill.
+Homer Westover drove the coach from Uniontown to Brownsville, covering
+the intervening distance of twelve miles in the almost incredible
+compass of forty-four minutes. The coach used on this occasion was
+called the "Industry," one of the early mail coaches with "monkey box"
+attachment, and it literally woke up the echoes in its rapid transit
+over the road. The Pittsburg _Gazette_ had arranged for an early copy of
+the important message and agreed to pay Robert L. Barry and Joseph P.
+McClelland, of Uniontown, connected in various subordinate capacities
+with the stage lines, the sum of fifty dollars for a speedy delivery of
+the document at the office of that journal in Pittsburg. Brownsville was
+then the distributing point for all mail matter sent west over the
+National Road, consigned to Pittsburg, and Barry and McClelland went
+down to Brownsville on the "Industry" to obtain the message there and
+transmit it thence to Pittsburg by special convoy overland to the
+_Gazette_; but when the mail was opened it was discovered that it did
+not contain a package for the _Gazette_, and Barry and McClelland
+returned home disappointed, while the _Gazette_ suffered still greater
+disappointment in not being able to lay an early copy of the message
+before its readers. The reader will bear in mind that at the time
+referred to the telegraph was unknown as an agency for transmitting
+news, and the railroad, as has been seen, had not advanced west of
+Frederic City, Maryland.
+
+In the year 1846, after the railroad was completed to Cumberland,
+Redding Bunting rivaled, if he did not surpass, the feat of rapid
+transit above described. He drove the great mail coach from Cumberland
+to Wheeling, which carried the message of President Polk, officially
+proclaiming that war existed between the United States and Mexico.
+Leaving Cumberland at two o'clock in the morning, he reached Uniontown
+at eight o'clock of the same morning, breakfasted there with his
+passengers, at his own house (for he was then the proprietor of the
+National), and after breakfast, which was soon disposed of, proceeded
+with his charge, reaching Washington at eleven A. M. and Wheeling at two
+P. M., covering a distance of one hundred and thirty-one miles in twelve
+hours. He was not at that time an ordinary driver, but an agent of the
+line, and took the reins in person for the avowed purpose of making the
+highest speed attainable. Redding Bunting has been dead about ten years.
+His wife, who was a daughter of Capt. Endsley, the old tavern keeper at
+the Big Crossings, survived him about three years. He left two sons and
+two daughters. One of his sons, Henry Clay, is at present postmaster of
+Dunbar, Pa., and the other, William, is a printer, and at this writing
+foreman of the composing force of the Pittsburg _Times_. One of the
+daughters is the wife of Milton K. Frankenberry, a prominent citizen of
+Fayette county, Pa., and the other is the wife of Armor Craig, a leading
+merchant of Uniontown. The old driver has gone to his last home, but his
+memory remains fresh and fragrant all along the road.
+
+Joseph Woolley, above mentioned, had a brother, William, who was also a
+well known stage driver. When the staging days on the road were ended,
+and the exciting incidents thereof relegated to the domain of history,
+Joseph and William Woolley sought and obtained employment in the service
+of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad company, and both ultimately became
+competent and trustworthy locomotive engineers.
+
+Andrew J. Wable commenced driving stage in 1840, and continued
+uninterruptedly until 1851. He went to Illinois in 1867, and is still
+living, in good health and spirits. He frequently visits his old home in
+the mountains of Fayette county, where he was reared, and is there now,
+or was very recently. He drove first on the "Shake Gut," which was not a
+passenger line, but a line put on the road to carry light freights with
+rapidity. He drove next on the "Good Intent" line, and subsequently on
+the old, or Stockton line. He was a driver on the Good Intent line when
+William Scott was its agent, and on the old line during the agencies of
+Granger and Bunting. He drove on the Good Intent line from Somerfield to
+Keyser's Ridge, and on the old line from Keyser's Ridge to Piney Grove.
+He also drove between Washington and Wheeling, and from Uniontown to
+Farmington. His recollections of the old road are vivid, and he is fond
+of recounting incidents of its palmy days.
+
+James Burr drove out westward from Washington. He was reputed to be a
+man of great muscular power, but with it all, a man of quiet demeanor. A
+Cincinnati man, name not given, had achieved the reputation of "licking"
+everybody in and around Cincinnati, and like Alexander of old, sighed
+for more victories. Hearing of Jim Burr, he resolved to encounter him,
+and struck out for Claysville, where he had been informed Burr could be
+found. He traveled by steamboat to Wheeling, thence by stage coach to
+Claysville. The Cincinnati man "put up" at the tavern of William Kelley,
+the stopping place of Burr's line at Claysville. Upon entering, the
+stranger inquired for Jim Burr, and was politely informed by Mr. Kelley,
+the old landlord, that Mr. Burr was at the stable looking after his
+team, and would soon be in. In a little while Burr came in, and Mr.
+Kelley remarked to the stranger, "this is Mr. Burr." The stranger, who
+was a somewhat larger man than Burr, saluted him thus: "Burr, I have
+been told that you are the best man in all this country, and I have come
+all the way from Cincinnati to fight you, and lick you, if I can."
+"Well," said Burr, "you have come a long distance for a job like that,
+and besides I don't know you, and there is no reason why we should
+fight." "But," rejoined the stranger, "you must fight me, I insist on
+it, and will not leave here until you do." Burr persisted in declining
+the proffered combat, and finally went upstairs to bed, and after a nap
+of half an hour's duration, came down without a thought of again meeting
+his aggressive visitor. To his utter surprise the Cincinnati bluffer met
+him at the foot of the stairs, and again demanded a trial of strength.
+This was more than Burr's good nature could withstand, and stepping
+back, he drew up in the attitude of a striker, warning his assailant at
+the same time to "look out," when with one blow of his fist, he felled
+him stone dead on the floor. Burr then went to the water stand in a
+rear room of the tavern, washed his face and hands, and upon returning
+saw the victim of his deadly blow still lying prostrate upon the floor,
+and exclaimed: "My God, has that man not got up yet?" But the vanquished
+bully did, after a while, get up, and in rising discovered that he was a
+wiser, if not a better man. News of this singular encounter spread
+rapidly through the town of Claysville, and nearly every inhabitant
+thereof rushed to the scene to learn how it happened, and all about it.
+The facts were minutely and carefully made known to all inquirers by
+William Kelley, the old landlord, and cheers went up and out for Jim
+Burr, the hero of Claysville. At the time of this occurrence David
+Gordon was also driving out westwardly from Washington. Tradition has it
+that these two men had a reciprocal fear of each other, but they never
+collided, and it is a mooted question as to which of them was the better
+man in a physical sense. It is a long time since Burr and Gordon were
+seen on the front boot of a handsome Concord coach, wielding the reins
+and flourishing the whip over the backs of four dashing steeds with a
+grace and dignity befitting a more pretentious calling; and presumably
+they have answered the last summons, but living or dead, their names are
+indelibly stamped on the history of the National Road.
+
+David Gordon was sent out from the east by James Reeside, and drove
+first on the "June Bug Line." Going out west from Claysville soon after
+he commenced driving his team ran off, with a full load of passengers.
+Discerning in a moment that the flying team could not be checked by
+ordinary methods, he pulled it off the road and turned the coach over
+against a high bank. The passengers were badly frightened, but none were
+hurt, and attributed their escape from injury to the skillfulness of the
+driver. After "righting up," the coach but little damaged, proceeded to
+Roney's Point without further casualty. This incident, or rather
+accident, gave Gordon a wide reputation as a cool and skillful driver,
+and he rapidly advanced to the front rank of his calling. The "June Bug
+Line" did not remain long on the road, and when it was withdrawn Gordon
+took service in the Good Intent line, and continued with it until all
+through lines of coaches were taken from the road. Gordon was a very
+stout man, six feet in height, and weighing about two hundred pounds,
+without any surplus flesh. It was said that he could fight, but was not
+quarrelsome. His motto seemed to be "_non tangere mihi_." On one
+occasion, as tradition has it, he was compelled to engage in a
+knock-down, in self defense. It was at Triadelphia, Virginia. Three
+"toughs" fell upon him at that place, with the intention, as they stated
+it, of "doing him up," but they failed ignominously. Gordon repulsed and
+routed them completely and decisively, and they never thereafter coveted
+a rencounter with Gordon, and the example of their fate rendered others
+with pugilistic proclivities a little shy about encountering him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+ _Stages and Stage Drivers continued--Character of Drivers
+ Defended--Styles of Driving--Classification of Drivers--Samuel
+ Luman, old mail driver--His thrilling encounter with
+ Robbers--George Fisher dashes into a Whig procession--Daniel
+ Leggett--Accident to Black Hawk--Tobias Banner, Jerry McMullin,
+ George McKenna, Paris Eaches, Jack Bailiss, Henry A. Wise, and
+ other familiar names._
+
+
+Mr. A. J. Endsley, of Somerset, an intelligent, educated and observing
+gentleman, who was born and reared on the National Road, gives it as his
+judgment that old stage drivers, as a class, were better, morally, than
+old wagoners. He says that while some of the stage drivers were given to
+blaspheming and drinking, there were wagoners who would "discount them,
+especially in the matter of profanity." He names, as types of orderly,
+well behaved stage drivers, Thomas Grace, William and Alexander
+Thompson, John Mills, Charley Howell, John High, William Robinson, Isaac
+Frazee (still living in Markleysburg), Isaac Denny, Samuel Halsted,
+William White, Samuel Jaco, Thomas Moore, James A. Carroll, William
+Bishop and John Bunting. William Robinson and Pate Sides were expert
+penmen.
+
+John E. Reeside, a son of Commodore James Reeside, the old stage
+proprietor, now residing in Baltimore, who had a general supervision of
+his father's lines on the National Road, gives three styles of stage
+driving, as follows, viz: (1) The Flat Rein (English); (2) the Top and
+Bottom (Pennsylvania); (3) the Side Rein (Eastern). In the first style
+Mr. Reeside says that John Bennett and Watty Noble excelled, and in the
+second, Jack Bailiss, Frank Lawson and Joe Bowers carried off the palm.
+He adds that the third mode was the one adopted by a majority of the
+best drivers, and in this, Isaac Page, Luda Adams, Peyton R. Sides,
+David Gordon, John Lanning, Abram Dedrick and David Johnson excelled all
+other drivers.
+
+Mr. Endsley, before mentioned, divides the old stage drivers in four
+classes, as follows: "(1) Awkward, slovenly, careless drivers, such as
+handled the whip and 'ribbons' so clumsily, and kept their teams so
+unseemly together, up hill, down grades and on the level, that it was
+painful to see them on the box. Typical of this class were Tom Frantz,
+Dan Boyer, Pete Null and Abe Halderman. (2) Cruel men--their cruelty
+amounting almost to brutality. This class seemed to take a fiendish
+delight in whipping, lashing and gashing horses. Wash Alridge and a big,
+burly driver by the name of Robinson, were types of the cruel class. (3)
+Careful, easy-going, common, every day kind of drivers--men who never
+made pretensions to fancy styles. They were such as John Bunting (Old
+Judy), Jim Reynolds, James Carroll (Flaxey), Blanchard (Hatchet Face),
+Billy Armor and Josh. Boyd. (4) Well dressed drivers, clean and neat in
+person, and men who regarded sitting down to a meal in shirt sleeves as
+_contra, bonos mores_. This class manipulated the whip and 'ribbons'
+scientifically, and sat on the box in a way that showed they were
+masters of the situation. Prominent in this class were John High, Pate
+Sides, Peter Halderman, 'Yankee' Thompson, Sam Jerome, Jim Moore," &c.
+In this latter class might be ranked David Gordon, James Burr, and
+others of the western end of the road.
+
+[Illustration: JOHN BUNTING.]
+
+Samuel Luman, still living in Cumberland, and in good health, was one of
+the best equipped stage drivers on the road. His experience covers many
+of the most exciting and interesting events in the road's history. He
+commenced his career as a stage driver in 1832, the same year that
+Alfred Bailes began as a wagoner. He tells of a collision with
+highwaymen in the mountains, which was attended by thrilling details. On
+the 12th of August, 1834, he was on the road between Piney Grove and
+Frostburg, with a mail and passenger coach going east. After nightfall,
+and at a point studded by a thick growth of pine trees, he was
+confronted by a party of foot-pads, five in number, and strange to
+relate, one a woman, bent on felony. The outlook was alarming. Luman
+carried no fire-arms, and there was but one weapon among his passengers,
+a small, brass pistol, not brought into requisition, as the sequel
+shows. The assailants had thrown across the road an obstruction like a
+rude fence, made of logs, stumps and brush. As Luman's trusty leaders
+approached the obstruction, one of the highwaymen stepped out from his
+cover and seized a bridle, and the coach was stopped. The assailant
+ordered Luman to descend from his seat and surrender his charge. This he
+very politely, but very decidedly declined to do. "What do you want?"
+queried Luman, with seeming innocency. "We are traders," was the
+response. "Well," rejoined Luman, coolly, "I have nothing to trade; I am
+satisfied with my trappings, and not desirous of exchanging them."
+During this little parley the wood-be robber, who held a leader by the
+bridle, cried out to a partner in crime, who was near at hand, though
+under cover of darkness, to shoot the driver, and denounced him as a
+coward for not firing. The party thus addressed then leveled a pistol at
+Luman and pulled the trigger, but the result was nothing more than a
+"snap," the night air being damp and the powder failing to explode.
+These favorable surroundings, no doubt, saved Luman's life. The
+foot-pads at the heads of the leaders had, in the confusion and
+excitement of the moment, turned the horses squarely around, so that the
+leaders faced west, while the wheel horses stood to the east. In this
+conjuncture the party in charge of the leaders undertook to unhitch
+them, and to guard against the movements of Luman, wrapped a driving
+rein tightly around one of his arms. This was Luman's opportunity, and
+summoning all his resources, he poured a volley of stinging lashes upon
+his antagonist, smiting him on the face and arm, alternately, and most
+vigorously. The bandit winced, and soon relinquished his grasp, when,
+almost in the twinkling of an eye, the team under Luman's skillful hands
+started up on a full run, leaping the improvised fence, and speeding on,
+leaving the foot-pads behind to lament their discomfiture. Mr. Luman
+relates that in crossing the improvised fence, he fairly trembled for
+the fate of himself and passengers, as the coach was within an ace of
+capsizing. He also states that the ruffian who seized his leader wore a
+gown that covered his whole person, tied around the middle of his body
+with a belt, and that another of his assailants wore a white vest, dark
+pantaloons, and covered his face with a black mask. The other three kept
+in the back ground during the attack, so that he is unable to recall
+their appearance. Mr. Luman further relates that when the first assault
+was made on him, he apprized his passengers of the impending danger and
+besought their assistance, but they crouched in their seats and made no
+effort to aid him or defend themselves. They were western merchants
+going east to buy goods, and had among them as much as sixty thousand
+dollars in cash. When the coach arrived safely at the Highland house,
+Frostburg, George Evans at that time proprietor thereof, the grateful
+passengers "took up" a collection for the benefit of their courageous
+and faithful driver and deliverer, but Luman says the sum proffered was
+so ludicrously small that he declined to receive it, and ever thereafter
+regarded that lot of passengers as a "mean set." Samuel Luman drove four
+teams between Cumberland and the Big Crossings. In 1839 he concluded to
+give up stage driving and try tavern keeping. His first venture in this
+line was at Piney Plains, east of Cumberland and near Cessna's old
+stand. He approved himself a popular landlord, and was well patronized.
+From Piney Plains he went to Frostburg, and took charge of the Franklin
+House. His next and last experience in tavern keeping was at the
+National House, in Cumberland. Luman interested himself in the detection
+and punishment of mail robbers, which drew upon him the animosity of
+suspected persons, and Mr. Stockton, fearing that the suspected ones
+might waylay and murder him, advised him to take service east of
+Cumberland, which he did. He is altogether one of the most interesting
+characters of the road.
+
+[Illustration: SAMUEL LUMAN.]
+
+George Fisher was a stage driver, who left his footprints very plainly
+on the limestone dust of the road. He was noted for his daring in the
+manipulation of fiery steeds. A fractious team was stationed at
+Claysville, which was the terror of all the drivers on that section of
+the road. It "ran off" several times, once killing a passenger outright,
+and seriously injuring others. This occurred on Caldwell's Hill, seven
+miles west of Washington, Pennsylvania. George Fisher was sent down from
+Washington to take charge of this team, and soon had it under complete
+control. He drove it many years without an accident. Fisher was a large,
+well proportioned, and fine looking man. He was driving the team
+mentioned in 1844, the year in which the celebrated political contest
+occurred, wherein James K. Polk and Henry Clay were opposing
+candidates for the presidency. Fisher was an ardent supporter of Polk,
+and quite bitter in his enmity against the Whigs. On the day of a large
+Whig meeting in Washington, an extra coach, not on regular time, but
+filled with passengers, passed over the road, going west. It fell to
+Fisher's lot to haul this coach from Claysville to Roney's Point, a
+relay beyond the State line, in Virginia. A delegation of Whigs, with
+banners and music, from West Alexander and vicinity, went up to
+Washington to attend the meeting, and on their return homeward in the
+evening, were overhauled by Fisher, who ran his team and coach into the
+Whig procession at several points, doing damage to buggies, carriages,
+and light wagons, and inflicting some quite serious personal injuries.
+Colin Wilson, a prominent citizen of Washington county at that date, was
+one of the persons injured by Fisher's inroad, and was seriously hurt.
+Fisher, in extenuation of his apparently criminal conduct, pleaded the
+irritability of his team, that it became frightened by the banners and
+music, was unmanageable, and the injuries inflicted were not intentional
+on his part, but purely accidental. The reputation of the team for
+pettishness was well known in the neighborhood of the occurrence, and
+served as a plausible excuse, and really saved Fisher from prosecution,
+and probably consequent punishment, but all the Whigs of that
+neighborhood went to their graves under the solemn belief that Fisher
+"did it a purpose." The following account of an accident, furnished by
+John Thompson, the old wagoner, no doubt relates to Fisher's team
+previous to the date at which he took charge of it: In the month of
+October, 1843, a stage team started to run from the locust tree near
+Caldwell's tavern. The driver lost control, and the team dashed down the
+long hill at a terrific gait. They kept in the road until Wickert's
+bridge was reached, at which point the coach, team, passengers, driver
+and all were violently thrown over the bridge. A Mr. Moses, a Kentucky
+merchant, and his nephew, were sitting by the side of the driver, and
+all remained firmly in their seats until the collapse occurred. The
+Kentucky merchant had a leg badly crushed, and in two days after the
+accident died, and was buried in the old graveyard at Washington.
+Doctors Stevens and Lane, of Washington, were promptly summoned and did
+all that medical and surgical skill could devise to aid the unfortunate
+sufferer, but gangrene ensued and baffled it all. The driver was
+severely hurt, and nursed at the Caldwell House until the spring of
+1844, when he recovered. The nephew of Mr. Moses and all the other
+passengers escaped without injury. The remains of Mr. Moses were
+subsequently removed from Washington by his relatives, and interred near
+his home in Kentucky. Wickert's bridge is so called because a man of
+that name was murdered many years ago near it, and for a long time
+thereafter, according to neighborhood superstition, returned to haunt
+the bridge.
+
+Daniel Leggett was an old stage driver, well known, and will be long
+remembered. He once had the distinction of hauling the celebrated
+Indian chief, Black Hawk, and his _suite_. The party ascended the Ohio
+river by steamboat, and took stage at Wheeling. Upon entering the coach
+at that point, Black Hawk showed shyness, fancying it might be a trap
+set for him by his pale faced enemies, and it required some persuasion
+by an interpreter, who accompanied his party, to induce him to enter and
+take a seat. The coach passed over the road without unusual incident
+until it reached Washington, Pennsylvania. Going down the main street of
+Washington, from the postoffice, which was in the neighborhood of the
+court house, the breast strap of one of the wheel horses broke, causing
+a precipitation of the coach upon the leaders, and the team becoming
+frightened, dashed down the street at fearful speed. One of the party of
+Indians was seated by the driver, and thrown off, carrying down with him
+the driver. The team, thus left without a driver, rushed headlong for
+the stable of the National House, and at the corner of Main and Maiden
+streets, the coach upset. It contained nine passengers, eight Indians
+and one half-breed. The first one to show up from the wreck was Black
+Hawk, who stood upright in the middle of the street, disclosing a single
+drop of blood on his forehead, and manifesting much excitement and
+indignation, as he uttered "Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" The interpreter had an arm
+broken, which was the only serious casualty attending the accident.
+Black Hawk now became almost wholly irreconcilable. The interpreter
+tried to explain to him the true situation, and to assure him that no
+harm was aimed at him, but the dusky warrior repelled the approaches of
+the friendly mediator, and refused to be reconciled. He was now certain
+that the white men intended to kill him. After a little while the
+excitement abated, and with it the temper of the unfortunate Indian
+chieftain. He was persuaded to enter the tavern, and observing that the
+surroundings were not hostile, threw off his sullenness, and became
+somewhat sensible of the situation, and apparently reconciled to it.
+Another coach of the line was provided, and the party proceeded on their
+journey to parley with the Great Father of the White House. The occasion
+marked an era in the life and career of the old driver, Daniel Leggett,
+which he referred to with intense interest on frequent occasions
+throughout the remainder of his life. The Black Hawk incident occurred
+in 1837, when Van Buren was president.
+
+Tobias Banner, as if to do justice to his name, was an imposing driver.
+He was a chum of Jerry McMullin, another old driver, and the two
+together enjoyed many a game of bluff, while their teams were quietly
+resting in the well furnished old stables. They were both mail drivers
+in and out from Washington. McMullin at one time to vary the monotony of
+stage life, made a trip to Stockton's lane, in Greene county, to see the
+races, which occurred at regular periods at that place in that day. He
+engaged in a game of seven up, with a stalwart native of Greene county,
+for five dollars a side, and while he really won the game, his overgrown
+adversary claimed the stakes on an allegation of foul play. A quarrel
+and a fight ensued, and Jerry McMullin returned to Washington with a
+blackened eye and diminished purse, vowing that he would never venture
+upon mud roads again.
+
+George McKenna drove first on the Oyster line and afterwards a stage
+team. He was a Greene county man, and brother-in-law of Morgan R. Wise.
+After he quit driving he set up an oyster saloon in Waynesburg, and
+finally engaged with a travelling menagerie and lost his life in a
+railroad accident between New York and Philadelphia.
+
+Paris Eaches, a strangely sounding name now, but once familiar to the
+ear of every pike boy, was a well known and well liked driver. He
+radiated from Washington, Pennsylvania, but left his mark all along the
+line. He was a jolly fellow and enjoyed the excitement of the road. He
+was always a favorite at social parties of young folks, and entertained
+them with songs. He had a good voice and sang well. "I have left
+Alabama," was one of his best songs, and he always sang it to the
+delight of his hearers.
+
+Jack Bailiss was a widely known and popular driver, a married man, and a
+resident of Washington, Pennsylvania. He was accounted a reckless
+driver, and delighted in exciting the apprehension of his passengers,
+often filling them with terror by specimens of what they considered
+reckless driving. He knew the danger line however, and always kept
+within it. He drove the coach from Claysville to Washington,
+Pennsylvania, in which Gen. Taylor traveled on his way to the Capital to
+assume the Presidency.
+
+Henry A. Wise, an old driver, is well remembered by the old people of
+the road on account of the quaintness of his character. He was not a
+driver on the National Road, but drove the mail coach from Uniontown to
+Morgantown, Virginia. Mr. Stockton had the contract for carrying the
+mail between these points, and Wise was his chief driver, and pursued
+this calling for many years. His headquarters in Uniontown were at the
+Old Hart tavern, Jackson's favorite stopping place, now the Hotel
+Brunswick. He was driving on this route as early as 1836. He was an odd
+genius, as Mr. John E. Reeside says of him, a "typical tide water
+Virginian." He claimed to be descended from blue blood, and simply drove
+stage for amusement. He always had plenty of slack in his reins, and as
+a consequence rarely kept his team straight in the road. It is said that
+on one occasion, while half asleep on the box, his team turned from the
+road through an open gap into a field, and commenced eagerly to graze on
+the growing clover. Wise was tall and spare, and habitually wore a high
+silk hat.
+
+John Huhn was a driver west of Washington, Pennsylvania. He married a
+daughter of John McCrackin, a well known and prosperous farmer of the
+vicinity of Claysville. When stage lines dissolved and stage coaches no
+longer rattled over the old pike, John Huhn engaged in the tanning
+business at Claysville, and was successful.
+
+Peter Payne, an old driver east and west from Keyser's Ridge, was noted
+as an expert hand at a game of poker. He was usually a winner, and being
+a man of economic habits, saved his small accumulations from time to
+time and ultimately became rich. He often sat down to a game with Joseph
+Dilly, an old blacksmith of the mountain division of the road, a
+skillfull player, who, like Payne, also grew rich.
+
+Frank Lawson, who subsequently kept tavern in Triadelphia, was a stage
+driver. He first drove on Weaver's Ohio line, next on a line in
+Kentucky, where he upset a coach causing the death of one or more of his
+passengers, and afterward came to the National Road and drove between
+Wheeling and Washington. He is mentioned by Mr. Reeside as an expert
+driver of the "Top and Bottom," or Pennsylvania mode of driving.
+
+John Stotler was among the drivers on the first line of stages. He was
+stoutly built, a good reinsman and a popular driver. He drove out east
+and west from Cumberland. John Whitney, an Englishman, was an early
+driver, and noted for his caution in handling his team and caring for
+the comfort and safety of passengers.
+
+Joseph Whisson drove from Washington to Claysville, and is well
+remembered and highly spoken of by all old citizens living on that
+section of the road. He is still living at Triadelphia, West Virginia.
+
+Jason Eddy was one of the many drivers sent out on the road in an early
+day from New Jersey by "Commodore" Reeside, as James, the old stage
+proprietor, was frequently called. Eddy was an expert driver, and it was
+said of him that "he could turn his team and coach on a silver dollar."
+He was likewise a good musician, and played well on the bugle. He often
+entertained his passengers with stirring bugle blasts.
+
+William Walker was a careful old driver, and so economical that he
+acquired property from the savings of his scanty wages.
+
+William Craver, Edward Hays and the two Welches were old stage drivers,
+whose names were familiar along the road in its early history.
+
+Isaac Page, first named by Mr. Reeside as a good driver in the Eastern
+style, was a Uniontown man, and died in that place before the glories of
+the old road had waned. He left a widow and a son, Charles, who went to
+New York, where the son engaged in business, prospered and became rich.
+His mother was highly esteemed by all who knew her, and to her example
+is attributed the success of the son.
+
+Dr. Thayer, who subsequently became a circus proprietor, commenced
+driving stage on the National Road when eighteen years of age. He drove
+from Uniontown to Farmington on the "old line" previous to 1840. He was
+a skillful driver, and subsequently achieved success as a circus owner.
+
+Gideon Bolton (nicknamed "Hoop-pole," from the circumstance of his
+coming from a hoop-pole region in Preston county, West Virginia), drove
+many years on the mountain division of the road, and is well
+remembered.
+
+[Illustration: JOSEPH WHISSON.]
+
+James McCauley, an old driver, before reaching the dignity of the box,
+was a "postilion" for Redding Bunting on the mail coaches from
+Somerfield to Woodcock Hill, and to Winding ridge.
+
+Jack Lee was a spirited driver, and would have been called a "dude" if
+he had not died before that term was applied to persons of fanciful and
+fashionable apparel. He drove in and out from Cumberland and was
+contemporaneous with Whitney.
+
+David Bell, an old stage driver, subsequently kept a tavern in
+Claysville. His daughter became the wife of Calvin King, an officer of
+one of the Claysville banks.
+
+William Corman, an old stage driver, is remembered as a _pal_ of Dr.
+John F. Braddee in the celebrated mail robberies of 1840, at Uniontown.
+Braddee's office adjoined Stockton's stage yard. Corman drove the mail
+coach, and handed over the mail bags to Braddee, who rifled them. A full
+account of these mail robberies is given elsewhere in this volume.
+
+John Bennett and James and John Bailiss drove out west from Washington,
+Pennsylvania, for many years, and were among the most careful and
+skillful drivers. Bennett died in Hillsboro.
+
+Joshua Johnson, a Canadian, and an old stage driver, married a Miss
+Slicer, of Flintstone, Maryland, and subsequently kept a tavern in
+Cumberland.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+ _The first Mail Coaches--The stage yard at Uniontown--Employees
+ therein--Mr. Stockton goes back on John Tyler--Names of
+ Coaches--Henry Clay and the drivers--Anecdote of Clay, and Humes,
+ of Claysville--Jenny Lind and Phineas T. Barnum on the
+ road--Exciting race between an old liner and a Good Intent
+ driver--Old Mount, the Giant of the road--Sim Houser, Archie
+ McNeil, Watty Noble, the Nestor of stage drivers, and other
+ familiar names._
+
+
+The first mail coaches were arranged to carry but three passengers,
+in addition to the mail pouches, upon a model furnished by the
+postoffice department. Drivers and residents along the road called
+the passenger compartment of the early mail coach a "monkey box."
+This was at the front end of the vehicle, and rested on springs, and
+the mail pouches were placed behind it, on a lower plane, and in a
+long, tight, wooden box or bed, resting on the axles of the wagon,
+without springs. It made a loud noise when passing over the road,
+was altogether a curious contrivance, and after a short term of usage
+was abandoned, and the ordinary passenger coach substituted in its
+stead. Mr. Stockton established a coach factory in Uniontown, where
+many of the coaches of his line were made, and as necessity from time
+to time existed, repaired. Blacksmith shops were also set up in connection
+with this factory, where the stage horses of the Stockton line
+were shod. It was called the "stage yard," and located on Morgantown
+street, on the lot now covered by the residence and grounds of
+the Hon. Nathaniel Ewing. Many mechanics in different lines of
+work were employed in the "stage yard," and some of them still
+linger on the shores of time, and in Uniontown. [E]Philip Bogardus is
+probably the oldest of the surviving employees of the old stage yard,
+and is a well known and respected citizen of Uniontown. He was
+born in Dutchess county, New York, September 25, 1811, and came
+to Uniontown in 1838. On his journey to that place he halted for a
+season and worked at his trade, that of a coach trimmer, at Bloody
+Run, Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and there first met and formed
+the acquaintance of Henry Nycum, the well remembered and respected
+old blacksmith, who lived many years in Uniontown, and died there
+about a year ago. Soon after his arrival in Uniontown, Bogardus
+obtained employment in the stage yard. The foreman of the yard
+at the time was William Gaddis.
+
+[Footnote E: Died recently.]
+
+[Illustration: MAJ. WILLIAM A. DONALDSON.]
+
+Next in seniority, among the surviving employees of the stage yard, is
+[F]Maj. William A. Donaldson, one of the best known citizens of
+Uniontown. He is a painter. He was born in Emmettsburg, Frederic county,
+Maryland, a village situate ten miles south of Gettysburg, on February
+14, 1818, and came to Uniontown February 15, 1839. He located first at
+Brownsville, and remained there a year and upwards before going to
+Uniontown. His first engagement in Uniontown was with Col. William B.
+Roberts, in whose service he continued about a year, after which he
+entered the stage yard as a painter and ornamenter of coaches. He is not
+only a skillful artisan, but a gentleman well read in history,
+philosophy, theology, and politics, in short a good and useful citizen.
+When Dr. Braddee was first lodged in the Uniontown jail for robbing the
+mails, Maj. Donaldson called in the evening to see him. The accused was
+placed in charge of a special police force, which consisted of Zadoc
+Cracraft, George Martin, and Stewart Speers, who "stood guard" over the
+noted prisoner. Soon after Maj. Donaldson entered the jail the guardsmen
+informed him that they were very hungry, and desired to go down town to
+get some oysters, and requested him to remain in charge of the prisoner
+until they returned. To this Maj. Donaldson assented, provided the
+hungry guardsmen would speedily return. They went out for oysters and
+did not get back until one o'clock in the morning. The Major and the
+Doctor, being old acquaintances, spent the intervening time as
+pleasantly as circumstances would admit of, but it was not exactly the
+thing the Major had bargained for. Mr. Stockton had one of his coaches
+named John Tyler, in honor of the vice-president of the first Harrison
+administration. When Tyler, by the death of Harrison, succeeded to the
+presidency, and vetoed the United States bank bill, Mr. Stockton was
+very much angered thereat, and going into the stage yard, soon after the
+veto was announced, accosted Maj. Donaldson thus: "Donaldson, can't you
+erase that name (pointing to the Tyler coach) and substitute another? I
+won't have one of my coaches named for a traitor." "Certainly I can,"
+replied Donaldson, "what shall the new name be?" "Call it Gen.
+Harrison," said Stockton. "All right," said Donaldson, and the change
+was made. Maj. Donaldson was a Democrat, and much amused by the
+incident.
+
+[Footnote F: Died July 27th, 1893.]
+
+Robert L. Barry, the well remembered old merchant of Uniontown,
+was, in his younger days, a painter in the old stage yard. Other
+painters in the stage yard were William McQuilken, William McMullin,
+William Crisfield, ---- Mathiot, Ebenezer Matthews, George Starr,
+Alex. Fowler and Harrison Wiggins. Lewis Mobley was also a painter in
+the stage yard. He subsequently moved to Luzerne township, Fayette
+county, Pennsylvania, became a farmer and local politician. He had
+many good points of character and many warm friends. He died in
+Luzerne township a number of years ago. The Belfords, father and
+three sons, were of the stage yard force, workers in wood. They came
+from New Jersey, and were near relatives of the old and distinguished
+Presbyterian preacher, Rev. A. G. Fairchild, D.D. The Belfords went
+west, and in all probability have passed from earth to scenes beyond.
+
+Armstrong Hadden, the old postmaster and banker, of Uniontown
+worked a number of years in the stage yard on harness and
+"thorough braces." He learned his trade with Westley Frost, of
+Brownsville. Thorough braces were the leather springs, thick and
+wide, upon which the coach body was placed. Alex. McLean, the
+old clerk of the county commissioners, also worked on harness and
+braces.
+
+Charles Brower was a trimmer. He came from Baltimore, and
+went from the stage yard in Uniontown to the State of Louisiana,
+since which time he has made no sign so far as known.
+
+Abram Rogers was a worker on "thorough braces." Other workers in wood
+were Isaac and Simon Sampsell, Israel Hogue, and Frank Wilkinson. Among
+the blacksmiths of the old stage yard were James Rush, who subsequently
+went to Washington, Pennsylvania, where he lived many years, and until
+his death, which occurred recently, Thomas Haymaker, and his son, Leroy,
+Thomas Stewart, Michael Claybaugh, Jesse King, Thomas King, James
+Keenan, Fred Reamer, Abram Haldeman, Seth White, Hugh Rogers, and Jacob,
+Isaac and Robert Prettyman.
+
+The inevitable company store was connected with the stage yard, but it
+was not so odious then as now. It was located on Morgantown street, in
+the building now occupied by the Ellis music store, and managed by John
+Keffer, who is well remembered by all the old citizens of Uniontown.
+George Martin was a clerk in the company store. Coaches were all named
+after the manner of steamboats, and more recently, sleeping cars on the
+leading railroads. The name of every State of the Union was utilized for
+this purpose, and the realms of fancy were likewise explored. The coach
+named for Pennsylvania bore the legend Keystone State; Ohio was honored
+under the name Buckeye State, New Hampshire, the Granite State,
+Massachusetts, the Bay State, and so on. Among the fancy names employed,
+the old pike boy will readily recall the following: Fashion, Palmetto,
+Central Route, Jewess, Beauty, Pathfinder, Samaratan, Highlander,
+Ivanhoe, Herald, Industry, National, Republic, Protection, Brilliant,
+Atlas, Sultana, Clarendon, Chancellor, Moravian, Miantonoma, Loch
+Lomond. Warriors, statesmen and old stagers were remembered and honored
+in the names following: Washington, Lafayette, General Wayne, General
+St. Clair, General Jackson, General Harrison, Rough and Ready, meaning
+General Taylor, General Worth, General Cass, Colonel Benton, Madison,
+Monroe, Henry Clay, The President, James K. Polk, Purviance, Daniel
+Moore, L. W. Stockton, General Moorehead, David Shriver, William H.
+Stelle, James C. Acheson, Columbus, Pocahontas, Santa Anna. Countries
+and cities were honored in the names that follow: Yucatan, Green Bay,
+Oronoco, Tampico, Bangor, Mexico, Buena Vista, New Orleans, Erie,
+Lexington, Vicksburg, Natchez, Trenton, San Francisco, Mobile, Troy,
+Wyandott, Idaho, Ashland, Westmoreland, Allegany, Raritan,
+Youghiogheny, Gautemala, Panama, Hungarian, Montgomery, Paoli,
+Tuscaloosa. One coach took in a hemisphere, and was called America.
+Another was named Queen Victoria in the old stage days, as now, the
+reigning sovereign of England, while another rendered homage to dear old
+Ireland, by bearing the legend, Erin Go Bragh. When Harrison, the first,
+Polk and Taylor passed over the road to the capital, to be installed in
+the presidential office, a splendid new coach was provided for each
+occasion, called the President, in which the President-elect and his
+immediate family were conveyed. The presidential parties did not travel
+in the night time, but rested at stations along the road until morning.
+At Uniontown, President Harrison and party stopped over night at the
+Walker house, now called the Central. Polk lodged at the National and
+Taylor at the Clinton. The Walker and Clinton were not stage houses, but
+the distinguished passengers were quartered therein, respectively, for
+the purpose, probably, of conciliating some local political influences.
+
+Henry Clay knew many of the old stage drivers personally, and
+would call them by name when he met them at different points along
+the road. He not only made acquaintances and friends of the drivers, but
+of the tavern keepers and persons in other employments on the road.
+David Mahaney, now living in Dunbar, kept tavern at various points
+on the mountain division of the road, and often entertained Mr. Clay,
+and became well acquainted with him. One Humes, of Claysville,
+was wont to boast of the familiarity with which he was recognized by
+Mr. Clay. While the teams were being changed at stations, Mr. Clay
+was in the habit of getting out of the coach and going in to the taverns.
+On occasion of one of these short stops, Humes was introduced to Mr.
+Clay. On the return trip, less than a year afterward, Humes heard
+of his coming, and hastened to the station to greet him. The coach
+was driven up and Mr. Clay got out, but before entering the tavern
+espied Humes approaching, and when near enough to be heard, said:
+"There comes my friend Humes," and gave him a cordial hand-shaking.
+Humes was delighted, and never wearied in telling the story of
+his acquaintance with Clay.
+
+When Jennie Lind, the world renowned songstress, made her
+first professional visit to the United States, she returned east from her
+western tour by way of the National Road, in company with her
+troupe, and in "chartered" coaches of the Stockton line. This was
+at least forty years ago, probably a little more than that. P. T.
+Barnum, the celebrated showman, was the great singer's manager,
+and was with her on the occasion referred to. The party remained
+over night at Boss Rush's tavern, twelve miles east of Uniontown.
+The people along the road heard of the coming of the distinguished
+travelers, and a number assembled at the tavern in the evening to
+get a glimpse of them. William Shaffer drove the coach in which
+Barnum was seated, and when he halted in front of the tavern one
+of the curious called up to the driver on the box and inquired: "Which
+is Barnum?" Shaffer answered gruffly: "I don't know Barnum
+from the devil." Barnum, meanwhile, had emerged from the coach,
+and standing by its side overheard the inquiry and the driver's reply,
+and stepping up to the inquisitor said to him: "I am Barnum; the
+driver is right, it is hard to distinguish me from the devil." The
+party entered the good old tavern and were entertained and lodged
+in the handsome style for which Boss Rush was greatly and justly
+distinguished. Fresh trout were served for breakfast, which had been
+taken the day before in a near by mountain stream by F. B. Titlow
+and young Boss Rush, then a lad of sixteen. Titlow, now one of the
+best known citizens of the vicinity of Uniontown, and still a lover
+of fishing and hunting, was then an apprentice to the tailoring trade
+at Farmington, under the guidance of John Hair. Young Boss,
+grown gray, still lingers about the portals of his father's old tavern,
+musing over the memories of the old pike.
+
+William G. Beck, an old stage driver, still living in Fairfield,
+Iowa, has vivid recollections of the road. In a letter he states
+that, "if there is anything in the world that makes him, at the age of
+seventy-four, jump up and crack his heels together and wish he was
+a boy again, it is reading about the men and things of the National
+Road." He is a son of James Beck, of the old bridge building firm,
+and commenced to drive stage on the Old line when in his minority.
+He was born in Uniontown in 1819, went to Iowa in 1847, and was
+on the National Road as a stage driver as late as 1846. In his letter
+he states that in 1846 the Old line and the Good Intent both carried
+the mails. There was a "Lock mail" in leather pouches, and a "Canvass
+mail," the latter very frequently called "the second mail," carried
+in alternate months by the respective lines. In December, 1846, he
+says the Old line carried the "Lock mail." The details of an exciting
+race on the road he furnishes as follows: "A Good Intent coach was
+driven by Jacob Cronch to the railway station, immediately upon the
+arrival of the train at Cumberland, loaded up with the 'Canvass
+mail,' and started off under full speed for the West. The 'Lock
+mail,' which fell to me, was taken to the postoffice and overhauled,
+causing a considerable detention. While waiting in front of the postoffice
+for the mail bags, Jacob Shuck and other Good Intent drivers
+chided me with the fact that the 'Canvass' had such a start that I
+could not get near it. I made up my mind that if it was in the hides
+of my two teams I would catch him, and pass him. It was after
+nightfall, and in crossing a water way in Cumberland my lamps went
+out, and what I deemed a calamity turned out in the end to be an
+advantage. As soon as I crossed the Wills creek bridge, I put my
+team in a full run and never pulled them up until I reached Rock
+Hill, seven miles out of Cumberland. At that point, in the winding
+of the road, I espied the lights on the coach of my rival, while he,
+by reason of the going out of my lights, was unable to see me,
+although, on the long stretches, he was constantly watching for a
+glimpse of me. Much to his surprise I drew up along side of him,
+and side by side we drove into Frostburg, lashing our tired teams at
+every jump. The grooms at the Frostburg station had my second
+team hitched to the coach by the time I was fairly stopped. A
+friendly driver ran with the way mail to the Frostburg postoffice, while
+another re-lit my lamps. I did not leave my seat. The reins over
+the fresh team were thrown up to me, and I was off again in a full
+run. The way mail bag was thrown into the front boot as I dashed
+past the postoffice. At Sand Spring (foot of Big Savage) I passed
+the 'Canvass' and held the lead, trotting my team every inch of the
+road to Piney Grove, the end of my route, which I reached twenty-two
+minutes in advance of my competitor. Lem Cross kept the tavern
+where our line stopped at Piney Grove. I made my route of twenty-two
+miles with two teams in two hours and ten minutes, fourteen
+miles of the distance, to the top of Big Savage, being ascending
+grade. James Reynolds relieved me at Piney Grove, and my competitor
+was relieved at that point by Joshua Boyd."
+
+[Illustration: WILLIAM G. BECK.]
+
+Among old stage drivers there was one conspicuous above all others, on
+account of his immense size. It was Montgomery Demmings, known as "Old
+Mount." He was six feet and upward in height, and his average weight was
+four hundred and sixty-five. It was a common remark, in the days of
+staging on the National Road, that "Old Mount on the front boot of a
+coach balanced all the trunks that could be put in the rear boot." As he
+grew old his weight increased, and at his death, upon authority of his
+widow, who is still living, was six hundred and fifty pounds. He was
+born and reared in Allentown, New Jersey, and was sent out on the road
+in 1836 by James Reeside. His first service was on the "June Bug Line,"
+a line of brief existence, but full of dash and spirit. "Old Mount"
+married the widow of Joseph Magee, on May 3, 1839. The clergyman who
+performed the marriage ceremony was the Rev. John W. Phillips, of
+Uniontown. Joseph Magee was a blacksmith. His residence and shop were on
+the roadside, at the west end of Uniontown, near the present toll house.
+He owned sixteen acres of land on the northeast side of the road, which
+now forms a part of the Gilmore tract, and his widow, who is also the
+widow of "Old Mount," is still living with a third husband, one Thomas,
+of Wales. Her present home is in Allegheny City, Pa., and she continues
+to draw a dower interest from the land owned by her first husband, above
+mentioned. "Old Mount" has a son, Amos Frisbie Demmings, living near his
+mother, named after Amos Frisbie, who lived in Uniontown many years ago,
+and carried on the business of stove making. After driving a stage for a
+number of years, "Old Mount" relinquished his connection with the
+passenger coaches, and became a driver on the express line. This line
+carried small packages of light goods, and oysters, known as fast
+freight, and the people along the road, by way of derision, called it
+"The Shake Gut Line." The vehicles of this line were long and strong
+box-shaped wagons, something like the wagons used for transporting a
+menagerie. They were drawn by four horses, with relays at established
+points, driven by check reins or lines, as stage teams were driven. The
+speed of the express wagons was almost equal to that of the coaches of
+the stage lines. They made a great noise in their rapid passage over the
+road, and coming down some of the long hills, could be heard for miles.
+By the side of the drivers frequently sat one or more way-goers whose
+necessities impelled them to seek cheap transportation. What proportion
+of their meagre fares went to the driver, and what to the owners of the
+line, has never been definitely ascertained. "Old Mount" stuck to the
+road until its glory began to fade, and in April, 1851, left Uniontown
+and removed with his family to Brownsville, where he remained about
+eighteen months. While residing at Brownsville, he was engaged in
+hauling goods from the steamboat landing at that place to points in
+western Virginia, along the line of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad,
+then undergoing construction. He owned the team he drove in this
+employment. From Brownsville he went to South Side Pittsburg, then a
+separate municipality, called Birmingham. From that point he continued
+the hauling of goods to western Virginia, and also kept a boarding
+house. He did not remain in Birmingham longer than two years, probably
+not that long, and moved from there to McKeesport, where he engaged in
+the hotel business, having previously leased the Eagle House at that
+place. He died at McKeesport on March 4, 1855, and was buried there. His
+death occurred in less than a year after he went to McKeesport, and thus
+terminated the career of one whose name, half a century ago, was
+familiarly spoken in every town, tavern and wayside cabin, from
+Baltimore to Wheeling.
+
+Simeon Houser was a stage driver. When stages left the road Simeon went
+to tavern keeping. He kept the old house which stood on the lot now
+occupied by the residence of Dr. Ewing, in Uniontown. It was called the
+"Buzzard's Roost," not by reason of any bad fame of Simeon Houser, for
+it had that name before he got there. Simeon was a very tall man, and
+raw boned, with strongly marked face and features. He served a number of
+years as constable of Uniontown. In 1851 William Bigler and William F.
+Johnson, rival candidates for governor, visited Uniontown. Bigler took
+in Greene county on his tour, and coming over to Fayette, struck the
+National Road at Searight's, where he met a popular ovation. His friends
+in that vicinity made a large raft of logs, which they placed on a
+strong wagon, and with a team of six white horses hauled to Uniontown,
+the Brownsville brass band seated on the raft and discoursing music, as
+the procession moved along the road. Bigler, in his early days, had been
+employed in constructing and running rafts on the Susquehanna river, and
+his supporters stirred up enthusiasm for him by calling him "The
+Raftsman of the Susquehanna." He was elected, not because he was a
+raftsman, but because the Democrats of that day outnumbered the Whigs.
+Johnston, his competitor, was a Whig. The present Republican party was
+not then in existence. Simeon Houser, aforesaid, drove the big white
+team that hauled the raft, and this is why allusion is made to the
+incident. It was a grand day for Simeon. Mr. Bigler spoke from the
+raft in Bierer's woods, west of Uniontown, to a great multitude, and Dr.
+Smith Fuller, standing on the same raft, made the speech of welcome.
+Simeon Houser, like hundreds of old pike boys, yielded up his life in
+defense of the Stars and Stripes.
+
+[Illustration: HENRY FARWELL.]
+
+Henry Farwell, father of the Broadway printer, was an old stage driver.
+He came to Uniontown in 1839, "the winter of the deep snow." He came on
+the Oyster Line from Little Crossings, working his way through the snow,
+which averaged a depth of four feet on the level, and was three days on
+the way. The oyster boxes were placed on a sled, drawn by six horses,
+and the Oyster Line made as good time as the stage lines while the deep
+snow lasted, and passenger coaches, like oyster boxes, were moved on
+sleds. Farwell came to Uniontown in obedience to an order of one of the
+stage lines, to take charge of a team at that place. He drove stage for
+ten years, one-half of the time in Ohio. When the staging days were over
+on the old road, Farwell located in Uniontown, and carried on the trade
+of shoemaking, which he learned before he took to stage driving. He
+owned the lot on which the National Bank of Fayette county now stands.
+He has been dead several years, and is well remembered by the older
+citizens of Uniontown.
+
+Archie McNeil was of the class of merry stage drivers, and enlivened the
+road with his quaint tricks and humorous jokes. His service as a driver
+was confined for the most part to the western end of the road, between
+Brownsville and Wheeling. An unsophisticated youth from the back
+country, of ungainly form and manners, near the close of the forties,
+sauntered into Washington, Pennsylvania, to seek employment, with an
+ambition not uncommon among young men of that period, to become a stage
+driver. In his wanderings about the town he halted at the National
+House, then kept by Edward Lane, where he fell in with Archie McNeil,
+and to him made known the object of his visit. Archie, ever ready to
+perpetrate a joke, encouraged the aspirations of the young "greenhorn,"
+and questioned him concerning his experience in driving horses and
+divers other matters and things pertaining to the work he proposed to
+engage in. Opposite the National House, on the Maiden street front,
+there was a long wooden shed, into which empty coaches were run for
+shelter, the tongues thereof protruding toward the street. McNeil
+proposed to the supplicating youth that he furnish a practical
+illustration of his talent as a driver, to which he readily assented,
+and crossing the street to the shed where the coaches were, he was
+commanded to climb up on the driver's seat, which he promptly did.
+McNeil then fastened a full set of reins used for driving, to the end of
+the coach tongue, and handed them up to the young man. He next placed in
+his hands a driver's whip, and told him to show what he could do. The
+coach bodies, it will be remembered, were placed on long, wide, and
+stout leather springs, which caused a gentle rocking when in motion. The
+young weakling, fully equipped as a driver, swayed himself back and
+forth, cracked the whip first on one side, and then on the other of the
+tongue, rocked the coach vehemently, manipulated the reins in various
+forms and with great pomp, and continued exercising himself in this
+manner for a considerable time, without evincing the slightest
+consciousness that he was the victim of a joke. A number of persons, the
+writer included, witnessed this ludicrous scene, and heartily enjoyed
+the fun. Among the spectators was James G. Blaine, then a student at
+Washington college. McNeil was a son-in-law of Jack Bailiss, the old
+driver before mentioned, and when stage lines were withdrawn from the
+road he moved with his family to Iowa, and settled in Oskaloosa.
+
+Watty Noble might well be esteemed the Nestor of stage drivers. He
+commenced his career as a driver on the Bedford and Chambersburg pike.
+His route on that road was between Reamer's and the Juniata Crossings,
+_via_ Lilly's and Ray's Hills, a distance of ten miles, and his average
+time between the points named, was one hour and thirty minutes. He drove
+one team on this route for a period of ten years without losing or
+exchanging a horse. He subsequently drove for five consecutive years on
+the National Road, between Brownsville and Hillsboro, and, as the old
+pike boys were accustomed to say, "leveled the road." When he "got the
+start," no other driver could pass him, unless in case of accident. He
+was not a showy reinsman, but noted for keeping his team well and long
+together. In personal habits he was quiet and steady, and no man ever
+impeached his honesty or fidelity. Jim Burr, the famous old driver
+elsewhere mentioned, was a son-in-law of Watty Noble.
+
+Charley Bostick, a stage driver who lived in Uniontown, gained a
+somewhat unsavory reputation as one of the principals in a social
+scandal, involving the name of a prominent old Uniontown merchant. The
+incident produced great agitation in Uniontown society at the time, and
+its disagreeable details are stored away in the memories of all the
+older citizens of that place, but it is doubtful if three-fourths of its
+present inhabitants ever heard of it. On the night of the occurrence it
+fell to Bostick's lot in the rounds of his regular service as a driver,
+to take a coach from Uniontown to Farmington, but he was so prominently
+and closely identified with the event referred to that he deemed it
+expedient to employ a substitute, which he procured in the person of
+"Dumb Ike," competent for the service and the occasion, and ever ready
+for such exigencies.
+
+Alfred Wolf, an old stage driver, is remembered as a large, fine looking
+and blustering sort of a man. His wife was a sister of Watson and
+Robinson Murphy, two well known, thrifty and highly esteemed farmers of
+Fayette county, Pennsylvania. The marriage ceremony that made Miss
+Martha Murphy the lawful wife of Alfred Wolf was performed by the late
+Hon. William Hatfield, when that gentleman was an acting Justice of the
+Peace for Redstone township, and the writer hereof was present at the
+wedding. When stage drivers were no longer required on the National
+Road, Alfred Wolf engaged in the business of tavern keeping, and for a
+number of years kept a public house in McClellandtown; and when the
+strife between the States culminated in actual hostilities, he enlisted
+as a Union soldier and perished in the cause. His widow went to Ohio,
+re-married, and is still living in that State.
+
+Henry G. Marcy, called Governor, because of his near kinship to the old
+time, distinguished New York statesman of that name, who was at the head
+of the War Department during the conflict with Mexico, was a stage
+driver and lived in Uniontown. He was a small man in stature, but had a
+bright and clear intellect. He died in Uniontown a number of years ago
+at an advanced age, leaving a widow, still surviving, but quite feeble by
+reason of her great age. George E. Marcy, also called Governor, a well
+known and active Democratic politician of Uniontown, is a son of the old
+driver.
+
+Joseph Hughes, an old stage driver, is still living in Washington,
+Pennsylvania, vivacious and sprightly despite the weight of years piled
+upon his back. He was an expert and trusty driver, well known along the
+road, and cherishes the memory of the stirring times, when the road was
+the great highway of the Nation and he and his fellow drivers rode on
+the top wave of the excitement incident thereto.
+
+James Bradley, an old stage driver, worked sometimes at repairs on the
+road. He made a breaker of unusual height on the hill east of
+Washington, Pennsylvania, and upon being questioned as to his motive for
+making it so high, replied that "he wanted to give some of the boys a
+lofty toss." A few days thereafter, he was in service as a driver
+himself, and going down the hill mentioned at a rapid rate, to "scoot
+the hollow," as he termed it, his coach struck the high breaker and he
+got the "lofty toss" himself, having been thrown from the box, a
+distance of nearly two rods, causing him a broken arm and other less
+serious injuries. He said, after this accident, that he would never
+again make high breakers on the road, or advise others to do so.
+
+John Teed, husband of Mrs. Teed, who keeps the popular and prosperous
+boarding house on Morgantown street, Uniontown, was an old stage driver.
+His first engagement as a driver on the road was with the Express line,
+called derisively "The Shake Gut." After driving a short time on the
+Express, he was given a team on one of the regular coach lines. He was
+an approved driver and promoted to the office of guardsman. The
+guardsman was a person sent with the coach to superintend its progress,
+and aid in protecting it from the incursions of robbers, which were not
+uncommon in the night time on the mountainous sections of the road.
+
+Thomas Poland was in every essential a stage driver, and zealously
+devoted to his calling. He drove out from Uniontown, east and west, as
+occasion required. He was a man rather below the average stature, but
+stoutly built and of swarthy complexion. Many old drivers were moved to
+grief when business ceased on the road, but no one felt the change more
+keenly than Thomas Poland.
+
+John Guttery, of Washington, Pennsylvania, was one of the early stage
+drivers of the road, and a good and trusty one. He was a tall man,
+rounded out proportionately to his height, and closely resembled the
+renowned old driver, Redding Bunting. He was a brother of Charles
+Guttery, the old wagoner and tavern keeper mentioned in another chapter
+of this volume. John Guttery, after driving stage a number of years,
+gave up that exciting occupation and established a livery stable in
+Washington, which he conducted successfully until his death in that
+place a number of years ago.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+ _Stages and Stage Drivers continued--Gen. Taylor approaching
+ Cumberland--Early Coaches--The first Troy Coach on the Road--Mr.
+ Reeside and Gen. Jackson--John Buck--Accidents--Kangaroo and
+ Bob-tail Teams--John Mills and William Bishop--Celebration at
+ Cumberland--David Bonebraker, Hanson Willison, and a long list of
+ other old drivers--Billy Willis and Peter Burdine--Fare Rates--The
+ Way Bill--The Landlords--Pilot and Pioneer Lines--Compensation of
+ Stage Drivers--Hopwood's Row--Withdrawal of the lines--The dignity
+ of stage drivers, estimated by an old pike boy._
+
+
+Scharts' history of Western Maryland gives the following account of
+President Taylor's ride over the mountain division of the road, when on
+his way to Washington to be inaugurated:
+
+"President Taylor and his party were, in 1849, conveyed over the road
+under the marshalship of that most indefatigable Whig, Thomas Shriver,
+who, with some other Cumberlanders, proceeded to the Ohio river and met
+the presidential party. Among the party were statesmen, politicians, and
+office-hunters, notably Col. Bullet, a brilliant editor from New
+Orleans, who was to occupy a relation to President Taylor something like
+that of Henry J. Raymond to Lincoln. The road was a perfect glare of
+ice, and everything above ground was literally plated with sleeted
+frost. The scenery was beautiful; to native mountaineers too common to
+be of much interest, but to a Southerner like Gen. Taylor, who had never
+seen the like, it was a phenomenon. In going down a spur of Meadow
+Mountain, the presidential coach, with the others, danced and waltzed on
+the polished road, first on one side and then on the other, with every
+sign of an immediate capsize, but the coaches were manned with the most
+expert of the whole corps of drivers. Shriver was in the rear, and in
+the greatest trepidation for the safety of the President. He seemed to
+feel himself responsible for the security of the head of the Nation.
+Down each hill and mountain his bare head could be seen protruding
+through the window of his coach to discover if the President's coach was
+still upon wheels. The iron gray head of the General could almost with
+the same frequency be seen outside of his window, not to see after
+anybody's safety, but to look upon what seemed to him an arctic
+panorama. After a ride of many miles the last long slope was passed and
+everything was safe. At twilight the Narrows were reached, two miles
+west of Cumberland, one of the boldest and most sublime views on the
+Atlantic slope. Gen. Taylor assumed authority and ordered a halt, and
+out he got in the storm and snow and looked at the giddy heights on
+either side of Wills creek, until he had taken in the grandeur of the
+scenery. He had beheld nothing like it before, even in his campaigns in
+Northern Mexico. The President-elect was tendered a reception on his
+arrival at Cumberland, and the next morning he and his party left on the
+cars for Washington."
+
+At an early day there was a coach factory at or near the Little
+Crossings, where many of the first passenger coaches used on the road
+were made. They were without thorough braces, or springs of any kind.
+Their bodies were long, and the inside seats for passengers placed
+crosswise. They had but one door, and that was in the front, so that
+passengers on entering were compelled to climb over the front seats to
+reach those in the rear.
+
+The first coach of the Troy pattern was placed on the road in the year
+1829 by James Reeside, and tradition has it that he won this coach with
+a bet on Gen. Jackson's election to the presidency. Mr. Reeside was
+desirous that Gen. Jackson should be the first person to ride in this
+coach, and accordingly tendered it to the President-elect when on his
+way to Washington, who true to his habit of refusing gifts, declined the
+proffered compliment as to himself, but consented that his family might
+occupy the coach. Charley Howell was the driver, and his team was one of
+the finest on the road. Many coaches were brought out on the road
+afterward from the Troy and Concord factories. These coaches cost
+between five and six hundred dollars each.
+
+John Buck was one of the oldest and best stage drivers on the road. He
+lived in Washington, Pennsylvania, and drove on the old line in the
+life-time of Daniel Moore, and was a great favorite of that ancient
+stage proprietor. When Lafayette visited Washington in 1825, Mr. Moore
+was active and prominent in arranging for his reception at that place,
+and assigned John Buck to drive the coach in which the illustrious
+visitor entered the town. It was a proud day for the old driver, who
+shared with the hero of the occasion, the plaudits of the people. Buck
+subsequently became the senior member of the firm of Buck, Lyon & Wolf,
+contractors, who built most of the locks and dams on the Muskingum
+river, in the State of Ohio. This old firm was called the "Menagerie
+Company," on account of the names of its members.
+
+[Illustration: THE NARROWS.]
+
+William Robinson (not "Billy") suffered an "upset" at Somerfield, in
+1832, with a full load of passengers going west. The stage coach had but
+one door, and to bring up the door side to the Endsley tavern, in
+Somerfield, it was necessary to wheel around. Robinson turned his team
+with such rapidity as to overturn the coach, and the passengers were all
+tumbled out in a pile, but none of them were seriously hurt. Wash.
+Alridge threw a coach over on the Conway hill, near Somerfield,
+inflicting a severe spinal injury upon a passenger who lived in
+Cincinnati. The sufferer was cared for at the tavern in Jockey
+Hollow, kept at the time by Aaron Wyatt. The stage company (old line)
+paid the injured passenger a considerable sum in damages, without suit.
+A passenger by the name of Merrill, of Indianapolis, had a leg broken by
+the upsetting of a coach at the turn of the road, above Somerfield;
+Samuel Jaco was the driver. William Roach, a well known driver, was
+killed in an "upset" at the Little Crossings bridge, about the year
+1837. This seems to have been a different accident from that which
+occurred near the same place in 1835, related in the sketch of John
+Marker. Marker witnessed the accident of 1835, and states that the
+driver who was killed at that time was James Rhodes. David Stinson, an
+old driver, was killed by an "upset" on Woodcock Hill. Woodcock Hill is
+a short distance west of Thomas Brownfield's old Mt. Augusta tavern, and
+is the highest peak on the road in Fayette county, Pennsylvania. Charley
+Howell upset in 1835, coming down the Winding Ridge Hill, and was badly
+hurt. He had a leg and arm broken, and was nursed at Connelly's tavern,
+in Petersburg, for many months before he recovered.
+
+In 1834 or 1835, Mr. Stockton transferred a number of stage teams and
+drivers, from the Baltimore and Washington City road, to the National
+Road. Two of these teams ran in and out from Somerfield. One called "the
+Kangaroo team" was driven by John Mills. They were large, dark bays, and
+much admired by lovers of fine horses. Mills knew how to handle them. He
+was a superb driver. Another of these "transferred" teams was driven by
+William Bishop. The horses in this team were light bays, all
+"bob-tails," and notwithstanding there was but one good eye in the whole
+team, and all were "sprung in the knees," it is asserted by many old
+pike boys that this unique and "blemished" team was the fastest on the
+road. It was brought out from the Baltimore and Washington road by
+Charles Howell, who drove it a short time before it was turned over to
+William Bishop. Bishop was a capital reinsman.
+
+The preservation of the National Road was considered so vital to the
+general welfare by everybody living upon its line and adjacent to it,
+that the deepest interest was manifested in the success of every measure
+proposed for its benefit. There was no powerful and paid "lobby" around
+the halls of Congress when the Cumberland Road was the highway of the
+Republic, as there is at this day, but all measures planned and
+presented for its preservation and repair, were carefully watched and
+guarded by such statesmen as Henry Clay, Daniel Sturgeon, Andrew
+Stewart, T. M. T. McKennan, Lewis Steenrod, W. T. Hamilton, and Henry W.
+Beeson. The following from a Cumberland paper published in that place
+sixty years ago shows the popular feeling in behalf of the road at that
+date:
+
+"The citizens of the town on the 21st of May, 1832, in demonstration of
+their great joy growing out of the appropriation made by the National
+Government for the repair of the Cumberland Road, made arrangements for
+the celebration of that event. In pursuance of that arrangement, Samuel
+Slicer illuminated his large and splendid hotel, which patriotic
+example was followed by James Black. In addition to the illumination,
+Mr. Bunting (our famous 'old Red'), agent of L. W. Stockton, ordered out
+a coach, drawn by four large gray stallions, driven by George Shuck. The
+stage was beautifully illuminated, which presented to the generous
+citizens of this place a novelty calculated to impress upon the minds of
+all who witnessed it the great benefits they anticipated by having the
+road repaired. There were also seated upon the top of the vehicle
+several gentlemen who played on various instruments, which contributed
+very much to the amusement of the citizens and gave a zest to everything
+that inspired delight or created feelings of patriotism. They started
+from the front of Mr. Slicer's hotel, and as they moved on slowly the
+band played 'Hail Columbia,' 'Freemasons' March,' 'Bonaparte Crossing
+the Rhine,' 'Washington's March,' together with a new tune composed by
+Mr. Mobley, of this place, and named by the gentlemen on the stage, 'The
+Lady We Love Best,' and many others, as they passed through the
+principal streets of the town. On their return they played 'Home, Sweet
+Home,' to the admiration of all who heard it."
+
+David Bonebraker was a stage driver of good reputation, and a general
+favorite. While his name would import otherwise, he was a careful driver
+and never during his whole service did he break a bone of man or beast.
+He was a large, fine looking man, and drove between Somerfield and Mt.
+Washington as early as 1831, and for a number of years thereafter.
+
+Hanson Willison was early on the road as a stage driver, and none of his
+fellow drivers excelled him in skillfulness. He drove a brief period
+between Uniontown and Brownsville, but for the most part in and out from
+Cumberland. He is still living in Cumberland, proprietor of the American
+House livery stables, and doing a profitable business. He retains the
+habits of the early days of the road, generous almost to a fault,
+perfectly familiar with the road's history, his memory is well stored
+with its exciting incidents and accidents. Hanson Willison and Ashael
+Willison before mentioned, are brothers.
+
+[Illustration: HANSON WILLISON.]
+
+The few remaining old folks who witnessed the exciting scenes of the
+National Road in its palmy days, will readily recall the following old
+stage drivers: John Griffith, William Witham, George Lukens, Wash
+Alters, Hank Smith, John Heinselman, Barney Strader, John Munson, West
+Crawford, James Chair, William Roberts, Vin Huffman, John Windell, a
+small, thin faced man, with rings in his ears, one of the earliest
+drivers, William Saint, who was also a blacksmith, and worked,
+occasionally, at his trade in Uniontown. He went to Texas before the
+civil war, and died there. Lewis Gribble, son of John, the old wagoner
+and tavern keeper. He went to Virginia, drove stage in that State, and
+died there. John Sparker, John Snell, David Oller, Joseph Henderson, a
+steady-going man, mentioned among the old tavern keepers in connection
+with the "Gals house," David Armor, William Armor, Samuel Oller, and
+William Dickey. The Ollers, the Armors, Dickey and Henderson were of
+Washington, Pa. Jacob Snyder, subsequently manager and proprietor of
+the Shipley house, in Cumberland. William and George Grim, John Zane,
+James Schaverns, Joseph Vanhorn, John McIlree, Jesse Boring, John
+Munson, John Ruth, David Jones, Benjamin Miller, subsequently tavern
+keeper in the old Mannypenny house, Uniontown. An early line of stages
+stopped at Miller's. James Mannypenny, Thomas Fee, Walter Head, educated
+for the ministry, Thomas and Edward McVenus, William Totten, William
+Vanhorn, Spencer Motherspaw, James Griffith, Abram Dedrick, William
+Fowler, Thomas Chilson, William Jones, Andrew Heck, John Fink, William
+Irwin, James Sampey, subsequently and for many years owner and manager
+of the tavern at Mt. Washington, where the Good Intent line changed
+horses and passengers often stopped for meals; Isaac Newton, Robert
+Jackson, a young man of diminutive size, from one of the New England
+States, whose father came and took him home; James Dennison,
+subsequently tavern keeper at Claysville and at Hopwood; Isaac Newton,
+died at Mt. Washington when John Foster kept the tavern at that point;
+Matthew Byers, Hugh Drum, John Hendrix, Alexander Thompson, William
+Hart, Charles Kemp, Ben Watkins, Ben Watson, John and Andrew Shaffer,
+Garret Clark, Garret Minster, John Ferrell, James Lynch, John Seaman,
+James Reynolds, John Bunting, Lindy Adams, Leander Fisk, James Derlin,
+Aaron Wyatt, James Andrews, Alfred Haney, Wash Bodkin, William Crawford,
+Charles Cherry, William Hammers, Addis Lynn, Harry, Nelse and Jack
+Hammers, Nimrod, Joseph, Jack and William Sopher, John and Joseph
+Pomroy, William and Watt Whisson, John McCollough, William Miller, son
+of Charley, the old tavern keeper west of Hillsborough; Robert
+McIlheney, John McMack, Thomas, Joshua and William Boyd, John Parsons,
+Matthew Davis, one of the oldest, and still living at Brownsville; John
+W. Boyce, George Wiggins, brother of Harrison, the old fox hunter of the
+mountains; Robert Bennett, William White, David Reynolds, James
+McIllree, Fred Buckingham, Thomas and William Noble.
+
+William Noble died in Washington, Pennsylvania, Jan. 26, 1894.
+
+Robert McIlheny, after relinquishing the reins and whip, became an agent
+for the sale of the celebrated Hayes buggies, of Washington.
+
+John Parsons left the road to take charge of a hotel in Bridgeville,
+Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. Alfred Haney went South, became
+baggagemaster on a Southern railroad, and was killed in an accident.
+Charley Cherry had the manners of a savage, and was called "the big
+savage man," but it is not known that he ever wantonly shed the blood of
+a fellow being.
+
+James McIlree drove between Washington and Wheeling.
+
+Hugh Drum was called "Mickey Murray." He lingered for a while on the
+road after its glory departed, and pushed out for New York, where he
+engaged to drive an omnibus. What became of him in the subsequent
+shifting sands of time is not known, but presumably he has gone to the
+unknown world.
+
+[Illustration: MATT. DAVIS.]
+
+William McCleary, who died recently near Claysville leaving an estate
+valued at $50,000; Daniel Dawson, subsequently kept a tavern near
+Limestone, Marshall county, West Virginia, and died there; Samuel
+Rowalt, Robert Bell, William Watkins, John Ford, still living in
+Monongahela city; George Freiger, Barney and Samuel Nunemaker, Thomas
+Cox, John Ruth, Abram Boyce, Charles Oulitt, James Dean, William
+("Boggy") Moore, when a boy a rider on the pony express; John Schenck,
+Thomas Hager, Joseph Ruff, Dandy Jack, James Fisk, Joseph Drake, Andrew
+Ferrell, John Fouch, George Walker, George Banford, Joseph Lewis, Larry
+Willard, Isaiah Fuller, Davy Crockett, Henry Wagner, John Foster, Henry
+Smith, James Foster, John Noble, Edward McGinnis, Thomas McGinnis, John
+Johnson (Old Sandy), John Horrell, William Grim, Elias Johnson, Daniel
+Boyer, James Bodkin, James Null, William Null, William Clark, David
+Brower, Richard Frantz, James Rowe, John Seaman, David Brennard, Henry
+Schuck, George Crow, James Andrews (Dutch Jim), drove in and out from
+Grantsville; John Huhn, drove in and out from Claysville; Moses
+Thornburg, Wylie Baily, James McClung, James, Abraham and Robert Devan,
+brothers; Thomas and George Henderson, Stephen Leggett, James Wilson,
+Henry Herrick, John Giddings, Ed Washburn, J. S. Beck, Frank White,
+Jesse Matthews, Robert Fenton, Jesse Hardin, David Johnson, Archy
+McGregor, Samuel Darby, James Moore, Joseph Drake, James Riley, William
+Matthews, Edward Hall, James Vancamp, Benjamin Miller, grandson of the
+old tavern keeper of Uniontown; Samuel Betts, Calvin Springer,
+ex-sheriff of Fayette county; James Noggle, Martin Stedler, William
+Wiley, John Wiley, William McGidigen, James McGidigen, Daniel Shriver,
+Jerome Heck, Frederic Zimmerman, Robert Bennett, Edward Kelley, John
+Clark, Samuel Blair, Ross Clark, George Butts, Beck Kelley, William
+Kelley, William Fisher, James and Thomas Bradley, Thomas Johnson,
+William Brower, Richard Frazee, Isaac Toner (Dumb Ike), Joseph Jenk,
+Evans Holton, Daniel Dean, Jesse Brennard, George Brennard, John Steep,
+John Collier, Ben Tracy, George Moore, George Richmire, Charles
+Richmire, Thomas McMillen, Samuel Porter, Isaac Flagle, William and Ross
+Clark, Richard Butts, Garret and West Crawford, John Brown, subsequently
+a clerk in the Wheeling postoffice; Joseph Matthews, John Waugh, William
+Hickman, a circus man; George Robbins, Abram Boyce, Oliver Jackson,
+Joseph Bishop, Thomas McClelland, Elisha Stockwell, Isaac Denny,
+subsequently tavern keeper at the old Griffin house in the mountain,
+west of Somerfield; John Harris, drove on the Good Intent line, and died
+in Uniontown; Charles and Robert Marquis, James Moore, son-in-law of
+James Sampey, of Mount Washington; Perry Sheets, drove west of
+Washington; Elmer Budd, drove from Uniontown to Brownsville; Frank
+Watson, Bate Smith, Sam Jerome, James Downer, son of William, of the big
+water trough on Laurel Hill, when a boy a rider for the pony express;
+William Stewart, Caleb Crossland, of Uniontown; William Bogardus, who
+lost an eye by coming in contact with a pump handle on Morgantown
+street, Uniontown, on a dark night; John Robinson, a very large man;
+Samuel Youman, mentioned under the head of old wagoners, next to "Old
+Mount" the largest man on the road; Thomas Milligan, Joshua Boyd,
+Stephen Leonard, David Johnson, James McCauley, Thomas Boyd, Garret
+Clark, Henry Miller, Thomas Moore, William Wilkinson, Galloway Crawford,
+Samuel Jaco, Robert Wright, Fred. Buckingham, Jacob Rapp, killed at
+Brownsville about 1840 by his team running off; John Rush, Samuel
+Holsted, Sandy Connor, living as late as 1882, and carrying the mail in
+a two-horse vehicle from Frostburg to Grantsville; John Farrell, farming
+near Grantsville in 1882 and at that date eighty-five years old; Jacob
+Shock, Eph. Benjamin, William Bergoman, Upton Marlow, subsequently
+proprietor of the American and other leading hotels in Denver, Colorado;
+Archie McVicker, James Cameron, Charles Enox, Robert Amos, James
+Finnegan, drove a bob-tailed team from Somerfield to Keyser's Ridge;
+Squire Binch, of Brownsville, well remembered by the old folks of that
+place; Richard Harris, Joseph and David Strong, the former for many
+years a prominent citizen of Cumberland, and frequently honored by
+public trusts; Abe Walls, ---- Bonum, called "Magnum Bonum;" James Gray,
+Henry Powell, Henry Bergoman, Rock Goodridge, Sherwood Mott, Daniel
+Boyer, Robert Dennis, David James, Thomas Grace, John Lidy, drove a dun
+team of bob-tails from Farmington to Somerfield, that formerly belonged
+to the Pioneer line; Isaac Frazee, James McLean, Thomas and Henry
+Mahany, Baptist Mullinix, Amariah Bonner, B. W. Earl, subsequently a
+stage agent, and tavern keeper at the Stone house near Fayette Springs,
+and at Brownsville; John and Matthias Vanhorn, Daniel Quinn, James
+Corbin, William Corman, of Braddee mail robbery fame; Atwood Merrill, a
+fiery partisan of the Good Intent line; William Willis, noted as a fast
+driver on the Old line. On one occasion Willis passed Peter Burdine, a
+fast driver as before stated of the Good Intent line, which prompted the
+partisans of the Old line to get up the little rhyme following to
+emphasize and signalize the event:
+
+ "Said Billy Willis to Peter Burdine,
+ You had better wait for the Oyster line."
+
+The fares on the stage lines were as follows:
+
+ From Baltimore to Frederic $ 2 00
+ " Frederic to Hagerstown 2 00
+ " Hagerstown to Cumberland 5 00
+ " Cumberland to Uniontown 4 00
+ " Uniontown to Washington 2 25
+ " Washington to Wheeling 2 00
+ ------
+ Through fare $17 25
+
+A paper was prepared by the agent of the line at the starting point of
+the coach in the nature of a bill of lading, called the "way bill." This
+bill was given to the driver, and by him delivered to the landlord at
+the station immediately upon the arrival of the coach. It contained the
+name and destination of each passenger, and the several sums paid as
+fare. It also bore the time of departure from the starting point, and
+contained blanks for noting the time of the arrival and departure at
+every station. The time was noted by an agent of the line, if one were
+at the station, and in the absence of an agent, the noting was done by
+the landlord. If a passenger got on at a way station, and this was of
+daily occurrence, he paid his fare to the landlord or agent, which was
+duly noted on the way bill, together with the passenger's destination.
+
+In addition to the stage lines hereinbefore mentioned, there was a line
+known as the "Landlords' Line," put on the road by tavern keepers,
+prominent among whom were William Willis (the old driver before
+mentioned), Joseph Dilly, and Samuel Luman. There was also a "Pilot
+Line" and a "Pioneer Line." These lines had but a short run. The
+railroad managers east of Cumberland favored the older lines, and gave
+them such advantages in rates that the new lines were compelled to
+retire from the competition. They sold out their stock to the old
+companies. James Reeside owned the "Pilot Line," and the "Pioneer Line"
+was owned by Peters, Moore & Co.
+
+The compensation paid stage drivers was twelve dollars a month, with
+boarding and lodging. They took their meals and lodged at the stage
+houses, except the married men, who lodged in their own dwellings when
+chance threw them at home.
+
+At Uniontown a number of contiguous frame buildings on Mill and South
+streets, in the rear of Brownfield's tavern, known as "Hopwood's Row,"
+were occupied almost exclusively by the families of stage drivers. They
+were erected and owned by the late Rice G. Hopwood, Esquire, and hence
+the name given them. Two or three of these old houses are all that are
+left standing, and they are in a dilapidated condition. The spirit of
+improvement which in late years entered Uniontown, seems to have
+carefully avoided the neighborhood of "Hopwood's Row."
+
+The Good Intent and Stockton lines were taken from the National Road in
+1851, and placed on the plank road from Cumberland to West Newton. From
+the latter point passengers were conveyed by steamboat to Pittsburg by
+way of the Youghiogheny river, which was made navigable at that date by
+a system of locks and dams like that of the Monongahela. Upon the
+withdrawal of the lines mentioned, a line was put on the National Road
+by Redding Bunting and Joshua Marshe, and ran as far west as Washington,
+Pennsylvania. William Hall subsequently purchased the interest of Mr.
+Marshe in this line, which was kept on the road until about the close of
+the year 1852, when the era of four-horse coaches ended.
+
+[Illustration: JOHN McILREE.]
+
+Mr. Endsley, before quoted, furnishes his juvenile opinion of stages and
+stage drivers, which was shared in by all the boys of the road, as
+follows:
+
+"My earliest recollections are intimately associated with coaches, teams
+and drivers, and like most boys raised in an old stage tavern, I
+longed to be a man when I could aspire to the greatness and dignity of a
+professional stage driver. In my boyish eyes no position in life had so
+many attractions as that of driving a stage team. A Judge, a
+Congressman, even Henry Clay or President Jackson, did not measure up to
+the character of John Mills and Charley Howell, in my juvenile fancy."
+
+The picture of the stage coach era herein drawn may be lacking in vigor
+and perspicuity of style, but it contains no exaggeration. Much more
+could be written concerning it, and the story would still be incomplete.
+It is sad to think that nearly all the old drivers, so full of life and
+hope and promise when pursuing their favorite calling on the nation's
+great highway, have answered the summons that awaits the whole human
+family, and of the vast multitude that witnessed and admired the dashing
+exploits of the old drivers, but few remain to relate the story. When
+the old pike was superseded by the railroad, many of the stage drivers
+went west and continued their calling on stage lines occupying ground in
+advance of the approaching railway. Others lingered on the confines of
+the familiar road, and fell into various pursuits of common life. Of
+these, some achieved success. As drivers they had opportunity for making
+acquaintances and friends. Hanson Willison was eminently successful as a
+local politician, and achieved the distinction of being twice elected
+sheriff of Alleghany county, Maryland.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+ _Distinguished Stage Proprietors, Lucius W. Stockton, James Reeside,
+ Dr. Howard Kennedy, William H. Stelle--Old Stage Agents, Charley
+ Rettig, John Risley, William Biddle, James Coudy, Redding Bunting,
+ Edward Lane, Theodore Granger, Charles Danforth, Jacob Beck, Daniel
+ Brown, "Billy" Scott, "Lem" Cross, and B. W. Earl--The Pony
+ Express._
+
+
+The most conspicuous of all the old stage proprietors of the National
+Road was Lucius Witham Stockton. James Reeside was probably an older
+stage man, and may have owned and operated more stage lines; but Mr.
+Stockton was longer and more prominently identified with the business on
+the National Road. He was born at Flemington, New Jersey, September 1,
+1799. He was a son of Lucius Stockton, and a grandson of the Rev. Philip
+Stockton, known in his day and among his countrymen as "The
+Revolutionary Preacher," who was a brother of Richard Stockton, a signer
+of the Declaration of Independence from the colony of New Jersey. L. W.
+Stockton appeared in Uniontown as a stage proprietor previous to the
+year 1824, the exact date not ascertainable. He was twice married. His
+first marriage occurred on November 24, 1824, and at that date he was a
+resident of Uniontown, and had been previous thereto. His first wife was
+Rebecca Moore, a daughter of Daniel Moore, an old stage proprietor who
+lived in Washington, Pennsylvania. By his first marriage he had six
+children, viz: Richard C., Daniel Moore, Elizabeth C., Lucius Witham,
+Margaret, and Rebecca. Richard, Daniel, and Elizabeth, by the first
+marriage, are dead; the last named died in infancy. Lucius Witham is
+living in Philadelphia. He married Ellen, the youngest daughter of Dr.
+John Wishart, an old and distinguished physician of Washington,
+Pennsylvania, grandfather on the maternal line of Hon. Ernest F.
+Acheson, late Republican nominee for Congress in the Twenty-fourth
+district of Pennsylvania. Margaret Stockton became the wife of Dr.
+Thomas McKennan, a leading physician at this time of Washington,
+Pennsylvania, and a member of the old and distinguished McKennan family
+of that place. Rebecca Stockton became the wife of Capt. Alexander
+Wishart, and is living in Newark, New Jersey, where her husband is
+executive officer of the Law and Order League. Captain Wishart was a
+gallant soldier of the Union army in the war between the States.
+
+[Illustration: L. W. STOCKTON.]
+
+Mr. Stockton's second wife was Katharine Stockton, his first cousin. She
+is still living, making her home with her son-in-law, Gen. Leiper, of
+Philadelphia. By his second marriage Mr. Stockton had four children, as
+follows: Katharine, Richard C., Elias Boudinot and Henrietta Maria. Of
+these all are dead but Henrietta Maria. She is the wife of Gen. Leiper,
+with whom her mother lives, as before stated, in Philadelphia.
+
+It is related as an incident in the early career of Mr. Stockton that he
+had a race with a horse and buggy against a locomotive, between the
+Relay House and Baltimore, in which he came out ahead. The horse he
+drove on that occasion was a favorite gray. He had a pair of "Winflower"
+mares, which he drove frequently from Uniontown to Wheeling between
+breakfast and tea time, tarrying two or three hours at mid-day in
+Washington. At the watering places he ordered a little whisky to be
+added to the water given these spirited and fleet animals, and they
+became so accustomed to it that, it is said, they refused to drink
+unless the water contained the stimulating element. He would also drive
+from Uniontown to Cumberland in a day, stopping at the stations to
+transact business, and from Cumberland to Hagerstown, sixty-six miles,
+was an ordinary day's drive for him. His private carriage was a long
+open vehicle which he called "The Flying Dutchman." Hanson Willison, who
+has a vivid recollection of Mr. Stockton and his lively trips over the
+road, says that the names of his sorrel mares (the "Winflowers") were
+"Bet" and "Sal," and that they once ran off. On that occasion Mr.
+Stockton was accompanied by his wife and a sister. Miss Stockton was
+much alarmed, and pulling the coat-tail of her brother cried out
+piteously, "Hold on, brother William, hold on, or we'll all be killed!"
+But Mr. Stockton heeded not the cries of his sister, and having no fear
+of horses, soon regained control of the runaways without sustaining loss
+or injury.
+
+Mr. Stockton died at Uniontown on April 25th, 1844, at "Ben Lomond," the
+name he gave his residence, now the property of the widow and heirs of
+the late Judge Gilmore. A few years ago the remains of Mr. Stockton were
+removed from the old Methodist burying ground in Uniontown, under
+direction of his loving daughters, Mrs. Wishart and Mrs. Dr. McKennan,
+and deposited in the beautiful cemetery at Washington, Pa.
+
+Mr. Stockton was of Episcopalian lineage, and active in establishing the
+services of the church in Uniontown. He brought out Bishop Stone, of
+Maryland, to baptize his daughter Rebecca, now Mrs. Wishart. He was a
+vestryman, and besides contributing liberally in money to support the
+church, donated to the parish of Uniontown the lot on which the new
+stone edifice of St. Peter's now stands.
+
+James Reeside, the second son of Edward Reeside and his wife, Janet
+Alexander, was born near Paisley, Renfrew, Scotland, and was brought,
+when an infant, to Baltimore county, Md., in 1789, where he was raised.
+His parents being in humble circumstances, toil was his first estate.
+Poor in book learning and in earthly goods, he possessed genius, energy,
+executive ability, and an ambition that fitted him to be a leader of
+men. Before the war of 1812 he was a wagoner, hauling merchandise from
+Baltimore and Philadelphia to Pittsburg and west to Zanesville and
+Columbus, Ohio. His promptness and sagacity soon enabled him to own his
+own teams, which were employed in hauling artillery to Canada.
+Commissioned a forage master under Gen. Winfield Scott, at Lundy's Lane,
+his Scottish blood prompted him to seize a musket, as a volunteer, from
+which hard fought battle he carried honorable scars. On his return he
+settled at Hagerstown, Md., where, in 1816, he married Mary, the
+daughter of John Weis, a soldier of the Revolutionary war. Abandoning
+wagoning, he ran a stage line, in 1816 to 1818, from Hagerstown _via_
+Greencastle and Mercersburg to McConnellstown, there connecting with the
+stage line then in operation from Chambersburg to Pittsburg by Bedford,
+Somerset, and Mt. Pleasant. In 1818, in connection with Stockton &
+Stokes, of Baltimore; Joseph Boyd, of Hagerstown; Kincaid, Beck & Evans,
+of Uniontown; George Dawson, of Brownsville; Stephen Hill, of Hillsboro;
+and Simms & Pemberton, of Wheeling, he put on the first regular stage
+line, carrying the mail, between Baltimore and Wheeling, before the
+construction of the turnpikes between Hagerstown and Cumberland. This
+division of the route being from Hancock to Frostburg, he removed to
+Cumberland, where, in conjunction with his stage line, he kept the
+"McKinley Tavern," at the corner of Baltimore and Mechanics streets,
+afterward kept by Jacob Fechtig, James Stoddard, John Edwards, and
+others, and now known as the "Elberon." In 1820 he quit tavern keeping,
+and confined himself to mail contracting and the stage business. In 1827
+John McLean, Postmaster General, afterward one of the Justices of the
+Supreme Court of the United States, prevailed on him to take the mail
+contract between Philadelphia and New York, and he moved from Cumberland
+to Philadelphia. In the first year he reduced the time for transporting
+the mail between the two cities from twenty-three to sixteen hours, and
+soon thereafter to twelve hours. He soon became the owner of most of the
+lines running out of Philadelphia and New York, and the largest mail
+contractor in the United States. He employed in this service more than
+one thousand horses and four hundred men. The wagoner soon became the
+"Land Admiral," a title given him by the press in recognition of his
+energy and ability.
+
+[Illustration: JAMES REESIDE.]
+
+The Postoffice Department at that time having to rely on its own
+resources, and under Major W. T. Barry, then Postmaster-General, the
+service had so increased in thinly settled sections it became deeply in
+debt. Mr. Reeside raised, on his personal responsibility, large sums of
+money to relieve it. His efforts were appreciated, and he was the
+esteemed friend of Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and other distinguished
+men, without regard to politics, although he was a pronounced Democrat.
+Of massive frame, six feet five inches in height, yet spare in flesh,
+clear cut features, sparkling, clear blue-gray eyes, fair complexion,
+with dark, sandy, curly hair, he was a true Highlander in appearance,
+genial in disposition, with quick and ready wit. Fond of song and
+story, kind, yet strict, with all in his employment, and generous to a
+fault, no words can more appropriately describe him than those of his
+favorite poet and countryman, Robert Burns:
+
+ "For thus the royal mandate ran,
+ When first the human race began,
+ The social, friendly, honest man
+ Where'er he be,
+ 'Tis he fulfills great nature's plan,
+ An' none but he."
+
+Controversies arising between Amos Kendall, the successor of Barry, and
+all the old mail contractors, their pay was suspended upon frivolous
+grounds, compelling them to bring suits, among the most celebrated of
+which were those of Reeside and Stockton & Stokes. The latter's case was
+referred to Virgil Maxy, who found in their favor about $140,000. Mr.
+Reeside's claim was tried before Justice Baldwin and a jury in 1841, and
+resulted in a verdict for plaintiff of $196,496.06, which, after
+seventeen years, was paid, with interest. As soon as his contracts under
+Kendall expired he quit the mail service, after putting the Philadelphia
+and New York mail on the Camden & Amboy railroad during the residue of
+his contract term.
+
+In 1836 he bought the interest of John W. Weaver between Cumberland and
+Wheeling, then a tri-weekly line; increased it to a daily, then twice
+daily, and added another tri-weekly line, and named the lines "Good
+Intent," which was the name he had previously given the fast mail line
+between Philadelphia and Pittsburg. In 1839 he sold his entire interest
+in the National Road lines, and gave his attention to his suit against
+the United States. His health being impaired, he spent the winter of
+1842 in New Orleans. Returning in the ensuing spring, without benefit to
+his health, he died in Philadelphia on the 3d of September, 1842.
+
+Mr. Reeside attracted attention by reason of the peculiar garb he
+appeared in. In the winter season he always wore a long drab overcoat
+and a fur cap. Once in passing along a street in Philadelphia in company
+with Col. Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, Vice-President of the United
+States, some scarlet cloth was observed in a tailor's window, which
+prompted Col. Johnson to say: "Reeside, as your coaches are all red, you
+ought to wear a red vest." Mr. Reeside replied: "I will get one if you
+will." "Agreed," said Johnson, and straightway both ordered red vests
+and red neckties, and from that time as long as they lived continued to
+wear vests and neckties of scarlet colors. James Reeside aided in an
+early day to develop the mighty resources of our country, with such
+agencies as were then available, and his name and good work deserve to
+be perpetuated in history.
+
+Dr. Howard Kennedy, an owner of stock in the National Road Stage
+Company, and for a brief period a trustee of the road under the
+provisions of a Pennsylvania law, enacted in 1848, repealed in 1856, was
+born in Washington county, Maryland, September 15th, 1809. His father
+was the Hon. Thomas Kennedy, an illustrious citizen, who figured
+conspicuously in the history of Maryland in the olden time. Dr. Kennedy
+was a graduate of the Medical University of Baltimore, and a thoroughly
+educated physician, but the practice of medicine not proving congenial
+to his tastes, he soon abandoned it and embarked in other pursuits.
+About the year 1840, or a little before that time, he was appointed a
+special, confidential agent of the general postoffice department, in
+which relation he achieved distinction by detecting numerous mail
+robberies, and bringing the perpetrators before the courts for trial and
+punishment. It was through the vigilance of Dr. Kennedy that the mail
+robberies of the Haldeman brothers, Pete and Abe, and Pate Sides, at
+Negro Mountain, were discovered, and the offenders apprehended and
+punished.
+
+The Haldemans and Sides were stage drivers, and their calling through
+the dismal shades of death and other dark regions in the mountains with
+big, tempting, mail bags in their charge, no doubt turned their minds to
+what they considered a speedy, if not altogether a safe method of
+getting money. Whispers of suspicion growing out of the vigilance of Dr.
+Kennedy in pushing his investigations, reached the ears of the suspected
+ones, and they fled to Canada, but not to be thwarted in his purposes,
+Dr. Kennedy pursued them thither, had them arrested and brought back to
+Baltimore for trial. Abe Haldeman was acquitted, but Pete and Pate Sides
+were convicted and sent to the penitentiary. Dr. Kennedy was also the
+prime mover in bringing to light the noted mail robberies of Dr. John F.
+Braddee, of Uniontown, as will be seen by the following affidavits:
+
+ _Pennsylvania, Fayette County, ss._:
+
+ The testimony of Dr. Howard Kennedy taken before N. Ewing,
+ president judge of the 14th Judicial district of Pennsylvania, the
+ 8th day of January, 1841, in reference to the amount of bail to be
+ required of John F. Braddee, Peter Mills Strayer and William
+ Purnell. The said Dr. Howard Kennedy being first by me duly sworn
+ according to law, deposeth and saith: "There will be difficulty in
+ ascertaining the amount of money stolen from the mails. There have
+ been six mail pouches or bags stolen, which would average twenty to
+ thirty thousand dollars each. The whole would, I am satisfied,
+ amount to one hundred thousand dollars. I saw the money alleged to
+ have been found in the stable of John F. Braddee. The amount thus
+ found was $10,098.60. The amount of cash stolen is probably about
+ $50,000.
+
+ "HOWARD KENNEDY."
+
+ Taken and subscribed before me, January 8th, 1841.
+ N. EWING,
+ P. Judge, 14th Judicial District.
+
+[Illustration: WILLIAM H. STELLE.]
+
+ PITTSBURG, January 25, 1841.
+
+ "Howard Kennedy, special agent of the postoffice department, in
+ addition to the testimony given by him before his Honor, Judge
+ Ewing, further deposes that since that time he has received reports
+ from various persons and places in the West of letters mailed at
+ dates which would have, by due course of mail, been in the bags
+ stolen, containing bank notes, scrip, certificates, drafts, and
+ checks, amounting to $102,000 and upwards; that every mail brings
+ him additional reports of losses, and that he believes the amounts
+ reported will not constitute more than one-half of what has been
+ lost in the mails between the 16th of November and the 18th of
+ December, 1840, on the route from Wheeling to New York.
+
+ "HOWARD KENNEDY.
+ "Special Agent Postoffice Department."
+
+ Sworn and subscribed before me the 25th day of January, 1841.
+ T. IRWIN, District Judge.
+
+As before stated, Dr. Kennedy was one of the owners of the line of
+coaches known as the National Road Stage Company. This was popularly
+known as the Stockton line, called "the old line," because it was the
+oldest on the road. Dr. Kennedy managed all the business of this line
+relating to the transportation of the mails. He was also one of the
+original members of the Western Express Company, doing business between
+Cumberland and Wheeling and Pittsburg _via_ the Monongahela river. L. W.
+Stockton dying in the spring of 1844, in the fall of that year Dr.
+Kennedy brought his family from Hagerstown, Maryland, to Uniontown, and
+established his residence in the old Stockton mansion, called "Ben
+Lomond," now the home of Mrs. Judge Gilmore. Here Dr. Kennedy resided
+until the year 1851, when he returned to Hagerstown, where he died on
+the 12th of June, 1855. He was of medium height and delicate form, of
+pleasant address, and a gentleman by birth, education, association and
+aspiration; in religion an Episcopalian, and in politics a Democrat. His
+widow, a sister of the late Alfred Howell, of Uniontown, survives him.
+She is enjoying the sunset of a gentle life in Hagerstown, the central
+figure of a remnant of that polite and refined society which in the
+palmy days of the National Road distinguished all the old towns along
+its line.
+
+William H. Stelle was born in New Jersey, and it will be noted that many
+of the stage owners, agents, and drivers came out from that State. Two
+of Mr. Stelle's partners in the stage business, John A. Wirt and Mr.
+Hutchinson, were likewise Jersey men. It is related that Mr. Stelle and
+Mr. Acheson were both desirous of selling their interests in the stage
+lines, the former being an owner in the Good Intent, and the latter in
+the Stockton line. Mr. Stelle one day approached Mr. Acheson in
+Wheeling, and told him he would give him five hundred dollars, if he
+would sell or buy at a price to be mutually named. Mr. Acheson named a
+price which he would give or take, and Mr. Stelle elected to sell, and
+promptly paid Mr. Acheson five hundred dollars for acceding to his
+proposition. Mr. Stelle located in Wheeling about the year 1841, and
+died at Elm Grove, Ohio county, West Virginia, on the 26th of September,
+1854, aged about fifty years. He left a son, William H., and a daughter,
+Mrs. Susan R. Hamilton, both living in Wheeling.
+
+Agents of the stage lines possessed functions somewhat, but not
+altogether, like those of railroad conductors. Some agents passed
+constantly over the road, paying bills, providing horses and equipage,
+and giving general direction to the running of the lines. Others were
+stationary, attending to local business. These agents were prominent
+characters of the road, and popularly esteemed as men of high position.
+One of the earliest agents was Charles Rettig, who subsequently kept the
+tavern two and one-half miles east of Washington, and referred to in a
+chapter on taverns and tavern keepers. John Risly, of Frederic, Md., and
+William Biddle and James Coudy, of Hancock, were old agents of lines
+east of Cumberland. Redding Bunting, Edward Lane, Theodore Granger and
+Charles Danforth were agents of the Old line west of Cumberland, with
+authority extending to Wheeling. Bunting also kept the National House in
+Uniontown, and Lane kept the National House in Washington, which were
+headquarters at those points respectively for their line. Charles
+Danforth was a leading local agent of the Stockton line at Uniontown. He
+was a large, fine looking man, with florid complexion, heavy black
+whiskers, and possessed of popular manners. He was a native of New York
+State, and died at Bedford, Pa., in 1853. His remains were brought to
+Uniontown, and interred in the old Methodist cemetery, near Beeson's old
+mill. His widow is living in Chicago. Edward Lane was a man of average
+size, of reddish complexion, energetic in motion, and affable in manner.
+His tavern in Washington, Pa., was one of the best eating houses on the
+road. Granger was a large, dark complexioned man, not well liked by the
+people, but a favorite of Mr. Stockton. After the stage lines were taken
+from the road, Granger went to Cincinnati, procured employment at a
+livery stable, and died in that city in indigent circumstances. Jacob
+Beck was an agent for Weaver's line, which was on the road a short time,
+and went with that line to Ohio and Kentucky. He returned from the West,
+and was a bar-keeper for John N. Dagg, of Washington, Pa., and
+subsequently, as elsewhere stated, kept tavern at Rony's Point, Va., and
+died there. He was an old stage driver, a good one, and esteemed as an
+honest man. Daniel Brown, mentioned among the old tavern keepers, was an
+agent of the Good Intent line, and a very competent one. He was a native
+of New Jersey, and his sad ending has been alluded to in another
+chapter. William Scott, familiarly called "Billy," was a well-known
+agent of the Good Intent line. He had been a driver, and was promoted to
+an agency on account of his competency and fidelity. He was a master of
+his business, a man of small stature, dark hair and complexion, and a
+little given to brusqueness of manner, but on the whole rather a popular
+agent. He remained an agent of the Good Intent line until business
+ceased on the road, when he went to Iowa, and became an agent of a stage
+line in that State. From Iowa he went to Texas, and died at Jefferson in
+that State. It is said that he was descended from a good family on both
+sides, who were wealthy, and that he engaged in stage driving from
+choice, rather than necessity, and his friends were disappointed in his
+career. Lemuel Cross was an agent of the Old line. He also kept tavern
+at Piny Grove, as elsewhere stated, and is well remembered. His
+jurisdiction as agent was mainly on the mountain division of the road,
+and he thoroughly understood his business, and was familiar with all the
+haunts, hills, and hollows of the mountains. B. W. Earl was likewise an
+agent for a while of the Good Intent line. He commenced a driver, was
+advanced to an agency, and ended a tavern keeper. John Foster, Andrew
+Cable, William F. Cowdery, Levi Rose and William Terry were agents at
+Wheeling. The latter had charge in part of Neil, Moore & Company's line
+in Ohio.
+
+
+THE PONY EXPRESS.
+
+In the year 1835 or 6, Amos Kendall, being Postmaster-General, placed on
+the road a line of couriers, called the "Pony Express." It was intended
+to carry light mails with more speed than the general mail was carried
+by the coaches. The Pony Express was a single horse and a boy rider,
+with a leather mail pouch thrown over the horse's back, something after
+the style of the old-fashioned saddlebags. The route for each horse
+covered a distance of about six miles on the average. The horse was put
+to his utmost speed, and the rider carried a tin horn which was
+vigorously blown when approaching a station. William Moore, Thomas
+Wooley, subsequently stage drivers, William Meredith, Frank Holly and
+James Neese were among the riders on the Pony Express east of
+Cumberland, and Sandy Conner, Pate Sides and Thomas A. Wiley, all three
+afterward stage drivers, and William Conn rode west of Cumberland. Wiley
+rode from Uniontown to Washington, Pennsylvania, and also between
+Washington and Wheeling. He went with the log cabin boys from Uniontown
+to Baltimore in 1840 as a driver of one of the stage teams employed on
+that occasion. He is still living, an employe of the Baltimore & Ohio
+Railroad Company at Camden Station, Baltimore, in the service of which
+he has been employed since 1852. He was an attendant at the bedside of
+L. W. Stockton during that gentleman's last illness. Calvin Morris, a
+son of William Morris, the old tavern keeper on the hill west of Monroe,
+and William Downer, a son of the old gentleman who lived at and
+maintained the big water trough on Laurel Hill, were also riders on the
+Pony Express. William Morris was one of the contractors for carrying
+this fast mail, and his house was one of the relays of the line. The
+relay next west was the old toll house near Searights. Luther Morris, a
+brother of Calvin, the Pony Express rider, went to Iowa previous to the
+civil war, and was elected State Treasurer on two or three occasions.
+John Gilfillan, now, or recently, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, was a
+rider on the Pony Express between West Alexander and Wheeling. Bryant
+and Craven, of West Alexander, were among the contractors of the Pony
+Express line. "The Pony Express" did not remain long on the road, but
+when it was on, old pike boys say "it kicked up a dust."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+ _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers from Baltimore to Boonsboro--Pen
+ Picture of an Old Tavern by James G. Blaine--The Maypole--The Hand
+ in Hand--Earlocker's--Pine Orchard--The Brown Stand--Levi Chambers,
+ the Nullifier--Old Whalen's Sunfish, Bob Fowler's Goose and
+ Warfield's Ham--Poplar Springs--Allen Dorsie, Van McPherson, The
+ Widow Dean, Getzendanner's, Peter Hagan, Riddlemoser and the
+ McGruder House, Peter Zettle, Emanuel Harr._
+
+
+ "CALDWELL'S TAVERN: We did not use the high sounding _hotel_, but
+ the good old Anglo-Saxon _tavern_, with its wide open fire in the
+ cheerful bar room, and the bountiful spread in the dining room, and
+ the long porch for summer loafers, and the immense stabling with
+ its wealth of horse-flesh, and the great open yard for the road
+ wagons. How real and vivid it all seems to me this moment! All the
+ reminiscences of the old pike, for which you are an enthusiast, are
+ heartily shared by me."--JAMES G. BLAINE.
+
+Caldwell's tavern, mentioned by Mr. Blaine, is seven miles west of
+Washington, Pennsylvania, and will be referred to hereafter in its
+proper place. Mr. Blaine's description is appropriate to nearly all the
+old taverns of the road.
+
+The outward appearance of an old tavern of the National Road was no
+index to the quality of the entertainment it afforded. Many of the least
+pretentious houses furnished the best meals, and paid the most agreeable
+attention to guests and patrons. It was not unusual to see the wagon
+yard attached to a small wooden and apparently decaying tavern crowded
+with teams and wagons, while the inviting grounds of the imposing brick
+tavern near by were without an occupant.
+
+The May Pole tavern in Baltimore was a favorite stopping place for old
+wagoners. It is located on the southwest corner of Paca and German
+streets, and still standing, an object of much interest to the old
+people of the road. In front of it stands a tall, slim, granite column,
+representative of a pole, and preservative of the ancient name. The May
+Pole was kept in 1833 by Henry Clark, and in 1836 by James Adams, who
+remained in charge until his death. His successor was Isaac Willison, a
+Virginian, and before assuming control of the May Pole, an agent of the
+Baltimore & Ohio Railroad company, at Frederic City. George Elliott,
+subsequently manager for Mrs. Adams, at the Mountain City house in
+Cumberland, was at one time a clerk in the May Pole tavern.
+
+The "Hand in Hand" tavern on Paca, between Lexington and Saratoga
+streets, and the "White Swan" on Howard street, were likewise old wagon
+stands in Baltimore, well patronized in the early days of the National
+Road. Thomas Elliott also kept a wagon stand in Baltimore, and enjoyed a
+fair share of patronage. He was the father of George Elliott, above
+mentioned. The May Pole, however, was the favorite tavern of the old
+wagoners of the National Road. The "Three Ton" and "Gen. Wayne" taverns
+had each extensive stabling, and furnished accommodations for droves and
+drovers. The National Road entered the city of Baltimore by way of West
+Baltimore street.
+
+The first wagon stand west of Baltimore, fifty years ago, was kept by a
+man whose name was Hawes. It was seven miles from the city, and wagoners
+often left it in the morning, drove to Baltimore, unloaded, reloaded,
+and returned to it in the evening of the same day, and the next morning
+proceeded on the long journey to their western destination. The Hawes
+tavern ceased to do business after 1840.
+
+At Ellicott's Mills, ten miles west of Baltimore, there was no wagon
+stand, but stage houses were located there, where stage teams were kept
+and exchanged.
+
+One mile west of Ellicott's, Frank Earlocker kept a wagon stand, that
+was largely patronized. He was rather of an economical turn of mind, and
+old wagoners were wont to say of him that he concealed the whisky bottle
+behind the counter, against the custom of the road, which was to expose
+it to full view; and it is said that the miserly Earlocker lost more
+than he gained by his habit, since it induced wagoners to inquire for a
+drink, more to worry the landlord than to appease the appetite.
+
+A short distance west of Earlocker's is "Pine Orchard," where a tavern
+was kept by one Goslin. He was a goslin only in name. Otherwise, he was
+a square man, and knew how to treat strangers and travelers, especially
+wagoners, who largely favored him with their patronage. His house was a
+brick structure, and stood on the north side of the road, and for aught
+known to the contrary, is still standing, a monument commemorative of
+the many good old taverns which studded the road in the days of its
+glory.
+
+James Dehoff kept a tavern at Pine Orchard as early as 1835. His house
+was a wagoners' resort, and stood on the south side of the road.
+
+An old tavern, known as the "Brown Stand," four miles west of "Pine
+Orchard," was a popular stopping place for wagoners in its day. In 1838
+Levi Chambers took charge of this house, and continued to conduct it
+until 1842. He was called "Nullifier" Chambers, because of his adherence
+to the nullification doctrine, announced and advocated by John C.
+Calhoun. He, however, knew how to keep a tavern, and was a sober and
+intelligent man. On the first of January, 1841, John Crampton and
+William Orr, old wagoners before mentioned, drove out from Baltimore
+with full loads, and put up at the "Brown Stand." During the night a box
+of silk goods was stolen from Orr's wagon. The loss was discovered early
+in the morning, and Orr and Chambers each mounted a horse and pushed out
+in the direction of Baltimore, in search of the stolen goods and the
+thief. There was a light snow on the road, and tracks were visible,
+indicative of rapid steps toward the east. Reaching Baltimore, Messrs.
+Orr and Chambers entered the bar room of the May Pole tavern, in which a
+number of persons were drinking, and among them one, who, from his
+actions, was suspected as the thief. He was arrested, tried, convicted,
+and sent to the penitentiary.
+
+Four miles west of the "Nullifier's," John Whalen kept a wagon stand,
+and one of the best on the road. Old wagoners entertain pleasant
+recollections of John Whalen, and delight in recounting the good cheer
+that abounded and abided in his old tavern. He kept the tavern at this
+point up to the year 1842.
+
+One Warfield kept a tavern a short distance west of Whalen's as early as
+1835, and had a good wagon custom. Old wagoners had a rough distich on
+this section of the road, running something like this:
+
+ "Old Wheeler's sunfish,
+ Bob Fowler's roast goose,
+ Warfield's ham,
+ Ain't that jam!"
+
+New Lisbon was an aspiring village, twenty-six miles west of Baltimore,
+and the first point of note west of Whalen's. Stages stopped and teams
+were changed at New Lisbon, but it had no wagon stand.
+
+At Poplar Springs, one mile west of New Lisbon, there was a wagon stand
+kept by Allen Dorsie. Near the old tavern is a large, gushing spring, in
+the midst of tall poplar trees, and hence the name "Poplar Springs."
+Such was the situation at this point fifty years ago, but alas, fifty
+years is a long time, and the "Poplar Springs" may present a different
+appearance now. Allen Dorsie, the old proprietor of the tavern here, was
+likewise and for many years superintendent of the Maryland division of
+the road. He was a very large man, six feet in height, and rounded out
+in proportion. He was besides a man of admitted integrity and good
+intellect. He ceased keeping tavern at Poplar Springs in 1842.
+
+Seven miles west of Poplar Springs Van McPherson kept a tavern, which
+did an extensive business. The proprietor was half Dutch and half Irish,
+as his name imports, and he had the faculty of pleasing everybody. His
+house was a brick structure on the north side of the road, and is
+probably still standing. Van McPherson kept this house from 1836 to
+1842, and made money in it.
+
+New Market is a village west of McPherson's old tavern, and in Frederic
+county, Maryland. Here the stages stopped and changed teams, and an old
+wagon stand was kept by one Shell. It is said of Shell that his name
+differed from his table, in that the latter contained no shells, but the
+best of savory viands.
+
+Three miles west of New Market, Frank Wharton kept a tavern, and a good
+one. He was rough in manner, and could swear longer and louder than
+Wilse Clement, but he kept his house in good shape and did an extensive
+business.
+
+One mile west of Wharton's the widow Dean kept a tavern. Her house was a
+brick structure on the south side of the road, and she owned it and the
+ground whereon it stood, in fee simple. She was largely patronized by
+wagoners.
+
+Next after passing Mrs. Deans old stand, the city of Frederic is
+reached, which fifty years ago was the largest town on the road between
+Wheeling and Baltimore. James Dehoof and John Lambert kept old wagon
+stands in Frederic City. Lambert died about 1840, and was succeeded by
+John Miller, who kept the house down to the year 1853.
+
+Four miles west of Frederic City the old wagoners encountered Cotockton
+mountain, and here was a fine old tavern kept by Getzendanner, a German.
+His house was a stone building, on the south side of the road,
+presumably standing to this day. Getzendanner, true to his native
+traits, was the owner of the property. Old wagoners unite in saying that
+the old German kept a good house, barring a little too much garlic in
+his sausages.
+
+Peter Hagan played the part of host at an old tavern, one mile west of
+Getzendanner's. His house was a log building, and stood on the south
+side of the road. As before stated, the outward appearance of an old
+tavern on the National Road was no index to affairs within; and though
+Peter Hagan's house was small and made with logs, the cheer within was
+exhilarating. His meals were simple and but little varied, yet so
+manipulated in the kitchen, and spread upon the table so tastefully, and
+withal so clean, that they were tempting even to an epicure. Peter
+Hagan's patrons were for the most part wagoners, and the old wagoners of
+the National Road knew what good living was, and "put up" only where the
+fare was inviting. Peter Hagan was an uncle of Robert Hagan, a local
+politician of South Union township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania.
+
+Proceeding westward from Hagan's old tavern, the next point is the
+village of Middletown, which hoped to become a city, and might have
+succeeded, had not the steam railway eclipsed the glory of the old pike.
+At Middletown the stages had relays of horses. One of the stage houses
+at this point was kept by ---- Titlow, a relative of F. B. Titlow, of
+Uniontown. Here also there was a wagon stand, kept by Samuel
+Riddlemoser. This was in 1840. In the spring of 1841 Riddlemoser moved
+to the Widow McGruder house, one mile west of Middletown. The McGruder
+house was well conducted, and enjoyed a large patronage.
+
+South Mountain comes next, and here a tavern was kept by one Miller. It
+was a wagon stand, a stone building, on the north side of the road. The
+battle of South Mountain was fought here, but the roar of the cannon
+failed to awaken the departed glories of the old Miller tavern.
+
+One mile west of South Mountain, Petter Zettle, a German, kept a tavern.
+It was a wagon stand, and a popular one. The house was of brick, and
+stood on the south side of the road. The old landlord was accustomed to
+join in the merry-making of the old wagoners, and as the jokes went
+around in the old bar room, the German spice was plainly discernible as
+well as agreeable, in unison with the familiar notes of the native pike
+boys.
+
+One mile west of Zettle's, Robert Fowler kept a wagon stand. Fowler quit
+in 1839, and was succeeded by Emanuel Harr, who conducted the house for
+many years. Joe Garver, a noted blacksmith, had a shop at this point.
+Garver, it is said, could cut and replace as many as a dozen wagon tires
+in a single night. It was not an uncommon thing for the old blacksmiths
+of the road to work all night at shoeing horses and repairing wagons.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+ _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Boonsboro to
+ Cumberland--Funkstown, Antietam, Hagerstown, Dirty Spigot, Shady
+ Bower, Clear Spring, North Mountain, Indian Spring, Hancock--The
+ House of Nicodemus--Accident on Sideling Hill, the Longest Hill on
+ the Road--Snib Hollow--Town Hill--Green Ridge--Pratt's Hollow--A
+ Fugitive Slave--Polish Mountain--Flintstone--Martin's Mountain._
+
+
+ "It stands all alone like a goblin in gray,
+ The old-fashioned inn of a pioneer day,
+ In a land so forlorn and forgotten, it seems
+ Like a wraith of the past rising into our dreams;
+ Its glories have vanished, and only the ghost
+ Of a sign-board now creaks on its desolate post,
+ Recalling a time when all hearts were akin
+ As they rested at night in that welcoming inn."
+
+ JAMES NEWTON MATTHEWS.
+
+Boonsboro is a small town at the foot of South Mountain in Maryland, and
+in the palmy days of the National Road was a lively village. Old
+wagoners and stage drivers spread its fame, but railroad conductors are
+silent as to its memory. The Slifer Brothers kept tavern in Boonsboro in
+the olden time. Their house was not a wagon stand. One of the Slifer
+brothers, as before stated, claimed to be the inventor of the "rubber,"
+brake, as it is commonly called. At the west end of Boonsboro the widow
+Galwix kept a wagon stand and did a large business. She was the widow of
+John Galwix, hereinbefore mentioned as a fancy wagoner. Robert Fowler
+kept a tavern in Boonsboro as early as 1835 and a wagon stand on the
+north side of the road.
+
+Three and a half miles west of Boonsboro Henry and Jacob Fosnock,
+Germans, kept a wagon stand, which was well patronized. The property was
+owned by the Fosnocks, and they made money with their tavern. They were
+bachelors, but had an unmarried sister, Susan, who acted in the capacity
+of hostess. She subsequently became the wife of the old wagoner, Joseph
+Crampton. The Fosnocks were at the point mentioned as late as 1842.
+
+Funkstown appears next in sight. Funkstown, another old village
+identified with the by-gone glories of the old pike. The name of this
+village brings to mind the once familiar form of John Funk, an old
+wagoner. John lived at or near Funkstown, and his family may have given
+the name to the village. Funkstown is located on Little Antietam creek,
+about seventy miles west of Baltimore. Fifty years ago there was a
+paper mill and a grist mill at Funkstown, and they may be there yet, and
+others in addition. At the east end of Funkstown, Joseph Watts kept a
+wagon stand, and competed for the custom of the wagoners with William
+Ashton, who kept a similar tavern at the west end of the town. Each did
+a good business. Ashton will be remembered as the athletic wagoner, who
+leaped over the top of a road wagon at Petersburg. He knew the wants of
+wagoners and served them well at his old tavern. He was the owner of two
+fine six-horse teams, and kept them constantly on the road.
+
+After Funkstown, come the classic shades and handsome streets of
+Hagerstown. Hagerstown was always a prominent point on the road. It
+ranked with Wheeling, Washington, Brownsville, Uniontown, Cumberland,
+and Frederic. Hagerstown was a station for the stage lines. It outlived
+the road, and flourishes as one of the best towns of Maryland. The only
+old wagon stand in Hagerstown was that of John B. Wrench. But Hagerstown
+was rather too stylish a place for old wagoners, and Wrench gave up his
+house there in 1842, and removed to Piney Grove, where he found a more
+congenial atmosphere. He subsequently kept one of the old taverns at
+Grantsville, from which point he emigrated to Iowa, and died there.
+
+Four and a half miles west of Hagerstown, an old wagon stand was kept by
+David Newcomer. It was a stone house, on the north side of the road.
+Newcomer furnished good entertainment, and was well favored with
+customers, mostly wagoners. He was a Quaker, and a money maker. He dealt
+in horses, in addition to tavern keeping. When offering a horse for
+sale, his wife was accustomed to say in the hearing of the person
+proposing to buy: "Now, David, thee must not sell that favorite horse."
+This, old wagoners say, was a "set-up job" between David and his spouse
+to gain a good price. Newcomer was the owner of the property, and as the
+house was of stone, is probably standing yet; but the ring of the old
+pike has gone from it long since.
+
+Three miles westward from Newcomer's was the imposing and
+well-remembered tavern kept by John Miller. It was of brick, a large and
+commodious building, situate on the north side of the road. Miller owned
+the property, and it may be in the possession of his descendants to this
+day. There were large rooms in this house, adapted to dancing purposes,
+and young men and maidens of the vicinity frequently tripped to the
+notes of the old time music in its spacious halls. The waltz was
+unknown, and the figures varied from the "hoe down" to the cotillion,
+closing always with the "Virginia Reel." The old wagoners were
+invariably invited to participate in these festivities, and engaged in
+them with a gusto not excelled by the lads and lasses of the surrounding
+neighborhood. Alfred Bailes, the old pike boy of Dunbar, drove a line
+team from John S. Miller's to the Nicodemus House, two miles west of
+Hancock, as early as the year 1836, and is probably the only survivor of
+the young folks who participated in the gayeties of Miller's old
+tavern.
+
+One mile west of Miller's is "Shady Bower." There a tavern was kept by
+Conrod Wolsey. His house was well favored by wagoners, who sought his
+generous board in goodly numbers, and while well liked by his customers,
+he got the name of "Dirty Spigot," because the spigot of a whisky barrel
+in his house was once besmeared with filth. There was a large distillery
+near Wolsey's tavern, operated by Barnes Mason. Mason had two teams on
+the road, driven by William Keefer and Joseph Myers.
+
+Clear Spring comes next, and derives its name from the existence of a
+large, gushing spring of clear water, in volume sufficient to propel a
+mill. An old wagon stand was kept at Clear Spring by Andrew Kershaw, who
+died the proprietor of the house, and was succeeded by his son Jonathan.
+The house was a large brick building, on the south side of the road.
+Stages stopped and exchanged teams at Clear Spring, but not at
+Kershaw's. His house, as stated, was a wagon stand. Gusty Mitchell is a
+well-remembered character of Clear Spring. He used to steal and drink
+the wagoners' whisky, and "bum" around their teams in all sorts of ways.
+One night the wagoners poured turpentine over Gusty and set fire to him,
+which so frightened him that he never afterward had anything to do with
+wagoners.
+
+The next old tavern was on the top of North Mountain, two miles west of
+Clear Spring, kept by Joseph Kensel. It was a log house, and on the
+north side of the road. Kensel owned the property. While this old tavern
+was humble in outward appearance, the fires burned brightly within, and
+its patrons, who were numerous, highly extolled the quality of the
+viands it spread before them.
+
+Indian Spring comes next, four and a half miles west from Clear Spring.
+Here a wagon stand was kept by David Miller. The house is a stone
+structure, on the north side of the road, and Miller owned it in fee
+simple. This old house was a favorite resort of wagoners, and night
+after night echoed the once familiar notes of the great highway, in the
+days of its glory.
+
+Three miles west from David Miller's, Anthony Snider, a distant relative
+of John Snider of happy memory, kept a wagon stand. It was a frame
+building on the north side of the road. Peter Hawes once lived at this
+house, and hauled stone for an aqueduct on the adjacent canal.
+
+Four miles west of Snider's, on the north side of the road, stood the
+old frame tavern of Widow Bevans. She owned the property, and her house
+was a popular stopping place. It will be noted that in many instances
+widows kept the best taverns along the road. There is no record of a
+widow making a failure as a tavern keeper.
+
+Two miles further on to the westward, and before the once familiar
+tavern of Widow Bevans entirely recedes from view, the old wagon stand
+of David Barnett is reached. His house was a large log building, on the
+north side of the road. Here the first transportation line of six-horse
+teams, John Bradfield agent, had relays, its next relay eastward being
+the house of John Miller, before mentioned. Barnett was a jolly old
+landlord, fond of exchanging jokes with old wagoners and other patrons.
+He had a manner and a method of pleasing his guests, and did a large and
+profitable business.
+
+Westward, two miles from Barnett's, is the historic town of Hancock,
+named in honor of the man who wrote his name in letters so large and
+legible, that they were read all round the world. There was no old wagon
+stand tavern in Hancock, except for a short time about the year 1838.
+John Shane established it, but was not successful, and removed to
+Cumberland, where he set up a confectionery shop. Wagoners preferred
+country before town taverns, as a rule. Stages stopped and exchanged
+horses in Hancock.
+
+Two miles west of Hancock, one Nicodemus kept an old wagon stand. His
+first name has not been preserved, owing probably to the sublimity of
+his surname. He was known all along the road, but mentioned only as
+Nicodemus. His house was a frame building on the north side of the road,
+and he owned it, and died in it. He kept a good tavern, and was well
+patronized. Widow Downer kept this house before the time of Nicodemus.
+
+Two miles west of the house of Nicodemus is Sideling Hill, so called
+from the sloping character of the ground upon which the road is laid. At
+the eastern foot of this hill Jacob Brosius kept an old wagon stand, and
+had a good share of custom. His house was a frame building and stood on
+the south side of the road. The distance from the foot to the summit of
+Sideling Hill is four miles, and it is the longest hill on the road. In
+1837 Jacob Anderson, an old wagoner, was killed on Sideling Hill. His
+team became frightened on the summit and ran down the western slope,
+coming in contact with a large tree on the roadside with such force as
+to break it down, and falling on Anderson, he was instantly killed.
+Isaac Browning, Caleb Langley and Black Westley, with their teams and
+wagons, were on the road with Anderson at the time of this accident.
+Anderson was a citizen of Loudon county, Virginia. Langley, Browning and
+Westley belonged to Fayette county, Pennsylvania. The road crosses a
+stream at Sideling Hill, called Sideling Hill creek. There was a covered
+bridge over this creek. In 1841 John Moss and Billy George, old
+wagoners, drove their teams on this bridge, and stopping a while to rest
+under the shade afforded by the roof, the bridge broke down,
+precipitating horses, wagons and drivers a distance of fourteen feet to
+the water, causing considerable damage to the wagons and the goods
+therein, but strange to say inflicting but slight injuries upon the
+drivers and teams. The teams and wagons belonged to Robert Newlove, of
+Wheeling.
+
+Two miles from the foot of Sideling Hill, and on the north side of the
+road, John H. Mann kept a wagon stand. His house was a frame building.
+Mann was a citizen of some prominence, and at one time represented his
+county (Washington) in the Maryland Legislature. It is not known that
+his proclivities in the line of statesmanship impaired in any wise his
+talent for tavern keeping.
+
+On the western slope of Sideling Hill, about midway between the summit
+and the foot, Thomas Norris kept a tavern, which was a favorite resort
+of wagoners. His house was a large stone building, on the north side of
+the road. There was a picturesqueness about the location of this old
+tavern that imparted a peculiar spice to the ordinary rounds of
+entertainment enjoyed by its guests. Samuel Cessna kept this house at
+one time.
+
+One mile west of Sideling Hill creek, a wagon stand was kept by the
+widow Ashkettle, another widow, and she no exception to the rule before
+stated, that the widows all kept good houses. Her name is not
+inappropriate to some of the duties of housekeeping, but Mrs.
+Ashkettle's forte was not in making lye, but in setting a good, clean
+table. She had a son, David, who managed the business of the house for
+her. Her house was a frame building, and stood on the north side of the
+road.
+
+Two miles west of Mrs. Ashkettle's the wayfarer struck the point bearing
+the homely name of "Snib Hollow." These old names never wear out, no
+matter how ugly they are, and it is well they do not. They all have a
+significance and an interest, local or otherwise, which would be lost by
+a change of name. Quidnuncs in history and literature have exerted their
+restless talents in efforts to obliterate these seemingly rude, old
+names, and substitute fancy ones in their stead, but they have failed,
+and their failure is a pleasant tribute to the supremacy of common
+sense. As early as 1825 the widow Turnbull kept a tavern at Snib Hollow.
+Later, an old wagon stand was kept there by John Alder, who had a large
+run of customers. His house was a log building, on the north side of the
+road.
+
+Town Hill comes next, a half a mile west of Snib Hollow, at the foot of
+which Dennis Hoblitzell kept a tavern as early as the year 1830, and
+probably earlier. The house was on the east side of the road, and the
+locality is often called Piney Plains. Mrs. McClelland, of the
+McClelland House, Uniontown, is a daughter of Dennis Hoblitzell. Samuel
+Cessna subsequently kept this house, and stage lines and wagon lines all
+stopped at it. It was here, and in Cessna's time, that Governor Corwin,
+of Ohio, was treated as a negro servant, mention of which is made in
+another chapter. In 1836 John Snider stopped over night at this house,
+with a load of emigrants, while Cessna was keeping it, and had to clean
+the oats he fed to his horses with an ordinary bed sheet, the windmill
+not having reached this point at that early day.
+
+At the foot of Town Hill, on the west side, Henry Bevans kept a tavern.
+It was a wagon stand, and likewise a station for one of the stage lines.
+The house stood on the north side of the road, and enjoyed a good trade.
+Samuel Luman, the old stage driver, kept this house in 1839.
+
+Two miles west from the Bevans house is Green Ridge, where an old wagon
+stand was kept by Elisha Collins. His house was a log building, and
+stood on the north side of the road. Although this house was humble in
+appearance, old wagoners are unstinted in bestowing praises on its
+ancient good cheer.
+
+Trudging onward, two miles further to the westward, the old wagoner, and
+many a weary traveler, found a pleasant resting place at "Pratt's
+Hollow," where Samuel Hamilton kept a cozy old tavern. It was a frame
+house, on the north side of the road. Hamilton was a planter as well as
+tavern keeper, and raised tobacco and owned and worked negro slaves.
+Levi McGruder succeeded Hamilton as the keeper of this house. This
+locality derived its name from Pratt, who owned the property at an early
+day, and, upon authority of the veteran David Mahaney, kept the first
+tavern there. An incident occurred at Pratt's Hollow in the year 1842,
+which brings to memory the state of public society in _ante bellum_
+times. Among the old wagoners of the road, was Richard Shadburn. He was
+a native of Virginia, and born a slave, while his complexion was so
+fair, and his hair so straight, that he readily passed for a white man.
+When quite young he escaped from his master and struck out for liberty
+among the enlivening scenes of the great highway of the Republic. On a
+certain evening of the year mentioned, he drove into McGruder's wagon
+yard along with a number of other wagoners, to rest for the night. The
+sun had not yet disappeared behind the western hills, and a stage coach
+pulled up in front of McGruder's tavern, and stopped for water, as was
+the custom at that point. Among the passengers in that coach was the
+owner of the slave, Shadburn. Looking out through the window of the
+coach he observed and recognized Shadburn, and calling to his aid a
+fellow passenger, emerged from the coach with a determination to reclaim
+his property. Dick was seized, but being a man of great muscular power,
+succeeded in releasing himself from the clutches of his assailants and
+fled. The disappointed master fired at Dick with a pistol, as he ran,
+but he made good his escape. The team driven by Shadburn belonged to
+Parson's of Ohio, who shortly after the escapade mentioned, sent another
+driver to McGruder's to take charge of it. Shadburn never afterward
+reappeared on the road, and it is believed that he found a home and at
+last a grave in Canada.
+
+It was near Pratt's Hollow that the Cotrells, father and two sons,
+murdered a peddler in 1822, the perpetrators of which crime were all
+hung from the same scaffold in Frederic. The old tavern at Pratt's
+Hollow was destroyed by fire many years ago, and was never rebuilt.
+
+Two miles west from Pratt's Hollow, John S. Miller conducted an old
+tavern, and a good one. His house was a frame building, and stood on the
+north side of the road. It was a popular stopping place for wagoners.
+Miller kept this house as early as 1836, and subsequently became the
+proprietor of the old tavern, five miles west of Washington,
+Pennsylvania, where he died.
+
+"Polish Mountain" is reached next, one mile west of the old Miller
+stand. On the summit of this little, but picturesque mountain, Philip
+Fletcher kept an old tavern, and greeted and treated thousands of old
+wagoners and other travelers. His house stood on the north side of the
+road, and was made of logs, but the table it furnished was equal to the
+best on the road.
+
+And next comes Flintstone, four miles west of Fletcher's. All old pike
+boys remember Flintstone. The name has a familiar ring. The stages
+stopped at Flintstone, and Thomas Robinson kept the leading tavern
+there, in the olden time. His house was a stage station, and a wagon
+stand as well. Robinson, the good old landlord, got into a difficulty,
+many years ago, with one Silas Twigg, and was killed outright by his
+assailant. As early as 1835 Jonathan Huddleson kept a tavern in
+Flintstone, and had the patronage of one of the stage lines. He
+subsequently kept the old Tomlinson tavern at the Little Meadows. John
+Piper was an old tavern keeper at Flintstone. His house was a favorite
+summer resort, and also enjoyed the patronage of old wagoners. The Piper
+house is a large brick building, and stands on the north side of the
+road. John Piper died about the year 1872. The house is continued as a
+tavern under the joint management of John Howard, a son-in-law, and an
+unmarried daughter of the old proprietor. Henry B. Elbon also kept a
+tavern in Flintstone for many years, but his career began after that of
+the old road ended. Elbon died about four or five years ago. Fairweather
+and Ladew, of New York, own and operate a large tannery at Flintstone.
+
+Two miles west of Flintstone, Martin's Mountain is encountered, at the
+foot of which, on the east, Thomas Streets presided over an old tavern,
+and welcomed and cared for many a guest. His house was a frame
+structure, on the south side of the road.
+
+Two miles further on the westward tramp the widow Osford kept a regular
+old wagon stand. She was assisted by her son, Joseph. It is needless to
+state that her house was popular. She was a widow. Her house was a log
+building, on the south side of the road, with a large wagon yard
+attached. Her dining room occupied the greater portion of the ground
+floor of her house, and her table was always crowded with hungry guests.
+Kitchen and bar room made up the remainder of the first story, and
+wagoners' beds covered every inch of the bar room floor at night. Mrs.
+Osford retired from this house after a long season of prosperity, and
+was succeeded by Peter Hager, an old wagoner, who at one time drove a
+team for William Searight.
+
+Two miles west from widow Osford's, Henry Miller kept an old tavern. It
+was a brick house, on the south side of the road. It will be noted that
+Miller is the leading name among the old tavern keepers of the road. The
+Smiths don't figure much in this line.
+
+Two miles west of Henry Miller's an old tavern was kept by Slifer, whose
+first name is lost to memory. It is probable he was of the family of
+Slifers who kept at Boonsboro. It is said of this Slifer that he was a
+good, square dealing landlord, kept a good house and enjoyed a fair
+share of patronage.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+ _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Cumberland to Little
+ Crossings--The City of Cumberland--Everstine's--The Six Mile House
+ and Bridge--Clary's--Tragedy in Frostburg--Thomas Beall--Sand
+ Springs--Big Savage--Little Savage--Thomas Johnson--The Shades of
+ Death--John Recknor--Piney Grove--Mortimer Cade--Tomlinson's--Widow
+ Wooding._
+
+
+The city of Cumberland is the initial point, as before stated, of that
+portion of the National Road which was constructed by authority of
+Congress, and paid for with funds drawn from the public treasury of the
+United States. In 1835 James Black kept the leading tavern in
+Cumberland. It was a stage house. In 1836 John and Emory Edwards, of
+Boonsboro, leased the Black House, and conducted it as a tavern for many
+years thereafter. John Snider, the old pike boy of pleasant memory,
+hauled a portion of the household goods of the Edwards' from their old
+home in Boonsboro to their new location at Cumberland. At the date last
+mentioned there were two wagon stands in Cumberland. One of them was
+kept by Thomas Plumer. Plumer had teams on the road. The other was kept
+by George Mattingly. Frederic Shipley kept a tavern in Cumberland
+previous to the year 1840. It was located on Baltimore street, near the
+site of the station first established by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
+Company. This house was subsequently conducted by George W. Gump, and
+after him, in 1857, by David Mahaney. One Kaig, of Bedford county,
+Pennsylvania, succeeded Mahaney in the control of this house. It was
+called "The American," and entertained wagoners and the traveling public
+at large. In 1844 and later, the widow Adams kept a wagon stand in
+Cumberland, on the site of the present rolling mill. George Elliott was
+manager for Mrs. Adams. The house was a large brick structure, and known
+in its day as the "Mountain City House." Lewis Smith kept "The Blue
+Springs House" on Mechanics street, and was largely patronized by old
+wagoners. Frederic Shipley also kept a tavern on Mechanics street, after
+he left the American. John Kelso, the old wagoner, kept a tavern for a
+short time on Mechanics street, and was well patronized; and Otho
+Barcus, another old wagoner, kept the "Pennsylvania House" on Mechanics
+street in 1843, and for a period of three years thereafter. The road
+when first laid out, as seen in a previous chapter, passed over Wills
+Mountain. In 1834 this location was changed for a better grade, up the
+valleys of Wills creek and Braddock's run. To make this change it was
+necessary to first obtain the consent of the State of Maryland, which
+was granted by an act of her Legislature in 1832. The old Plumer tavern
+stood at the eastern end of the old location, and the old Mattingly
+tavern at the same end of the new location. George Evans kept a tavern,
+also, near the eastern end of the original location.
+
+[Illustration: JOHN KELSO.]
+
+Five miles west of Cumberland, on the new location, a wagon stand was
+kept by Joseph Everstine. This was a frame house, and stood on the north
+side of the road. It was well conducted, but owing to its proximity to
+Cumberland, did not do as large a business as other taverns of the road,
+more advantageously located.
+
+Six miles west from Cumberland there was an old tavern known as the "Six
+Mile House." It belonged to the Bruces, an old and wealthy family of
+Alleghany county, Maryland, and many years ago was destroyed by fire. A
+new building was erected on the old site, and remains to this day in the
+occupancy of a nephew of the old tavern keeper, Aden Clary. This house
+is near the junction of the old and new locations above referred to, and
+near the stone bridge over Braddock's run. The sixth mile post from
+Cumberland stands on the north wall of this bridge, firm and unshaken.
+The bridge is well preserved, and a polished stone thereof bears this
+inscription: "1835--Built by Thomas Fealy, Lieut. Jno. Pickell, U. S.
+Engineer, H. M. Petitt, Ass't Supt'd."
+
+Eight miles west from Cumberland Aden Clary kept. His house was a large
+and commodious brick building on the south side of the road, and is
+still standing. There was not a more popular house on the road than Aden
+Clary's.
+
+Frostburg is next reached. This was always a prominent point on the
+road. It did not derive its name, as many suppose, from the crisp
+atmosphere in which it was located, but from the original owner of the
+land on which it stands, whose name was Frost. Frostburg was the first
+stage station west of Cumberland. The leading taverns of Frostburg in
+the palmy days of the road were the "Franklin House" and the "Highland
+Hall House." The Franklin House was kept for many years by Thomas Beall,
+the father of the Bealls of Uniontown. It was headquarters of the Good
+Intent stage line. The Highland Hall House was conducted at different
+times by George W. Claybaugh, George Evans, Samuel Cessna and Thomas
+Porter. It was the headquarters of the Stockton line of coaches. During
+Cessna's time at this house he was the principal actor in a tragedy
+which produced considerable commotion in the vicinity. A negro servant
+employed by Cessna addressed some insulting remark to his wife, and
+immediately upon being informed thereof, Cessna proceeded to dispatch
+the negro without ceremony. He was tried in Cumberland for murder and
+acquitted, public sentiment very generally acquiescing in the verdict of
+the jury. About the year 1850 the Highland Hall House was purchased by
+the authorities of the Catholic church, remodeled, improved and
+converted to ecclesiastical uses.
+
+About one mile west of Frostburg, and at the foot of Big Savage
+mountain, is Sand Springs, so called from the gurgling water in the sand
+at that point. In 1836 the widow Ward kept a wagon stand tavern at Sand
+Springs. Her house was a favorite resort for old wagoners. On the night
+of October 3, 1836, snow fell to the depth of a foot at Sand Springs,
+breaking down the timber all through the surrounding mountains. Mrs.
+Ward's wagon yard was crowded with teams and wagons that night, and the
+snow was so deep the next day that the wagoners deemed it inexpedient to
+turn out, and remained at Mrs. Ward's until the following morning. John
+Snider was among the wagoners at Mrs. Ward's on the occasion mentioned,
+and is authority for the occurrence of the October snow storm. The
+tavern at Sand Springs was subsequently kept by John Welsh, an old stage
+driver, Hiram Sutton and Jacob Conrod, in the order named. Hiram Sutton
+was a son-in-law of Jared Clary. He kept the Sand Springs tavern down to
+the year 1852, when he moved to Parkersburg, West Virginia, and may be
+living there yet. Philip Spiker, the old blacksmith at Sand Springs, it
+is said could shoe more horses in a given time than any other blacksmith
+on the road. He had a rival, however, in A. Brice Devan, now of Dunbar,
+who, in the palmy days of the road, carried on a shop in Hopwood, and
+shod horses for old wagoners all night long on many occasions. Devan's
+backers will not concede that Spiker was a speedier shoer than he.
+
+A short distance west of Sand Springs, on the side of Big Savage
+mountain, an old wagon stand was kept by one Cheney, afterward by Jacob
+Conrod. It is a stone house, on the south side of the road. In Cheney's
+time at this house, Henry Clay Bush, who was an old wagoner, says that
+metallic mugs were used for drinking purposes, instead of glasses. He
+further states that the mugs were clean, and probably used through
+deference to the pure whisky of that day. Big Savage mountain is two
+thousand five hundred and eighty feet above the Atlantic.
+
+Two miles west from Cheney's, and at the foot of Little Savage mountain,
+Thomas Beall kept a tavern as early as 1830. William E. Beall,
+superintendent of the Uniontown rolling mill, was born at this old
+tavern. Thomas Beall removed from this place to Missouri, but after a
+short absence, returned to Western Maryland, and took charge of the
+Franklin House in Frostburg. Thomas Johnson succeeded Thomas Beall in
+the management of this house. It was a noted place, and Johnson was a
+noted character. He was a good fiddler and a good dancer. He owned a
+negro named Dennis, who was also a good dancer, and night after night in
+the cheerful bar room of the old tavern, Dennis performed the "double
+shuffle," responsive to lively music furnished by his old master.
+Johnson was small in stature, weighing but little over a hundred pounds.
+Although he participated freely in the fun of the old road, he was not
+unmindful or neglectful of his business. He owned the old tavern-stand
+mentioned and the lands adjacent, and dying, left a comfortable
+inheritance to his descendants. Little Savage mountain has an elevation
+of two thousand four hundred and eighty feet above the Atlantic, being
+one hundred feet lower than Big Savage.
+
+Three miles further westward, and at the eastern approach to the Shades
+of Death, John Recknor kept an old wagon stand, well known, and in its
+day well patronized. Recknor kept this house as early as 1830, and ended
+his days in it. It was a log and frame structure on the north side of
+the road, with a commodious wagon yard attached. The thick branches of
+the pine trees growing on Shade Hill, hung over this old house,
+imparting to it a romantic, as well as an attractive perspective. The
+fame of Mrs. Recknor as a purveyor of hot biscuits was co-extensive with
+the line of the road. Now,
+
+ "The kitchen is cold and the hall is as still,
+ As the heart of the hostess out there on the hill."
+
+Piney Grove comes next, two miles from Recknor's, so called from the
+numerous pine trees growing in the locality in the olden time. At an
+early day Joshua Johnson, a wealthy man of Frederic City, owned fifteen
+thousand acres of land, embracing Piney Grove and the Shades of Death,
+which he held for many years for speculative purposes. Portions of this
+large area, it is said, continue in the possession of Johnson's
+descendants to this day. The pine trees were cut down many years ago,
+sawed up and shipped to market. William Frost, of Frostburg, erected the
+first extensive saw mill in the vicinity. At Piney Grove there was an
+old tavern, kept at different times by Truman Fairall, Mortimer Cade,
+Lemuel Cross, John Wrench and David Mahaney. All the stage lines of the
+road stopped at this old tavern, and wagoners in goodly numbers also
+congregated there. It was a large frame building on the north side of
+the road, and on the opposite side large stables and sheds were erected
+for sheltering horses and vehicles.
+
+West of Piney Grove about one-fourth of a mile, an old wagon stand was
+kept by a man whose name was Wagoner, and subsequently by Isaac Bell,
+and later by Mortimer Cade. Cade kept this house in 1840, and died in
+it. His widow continued to keep it as a tavern for a number of years,
+and until she became the wife of William Fear, who kept a tavern on
+Keyser's Ridge. A daughter of Mrs. Cade is living in Uniontown at this
+time.
+
+Two miles west of Piney Grove the celebrated old Tomlinson tavern at
+Little Meadows is reached. This is an old stand; as old as the National
+Road. Here the lines of the National and the old Braddock roads
+coincide. Jesse Tomlinson owned the land at this point, and kept a
+tavern on the old Braddock road, before the National Road was made. Upon
+the opening of the latter he abandoned his old house and erected a new
+one on the new road, which he conducted as a tavern for many years.
+After his death the property passed to the hands of Jacob Sides. W. M.
+F. Magraw, as before stated, married a daughter of Jacob Sides. This
+place is referred to as the Little Meadows in the official record of
+Braddock's unfortunate march through the mountains in 1755. The region
+at and about Mt. Washington, further westward on the line of the road,
+where the conflict between Washington and the French and Indians
+occurred, in 1754, is designated by Washington, in his official report
+of that engagement, as the Great Meadows. Tomlinson's tavern is a large
+stone house, on the north side of the road. After Tomlinson, it was kept
+by Thomas Endsley, who was succeeded by Thomas Thistle, Thomas Thistle
+by James Stoddard, and he, in turn, by Jesse Huddleson, Truman Fairall,
+Lemuel Cross and David Mahaney, all before the railroad was continued
+west of Cumberland. It was kept by George Layman after the railroad
+absorbed the trade. Layman was afterward sheriff of Alleghany county,
+Maryland. In the year 1862, while the property was under the control of
+Mr. Magraw, the old Tomlinson tavern was remodeled and much improved.
+The contract for the improvements was undertaken by George W. Wyning, a
+well known carpenter of Uniontown, who superintended the work in person,
+and during its progress he and Magraw together, spent many a pleasant
+hour amid the exhilarating atmosphere of the mountains, in the society
+of the old pike boys. James K. Polk dined at the Tomlinson house in the
+spring of 1845, on his way to Washington to be inaugurated President.
+Huddleson was keeping the house at that time. The occasion brought
+together a large concourse of mountain people, who were addressed by the
+President-elect.
+
+One mile west from Tomlinson's the widow Wooding kept a tavern as early
+as 1842, and for some time thereafter. Her house was a frame building,
+on the north side of the road, and was largely patronized by old
+wagoners. Mrs. Wooding growing old, and wearied by the onerous duties of
+tavern keeping, gave up the business, and turned her house over to her
+son-in-law. Peter Yeast, who conducted it for a season, and in turn
+surrendered it to John Wright.
+
+One mile west of Mrs. Wooding's old stand the traveler reaches the
+Little Crossings, a name given to the locality from the circumstance
+that here the road crosses the Castleman river; and the prefix "little"
+is used because the Castleman is a smaller stream than the Youghiogheny,
+which is crossed a few miles further westward, and called the Big
+Crossings. There was no tavern at the Little Crossings previous to the
+year 1836. Subsequent to that date a tavern was established there by
+Alexander Carlisle, who entertained the traveling public in a
+satisfactory manner. His house was a large frame structure, on the south
+side of the road, subsequently kept by John and Samuel McCurdy, and
+later, at different times, by David Johnson, William Dawson, Elisha
+Brown, Jacob Conrod and David Mahaney. Although nearly twenty years
+elapsed from the building of the road before any old landlord at Little
+Crossings beckoned the weary traveler to rest and refreshment,
+nevertheless, thereafter, and until business ceased on the line, that
+locality presented many and rare attractions, as all old pike boys are
+ready to verify.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+ _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Little Crossings to Winding
+ Ridge--Grantsville--The Old Shultz, Steiner and Fuller Houses--The
+ Veteran, David Mahaney--Thomas Thistle, Widow Haldeman, Death of
+ Mrs. Recknor, Negro Mountain, Keyser's Ridge, Log Cabin Boys of
+ 1840, James Stoddard, Dennis Hoblitzell, The Fears, The McCurdys,
+ Adam Yeast, David Johnson, Perry Shultz, Truman Fairall, John
+ Woods, The Bane House, Wooing and Wedding of an Old Tavern Keeper,
+ James Reynolds, Henry Walters._
+
+
+Next after leaving the Little Crossings on the westward march, comes
+Grantsville, a romantic little mountain village in Garrett, formerly
+Alleghany, county, Maryland, named long before the hero of Appomattox
+was known to fame, and therefore not in his honor. In 1833 Samuel Gillis
+kept a tavern in the east end of Grantsville, on the south side of the
+road, the same house that in later years was kept by John Slicer. It was
+a wagon stand in the time of Gillis, and Slicer did not take charge of
+it until business had ceased on the road. John Lehman kept a tavern in
+Grantsville in 1836. He was a son-in-law, as was Peter Yeast, of the
+good old widow Wooding, before mentioned.
+
+The Lehman House was subsequently kept by Henry Fuller, and after him by
+George Smouse. It was a frame building near the center of the village,
+on the south side of the street and road. In 1843 Henry Fuller
+demolished this old house, and erected a new one in its place. Adam
+Shultz kept a tavern at the east end of Grantsville back in the forties,
+and dying in charge, was succeeded by his son Perry, who continued it
+down to the year 1852, when the ancient glories of the old pike began to
+weaken and wane. The Shultz House was an imposing brick structure, on
+the south side of the road, and was kept for a while by the veteran
+David Mahaney, and at one time by Jesse King. Perry Shultz was
+subsequently elected sheriff of Alleghany county, Maryland. Solomon
+Steiner also kept a tavern in Grantsville during a portion of the
+prosperous era of the road. Grantsville seems to have been a favorite
+locality for tavern keepers of German names and antecedents. Steiner's
+tavern was a brick building, and stood on the opposite side of the road
+from the old Shultz House. Steiner built it, owned it, and died in it,
+and his son, Archibald, conducted it for a number of years after his
+father's death. It was a wagon stand. The Fuller House was kept at
+different times by John D. Wrench, Bazil Garletts, Barney Brown, John
+Slicer, William Slicer, William Beffler, John Millinger, and Nathaniel
+Slicer. Christian M. Livengood is the present proprietor. Archibald
+Steiner was succeeded in his father's old house, first, by William Shaw,
+and thereafter in turn by John Millinger and Jonas E. Canagy, the
+present proprietor, and it is now called the Farmer's House.
+
+David Mahaney, whose name frequently appears in these pages, is a
+remarkable man. A boy when the National Road was made, he has lived on
+and near it all his life. His present residence is Dunbar, Fayette
+county, Pa., but he is a familiar figure on the streets of Uniontown. He
+is the father of Lloyd Mahaney, the well known enterprising owner and
+manager of the handsome new Mahaney house in Uniontown, and of George
+Mahaney, also a popular hotel man, who at one time kept the Dixon house
+in Greensburg, afterward a hotel in Pittsburg, and at the present time
+is conducting a house in Latrobe. David Mahaney was born in Washington
+county, Md., near Hagerstown, in 1807, and is therefore in his
+eighty-sixth year, while he has the appearance of a man not over sixty.
+His complexion is swarthy, step elastic, and his memory but slightly
+impaired by the inroads of time. His father was a native of Culpeper
+county, Va., who met with a melancholy death by drowning in the Potomac
+river, on the night of the presidential election of 1856. His polling
+place was eight miles from his residence, in Maryland, and to reach it
+and vote involved the crossing of the Potomac. It was late in the
+evening when he left the polls to return home, and upon reaching the
+river, by some untoward accident fell into the water and perished. David
+Mahaney's first venture in tavern keeping on his own account was at the
+old Shultz house in Grantsville. He was personally acquainted with Henry
+Clay, Thomas H. Benton, Lewis Cass, and others of the old time
+statesmen, and frequently entertained them.
+
+As early as 1836 Thomas Thistle kept a tavern at the foot of Negro
+Mountain, two miles west of Grantsville. With a name somewhat rasping in
+its import, Thistle had a smooth tongue, a mild manner, and furnished
+excellent entertainment for the traveling public. He was one of the
+oldest and best known tavern keepers on the road. His house was a long,
+frame wooden building, on the south side of the road, at times a stage
+station, and throughout its entire existence a wagon stand. Here the
+National Road crosses the line of the old Braddock road. In 1844 William
+Dehaven kept the old Thistle tavern, and later it was kept by Levi Dean.
+
+One and a half miles west from the old Thistle house, and on the eastern
+slope of Negro Mountain, the widow Haldeman kept a tavern as early as
+1840, and like all the widows, had a large patronage. While conducting
+this house, Mrs. Haldeman became the wife of Daniel Smouse, who
+thereafter took charge of it. The house was a log building, on the south
+side of the road, and the spacious grounds surrounding it were crowded,
+night after night, with six-horse teams and big, broad wheeled wagons,
+covered with canvass, presenting the appearance of a military
+encampment. This old house was subsequently kept by George Smouse, and
+later by John Wright. The widow Recknor, of savory memory, before
+mentioned, died a boarder in this old tavern, much lamented.
+
+[Illustration: DAVID MAHANY.]
+
+Onward, westward and upward, the crest of Negro Mountain is reached.
+There are several versions of the origin of the name of this mountain.
+Probably the one most worthy of acceptance is that in the early
+collisions between the whites and the Indians, a negro appeared as an
+ally of the Indians in a conflict on this mountain, and was among the
+slain. Negro Mountain is two thousand eight hundred and twenty-five feet
+above the level of the Atlantic ocean, and the second highest elevation
+on the line of the road. The old commissioners give the height of the
+mountain as two thousand three hundred and twenty-eight and twelve
+one-hundredths feet, from their base of measurement in the Potomac, near
+Cumberland, and as before stated, make no mention of Keyser's Ridge. In
+the year 1836 Dennis Hoblitzell kept a tavern near the summit of Negro
+Mountain, on the eastern slope. He was the father of Mrs. McClelland, of
+the McClelland house in Uniontown. This old tavern is a stone building,
+on the north side of the road, and the same that in after years became
+celebrated as a resort for hog drovers, under the management of William
+Sheets. It was kept as a tavern after Hoblitzell left it, and before the
+time of Sheets, by Thomas Beall.
+
+Two miles west from Negro Mountain Keyser's Ridge looms up in view. This
+was a famous locality in the prosperous days of the road. It is a bald,
+bleak range, not inaptly described as the back-bone of the mountains. It
+is two thousand eight hundred and forty-three feet above sea level, and
+the highest point on the road. In the olden time snow drifts often
+accumulated to the depth of twenty feet on Keyser's Ridge, and stages
+and wagons were compelled to take to the skirting glades to avoid them.
+Francis McCambridge kept a tavern here as early as 1820, and was
+succeeded by Robert Hunter, and he by James Stoddard, some time previous
+to 1840. Hunter went from this house to Petersburg. James Stoddard was
+the grandfather of Mrs. McClelland, of the McClelland house, Uniontown.
+Stages stopped at Stoddard's, as well as wagoners and travelers of every
+description. The log cabin boys of Uniontown stopped at Stoddard's the
+first night out on their memorable trip to Baltimore, in 1840, to attend
+the great Whig mass meeting of that year in that city. They had with
+them, on wheels, a regular log cabin, well stored with refreshments of
+every kind, and the very best; and every mile of their long journey
+resounded with lusty shouts for "Tippecanoe and Tyler, too." E. B.
+Dawson, esq., and Lucien B. Bowie, of Uniontown, are the only survivors
+of that unique pilgrimage, so far as can be ascertained. The party
+consisted of such distinguished and well remembered Whigs, of Uniontown,
+as James Veech, Alfred Patterson, Rice G. Hopwood, Thomas R. Davidson,
+Lee Haymaker, John Harvey, William McDonald, Robert L. Barry, James
+Endsley, William E. Austin, E. B. Dawson and Lucien B. Bowie. There
+were doubtless others, but owing to the long lapse of time their names
+are not recalled. Redding Bunting drove the team that hauled the cabin,
+and Thomas A. Wiley was with the party as an employe of the Stockton
+stage line, which furnished four coaches for the transportation of the
+political pilgrims. James Endsley was of the Somerfield family of
+Endsleys, and died in that place in July, 1893. At Middletown, a short
+distance east of South Mountain, in Maryland, the log cabin boys were
+confronted with a petticoat suspended from a pole, which excited them to
+rage. A collision and a fight ensued. John Harvey, the muscular man of
+the log cabin boys, engaged a like representative of the other side, and
+it is claimed, by the friends of Harvey, that he vanquished his
+antagonist. It is not improbable that both sides claimed a victory. The
+party reached Baltimore safely and on time, and were received in that
+city with great enthusiasm. They were tendered a reception speech, which
+was delivered by "The Milford Bard," a celebrated Baltimore poet and
+orator of that day, and the speech responsive was made by William E.
+Austin, who was a graceful orator, and his effort on this occasion was
+one of his best. The Stoddard House, at Keyser's Ridge, was subsequently
+and successively kept by Dennis Hoblitzell, William Fear, one of the
+McCurdys, Adam Yeast and David Johnson, the latter the stepfather of
+Mrs. McClelland, of the McClelland House, Uniontown, before mentioned,
+who was born in this house when it was kept by her father, Dennis
+Hoblitzell. William Fear owned the old Stoddard House, and sold it to
+Perry Shultz, who conducted it as a tavern for a number of years, in
+addition to the parties above named. William and Daniel Fear were
+brothers. William, upon quitting the road, removed to Virginia, where he
+lived to an old age and died. Daniel exchanged the mountains for the
+rich valley of the Monongahela, and ended his days in Brownsville. In
+1840 Truman Fairall built a house on Keyser's Ridge, and conducted it as
+a tavern down to the year 1853, and a short time thereafter moved to the
+State of Iowa, where he spent the remainder of his life. The Stockton
+line of coaches stopped at Fairall's. Fairall was a native of Old
+Virginia. Samuel Fairall, a son of Truman, the old tavern keeper, at one
+time a student in the Dunlap's Creek Academy, near Merrittstown, Fayette
+county, Pennsylvania, is a law judge in one of the courts of Iowa.
+
+About half a mile west of Keyser's Ridge, and in the year 1850, John
+Woods built a house and conducted it as a tavern until the close of
+business on the road. He was an uncle of Henry, Thomas and Alexander
+Woods, of Uniontown, and an old wagoner. Sandy Connor, the old
+blacksmith of Keyser's Ridge, and occasionally a stage driver, retired
+to an humble dwelling on the road side, opposite the Woods House, and
+there in the depths of the mountains took final leave of the old road
+and all its endearing memories.
+
+Two miles west of Keyser's Ridge an old wagon stand tavern was kept by
+Daniel Fear, before mentioned, who was the father of John G. Fear, who
+kept the old Workman House, in Brownsville, a few years ago, George W.
+Fear, formerly a wholesale liquor merchant in the same place, and Frank
+Fear, who once kept the Yough House in Connellsville. The old Fear
+tavern referred to was also at one time kept by Harvey Bane and by
+William Carlisle, and later by David Johnson. It was a frame house on
+the north side of the road. Within the venerable walls of this old
+tavern, and amid the romantic walks about it, when it was kept by David
+Johnson, Alfred McClelland, the renowned old tavern keeper of Uniontown,
+wooed and won his bride, and here in 1856 was happily married to Miss
+Sarah E. Hoblitzell, now, and for many years, a widow, and reigning
+mistress of the old McClelland House, in Uniontown, one of the most
+famous of all the far famed hostelries of the road.
+
+About three-fourths of a mile west from the old Fear House, in later
+years better known as the Bane House, James Reynolds established a
+tavern as early as the year 1818, and continued to preside over it and
+entertain the traveling public until the year 1843. It was a popular
+wagon stand in its day. James Reynolds, its old proprietor, was the
+father of William Reynolds, elsewhere mentioned as an old wagoner,
+tavern keeper and express agent. Daniel Fear succeeded James Reynolds in
+the old house mentioned, and conducted it for a term of four years. He
+next moved to a wooden house about three hundred yards to the westward,
+and kept it as a tavern for two years. This old house was built by Jacob
+Frederic Augustine, and known as the Augustine House. From this old
+house Daniel Fear moved to Sand Springs, and kept the old Hiram Sutton
+house at that point for a term of two years, at the end of which he
+moved to Brownsville, and died suddenly in Uniontown on July 7, 1854,
+while on a business errand to that place. John Woods succeeded Fear in
+the Augustine House.
+
+Within a distance of one hundred yards westward from the old Reynolds
+House, and in the year 1845, Henry Walters erected a wooden building and
+embarked in the business of tavern keeping. After a brief experience in
+this line, he removed to Hopwood, where he operated a blacksmith shop.
+While in Hopwood, and from the savings of tavern keeping and
+blacksmithing, he purchased the land on Dunbar's Camp, occupied it a
+number of years, sold it at an advance to Dr. Waters, of the Soldiers'
+Orphans' School, and with his added accumulations, bought the old
+Grier-Brown farm on Redstone creek, in Franklin township, Fayette
+county, Pennsylvania, founded the village of Waltersburg, and about two
+years ago died, leaving his family a comfortable inheritance. He is well
+remembered as an amiable, industrious and money accumulating citizen of
+German origin.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+ _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Winding Ridge to the Big
+ Crossings--The State Line--How it is Noted--The Old Stone Tavern on
+ Winding Ridge, John Welsh, Major Paul, The Wables, Edward C. Jones,
+ The Augustines, Daniel Blucher, Petersburg, Gen. Ross, William
+ Roddy, Gabriel Abrams, The Risler Family, Col. Samuel Elder, Robert
+ Hunter, John McMullin, Alfred Newlon, Lott Watson, John Mitchell,
+ John Bradfield, The Temple of Juno, The Big Crossings, Endsley's
+ Old Tavern, John Campbell, William Imhoff--An Old Time Fourth of
+ July Celebration._
+
+
+From Baltimore to the point last mentioned in the preceding chapter, all
+the old taverns on the road are in the State of Maryland. The road
+crosses the dividing line between the States of Maryland and
+Pennsylvania, near the eastern foot of Winding Ridge. The crossing point
+is marked by a metal slab shaped like the ordinary mile post, and bears
+this inscription on one side: "State Line, Md. 96-3/4 to Wheeling, to
+Petersburg, 2-3/4." On the other side: "State Line, Penna. 34-1/4 to
+Cumberland, to Frostburg, 23-1/4."
+
+Near the top of Winding Ridge, and in Somerset county, Pa., there is an
+old stone tavern which was built as early as the year 1819, and by John
+Welsh, who occupied it and conducted it down to the year 1821, when it
+passed to the management of Samuel Dennison, who was succeeded in turn
+by M. J. Clark, Isaac Ochletree, Peter Yeast, Maj. William Paul, Michael
+Cresap, Robert Boice and William Lenhart. John Welsh, who built this
+house and first occupied it, was the father-in-law of Aden Clary, well
+known in the early history of the road. Major Paul kept this house in
+1836, and for some time thereafter. He subsequently kept a tavern in
+Washington, Pa., on Maiden street, opposite the female seminary, and
+later in West Brownsville, where he died more than forty years ago. He
+was familiarly known from one end of the road to the other. Voluble in
+speech, rotund in form, and ruddy in complexion, Major Paul was a fine
+type of the jolly landlord of the old road. He had a daughter, the wife
+of Aaron Wyatt, an old tavern keeper of the road, who always enjoyed the
+reputation of keeping a good house, owing in all probability to the
+early and practical training of his wife. Mrs. Patrick at one time owned
+and occupied the old stone house on top of Winding Ridge. She was the
+mother of W. W. Patrick, now, and for many years, the intelligent head
+of the old reputable and successful banking house of R. Patrick & Co.,
+of Pittsburg. About the year 1850 the stables, appurtenant to the old
+stone tavern, above mentioned, and when it was kept by William Lenhart,
+were destroyed by fire, supposed to have been the incendiary work of a
+disreputable woman. The loss was serious, and included two fine horses,
+the property of William Hall, the typical old regular wagoner,
+hereinbefore mentioned. Winding Ridge derives its name from the tortuous
+course of the old Braddock road up the mountain, at that point.
+
+[Illustration: JOHN RISLER.]
+
+At the foot of Winding Ridge, on the north side of the road, an old
+wagon and drove stand was kept as early as the year 1820, by John Wable.
+This old tavern keeper was probably well advanced in years when he first
+put out his sign, and from this old house he was summoned to his last
+account. He had two sons, John and Jacob, who succeeded him in the
+management of the old tavern, as tenants in common. The sons applied
+themselves assiduously to the business of entertaining the public, and
+after a brief experience, concluded that their father's old house was
+too small to meet the demands of the increasing trade and travel of the
+road, and accordingly tore it down and erected a new and larger one in
+its place. The new house attracted a paying business, and remains a well
+known landmark of the road. In course of time the Wables left this
+house, and their successor was Edward C. Jones, the grandfather, on the
+maternal line, of Caleb and Noble McCormick, of Uniontown. This was more
+than fifty years ago. Mr. Jones moved from this old house to Searights,
+where he resided for a time, and subsequently located in New Salem,
+where he died. The old Wable house next passed to the hands of Jonas
+Augustine, who became its owner and conducted it as a tavern for many
+years, doing a good business. While in charge of this old tavern he was
+elected a member of the legislature of Pennsylvania for Somerset county,
+and represented his constituents with recognized fidelity. He died soon
+after his legislative career ended, and the old tavern was purchased by
+his brother, Daniel Augustine, who kept it for many years, and until
+tavern keeping on the road ceased to be profitable. Previous to the
+occupancy of Daniel Augustine, this house was kept for brief periods
+between 1840 and 1845, first by Michael Cresap, and after him by Joseph
+Whetstone. Cresap went from this house to the stone house on Winding
+Ridge. The widow of Jonas Augustine, well advanced in years, occupies
+this old house at the present time, as a private residence, and Daniel
+Augustine is a resident of Petersburg, and regarded as the richest man
+in that town.
+
+One mile west of Augustine's, Daniel Blucher kept a tavern as early as
+1828. He was a German, and his custom consisted mainly of the patronage
+of old wagoners. This house dropped from the roll of taverns long before
+the great travel on the road ceased.
+
+The ancient and picturesque village of Petersburg is the next point
+reached on the westward march. Petersburg is noted for its healthful
+location and the beauty of the surrounding scenery. It has always been a
+popular resort for summer tourists seeking exemption from the stifling
+heat of crowded cities. Here lives [G]Gen. Moses A. Ross, a retired
+merchant, who did business in the village for fifty years, and gained
+the confidence and enjoys the esteem of all his neighbors. A number of
+years ago his fellow citizens elected him to the legislature, and he
+served them intelligently, faithfully and honestly. He is a christian
+gentleman, and his long and honest business career on the road entitles
+him to be classed as a pike boy, well worthy of honorable mention.
+General Ross was born in Masontown, Fayette Co., Pa., in the year 1810.
+Here also lived for many years, and died, William Roddy, who was at one
+time a superintendent of the road, and a gentleman of unquestioned
+integrity. The first tavern ever kept in Petersburg was by Gabriel
+Abrams, father of the late Judge Abrams, of Brownsville. It was a frame
+house, on the south side of the road, and built by Gabriel Abrams,
+aforesaid. This house did a large business throughout the entire career
+of the road, as a national highway. Subsequent to the time of Abrams it
+was conducted successively and successfully by John Skinner, Daniel
+Clary (in 1830), William Reynolds, Thomas Brownfield, James Marlow,
+Michael Cresap, Peter Turney, Joseph Hendrickson and Henry Magee. A
+frame house on the north side, erected by Henry Wentling, was conducted
+by him as a tavern from 1820 to 1829, when he leased it to John Risler,
+a celebrated old tavern keeper, who kept at various points on the road
+in the days of its glory. Mr. Risler was the father-in-law of the
+venerable Harrison Wiggins, Brown Hadden, and the late Stephen W.
+Snyder, and it is the tradition of the road that wherever a kitchen and
+a dining room were controlled by a female member of the Risler family,
+there a well cooked and relishable meal was sure to be obtained. Mr.
+Risler was succeeded in the old Wentling house by James Connelly, and
+he, in 1835, by the stalwart and popular old wagoner, Matthias Fry. Fry
+remained in charge until the spring of 1838, when he turned it over to
+John Bell, who was succeeded by his son-in-law, Col. Samuel Elder, who
+remained in charge until some time late in the forties, when he moved to
+Uniontown and took the management of the National house in that place.
+In the year 1832 Robert Hunter opened a tavern in a brick house, on the
+south side of the road and street, in Petersburg, and conducted it for
+many years with marked success. Mrs. Hunter, the old and amiable hostess
+of this house, is remembered as well for her good qualities as a
+housekeeper as for her immense size. She weighed two hundred and fifty
+pounds. This old house was subsequently kept by John A. Walker, John
+McMullin, Alfred Newlon and Lott Watson, in the order given, and was
+always well kept. The stage coaches of one of the early lines stopped at
+this house, and it has been extensively patronized by summer visitors
+and pleasure seekers. It was one of the very best eating houses on the
+road, and is continued as a tavern to this day by Mr. Mitchell, who
+holds a license and keeps a good house. John E. Reeside married a
+step-daughter of John McMullin.
+
+[Footnote G: Died December 12, 1893.]
+
+[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF JUNO.]
+
+At a very early period in the road's history, John Mitchell kept a
+tavern one mile west of Petersburg, on the north side. Besides doing a
+general business, this old house was a station for the first line of
+stages on the road. It was destroyed by fire on the 31st day of October,
+1828, and supplied by a new log structure, which was kept as a tavern
+for many years by John Mitchell, jr., who erected near the old site the
+present large and substantial brick building in which he is now living,
+one of the oldest men on the road. On the opposite side of the road from
+this house immense stabling was erected, in after years supplemented by
+cattle and hay scales, all of which are still standing, tending slightly
+towards dilapidation and decay, but in a much better state of
+preservation than most of the old stables of the road. There is a large
+and fertile farm connected with this old tavern stand, well managed,
+under the direction of its venerable owner, [H]John Mitchell.
+
+[Footnote H: Died in 1892.]
+
+A short distance west from Mitchell's, a large brick house on the north
+side of the road, was kept as a tavern by John Bradfield in 1840, and
+later. The locality was known as Newbury. John Bradfield was the general
+agent of the first heavy freight line put on the road, moved by six
+horse teams, stationed at intervals of fifteen miles. He was an old
+wagoner, and a good business man, and before going to Newbury kept a
+tavern in Wheeling and in Washington, Pennsylvania. After Bradfield's
+retirement the Newbury house was continued as a tavern by Moses
+Jennings.
+
+Less than a mile west of Newbury, on the north side of the road, an old
+building once used as a tavern, attracts special attention by reason of
+the singular style of its architecture. It is a wooden structure,
+commonly called a frame, with an unusually high portico in front,
+supported by four round and tall wooden columns, tapering upward and
+downward from the centers. It reminds one of the old pictures of the
+temple of Juno, and possibly the designer had that ancient temple in
+view when he planned this old tavern. He is said to have been a native
+of the vicinity, not likely versed in the classic orders of
+architecture, but the style he adopted in this instance might reasonably
+be regarded as the Monogynous. Two immense stables appurtenant to this
+old tavern, one log, the other frame, both still standing, weather
+beaten, empty, and useless, bear silent, but impressive testimony to the
+thrift of other days, and impart a tinge of melancholy to the memories
+of the old pike. Daniel Show was the original owner of the quaint old
+building above described, and its first occupant. He sold it to Samuel
+Easter, who conducted it for a brief period, and was succeeded by Peter
+Lenhart, mentioned hereinafter as "Shellbark." Samuel Thompson succeeded
+Lenhart, and he in 1846 was succeeded by Mrs. Metzgar, who subsequently
+became the wife of John Olwine.
+
+[Illustration: THE ENDSLEY HOUSE.]
+
+And now the hills that skirt the Youghiogheny river rise to view, and
+Somerfield is reached, an ancient little town, which the old metal mile
+posts on the road persist in calling Smithfield. That this town was once
+called Smithfield there can be no doubt, and that it now is Somerfield
+is equally clear. It was originally called Smithfield, because its
+founder's name was Smith, but the postoffice department changed it to
+Somerfield on account of the great multitude of Smiths and Smithfields
+in all portions of the universe. Somerfield has been the scene of many a
+lively incident of the old road. Here light feet, impelled by lighter
+hearts, tripped to the notes of merry music, and the ringing laugh and
+sprightly jokes of the old stage driver and wagoner, enlivened the now
+dull halls of the old taverns. The most noted old tavern keeper of
+Somerfield was Capt. Thomas Endsley. Somerfield was always a stage
+station, the second relay east of Uniontown. The Endsley House was the
+headquarters of Stockton's line. It is a stone building, and stands near
+the bank of the river at the western end of the town, and was erected in
+the year 1818 by Kinkead, Beck & Evans, the old bridge builders, and
+occupied and conducted as a tavern by James Kinkead, the senior member
+of the firm, from the date of its completion to the year 1822. John
+Campbell was its next occupant, who kept it for a term of two years, and
+until 1824. Capt. Endsley then took charge of it, and conducted it down
+to the year 1829. John Shaffer kept it from 1829 to 1831, when Capt.
+Endsley again took charge and continued down to 1834, when Redding
+Bunting was installed, and conducted it down to the year 1837. He was
+succeeded by John Richards, who remained in charge until 1840. Squire
+Hagan conducted it from 1840 to 1842, and Aaron Wyatt from 1842 to 1847,
+when Capt. Endsley, the third time, re-entered, and remained in charge
+until 1852, when he gave place to his son William, the present
+incumbent. This old house is as solid as when first constructed. Its
+foundation walls are not the least impaired, and its mortar pointings
+are as hard as the stones, while the wood work, and notably the doors,
+casings and mantel pieces, are in a perfect state of preservation,
+attesting the skill of the mechanics at the early period in which the
+house was built. Near the center of the town, on the south side of the
+street, an old log tavern was kept by John Campbell, as early as the
+year 1824, and immediately after his retirement from the Endsley House.
+He was succeeded in turn at this house by L. C. Dunn, Samuel Frazee,
+Moses Jennings, and John Bradfield. The June Bug line of stages stopped
+at this house, and for a while the Good Intent line. It went out of
+business in 1853, was remodeled and improved, and is now the private
+residence of James Watson. Prior to 1837 and down to 1849 a tavern was
+kept on the north side of the street in Somerfield, by Daniel Blucher,
+J. Tantlinger, Capt. Morrow, Aaron Wyatt, Andrew Craig, Samuel Thompson
+and P. R. Sides, in the order given. This house ceased to do business in
+1849, and was pulled down in 1883, and never rebuilt. In 1823 James
+Kinkead, the old bridge builder, kept a tavern in a brick house on the
+south side of the street in Somerfield. This house was afterward and
+successively kept by William Imhoff, James Watson, Lot Watson, John
+Irvin and Ephraim Vansickle. Vansickle was a blind man and engaged in
+tavern keeping when the glory of the road was fading away. He had many
+of the elements of a successful tavern keeper, and furnished
+satisfactory entertainment to the few travelers and strangers who sought
+shelter and refreshment under his kindly roof; but he was too late.
+Tavern keeping on the National Road was but a legend when he embarked in
+the business, and he was constrained to listen day after day, and night
+after night to the glowing recitals of the good times in bygone years,
+and reconcile himself as best he could to the existing situation. At
+Somerfield the road crosses the Youghiogheny river over a large,
+handsome and substantial stone bridge, three hundred and seventy-five
+feet in length, with three symmetrical arches, and appropriately named
+by old pike boys the Big Crossings. A large dressed stone in the wall of
+this bridge above the surface of the road, and near the eastern end,
+bears the inscription; "Kinkead, Beck & Evans, builders, July 4th,
+1818." The day of the month, the anniversary of Independence, is given
+because on that day the bridge was finished, and the occasion was
+celebrated with great eclat. The inhabitants of the mountains for miles
+around, male and female, old and young, with old fashioned banners and
+old fashioned music, turned out in great numbers, inspired by that
+genuine patriotism which characterized the early period of our country's
+independence, while yet many of the soldiers of the revolution were
+living, and were addressed in eloquent terms by the Hon. Andrew Stewart,
+Col. Samuel Evans, Hon. John Dawson and John M. Austin, of Uniontown.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+ _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Big Crossings to Mt.
+ Washington--Old Shellbark, Jacob Probasco, Jockey Hollow, Old Tom
+ Brown, Mt. Augusta, Marlow's, the Three Cabins, McCollough's--A
+ Fugitive Slave Tragedy--A Sermon cut short by the Baying of
+ Hounds--Charley Rush--The Sheep's Ear--the Bull's Head, the Old
+ Inks House, Nick McCartney, Boss Rush, Samuel Frazer, John Rush._
+
+
+The first old tavern west of the "Big Crossings," and the first in
+Fayette county, Pa. (for the river here is the boundary line between the
+counties of Fayette and Somerset), is that which for many years was kept
+by Peter Lenhart, commonly known as "Shellbark." This is a two-story
+house, originally built with logs, but subsequently weather-boarded and
+painted red. The red, however, has long since disappeared, and it now
+wears the dingy, dark colored hue that settles upon all ancient
+buildings. A man named Ebert built this house and occupied it as a
+private residence. He was a tanner by trade, and a justice of the peace.
+He sold out to Peter Lenhart's father, who occupied the house also as a
+private residence until his death, when his son Peter succeeded him and
+opened up the house as a tavern, and soon after added a distillery. The
+house had a good custom and "Shellbark" was prosperous. He was an
+eccentric man, and like Orator Puff, had two tones to his voice. He had
+a habit, upon rising every morning, of cutting a large slice from a loaf
+of bread, spreading it with butter, and eating it in connection with a
+glass of whiskey. He enjoyed this matutinal habit for many years, and
+rarely omitted it. Why he was called "Shellbark" is not accurately
+known. He was in early life an old-line Democrat, but in later years got
+"mixed up," and seemed to have lost his political moorings. He died a
+few years ago, and his widow and daughter remain in the old house,
+occasionally entertaining strangers and travelers in very satisfactory
+style.
+
+[Illustration: THE BIG CROSSINGS.]
+
+The next old tavern stand is about half a mile from Lenhart's, on the
+south side of the road. The line of the National Road here is the same
+as that of the old Braddock road, and this house was kept as a tavern by
+Andrew Flenniken, before the National Road was constructed. Jacob
+Probasco succeeded Flenniken in this house. Besides keeping a tavern,
+Probasco had teams on the road, was a contractor for repairs, operated a
+store, put up and operated a grist and saw mill, and engaged in many
+other enterprises. One of his contracts was for taking up a portion of
+the old road bed. At first, as elsewhere noted, the road was paved with
+large boulders, which were subsequently taken up and their places
+supplied by stones broken into small pieces. There are points along
+the road where the old bed remains, and here the road is in better
+condition than elsewhere, which has started the belief that it was a
+mistake to take up the original bed; but this is a disputed and
+unsettled question. Prominent among those who thought it was a mistake
+to take up the original road bed was Capt. Thomas Endsley, the old
+tavern keeper of Somerfield. He argued the question on many occasions
+with the engineers, and after the work was done adhered to his opinion,
+and characterized the plan as a foolish notion of inexperienced young
+cadets. Probasco got into trouble in attempting to collect a claim by
+attachment, was indicted for perjury, and soon after left the State,
+settling in Ohio, and there became prominent and wealthy. It was a
+relative, probably a son of Jacob Probasco, who donated the money for
+the erection of the celebrated fountains in the city of Cincinnati.
+Probasco sold out to Peter Baker, who kept the house a number of years,
+and he was succeeded in turn by John Irvin, Jacob Richards, Charles
+Kemp, Aaron Wyatt, Morris Mauler, Aden Clary and Alexander Speers. It
+was a stage house, and passengers by one of the coach lines took meals
+there. John Conway now occupies the property, and it is owned by Aden
+Clary, of Frostburg, Maryland. The house is long and narrow, made up of
+different structures erected at different times, one part stone, another
+log, and a third frame, all now, and for a long time heretofore, joined
+together and enclosed by weather-boarding. The intervening space between
+this and the Youghiogheny river is called "Jockey Hollow," a level piece
+of road upon which horses were run and cock-fighting practiced. Hence
+the name Jockey Hollow. Ephraim Vansickle, "Blind Eph," as he was
+called, kept a tavern many years in an old log house in Jockey Hollow,
+and did a good business. This house was never kept as a tavern by any
+other person than Vansickle. He subsequently kept a tavern in
+Somerfield. Nicholas Bradley, who died a few years ago, was an old
+denizen of Jockey Hollow. He was a contractor on the original
+construction of the road, and as his name implies, an Irishman. His son,
+Daniel, still lives here, an active business man and an influential
+Democratic politician. [I]Jeremiah Easter, esq., Democratic Jury
+Commissioner, also lives here. John Conway once kept a tavern in the
+"bend of the road" near the foot of the hill, about half a mile west of
+Jockey Hollow. This house was a log structure, long since demolished,
+and a small frame now stands on the old site. John Conway was Daniel
+Bradley's grandfather, long since dead, and therefore not the man at
+present occupying the old Probasco tavern.
+
+[Footnote I: Now deceased.]
+
+Next is the old tavern of Thomas Brown. This is a large stone house,
+built by Mr. Brown about the time the road was made. It stands on the
+south side of the road. Brown kept it as a tavern from the time it was
+built until the time of his death. Col. Ben Brownfield and Gen. Henry W.
+Beeson were wont to come here on their sleighing excursions in the olden
+time, often remaining many nights and days enjoying themselves in
+dancing and feasting. Brown was a good fiddler, and furnished his guests
+with music, as well as other means of entertainment. He was a large man
+with a shrill voice, and considered a popular landlord. The property
+remained in the Brown family a few years after the death of the old
+proprietor, and ultimately fell into the hands of Jacob Umberson, the
+present occupant. The elections of Henry Clay township were formerly
+held at this house, and many exciting scenes have been witnessed here on
+election day.
+
+The next old tavern site is Mt. Augusta. (Site is used because the old
+brick tavern house that stood here for so many years was burned down
+some time ago, and has not been rebuilt.) It was one of the largest and
+most commodious houses on the road, with two large water troughs and
+extensive stabling among the appurtenances. In the palmy days of the
+road it did a large business. John Collier was the original owner and
+occupant of this property. At his death it fell into the hands of his
+son, Daniel, who kept it for a number of years and sold out to Thomas
+Brownfield. Brownfield kept tavern here for thirty years, and sold out
+to John O'Hegarty, the present owner and occupant. Daniel Collier moved
+from here to Georges township, where he died a few years ago, the owner
+of a large estate. Brownfield became successively commissioner and
+sheriff of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and at the close of his term as
+sheriff removed to the State of Missouri, where he died. The sale of
+this property by Brownfield to O'Hegarty, was effected through the
+agency of the celebrated Henry Clay Dean. O'Hegarty lived in Lebanon
+county, Pennsylvania, when he became the purchaser. The old tavern house
+was burnt during the occupancy of Mr. O'Hegarty. After the fire he moved
+into a frame tenant house, on the opposite side of the road, a little to
+the east, where he lives now. He is an acting justice of the peace,
+esteemed for his honesty and probity, and wields great influence among
+his neighbors.
+
+Next is a stone house on the south side of the road, first kept as a
+tavern by William Shaw, and afterward by William Griffin, Charles Kemp,
+Isaac Denny and William A. Stone, in the order given. It did a good
+business, and was regarded as a good house.
+
+[Illustration: DANIEL COLLIER.]
+
+Next comes the old Marlow House. This is a large two-story brick
+building, near the summit of a long hill. On the opposite side of the
+road a large stable was erected, capable of sheltering a hundred horses,
+and now in a decaying condition. The indispensable water-trough was here
+also. This house was built and kept as a tavern by Benjamin Miller, the
+grandfather of Ben, Jeff and Sam Miller, of Uniontown. Miller sold the
+property to James Marlow. Marlow kept it a long time, and died in it. At
+the time of his death he was superintendent of the road. He was a short,
+heavy set, quiet man, and came from Maryland. He had several sons, all
+of whom went west many years ago, and one of them is now the proprietor
+of the "American hotel," in the city of Denver. Benjamin Miller was
+once a candidate for the Legislature, and pending his canvass declared,
+"By the Eternal, if the people did not elect him he would go up on the
+hill overlooking Harrisburg, and look down with contempt upon the
+Capitol." He was not elected.
+
+At the foot of the hill, below the Marlow House, stood, in the olden
+time, a cluster of small log cabins, three in number, which constituted
+a tavern stand known as the "Bush House," or "Three Cabins." This quaint
+old tavern was kept by one Leonard Clark, who entertained a great many
+strangers and travelers, especially such as were in quest of something
+to slake their thirst. Its best business days were during the time the
+road was undergoing construction, and upon its completion the "Three
+Cabins" succumbed to more pretentious inns. These cabins were covered
+with clap-boards; the chimneys built of rough stones, and "topped out"
+with mud and sticks. Clark, the old proprietor, retired from public life
+soon after the completion of the road, went west, left his cabins to the
+tender mercies of the elements, and scarcely a trace of them can be seen
+at this day. That jolly times occurred at this old tavern, among the
+early pike boys, there can be no question.
+
+The next house is a two-story stone building with portico in front,
+known in recent years as the "Old McCollough Stand." It was built and
+first kept as a tavern by a man named Bryant. James Sampey, Isaac Nixon,
+Morris Mauler and Nicholas McCartney, each kept this house for shorter
+or longer terms before McCollough went into it. Col. John W. McCollough,
+who became the owner of the property, kept tavern here for many years,
+and died the proprietor. He was a man of stalwart size, a talking man
+and a politician. He was likewise a contractor, and did much work on the
+road. He left a widow and several children. [J]Jim and Nick, two of his
+sons, are well known pike boys. His [K]widow married 'Squire Burke, who
+now occupies the house, and there is no place on the road where a better
+meal can be obtained. A tragedy was enacted at this house which forms a
+memorable event in the history of the old pike, and served as a good
+text for the old anti-slavery agitators. It was on the 4th of July,
+1845. Early in the morning of that day, while a number of wagoners were
+engaged in feeding and cleaning their teams, as they stood in the wagon
+yard, a negro passed along the road, and William King, one of the
+wagoners aforesaid, cried out in a loud voice to Nicholas McCartney, who
+was then keeping the house, "There goes a runaway nigger." "Are you sure
+of that?" inquired McCartney. "I am," replied King, whereupon McCartney
+darted after the negro and captured him a short distance south of the
+house, the rocks and brush in that locality having impeded the progress
+of the fugitive. McCartney led him into the house, and informed him that
+he was going to take him back to his master in Maryland. The negro
+seemed submissive, and McCartney placed him in charge of one Atwell
+Holland, his brother-in-law, while he went for a horse to carry out his
+purpose of taking him back to Maryland. During McCartney's absence the
+negro ran out of the house, and Atwell and others pursued him. Atwell
+being more fleet than any of the other pursuers, soon overtook the
+negro, whereupon he wheeled upon Holland, drew a dirk knife from his
+pocket, struck it into his pursuer's heart, and made good his escape.
+Holland immediately fell to the ground, and expired while being borne to
+the house by his companions. Among the persons present on this tragic
+occasion, was one Lewis Mitchell, who was a great hunter and an
+occasional preacher. While Holland was lying on the ground dying,
+Mitchell placed wild grape leaves on his wound, and prayed for him.
+Mitchell was preaching once in this neighborhood, and in one of his most
+earnest passages, heard the yelping of hounds. He immediately ceased
+preaching, and exclaimed, "There are the hounds, and d--d if Lead ain't
+ahead," and straightway dashed out of the meeting house to join the
+sportsmen.
+
+[Footnote J: Both now dead.]
+
+[Footnote K: Now dead.]
+
+The next old tavern is about four hundred yards from the last one, and
+was also built by Bryant, above mentioned, but not for a tavern. This
+house was kept successively by John McCollough, Morris Mauler and Adam
+Yeast, and is now kept by [L]Nick McCollough. There were times when it
+had a "good run" of patronage. Adam Yeast, one of its old occupants, was
+an eccentric character, and ultimately became a lunatic.
+
+[Footnote L: Since deceased.]
+
+Next we come to Charley Rush's old stand. This was a famous stopping
+place. Charles Rush settled here in the woods in 1838, built the house,
+which he occupied as a tavern until he died in 1846, in the prime of
+life. He always kept a big team on the road, under the management of a
+hired driver. He was a brother of Boss Rush, and the father of Henry
+Clay Rush, a prominent and influential citizen of Uniontown. He was fond
+of horse racing, and always kept fast horses. His son Henry Clay was his
+favorite rider, who, when a small boy, appeared on the race course
+arrayed in the jockey outfit, and exactly filling the regulation weight.
+He would cut a sorry figure now, on the back of a race horse. Charles
+Rush was kind and charitable in disposition, but when exigencies
+required, would not decline a fisticuff. Many an overbearing bully has
+felt the damaging effects of his well-aimed blows. He entertained
+strangers and travelers at his hospitable board, whether they had the
+means of paying their bills or not, but always preferred that
+impecunious guests should inform him of their condition before engaging
+accommodations. On one occasion an Irishman tarried with him over night,
+and in the morning, after breakfast, informed him that he had no money
+to pay his bill. "Why didn't you tell me that last night?" sharply
+inquired Mr. Rush. "And faith, sir," replied the Irishman, "I'm very
+sorry to tell you of it this morning." Rush, pleased with his wit,
+absolved him from his bill, gave him a parting drink, and allowed him to
+go "Scot free." [M]William L. Smith, esq., ex-county commissioner,
+married the widow Rush, and occupies the old stand as a private
+residence. Samuel Rush, a farmer, and brother of Charles, lived about
+three miles from here, back in the country. He was a contractor on the
+road, and an energetic, honest and highly respected citizen. He was the
+father of [N]Marker Rush, the proprietor of the well known "Rush House,"
+near the Union Depot, in Pittsburg. Marker must have inherited his
+fondness for the sports of the day through his uncle Charles, as his
+father was not given to worldly indulgences.
+
+[Footnote M: Now dead.]
+
+[Footnote N: Since deceased.]
+
+[Illustration: SEBASTIAN RUSH.]
+
+There was a little log house a short distance west of Charley Rush's old
+stand, which was kept as a tavern for a few years by Edward Dean. It was
+not one of the original taverns, and not considered "regular." The pike
+boys of the neighborhood called it the "Sheep's Ear." Its chief business
+consisted in selling whisky at three cents a drink, which was the price
+of whisky all along the road. F. H. Oliphant, the well known iron
+manufacturer, probably the oldest in the State, once put a line of
+wagons on the road to carry goods and merchandise from Brownsville to
+Cumberland. The wagons were drawn by mules, and the teams changed at
+fixed points along the road. This old Dean House was one of the stopping
+places of this line. One night some mischievous person, or persons, cut
+the harness of one of the teams into shreds, so that Oliphant's line did
+not move out the next morning from the "Sheep's Ear." Another house of
+similar proportions and character near by, was kept by Thomas Dean. It
+was known in the neighborhood as the "Bull's Head." It was the custom of
+the pike boys of the neighborhood to collect together in these old
+houses, when they were kept as taverns, now at one and then at the
+other, to "while away" the long winter evenings, and enjoy themselves in
+dancing and revelry. Nicholas McCartney often attended these festive
+gatherings when a young man, and could relate many interesting incidents
+and anecdotes connected with the "Sheep's Ear" and "Bull's Head" inns.
+
+We next come to the old Inks House, now owned and occupied by Nicholas
+McCartney. This is a large frame, weather-boarded house, with a spacious
+wagon yard attached, a large stable and a number of sheds and other
+outbuildings. The house was built by George Inks, and kept by him as a
+tavern for many years. A man named Heckrote kept here once, and so also
+did John Risler, and Samuel M. Clement, for many years a prosperous
+farmer on Redstone creek, near Uniontown, entertained the traveling
+public for a brief period, in his early manhood, and proved himself a
+competent landlord. The house enjoyed a large share of patronage during
+the prosperous times on the road. [O]Mr. McCartney, present occupant and
+owner, has been in feeble health for many months. Previous to his
+present illness he was a man of robust health and great energy. He is a
+son-in-law of Thomas Brownfield, the old proprietor of the Mt. Augusta
+House. He is universally esteemed among his neighbors, and general
+sympathy is manifested on account of his illness.
+
+[Footnote O: Now dead.]
+
+We next reach the celebrated house of [P]Sebastian Rush, invariably
+called "Boss." It is not a wagon stand, but an old stage house. Here
+stage passengers took meals, which were invariably gotten up in the best
+style. The house was built in 1837 by Hon. Nathaniel Ewing, who then
+owned it. Rush moved into it soon after it was finished, as lessee of
+Judge Ewing, and not long after purchased it, and occupied it
+uninterruptedly to the present time. Here, also, is a store, postoffice
+and other improvements, constituting a little village called Farmington,
+and considered the grand commercial and business center of the
+mountains. Sebastian Rush is widely known as an influential Republican
+politician, has been superintendent of the road by appointment of the
+Governor, and nominated by his party for Associate Judge, but defeated
+by reason of the decided and long existing preponderance of the
+Democracy in the county. When a young man, and living in a small log
+house near the tavern stand of his brother, Charles, he was elected
+constable of his township, and, being too poor to own a horse, performed
+the functions of his office on foot. Since then he has made constables
+and other officers, and owned horses without number. Previous to 1837
+the widow Tantlinger kept tavern in an old wooden house, on the ground
+now covered by the Rush house. The store here, before Rush came to the
+property, was conducted by Peter T. Laishley, an old and well known
+Methodist preacher, still living. He was then a Free Will Baptist.
+Morgan Jones also once kept store at this point. He is now a real estate
+broker in Philadelphia, and said to be wealthy. He had several brothers,
+among them David, John and Samuel E., who were well known. David settled
+in Wisconsin, and became Lieutenant Governor. John went to Kentucky, and
+became a prominent iron manufacturer. Samuel E. is a Probate Judge in
+southern Colorado. Allen Crane also once kept store here.[Q]
+
+[Footnote P: Deceased.]
+
+[Footnote Q: Deceased.]
+
+The house now owned and occupied by Washington Hensel, was once kept as
+a tavern by Samuel Frazer. Its public career terminated about the time
+Sebastian Rush located at Farmington. A short distance over the hill,
+west, there is a frame house, built by John Rush, and by him kept as a
+tavern for a number of years. Henry Clay Rush also kept this house for a
+short time. It is not classed among the old taverns, but during its
+short public career enjoyed a high degree of popularity. Boss Rush, jr.,
+lives here now in the capacity of a private citizen. John Rush was one
+of the most popular landlords along the road. He is a brother of Boss,
+and is still living, somewhere in the west. This old house was destroyed
+by fire a few years ago, and nothing remains of it but two tall
+chimneys, standing erect at this day.
+
+[Illustration: RUINS OF THE OLD JOHN RUSH HOUSE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+ _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Fort Necessity,
+ Washington's First Battle Field, Monroe Springs, Reception to
+ President Monroe, Gate Bob McDowell, Braddock's Run and Grave,
+ Fayette Springs, A Trio of Old Fiddlers, Chalk Hill, Snyders, Old
+ Squire Price, The Summit of Laurel Hill, Molly Calhoun, Ephraim
+ McLean, The Big Water Trough on Laurel Hill, The Goat Pen, The
+ Turkey's Nest, Monroe, known now mostly as Hopwood, Matthias Fry,
+ German D. Hair, The Old Morris House, Widow Sands, Harry Gilbert._
+
+
+Mt. Washington is a point replete with historic interest. Here
+Washington first measured swords with an enemy, and fought his first
+battle. It is the site of Fort Necessity, and known in colonial times as
+the Great Meadows. Gen. Washington subsequently became the owner of this
+property, and held it until his death. It was no doubt owing to the fact
+that his first engagement with an armed foe took place on this ground he
+resolved to buy it. In his last will he directed it to be sold by his
+executors, together with other real estate he held, and the proceeds
+divided among parties he named. The tract, when owned by Washington,
+contained two hundred and thirty-four acres, and he valued it at six
+dollars an acre. He thus refers to it in a note appended to his will:
+
+"This land is valuable on account of its local situation. It affords an
+exceeding good stand on Braddock's road, from Ft. Cumberland to
+Pittsburg, and besides a fertile soil, possesses a large quantity of
+natural meadow, fit for the scythe. It is distinguished by the
+appellation of the Great Meadows, where the first action with the
+French, in 1754, was fought."
+
+Previous to 1835, and by divers good conveyances and assurances, down
+from Washington, this estate passed into the hands of the late Hon.
+Nathaniel Ewing, who caused to be erected on the property the large
+brick house, still standing, and one of the most noted old taverns on
+the road. Judge Ewing subsequently sold and conveyed the property to
+James Sampey, who went into possession and kept the tavern for many
+years, and until his death. The first year after Mr. Sampey's death the
+management of the tavern and farm was placed in charge of Robert
+Hogsett, who turned over to the representative of the estate the sum of
+four thousand dollars, as the profits of one year. The Good Intent line
+of stages stopped at Sampey's, and as showing the extent of the business
+of the house, Mr. Hogsett mentions that on one morning seventy-two
+stage passengers took breakfast there. John Foster and James Moore
+subsequently kept this house. They were sons-in-law of James Sampey, and
+Moore was an old stage driver. At the close of business on the road.
+Ellis Y. Beggs purchased the property and the tavern was closed. William
+D. Beggs, the father of Ellis, died in this house. He had collected the
+tolls for many years at the gate near Searights, was likewise a school
+teacher, and a good one, and was, for a number of years, Steward of the
+County Home. His eldest daughter, Jane, was the second wife of Dr. Smith
+Fuller, the eminent Uniontown physician. Godfrey Fazenbaker succeeded
+Beggs in the ownership, and engaged extensively in farming and stock
+raising. Mr. Fazenbaker died in possession, and the property descended
+to his heirs, who are the present occupants. The big water-trough still
+remains on the opposite side of the road from this old tavern, but all
+else has changed since the days when the proud stage driver cracked his
+long silken-ended whip over the backs of his four spanking steeds.
+
+The next old tavern was at Monroe Springs, on the hillside, a short
+distance west of one of the old round toll houses. This house was built
+by Charles McKinney, and opened up by him as a tavern. It was a log
+house, weather-boarded, of small dimensions, now entirely obliterated.
+Boss Rush commenced his career as a tavern keeper in the old house at
+this point, and it was kept at various times by such well known men as
+Wm. S. Gaither, German D. Hair, Wm. Dillon, Morris Mauler, John Rush,
+John Foster and David Ogg. It was essentially a wagon stand, and night
+after night, in the prosperous era of the road, the ground all around it
+was crowded with big wagons and teams, and the old bar room rang out
+with the songs and jokes of the jolly wagoner. Opposite the house a
+large water-trough was erected, kept full and overflowing from a spring
+near by, called "The Monroe Spring," in honor of President Monroe. When
+McKinney kept this house President Monroe passed along the road, and a
+public dinner was given him here. John Hagan, then a contractor on the
+original construction of the road, was prominently connected with the
+bestowal of this compliment upon the old-time President. The few old
+folks who have personal recollections of this event, speak of it as a
+memorable and exciting occasion. The dinner was substantial and superb,
+and highly enjoyed by all participating, including the illustrious
+guest. John Hagan was the father of Robert Hagan, esq., ex-commissioner
+of Fayette county, Pennsylvania.
+
+[Illustration: HON. SAMUEL SHIPLEY.]
+
+One of the old stone toll houses stood a short distance east of the
+Monroe Springs, and remained until 1893, when it was torn down. Hiram
+Seaton was one of the early collectors at this point. He was the father
+of [R]C. S. Seaton, the well known banker of Uniontown. He subsequently
+served two terms as County Treasurer. He had a wooden leg, and was
+esteemed as an honest man. He went west, settled in Missouri, and died
+there. He was succeeded as toll collector by Robert McDowell, always
+thereafter called "Gate Bob," to distinguish him from a number of other
+well known citizens bearing the same name. Robert McDowell was also an
+honest man, a popular man and a fighting man. He was tall, thin and
+muscular. His fingers were distorted by rheumatism, but he could use
+them in a fight with terrible effect. He was the Democratic candidate
+for county commissioner of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in 1854, but
+beaten by the Know Nothings. He died a few years ago at Dunbar, very
+greatly lamented. The memory of "Gate Bob" will long remain fresh in the
+recollection of the pike boys, old and young.
+
+[Footnote R: Now dead.]
+
+The next old tavern stand is the "Braddock's Run House." Gen. Braddock
+was buried near this house, a day or two after his disastrous defeat by
+the French and Indians, at Braddock's Field, near Pittsburg. The exact
+spot where he was buried is still pointed out, and can be seen from the
+road. This circumstance gave name to the brook here, and the tavern. The
+house was built by Charles McKinney, the same person who built the
+"Monroe Springs House." He kept tavern here for many years. The house is
+a large two-story stone structure. It was subsequently and successively
+kept by Robert Shaw, Noble McCormick and William Shaw. This property is
+now owned by the heirs of James Dixon, and is not a public house.
+
+Next we come to the "Fayette Springs Hotel," a large stone house built
+at an early day by the Hon. Andrew Stewart, who owned the property, and
+remained its owner until the day of his death. It was recently sold by
+his heirs to Capt. John Messmore, of Uniontown. This house was a
+favorite resort for visitors to the Fayette Springs, situate about
+three-quarters of a mile distant. In its halcyon days it had its ten-pin
+alley, billiard tables, swing, and other appliances of pleasure and
+comfort, but they have all passed away, and probably by reason of hard
+times, and the abatement of interest in the Springs may never again be
+brought into requisition. Here merry parties of young folks from
+Uniontown and elsewhere were accustomed to assemble and enjoy a hearty
+supper, engage in the dizzy mazes of the dance, and when it was all over
+"go home with the girls in the morning." Mahlon Fell and Tom Collins
+were the old-time fiddlers, and furnished the music, which in its line
+was of superior excellence. They were occasionally reinforced by Jacob
+B. Miller, esq., who tendered his services without pecuniary reward, and
+in the language of the day, "could make a fiddle talk." Collins is dead.
+[S]Fell and Miller are both living. The former has joined the church and
+abandoned the fiddle, while the latter still retains his taste and
+talent for music, and often entertains his friends in a private manner,
+with many of the popular tunes of the olden time. The "Fayette Springs
+House" has been kept in turn by Cuthbert Wiggins, John Risler, B. W.
+Earl, Samuel Lewis, William Snyder, William Darlington, John Rush, Major
+Swearingen, Redding Bunting, Cuthbert Downer, and perhaps others.
+
+[Footnote S: All now dead.]
+
+We next reach "Chalk Hill," so called from the circumstance of white
+clay adhering to the shovels of the workmen engaged in digging the
+foundation of the road. The tavern house was built here in 1823 by
+Jonathan Downer, who was its first host. He was succeeded by Boss Rush,
+and he in turn by Springer Downer, Samuel Shipley, William Shipley and
+Milford Shipley. [T]John Olwine now owns the property, and keeps tavern
+here. It is a two-story frame, with commodious stabling attached. Boss
+Rush went from this house to Farmington. Samuel Shipley bought this
+property at an Orphans' Court sale, in 1846, for $1,405, and paid for it
+in gold. Westley Frost was the sheriff and trustee to sell. Shipley
+subsequently became an associate judge. He was more fortunate than his
+neighbor and fellow inn keeper, Boss Rush, in belonging to the strong
+side. Rush was one of his competitors on the Republican side.
+
+[Footnote T: Now dead.]
+
+Next comes the old tavern stand of James Snyder. Snyder seems to have
+been here always, and is here yet. He did vacate a short time for
+William Shaw, but not long enough to change the tradition that this is,
+and always was, Snyder's. The house looks old and dingy, and no wonder,
+for it has withstood the wild dashes of numberless mountain storms. It
+is situate at the foot of the eastern slope of Laurel Hill, and on the
+head waters of Sandy Creek. The old stable is decaying, and will soon be
+gone. The old host, too, is showing the marks of time and age. He has
+already passed beyond the age defined by the Psalmist. His three score
+and ten are supplemented by well nigh half a score.[U] He is the only
+old landmark left along the road, that has not shifted from original
+ground, except Natty Brownfield. A few years ago he was elected county
+commissioner on the Democratic ticket, but practically without
+opposition. He is universally esteemed for his honesty. As a tavern
+keeper he enjoyed an excellent reputation, and many a weary traveler has
+found consolation and comfort under his hospitable roof. The best wishes
+of all his neighbors attend the old gentleman in his declining years,
+and heaven's choicest blessings are invoked upon his venerable head.
+
+[Footnote U: Now deceased.]
+
+Near the top of Laurel Hill on the eastern slope, once lived a noted
+character named Benjamin Price. His house, a log structure, was built
+near the roadside, but below its surface, so that the upper story was
+about on a level with the road. He kept a cake shop, was an acting
+justice of the peace, and a strict Methodist, and was in the habit of
+annoying wagoners and hog drovers by fining them for swearing, and they
+in turn annoyed him by throwing billets of wood and disabled hogs down
+his chimney. Price is long since dead, and the last vestige of his old
+house has disappeared. The stable nearby it remained longer, but it has
+gone, too. A few apple trees planted by the hands of the 'Squire, now
+encroached upon by the mountain undergrowth, are all that remain to
+indicate the spot where the old house stood.
+
+[Illustration: STONE HOUSE, DARLINGTON'S.]
+
+We next reach the "Summit House." This is not a wagon stand, nor
+strictly an old tavern, but rather a fashionable and popular summer
+resort. It is on the apex of Laurel Hill, and has the advantage of pure
+air, and an extensive and charming view of the surrounding and
+underlying country. At this point large finger boards were erected,
+indicating distances and routes to the Washington Springs, Dulaney's
+Cave and Jumonville's Grave, which are landmarks indelibly impressed
+upon the memories of surviving wagoners and stage drivers. The property
+here belongs to [V]Col. Samuel Evans, a wealthy and well known citizen
+of Fayette county. [W]Ephraim McClean kept the house here for many
+years, and made it famous by the excellence and style of his
+entertainment. His flannel cakes and spring chickens have passed into
+history, as unrivalled productions of culinary art and tempters of the
+appetite. There is a large spring and bath house here. This has ever
+been a favorite resort of parties in pursuit of pleasure. Here the
+youth, beauty and fashion of Uniontown were wont to come to while away
+an evening in eating, dancing and other diversions. The rooms were
+small, but the pleasure was unbounded. Here also the yeomanry of the
+county came to make a harvest home, or celebrate an anniversary. The
+drive, up and down the mountain, is delightful, and formed no small
+share of the pleasure incident to the old time parties at this popular
+place of resort.
+
+[Footnote V: Deceased.]
+
+[Footnote W: Deceased.]
+
+Ephraim McClean left this house many years ago and settled in Illinois.
+He was succeeded by Henry Clay Rush, who maintained the reputation of
+the house during his occupancy, but left it in 1856 to go to Searights.
+Brown Hadden came in after Rush, and after Hadden the house was
+successively kept by Stephen W. Snyder, John Snyder, William Boyd and
+Webb Barnet, the present occupant. Anterior to the erection of the
+present buildings, and many years ago, one Molly Calhoun kept a small
+cake shop at this point, and displayed upon her sign-board the following
+quaint legend:
+
+ "Out of this rock, runs water clear,
+ 'Tis soon changed into good beer,
+ Stop, traveler, stop, if you see fit,
+ And quench your thirst for a fippennybit."
+
+About a mile down the western slope of Laurel Hill we come to the famous
+watering trough. Here William Downard lived for many years in a stone
+house built against the hillside. He did not keep a tavern, for he had
+no ground for teams to stand upon, and no stabling that was accessible,
+but he always maintained the big water-trough in good condition _pro
+bono publico_, and it would be almost impossible for big teams to make
+the ascent of Laurel Hill, in hot weather without water. Downard was
+eccentric and cross, and begrudged the use of his water to persons he
+did not like, although the supply was inexhaustible. He was born near
+Uniontown of English parentage, a Federalist in politics, and a skeptic
+in religion. He was endowed with strong sense, and could argue with
+considerable force. He has been dead many years.
+
+A little over a mile below the big water trough the romantic spot known
+as the "Turkey's Nest" is reached. The road crosses a small stream here,
+which, owing to the peculiar formation of the ground, required the
+erection of a bridge, supported on the south side by an immense stone
+wall. This is one of the largest stone structures on the road, and is in
+a good state of preservation. It is a fine specimen of workmanship, and
+a grand monument to the skill of the old time stonemasons. This locality
+has always been invested with much interest, and admired by the lovers
+of picturesque beauty. Until recently it wore its primitive colorings.
+Now it is changed. Its primitive appearance has disappeared before the
+advancing forces of progress and improvement. The native trees have been
+cut down and a little hamlet occupies their places with attendant
+stables, cribs, coops and other out-houses. The old massive curved stone
+wall remains, but all about it so changed in appearance that the spot is
+scarcely recognized as the "Turkey's Nest." It is the popular belief
+that this locality derived its name from the discovery here of a wild
+turkey's nest, by workmen engaged on the original construction of the
+road.
+
+An old long log house, near the foot of the hill, was called the "Goat
+Pen," and why is not accurately known, but this name it bore from one
+end of the road to the other.
+
+We now reach the ancient and celebrated village of Monroe, a name it
+took in honor of the President hereinbefore mentioned. Approached from
+the east, the first old tavern and the first house in the place is the
+"Deford House," in the olden time and by old people called the General
+Wayne House. It appears that at an early day General Wayne had occasion
+to pass this way, and tarried over night with John Deford, who kept
+tavern in a small log house a short distance in the rear of the present
+building. Deford at this time was contemplating the erection of a new
+and more imposing edifice, and applied to his distinguished guest for a
+plan. It was furnished, and the present stone structure is the outcome
+of it, which shows plainly enough that General Wayne was a much better
+soldier than architect. Deford kept tavern here for a long time, and was
+succeeded first by Henry Fisher and next by Matthias Fry. Samuel Magie
+is now the owner of the property, and its career as a tavern is ended.
+
+A frame house a short distance below and on the opposite side of the
+street from the Deford House was once kept by James Dennison, who had a
+considerable trade. It was afterward kept by Matthias Fry, but business
+then had greatly decreased. Fry, in his prime, was one of the best men
+on the road, and a great favorite among the wagoners. He had been a
+wagoner himself for many years, and was at one time general agent for a
+transportation line from Baltimore to Wheeling, which made him the
+disburser of large sums of money, and he discharged his office with
+scrupulous fidelity. He was a large, fine looking man, stoutly built,
+and possessing great physical power. Although amiable and good natured,
+he was occasionally drawn into a fight, and on one occasion, at
+Petersburg, in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, whipped three reputed
+bullies, one after another, who entered his house when he lived there,
+and proposed to "clean him out," as evidence of their prowess. He died a
+few years ago in Monroe, where his widow is still living.[X]
+
+[Footnote X: Now dead.]
+
+[Illustration: JAMES SNYDER.]
+
+The next old tavern in Monroe is the stone house built by Andrew
+McMasters, and subsequently owned and kept for many years by German D.
+Hair. He was the only man that ever kept this house, and he died in it a
+few years ago, aged about eighty years. He was a native of Chester
+county, Pennsylvania, and came to the vicinity of Uniontown about the
+time the road was made. He was a stonemason by trade, and worked on many
+of the bridges of the road, including the eastern and western bridges at
+Uniontown.
+
+Next we come to the "Shipley House." Like all the tavern houses in
+Monroe, and nearly all the private houses, this is a stone building, and
+is two stories high. It was erected by E. W. Clement, and good
+workmanship displayed in its construction. It was kept awhile by
+Clement, and after him at different times by John Wallace, Archibald
+Skiles, Samuel Shipley, Redding Bunting, and Lindsey Messmore.
+
+Next is the "Monroe House," one of the oldest in the place. It was built
+by Andrew McMasters, and subsequently and successively kept by E.W.
+Clement, Thomas Acklin, James Shafer, A. Skiles, John Worthington, M.
+Fry, and Calvin Springer. This was a popular house in the golden era of
+the road, and did an extensive business. Monroe was a thriving village
+when the pike flourished, and the center of fun and frolic. It began to
+decline when the trade left the road, but is now reviving and wearing an
+air of prosperity by reason of the coal developments in the vicinity.
+
+On the hill above Monroe stands an old two-story brick house, fast
+sinking into decay, which was once a well known and popular tavern
+stand. It was owned and kept by William Morris. He put up an imposing
+sign, inscribed on the west side with the words, "Welcome from the
+West," and on the east side the words, "Welcome from the East." This was
+no false lure, and travelers from the east and west crowded into the old
+house to enjoy its good cheer. Alonzo L. Little, for many years editor
+and proprietor of the _Genius of Liberty_, was a son-in-law of William
+Morris, and he had a son (Luther) who settled in Iowa and was elected
+State Treasurer there.
+
+Harry Gilbert once kept a tavern in the house where Charles Livingston
+now has a grocery, at the east end of Uniontown, and in later years it
+was kept by M. Fry and J. Allen Messmore.
+
+Many years ago the Widow Sands kept tavern in the frame house at the
+point where the Connellsville and Cool Spring Furnace roads lead off
+from the pike.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+ _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Uniontown--The Town as it
+ Appeared to Gen. Douglass in 1784--Its Subsequent Growth and
+ Improvement--The First Tavern--Other Early Taverns--An Old Chief
+ Justice and an Old Landlady wrangle over a Roasted Pig--Anecdote of
+ George Manypenny and President Jefferson--The Swan, The McClelland,
+ The Seaton, The National, The Clinton, The Moran, The Mahaney._
+
+
+[Illustration: GEN. EPHRAIM DOUGLASS.]
+
+At the east end of Uniontown the road crosses Redstone creek, over a
+massive and extensive stone bridge, one of the best and most expensive
+samples of masonry on the whole line, built by Kinkead, Beck and Evans
+in 1818. Gen. Ephraim Douglass, the first prothonotary of Fayette
+county, Pennsylvania, in a letter to Gen. James Irvine, in 1784,
+describes Uniontown in the following vigorous and graphic style:
+
+ "_My Dear General_--If my promise were not engaged to write to you,
+ my inclinations are sufficiently so to embrace with alacrity any
+ opportunity of expressing the gratitude so justly due to your
+ valuable friendship, of declaring the friendship of mine. This
+ Uniontown is the most obscure spot on the face of the globe. I have
+ been here seven or eight weeks, without one opportunity of writing
+ to the land of the living, and though considerably south of you, so
+ cold that a person not knowing the latitude, would conclude we were
+ placed near one of the poles. Pray have you had a severe winter
+ below? We have been frozen up here for more than a month past, but
+ a great many of us having been bred in another State, the eating of
+ hominy is as natural to us as the drinking of whisky in the
+ morning. The town and its appurtenances consist of our president
+ and a lovely little family, a court house and school house in one,
+ a mill and consequently a miller, four taverns, three smith shops,
+ five retail shops, two tan yards, one of them only occupied, one
+ saddler's shop, two hatter's shops, one mason, one cake woman (we
+ had two, but one of them having committed a petit larceny is upon
+ banishment), two widows and some reputed maids, to which may be
+ added a distillery. The upper part of this edifice is the
+ habitation at will of your humble servant, who, beside the smoke of
+ his own chimney, which is intolerable enough, is fumigated by that
+ of two stills below, exclusive of the other effluvia that arises
+ from the dirty vessels in which they prepare the materials for the
+ stills. The upper floor of my parlor, which is also my chamber
+ and office, is laid with loose clap-boards, or puncheons, and the
+ gable ends entirely open; and yet this is the best place in my
+ power to procure, till the weather will permit me to build, and
+ even this I am subject to be turned out of the moment the owner,
+ who is at Kentuck, and hourly expected, returns. I can say little
+ of the country in general, but that it is very poor in everything
+ but its soil, which is excellent, and that part contiguous to the
+ town is really beautiful, being level and prettily situate,
+ accommodated with good water, and excellent meadow ground. But
+ money we have not, nor any practicable way of making it. How taxes
+ are collected, debts paid, or fees discharged, I know not; and yet
+ the good people appear willing enough to run in debt and go to law.
+ I shall be able to give you a better account of this hereafter.
+ Col. McClean received me with a degree of generous friendship, that
+ does honor to the goodness of his heart, and continues to show
+ every mark of satisfaction at my appointment. He is determined to
+ act under the commission sent him by council, and though the fees
+ would, had he declined it, have been a considerable addition to my
+ profits, I cannot say that I regret his keeping them. He has a
+ numerous small family, and though of an ample fortune in lands, has
+ no cash at command. The general curse of the country, disunion,
+ rages in this little mud hole with as much fury, as if they had
+ each pursuits of the utmost importance, and the most opposed to
+ each other, when in truth, they have no pursuits at all that
+ deserve the name, except that of obtaining food and whisky, for
+ raiment they scarcely use any. The commissioners--trustees, I
+ should say--having fixed on a spot in one end of the town for the
+ public buildings, which was by far the most proper, in every point
+ of view, exclusive of the saving of expense, the other end took the
+ alarm and charged them with partiality, and have been ever since
+ uttering their complaints. And at the late election for justices,
+ two having been carried in this end of the town, and none in the
+ other, has made them quite outrageous. This trash is not worth
+ troubling you with, therefore I beg your pardon, and am with
+ unfeigned esteem, dear general, your very humble servant.
+
+ "EPHRAIM DOUGLASS."
+
+That was a long time ago, and a great change has come over the face of
+things. Gen. Douglass lived to see Uniontown arise from the mud hole and
+become a flourishing county seat. His mortal remains lie buried within
+the sound of the court house bell, and could he come forth now, and see
+Uniontown, he would be startled. Instead of a mud hole, he would see
+finely paved streets, studded with handsome buildings, lighted by
+electricity, enlivened by electric cars, telegraphs, telephones and
+railroads, and where the old distilleries stood, beautiful and staunch
+church edifices with spires pointing to the skies, and in fact he would
+behold all the evidences of a flourishing city, inhabited by active,
+intelligent and Christian people.
+
+The first tavern in Uniontown was kept by John Collins in 1781. It was a
+log house on the north side of the main street, the site of which is now
+covered by "Commercial Row." This old house remained standing until
+1839, when it was torn down by its owner of that date. Isaac Beeson, who
+erected the buildings thereafter known as "Commercial Row." John Collins
+kept this old tavern down to the year 1799. It was subsequently kept at
+different times by Samuel Salter, Cuthbert Wiggins, William Salter, John
+Hoge and Andrew Byers. William Salter was an old sheriff. Byers went
+from this house to the old Walker House, now the "Central," and
+afterward to the "Clinton House."
+
+Jonathan Rowland, Daniel Culp and Matthew Campbell each kept a tavern in
+Uniontown as early as 1783. The location of Rowland's tavern is not
+accurately known, but the best evidence available, points to the lot now
+owned by Daniel Downer, esq., and occupied by law offices, near the
+court house, as the site. Jonathan Rowland subsequently became a justice
+of the peace, and a leader in public affairs. Culp's old tavern was a
+log house on the lot now owned and occupied by Justice Willson, corner
+of Main street and Gallatin avenue. Matthew Campbell's old tavern, stood
+on the western side of the lot now covered by the Moran House, formerly
+and for many years known as the "Fulton."
+
+Colin Campbell as early as 1785 kept a tavern in a house that stood on
+the lot now covered by the Bryan building, on Main street, near the
+center of the town. This old tavern was subsequently owned and presided
+over by Samuel Salter, father of William Salter, the old sheriff.
+
+Margaret Allen kept a tavern in the east end of town, a little above and
+opposite the Madison College buildings, in the year 1788, and for some
+time thereafter. She died in 1810, at the age of ninety-one years.
+
+Dr. Robert McClure opened a tavern in December, 1792, a short distance
+west of the court house, on the south side of the street, and kept it
+down to the year 1813. It does not appear that any other person kept
+this house. It was in close proximity to the "Jolly Irishman," hereafter
+mentioned.
+
+Thomas Collins, son of John Collins, before mentioned, kept a tavern as
+early as 1794 in an old house on the lot, corner of Morgantown and Main
+streets, now occupied by the Tremont buildings. Thomas Collins was
+sheriff of Fayette county from 1796 to 1799, and commanded a company of
+soldiers from Uniontown and vicinity in the war of 1812, locally called
+the "Madison Rowdies." A number of his descendants are still living in
+the neighborhood of Uniontown.
+
+Previous to the opening of the present century the veteran of Laurel
+Hill, John Slack, before mentioned, kept a tavern in the old Shelcut
+house, on the south side of Main street, opposite the old Gregg house,
+and afterward kept the "Spread Eagle," the exact location of which is
+involved in doubt, but the best information available assigns it to the
+Weniger corner, opposite the old Walker house, hereinafter mentioned.
+
+William Downard, subsequently proprietor of the big water-trough house
+on Laurel Hill, kept tavern in the Shelcut house from 1801 until
+probably 1808, when he retired to the pine covered slope of Laurel Hill,
+where he spent the remainder of his life. He served as County
+Commissioner from 1802 to 1805.
+
+The Gregg house, situate on the north side of Main street, on the lot
+now covered by the residence of Dr. J. B. Ewing, was in existence as a
+tavern as early as 1798, and continued as late as 1865. It was a small
+house of brick and frame united, but had a large patronage. In early
+times travelers and other guests at taverns did not desire or expect
+separate rooms, and hence a small tavern like the Gregg house could
+accommodate as many persons as the more pretentious hotel of the present
+day; and at wagon stands the bar room, as before stated, was the only
+bed chamber for wagoners. James Gregg was the first proprietor of the
+Gregg house, and was succeeded by his widow, Nancy Gregg, in 1810. After
+her time it was kept in turn by William Medkirk, Matthew Allen, Simeon
+Houser, Amos Howell, Philip D. Stentz, and Thomas Moxley. James Gregg,
+the old proprietor of this house, was the father-in-law of the late Hon.
+Daniel Sturgeon, who was a United States Senator in the days of Clay,
+Webster and Calhoun.
+
+In 1779, and for a number of years thereafter, Pierson Sayers kept a
+tavern in the house now occupied by Mrs. Ruby, on the north side of Main
+street, a short distance west of the court house. While keeping this
+house Sayers was elected Sheriff, and turned over his tavern to Jacob
+Harbaugh, who conducted it for three years, when, singularly enough, he
+was elected to succeed Sayers as Sheriff. Ellis Baily, the grandfather
+of Mrs. Ruby, bought this property from Pierson Sayers, and
+subsequently, and for many years, it was the private residence of the
+late Hon. John Dawson.
+
+James Piper kept the "Jolly Irishman" as early as 1801. This bustling
+old tavern was located on Main street, opposite the residence of the
+late Hon. Daniel Kaine. James Piper, a son of the old proprietor, was a
+prominent and influential citizen of the town and county for many years.
+He was a member of the bar, a Justice of the Peace, Register of Wills,
+and Recorder of Deeds. He left Uniontown about 1850, went west, and died
+soon after.
+
+William Merriman kept a tavern near Margaret Allen's old stand as early
+as 1802. But little is known at this date of Merriman or his old tavern.
+Its existence was brief and its patronage limited.
+
+At and before the beginning of the present century Samuel Salter kept a
+tavern in an old log and frame house that stood on the lot now occupied
+by the handsome residence of the Hon. John K. Ewing. Chief Justice
+Thomas McKean "put up" at this old tavern on his visits to Uniontown to
+hold the courts of Fayette county, and was frequently regaled with roast
+pig. The pig was well prepared, cooked and dressed, and in all respects
+savory, but its frequent appearance on the table moved the old Chief
+Justice to believe that he was getting "too much of a good thing," and
+accordingly one day, in peremptory terms, he commanded the dining room
+girl to remove the offensive dish, which she did with trembling hands.
+This of course raised a storm in the old hostelry. Mrs. Salter became
+indignant, and, bringing back the pig, replaced it on the table, at the
+same time addressing the Judge thus: "You are Chief Justice and run the
+court; I am chief cook and run this dining room. That pig must stay,"
+and it did. Upon the withdrawal of Salter, in the year 1811, this old
+tavern came under the management and control of Jacob Harbaugh, the old
+Sheriff before mentioned. After Harbaugh's time it was kept by George
+Ewing down to a period as late probably as 1830. Hugh Espey, a well
+remembered old County Treasurer, and straightgoing Presbyterian elder,
+married a daughter of George Ewing.
+
+Opposite the old Gregg house, and adjoining the Shelcut house, George
+Manypenny kept a tavern as early as the year 1814, and probably before
+that date. This was a leading tavern of the town, subsequently conducted
+by Benjamin Miller, and after him by Harry Gilbert. One of the old stage
+lines stopped at this house. George Manypenny, the old proprietor, was
+the father of the late Hon. George W. Manypenny, who was for many years
+a prominent and popular political leader and officeholder of the State
+of Ohio. He was born in Uniontown, and most likely in his father's old
+tavern. George Manypenny, sr., is described by those who remember him as
+a vigorous, pushing and witty Irishman. He called once to see President
+Jefferson, and was invited by His Excellency to take a glass of wine
+with him, which he did without hesitancy, and to obtain a second glass,
+this story is told of him: As he was about to withdraw from the
+executive mansion he remarked to Mr. Jefferson that he was going home,
+and would tell his friends that he had the honor of taking two glasses
+with the President of the United States, and hoped His Excellency would
+not let him go home with a lie in his mouth. As the story goes, the old
+President saw the point of the ingenious suggestion, and again brought
+forward the wine.
+
+The Walker house, corner of Broadway and Main streets, was kept as a
+tavern as early as 1816 by Zadoc Walker, who owned the property. General
+LaFayette was entertained at this house in 1825, and Santa Anna, the
+renowned Mexican warrior, stopped over night in it on his way to
+Washington City, about sixty years ago. This house has been kept at
+different times since by Andrew Byers, William Byers, Redding Bunting,
+and others. When Bunting kept it, it was called the "United States." It
+has recently been enlarged and improved, and its name changed to the
+"Central." Its first host under the new name was James I. Feather, who
+subsequently became associated with William A. McHugh. Its present
+lessees and managers are Messrs. Frock and Mitchell. The Spottsylvania
+house, for many years conducted prosperously by John Manaway, and
+afterward, until it closed, by Lloyd Mahaney, adjoined the Walker house
+on the west, and used a number of rooms belonging to that old hostelry.
+
+[Illustration: AARON WYATT.]
+
+The McCleary house ranked high as an old-time inn or tavern. It is
+situate on the corner of Main and Arch streets, a substantial brick
+building, recently enlarged, embellished and improved, and at present
+catering to the public under the historic name of "Brunswick," and
+conducted by Russell W. Beall, a gentleman admirably equipped for the
+business. Ewing McCleary owned and kept this old tavern as early as the
+year 1819, and many years thereafter. Upon his death, which occurred in
+this house, it was continued as a tavern under the management of his
+widow, until she became the wife of William Hart, when he took charge of
+it and kept it down to the year 1840, or thereabout, when he fell into
+disgrace and retired under a storm of popular reprobation. This house
+was a favorite stopping place of General Jackson. On an occasion a
+committee of citizens met Jackson on the road near town and tendered him
+the freedom of the municipality. Among other things made known to him by
+the committee, he was informed that quarters had been provided for his
+accommodation at the Walker House. He replied that he "always stopped at
+Hart's." "But," rejoined the chairman of the committee, "Hart is a Whig,
+and his tavern a Whig house." The old warrior answered back by saying
+that "Hart always treated him well, and he would go to his house," and
+to Hart's he went, reluctantly escorted by the Democratic committee.
+After Hart's precipitate withdrawal from this old house, it was leased
+by S. B. Hays, subsequently of the Mansion and other old taverns in
+Washington, Pennsylvania. Hays conducted it for a brief period when it
+went into the possession of Joshua Marsh, who remained in charge not
+longer than a year or two, and left it to take charge of the National
+House. Its next occupant was the veteran Redding Bunting. After Bunting
+came Aaron Stone, then William Beatty, and after him William Gans. After
+Gans, Peter Uriah Hook was installed as landlord, who named the house
+"The Eagle," and remained in charge a number of years. Hook was an
+eccentric man, given to redundancy of speech, a merchant, auctioneer,
+and for two years a member of the lower branch of the State legislature.
+He died in Uniontown, a number of years ago, but will not soon be
+forgotten. Aaron Wyatt succeeded Hook, and kept the house until his
+death. His widow and son James succeeded to the management, and James
+dying in the house, it passed to the hands of his widow, Mrs. Kate
+Wyatt, and from her to Russell W. Beall, the present occupant.
+
+The before-mentioned old taverns were of the town, rather than of the
+road. Most of them were in existence and doing business before the road
+was made. The remaining old taverns of Uniontown, hereafter mentioned,
+were essentially taverns of the National Road, and derived their
+principal patronage from it.
+
+The Swan, Nathaniel Brownfield proprietor, is an old, long frame
+building, at the west end of town, supplemented some years after it
+commenced business, by a brick addition to the eastern end. Thomas
+Brownfield, father of Nathaniel, the present proprietor, and grandfather
+on the maternal side, of the author of this volume, kept this old tavern
+as early as 1805, and down to the year 1829. When the National Road was
+opened for business, this house became a wagon stand, and continued such
+until the last crack of a Battelly White whip was heard on the road. It
+was provided with two commodious wagon yards, one at the front, on the
+roadside opposite the house, and the other between the house and the
+large stable in the rear. With the exception of one year that this old
+tavern was kept by William Cox, Nathaniel Brownfield, who was born under
+its roof, has kept it, uninterruptedly, from the date of his father's
+death, and "holds the fort" to this day, "with none to molest or make
+him afraid." Upwards of eighty, and in vigorous health, he has witnessed
+and participated in the exciting scenes of the road from the beginning
+to the end thereof. At an early period he became the owner of a farm
+consisting of one hundred acres adjacent to town, which he managed
+advantageously in connection with his tavern, and within the past year
+sold for the sum of one thousand and five dollars per acre, retaining
+his old tavern stand, to which he is attached by so many memories. His
+wife and good helpmate survives with him, and together they occupy the
+old tavern and recount with varied emotions the stirring scenes of the
+eventful past.
+
+The McClelland House, as has been elsewhere stated, is one of the best
+known old taverns on the National Road. It is located on the north side
+of the Main street, and in the western end of town. As early as 1795,
+Richard Weaver kept a tavern in a wooden building on the lot now covered
+by the McClelland House, and was succeeded by William McClelland.
+William McClelland was keeping this old tavern in 1802, and owned the
+lot on which it stood at that date in fee simple. After the death of
+William McClelland his son, Alfred, came into possession, tore down the
+old building, and erected in its stead the present brick building, known
+always thereafter as the McClelland House. This house was the
+headquarters of the Good Intent line of stages, from the time it was put
+on the road until it was withdrawn at the end of the road's career as a
+national highway. Alfred McClelland presided over this house and
+controlled it from the date of its erection until he died, with the
+exception of brief intervals mentioned below. He was a large, raw-boned
+man, of agreeable, though somewhat awkward manners, and had complete
+knowledge of the mysterious art of keeping a tavern. He had for his main
+clerk and bar-keeper, Macon W. Rine, a confidential and loyal friend,
+well remembered by the older citizens of Uniontown, as a thoroughly
+competent man for his employment. Alfred McClelland died on the 8th of
+September, 1862. In the intervals before mentioned, the McClelland House
+was kept for a short time previous to 1840 by S. B. Hays, before he
+took control of the old McCleary House. Thereafter, at different times,
+the house was kept by Jerry Colflesh, Lewis D. Beall, William and Thomas
+Swan, J. W. Kissinger, Calvin Springer, William Wyatt, Kim Frey, Russell
+Frey, Frey and Swan, Joseph C. Stacy and Charles H. Rush, in the order
+named. It is at present conducted, as elsewhere stated, by Mrs. Sarah E.
+McClelland, widow of the old proprietor, and retains all its ancient
+prestige, under her admirable management.
+
+[Illustration: THE BROWNFIELD HOUSE.]
+
+The Seaton House was a familiar hostelry in the olden time. It was
+founded by James C. Seaton in the year 1820, or thereabout. It is
+located on the northeast corner of Main and Arch streets, diagonally
+opposite the old McCleary House, and is now known as the West End Hotel.
+Mr. Seaton, the old proprietor, came to Uniontown from Virginia, and
+died in this old house many years ago. The house was built in sections
+at different times until it reached its present large proportions.
+During its occupancy by Mr. Seaton it was a wagon stand of the National
+Road, and extensively patronized. It was provided with ample grounds for
+wagons and teams to stand on, which are now covered by the Lingo block
+and other buildings in the vicinity. Mr. Seaton had three sons: Hiram,
+James, and John. Hiram was the old toll collector before mentioned, and
+James was a pike boy in a general way. He drove stage occasionally, and
+also the express; led horses from station to station on the road, and
+made himself useful in many other ways. He died at his father's old
+tavern in the meridian of the bright era of the road, and before he had
+reached middle age. John Seaton, the other son, went west, and died
+recently in Nebraska. Daniel Collier, before mentioned as keeper of the
+old tavern at Mount Augusta, was a son-in-law of James C. Seaton; and
+Charles H. Seaton, the well known insurance agent of Uniontown, is a
+great-grandson of the old proprietor, and others of his descendants are
+still living in Uniontown and vicinity. After Mr. Seaton's death this
+old tavern was continued a number of years by his widow, and growing old
+she leased it to James Swan, who conducted it for a brief period, Mrs.
+Seaton boarding with him in the house. Mr. Swan was succeeded by Philip
+D. Stentz, and he in turn by J. W. Kissinger, Kim Frey, David G. Sperry,
+John Messmore and Henry Jennings. The late James T. Redburn bought the
+property from the Seaton heirs and sold it to John Messmore, who in turn
+sold it to Henry Jennings. It is now owned and kept by George Titlow,
+under the name of the West End Hotel, as before stated, well conducted
+and well patronized.
+
+The old National House is located on the northwest corner of Morgantown
+and Fayette streets. It was built for a private residence by the late
+Hon. Thomas Irwin, and occupied by him as such until he was appointed
+Judge of the United States District Court for the Western district of
+Pennsylvania, when he moved to Pittsburg. Judge Irwin sold the property
+to the celebrated Dr. John F. Braddee, of mail robbing notoriety, and he
+occupied it during the period covered by his depredations upon the mail
+bags. Its situation for such operations was convenient, as it adjoined
+the old Stockton stage yard hereinbefore described. After Braddee's
+conviction L. W. Stockton acquired title to the property, and
+subsequently sold and conveyed it to Joshua Marsh, who opened it as a
+tavern. It was the headquarters of the Stockton line of stages from the
+time it was opened until all stage lines were withdrawn from the road.
+James K. Polk, with his family and traveling companions, stopped over
+night at The National when on his way to the capital to be inaugurated
+President, in the spring of 1845. A large number of citizens assembled
+on the occasion to meet the coming President, and were addressed by him
+from the high steps in front of the house. The National was a well kept
+house. Situate a distance from the main street, it was comparatively
+exempt from the ordinary street noises, and conducted in a quiet manner,
+disturbed only by the arrival and departure of the stage coaches. Mr.
+Marsh, its old proprietor, was a man of retiring disposition, gentle
+manners, and feeble health. He visited Washington when Mr. Buchanan was
+inaugurated President, and was one of the unfortunates who were poisoned
+on that occasion at the National Hotel of that place. He returned home,
+but never fully recovered from the effects of the poison, and died in
+Uniontown. Among others who kept the National were George Evans and Col.
+Samuel Elder. The latter is still living, a hale octogenarian, at
+Ligonier Westmoreland county, Pa.
+
+The Clinton House, which stood on a lot adjoining the old Court House,
+was a popular house throughout its whole career. It was demolished in
+1890 by condemnation proceedings, and the lot on which it stood taken by
+the county for the use of the new Court House. It was erected in 1835 by
+the late Hon. Andrew Stewart, who occupied it as a private residence and
+kept his law office in it for a number of years. It was first kept as a
+tavern by Andrew Byers, and after him, from time to time, until its
+demolition, by Stephen W. Snyder, whose wife was a Risler, Zadoc
+Cracraft, Isaac Kerr, Jesse B. Gardner, John Bierer, Calvin Springer,
+Springer & Renshaw, Bernard Winslow, William Springer, Joseph Wright, J.
+R. Thornton, and James I. Feather. General Taylor stopped over night at
+the Clinton House in 1849, _en route_ to Washington to assume the office
+of President of the United States. It was kept at that time by Andrew
+Byers.
+
+[Illustration: COL. SAMUEL ELDER.]
+
+The Moran House is the old Fulton House, opposite the Court House, on
+Elbow or Main street. Like the old Seaton House, the Fulton was built in
+sections, some of them by Seth Howell and others by his predecessors.
+Seth Howell kept this house a long time. He was called "Flinger,"
+because he had a habit of flinging disorderly persons out of the house,
+as he termed the process of ejecting. Howell was succeeded by Calvin
+Springer, and he by William Thorndell, who became the owner of the
+property. David Mahaney came in after Thorndell, Michael Carter after
+Mahaney, and it next passed to the hands of James Moran, its present
+occupant and owner, who gave it the name of the Moran House. This old
+tavern was always well patronized, and continues to be under its present
+proprietor, who has added many improvements, and the house is in better
+shape now than at any time heretofore.
+
+The name Mahaney has long been identified with the National Road. The
+Mahaney House was built and is conducted by Lloyd Mahaney, a son of
+David, elsewhere mentioned. It is the newest hotel in Uniontown, and the
+finest in architectural display. It is a hotel, having come into
+existence after the old inns and taverns had been relegated to the dead
+past. It is located on a lot formerly owned and occupied by George
+Ebbert, adjoining the present National Bank of Fayette County on the
+east, and is on the south side of Main street. It is well managed and
+does a large business, and is likewise one of the best of the many
+recent improvements in Uniontown, and reflects credit on its
+proprietor.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+ _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Uniontown to
+ Searights--Anecdote of John Slack--Slack at Night and Tight in the
+ Morning--Old Roads--Parting Tribute to the Old Taverns of the
+ Mountains--Henry Clay Extols the Virtue of Buckwheat Cakes--Boss
+ Rush and his Poker--Moxleys--The Old Hunter House--Searights--The
+ Grays and the Gray Meeting--Jackson Men and Adams Men Meet and
+ Count Noses--Old Political Leaders--Barnacles of the Road._
+
+
+The tavern keepers on the "old road," as it is called, were as earnestly
+opposed to the building of the National Road, as those on the latter
+were to the building of the railroad, and for like reasons. The
+following anecdote serves as an illustration: John Slack kept a tavern
+for many years at the summit of Laurel Hill on the old road, in a house
+near the Washington Springs. Before the National Road was opened said
+Slack, in a complaining manner, "Wagons coming up Laurel Hill would
+stick in the mud a mile or so below my house, when the drivers would
+unhitch, leave their wagons in the mud, and bring their teams to my
+house and stay with me all night. In the morning they would return to
+their stranded wagons, dig and haul them out, and get back to my house
+and stay with me another night. Thus counting the wagons going east and
+west, I got four night's bills from the same set of wagoners." "Now,"
+concluded Slack (since the completion of the National Road), with
+indignation, "the wagoners whiff by without stopping." Old wagoners were
+accustomed to say of Slack that he was "Slack at night and tight in the
+morning," meaning that he was clever and cheerful when they "put up"
+with him in the evening, and close and exacting in the morning when
+bills were payable.
+
+The old road referred to was the Braddock road, which from the summit of
+Laurel Hill, turned northwardly, as before stated, to Gists (Mt.
+Braddock), Stewart's Crossing (Connellsville), Braddock's Field and Fort
+Pitt (Pittsburg).
+
+[Illustration: THE SEARIGHT HOUSE.]
+
+An old road between Uniontown and Brownsville was laid out in 1774 by
+viewers appointed by the court of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania,
+before Fayette county was established, upon a petition signed mainly by
+inhabitants of Brownsville and vicinity, who complained that "they had
+to carry their corn twenty miles to the mill of Henry Beeson at
+Uniontown." The distance of twenty miles complained of was by way of the
+old road known as "Burd's," from the mouth of Redstone creek to
+Gists, where it intersected Braddock's road. The road between Uniontown
+and Brownsville, above mentioned, was carried east of Uniontown, to
+intersect the Braddock road, which it did, near Slack's tavern. The line
+of the National Road closely follows that of the old road between
+Uniontown and Brownsville. Marks of the old road are plainly visible to
+this day, and some of the old buildings, which were erected along its
+line, are still standing, notably the dwelling of Thomas B. Graham,
+esq., three miles west of Uniontown, which was an old tavern. This old
+house was the first residence of the Hon. Andrew Stewart after his
+marriage, and his oldest son, David Shriver, was born in it.
+
+John Slack, the old tavern keeper before mentioned, was the father of
+Mrs. McClean, wife of Ephraim McClean, who for many years kept the
+Cottage tavern on the summit of Laurel Hill, and no doubt the fame of
+this house under the management of the McCleans is attributable in great
+measure to the early training of Mrs. McClean in her father's old
+tavern, where she was reared.
+
+Heretofore in these pages the reader has been introduced to old taverns
+and old tavern keepers on the mountain division of the road, a long
+division covering two hundred miles, including the intervening glades
+and valleys. Surprise is often expressed that there were so many good
+taverns in the mountains, remote from fertile fields and needed markets.
+That they were equal to the best on the road is conceded; and that the
+old taverns of the National Road have never been surpassed for bounteous
+entertainment and good cheer, is likewise conceded; in fact, has never
+been disputed. It may seem a trifling thing to be written down in
+serious history, that the old taverns of the mountains excelled all
+others in the matter of serving buckwheat cakes; but it is germane and
+true. To relieve this statement from the imputation of being a trifling
+one, it may be added that there are men and women still living on the
+line of the National Road who often heard the great statesman, orator
+and patriot, Henry Clay, praising the good qualities of the buckwheat
+cakes furnished by the old mountain taverns with as much fervor and more
+enthusiasm than he ever exhibited in commending his favorite measure,
+the Protective Tariff. And, as a matter of fact, it might be stated in
+this connection, that the making of buckwheat cakes is essentially a
+home industry, not, however, of the infantile order, and while it may
+not need protection, is certainly deserving of encouragement. Another
+memorable feature of the mountain taverns was the immense fires kept
+constantly burning in the old bar rooms during the old-time winters. In
+many instances the grates were seven feet in length, with corresponding
+width and depth, and would contain an ordinary wagon load of coal; and
+when the fires were stirred up in these immense grates, and set to
+roaring, the jolly old wagoners occupying the bar rooms paid little heed
+to the eagerness of the howling mountain weather. The old landlord of
+the mountains took special pride in keeping up his bar room fire. He
+kept a poker from six to eight feet long, and would not allow it to be
+used by any one but himself. Boss Rush, not inaptly termed "the prince
+of landlords," was so careful and punctilious about the management of
+his bar room fire that he kept his big poker under lock and key, so that
+no one could use it but himself, always using it at the right time, and
+keeping up a uniform and proper temperature for the comfort of his
+guests. With this parting tribute to the memory of the old taverns and
+tavern keepers of the mountains, the attention of the reader is now
+invited to those on the line of the road through the rich valleys of the
+tributaries of the Ohio. Monroe and Uniontown, and the intervening space
+of two miles between these points, are covered in a previous chapter.
+
+Three miles west of Uniontown is an old tavern stand known in late years
+as the Moxley House. It is a long log and frame building, situate on the
+south side of the road, with a porch extending along its entire
+frontage. This house was first kept as a tavern by Bazil Wiggins, an
+uncle of Harrison Wiggins, the old fox hunter before mentioned, next by
+John Gray, grandfather of the old and popular conductor from Uniontown
+to Pittsburg on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, now and for many years
+deceased. Its next occupant, and from 1836 to 1838, was William Cox, a
+brother-in-law of E. W. Clement, the famous swearer. In 1838 the
+property was purchased by Thomas Moxley, who went into possession and
+continued it as a tavern stand down to the year 1863, when Henry Clay
+Rush bought it and occupied it until the year 1865, when he sold it to
+Edmund Leonard, its present occupant. When Moxley took charge of this
+old tavern he gave it the name of "The Half-way House," for the reason
+that its location is about midway between Cumberland and Wheeling. It
+was always a well conducted tavern, and did a large business, mainly in
+the line of wagon custom.
+
+Less than a mile west of the old Moxley House, on the south side, and
+back a few yards from the road, is a fine brick building, which, during
+a portion of the prosperous era of the road, was a well known and
+popular tavern stand. The house was built by Robert Hunter, who occupied
+it for several years, but did not seem inclined to court patronage, and,
+as a consequence, did not do much business. He leased the house to
+William Darlington, and moved to Ohio. Darlington, as before stated, had
+been an old wagoner, was a man of amiable temper, and did a large
+business at this house. He remained in it until the year 1848, when he
+moved to the mountain and took charge of the Stone House, then known as
+the Fayette Springs House, now Dean's. There he remained until he became
+the occupant of the Mansion House on the estate of the late Col. Samuel
+Evans, near Uniontown, where he died. When Darlington vacated the old
+Hunter House it was turned over to Peter Colley, whose father, Abel
+Colley, had previously bought it from Hunter. Peter Colley kept the
+house a number of years, and died in possession. He was a man of quiet
+deportment, attentive to strangers and travelers, and enjoyed an
+extensive line of custom, until the termination of the road's high
+career. The old tavern is now the private residence of A. A. Taggart,
+son-in-law of Peter Colley, proprietor of one of the planing mills of
+Uniontown, and a successful contractor and builder.
+
+[Illustration: JOSEPH GRAY.]
+
+Next, two miles further west, is Searights. Here is the old half-way
+house between Uniontown and Brownsville, a large stone building on the
+north side of the road, at the crossing of the great drovers' road of
+other days leading from the Flats of Grave Creek, Virginia, to Bedford,
+Pennsylvania. The large stables connected with this house, on the
+opposite side of the road, are still standing, and in a good state of
+preservation. In the olden time, in addition to the ordinary travel on
+the road, sleighing and other parties from Uniontown and Brownsville
+were accustomed to go to this old tavern for a night's dancing, and the
+attending festivities. This is also the battleground of the memorable
+"Gray Meeting" in 1828, where the opposing hosts between Jackson and
+Adams went into an open field and measured strength by "counting off,"
+the Jacksonians outnumbering their adversaries by a decided
+preponderance, greatly to the mortification of the weaker column. This
+meeting was called the "Gray meeting," because the tavern there was then
+kept by John Gray, formerly of the Moxley House, before mentioned. The
+leaders on the occasion of this trial of strength were as follows: On
+the Jackson side, Gen. Henry W. Beeson, Col. Ben Brownfield, John
+Fuller, David Gilmore, Larkin S. Dearth. Alexander Johnson, Provance
+McCormick, William F. Coplan, Henry J. Rigdon, William Hatfield and
+William Searight. On the Adams side: Andrew Stewart, John Dawson, John
+M. Austin, Israel Miller, E. P. Oliphant, Chads Chalfant, Stokely
+Conwell, Levi Springer, Dennis Springer, and William Colvin. Prior to
+1840 many of the Democratic county meetings and conventions were held at
+Searights. Before the era of railroads it was a central point for
+Uniontown, Connellsville and Brownsville. A large water-trough was
+always maintained at this old tavern, where teams attached to all kinds
+of wagons, coaches and other vehicles, as well as horses and mules led
+in droves, were halted for refreshment. At times relays of stage horses
+for extra occasions were stationed here, and it was always a relay for
+the line teams moving merchandise. An old sign-board was displayed at
+the front of the house for many years, bearing in large gilt letters the
+legend SEARIGHTS. The old tavern at Searights was built by Josiah Frost,
+about the time the National Road was constructed, and in the year 1821
+William Searight acquired it by purchase from Frost. Joseph T. Noble as
+lessee of William Searight kept the tavern first after it was vacated by
+Frost. It was kept for a brief period at intervals by William Searight,
+but owing to his absence from home, being a contractor on public works,
+he did not give the management his personal attention, but placed it in
+the hands of James Allison, a well remembered and highly esteemed
+citizen, subsequently and for many years postmaster at Searights. John
+Gray, as has been stated, kept this house in 1828. He was succeeded by
+John Risler, the noted old tavern keeper, before mentioned. Mrs.
+Risler's mother died at this house. Her name was Marsh. After Mr. Risler
+left, and about 1840, Matthias Fry went into possession, and conducted
+the house for a number of years. He had been a popular old wagoner, and
+drew a large wagon trade. He was succeeded by Joseph Gray, son of John,
+before mentioned, and father of John Gray, the old railroad conductor.
+Joseph Gray died in this house in January, 1851. He was a worthy
+citizen, well deserving of honorable mention. After the death of Joseph
+Gray the house was kept first by William Shaw, known as "Tavern Keeper
+Billy," and after him by William Shaw, known as "Wagoner Billy." These
+two Shaws were not of kin. In 1856 Henry Clay Rush took charge of the
+house and remained in it until 1863, when he purchased the Moxley
+property and removed to that point, as before stated. Rush was a popular
+man, and was liberally patronized by the traveling public. In the fall
+of 1862, or winter of 1863, the mansion house of Ewing Searight was
+destroyed by fire, and he moved to the old tavern when Rush vacated it,
+remained for a while, and subsequently from time to time leased it to
+James Frost, Alfred McCormick, Thomas Allen, C. W. Downer, Robert
+Moxley, Lewis Fry and James W. Claybaugh. During the terms of the last
+mentioned persons the patronage of the house was mostly local. The house
+is now the private residence of William Searight, a son of Ewing
+Searight, owner of the property, and late superintendent of the road.
+William Searight, the old proprietor, was superintendent of the road for
+many years, during its flourishing era.
+
+The National Road had its contingent of quaint characters, eccentric
+men, philosophers in one sense, and loafers in another. They were
+indigenous to the road, could not live away from it, and enjoyed the
+precarious subsistence they obtained on it. The load-stone that
+attracted them and attached them to the road, probably above all other
+influences, was the pure whisky, before mentioned. It was plentiful and
+cheap, and could be obtained almost for the mere asking. It did not
+contain the elements of modern whisky, which excites men to revolution,
+insurrection, violence and insanity. Of the characters alluded to, whose
+haunts were at the old taverns along the road between Searights and
+Brownsville, the reader familiar with that portion of the line will
+readily recall Marion Smith, (Logan) George Ducket, Jonathan Crawford,
+John W. Dougherty, Gideon Lehman and Billy Bluebaker. Logan's forte was
+imitating the crowing of a rooster. Ducket had no pronounced trait, but
+under a patriotic impulse volunteered as a soldier in the Mexican war,
+and marched with Major Gardner, Daniel Hazard and the other heroes to
+the halls of the Montezumas. Crawford was a tailor, and worked at his
+trade as little as possible, but quietly enjoyed his potations. He had
+nothing to say. Dougherty was a walking arsenal, savage in appearance
+and gesticulation. He carried knives, pistols and a general assortment
+of deadly weapons, but was never known to use them on an adversary.
+Lehman was also a tailor and bass drummer. He had a bronzed complexion,
+and a stolid temperament. Billy Bluebaker was elastic in motion, but
+lacking in brain. He wore the smallest hat of any individual on the
+road, and was happy in doing little jobs for old wagoners at his uncle's
+tavern. These odd characters have all gone with the majority of the men
+of the road. They witnessed and in their way participated in the
+enlivening scenes of the great highway, and are entitled to a place in
+its history.
+
+[Illustration: WILLIAM SHAW.
+ "WAGONER BILLY."]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+ _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers, continued--Searights to
+ Brownsville--Able Colley's, Johnson's, known later as
+ Hatfield's--William Hatfield, his Good Name and Melancholy
+ Death--An old and odd Indenture--The old Peter Colley House--A
+ Tavern with a Brief Career, the Red Tavern, Wilkes Brown,
+ Brubaker's--Brownsville--Anecdotes of Jackson and Clay--James
+ Workman and Doctor Stoy--Ham and Eggs--Bazil Brashear, James C.
+ Beckley, William Reynolds, the Monongahela House, the Clark House,
+ the Iron Bridge, Bridgeport, John Riley, the Monongahela Bridge._
+
+
+Over the hill from Searights is the old Abel Colley stand. The old
+tavern here, in the flourishing era of the road, did a large business,
+mainly in the line of entertaining wagoners. While all the taverns of
+the road were more or less patronized by wagoners, excepting a few which
+were exclusively stage houses, they had favorite stopping places, and
+the Abel Colley tavern was one of these. The old proprietor and his
+family had methods and manners which were agreeable to wagoners, and
+they made it a point to stop at this house in great numbers. The bills
+were moderate, yet the patronage was so extensive and continued so long
+that Abel Colley accumulated a considerable fortune at this old tavern,
+and when trade and travel ceased built a fine brick residence on the
+roadside opposite, where he retired with his family to private life, and
+in a few years thereafter died. Nancy, the wife of the old tavern
+keeper, is well remembered as a large, amiable woman, who habitually
+wore an expansive cap of the Queen Anne style. She long since passed to
+the life beyond. W. Searight Colley, a son of Abel, now occupies and
+owns the brick dwelling mentioned, with a fine farm adjacent. Peter
+Colley, of the old Hunter tavern before mentioned, was likewise a son of
+Abel, and he had a son, Levi, a farmer and freeholder, who died a number
+of years ago on the old Covert farm, near Moxley's, now in the occupancy
+of one of his sons. The Abel Colley tavern is still standing, a
+monument, like many others, of the faded glories of the old pike. This
+old house was kept as early as the year 1825 by Darius Grimes, and after
+him by Thomas Moxley. In Moxley's time it was called the "Green Tree,"
+and the writer remembers the picture of the green tree which appeared on
+the sign board that hung and swung for many years in front of this old
+tavern. Abel Colley took charge after Moxley left. According to the
+recollection of Ebenezer Finley, as appears by his letter in the
+Appendix to this volume, the Abel Colley tavern, was kept by Samuel
+Wolverton and by Hugh Thompson, and this must have been previous to the
+time of Darius Grimes. It was certainly before Moxley's time.
+
+[Illustration: ABEL COLLEY.]
+
+About one mile west of the Abel Colley house there is an old stone
+tavern on the north side of the road, known in early days as Johnson's,
+later as Hatfield's. This house was built in 1817 by Randolph Dearth for
+Robert Johnson, who kept it as a tavern down to the year 1841, when he
+retired to a farm in Franklin township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania,
+where he died, leaving behind him a good name, which is better than
+great riches, of which latter he had a goodly share. He was the
+father-in-law of Thomas Brownfield, who, in 1862, was Sheriff of Fayette
+county, Pennsylvania, and previously a tavern keeper on the road. Henry
+L. Murphy, a well known and thrifty farmer of Jefferson township,
+Fayette county, Pennsylvania, likewise married a daughter of Robert
+Johnson. This tavern, under the guidance of Robert Johnson, did a large
+business, and the old proprietor made money by conducting it. The
+successor of Robert Johnson in the management of this house was Arthur
+Wallace, who remained in it for a single year. He was a brother of John
+Wallace, who once kept the Wilse Clement house in Hopwood, and
+subsequently removed to Morgantown, Virginia, and an uncle of James
+Wallace, present proprietor of the Wallace House in Morgantown. Peter
+Frasher, the old wagoner and tavern keeper before mentioned, married a
+daughter of Arthur Wallace. Charles Guttery succeeded Arthur Wallace in
+the Johnson House. [Y]Guttery was an old wagoner, and is now keeping a
+tavern in Beallsville, Washington county, Pennsylvania, and probably the
+oldest man in the business. He was at the Johnson House in 1844, and a
+wagoner many years before that date. From 1849 to 1851 John Foster kept
+the Johnson House. He was a brother of the first wife of Robert Hogsett.
+Foster was succeeded by Hiram Holmes, who kept the house one year. In
+1852 William Hatfield, who had previously bought the property, went into
+the house and kept it as a tavern until the year 1855, when he closed it
+as a public house, but continued to occupy it as a private residence
+until his melancholy death. Before engaging in tavern keeping, William
+Hatfield served many years as a Justice of the Peace, and subsequent to
+1855 served a term as Associate Judge. He was a blacksmith by trade, and
+made the old iron gates of the road. He was industrious and honest, and
+likewise noted for his kindness to his fellow men. It was while engaged
+in doing a favor for an old neighbor, in the year 1871, that he lost his
+life. His neighbor, John C. Craft, had purchased a patent pump, and
+called on Judge Hatfield to assist him in placing it in his well. The
+Judge, as was his habit, promptly responded, and, going down to the
+bottom of the well, called to his neighbor, who stood at the surface, to
+send him down a saw or an ax. The needed tool was placed in a heavy
+iron-bound tub and started down, but, through neglect, the cable
+slipped, and the tub was precipitated a great depth upon Judge
+Hatfield's head, fatally injuring him. He was extricated from his
+perilous position in an unconscious state, carried home, and lingering
+only a few hours, died. His remains were interred in the beautiful
+cemetery near Brownsville, attended by a large concourse of sorrowing
+citizens, including the Judges of the Courts and the members of the bar
+of Fayette county, Pennsylvania.
+
+[Footnote Y: Deceased.]
+
+Following is an exact copy of the indenture which bound William Hatfield
+to learn the trade of a blacksmith:
+
+ _This Indenture Witnesseth_: That William Hatfield, of the township
+ of Union, in the county of Fayette, State of Pennsylvania, hath put
+ himself by the approbation of his guardian, JOHN WITHROW, and by
+ these presents doth voluntarily put himself an apprentice to GEORGE
+ WINTERMUTE, of the township of Redstone, county and State
+ aforesaid, blacksmith, to learn his art, trade or mystery he now
+ occupieth or followeth, and after the manner of an apprentice to
+ serve him from the day of the date hereof, for and during the full
+ end and term of five years next ensuing, during all which time he,
+ the said apprentice, his said master shall faithfully serve, his
+ secrets keep, his lawful commands every where gladly obey; he shall
+ do no damage to his said master, nor suffer it to be done without
+ giving notice to his said master; he shall not waste his master's
+ goods, nor lend them unlawfully to others; he shall not absent
+ himself day or night from his master's service without his leave;
+ he shall not commit any unlawful deed, whereby his said master
+ shall sustain damage, nor contract matrimony within the said term;
+ he shall not buy nor sell, nor make any contract whatsomever,
+ whereby his master receive damage, but in all things behave himself
+ as a faithful apprentice ought to do during the said term. And the
+ said George Wintermute shall use the utmost of his endeavors to
+ teach, or cause to be taught and instructed, the said apprentice
+ the trade or mystery he now occupieth or followeth, and procure and
+ provide for him, the said apprentice, sufficient meat, drink,
+ common working apparel, washing, and lodging, fitting for an
+ apprentice during the said term; and further, he the said master,
+ doth agree to give unto the said apprentice, ten month's schooling
+ within the said term, and also the said master doth agree to give
+ unto the said apprentice two weeks in harvest in each and every
+ year that he, the said apprentice, shall stay with his said master;
+ also the said George Wintermute, doth agree to give unto the said
+ apprentice one good freedom suit of clothes. And for the true
+ performance of all and every the said covenants and agreements,
+ either of the said parties binds themselves to each other by these
+ presents.
+
+ In witness thereof, they have interchangeably put their hands and
+ seals, this first day of April, one thousand eight hundred and
+ sixteen.
+
+ GEORGE WINTERMUTE. [Seal.]
+ Witness present, WILLIAM HATFIELD. [Seal.]
+ BENJAMIN ROBERTS. JOHN WITHROW. [Seal.]
+
+[Illustration: HON. WILLIAM HATFIELD.]
+
+_Fayette County, ss._:
+
+ May the 29th, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, before me the
+ subscriber, one of the justices of peace in and for the said county,
+ came the parties to the within indenture and severally acknowledged
+ it as their act and deed. Given under my hand and seal the day and
+ year above mentioned.
+
+ BENJAMIN ROBERTS. [Seal.]
+
+All the covenants and agreements of this quaint document were faithfully
+kept on the part of William Hatfield. Benjamin Roberts, the Justice of
+the Peace, before whom the instrument was acknowledged, was the father
+of William B. Roberts, who led the company from Uniontown to engage in
+the Mexican war, and upon the organization of the second regiment of
+Pennsylvania volunteers was elected colonel, and served as such until
+his death, which occurred in the city of Mexico. The old justice lived
+on a small farm in Menallen township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania,
+north of and adjoining the Searight farm, and Col. Roberts, his
+distinguished son, was born there.
+
+One mile west of Hatfield's is the old Peter Colley stand. It is a stone
+house on the south side of the road. Peter Colley was the father of Abel
+Colley, and an early settler. He kept a tavern on the old road before
+the National Road was made. He was a money maker, and owned the land on
+which his tavern was erected, in fee. He was probably the first man on
+the National Road who acquired the fame of having a barrel of money. Old
+pike boys said he kept his money in a barrel. Peter Colley was well
+advanced in years when the National Road was made, and did not long
+enjoy the profits of the new highway. At his death his tavern passed to
+the hands of his son George, who kept it for many years, and until he
+followed his father to the unknown world. George Colley lived to see and
+lament the decline of business on the road, and after his death his
+house was discontinued as a tavern. The hills on either side of this old
+house are among the highest on the road, the summit of the western range
+being twelve hundred and seventy-four feet above the level of the sea.
+In the olden time, as before stated, extra horses, called "the
+postilion," were required to aid the stage coaches in ascending these
+hills.
+
+A little over a mile further west a plastered stone house, on the north
+side of the road, was kept as a tavern at intervals, during the
+prosperous era of the road. It is not, however, to be classed among the
+old taverns of the road. It was first kept as a tavern previous to 1840
+by Arthur Wallace. Isaac Baily subsequently kept it for a brief period,
+and enjoyed a good measure of patronage. Baily afterward became
+postmaster at Brownsville, and finally a member of the Fayette county,
+Pennsylvania, bar. He was a shrewd Yankee, and an active local
+politician. His wife was a daughter of Solomon Colley, of the large
+family of Colleys of the vicinity. George Craft once lived in this
+house, and occasionally entertained strangers and travelers, but was not
+a regular tavern keeper. This was also the residence at one time of
+"Jackey Craft," known as an eccentric character, who was in the habit of
+starting out over the road in a sleigh with bells, when there was no
+snow on the ground. Before his mind became unbalanced, "Jackey" was a
+pushing, money making citizen, but his life went out under a cloud of
+mental derangement, causing deep regret among his many friends.
+
+A few hundred yards further west on the south side of the road, is the
+red tavern, so called, because in early days it was painted red. It is a
+wooden building, weather-boarded. This house had a large wagon custom,
+and, what may be considered strange without explanation, was more
+largely patronized by wagoners going west than east. This was owing to
+the means of ingress to and egress from the house. It is located near
+the summit of a hill, a short distance from the road, and immediately in
+front of it, adjoining the road, is a steep embankment. To drive to the
+house going west, a way leads off from the summit of the hill, which is
+level, but to drive out to the road the descent is steep, and wagoners
+coming east could not reach the wagon yard without driving up this steep
+grade, and, in many instances, preferred driving on to Colley's rather
+than pressing their teams against such an obstacle. Despite the
+disadvantage mentioned, this tavern, as before stated, was a popular
+resort for wagoners. It was first kept by Cuthbert Wiggins, father of
+Harrison Wiggins, and at this house Harrison Wiggins was born. It was
+next kept by George Richards, whose widow became the wife of John Gadd.
+Cuthbert Wiggins was at this house as early as 1812. John Gribble
+succeeded Richards as early as 1836, and continued to keep this house
+for many years, making money in the business, and ultimately buying a
+farm in the neighborhood, ceased tavern keeping and became a successful
+farmer. He has been dead many years, but is well remembered as a worthy
+citizen. Upon the retirement of Gribble, this house passed to the
+management of Fielding Frasher, a steady-going man, who had been a
+wagoner on the road, and knew how to keep a tavern. He was an uncle of
+Capt. L. H. Frasher, of Uniontown, ex-District Attorney of Fayette
+county. Fielding Frasher had a good custom while keeping this house, but
+did not continue long in the business, and was succeeded by Huston Todd,
+a well known citizen in his day. He was a brother-in-law of Judge
+Hatfield, father of Ewing Todd, for many years a leading citizen of
+Brownsville, now deceased, and grandfather of William Hatfield Todd, a
+popular and efficient postal clerk on the route between Pittsburg and
+New York. Peter Williams, oldest son of the late Gen. William W.
+Williams, married a daughter of Huston Todd. The reputation of this old
+house was fully maintained while under the control of Huston Todd. Peter
+Frasher next took charge of this house. He was a brother of Fielding
+Frasher, and a typical pike boy, bright, active, and popular. He had
+been a wagoner, and knew the road from Baltimore to Wheeling. The house,
+while he kept it, was crowded with guests, but his generous nature
+prevented him from exacting full payment of bills at all times, and
+as a consequence his coffers were not as much swollen as those of many
+of the tavern keepers, more mindful of the chief end of tavern keeping.
+George Friend succeeded Peter Frasher, but remained only a short time,
+when he gave way to Parker McDonald. McDonald was the last man who
+conducted this house as a tavern. He was active, attentive, and popular,
+but the glory of the road had departed, and the business of tavern
+keeping was a thing of the past. The old red tavern and the farm
+adjacent belong to the old and wealthy Bowman family, of Brownsville.
+
+[Illustration: JOHNSON-HATFIELD HOUSE.]
+
+A short distance west of the red tavern a stone house was kept by Wilkes
+Brown, before the National Road was made, and derived its trade for the
+most part from the old road. It is still standing, but not immediately
+on the National Road. Wilkes Brown was of the family of Thomas Brown,
+the founder of Brownsville.
+
+The next old tavern stand on the westward tramp is Brubaker's, a fine
+brick building on the north side near Brownsville. Daniel Brubaker
+purchased this property from David Auld, and went into possession in the
+year 1826, and from that date until his death was its constant occupant,
+with the exception of a very brief period that it was occupied and kept
+as a tavern by Alexander R. Watson. Mr. Brubaker survived the business
+era of the road, and died in his old tavern. He was a Pennsylvania
+Dutchman, born in Somerset county, and possessed the thrift
+characteristic of his race. Although economical and saving, he was not
+stinted in providing for the comfortable entertainment of his guests,
+and enjoyed a large patronage, especially in the line of wagon custom.
+After ascending the long hill out from Brownsville, going east, old
+wagoners found a pleasant resting place at Brubaker's. Alex. R. Watson
+will be remembered by the old folks of the road as a man of small
+stature, but considerable energy, who, about forty-five years ago, ran
+an omnibus line between Brownsville and Uniontown for the conveyance of
+passengers.
+
+The next point is Brownsville, for many years the head of steamboat
+navigation on the Monongahela river. Here many passengers were
+transferred from the stage lines to the steamboats plying between this
+point and Pittsburg. It is shown by official figures that from 1844, the
+date at which the slack water improvement was completed to Brownsville,
+to 1852, when through business ceased on the National Road, covering a
+period of eight years, more than two hundred thousand passengers left
+the stage lines at Brownsville and took passage on the Monongahela
+steamers. West-going passengers were "ticketed through" from Cumberland,
+Baltimore and other points east, to Pittsburg and other points west,
+_via_ the National Road, and the Monongahela river route. A movement was
+set on foot as early as the year 1814, looking to the improvement of the
+navigation of the Monongahela river, by means of locks and dams,
+followed by later spasmodic efforts, but nothing of a practical nature
+was accomplished in this direction until 1836, when a company was
+incorporated to carry forward and complete the work. The act of
+incorporation designated a number of prominent citizens to solicit and
+receive subscriptions of stock, among whom were Ephraim L. Blaine,
+father of James G. Blaine, of Washington county; William Hopkins, of the
+same county, and Andrew Stewart and Samuel Evans, of Fayette county. Of
+all the gentlemen designated for this purpose, and there was quite a
+large number, not one is living at this day. There were no wagon stand
+taverns in Brownsville. Wagoners "put up" at the old Riley and Bar
+houses in Bridgeport, and at Brubaker's, east of town. The old Workman
+House, at the upper end of Market street, was a famous stage house. It
+had the patronage of the Stockton line. This house is a stone structure,
+on the north side of the street, with a spacious porch in front. James
+Workman, the old proprietor, will be remembered as a gentleman of ruddy
+complexion, gray hair, slim, but erect stature, elastic step and curt
+speech. He presided at this house for many years, and had a wide
+reputation for serving good meals. This old house was built by John
+McClure Hezlop in 1797, who first kept it as a tavern. James Beckley
+afterwards kept it, and after his decease, it was continued as a tavern
+by his widow. James Workman took charge of it in 1843. After Workman,
+and since the decline of travel on the road, it has been kept at
+different times by William Garrett, Aaron Wyatt, William Wyatt, Jacob
+Marks, John G. Fear, and probably others. It is continued as a tavern,
+and kept at the present time by Fred Chalfant.
+
+The late George E. Hogg, for many years a leading and wealthy citizen of
+Brownsville, is authority for the following amusing story concerning
+James Workman, the old tavern keeper, and General Jackson. On an
+occasion of one of General Jackson's frequent trips over the National
+Road, the citizens of Brownsville resolved to give him a public
+reception. All the usual arrangements for such an event were made,
+including a dinner at Workman's tavern. The hero, upon reaching town,
+was taken to the Presbyterian church to listen to a reception speech and
+receive the greetings of the people. Soon after the audience had settled
+down Mr. Workman entered the building, and forcing himself down the main
+aisle, and to a front pew occupied by General Jackson, accosted him
+thus: "General Jackson, I have been commissioned by the committee of
+arrangements to provide your dinner, and have come to inquire if there
+is any particular article of diet you prefer above another, that I may
+have the pleasure of gratifying your taste." The old General gravely
+responded, "Ham and eggs." This seemed rather confusing to the old
+landlord, who, supposing the General was joking, repeated his inquiry,
+when the same response came a second time and in an emphatic tone, "Ham
+and eggs." The old landlord then hastily withdrew, hurried home, and
+commanded his cook to prepare ham and eggs for General Jackson's dinner.
+The ham of that day was a different thing from the flabby, flavorless
+so-called "sugar cured" counterfeit of the present day, and thousands of
+other well meaning citizens besides General Jackson were fond of the ham
+of the olden time. Eggs, of course, are the same now as of yore, but
+simply and solely because modern food corrupters have not discovered any
+method of debauching them.
+
+[Illustration: WORKMAN HOUSE.]
+
+Mr. Hogg, above quoted, is responsible also for the following story: An
+Old Line coach in which Henry Clay was a passenger was upset on the iron
+bridge, and he was slightly injured and conveyed to the Workman house.
+Dr. Stoy, an old practitioner of the place, was summoned, and hastened
+to the relief of the distinguished sufferer. The old physician was given
+to loquacity, and not a little elated by being called to see so
+distinguished a patient. He prescribed brandy, and to vary the
+prescription and assuage the patient's apprehension, began the recital
+of an old joke, meanwhile holding in his hand a glass of brandy. Mr.
+Clay, perceiving that the story was going to be a long one, interrupted
+the doctor by suggesting that he be permitted to drink the brandy
+without further delay, and rub the glass over his wounds.
+
+A few steps below the Workman House an old tavern was kept by Bazil
+Brashear, and subsequently by James Searight, who left it in 1836, to
+take charge of the "National House" in Washington, Pennsylvania. The
+Brashear House was a station for many years of one or more of the early
+stage lines, and in 1825 Gen. Lafayette dined at this house while on his
+way from Washington, Pennsylvania, to Uniontown. This old house, built
+of stone, is still standing, owned and occupied as a private residence
+by the widow of the late Westley Frost. Bazil Brashear was a
+brother-in-law of Thomas Brown, the founder of Brownsville, and the
+grandfather of Prof. Brashear, the distinguished astronomer of
+Pittsburg.
+
+James C. Beckley kept a tavern in a frame house at the head of old Front
+street, for a number of years. He was a local politician of much
+shrewdness, commanding a considerable following, a close friend of the
+late Hon. John L. Dawson, and served that old-time, able and
+distinguished statesman in many trying contests.
+
+Further down the main street and on the south side near the present
+location of the old Monongahela Bank, was the Marshall House. This house
+was first kept as a tavern by William Reynolds, who was an agent of the
+Adams Express Company. Mr. Reynolds previously kept the old Abrams House
+in Petersburg. He did a good business at the Marshall House, which was
+headquarters for the Express Company. This house was subsequently kept
+at different times by Hiram Holmes, Isaac Vance, Harvey Schroyer, J.W.
+Kisinger and William Garrett. After Reynolds left it the name was
+changed, and it was known as the Petroleum House. It has not been used
+as a tavern for a number of years.
+
+William Reynolds was a native of Brownsville, born in 1804, and drove
+his father's team between Baltimore and Wheeling, before reaching his
+majority. He kept tavern in Petersburg five years, and moved from that
+place to Brandonville, Virginia, where he engaged in a mercantile
+venture, as a partner of his uncle, Zalmon Ludington, esq. After a brief
+experience as a merchant, he returned to his father's old tavern west
+of Keyser's Ridge, and afterward resumed tavern keeping in Petersburg.
+From Petersburg he went to Brownsville. He was killed in a railroad
+accident near Pittsburg in 1856, while in the service of the Adams
+Express Company. His son John is postmaster at Confluence, Somerset
+county, Pennsylvania, and William Hartman, the unfortunate brakeman who
+was shot and killed on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, near Dunbar, in
+August, 1893, was a grandson of William Reynolds.
+
+The old Clark mansion, located at the east end of "the neck" in
+Brownsville, was converted to a tavern about forty-five years ago, and
+became the headquarters of the Good Intent stage line. It was first
+opened up as a tavern by Andrew Byers, who had previously kept the
+Clinton House in Uniontown. When Byers left it Daniel Brown, the old
+stage agent, took charge of it and conducted it for a brief period.
+Daniel Brown's reputation as a model tavern keeper has been adverted
+to in another chapter. After Brown's time the patronage of this house
+was mostly of a local character. The Clark House was kept for a while
+after Brown left it by Capt. Morgan Mason, who subsequently located in
+St. Louis, where he still resides, a leading citizen, and an ex-sheriff
+of that city. The widow Schroyer also kept this house, and Matthew
+Story, and it is at present kept by the Theakston Brothers.
+
+The Monongahela House, a short distance west of the Clark House, on the
+south side, was originally and for many years the private residence of
+Samuel J. Krepps. It has been probably fifty years since this house was
+thrown open to the public as a tavern. One of the McCurdy's was first
+installed as landlord of this house. He was succeeded by Jesse Hardin,
+an old stage driver, and Isaac Bailey, William Gans, Ephraim H. Bar,
+Cyrus L. Conner and John B. Krepps, son of the owner, kept this house
+nearly, if not exactly, in the order given. It was a stage house, and
+had a large run of general custom. It continues to be one of the leading
+hotels of Brownsville, under the management of David Provins.
+
+Thomas Brown, James Auld, Amos Wilson and James C. Beckley were tavern
+keepers in Brownsville prior to the construction of the National Road.
+Auld preceded Beckley in the old house at the head of Front street,
+above mentioned. Amos Wilson kept the old "Black Horse" tavern on Front
+street.
+
+A few yards westward from the Monongahela House the road crosses
+Dunlap's creek over a handsome and expensive iron bridge, erected in
+1835, and the first of the kind west of the Allegheny mountains. The
+vicissitudes attending the construction of this bridge have been alluded
+to in a previous chapter. The stone work of this bridge, which is a fine
+specimen of heavy masonry, was let by contract to William Searight, who
+pushed it forward and completed it with his characteristic energy. David
+Chipps, a well remembered old citizen of the vicinity of Uniontown, and
+an expert stone mason, was a boss workman on this bridge, and the late
+Gen. William W. Williams, who in the prime of his life was an
+excellent mason, also worked on its walls and abutments. The work was
+done under authority of the War Department of the general government.
+
+[Illustration: BRIDGE OVER THE MONONGAHELA.]
+
+After crossing the iron bridge the traveler is in the ancient borough of
+Bridgeport. Here Jack Arnold kept a tavern at a very early period. He
+was succeeded by John Riley, who for many years kept a wagon stand.
+Riley was a staunch citizen, and participated in the public affairs of
+his town. His tavern was near the market house, and was a popular resort
+in the olden time. Isaac Kimber, Robert Patterson and John Neelan kept
+taverns in Bridgeport before the National Road was made. The present Bar
+House is on the site of the old Kimber House. The Bar House is owned by
+Ephraim H. Bar, who conducted it as a tavern for many years. It was a
+wagon stand, and had a good trade. Robert Carter, old wagoner before
+mentioned, was one of the men who for a time successfully conducted the
+Bar House. Thornton Young, George Garrard, Matthew Story and Eli Bar
+kept this house in recent years at different times, and it is now
+conducted by W. F. Higinbotham.
+
+It is but a short distance from the iron bridge before mentioned to the
+long wooden bridge over the Monongahela river. This bridge, although a
+link of the National Road, was not built by the government. It is a
+private enterprise, and was erected in 1833. In 1810 an act was passed
+by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, authorizing the Governor to
+incorporate a company to build and operate a bridge at this point; but
+for some cause the company was not organized, and in 1830 a company was
+incorporated by the Legislature. Ephraim L. Blaine, father of the
+brilliant and popular statesman, was an incorporator under the
+provisions of the act of 1830, and the company authorized by that act
+promptly organized, and completed the bridge at the date above
+mentioned. Neil Gillespie, the grandfather of James G. Blaine, was named
+in the act of 1810, above mentioned, as one of the commissioners to
+solicit and receive subscriptions of stock for the bridge.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI.
+
+ _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Brownsville to
+ Beallsville--West Brownsville, the Birthplace of James G.
+ Blaine--Indian Hill, later known as Krepps' Knob--Indian Peter and
+ Neil Gillespie--The Adams House, John Cummins, Vincent Owens--An
+ Old and Mysterious Murder--Malden, Bry Taylor--Tragic Death of a
+ Beautiful Girl--Centreville, John Rogers, Zeph Riggle, Battelly
+ White, the whip-maker, Mrs. Dutton, Eli Railley, The Old
+ Constitution, Beallsville, David Mitchell, Andrew and Thomas Keys,
+ Robert Cluggage, William Greenfield, Mrs. Chambers, Charles
+ Guttery._
+
+
+[Illustration: OLD TAVERN AT MALDEN.]
+
+From the Big Crossings to the Monongahela river at Brownsville the road
+passes through Fayette county, Pennsylvania. After crossing the river
+bridge at Brownsville, going west, the traveler reaches the soil of
+Washington county, and plants his feet in the ancient village of West
+Brownsville. From the hill tops on the road, as far west as Hillsboro,
+glimpses are had of the receding mountains. West Brownsville has the
+great distinction of being the birth place of James G. Blaine, the
+foremost and most popular of all American statesmen of the present day.
+It is related in Crumrine's valuable and well written history of
+Washington county, that the land upon which West Brownsville stands was
+originally owned by Indian Peter. This Indian Peter, at a very early
+day, lived on lands in the vicinity of Uniontown, and gave name to
+Peter's street, the oldest street of that town. He had a neighbor whose
+name was Philip Shute, with whom he was not on friendly terms. Prior to
+1769 Indian Peter wrote to the authorities of the proprietary
+government, that "he could not get along with the damned Dutchman, and
+wished to give up his land for another tract." His request was promptly
+complied with, and he was given a tract of three hundred and thirty-nine
+acres, situate on the west side of the Monongahela river, which was
+surveyed and called "Indian Hill," and upon this tract stands the town
+of West Brownsville. It embraces Krepps' Knob, which together with the
+character of the old owner, accounts for the name given the tract.
+Krepps' Knob is ten hundred and forty feet above the level of the
+Atlantic ocean. Indian Peter, it seems, died in possession of the Indian
+Hill tract, and it passed to his widow Mary, a white woman, and his
+oldest son William. In 1784 the widow and son aforesaid, sold the tract
+to Neil Gillespie, the great-grandfather of James G. Blaine. The price
+agreed upon between the parties was forty shillings per acre, payable in
+instalments of money, iron and one negro. This tract of land remained
+in the Gillespie family for many years. Philip Shute, the old German
+neighbor of Indian Peter, lived in Union township, Fayette county, now
+North Union, near the late residence of Colonel Evans, and gave name to
+the gushing mountain stream which flows through the lands of that
+vicinity. The bridge over the Monongahela river stands on an almost
+direct north and south line, and a short distance from its northern end
+the road makes a sharp angle to the westward. On the south side of this
+angle a tavern was kept by Samuel Adams, as early as the year 1820.
+Samuel Adams was the father of Estep Adams, the present polite and
+popular postmaster at West Brownsville. John Huston succeeded Samuel
+Adams in this old house. In the early days of the road this house was
+constantly crowded with guests. At the close of Huston's term, the old
+house, which was a wooden structure, was torn down, and the present
+brick building was erected on its site, and continued as a tavern
+throughout the whole period of the road's prosperous era, and for many
+years thereafter. Joshua Armstrong was the first occupant of the new
+building. His term was prior to the year 1840. Morris Purcell came in,
+after Armstrong. Dr. Adams, the postmaster before mentioned, when a boy,
+counted fifty road wagons standing around this old tavern, in one night,
+when it was kept by Morris Purcell. The wagon yard, which was large and
+commodious, was located on the west side, and in the rear of the house.
+Major William Paul, hereinbefore mentioned, succeeded Purcell in this
+house, about the year 1842, and retained the extensive line of wagon
+custom with which his predecessor was favored. James Watkins, an old
+stage driver of Washington, Pennsylvania, was Maj. Paul's bar keeper at
+this house, and his son-in-law, Thomas Hamen Hopkins, was the successor
+of Maj. Paul in this house. His widow is still keeping a tavern in West
+Brownsville. She is well up in years, but her memory is clear and well
+stored with interesting reminiscences of the road. Greenberry Millburn
+next had charge of this house, and kept it for a brief period, when he
+retired, and his name does not subsequently appear on the roll of old
+tavern keepers. John Cummins was the next occupant of this house. He
+purchased the property, and held it until his death, which occurred near
+the close of the prosperous era of the road. He was an Irishman, thrifty
+and energetic, and besides tavern keeping, took contracts on public
+works. About the year 1859 this house passed to the control of Moses
+Bennington, who conducted it during the era of the civil war. He was
+succeeded by William Dawson, whose successor was James B. Dorsie. Doc
+Bar kept the house for a brief period, and one of its occupants was
+Robert Miller. Upon the expiration of Miller's term Thomas H. Hopkins
+again took charge, and it was subsequently kept for short periods, at
+different times, by Solomon Watkins, James Nichols and John Taylor. The
+house is at present owned by the Pittsburg, Virginia and Charleston
+railroad company, and used as a passenger and freight station.
+
+A few hundred yards west of the old Adams stand, and near the foot of
+the river hill, on the river side, an old stone house was kept as a
+tavern when the road was first opened, and for a number of years
+thereafter. The first man who catered to the wants of the traveling
+public at this old tavern was Vincent Owens, who had been a faithful
+soldier in Washington's army in the war of the Revolution. The property
+belonged to the old Krepps family of the vicinity, and the old tavern
+stood at the northwest landing of the old Krepps ferry. Owens was
+succeeded at this old tavern by Samuel Acklin, and Acklin by John
+Krepps, a brother of Samuel J. Krepps. Morris Purcell succeeded Krepps,
+and went from here to the old Adams House, before mentioned. The Krepps
+ferry was operated in connection with the management of this old tavern,
+and the ferry was continued down to the year 1845. The tavern was closed
+here long before the decline of travel on the road. The father of
+Vincent Owens was murdered in this old tavern while his son was
+conducting it. The crime was an atrocious one, causing great excitement
+and indignation in the neighborhood at the time, and the manner and
+motives of the act seem to be shrouded in mystery. Two persons who
+lodged in the house over night were suspected of the crime, but they
+fled before the light of the morning and were never apprehended.
+
+About two and one-half miles west of Krepps' Ferry an ancient hamlet
+called by old pike boys Malden is reached. Here on the north side of the
+road stands an old stone tavern, which in the palmy days of the road was
+a popular stopping point. It belonged originally to the old Krepps
+family, of Brownsville, and was designed and erected for a tavern. It
+was evidently the belief of the old owners that a town would grow up on
+this site, as they caused a stone in the front wall of the old tavern,
+near the top, to be dressed and inscribed in cut letters with the name
+Kreppsville. This name, however, was not adopted by the public, but the
+place was, and continues to be known as Malden. The origin of this name
+is not positively known, but tradition has it that a party of emigrants
+encamping on the ground one night, fancying that it resembled the place
+of their nativity, Malden, probably in the State of Massachusetts, gave
+it that name. Be this as it may, Malden is the popular name of the
+locality. The old tavern here was built in two sections and at different
+dates. The original, which is now the western section, was built in
+1822, and a dressed stone in its front wall bears that date. The second,
+or eastern section, was built in 1830. It is the second section that
+bears the name Kreppsville, above mentioned; and, in addition, the stone
+slab disclosing this name shows the date 1830, also the word "Liberty,"
+and the figure of a plow and sheaf of wheat. Bry Taylor was the first
+person who kept the old tavern at Malden, and he was constantly busy
+while there in attending to the wants of the traveling public. He had an
+amiable and beautiful daughter, Kizzie, who was accidentally killed in
+this house, causing great sorrow in the neighborhood. Her brother,
+James, had been out hunting one day, and returning, placed his gun
+negligently on a table. His sister, Miss Kizzie, besought him to
+put the gun in a safe place, which he declined to do, remarking that "it
+wouldn't hurt anybody where it was." Miss Kizzie did not share his
+confidence in regard to the absence of danger, and proceeded to remove
+the gun herself. Her brother interfered to prevent the gun's removal,
+when a scuffle ensued between the parties, during which the gun was
+discharged, and Miss Kizzie was fatally shot. The room in which this sad
+affair occurred is still pointed out to visitors. As if by the law of
+compensation, James Taylor, the brother, many years afterward was
+himself shot. He became a river man, and gradually made his way to
+points down the Ohio and Mississippi, and was finally shot and killed by
+a United States Marshal near Memphis. Samuel Acklin followed Taylor in
+the old tavern at Malden, and was favored with a large patronage,
+consisting mainly of wagoners and drovers. Acklin was at this house as
+early as 1836. Samuel Bailey succeeded Acklin, and Bailey was succeeded
+in turn by William Pepper and William Garrett. James Britton, now and
+for thirty years past, has owned this property. He occupies the old
+tavern as a private residence, and operates the fertile farm attached to
+it.
+
+[Illustration: WILLIAM GREENFIELD.]
+
+The next point west, distant about three miles, is Centreville. Moving
+onward towards Centreville the traveler passes the old farms and
+residences of Jonathan Knight, the famous civil engineer of other days,
+and Nathan Pusey, father of Hon. W. H. M. Pusey, a leading banker,
+Democratic politician and ex-member of Congress, of Council Bluffs,
+Iowa. Another point of interest on this part of the line, is the old
+historic Taylor church, which stands on the north side of the road, a
+monument of the religious tendencies of the good old inhabitants of the
+vicinity. Centreville was laid out in 1821, soon after the road was
+completed, and with special reference to its completion, and the
+anticipated prosperity to ensue by reason thereof. It is equi-distant
+between Uniontown and Washington. The first old tavern kept in
+Centreville was by John Rogers, father of the venerable Joseph T.
+Rogers, of Bridgeport. It is a brick house, on the north side of the
+road, still standing. Robert Rogers succeeded his father in this house
+and kept it for many years, and died in possession. At brief intervals
+in the lifetime of Robert Rogers this house was conducted by Solomon
+Bracken, son-in-law of Mr. Rogers, and a Mr. Wilson, the latter
+occupying it but for one year. The Rogers House was known and noted
+throughout the entire period of the road's prosperous era as a quiet,
+orderly, well kept tavern. The leading wagon stand in Centreville was on
+the hill at the west end of town, a brick house, on the south side of
+the road. The wagon yard was in the rear. Zephania Riggle kept this
+house at an early day, and was succeeded in 1845 by Peter Colley, a
+nephew of Abel Colley, before mentioned. Henry Whitsett came in after
+Colley, and next Jacob Marks, who was followed by William Garrett, and
+Jesse Quail succeeded Garrett. The property is now owned by Joseph B.
+Jeffreys who keeps the old tavern open for the accommodation of
+strangers and travelers. The house kept by Zeph Riggle on this site was
+destroyed by fire during his incumbency, and promptly rebuilt. Battley
+White, the celebrated manufacturer of the wagoner's black snake whip,
+before mentioned, lived in Centreville. The house now occupied by Morris
+Cleaver, on the hill west of Centreville, was at one time a tavern. It
+was first kept by Charley Miller, then by Zeph Riggle, and next, in
+1836, by Mrs. Dutton, mother of John R. Dutton, the well known,
+reputable and prosperous merchant of Brownsville. Mrs. Dutton owned the
+property, and moved from here to Brownsville, after which this old
+tavern closed. Its career was somewhat brief, but it was a well kept
+tavern, and had a good line of custom in its day.
+
+About half a mile west from Mrs. Dutton's an old frame tavern, on the
+north side of the road, as early as 1824, displayed the sign of the
+CONSTITUTION, and entertained primitive travelers of the road. This old
+house was kept for a while by one Johnson, but it long since disappeared
+from view.
+
+Eli Railley kept a tavern as early as 1830 in a brick house on the north
+side of the road, about one and a half miles west of Centreville, and
+was succeeded by the widow Welsh, who conducted it as a tavern as late
+as 1850. This house is still standing, owned by Amos Cleaver, and
+occupied by his son as a private residence.
+
+Beallsville, distant one and a half miles from the old Railley tavern,
+is next reached. In proceeding to Beallsville the traveler passes one of
+the old toll houses, all of which, as before stated, are still standing,
+and in good condition, except the one near Mt. Washington and the one on
+Big Savage mountain. David Mitchell, the old collector at the gate near
+Beallsville, is well remembered as a straightforward, honest and
+intelligent citizen. Beallsville, like Centreville as a town, was the
+outgrowth of the National Road. It was laid out in 1821, and
+incorporated as a borough in 1852. Jonathan Knight, the old engineer
+before mentioned, surveyed the site of the town and made the plat. The
+National Road forms the main street of this town, as it does that of
+Centreville. The first old tavern reached in Beallsville, going west,
+was on the north side, at the east end of the town. This house was first
+kept by Andrew Keys, and after him by Thomas Keys. This was previous to
+1840. It was next kept by Robert Cluggage, and after Cluggage, James
+Dennison kept it. Dennison was succeeded by Moses Bennington, who
+afterwards kept the old Adams House at West Brownsville. Charles Guttery
+also kept this house in 1854. Dennison was a Claysville man, and after
+keeping tavern for short terms, at different points on the road,
+returned to Claysville, where he died. He was an old wagoner, as well as
+a tavern keeper, and well and favorably known on the road. He had an
+interest by marriage, or birth-right, in some real estate at or near
+Claysville, and this is doubtless the chord that drew him at last back
+to that point. The old Keys tavern had a commodious wagon yard attached,
+and entertained many old wagoners.
+
+[Illustration: CHARLES GUTTERY.]
+
+About the center of the town of Beallsville, and on the south or west
+side, Wm. Greenfield kept a famous old tavern, and he was in many other
+respects a famous old man. He was tall and spare, with a brown
+complexion, a defective eye, and a philosophic turn of mind. It was his
+fortune to have a good wife, and to her, in great measure, was
+attributed the high grade of this old tavern. The traveler could always
+get a good cup of coffee at Greenfield's, a rare thing in a tavern and
+utterly unknown in a hotel. In addition to keeping tavern, William
+Greenfield was a banker, and established the "Beallsville Savings Bank."
+His bank was in his tavern, and his safe was his pocket. He issued notes
+of small denominations, which were handsomely printed and engraved, and
+they acquired some credit, and a limited circulation. The pressure of
+redemption, however, was more than the old banker-tavern keeper could
+withstand, and he was forced to close business as a banker, but
+continued his tavern successfully. It is due to the memory of the old
+gentleman to state, that no serious losses were sustained by the note
+holders of his bank. He continued to keep tavern at the old stand until
+his death, which occurred many years ago, and all the old pike boys,
+from one end of the road to the other, have a kind word for the memory
+of William Greenfield.
+
+Charley Miller kept a tavern as early as 1830, and probably before that
+date, in the brick house on the corner opposite Greenfield's, and this
+house was subsequently, and for many years kept by Mrs. Chambers. It was
+a quiet, orderly, and aristocratic old tavern, especially when under the
+management of Mrs. Chambers, and enjoyed a good reputation as an eating
+house. Benjamin Demon took charge of this house after the retirement of
+Mrs. Chambers, and kept it for a while. Moses Bennington succeeded
+Demon, and Charles Guttery succeeded Bennington. Guttery was the last of
+the old line of tavern keepers, at this house. Beallsville was a station
+for the line wagons, and John Cook, an old wagoner whose home was there,
+drove a line team for many years.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII.
+
+ _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Beallsville to
+ Washington--Hillsboro--The Old Hill House--Samuel Youman, next to
+ Old Mount the biggest man of the Road--George Ringland, John Noble,
+ Billy Robinson, Charley Miller's, The Gals House, Daniel Ward, Egg
+ Nog Hill, The Long Stretch, Thomas Hastings, The Upland House,
+ Joseph Doak, The Mount Vernon House, Maj. Dunlap, Charles Rettig,
+ Pancake, Jonathan Martin, The Sample House._
+
+
+Three miles west from Beallsville the traveler reaches the village of
+Hillsboro. This little town is another outgrowth of the National Road,
+and as at Beallsville and Centreville, the road forms its main street.
+The grade from Beallsville to Hillsboro is for the most part ascending,
+the hill going out west from Beallsville being one of the longest on the
+road, and Hillsboro is situate on a lofty eminence overlooking a wide
+range of hills, and many fertile slopes and valleys. On the summit above
+Hillsboro, the traveler coming east, gets the first glimpses of Laurel
+Hill, thirty miles distant in the mountains. Crumrine's history of
+Washington county, before quoted, informs us that Hillsboro was laid out
+in the year 1819, a date coincident with the completion of the road. The
+proprietors of the town were Stephen Hill and Thomas McGiffin, and
+Crumrine's history contains the following notice of the first public
+sale of lots:
+
+ "The public are informed that a town has been laid off, to be
+ called Hillsboro, adjoining Hill's stone tavern, about equal
+ distance from Washington to Brownsville, and that lots will be sold
+ on the premises on Monday, the 19th day of August, at public
+ auction. Sale to commence at 10 o'clock A. M.
+
+ July 19, 1819. STEPHEN HILL,
+ THOMAS MCGIFFIN,
+ Proprietors."
+
+[Illustration: BILLY ROBINSON.]
+
+Accompanying the plat of the town as recorded, says Crumrine, were these
+remarks: "The above is a plan of the town of Hillsboro, nearly
+equi-distant between Brownsville and Washington, Pennsylvania, on the
+United States road." Signed by the proprietors. Stephen Hill belonged to
+an old family of that name, which was among the early settlers of the
+region, and Thomas McGiffin was an old and prominent lawyer of
+Washington, and a contractor on the original construction of the road,
+father of Col. Norton McGiffin, a soldier of two wars, and Sheriff and
+member of the Legislature for Washington county. Hill's stone tavern
+was in existence as early as 1794. In the early history of the National
+Road, and for a number of years, it was the leading tavern of Hillsboro,
+kept by Thomas Hill, who was not a son, but a near relative, probably a
+nephew, of Stephen Hill, the old proprietor. Samuel Youman kept this
+house fifty years ago, after the retirement of Hill. Youman was a stage
+driver as well as a tavern keeper, and next to "Old Mount," as before
+stated, the biggest man on the road. One of the stage lines, that on
+which Youman was a driver, stopped at this house, and it was the only
+stage house on the road that was largely patronized by old wagoners, and
+their favor was obtained probably by reason of the spacious and
+commodious wagon yard in front of the house. John Hampson, John Gibson,
+William Dawson and Oliver Lacock each in turn kept this house since
+Youman's time, and it is at present continued as a tavern by Mr.
+Lacock's son.
+
+In the year 1827 James Beck kept a tavern in Hillsboro. He was a member
+of the old bridge builders firm of Kinkead, Beck & Evans, and moved from
+the "Vance farm," near Uniontown, which he once owned, to Hillsboro, at
+the date named. He remained in Hillsboro but one year, and his successor
+in the tavern there was George Ringland. Ringland was a citizen of some
+prominence in his day, a brother of Col. Thomas Ringland, an old
+soldier, and a leading man in the public affairs of Washington county
+more than half a century ago. David Railly succeeded Ringland in this
+house about the year 1840. It was a stage house, but did a general
+business. After Railly this house was kept at different times by John
+Noble, who married Railly's widow, John Taylor, Henry Taylor, Jesse Core
+and William Robinson. Noble and Robinson were both old stage drivers,
+Noble before, as well as after his experience as a tavern keeper.
+Robinson died a tavern keeper, and in the house last mentioned. "Billy"
+Robinson was one of the best known and most popular men of the road. He
+was short in stature, with reddish complexion, dark hair, and an amiable
+disposition. He hauled many an old-time statesman safely in his nimble
+coach, and afterward dined him sumptuously in his bountiful tavern.
+There was an old tavern in Hillsboro, near the centre of the town, on
+the south side of the road, kept first by John Wilson, and after his
+time by Stephen Phelps, and next and last by David Powell. Its career
+was not as long as many other old taverns of the road, but in its time
+it was a lively house and had a large run of custom. Zeph Riggle kept a
+tavern in what is known as the Dr. Clark house, on the south side, in
+Hillsboro, at an early day, and as at other points on the road where he
+catered to the wants of the traveling public, drew a good trade. He was
+the only person that ever kept this house as a tavern.
+
+About two miles west of Hillsboro the famous old tavern of Charley
+Miller is reached. It is a large and handsome brick building on the
+south side of the road, and was kept before Miller's time by Henry
+Taylor. Miller did a large business, and had all sorts of customers,
+with a capacity to adapt himself to the wants and whims of every
+variety. He was accustomed to say, in commendation of his whisky, that
+it was a hundred years old; that he could vouch for its age, for he
+helped to make it. Parties of young folks were accustomed to drive out
+from Washington, a distance of ten miles, to take a meal and have a
+dance at Charley Miller's. His meals were sumptuous and savory, and gave
+his house a reputation from which he did not fail to profit. One of his
+specialties was fine peach brandy, which is graciously remembered and
+frequently spoken of by the survivors of the old pike boys with a glow
+of enthusiasm. Miller died in this house, and it passed to the hands of
+David Ullery.
+
+ "No longer the host hobbles down from his rest
+ In the porch's cool shadow, to welcome his guest
+ With a smile of delight and a grasp of the hand,
+ And a glance of the eye that no heart could withstand."
+
+One and a half miles west of Charley Miller's, on the south side of the
+road, a tavern was kept in a wooden building many years ago by William
+Plymire. This old tavern furnished good entertainment, and its old host
+was attentive and polite to his patrons. Plymire was succeeded in this
+house by Henry Yorty, who kept it going as a tavern until his death, and
+for some time thereafter it was kept by his widow, but was never kept as
+a tavern after Mrs. Yorty's time.
+
+The next old wagon stand on the westward tramp is the "Gals House." This
+house is situate on the north side of the road, about two miles west of
+Charley Miller's. It is a frame building, and once was painted red, but
+the red all wore off many years ago, and was not replaced. It was called
+the "Gals House," because it was owned and conducted by three maiden
+women of the family name of Dague. The grounds around this old house,
+night after night, throughout the entire period of the road's
+prosperity, were crowded with teams and wagons, and the reputation of
+the place was excellent in every particular. The Dague girls were the
+owners of the house, and of about eighty acres of rich land surrounding
+it, and after business closed on the road, they sold and conveyed the
+property to Joseph Henderson, a well remembered and worthy old stage
+driver, who went into possession and made this place his home for many
+years.
+
+[Illustration: DANIEL WARD.]
+
+One mile further west is Ward's. Here a well known tavern was kept by
+Daniel Ward, all through the flourishing era of the road, and it was
+well kept and well patronized. Ward was rich, the owner of his tavern
+stand, and a fine farm in addition, and therefore unlike many other old
+tavern keepers of the road who leased their houses from year to year,
+and changed from point to point at different times. Ward's tavern is a
+large frame house, on the north side of the road, with a spacious porch
+in front, and a large wagon yard conveniently attached, and was a
+favorite stopping place for old wagoners. The old house is still
+standing, unused, because not needed as a tavern, but it remains a
+prominent landmark of the road, carrying the mind back to the period
+of its enlivening scenes and moving pageants. Daniel Ward was a
+pronounced type of the old tavern keeper. He was rather a large man, not
+fleshy, but broad shouldered, with a slight stoop. His complexion was
+reddish, and he always had a pleasant smile wherewith to greet a guest.
+He wore a broad-rimmed, high-crowned, brown-colored fur hat, with long,
+soft nap, the style of hat worn by all old tavern keepers and wagoners
+when dressed for special occasions. Mrs. Ward was an admirable help-mate
+for her husband. She was a large woman, of florid complexion, and full
+of energy and zeal in her occupation. The meals she spread before her
+numerous guests in all seasons were bountiful and relishable, and gave
+her husband's old tavern a wide reputation. What a change? Once all was
+life and animation at this old tavern, now
+
+ "The wind whistles shrill, through the wide open doors,
+ And lizards keep house, on the mouldering floors."
+
+Four miles west from Ward's the old and popular wagon stand of Thomas
+Hastings is reached. In proceeding onward toward the Hastings House a
+celebrated point is passed, known in the peculiar vocabulary of the road
+as "Egg Nog Hill." On this hill for many years lived in retirement
+Samuel Flowers, one of the oldest, steadiest and best known wagoners of
+the road. William D. Evans, residing in Malvern, Iowa, a son of Gabriel
+Evans, of the old firm of Kinkead, Beck & Evans, contractors and bridge
+builders, before mentioned, furnishes the following story as to the
+origin of the name of this hill: The engineers in locating the line of
+the road were much exercised in fixing the grade at this point, and
+before arriving at conclusions the sun went down, and with a view
+probably of stimulating their minds to clearer conceptions, they ordered
+a bucket of egg-nog to be served in their shanty. Partaking freely of
+this ancient, agreeable and strong beverage during the night, they
+proceeded next morning with the work in hand, and established the grade
+without further embarrassment. The chain carriers and other employees
+were called in to the rough, roadside banquet, and the region all around
+echoed the notes of that night's revelry, and ever thereafter the
+locality has been known as "Egg Nog Hill." If this is a true account of
+the origin of the name, and the authority quoted is respectable and
+credible, there are many persons willing to aver that the influence of
+the egg nog was anything but propitious, since the grade of the road at
+this point is nothing to boast of. At the foot of Egg Nog Hill a valley
+is reached over which the road passes for a distance of two miles on a
+level grade, varied by slight undulations, terminating at or near the
+old Buchanan postoffice. This portion of the road was called by old
+stage drivers "The Long Stretch," and over its favorable grade stage
+teams sped with more than ordinary rapidity. It is considered germaine
+to state in this connection, that the general grade of the road has been
+much and sharply criticised, and by many condemned outright. The main
+point of objection urged against the grade is, that it involves many
+long and steep hills, which could have been avoided by making side cuts
+and occupying the valleys, and this is true, but any other location
+would have lengthened the line and increased the cost of construction
+and maintenance. David Shriver, of Cumberland, was the chief engineer in
+charge of the location, and instructed by the Government to make the
+line as straight as practicable, within the limit of a five degree
+elevation. Besides, there was a popular theory when the line was
+located, that a road over hills was not as fatiguing to horses as a road
+with a uniform grade. It was argued that a horse is provided with two
+sets of muscles, one of which is used in going up and the other in going
+down a hill, and the conclusion was that horses were relieved and rested
+by a change from an up to a down grade. After this digression, the
+reader's attention is invited back to the old tavern of Thomas Hastings.
+It is situate on the summit of a hill of average length and grade on the
+south side, and a short distance back from the road. The location of
+this house, with reference to the road, is similar to that of the old
+red tavern, two miles east of Brownsville. The Hastings House was a
+leading tavern of the road, all through its prosperous era. The large
+patronage it enjoyed is the best evidence that it was well kept.
+
+John W. McDowell, of Uniontown, an ex-County Commissioner of Fayette
+county, Pennsylvania, was working on the road in 1844 under the
+superintendency of William Searight, and boarding at the Hastings House.
+On the morning of the election of that year he rose "bright and early,"
+took his breakfast "before the break of day," mounted a horse, and rode
+to Mt. Washington, the polling place for Wharton township, which was his
+home, in time to vote for Polk and Dallas. McDowell frequently relates
+this incident of his life, when recounting his party services, and lays
+particular stress on the circumstance that the dining room girls gladly
+furnished him his breakfast and cheered him on his mission. The distance
+from the old Hastings tavern to Mt. Washington is forty-two miles.
+
+While the road was undergoing construction, there was a tavern about
+midway of the "Long Stretch," and on the south side of the road. It was
+kept by one Smith, of the extensive American family of that name. At
+times there was great disorder and much tumult, amounting almost to
+riot, at this old tavern, and on one of these occasions the old militia
+of Washington county was ordered to the scene to enforce the keeping of
+the peace. These disorders, like similar outbreaks of the present day,
+were no doubt attributable to the immoderate use of intoxicants.
+
+[Illustration: JOHN W. McDOWELL.]
+
+Within a few hundred feet, and west of the old Hastings house, Samuel
+Hughes kept a tavern in 1844 and before, and probably a short time after
+that date. His house was a large and imposing frame building on the
+north side of the road, and known in its day as the "Upland House." This
+name appeared on the sign board. The surroundings of this house were
+attractive. It had an aristocratic air about it, and enjoyed an
+aristocratic patronage. While old wagoners crowded the Hastings
+House, travelers in chaises and fine carriages stopped at the Upland. By
+some means, and many years ago, this old house was demolished, and a
+fine brick building erected on its site, owned and occupied by Joseph
+Doak, who was at one time a superintendent of the road.
+
+About one and a half miles west of the Upland House, Major James Dunlap,
+at a very early period of the road's history, kept a tavern on the south
+side, on an elevation and a little distance back from the roadside. It
+was called the "Mt. Vernon House," and was doing business as early as
+the year 1816, two years before the road was completed as far west as
+Washington. Major Dunlap was a prominent man of his day, and brigade
+inspector of the Washington county (Pennsylvania) militia, an office of
+no little consequence in the early history of Pennsylvania. Major Dunlap
+subsequently kept the Jackson House in Washington, Pennsylvania. Before
+reaching the Mt. Vernon House, an old round toll house is passed, where
+William Hill collected tolls for many years from the throngs of
+travelers on the road. The old Mt. Vernon House was supplanted by a new
+one, under the direction of Charles Rettig, who became the owner of the
+property. The new house is a brick structure, and was a wagon stand.
+There was an abundant water supply at this house, and old stage drivers
+and wagoners halted upon reaching it to refresh their teams. Charles
+Rettig died about the year 1860. He was a staunch and sturdy citizen,
+and possessed the confidence and enjoyed the respect of all his
+neighbors.
+
+The next point west, but a short distance, is invested with more than
+ordinary interest. It is Pancake, sometimes called Martinsburg, and in
+later years, to a limited extent, known as Laboratory. But Pancake was
+the original, and remains the popular name. It is almost within eyesight
+of Washington. The first tavern here was kept by George Pancake, and
+hence the name given the place. His house was a small log building,
+erected near the beginning of the present century, and probably the
+first house in the village. Pancake did well with the means at his
+command, but his old house was not equal to the growing wants of the
+road, and after it was removed, and the old proprietor called to his
+final reckoning, Jonathan Martin appeared on the scene. Martin was a
+discerning man, and foreseeing the future of the National Road as a
+great highway, built a large brick house for use as a tavern. It is
+situate on the north side of the road, two stories, twelve large and
+comfortable rooms, and was erected in the year 1825. A spacious porch
+runs the entire length of the house and approaches the edge of the road.
+Jonathan Martin kept this tavern from the date of its erection until
+business closed on the road, with the exception of one year that it was
+in charge of J. W. Holland, back in the forties. Since the close of its
+career as a tavern it has been occupied as a quiet farm house. Martin
+was a genial landlord, and made money at tavern keeping. A short
+distance back from the tavern he had a horse-power grist mill and a
+carding machine which he operated for a number of years, thus
+supplementing his gains as a tavern keeper. General Jackson was on one
+occasion a guest of Martin's tavern, and the celebrated theologian,
+Alexander Campbell, frequently lodged within its venerable walls and sat
+at its bounteous table.
+
+As early as 1824 George Ringland kept a wagon stand tavern within a
+short distance of the borough limits of Washington. His old house, a
+commodious brick building, is still standing, situate on the north, or
+at this point rather, east side of the road, with sufficient ground
+intervening to form a good wagon yard. John Sample succeeded Ringland at
+this old stand, and became the owner of the property. It is now the
+private residence of William Workman, esq., and has not been kept as a
+tavern since 1844.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII.
+
+ _Old Tavern and Tavern Keepers continued--Washington--Washington and
+ Jefferson College--The Female Seminary--James Wilson, first Tavern
+ Keeper in Washington--The two Dodds--Major McCormick's--The White
+ Goose and the Golden Swan--Hallam's Old Wagon Stand--The
+ Valentine--The Buck--The Gen. Andrew Jackson--The Globe--The Cross
+ Keys--The Indian Queen--The Mermaid--The Rising Sun--The Gen.
+ Brown--The Fountain--Billy Brown and Jimmy Brown--The Mansion--John
+ N. Dagg--A Giant Boot Jack--The American--The Fulton--The
+ National--Surratt's--The Greene House._
+
+
+Washington became a point on the National Road by force of a provision
+in the act of Assembly of Pennsylvania, approved April 9th, 1807, before
+recited. In a retrospective view that seems to have been a wise
+provision. Washington, it is true, is older than the road, but without
+the road it would be difficult to conjecture what the history of the
+town would have been from 1818 down to 1852. That the road had much to
+do in promoting the growth and prosperity of the town, there can be no
+question, and it must also be conceded that the town contributed in good
+round measure to the life and prosperity of the road. Washington is one
+of the largest and prettiest towns on the road, not as well favored by
+location as Uniontown. While Washington possesses many very important
+advantages, it has at the same time, like other towns, its
+disadvantages. For example, it is a dry town. It was not dry in the
+palmy days of the old pike. No liquor can at this time be lawfully sold
+in Washington as a beverage, and the town is not over abundantly
+supplied with good water. On the other hand, the town is justly
+distinguished for the superiority of its educational institutions.
+Washington and Jefferson college is one of the best in the land. Its
+graduates include many of the ablest men of the country, both of the
+present and the past. Everywhere, at every loading point in our widely
+extended Republic, the graduates of Washington and Jefferson College are
+pushing ahead at the front, in all the learned professions, in the
+judiciary, and in every line of honorable industry. It is not a dude
+college, as many more pretentious colleges are, but a working college,
+sending out workers, equipped like men, to run the race set before them.
+The Female Seminary is another institution of which the citizens of
+Washington are justly proud. It stands in the front rank of similar
+institutions, and for more than half a century, year after year, has
+sent out its graduates to cheer and brighten the world.
+
+The writer of these lines confesses to an affection for Washington,
+which no vicissitude of life or time can alienate. He was educated at
+her college, and if he failed in obtaining a thorough education, it was
+not the fault of his venerable _alma mater_. Dr. David McConoughy, who
+presided over the college, when the writer was a student within its
+halls, deserves to be classed among the Saints. A purer man never lived.
+He was a Christian, who never entertained a doubt, and a scholar in the
+broadest sense; and it is most gratifying to the thousands of graduates
+and friends of the college scattered broadcast throughout the land, to
+know that Dr. Moffatt, the present head of the institution, is a worthy
+successor of that venerated president. The writer also retains the
+sweetest recollections of the old citizens of Washington, and cherishes
+with deepest feeling his associations at college with James G. Blaine,
+who subsequently became the most illustrious statesman of his
+generation, and many others who have written their names high on the
+scroll of fame.
+
+There may be some readers inclined to think that the blending of stage
+drivers and wagoners with doctors, teachers and statesmen, is a strange
+commingling; but it is not. History is literature, and stage drivers and
+wagoners, like other classes, and occupations of men, enter into the web
+and woof of history.
+
+James Wilson hung out the first tavern sign in Washington. His house was
+a log structure, and stood at the northwest corner of Main and Beau
+streets, now covered by Smith's store. He opened up business in 1781,
+and was licensed by the court to dispense the ardent at "Catfish Camp."
+He continued business in this house down to the year 1792. The old
+Supreme Judges stopped at Wilson's tavern when they went to Washington
+to hold the courts of Oyer and Terminer. Whether they were fed on roast
+pig, as Chief Justice McKean at Salter's old tavern in Uniontown, does
+not appear of record. After Wilson's time this house was enlarged and
+otherwise improved, and continued as a tavern by Michael Ocheltree, who
+remained in charge down to the year 1812, when a man of the name of
+Rotroff was installed as host. Rotroff gave way to John Kline, who came
+up from the Cross Roads, nine miles west of Brownsville, and took charge
+of the house, under the sign of "Gen. Wayne." Capt. John McCluney
+followed Kline, and he in turn was followed by Joseph Teeters and Joseph
+Hallam. Hallam kept the house until probably 1840, when he went down
+town to take charge of the old wagon stand on the site of the present
+Valentine House. When Hallam left it the old Wilson House ceased to be a
+tavern.
+
+As early as 1782 John Dodd kept tavern in a log house on the east side
+of Main street, nearly opposite the court house, and remained its host
+until his death in 1795. He died while returning home from a trading
+trip to New Orleans. John Wilson next took charge, and conducted its
+affairs for many years, associated with stirring events, down to a
+period as late probably as 1835, when the house disappeared as a tavern.
+John Dodd was an ancestor of the numerous Dodds now of Washington and
+vicinity, most of whom have taken to the ministry and other learned
+professions.
+
+Charles Dodd, a brother of John, above mentioned, kept a tavern on Main
+street in 1782, in a log house, recently occupied by Robert Strean's
+hardware store. The first courts of Washington county were held in this
+old tavern, and the county jail was a log stable in the rear of the lot
+on which it stood. Charles Dodd kept this tavern for ten years, and sold
+out to Daniel Kehr, who continued it a short time, but finding it
+unprofitable, took down his sign and went to shoemaking.
+
+John Adams kept a tavern from 1783 to 1789. Its location is not
+accurately known, and so in the case of John Colwell, a tavern keeper of
+1784. In 1785 Hugh Means, Samuel Acklin and William Falconer, were
+tavern keepers in Washington. Acklin continued in the business until
+1788, and Falconer until 1791. William Meetkirk, who was subsequently a
+justice of the peace for many years, kept a tavern on Main street from
+1786 to 1793, in the house until recently occupied by Mrs. McFarland,
+and it is not unlikely that this is the house kept by Colwell and Means.
+
+Maj. George McCormick kept a tavern in 1788, and Col. John May's journal
+compliments it by this entry: "Thursday, Aug. 7, 1788, set out from the
+hotel at four o'clock, and at half-past eight arrived at Maj. George
+McCormick's in Washington, where we breakfasted. This is an excellent
+house, where New England men put up." The writer regrets his failure to
+ascertain the exact location of this old tavern.
+
+Hugh Wilson (son of James) kept a tavern in Washington in 1789, and John
+McMichael in 1790, the locations of which are not now ascertainable.
+
+Charles Valentine kept the "White Goose" in 1791. This house stood on
+the lot now covered by the Valentine House. The name Valentine is
+prominently identified with the National Road from the date of its
+construction to the present time. The "White Goose" was the symbol under
+which this old tavern sailed until the year 1806, when it assumed the
+more poetic name of "Golden Swan," under the management of John Rettigg.
+Rettigg was relieved from its cares and responsibilities in 1810 by
+Juliana Valentine, who presided over its destinies down to the year
+1819. It next passed to the control and management of James Sargeant,
+who kept it for a brief period, and turned it over to John Valentine and
+Lewis Valentine, who continued it down to 1825. It was next kept for two
+years by John Hays. In 1827 it was kept by Isaac Sumny, under the sign
+of the "Washington Hall." It was kept by Samuel Donley and various other
+persons, down to about the year 1840, when as before stated, it passed
+to the control of Joseph Hallam. In Hallam's time it was a popular wagon
+stand, and did a large business. Hallam was a man below the medium
+size, a little stooped, and of quiet demeanor. He had a good wagon yard,
+and catered to the tastes of old wagoners in an agreeable manner. The
+happiest moments of Amos Waltz were those in which he inserted the gear
+pole between the spokes of the hind wheel of a road wagon, as it stood
+on Hallam's yard, and afterward took a drink with the jolly wagoners in
+Hallam's old bar-room. In 1847 or 1848 the present Valentine House was
+built, and kept for many years thereafter by Maj. Geo. T. Hammond. It
+was also kept a while by ex-Sheriff Andrew Bruce, afterward by
+ex-Sheriff Hugh Keys, and later and until a recent date by William F.
+Dickey, and is now called the "Allison House."
+
+In 1791 Michael Kuntz kept a tavern where Vowell's drug store stands.
+This house was kept in 1797 by John Scott, under the sign of the "Spread
+Eagle." I. Neilson, John Fisher, Samuel McMillen, and John Ferguson,
+were all old tavern keepers of Washington.
+
+Joseph Huston kept the "Buck Tavern" as early as 1796. This is a stone
+house on the east side of Main street, below Maiden. Huston kept this
+house until 1812, and died in it. His widow succeeded him for a brief
+period, and leased the house to James Sargeant, who kept it until 1815,
+when Mrs. Huston again went in, and kept it until 1820. She afterward
+re-married, lost her second husband, and was keeping this house in 1838
+as Elizabeth Fleming, and it was continued after that date by her son,
+William B. Huston. The old Buck is still standing, one of the landmarks
+of the town.
+
+In 1797 James Workman kept a tavern, the site of which is not known. He
+continued until 1813, when he went to farming. After three years'
+experience in farming he returned to town, and opened a tavern under the
+sign of "Gen. Andrew Jackson." This old tavern stood on the west side of
+Main street, below the "Globe Inn." It was subsequently kept by Maj.
+James Dunlap of the old Mt. Vernon House, east of Pancake.
+
+From 1798 to 1806 Dr. John J. Lemoyne kept a tavern on the south side of
+Main street, where an old road came down over Gallows Hill. This house
+was afterward kept by Jacob Good, and continued for a number of years by
+his widow.
+
+The "Globe Inn" was one of the most famous old taverns in Washington. It
+was located on the west side of Main street, at the corner of Strawberry
+alley. This house was opened as a tavern in 1797, and in the next year
+passed to the hands of David Morris, and was kept by him, continuously,
+until his death in 1834. General LaFayette was entertained at this house
+in 1825, and it was a favorite stopping place of Henry Clay, and many
+other statesmen and heroes of the olden time. This old tavern was a
+frame building, and remained standing until 1891. Rev. William P.
+Alrich, an old and popular professor of mathematics in Washington
+college, married a daughter of David Morris.
+
+One Fox kept a tavern, at an early period, in a house that stood on the
+east side of Main street, where the Morgan Block now stands.
+
+The "Cross Keys" was a popular tavern of the olden time. It stood on the
+southeast corner of Main and Wheeling streets, opposite the Valentine
+House. It was opened in 1801 by James McCamant, who kept it until his
+death, which occurred in 1813. Tradition has it that he died from the
+effects of a bite by a mad wolf. His widow continued it for about two
+years, when she quit it to take charge of the "General Washington
+House," nearly opposite the court house. She returned, however, after a
+time to the "Cross Keys," and was keeping that house as late as 1831. In
+the year last named she caused to be inserted in a town paper a notice
+that she furnished dinner and horse feed for twenty-five cents, and
+boarding and lodging for jurors and others attending court for two
+dollars a week. The "Cross Keys" was kept afterward at different dates
+by James Sargeant, Charles Rettig, John Bradfield, William Blakely and
+Otho Hartzell. It closed as a tavern previous to 1844. James McCamant,
+the first proprietor of the "Cross Keys" tavern, was the father-in-law
+of Joseph Henderson, esq., a prominent and popular old lawyer of
+Washington.
+
+Christian Keiffer kept a tavern in 1805 at the sign of "Washington."
+Keiffer's career as a tavern keeper must have been a brief and an
+uninteresting one, since old inhabitants are unable to locate his house,
+although it bore a name that should and does survive, in every other
+form except in its application to Keiffer's old tavern.
+
+John Kirk kept a tavern about the beginning of the present century in a
+house that stood on Wheeling street, west of Main. This house was
+painted red and penciled to imitate brick. After Kirk left it William
+Wilson became its proprietor. He was known as "Center Billy." He did not
+find tavern keeping sufficiently profitable, and quitting the business,
+turned his attention to blacksmithing and wagon making. The old name of
+Wheeling street was "Belle," and the present name was given it by the
+old stage drivers and wagoners, because it intersected the old road
+leading to Wheeling.
+
+The "Indian Queen" was an old and well remembered tavern on Main street,
+opposite the court house. It was opened in 1808 by John McCluny. In 1815
+it changed its location and solicited public patronage on Main street,
+above Chestnut, where Justice Donehoe's residence now is, under the
+auspices of its old founder, John McCluny aforesaid. In its new location
+it became the headquarters of the Jackson Democracy. This house was kept
+by Thomas Officer, and was known as the "Green Tree," before McCluny
+placed it under the shield of the "Indian Queen." It was afterward
+occupied by John Johnson, who kept it for a number of years, and it
+ceased to do business as a tavern during his occupancy.
+
+About the year 1820 John Manuel kept a tavern in a white frame house on
+the west side of Main street, immediately below the present depot of the
+Baltimore & Ohio railroad.
+
+There was an old tavern in Washington at an early day kept by Jacob
+Moler, and known as "The Mermaid." It was located on the south side of
+West Wheeling street, and on the lot now owned by Charles Driehorst. It
+was the headquarters of the Hibernians, and while it did not aspire to
+rival the "Globe" or the "Rising Sun," it was not lacking in patronage.
+It does not appear to have been continued as a tavern after the time of
+Moler.
+
+The "Rising Sun," a leading tavern in its day, occupied a lot near the
+corner of Main and Chestnut streets, almost directly opposite the house
+subsequently known as "The Mansion." The first proprietor of the "Rising
+Sun" was James Garrett, and he remained in charge until 1822. He was
+active in his business, and accustomed to say, "Walk in, walk in,
+gentlemen; I keep a decent house, and provide sweetened bitters." James
+Briceland kept this house for one year, after which he turned it back to
+Garrett, who continued to keep it until it passed to the hands of John
+N. Dagg, who kept it until he purchased the "Mansion House," on the
+opposite corner. It is said that one hundred teams have been seen
+standing around the "Rising Sun" in a single night. Briceland went down
+to the lower end of town and took charge of the house subsequently known
+as "The National." In 1823 while Dagg was keeping the "Rising Sun," a
+townsman and an old wagoner had an altercation in the bar-room, and Dagg
+pitched them both out into the street. In the descent the wagoner's head
+struck the curb-stone, fatally injuring him. Mr. Dagg was prosecuted and
+arraigned for murder in consequence, but acquitted by the jury on the
+ground that the homicide was more the result of accident, than any
+intention to kill. During the brief term of Mr. Briceland at the "Rising
+Sun" he had as guests on one occasion, Gen. Andrew Jackson, family and
+suite. The distinguished party were _en route_ to Washington City, and
+upon departing from the "Rising Sun" were honored by an escort of
+citizens of Washington as far east as Hillsboro.
+
+In 1821 Enoch Miller opened a tavern in a large brick house at the west
+end of town, nearly opposite the old Methodist church, which stood on
+Chestnut street, a little below Franklin. He called his house the
+"General Brown," and it was well patronized. Richard Donaldson kept this
+house after Miller's time. Upon quitting the "General Brown" Enoch
+Miller opened the "Fountain Inn," a brick building nearly opposite and a
+few doors east of the "General Brown," on Chestnut street, and he was
+succeeded in this house in 1825 by George Ringland. William P. Byles was
+an old proprietor of this house also.
+
+William J. Brown, called "Old Billy," kept a tavern as early as 1832,
+and for many years thereafter, on the east side of Main street near the
+center of town. It was a frame building and had a fair paying custom. It
+was known for a time as the "Farmers' Inn," and later as the "Black
+Bear." The old proprietor was a quaint character, and much pestered by
+the boys of the town. With all his troubles and tribulations he managed
+to lay aside a sufficiency of worldly goods to protect himself against
+the requirements of a rainy day.
+
+[Illustration: S. B. HAYS.]
+
+And there was old "Jimmy Brown," another odd character, not a relation
+of "Billy." Jimmy was an Irishman, and knew how to make and keep money.
+He kept a tavern for many years in a white frame house opposite the
+court house, and near the "Fulton." He called his house "The Franklin."
+His savings were sufficient to warrant him in tearing down his old house
+and erecting in its stead a fine new brick structure, which he did.
+After building his new house he married a wife, and was warmly
+congratulated by his numerous friends. With the assistance of his wife
+he continued to entertain the public until his death, leaving the cares
+and anxieties of his business to his bereaved widow, who soon after
+remarried and retired to private life. The house is now used for
+mercantile purposes, one of the best locations in town. Jimmy Brown,
+when occupying his old house, was accustomed to say to his friends: "I
+have some nice _fesh_, come away to the cellar with me, and see my
+_fesh_." He had no license then.
+
+The Mansion House was a leading tavern in Washington from the time it
+commenced business until it was destroyed by fire, which occurred after
+the National Road ceased to be a great thoroughfare. It was located on
+the northeast corner of Main and Chestnut streets. Before the "Mansion
+House" was built an old red frame house stood on this corner, which was
+kept as a tavern by a man whose surname was Scott. John N. Dagg bought
+this property prior to his withdrawal from the "Rising Sun," on the
+opposite corner, and commenced to improve it. The outcome of his
+enterprise was the erection of a large brick building, known as the
+Mansion House, with extensive sheds and stables in the rear. About the
+year 1834 Mr. Dagg leased the premises to John Irons, who conducted the
+house for a period of two years, after which Mr. Dagg returned as
+landlord, and continued to keep it down to the year 1844, or thereabout,
+when he leased it to S. B. and C. Hayes, who conducted it for a brief
+period, and were succeeded by Bryson and Shirls, subsequently of the St.
+Charles Hotel, Pittsburgh. The Good Intent line of stages gave its
+patronage to the "American," when that house was kept by the Messrs.
+Hayes, and to the "Greene House," when it was kept by Daniel Brown.
+Thereafter the headquarters of that line were at the Mansion House, and
+it was headquarters for the Pilot line when the Good Intent stopped at
+the "American." The Mansion House had a large country trade, as well as
+that derived from the National Road. The old bar room was of immense
+size, and the old proprietor, John N. Dagg, was one of the largest men
+on the road. He was not fat, but tall, and widely proportioned. He
+provided for his country guests a large upright boot jack, with side
+bars, which acted as levers, designed to steady the toe in the operation
+of drawing off a boot. Half cut, cheap leather slippers were also
+provided, and upon pulling their boots, guests put on these slippers,
+and in the mornings, piles of boots, nicely polished, were placed in a
+corner of the bar room, to await the return of their owners from the
+slumbers of the night. It was not an uncommon thing to see scores of
+country people sitting about in the big bar room after supper, talking
+over the events of the day, all wearing the slippers referred to,
+preparatory to going to rest for the night, at the early bed time of
+that happy period. James K. Polk, wife and suite, stopped at the Mansion
+House on the inaugural trip in 1845. The "Examiner," under date of
+February 15, 1845, gave the following account of the reception of the
+distinguished party: "President Polk arrived in our borough on Monday
+evening last, about 5 o'clock, escorted by quite a respectable number of
+our citizens. The President was accompanied by his lady, J. Knox Walker,
+his private secretary, and Master Marshall Polk, comprising the
+President's family; also Colonel Butler, of Kentucky, Judge Hubbard, of
+Alabama, and Messrs. T. K. Stevenson, J. G. Harris and J. N. Esselman.
+The arrival of the President having been sooner than was anticipated,
+and intelligence of the same having reached us on Sabbath last, the
+arrangements on the part of our citizens were not so complete or
+extensive as they would have been under other and more favorable
+circumstances. Upon the arrival of the President at the Mansion House he
+was addressed by Dr. Wishart, as chairman of the committee of reception,
+in a spirited and appropriate manner, to which the President responded,
+to the evident gratification of the large assembly of persons who were
+present. In the course of his remarks Colonel Polk alluded to the
+unbounded feeling of gratitude which filled his bosom for the
+distinguished partiality which had been extended toward him by his
+fellow citizens; to the great responsibility which that partiality had
+devolved upon him; to his implicit confidence in that power which
+controls the destinies of individuals as well as nations; to his
+determination to act for the best interests of our beloved country, and
+the vital importance of freedom of opinion and contrariety of sentiment
+among a Republican people. In concluding his remarks, the President
+expressed a strong desire to interchange congratulations with as many of
+our citizens, of all parties, as time and circumstances would permit.
+After the formal reception was completed the President was conducted
+into the Mansion House, and during the evening was waited upon by many
+hundreds of our citizens, from town and country, without party
+distinction. Many of the ladies of our borough, with the Principal,
+assistant teachers and young ladies of our Female Seminary, also, called
+upon Mrs. Polk, whose plain, dignified and fascinating deportment and
+intelligent conversation rendered her company exceedingly pleasant. Mrs.
+Polk has certainly not been too highly complimented, by the many notices
+which have been bestowed upon her, as a lady most admirably suited to
+the discharge of the peculiar duties which await her as the wife of the
+President-elect. On Tuesday morning at 9 o'clock the President and suite
+left our borough, in good health and spirits, for Uniontown, at which
+place they remained over night."
+
+[Illustration: GEORGE T. HAMMOND.]
+
+The Fulton House was a prominent house of entertainment in Washington
+for many years. It is located on the corner of Main and Beau streets,
+nearly opposite the court house. John Purviance kept a tavern on the
+Fulton House site from 1790 to 1805, and three years thereafter went to
+Claysville, as stated elsewhere in these pages. Richard Donaldson
+succeeded Purviance in this old house. John Fleming kept a tavern on
+this corner in 1820, called "The Philadelphia and Kentucky Inn." In
+January, 1821, a fire occurred in this house, on occasion of the
+marriage of a daughter of Mr. Fleming, which partially destroyed the
+building, and saddest of all, burnt to death one of the old proprietor's
+daughters. After the present large brick building was erected on this
+corner, it was called "The American House," and was kept by S. B. and C.
+Hayes previous to 1840, and after them by John Huey. In 1846 or 1847 it
+was leased by Henry Fulton, who came from Westmoreland county,
+Pennsylvania, and under his management it took the name of the "Fulton
+House," which it retained, and under which it became widely and
+favorably known, until it was given the absurd name of "Hotel Maine."
+The Fulton House was admirably conducted and extensively patronized.
+
+The National House was the headquarters of the Stockton line of stages.
+It is located on the northwest corner of Main and Maiden streets. The
+firm name of the Stockton line of stages was "The National Road Stage
+Company," and it has been seen that this line bestowed its favor upon
+public houses bearing the name "National." In 1821 Samuel Dennison, who
+came from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, kept an old tavern that stood on the
+site of the "National House." It was then known as "The Travelers' Inn
+and Stage Office." It was subsequently enlarged and improved, and in
+1823 passed to the control of James Briceland, under the name of the
+"National House." Its next occupant was John Irons, who was succeeded by
+James Searight, in 1836, and he in turn by Daniel Valentine, George T.
+Hammond, Edward Lane, Adam C. Morrow and Elliot Seaburn. It was an
+elegant eating house in the days of staging, and at its best under the
+management of Hammond and Lane, respectively. It is now called the "Auld
+House," and, as in many other instances, its old prestige departed with
+its old name. James Searight went from the "National House" to
+Zanesville, Ohio, and kept a tavern there for a short time, and
+returning to Washington, leased the "Greene House," which was managed by
+his son, William. These Searights were of a Cumberland, Maryland,
+family.
+
+As early as 1815 Richard Donaldson kept a tavern on Maiden street,
+opposite the Female Seminary. This old house was surrounded by spacious
+grounds, and there was a ball alley in the rear of it, which afforded
+means of exercise and amusement for the town boys of the olden time.
+James Workman succeeded Donaldson in this old tavern, and he, in 1830,
+was succeeded by Samuel Surratt, father of James F. Surratt, the popular
+postmaster of Steubenville, Ohio. Major William Paull kept this house
+previous to 1840, and for a time thereafter, and at the close of his
+term it was purchased by the trustees of the Female Seminary, since
+which time it has formed a portion of the real estate belonging to that
+institution. Major Paull came to this house from the old stone house on
+Winding Ridge, and kept it as a wagon stand. It had good facilities for
+the accommodation of wagoners, by reason of the spacious grounds before
+mentioned, and these, in connection with the fact that Major Paull was
+an experienced tavern keeper of the road, attracted a large and
+profitable patronage.
+
+The "Greene House," a popular tavern, was located on the east side of
+Main street, south of the Mansion House, and on a lot formerly owned by
+John L. Gow, esq. It was kept in 1842 by William Searight, before
+mentioned, who was succeeded by S. B. and C. Hayes, whose occupancy was
+brief, and about 1846 it came under the control of Daniel Brown, one of
+the most competent landlords of his day and generation. During Brown's
+incumbency it had the patronage of the Good Intent Stage company.
+Brown's bar-keeper was Benjamin White, who wore his hair long and had a
+scar on his face. His employer always addressed him as "Benny," and
+confided in his integrity to the fullest extent, and in very truth
+"Benny" was entirely worthy of his employer's confidence. Whither this
+quaint old bar-keeper drifted, when the eclipse came over the sunshine
+of the road, is not known, but his name deserves to be perpetuated in
+history.
+
+Most of the facts contained in this chapter rest on authority of
+Crumrine's history of Washington county, Pennsylvania.
+
+[Illustration: THE RANKIN HOUSE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX.
+
+ _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--Washington to West
+ Alexander--Rankintown--John Rankin--Andrew McDonald--Freaks of an
+ Old Wagon-maker--Robert Smith--John Coulson--Millers--Bedillions--
+ The S Bridge--Caldwells--Mrs. Brownlee--Another Widow McClelland--
+ Claysville--John Sargent--An event in the Life of Dan Rice--Basil
+ Brown--Dennisons--The Walker House--Jonathan D. Leet--Coon Island--
+ John Canode--Rogers and the Doughertys--John Valentine._
+
+
+After passing Washington the ancient little village of Rankintown is
+reached. It is situated a short distance over the top of the hill
+leading up from Catfish, and a little over a mile from Washington. Here
+a tavern was kept in early times by one Spalding, who seems to have
+failed in impressing his name on the locality. His successor was John
+Rankin, who dying, left his name behind him. His house was a large frame
+building on the south side of the road, with the customary wagon yard
+attached. While this old tavern did a large wagoner's trade, its
+agreeable old host ministered largely to the wants of the traveling
+public without distinction. As before intimated wagoners as a rule
+preferred country taverns, and this is probably the reason so many of
+them halted at Rankin's rather than proceeding on to Washington, going
+east, where a number of good taverns were located, but being in a large
+town, more or less under the ban of "tony places." John Rankin owned the
+old tavern stand at Rankintown, and after conducting it for many years
+during the flourishing era of the road, to use a common phrase of the
+road, "died with the harness on." His widow continued to keep tavern at
+the old stand until about the year 1847, when growing old and tired of
+the cares and responsibilities of tavern keeping, concluded to retire to
+private life, and leased the premises to a Mr. Johnson, who conducted
+the house down to the fifties, when he was succeeded by Andrew McDonald,
+who remained in charge until the activities of the road ceased. The
+private residence of the late Hon. William Montgomery was for a number
+of years on the roadside near the old Rankin tavern. He was an
+illustrious old pike boy and championed the glories of the road on many
+an occasion. Rankintown is now an incorporated borough, under the name
+and style of West Washington, but the glories of the old pike all rest
+and abide behind the present municipality.
+
+In 1844 and subsequent to that date, Alpheus Murphy, a wagon-maker,
+lived and operated a shop near the old Rankin tavern. He gained a local
+notoriety for proclaiming in a loud voice in season and out of season,
+his sentiments on current topics, and especially political issues. He
+was a man of great physical strength, and a skillful workman. He had no
+scruples against taking an occasional glass of the pure whisky that
+abounded on the road in his day, and was a frequent visitor to
+Washington. Prompted possibly by the influence of the active element
+mentioned, he was accustomed to ascend the cupola of the Washington
+court house and from the balustrade near its summit give vent to his
+feelings, mainly of a Democratic tendency, in stentorian tones that
+startled the whole community. Notwithstanding the boisterous fits that
+marked and may have marred his life, he passed quietly away from the
+scenes of earth, and will be long and kindly remembered by those who
+knew him.
+
+Two miles west of Rankintown Robert Smith kept a tavern as early as the
+year 1818. At this point the National Road crossed an ancient roadway
+leading from Washington to Wheeling, and Robert Smith kept a tavern here
+on the old road. It was a frame house on the south side of the road, and
+in after years became the homestead and private residence of Jacob
+Weirich, who died its possessor.
+
+Less than a mile west of Smith's John Coulson kept a tavern as early as
+1820, and probably before that date. His house was a frame building, on
+the south side of the road. The old building was torn down many years
+ago, and a brick structure erected in its place. Coulson, the old
+proprietor, has been dead fifty years, and at his death his tavern was
+closed, and not again re-opened as a public house. The old wagoners and
+stage drivers who were familiar with Coulson's tavern long since passed
+to other scenes, along with its old proprietor.
+
+About one mile west of the old Coulson House the well remembered and
+popular wagon stand of John Miller is reached. Miller moved to this
+point in 1836 from a stand two miles west of Pratt's Hollow, and east of
+Cumberland, as before stated. The Miller house here is a large brick
+building, with all the necessary outbuildings for a tavern, and a good
+wagon yard. It is situate on the north side of the road. To gain the
+wagon yard going west, old wagoners ascended a steep grade, but on the
+other side the way was level. Miller had a good custom at his tavern
+east of Cumberland, and his old friends followed him to his new
+location. He had long experience as a tavern keeper, and furnished
+satisfactory entertainment to the traveling public. Previous to 1836
+Levi Wilson kept this house, and entertained the first crop of wagoners
+on the road, and tradition attributes to him a good fame as a tavern
+keeper. Miller died in this house. A son of Levi Wilson married a
+daughter of John Miller, and since the death of the latter has been
+occupying this old tavern-stand as a private residence.
+
+[Illustration: THE JOHN MILLER HOUSE.]
+
+At the foot of the hill west of Miller's, and on the north side of the
+road, is the old Bedillion tavern. This house was kept as early as
+1830 by one Scott, and as late as 1848 by Christly Wolf, and later by
+George Boyd, but owing to a usage, in some instances difficult to
+account for, it is better known as Bedillion's, especially among old
+wagoners, than by any other name. Bedillion was a German, and his first
+name was Abraham, and he probably possessed German traits and practices
+which made an impression on old wagoners not to be forgotten. He kept
+this house in 1836. Wolf also was of German origin, but his manners and
+methods were of the American type. He was a man of prominence in his
+neighborhood, and wielded considerable local influence, and was likewise
+a member of the firm of Buck, Lyon and Wolf, contractors, before
+mentioned. The old Bedillion tavern is a large frame building, with a
+high porch in front. George Boyd took charge of this house in the early
+fifties. He exchanged the shoe business in Washington for what he no
+doubt considered the more profitable pursuit of tavern keeping on the
+old pike. In this he seems to have been disappointed. His career as a
+tavern keeper was not successful, and there were two reasons for it.
+First, he began too late, and second, he was not a pike boy, and
+therefore not familiar with the wants and ways of the road.
+
+On the north side of the road, about one mile wrest of the S Bridge, and
+as far back in the past as seventy years, one Andrew Caldwell (not a
+relative of James, hereinafter mentioned), kept a small wooden tavern
+and entertained primitive travelers and neighborhood callers in
+primitive style. An old blacksmith, bearing the surname McSwiggin, was
+found dead near this old tavern, and there was an undercurrent of
+suspicion in the neighborhood that Andrew Caldwell, aforesaid, had, in
+some manner and for some purpose, taken the old blacksmith's life.
+However, no prosecution was instituted, and, in fact, no legal
+investigation made as to the cause of the mysterious death; and it is to
+be hoped, for the reputation of the early pike boys, that the suspicions
+whispered against the old tavern keeper were groundless.
+
+The next noted old tavern on the westward march is Mrs. Caldwell's,
+seven miles from Washington. Before reaching Mrs. Caldwell's, the
+celebrated S Bridge is passed. This bridge takes its name from its
+shape, which resembles the letter S. It is a large stone bridge over a
+branch of Buffalo creek. Near this bridge a county road leads to
+Taylorstown, celebrated in recent years for its oil developments, and in
+this vicinity reside James Noble and John Thompson, two old wagoners of
+the road, mentioned in a previous chapter. There is a postoffice here
+called "S Bridge," which affords postal facilities for a rich and
+populous neighborhood. In early times there was a tavern at the eastern
+end of the S Bridge, and one at its western end. These old taverns
+accommodated the public in their day, but their facilities were limited,
+and they ceased to entertain strangers and travelers previous to 1840.
+Caldwell's is the tavern mentioned by Mr. Blaine, in the opening chapter
+of this volume on old taverns. James Caldwell owned and conducted this
+old tavern from the time the road was opened up for travel, or very soon
+thereafter, until the year 1838, when he died, and his widow, Hester
+Caldwell, kept it going as a tavern from that date until 1873, so that
+she was one of the oldest tavern keepers of the road. The house is a
+large and handsome structure, near the summit of a long hill, and on the
+south side of the road. It is, at the present time, occupied by J. A.
+Gordon, who entertains the public, and as of old, the house is a
+favorite resort of pleasure seeking parties.
+
+A half a mile west from Caldwell's, the widow Brownlee kept a tavern in
+the early history of the road. Her house was a frame building on the
+south side of the road. Robert Hall afterwards kept this house, and upon
+his retirement it ceased to do business as a tavern.
+
+On the top of the hill west of Mrs. Brownlee's the widow McClelland kept
+a tavern sixty years ago. She was not of the famous tavern keeping
+family of McClelland, of Uniontown. This widow McClelland was keeping
+tavern at the point mentioned before the widow McClelland of the
+McClelland House in Uniontown was born. The Baltimore & Ohio railroad at
+this day passes through a tunnel near the old tavern of widow
+McClelland.
+
+Claysville is next reached. It is stated in Crumrine's history of
+Washington county, that John Purviance was the first tavern keeper in
+Claysville, and that he was the founder of the town. "When it became
+certain," says Crumrine, "that the National Road would pass through the
+place, Purviance caused the following notice to be inserted in the
+Washington _Reporter_:
+
+ "The subscriber having laid off a number of building lots in the
+ new town of Claysville, will offer the same at public sale on the
+ premises, on Thursday, the 8th day of March, next. Claysville is
+ distant ten miles from Washington, westward, and about eighteen
+ east of Wheeling, and six from Alexandria. The great National Road
+ from Cumberland to Wheeling as located by Col. Williams and
+ confirmed by the President, and now rapidly progressing towards its
+ completion, passes directly through the town.
+
+ Washington, April 21, 1817.
+ JOHN PURVIANCE."
+
+[Illustration: THE "S" BRIDGE.]
+
+It goes without saying that this town was named in honor of Henry Clay,
+the unrivaled champion of the road. As at other towns mentioned, the
+road forms the main street of Claysville. In 1821 James Sargent kept a
+tavern in Claysville, at the sign of the Black Horse. He moved to
+Claysville from Washington, and the house he kept in Claysville was a
+brick building, occupied formerly by John Porter. Claysville was a stage
+station, as before stated. Bazil Brown kept a tavern in Claysville as
+early as 1836, and probably before that date. He kept a wagon stand and
+had a large patronage. Some time during the forties, Dan Rice, after his
+circus stranded, was exhibiting a "learned pig" to the people of
+Claysville, and in Bazil Brown's tavern. On the night of the
+entertainment Brown lost an overcoat, and charged Dan Rice with stealing
+it, and had him sent up to Washington jail to await trial. Dan
+employed Seth T. Hurd to defend him, and was acquitted. Soon after Dan
+appeared in Claysville with a new circus, and sang an original song in
+the ring intended to embody his recollections of the overcoat escapade,
+and to lampoon Brown for prosecuting him. The song was smooth, as all
+Dan's were, and the thrusts at Brown sarcastic and severe, and much
+enjoyed by the local hearers. Despite this unfortunate occurrence Bazil
+Brown was a popular landlord, and kept a good house. The old circus man
+is still living, and has probably forgotten and forgiven the old tavern
+keeper for accusing him of felony, but the old tavern keeper long since
+passed beyond the dark waters, and entered upon the realities of another
+and unknown realm. James Dennison kept a tavern in Claysville as early
+as 1840. He subsequently kept at Beallsville and at Hopwood as before
+stated. He was an old wagoner and kept a wagon stand, but had the
+patronage of one of the stage lines in Claysville, as well as a wagon
+custom. Old wagoners felt themselves entirely at home at Dennison's
+tavern, and thoroughly enjoyed his agreeable entertainment. David Bell,
+John Walker, James Kelley, Stephen Conkling and John McIlree were all
+old tavern keepers at Claysville, and kept stage houses.
+
+There was also a Watkins who kept tavern in Claysville. The house he
+kept was destroyed by fire previous to 1850. It had the patronage of the
+Good Intent stage line. David Bell was an old stage driver. His house in
+Claysville was a brick building on the south side, diagonally opposite
+the old Walker House. He subsequently kept the Fulton House in
+Washington in 1862 and 1863. The Walker House was a frame building, on
+the north side. Walker subsequently located at Wheeling and kept a
+tavern there. Conkling kept the Walker House. McIlree kept the Brown
+House. Kelley also kept the Walker House, and it was in this house, and
+in Kelley's time, that Jim Burr, the noted stage driver, "knocked out"
+the Cincinnati buffer, before mentioned. The Stockton line of coaches
+stopped at the old Brown House, and the Good Intent line at the Walker
+and Watkins Houses.
+
+The widow Calahan kept a tavern in Claysville prior to 1840. Jonathan D.
+Leet married her daughter. Leet was a pike boy of no little distinction
+in his day. His discernment and good taste in wedding the fair daughter
+of an old tavern keeper were not the only proofs of his wit and worth.
+He was a lawyer of ability, a major of militia, postmaster of Washington
+during the presidency of President Polk, and member of the Legislature
+for Washington county. A large man with prominent features, and somewhat
+awkward in manner, he was the personification of Mars, when arrayed in
+the elaborate uniform of the old militia system. The great gilt rolls of
+the ponderous epaulette, and the immense three cornered and sharp
+pointed chapeau produced a feeling of awe among all beholders, and
+struck terror to the hearts of young folks. Major Leet being a lawyer
+was Judge Advocate at all courts martial during the time he was in
+commission. Those courts were frequently held in Washington, and their
+members were required to sit, hear and determine in full uniform. On
+such occasions Major Leet was "the observed of all observers," and
+elicited the admiration of his many friends. There was an old
+silversmith in Washington by the name of Galt, a man of acute
+intelligence, given to the amusing side of life, and a close friend of
+the philosopher Dr. Creigh, of the same place. These old worthies were
+warm friends of Major Leet, and their enthusiasm knew no bounds in
+expressing delight over the triumphs of the Major, in conducting these
+courts martial. In 1848, when Major Leet was postmaster, he was an
+ardent advocate of the election of General Cass to the presidency, and
+accustomed to allude with emphasis to the fact that his favorite was "a
+brave old volunteer." His candidate, however, was defeated, and under
+the rule of partisanship, he was superseded in the postoffice by a
+friend of the victorious columns. Subsequently he was elected to the
+Legislature, and after serving his term did not return to live among his
+constituents. He was essentially a pike boy, devoted to the memories of
+the road, and fond of its associations, yet he died in a strange land,
+and his is not the only instance wherein a seat in the Legislature has
+led a man from the gentle paths and innocent pastimes of his early days.
+
+Three miles west from Claysville, at the foot of a long hill, the
+romantic, not to say classic spot of Coon Island is reached. Here was an
+old tavern stand, for many years kept by John Canode previous to 1840.
+It was on the north side of the road, and a wagon stand. The stages
+stopped here also at times, and it was a regular relay for the express
+wagons. After Canode's time the tavern here was kept by John Brotherton
+and sons. It was a prominent point during the flourishing era of the
+road. As late as 1853 a Mr. Reed kept the old tavern at Coon Island. The
+old stage and wagon lines, however, were withdrawn previous to that
+date, and some small local lines substituted, as if to prevent an abrupt
+termination to the high prosperity which the road enjoyed for so long a
+period. The origin of the name Coon Island is presumably
+unascertainable, else Crumrine in his history of Washington county would
+have given it, as the locality is within the limits of that county. That
+coons existed and flourished in the neighborhood from time immemorial,
+there is scarcely a doubt, but an island has never been witnessed there
+since the subsidence of the great flood in Noah's time. The point is now
+a station on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, and the name is changed to
+Vienna. The old name is more appropriate, albeit the island is absent.
+It is more appropriate, because it is familiar to the people, but it
+seems to be the inevitable doom of many old familiar names to fall
+before the advance of modern fancies. Think of an old wagoner going back
+to Coon Island after an absence of half a century, to find himself "a
+mere looker on in Vienna!" Shades of the old pike, hide this ruthless
+and senseless innovation from the eyes of mankind.
+
+[Illustration: DAVID BELL.]
+
+Two miles west from Coon Island and a short distance beyond the site of
+the old Catholic church, an old tavern was kept in early days by one
+Rogers, and subsequently by Jacob and Michael Dougherty. It was a frame
+house, on the north side of the road. A good water trough was maintained
+at this old stand, and travelers halted here for water. In 1830 this old
+tavern was kept by Jacob Jones, the father of the distinguished iron
+manufacturer and politician, B. F. Jones, of Pittsburg. The old church
+mentioned, which will be remembered by all who are familiar with this
+section of the road, was taken down a few years ago, and rebuilt at
+Claysville, a more central point for the parishioners. Before reaching
+Dougherty's another old round toll house is passed, the last one on the
+road in Pennsylvania. Here William McCleary collected the tolls for many
+years.
+
+A few hundred yards further west the old and popular tavern of John
+Valentine is reached. It is a frame house, on the north side of the
+road, large and commodious, and was a favorite resort of wagoners.
+Valentine kept this tavern a great many years. If he had a predecessor
+or a successor in this house, his name is totally eclipsed by that of
+John Valentine. He possessed the talent for tavern keeping in a rare
+degree, and was a brother of Daniel Valentine, the old and popular
+tavern keeper of Washington, and of Charles Valentine, an old wagoner of
+that place.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL.
+
+ _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued--West Alexander to
+ Wheeling--A Modern Gretna Green--Dr. McCluskey--Crossing Another
+ State Line--Abram Carr--The Widow Beck, with whom Abram Lincoln
+ boarded, and at whose house Robert T. Lincoln was born--The Widow
+ Rhodes and Abram Beagle--John White, Isaac Jones, Roney's Point,
+ Ninian Bell, John Bentley, James Kimberly, Triadelphia, John D.
+ Foster, Col. Thompson, the Widow Gooding--The Clay Monument--Col.
+ Moses Shepherd and his wife, Lydia--Samuel Carter--Michael
+ Blackburn--Steenrods--Wheeling--John McCortney, and others._
+
+
+Crumrine's history of Washington county states that West Alexander was
+first laid out in 1796 by Robert Humphreys, that most of the lots were
+subsequently acquired by Charles D. Hass, who in the year 1817 sold them
+by public outcry; that the National Road at the last mentioned date was
+in process of construction, and had been actually opened for travel from
+Cumberland to the Big Crossings, and it was believed that all the towns
+upon its route would become places of prosperity and importance; that
+the town of West Alexander was destroyed by fire on May 4, 1831, but
+slowly recovered from the disaster, and in the succeeding twenty years
+became a thriving village, by reason of the prosperity of the great
+thoroughfare on which it was located. A house called the "American
+Eagle" was the first tavern in West Alexander, established by Duncan
+Morrison in 1796, and kept by him for a number of years. Subsequent
+tavern keepers in West Alexander were Charles Mayes, Zebulon Warner,
+John Gooding, John Woodburn, William McCall, Solomon Cook, James
+Sargent, Charles Hallam, Mary Warner, James Bell, Silver Gilfillan,
+Samuel Beamer, James Matthers, John Irons, Moses Thornburg, Samuel Doak,
+Joseph Lawson, Joseph Dowdal, William F. Gordon, William McCutcheon, and
+perhaps others. Joseph Lawson was probably the best known of all these
+old tavern keepers. He kept a wagon stand for a long time during the
+prosperous era of the road, and was extensively patronized. He had been
+an old wagoner himself, and knew the secret of agreeably entertaining
+old wagoners. He is mentioned in a previous chapter as a "fancy wagoner"
+of the road. His tavern in West Alexander was a large and commodious
+frame building at the western end of the town, on the south side of the
+road, with a large and well arranged wagon yard attached. He owned the
+property, and died in possession. Beside being a successful wagoner and
+tavern keeper, Joseph Lawson was a staunch citizen, a man of influence
+and highly esteemed. He was at one time, for a brief period,
+Superintendent of the road from Brownsville to the Virginia line.
+
+[Illustration: JOSEPH F. MAYES. (OLD JUSTICE OF THE PEACE.)]
+
+There was, during the prosperous era of the road, an academy at West
+Alexander under the management of the Rev. Dr. John McCluskey, where
+many boys were trained for entrance to Washington college. Dr. McCluskey
+was an eminent scholar, an able preacher, a successful educator and a
+worthy man in all the walks of life. He devoted a long and laborious
+life here, to gain a better one hereafter, and let us hope he is now
+realizing its enjoyment. West Alexander is also noted as a rival of the
+celebrated Gretna Green, of Scotland, by reason of the many clandestine
+marriages which have taken place there. Joseph F. Mayes, an old justice
+of the peace of the place, married nineteen hundred and eighteen couples
+from 1862 to 1881, more than nine-tenths of whom were elopers. It is
+estimated that from 1835 to 1885, the date of the enactment of the
+Pennsylvania marriage license law, over five thousand eloping couples
+were married in West Alexander.
+
+One mile distant from West Alexander on the north side of the road,
+Abram Carr kept a tavern as early as 1836. It was a frame building, and
+a wagon stand. After Carr this old tavern was kept by Silver Gilfillan,
+before mentioned in the list of tavern keepers at West Alexander. Carr
+and Gilfillan well knew the ways of the road, and were competent men in
+their line. Old wagoners were accustomed to lay aside their coin, to pay
+bills at Gilfillan's tavern, under a belief that he coveted silver
+because of his Christian name. This was the first tavern located in Old
+Virginia on the westward march, being less than a mile from the
+Pennsylvania State line.
+
+Two miles further west a large frame tavern on the north side of the
+road, was kept by Mrs. Sarah Beck as early as 1832. It was a station for
+the Stockton line of coaches. Mrs. Beck was succeeded in this house by
+Samuel Node, who retained the good will and patronage extended to his
+predecessor. Mrs. Beck was the widow of James Beck, of the old bridge
+building firm of Kinkead, Beck & Evans, frequently mentioned in these
+pages. Her son, William G. Beck, still living in Fairfield, Iowa, was
+the hero of the exciting race between two coaches from Cumberland to
+Piney Grove, mentioned in a previous chapter. James Beck, the husband of
+Sarah Beck, died in Wheeling in 1829, while keeping a tavern in that
+place. His widow was of a heroic mold, and resolved to carry on the
+battle of life on her own account, and continued in the business of
+tavern keeping. She kept tavern at various points, and finally about the
+year 1847 bade a last adieu to the scenes of the road, amid which she
+had been reared, and emigrated to the then far west. Leasing a house in
+Springfield, Illinois, she resumed the business of tavern keeping. While
+a member of the Illinois Legislature, Abraham Lincoln was a boarder in
+Mrs. Beck's house, and Robert T. Lincoln, the late United States
+minister at London, was born under her roof. Thus an old tavern keeper
+of the National Road was closely associated with, and enjoyed the
+confidence of, one of the most illustrious personages of his time or of
+any time.
+
+A short distance, less than a mile further west, the widow Rhodes kept a
+popular wagon stand as early as 1830. Another widow, and no exception to
+the rule, before stated. Her house was a frame building, on the south
+side of the road, and a busy, bustling hostelry. Abram Beagle, an old
+wagoner, became the husband of the widow Rhodes, as elsewhere in these
+pages stated, and relieved her of many of the active cares of tavern
+keeping, until his death, which occurred in this house, leaving his wife
+a second time a widow, and she continued the business of tavern keeping
+as the widow Beagle, with her usual success. Abram Beagle was likewise,
+and before he married Mrs. Rhodes, a contractor on the road. His work
+was near the Little Crossings.
+
+The next old tavern on the west, and a short distance from the widow
+Rhodes' house, was kept as early as 1830 by John White. It was a frame
+house on the north side of the road. Mrs. Beck, before mentioned,
+subsequently bought this property, improved it in many details, and
+especially by the erection of a substantial new stable, with a capacity
+for sheltering one hundred horses. She conducted this tavern in 1833,
+and kept the stock and boarded the drivers and other employees of the
+Stockton line of coaches. She was a favorite of that line, and
+patronized by it at all points of the road where she kept a tavern,
+except at the Greene House in Washington, where she had the favor and
+patronage of the Good Intent line. The old White stand was kept by the
+widow Miller and her son, after Mrs. Beck left it, and they were
+succeeded by Peter Perkins, and he in turn by John Brotherton.
+
+One mile further west Isaac Jones kept a tavern as early as 1835, and
+probably before that date. His house was a frame building on the north
+side of the road. He was not active in soliciting patronage, and after a
+brief and not very successful career as a tavern keeper, closed his
+house to the public and continued to occupy it as a private residence,
+and it was never thereafter opened as a tavern.
+
+Rooney's Point is next reached, a stage station ten miles from Wheeling.
+The original owner of the land here was Roney, and its peculiar
+conformation, a high ridge ending in a point on the south side of the
+road, gave it the name of Roney's Point. It is a familiar name, and was
+a lively place during the palmy days of the road. On the north side of
+the road, at Roney's Point, a large stone tavern was kept by one Ninian
+Bell, prior to the year 1828. He was succeeded by James Beck, Mrs. Sarah
+Beck, Moses Thornburg, and Jacob Beck, in the order named. James and
+Jacob Beck were not relatives. The old Simms line of stages stopped at
+this house when it was kept by James Beck, and it was the stopping place
+of the Good Intent line, when kept by Jacob Beck.
+
+[Illustration: MRS. SARAH BECK.]
+
+One mile west of Roney's Point, on the south side, stood an old frame
+tavern, which, in the eventful days of the road gathered in its share
+of glory. It was kept first by John Bentley, and after him by James
+Kimberly. In addition to the custom it gained from the road, this house
+was a favorite resort of the young rural residents, male and female, of
+that portion of Old Virginia, and here they were accustomed to go for a
+night's festivity, always confining themselves within the bounds of
+propriety, but within those bounds enjoying themselves in a high degree.
+There is many a gray-haired veteran living in the vicinity now, of both
+sexes, whose memories revert with pleasure to the exciting and
+exhilarating scenes they witnessed and participated in, at John
+Bentley's old tavern.
+
+One mile further west, Triadelphia is reached, a small village, and like
+many others, the outgrowth of the National Road. Here John D. Foster
+kept a tavern at an early day, and very old pike boys say it was a good
+one. It was a frame building on the north side of the road. The old
+landlord is said to have been courteous in deportment, given to
+hospitality, and scrupulously observant of the proprieties of life. His
+daughter, Mary, became the wife of C. S. Malt by, the celebrated oyster
+dealer of Baltimore. The first parties who shipped oysters over the road
+by express were Nicholas Roe, Edward Wright, and Holt and Malt by. The
+latter firm soon obtained entire control of the business, and made a
+fortune in it. Malt by died within the past two years in Connecticut,
+and Holt was killed in a railroad accident in Virginia in 1852. Colonel
+Thompson also kept a tavern in Triadelphia in an early day. His house
+was a frame building, on the north side. Colonel Thompson was a
+gentleman of the old Virginia school, and a fine type of the genial
+landlord. He ceased keeping this house previous to 1840, and was
+succeeded by William Barnes, who in turn was succeeded by Edward Lane,
+and Lane by Frank Lawson. This house was largely patronized by pleasure
+seekers from Wheeling and other places, beside doing an extensive road
+business, and enjoyed an excellent reputation as a hostelry.
+
+Three miles further west the old tavern of Mrs. Gooding, another widow,
+is reached. The site of this old tavern is now covered by the
+flourishing village of Elm Grove. Mrs. Gooding had a wide fame as a
+hostess, and her house was crowded by patrons. It is a stone building,
+still standing, situate on the south side of the road. Old wagoners to
+this day, enthuse over the sumptuousness of the widow Coding's table.
+Sleighing parties from Wheeling frequented this old tavern in the
+halcyon days of the road, and were handsomely entertained.
+
+ "Oh, the songs they would sing, and the tales they would spin,
+ As they lounged in the light of the old country inn.
+ But a day came at last when the stage brought no load
+ To the gate, as it rolled up the long, dusty road.
+ And lo! at the sunrise a shrill whistle blew
+ O'er the hills--and the old yielded place to the new--
+ And a merciless age with its discord and din
+ Made wreck, as it passed, of the pioneer inn."
+
+Before reaching Mrs. Coding's the Clay Monument is passed. This monument
+was erected by Moses Shepherd and Lydia, his wife, under an inspiration
+of personal admiration of the great statesman, and with a further view
+of commemorating his distinguished public services in behalf of the
+road. It is of free stone, located upon a level piece of ground about
+fifty feet south of the east end of a stone bridge of three arches, over
+Wheeling creek. At its base its circumference is twenty-four feet,
+towering to a height of twenty feet, and surmounted by a chiselled
+figure of the Goddess of Liberty, at this date bearing plain evidences
+of the ravages of time and storm. Originally each of the four sides of
+the base column revealed an elaborate inscription, but all are totally
+effaced now, except the one on the east side, which is as follows: "TIME
+will bring every amelioration and refinement, most gratifying to
+rational man, and the humblest flower freely plucked under the shelter
+of the Tree of Liberty, is more to be desired than all the trappings of
+royalty; 44th year of American Independence, Anni Domini, 1820." The
+word TIME stands out in bold relief over the other words quoted. John
+Awry, of Claysville, and Alexander Ramsey, of Washington, two old and
+well remembered stone-cutters, worked on this monument. The former did
+most of the carving, in which he was an expert, and the latter much of
+the fine chiselling. Ramsey was the father-in-law of William G. Beck,
+the old stage driver previously mentioned.
+
+On a picturesque eminence, near the monument, overlooking Big Wheeling
+creek, stands the ancient and historic Shepherd mansion, a stone
+building erected in 1798, and now known as "Monument Place," the
+delightful and hospitable home of Maj. Alonzo Louring. In the olden
+time, when the National Road was the bustling highway of the Republic,
+the handsome and luxurious stage coaches of the period, frequently bore
+Henry Clay and other eminent men of his day to the Shepherd mansion,
+where they revealed in Old Virginia hospitality.
+
+Near the old Shepherd mansion stands an antiquated sun dial, covered
+with the marks of time, and bearing on its south face this inscription:
+
+ "The noiseless foot of TIME steals softly by,
+ And ere we think of MANHOOD age draws nigh."
+
+[Illustration: COL. MOSES SHEPHERD.]
+
+[Illustration: MRS. LYDIA SHEPHERD.]
+
+On the north face of this dial appear the names and the figures: "Moses
+and Lydia Shepherd, 1820." Col. Moses Shepherd died in 1832, and his
+widow subsequently married Gen. Daniel Kruger, whom she also survived
+many years. They are all now dead, and their mortal remains mingle with
+their native dust, in the cemetery attached to the "Stone Church," near
+Elm Grove. A handsome monument stands at their graves bearing the
+following inscriptions: On one side, "_Sic Transit Gloria Mandi_: Sacred
+to the memory of Col. Moses Shepherd, who departed this life April 29th,
+1832, in the 69th year of his age." "To him the country owes a large
+debt of gratitude, as well for his defense of it, when a frontier
+settlement, as for his recent public services in aiding the
+extension and construction of the CUMBERLAND ROAD through Virginia." The
+obverse side tells the story of the second husband, as follows: "_Sic
+Transit Gloria Mandi_: Sacred to the memory of Gen. Daniel Kruger, who
+died July 12th, 1843, in the 64th year of his age." A third side
+perpetuates the memory of the twice bereaved widow as follows: "_Sic
+Transit Gloria Mandi_: Lydia S. Kruger, wife of Gen. Daniel Kruger,
+formerly Lydia S. Bogs, first married Col. Moses Shepherd: Born Feb.
+26th, 1766: Died Sept. 26th, 1867, in the 102d year of her age." High up
+on the granite shaft is chiselled on two sides the picture of a log
+cabin, and at the door appears a female figure in sitting posture, with
+a dog in repose at the feet, while in the back ground is seen the
+representation of a martial group, with branches of a palm tree
+overhanging the whole design.
+
+A short distance west from widow Goodings, Samuel Carter kept a tavern
+as early as 1830. It was a brick house on the south side of the road, a
+resort for pleasure seekers from Wheeling, and a well kept house. This
+house was subsequently kept by William Strawn.
+
+About one mile west of Carter's, Michael Blackburn kept a tavern in the
+olden time, and was well favored with custom. It was a stone house on
+the north side of the road.
+
+Next comes Steenrod's, two miles out from Wheeling, a brick and stone
+building on the south side of the road, and a widely known old tavern.
+Daniel Steenrod, the old landlord, owned the property, and was a man of
+intelligence and much influence. His son, Lewis, represented the
+Wheeling district in Congress during the prosperous era of the road,
+and, as before stated, was one of its most zealous champions. Lewis
+Steenrod, a grandson of the old landlord, is at this time (1892), High
+Sheriff of Ohio county, West Virginia, and on November 18th of this
+year, executed Maier, the murderer. Daniel Steenrod kept the old tavern
+last mentioned as early as 1825, and probably before that date, and
+continued throughout the whole period of the road's great career as a
+national highway. He died April 27th, 1864, aged eighty years. The
+property still remains in the Steenrod family.
+
+A short distance from Steenrod's, on the north side, was "Good's
+Bottom," now called Pleasant Valley, doubtless by reason of the frantic
+iconoclasm, which has lain its ruthless hands on so many old and
+familiar names. At Good's Bottom there was a race course in early times,
+and it was here, and previous to 1840, that the celebrated horse
+"Tariff" lost his laurels. "Tariff" was owned by Thomas Porter, a farmer
+and stock man of Claysville. Joseph White, the well known marble dealer
+of Uniontown, a native of the vicinity of Claysville, was a witness of
+the discomfiture of "Tariff" on the old race course at Good's Bottom.
+
+And now, after a long journey of two hundred and sixty miles, the city
+of Wheeling is reached. Wheeling was the western terminus of the road,
+in contemplation of the Act of Congress of March 29th, 1806, given in a
+previous chapter. John McCortney kept the most noted wagon stand in
+Wheeling. He was likewise a commission merchant, which further
+identified him with old wagoners, enabling him to furnish them with back
+loads. His tavern was located on Main street, running back east on
+Fourteenth to alley B, parallel with, and between Main and Market, with
+ample grounds surrounding it for wagons and teams to stand on. These
+grounds were so extensive that they accommodated the old time circus, in
+addition to wagons and teams of the road, and two distinct circuses have
+been known to exhibit on them at the same time. They were not of the
+modern "triple ring" order, but of the Dan Rice design. McCortney was a
+man of agreeable manners, and managed his extensive business with marked
+success. He died in Wheeling on December 10th, 1872, aged seventy-nine
+years. He was three times married. His last wife was the widow of
+William H. Stelle, one of the proprietors of the Good Intent stage line.
+Martin Bugger was McCartney's bar-keeper for many years, and is
+remembered by old wagoners as a rival of Wilse Clement in hard swearing.
+On lower Water street, Robert Newlove kept a wagon stand, and was well
+liked by old wagoners, and well patronized by them. He was the owner of
+wagons and teams, which he kept on the road, in charge of hired drivers.
+In 1829 Richard Simms, the old stage proprietor, kept the United States
+hotel, and was its owner. James Beck kept this house after Simms, and
+James Dennison after Beck. James McCray kept it next after Dennison, and
+Mordecai Yarnell next after McCray. The Monroe House, on Monroe, now
+Tenth street, was kept in 1830 by John McClure, and subsequently by
+James Matthers. The Virginia House was kept in 1830 by John Graham, and
+afterward by one Beltsville, and later by Jacob Kline. Beltsville and
+Kline came out from Baltimore. The United States, the Monroe and the
+Virginia, were stage stations. On upper Main street, in 1830, Moses
+Mossier kept a tavern, and on the same street, and at the same time, a
+tavern was kept by Mrs. Beamer, widow of Captain Frederic Beamer,
+assisted by her son, Samuel, who was a soldier of 1812. Capt. Frederic
+Beamer kept a tavern in Wheeling as early as the year 1802, at the sign
+of the Wagon, and took boarders at two piastres a week. The town council
+of Wheeling met in Capt. Beamers tavern in 1806. The house that Widow
+Beamer presided over as hostess, is a brick building, on the southwest
+corner of Main and Ninth streets, on a lot bordering the river. This
+house is still standing, but has not been used as a tavern for many
+years. Beamers old Landing was at the foot of Ninth street, where the
+National Road approached the Ohio river. In 1830 Joseph Teeters kept a
+wagon stand in Wheeling, below McCartney's, and John Bradfield kept a
+similar stand on Water street in 1837-8. The mysterious disappearance of
+a man by the name of Cooper from the Mossier House about 1840, produced
+a local sensation, followed by an accusation of foul play and a charge
+of murder. Cooper, in company with a friend and neighbor by the name of
+Long, put up together one evening at the Mossier House, and on the next
+morning Cooper was missing. The two had come in from Ohio, and were
+going to Washington county, Pennsylvania, where they were born and
+raised, to visit relatives and old friends. It appears that Cooper rose
+early and took an outgoing coach back to Ohio without notifying his
+traveling companion or any one else. A dead body was found in the river
+and identified as that of Cooper; and Long, after reaching his
+destination, was arrested for murder and lodged in the Washington jail.
+The Virginia authorities made no requisition for him, and he was finally
+discharged, and settled in Michigan. A few years afterward, Cooper was
+discovered in Indianapolis, sound and well.
+
+[Illustration: JOHN McCORTNEY.]
+
+The Forsyth's of Wheeling, James H. and his son Leonard, were
+prominently identified with the destinies of the National Road. The
+commission house of James H. Forsythe & Co. was a leading establishment
+of its kind. James H. Forsythe, the senior member of this old firm, was
+noted for his energy and clear-hoodedness. He could converse with any
+number of persons, and indite a letter at the same time, without being
+in any wise confused. His son, Leonard, was also well known on the road.
+He conducted commission houses at Brownsville and Cumberland, and very
+often passed over the road, in the management of his business. He is now
+living in Texas near Austin, and feels a deep interest in the history of
+the road.
+
+W. L. McNeil, of Wheeling, when a young man, had a brief experience as a
+wagoner. He drove several trips for Thomas Darkly, who was a merchant
+with stores in Baltimore and Wheeling, and is well remembered by old
+pike boys. McNeil "put up" at Natty Brownfield's, in Uniontown, when
+driving Drake's team, a half a century and longer ago, and has never
+forgotten the good entertainment he enjoyed at that old tavern.
+
+The old tavern keepers of the National Road were a remarkable body of
+men. In many instances they were free holders, men well posted in
+current affairs, and influential in their respective neighbourhoods.
+They were honorable in their dealings, and believed that every man's
+word should be as good as his bond. As caterers they made no display.
+They had no bills of fare, printed on gilt edged paper, or fine linen,
+and it is doubtful if any one of them ever heard the modern word _Menu_,
+yet the spreads of their generous boards would almost kindle
+exhilaration in the heart of a misanthrope. The thought may be
+attributable to change of time or circumstance, or taste, or all
+together, but there is an immovable conviction in the mind of the writer
+of these pages, that the viands of modern hotels, lack the savouriness
+of those of the old taverns of the National Road.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI.
+
+ _West of Wheeling--Old Stage Lines Beyond the Ohio River--William
+ Neil--Gen. N. P. Flamage--Stage Stations--Old Taverns and Tavern
+ Keepers--Rev. Doctor Cinnabar and "Sunset" Cox were old Pike
+ Boys--Lively Times in Guernsey--Crossing another State
+ line--Sycamore Valley--Old Taverns in Richmond--A link
+ out--Centerville--Dublin--Through Indiana--The Road Disappears
+ among the Prairies of Illinois._
+
+
+It is estimated that two-fifths of the trade and travel of the road were
+diverted at Brownsville, and fell into the channel furnished at that
+point by the slack water improvement of the Monongahela river, and a
+like proportion descended the Ohio from Wheeling, and the remaining
+fifth continued on the road to Columbus, Ohio, and points further west.
+The travel west of Wheeling was chiefly local, and the road presented
+scarcely a tithe of the thrift, push, whirl and excitement which
+characterized it, east of that point; and there was a corresponding lack
+of incident, accident and anecdote on the extreme western division. The
+distance from Wheeling to Columbus is one hundred and twenty-nine miles,
+and the road enters the capital of Ohio by way of High street. Before
+the era of railroads Columbus derived its chief business from the
+National Road.
+
+Neil, Moore & Co. operated a line of stage coaches between Wheeling and
+Columbus prior to, and for some time after, the year 1840, and their
+line extended west as far as Springfield. Daniel Moore, of Washington,
+Pennsylvania, and his son Henry, composed the Moore end of this old Ohio
+Stage Company. Henry Moore subsequently located in Baltimore, and died
+there. His father died in Washington, Pennsylvania, more than half a
+century ago. John Scott, of Washington, Pennsylvania, antedates Daniel
+Moore as a stage proprietor. He ran a line of coaches between Washington
+and Wheeling as early as the year 1810, on an old road between those
+points, which was used previous to the construction of the National
+Road, and had the contract for carrying the United States mails.
+
+William Neil, the old stage proprietor, was the projector and owner of
+the Neil House, the leading hotel of Columbus. He was the possessor of
+large means, enhanced by holdings of large tracts of fertile land near
+Columbus, which he acquired at low figures in an early day. It is said
+his manners were not of the _suave_ order, but he was noted for energy
+and shrewdness. One who knew him says of him, that "he was honest in his
+dealings, somewhat rough in his ways, but an energetic, pushing man,
+who made things move." This description fits many of the old pike boys.
+
+Gen. N. P. Flamage, of whom further mention is made hereafter, owned and
+operated a line of coaches also between Wheeling and Columbus, and made
+things lively along the road. He called his line the "Good Intent."
+
+John Weaver, as before stated, transferred his old line of coaches
+called the "Peoples," from the eastern to the Ohio portion of the road.
+There was considerable competition between these old lines, but not
+comparable to that of the old lines east of Wheeling. The stage stations
+between Wheeling and Columbus were: St. Gainesville, Morristown,
+Fairview, Washington, Cambridge, Concord, Zanesville, Gratiot, named in
+honor of Brig. Gen. Gratiot, before mentioned; Jackson, Etna and
+Reynolds burg.
+
+Among the old tavern keepers west of Wheeling, the following were
+prominent and well known in the olden time: Moses Rhodes kept at
+Bridgeport, and hailed the west-bound traveler on his entrance to the
+borders of the State of Ohio. A short distance further west, one Cusic,
+and after him Nicol's, in the same old tavern, ministered to the wants
+of the traveler on the nation's old highway. A short drive from Nicols'
+brought the wayfarer to the house of Chambers, ever ready to wait upon
+the public, and a little beyond was the Woodman's house, kept by Isaac
+Cleaves, who afterward hung up his sign at a house further west. Passing
+Woodman's, the next old tavern was McMahon's, a veritable son of Erin,
+overflowing with native generosity. This part of the road seems to have
+been an Irish row, since the next old tavern, after passing McMahon's,
+was kept by one McCray. A short distance west of McCray's the town of
+St. Gainesville comes in view, one of the oldest towns of Ohio, the seat
+of justice for Belmont county, and named in honor of the illustrious old
+Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, soldier and patriot, Gen. Arthur St.
+Clair.
+
+In St. Gainesville, James Smith kept the stage office, and bowed in
+genuine old pike style to the coming and going passengers. One mile west
+of St. Gainesville, an old German, or Swede, bearing the non-musical
+name of Swanker, or something like it, kept a tavern, and, according to
+tradition, a good one. His house was a fine brick building, on the north
+side of the road. One mile further west, one Hoover entertained the
+traveling public, and beyond him, one Chamberlain presided over a good
+old tavern.
+
+The village of Louisville is next reached, which, of course, had its
+tavern, as all villages have, and probably more than one; but the old
+wagoner who furnished most of the data for this chapter could not recall
+the names of the old proprietors thereof. It was a long time ago that he
+drove a team on the road, and he is verging upon his ninetieth year, and
+therefore not to be censured for forgetfulness.
+
+The writer found more difficulty in obtaining information concerning
+this portion of the road than any other. In fact, he admits his failure
+to obtain the necessary data for producing an accurate history of it. He
+wrote to all the postmasters on the Ohio line east of Columbus, for
+information concerning the road, and no response came, except in one
+instance, and that was to a letter which reached a wrong destination. It
+was addressed to the postmaster at Jackson, a village on the road,
+called "Jacktown" by the old pike boys, and found its way to the
+postmaster of Jackson, Jackson county, a considerable distance south of
+the National Road. It happened that the postmaster who received this
+letter was a native of Brownsville, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, a
+member of the old Sloan family of that place, but he was so far away
+from the road that he could furnish no information concerning it. He, at
+least, was courteous, a trait for which he is indebted, probably, to the
+circumstance of his nativity. A self-important postmaster, especially of
+a little town, like the political carpet-bagger, has no respect for
+ancient landmarks.
+
+Moving on westwardly, the next point reached is Morristown, the second
+stage station west of Wheeling. This town was at its best when the
+National Road was the leading avenue of trade and travel. John Barnum
+and John Lipping were the old tavern keepers of Morristown, and took
+pride in scanning the old way bills, and catering to the wants of hungry
+stage passengers.
+
+One mile west of Morristown Christopher Hoover hung out his old sign
+board in front of a substantial brick house, on the south side of the
+road, and a short distance beyond, Noble Taylor, a combination of
+familiar old pike names, entertained the traveling public.
+
+The village of Hindenburg is next reached. This place is on the dividing
+line between Belmont and Guernsey counties. It is not and never was a
+pretentious town, but its old inhabitants derived much comfort, and not
+a little pleasure, from advantages afforded by the National Road.
+
+Passing one or more old taverns whose occupants and owners cannot be
+recalled, the traveler comes upon the town of Fairview, a stirring place
+in the palmy days of the road. There William Bradshaw was a popular
+tavern keeper. He and Isaac Cleaves, formerly of the Woodman's House,
+near Wheeling, were the leading tavern keepers in Fairview fifty years
+ago.
+
+West of Fairview the old tavern keepers were: William Armstrong, Joseph
+Ferrell and Alexander Taylor.
+
+Middletown is next reached, and here Thomas Hays and one Thompson each
+kept a tavern in the olden time, and gladdened the heart of many a weary
+traveler.
+
+West of Middletown the roll bears the names of Alter Briggs and
+Alexander Speers.
+
+Samuel Smith kept the old tavern at Elizabeth town. West of Elizabeth
+town, one Cray ton kept a tavern, and beyond him Widow Drake. The widows
+never surrender.
+
+The village of Washington is next reached. Here Simon Beamer kept at
+the sign of the "Black Bear," and Peter Colley, formerly of Centreville,
+kept a tavern in Washington as late as 1854.
+
+West of Washington the old traveler on the road found rest and
+refreshment first at the tavern of Widow Slams, and before reaching
+Cambridge, excellent entertainment was furnished by Joseph Griffith,
+James Smith, John Shaw, Mr. Slater, Mr. McCain, John Nice, Robert Curry,
+Mr. Waterhouse, and Joshua Davis.
+
+Cambridge comes next on the line. This is the capital of Guernsey
+county, one of the liveliest towns on the road, and surviving its
+decline, remains prosperous. The old tavern keepers in Cambridge were
+William Ferguson, Wyatt Hutchinson, Bazil Brown, Mr. Nee dam, Mr.
+Pollard, Joseph Bute, Elijah Grimes, John Cook, James B. Moore, Captain
+Hearsing, John Tingle and George Met calf. The latter kept one of the
+stage houses.
+
+Three miles west of Cambridge, Thomas Curran kept an old tavern. Further
+west, taverns were kept by Jacob Frank, Mr. Laird, Alex. Leper, Ichabod
+Grumman, Mr. Sutton, Frank Dixon, William McDonald and Lewis McDonald.
+Lewis McDonald's old tavern was near the dividing line between Guernsey
+and Muskingum counties.
+
+After entering the county of Muskingum the first old tavern reached was
+kept by William McKinney, and next in line comes the old tavern of
+William Wilson, still doing business under the management of Edward
+McLeod.
+
+At Norwich Mr. Cinnabar kept a tavern. He was the father of Rev. Hiram
+Cinnabar, D. D., for many years a leading member of the Pittsburg
+Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, a man of much learning and
+genuine piety, pure in thought, and upright in conduct. The author of
+these pages knew him well, and in the whole range of his acquaintance
+never met a sincerer friend, or a more just man. He died in Los Angeles,
+California, a few years ago. Lightly rest the sod that covers his grave.
+He is numbered among the pike boys, as in early life he led horses from
+his father's house in Ohio to eastern markets.
+
+Further westward on the road Jacob Probasco hung up his sign in front of
+an old tavern, he of Jockey Hollow fame before mentioned. His tavern at
+this point was known as the "Ten Mile House," being distant ten miles
+from Zanesville.
+
+One mile west of Proboscis's one McNutt, of Irish extraction, and good
+fame as a landlord, kept a tavern, and next beyond, on the westward
+trend, John Livengood, whose name imports old Pennsylvania Dutch stock,
+ministered to the wants of strangers and travelers.
+
+Zanesville is next reached. Zanesville is the county seat of Muskingum
+county. It is situate on the Muskingum river, fifty-nine miles east from
+Columbus. Mr. Leslie kept a tavern in Zanesville in the olden time, and
+entertained the public in a highly satisfactory manner. His house was a
+brick building on the north side of the street and road, and at the west
+end of the town. When Leslie kept tavern in Zanesville, the town
+contained a population of about 7,000. Its population at this date
+exceeds 25,000. It survived the decline of the road, and grew rapidly in
+population and wealth, but it may be doubted whether its present money
+making inhabitants experience as much of the real pleasures and
+enjoyments of life as their predecessors of fifty years ago, when the
+dashing stage coach woke up the echoes of the dull town, and the heavy
+tread of the ponderous broad wheeled wagon told the whole story of
+commerce and trade. The illustrious Samuel S. Cox was born and reared in
+Zanesville, and therefore, under a definition given in a previous
+chapter, a pike boy. He was called "Sunset," by reason of a gushing
+description he wrote of the Setting Sun, when a young man, and there is
+no doubt that the views which so deeply impressed his youthful mind were
+had from points on the National Road, in the vicinity of his native
+town. He was one of the brightest stars in the galaxy of American
+statesmen.
+
+A writer in a Guernsey county paper gives the following lively
+description of scenes on the road in that locality:
+
+"Isaac Cleaves was one of the old tavern keepers in Fairview. His house
+was the stage office, where a halt was made for exchange of horses, and
+to discharge and take on passengers. The stage offices were places of
+public resort, and around the bar-rooms gathered the toper's and
+loafers, by day and by night. The old stage drivers were full of fun and
+frolic, and could entertain the curious with
+
+ 'Tales fearful and awful,
+ E'en to name would be unlawful.
+ Fast by an Angle blinking Bonni,
+ W'ie recanning swats that drank divinely,
+ These sorters told their queerest stories,
+ And the landlord's laugh was ready chorus.'
+
+"There was Nat Smith, Sam Smith, Jim Smith, Bate Smith, Jo Smith, Quill
+Smith, Bill Smith, and more of the Smith family, and Sam Carouse, Jake
+Carouse, Sylvester Root, Sam Kirk, Tom Kirk, Tom Bryan, Andy Caster, Tom
+Carter, Jim Bryan, Bony Sheldon, Wash Cranford, Jim Bay less, Mart Huck,
+Henry Hight, Tom Crawford, John Silvain, Ross Briggs, and a host of
+others of the 'knights of the whip and reins,' of those old coaching
+days,
+
+ 'When hand to hand they cut and strive,
+ Devil take the hindmost of the drive.'
+
+"Near by stood the old 'smithy' of Capt. John G. Bell's father, whose
+bellows flapped, and red sparks flew, and anvil rang, night and day, to
+keep the horses feet in trim, so that down the slope to Honduras, and on
+to Borden's hill and Taylor's hill, and o'er Salt Fork's long stretch,
+through ice and sleet, these Jehu's could safely, and on time, move on
+their load of living freight and the mails sent out by 'Uncle Sam.' John
+Skimmings, one of the early settlers at the mouth of Wills Creek, was
+the general agent from Columbus to Wheeling, of the great Neil, Moore &
+Co., whose lines cobwebbed the State of Ohio. Otho Hinton was the
+United States mail agent to look after the mail robbers. He turned out
+to be one himself, and was placed under arrest for opening the mails
+between Cambridge and Washington. He was indicted and arraigned before
+the United States court at Columbus, released on bail, and fled to
+Honolulu, where he died in 1856.
+
+"Gen. N. P. Flamage placed on the road what was called the opposition,
+or Good Intent, line of stages. This was just after the Washingtonian
+temperance movement. He made temperance speeches along the line, and
+required his drivers to take the pledge. He stopped at Cambridge and
+made a speech in the old Presbyterian church, and sang a song, his
+drivers taking up the chorus. We give in substance, if not in word, a
+verse:
+
+ 'Our horses are true and coaches fine,
+ No upsets or runaways;
+ Nor drunken drivers to swear and curse,
+ For its cold water all the days.
+
+ CHORUS.
+
+ For our agents and drivers
+ Are all fully bent,
+ To go for cold water,
+ On line Good Intent,
+ Sing, go it, my hearties,
+ Cold water for me.'
+
+"Isaac Cleaves was not behind as a caterer to the inner man, and a
+dinner or supper by the stage passengers, after being rocked and tossed
+at a six miles per hour rate, was relished even by Tippecanoe and
+Corwin, too, and Democrats did not starve nor turn up their noses
+because old Isaac was a Whig. He had a famous recipe for the cure of the
+ague, which for its queer compound he was often required to give, not so
+much for the ingredients; they were very simple; but for the first
+preparation for the compound. This was to boil down a quart of water to
+a pint. And to the inquiry, 'What is the water boiled down for, Uncle
+Isaac?' he would reply, 'to make it stronger.'
+
+"A little further, and last, was Major William Bradshaw, just over in
+Belmont county. He was the soul of wit and humour, and gave out many
+expressions that have become noted. To all that he did not feel disposed
+to entertain, he gave the answer, 'Take the Janesville road.' His toast
+drank in honor of the Fairview guards, a military company that had been
+parading 'with plumes and banners gay,' just after the close of the
+Mexican war, will live in the military history of Guernsey
+county--'Soldiers in peace, civilians in war.'"
+
+The Smiths above mentioned all drove stages on the road east of
+Wheeling, before going to Ohio, and lived in Brownsville. All the male
+members of the family were drivers, including Samuel, the father. His
+sons were, Samuel, jr., Gilbert, Quill, Bate and Nat, familiar names in
+the early history of the road.
+
+The largest town on the line of the road west of Columbus, in the State
+of Ohio, is Springfield, the capital of Clark county. The distance
+between Columbus and Springfield is forty-five miles. Springfield
+enjoyed for a number of years the advantages of the road, and felt a
+pride in being on its line, but its growth and development, the result
+of other agencies, have thrown a mantle of oblivion over the time when
+the rattle of the stage coach and the rumble of road wagons furnished
+the chief excitement of her streets.
+
+The road penetrated Indiana at the boundary line of Wayne county, in
+that State. The length of the line through Indiana is one hundred and
+forty-nine and one-fourth miles, and the sum of $513,099 was expended on
+it for bridges and masonry. Work was begun at Indianapolis and
+prosecuted east and west from that point, in obedience to an act of
+Congress given in the chapter on Appropriations. The road was completed
+through Wayne county in 1827. It was not macadamized or graveled, and in
+the year 1850 was absorbed by the Wayne County Turnpike Company, under a
+charter granted by State authority. The length of this pike is
+twenty-two miles.
+
+The second section of the act incorporating the Wayne County Turnpike
+Company reads as follows:
+
+ "The capital stock of said company shall be one hundred thousand
+ dollars, divided into shares of fifty dollars each, and shall be
+ applied to the construction of a turnpike road in Wayne county,
+ commencing at the western terminus of the Richmond turnpike, about
+ three miles east of Richmond, and to be continued westward on the
+ line of the National Road to the county line between the counties
+ of Henry and Wayne; and the State of Indiana hereby relinquishes to
+ said Wayne County Turnpike Company all the rights, interests, and
+ claims in and to the line of said National Road in said county of
+ Wayne; the grade, materials, bridges, constructions of all kinds
+ she now has, or may hereafter acquire from the General Government,
+ in and to the said National Road: _Provided_, That in case the
+ Federal Government should, at any time hereafter, determine to
+ resume the ownership and control of said road, said company shall
+ relinquish the same to the General Government, on receiving from it
+ the full cost of construction as expended by said company."
+
+The section quoted discloses a point which the court of Somerset county,
+Pennsylvania, seems to have overlooked when it condemned that portion of
+the road lying within the borders of that county, took possession of its
+property, and decreed it free from tolls. The several acts of Congress
+ceding the road to Pennsylvania and the other States through which it
+passed, reserved the right of Congress at any subsequent time to resume
+ownership and control, and in case of the exercise of this reserved
+right, the question arises, what would become of the decree of the
+Somerset county court?
+
+Prior to the construction of the National Road in Indiana, Robert
+Morrisson, the founder of the Morrisson Library, of Richmond, and one
+of the leading citizens of that place, was mainly instrumental in
+causing a gravel road to be made from Richmond to Dayton, Ohio, which
+was known as the "Richmond and Short Line Pike." The engineers of the
+National Road adopted the line of Morrison's road in Indiana, with the
+exception of one mile from a point near Clawson's tavern to the Ohio
+State line. The Government survey carried the line east from Clawson's
+tavern, and north of Sycamore Valley, over two long and steep hills,
+separated by a deep valley. To avoid these hills on the Ohio side,
+travel dropped down over a good country road to the Richmond and Short
+Line Pike at the State line. This country road was afterwards
+macadamized, but the distance between the State line and Clawson's
+tavern has remained a gravel road until the present time, kept up and
+used as a portion of the National road, instead of the line over the
+hills north of Sycamore Valley.
+
+Morrisson's company was merged in the Wayne County Turnpike Company in
+1850. This company issued seven hundred and eighty shares of stock of
+the par value of fifty dollars each, and operated its road until the
+year 1890, when Jackson township, by virtue of a popular vote, purchased
+that portion of it lying within her boundaries for the sum of $4,500,
+and made it free of tolls. In 1893, Wayne township bought the road
+within her boundaries for $11,000, and made it free. The preliminary
+steps are now being taken by the citizens of Center township to take a
+vote on a proposition to purchase the road within her borders. If this
+measure carries the road will be free throughout its entire length in
+Wayne county.
+
+The Presidents of the Wayne County Turnpike Company have been Robert
+Morrisson, Jacob Brooks, Edmund Laurence, William Parry, and Joseph C.
+Ratliff, the last named having served continuously from 1871 to the
+present time, a pleasant gentleman of fine executive abilities.
+
+This company has always paid dividends of seven per cent. on its capital
+stock of $39,000, and for the last ten years a majority of its
+stockholders have been women.
+
+The rate of toll was two cents a mile for horse and buggy and one-half
+cent per mile for each additional horse, one cent for a horse and rider
+per mile, and one-half cent for a led horse.
+
+The toll houses were small frame structures and the gates simply heavy
+poles to raise and let down after the manner of the beam that lowered
+and lifted up "the old oaken bucket that hung in the well."
+
+Going westwardly from the Ohio State line, in Indiana, the first tavern
+was that of James Neal, at Sycamore Valley. Of Neal but little can be
+gleaned beyond the fact that he kept tavern at this point for several
+years.
+
+The next tavern was Clawson's, a brick building, erected about the year
+1818 by Robert Hill. It stood a little distance north of the road, and
+near the western end of the line before mentioned, as having been
+located but not used, and was subsequently torn down and rebuilt on the
+traveled line. It is said that Robert Hill's daughters hauled the brick
+for their father's house in an ox cart. Clawson was a tall, muscular
+man, and beyond these facts concerning him, he is lost to the memory of
+the oldest inhabitant of Indiana. West of Clawson's the first toll gate
+in Indiana was encountered. It stood near Glen Miller Park and almost
+within the suburbs of Richmond. This gate was moved several times, but
+never over a mile from Richmond.
+
+The city of Richmond is the first large town on the line of the road
+within the borders of the State of Indiana, and the road forms its Main
+street. It is four miles from the Ohio line, and the county seat of
+Wayne county. Its present population is 25,000.
+
+The first tavern of the road in Richmond was kept by Charles W. Starr.
+It was a regular old pike tavern, with extensive stabling and drove
+yards attached, occupying one-fourth of a square on the northeast corner
+of Eighth, formerly Fifth street. The building was of brick, known in
+later years as the Tremont Hotel. It is still standing, but not used as
+a hotel or tavern. Charles W. Starr was a man of medium size and of
+Quaker faith. He wore the Quaker garb, had Quaker habits, and was
+esteemed a good citizen. Some of his descendants are still living at
+Richmond, and three of his sons are prominent and active business men of
+that place.
+
+A short distance below Starr's, and between Sixth and Seventh streets,
+stood Sloan's brick stage house, and its proprietor, Daniel D. Sloan,
+was at one time postmaster of Richmond. This tavern was headquarters for
+two stage lines, one running to Indianapolis and the other to
+Cincinnati. The Cincinnati line had opposition, and by cutting rates the
+fare was reduced by the competition and during its continuance, from
+five dollars to fifty cents for the round trip, distance seventy miles
+direct. A portion of Sloan's old tavern still remains, and adjoins
+Roling's hardware store. Sloan was heavy set, fleshy, and well poised
+for a tavern keeper.
+
+On the south side of the road, between Seventh and Eighth streets,
+William Nixon kept a tavern on the site of the present Huntington House.
+He was a spare, sinewy man, of the Quaker faith. He kept the tavern at
+the point named from 1840 to about 1843.
+
+A noted tavern was Gilbert's, on the northeast corner of Sixth and Main
+streets. Joseph W. Gilbert kept this house for many years. It was a
+two-story frame building, pebble coated. Gilbert was tall and slim,
+polite and affable, and had many friends. He suffered the misfortune of
+going blind, and died at Richmond in 1890, in the ninety-second year of
+his age. When barely able to distinguish large objects he walked much up
+and down the streets, asking persons he met to tell him the time of day,
+always pulling out his watch and holding it up for inspection. At one
+time when Gilbert was moving a part of his tavern building, Charles
+Newman, on passing along, inquired of the old landlord, whose house was
+noted for its cleanliness, how many bed bugs he found. Gilbert replied
+with indignation, "Not a single one." "I believe you, Joseph," said
+Newman, "for they are married and have large families." Most of the
+early taverns of Richmond were in the western part of the town.
+
+It is related in the latest history of Indiana, that Jeremiah Cox, one
+of the earliest settlers in Richmond, regarded with disfavor the scheme
+of building up the town; and is said to have remarked, that he would
+rather see a buck's tail than a tavern sign, and his sincerity was made
+evident by the fact, that he did not make his addition to the town plat
+until two years after the date of Smith's survey, or two years after
+Philip Harter had a tavern sign swinging near a log building on lot 6,
+South Fifth (Pearl) street.
+
+Another early tavern of Richmond was kept at the northwest corner of
+Main and Fifth (Pearl), sign of the green tree, by Jonathan Bayles, and
+another, of later date, on Fourth (Front) street, near the southwest
+corner of Main, by Ephraim Lacey. Harter soon afterward kept a tavern at
+the corner of North Fifth (Pearl) and Main, where the Citizen's bank
+afterward stood, then called Harter's corner.
+
+Another tavern was kept on Gilbert's corner, northwest corner of Main
+and Sixth (Marion), first, it is believed, by Abraham Jeffries, and
+continued afterward by several other persons at different times.
+
+Richard Cheesman, an early settler, lived on South Fourth (Front)
+street, kept a tavern several years, and subsequently removed to Center
+township, where he died. William, a nephew, remained in Richmond, and
+married a Miss Moffitt. He died some years ago, but his widow is still
+living.
+
+John Baldwin, an original Carolinian, kept a tavern and store at the
+Citizen's bank corner. He went west, and became a trader with the
+Indians. Their savage nature having at one time been excited by liquor
+which he had sold them, they scalped, or partially scalped him, but he
+survived the operation and returned to Wayne county, where he died, six
+miles north of Richmond, in 1869. After Baldwin, William H. Vaughan kept
+this tavern for several years, and until it ceased to entertain the
+public. Vaughan had previously kept the Lacey tavern on Fourth (Front)
+street.
+
+Patrick Justice, at an early period, kept a tavern on North Fourth
+(Front) street, near Main. He afterward kept a public house which he
+built in 1827, near the extreme limits of the town, now the southeast
+corner of Main and Fifth streets.
+
+Benjamin Paige, a New Englander, father of Ralph Paige, once a merchant
+on Main street, kept a tavern previous to 1830, at the corner originally
+owned by John C. Kibbey, an early inn-keeper, and known as Meek's
+corner, northeast of Main and Sixth (Marion).
+
+Abraham Jeffries had a tavern on Gilbert's corner, which he kept a
+number of years, and was succeeded by Joseph Andrews, his
+brother-in-law, who died soon after taking charge.
+
+The last westward tavern in Richmond was kept by Christian Buhl, who
+came from Germany, and his house was a three story stone structure where
+Minck's brewery now is.
+
+At the west end of Richmond the road crosses Whitewater river over a
+handsome and expensive bridge. This bridge has seven arches, and is a
+combination truss and arch design, capable of sustaining an immense
+weight. On the west side timbers and wool sacks were sunk into a
+quicksand upon which to rest the foundations of the abutment.
+
+Toll-gate No. 7 was erected at the fifth mile post west of Richmond and
+afterwards moved to a point near Earlham college. This gate was kept by
+William Fagan for twenty-three years, and afterwards by Mr. Gardener for
+nearly ten years. Mr. Gardener is a New York man and was one of the best
+gate-keepers on the road. His wife is a cousin of the late Hon. William
+B. Windom, who was Secretary of the Treasury in President Harrison's
+administration.
+
+There was a tavern between gate No. 7 and gate No. 8, which was near the
+Center township line and East Clear creek. West of this point there is a
+curve in the road caused by the refusal of Thomas Croft to remove his
+house, which was on the surveyed line. He was offered $500 to remove his
+house and declined to take it. The road was then of necessity made
+around his house, and so near it as to loosen its foundations, and it
+toppled and fell down, causing him to lose his house, and the sum
+offered him as damages besides.
+
+At the seventh mile stone, a little beyond West Clear Creek bridge,
+stood the shop of Jeremy Mansur, who manufactured the first axes made in
+the county of Wayne. When Martin Van Buren made his trip through
+Indiana, many persons denounced him as an enemy of the road, and some
+one in Richmond, to inflict chastisement upon the distinguished
+statesman for his supposed unfriendliness, sawed a double-tree of the
+coach in which he was traveling nearly through, and it broke near
+Mansur's ax-shop, causing Mr. Van Buren to walk to the top of a hill
+through thick mud. The author of this mishap to Mr. Van Buren
+subsequently boasted that he had put a mud polish on Gentleman Martin's
+boots to give him a realizing sense of the importance of good roads.
+
+Near the ninth mile stone from Richmond were two celebrated taverns,
+Eliason's and Estepp's. Both were brick houses and well kept. Joshua
+Eliason was a man of medium size, jovial disposition, remarkably
+industrious, and a zealous member of the Christian church. His tavern
+was on the north side of the road, and, in connection with it, he
+maintained two one-story emigrant houses to accommodate families moving
+west. The emigrants carried and cooked their own provisions, and paid
+Eliason a certain sum for the use of his buildings. Drove yards were
+also a profitable feature of Eliason's tavern. He sold grain to the
+drovers, and after the cattle were turned out, put his own hogs in the
+vacated field to eat up the remnants and refuse.
+
+[Illustration: BRIDGE OVER WHITEWATER, RICHMOND, IND.]
+
+John Estepp's tavern was on the south side of the road, nearly opposite
+Eliason's. He had one emigrant house, and did an extensive business.
+He was a man of the lean order, but always on the alert to turn an
+honest penny.
+
+A short distance beyond Estepp's, Centerville comes in view, near where
+Daniel L. Lashley kept the principal tavern. He was a large man, and had
+a large patronage.
+
+Centerville boasts of having been a nursery of great men. Here Oliver P.
+Morton, when a young man, worked as a hatter, and Gen. A. E. Burnside
+pursued the humble trade of a tailor. Gen. Lew Wallace and Gen. Noble
+went to school in Centerville, and possibly the germs of Ben Hur had
+their origin in this rural village. Hon. George W. Julian, of free soil
+notoriety, was at one time a resident of Centerville, and Judge Nimrod
+Johnson, of the State Supreme Court, and John S. Newman, ex-president of
+the Indiana Central Railroad Company, were among the noted personages
+who lived there. Centerville was for many years the county seat of Wayne
+county, and the removal of the offices and archives to Richmond produced
+a feeling of jealousy between the inhabitants of the places which
+lingers in a measure to this day, although Richmond has far outstripped
+her ancient rival in growth and improvements.
+
+West of Centerville the road crosses Nolan's Fork, a small Indiana
+stream, and a short distance beyond, and near the Poor Farm, a toll-gate
+was established, and there was also a tavern at this point. One mile
+west of the Poor Farm, Crum Fork is crossed by means of a bridge, and
+between this stream and Germantown there was another toll-gate and also
+a tavern. There is a bridge over the stream between Germantown and
+Cambridge city. West of Cambridge City, and near Dublin, there was a
+toll-gate, and a short distance west of Dublin, the road passes out of
+Wayne county.
+
+The road forms the main street of Dublin and is called Cumberland
+street, by reason of this fact. The first tavern established in Dublin
+was by Samuel Schoolfield, an old Virginian, pleasantly remembered on
+account of his staunch patriotism. He displayed on his sign-board the
+motto: "Our country, right or wrong."
+
+The railroad absorbed all passenger and freight traffic in the year
+1852, after which date and to the close of the civil war, outside of
+home travel, the main vehicles on the Indiana division were "Prairie
+Schooners," or semi-circular bedded, white-covered emigrant wagons, used
+by parties moving from Virginia and the Carolinas to Illinois.
+
+Indianapolis as before stated is on the line of the road, but her
+proportions as a city are the outgrowth of other agencies. In the early
+days of Indiana's capital the National Road was her only commercial
+artery, and her pioneer citizens regarded it as a great advantage to
+their aspiring town. The railway era dawned so soon after the road was
+located through Indianapolis that but few memories cluster about its
+history in that locality like those east of the Ohio river.
+
+The last and only remaining large town of Indiana on the road is Terre
+Haute, a city like Indianapolis that has outgrown the memories of the
+road, and is probably little mindful of the time when her early
+inhabitants deemed it a matter of high importance to be located on its
+line. Though remote from the active centres of the historic road, Terre
+Haute is more or less associated with its stirring scenes and former
+prestige.
+
+There was a striking similarity in the habits, manners and pursuits of
+the old inhabitants of the towns along the National Road, notably
+between Baltimore and Wheeling. The road was a bond that drew them
+together and united them as neighbors. There are many persons still
+living who remember when Frederic, Hagerstown, Cumberland, Uniontown,
+Brownsville, Washington and Wheeling derived their main support from the
+road, and their chief distinction from their location on its line. This
+feature was also true of the towns on the Appian Way, on authority of
+the classic author, Anthon.
+
+Any one familiar with the National Road in its prosperous era, whose
+business or other engagements required a divergence from it, invariably
+returned to it with a sense of security and a feeling of rest and
+relief. This feeling was universal and profound. An illustration is
+furnished by Hon. William H. Playford, of Uniontown, who was born and
+reared on the road. After his college graduation he went South to teach,
+as did many other graduates of northern colleges. When his term as a
+teacher ended his heart of course yearned for home, and homeward he set
+his sails. He struck the National Road at Terre Haute, and the moment
+his eyes flashed upon its familiar surface he felt that he was among old
+friends and nearly home. It was the first object he had witnessed since
+his departure from the paternal roof that brought him in touch again
+with home.
+
+Before the road was completed beyond the western boundary of the State
+of Indiana, the steam railway had become the chief agency of
+transportation and travel, and our grand old national highway was
+practically lost amid the primitive prairies of Illinois, so that
+whereas its splendor was favored by the rising, it was dispelled beneath
+the Setting Sun.
+
+[Illustration: GEN. GEORGE W. CASS.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII.
+
+ _Superintendents under National Control--Gen. Gratiot, Captains
+ Delafield, McKee, Bliss, Hartzell, Williams, Colquit and Cass, and
+ Lieuts. Mansfield, Vance and Pickell--The Old Mile
+ Posts--Commissioners and Superintendents under State
+ Control--William Searight, William Hopkins, and Earlier and Later
+ Commissioners and Superintendents--A Pennsylvania Court Wipes Out a
+ Section of the Road._
+
+
+Down to the year 1834, as has been seen, the road was under the control
+and supervision of the War Department of the General Government.
+Brig.-Gen. Gratiot was the chief officer in immediate charge. The town
+of Gratiot on the line of the road in Muskingum county, Ohio, was named
+in his honor. Captains Delafield, McKee, Bliss, Bartlett, Hartzell,
+Williams, Colquit and Cass, and Lieuts. Mansfield, Vance and Pickell,
+all graduates of West Point, were more or less identified with the
+construction, management and repairs of the road. These army officers
+were all well known to the people along the road sixty years ago. Gen.
+Gratiot was probably dead before the beginning of the civil war, or too
+old for active service. Mansfield fell at Antietam, a major general of
+the Union forces. Williams was killed at the storming of Monterey in the
+Mexican war. McKee fell while gallantly leading a regiment in the hot
+fight at Buena Vista. Hartzell, promoted to the rank of major, fought
+through the Mexican war, and died soon after returning to his home in
+Lexington, Kentucky. Bliss and Delafield both died within the current
+decade. Colquit, a near relative of the Georgia Senator of that name,
+died in the Confederate service. Capt. Geo. W. Cass, while on the road
+as an engineer in charge of repairs, married a daughter of the late
+George Dawson, of Brownsville, located at that place, and transacted
+business there for a number of years. He subsequently went to Pittsburg
+as president of the Adams Express Company, and later became president of
+the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railway Company. He was prominent and
+influential in the politics of Pennsylvania, and on several occasions
+stood second in the ballotings for the Democratic nomination for
+Governor. He died in the city of New York. He was twice married. His
+widow surviving him, is a sister of his first wife.
+
+The iron mile posts, so familiar to the traveler on the road, were
+turned out in foundries of Connellsville and Brownsville. Major James
+Francis had the contract for making and delivering those between
+Cumberland and Brownsville. His foundry was at Connellsville,
+Pennsylvania. Col. Alex. J. Hill, a well known and popular coke
+operator, and Democratic politician of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, is
+a son-in-law of Major Francis, the old foundryman. Those between
+Brownsville and Wheeling were made at Snowden's old foundry, in
+Brownsville, John Snowden, contractor. They were hauled along the road
+for distribution in wagons drawn by six horse teams. Within the last two
+years they were re-set and re-painted, between Brownsville and the
+Maryland State line, under the direction of Commissioner Ewing Searight,
+and stand erect in their original sites, silent witnesses of the great
+procession that passed in front of them for so many years, and if they
+possessed the attributes of speech and memory, could narrate the story
+of a great highway, which in incident and interest is without a rival.
+
+WILLIAM SEARIGHT was a commissioner of the road for a number of years in
+its prosperous era. His jurisdiction extended over the line within the
+limits of Pennsylvania. He was of Irish lineage, and Presbyterian faith.
+His parents located in Ligonier Valley, Westmoreland county,
+Pennsylvania, about the year 1780. Upon reaching his majority he came to
+Fayette county to work out his destiny. He learned the trade of fulling
+and dyeing, and started in business on his own account at Hammond's old
+mill on Dunlap's creek, long since demolished and forgotten. He
+subsequently pursued the same business at Cook's mill, on Redstone
+creek. His education was such only as could be procured in his boyhood
+by persons of slender means, but his natural endowments were of the
+highest and best order. He was honest and industrious. On March 26th,
+1826, he married Rachel, a daughter of Thomas Brownfield, proprietor of
+the old Swan tavern in Uniontown. At Searights, on the National Road, he
+laid the foundation of a considerable fortune, and died in the
+sixty-first year of his age. He was a leading Democratic politician of
+his day in Fayette county, and in 1827 rode on horseback from Searights
+to Harrisburg, to aid in nominating General Jackson for the presidency.
+He was a trusted friend of the late Gen. Simon Cameron, when that
+unrivalled politician was a leader of the Democratic party in
+Pennsylvania. At the date of his death he was the nominee of his party
+for the important State office of Canal Commissioner, and would have
+been elected, had not death interposed and called him from the active
+duties of this life to the realities of another. William Hopkins,
+another old commissioner of the road, was nominated to the vacancy thus
+made, and elected by a large majority. The death of William Searight
+occurred at his home, near Searights, on August 12, 1852. He was a man
+of generous impulses and charitable disposition, ever ready to lend his
+counsel, his sympathies and his purse, to ameliorate the sufferings of
+his fellow men. Although death plucked him from the very threshold of
+earthly honors, it caused him no regret. His work was well done, and he
+was ready to go. The kingdom he was about to enter presented higher
+honors and purer enjoyments. In looking forward and upward he saw--
+
+[Illustration: Wm Searight]
+
+ "No midnight shade, no clouded sun,
+ But sacred, high, eternal noon."
+
+A more emphatic eulogy than pen could write, or tongue express, was
+furnished by the immense concourse that attended his funeral. The
+patriarchs and the youth of the country came to testify their
+appreciation of his worth. A few days after his death, a large meeting
+of citizens, irrespective of party, convened in the court house at
+Uniontown, to give expression to their sorrow for his death. Hon.
+Nathaniel Ewing presided. Hon. Daniel Sturgeon, then a United States
+Senator, and Zalmon Ludington, esq., were the vice presidents, and Hon.
+R. P. Flenniken and John B. Krepps, esq., secretaries. On motion of Hon.
+James Veech, a committee was appointed to formulate the feeling of the
+meeting, which reported through its distinguished chairman (Mr. Veech)
+the following preamble and resolutions, which were unanimously adopted:
+
+ "When a valuable citizen dies, it is meet that the community of
+ which he was a member, mourn his loss. A public expression of their
+ sorrow at such an event, is due as some solace to the grief of the
+ bereaved family and friends, and as an incentive to others to earn
+ for their death the same distinction. In the death of William
+ Searight, this community has lost such a citizen. Such an event has
+ called this public meeting, into which enter no schemes of
+ political promotion, no partisan purposes of empty eulogy. Against
+ all this, death has shut the door. While yet the tear hangs on the
+ cheek of his stricken family, and the tidings of death are unread
+ by many of his friends, we, his fellow citizens, neighbors,
+ friends, of all parties, have assembled to speak to those who knew
+ and loved him best, and to those who knew him not, the words of
+ sorrow and truth, in sincerity and soberness. Therefore, as the
+ sense of this meeting:
+
+ _Resolved_, That in the death of William Searight, Fayette county
+ and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have lost one of their best
+ and most useful citizens. The people at large may not realize their
+ loss, but the community in which he lived, over whose comforts and
+ interests were diffused the influence of his liberality and
+ enterprise, feel it, while his friends of all classes, parties and
+ professions, to whom he clung, and who clung to him, mourn it.
+
+ _Resolved_, While we would withhold our steps from the sanctuary of
+ domestic grief, we may be allowed to express to the afflicted widow
+ and children of the deceased, our unfeigned sorrow and sympathy in
+ their great bereavement, and to tender them our assurance that
+ while to their hearts the memory of the husband and father will
+ ever be cherished, in ours will be kept the liveliest recollections
+ of his virtues as a citizen and a friend.
+
+ _Resolved_, That among the elements that must enter into every
+ truthful estimate of the character of William Searight, are a warm
+ amenity of manner, combined with great dignity of deportment, which
+ were not the less attractive by their plainness and lack of
+ ostentation, elevated feelings more pure than passionless, high
+ purposes with untiring energy in their accomplishment, an ennobling
+ sense of honor and individual independence, which kept him always
+ true to himself and to his engagements, unfaltering fidelity to his
+ friends, a liberality which heeded no restraint, but means and
+ merit; great promptness and fearlessness in the discharge of what
+ he believed to be a duty, private or public, guided by a rigid
+ integrity which stood all tests and scouted all temptations;
+ honesty and truthfulness in word and deed, which no seductions
+ could weaken, nor assaults overthrow, in all respects the architect
+ of his own fortune and fame. These with the minor virtues in full
+ proportion, are some of the outlines of character which stamped the
+ man whose death we mourn, as one much above the ordinary level of
+ his race.
+
+ _Resolved_, That while we have here nothing to do or say as to the
+ loss sustained by the political party to which he belonged, and
+ whose candidate he was for an office of great honor and
+ responsibility, we may be allowed to say that had he lived and been
+ successful, with a heart so rigidly set as was his, with feelings
+ so high and integrity so firm, and withal an amount of practical
+ intelligence so ample as he possessed, his election could have been
+ regretted by no citizen who knew him and who placed the public
+ interests beyond selfish ends and party success. As a politician we
+ knew him to hold to his principles and party predilections with a
+ tenacious grasp, yet he was ever courteous and liberal in his
+ intercourse with political opponents.
+
+ _Resolved_, That in the life and character of William Searight we
+ see a most instructive and encouraging example. Starting the
+ struggle of life with an humble business, poor and unbefriended,
+ with an honest aim and a true heart, with high purposes and
+ unflagging industry, he gained friends and means, which never
+ forsook him. He thus won for himself and family ample wealth and
+ attained a position among his fellow men which those who have had
+ the best advantages our country affords might well envy. That
+ wealth and that position he used with a just liberality and
+ influence for the benefit of all around and dependent upon him.
+ Though dead he yet speaketh to every man in humble business: "Go
+ thou and do likewise, and such shall be thy reward in life and in
+ death."
+
+[Illustration: COL. WILLIAM HOPKINS.]
+
+WILLIAM HOPKINS was one of the best known of the old commissioners. He
+was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, September 17th, 1804. He
+was of Scotch origin, on the paternal line, and his mother was a native
+of Ireland, so that he was a genuine Scotch-Irishman. He figured
+conspicuously in the public affairs of Pennsylvania, for many years. At
+the age of twenty-three he was a justice of the peace, holding a
+commission signed by Governor Shultze, one of the early German governors
+of the State. In 1831 he was a county auditor. In 1834 he was elected to
+the State Legislature, and re-elected four times, consecutively. He was
+speaker of the House in 1838, 1839 and 1840. In 1842 he was secretary of
+the land office of Pennsylvania. During his first term as speaker, the
+public commotion occurred, known as the "Buckshot War." Troops
+surrounded the State house, and a bloody collision seemed inevitable.
+Speaker Hopkins, on this trying occasion, behaved with distinguished
+wisdom and firmness, and he is credited with having averted the horrors
+of civil war. In 1852 Colonel Hopkins, as he was invariably called, was
+nominated and elected Canal Commissioner, as before stated. In this
+important office he fully sustained his high reputation for honesty and
+ability. In 1861 he was again elected to the State House of
+Representatives, and re-elected in 1862. In 1863 he was elected a State
+Senator. The experience of his previous legislative career gave him a
+great advantage over others less favored in this regard, and he became,
+by common consent, "the Nestor of the Senate." In 1872 he was elected a
+member of the convention to revise the Constitution of the State. He was
+chairman of the committee to devise and report amendments to the bill of
+rights, and author of the preamble that reads thus: "We, the people of
+the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, recognizing the sovereignty of God,
+and humbly invoking His guidance in our future destiny, ordain and
+establish this Constitution for its government." If there was nothing
+else to his credit, this alone would immortalize him. While a member of
+the Constitutional Convention, he made a visit to his home, and on the
+cars contracted a cold which developed into pneumonia, and terminated
+fatally, March 5th, 1873. His funeral was one of the largest and most
+impressive ever witnessed in Washington.
+
+Rev. Doctor Brownson, the distinguished Presbyterian minister of
+Washington, grouped together the leading traits of Colonel Hopkins in
+the following terms: "Such a man could not but be extensively known and
+respected. In fact, his mental force, discriminating judgment, urbanity,
+integrity and kindness, joined with his facility as a writer and
+speaker, rising above the defects of early education, were a continual
+pledge of public favor and success. He was very firm in adhering to his
+own views, but considerate also of the feelings and opinions of others.
+In co-operation or in opposition, he commanded respect. In private life,
+also, it was impossible not to realize the power of his politeness, and
+his delicate regard to the sensibilities of all about him. His fondness
+for children seemed to increase with his years, showing itself both in a
+desire for their enjoyment and their good. His fine business capacity
+was often taxed for the benefit of others, especially widows and
+orphans. In the hallowed circle of home, he was the central object of
+uncommon reverence and affection, answering to his own peculiar love and
+tenderness within his domestic relations. But, better than all, is the
+witness he leaves behind him, in his confession and life as a disciple
+of Christ, and in the repose of his heart upon the divine promise, when
+called down into the valley and shadow of death."
+
+The late Judge Black, one of the most eminent men of his day, spoke of
+Colonel Hopkins as follows: "I do not underestimate the very high
+qualities of my associates in this body (the Constitutional
+Convention). I do not think, indeed, that any man here appreciates
+their various abilities and virtues more than I do; but I devoutly
+believe that there is no man in this Convention, that we could not have
+spared better than him who has gone. I do not propose to give an
+analysis of his character, and it is not necessary to repeat his
+history. I may say, for I know it, that he was in all respects the best
+balanced man that it was ever my good fortune to know. His moral and
+personal courage were often tested; he was one of the most fearless men
+that ever lived, yet all his measures were in favor of peace, and every
+one who knew him testifies to the gentleness and kindness of his
+manner."
+
+Mr. Biddle, a Philadelphia member of the Convention, said: "I well
+recollect being struck with the commanding figure and strongly marked
+countenance, in the lineaments of which were unmistakably written
+simplicity and directness of purpose, integrity and unswerving firmness.
+He has rounded off a life of great moral beauty, of great usefulness, of
+great dignity, by a fitting end, and he has fallen before decay had
+begun to impair his faculties."
+
+One who stood very close and was very much endeared to Col. Hopkins,
+brings out his great character in form of metaphor, as follows: "There
+was a remark in your paper which has given me a great deal of mental
+exercise of a reminiscent character. The wheel of time turns only one
+way. At the moment I read this, and in the multitude of times it has
+since come into my head, my mind ran at once to a point in the
+revolution of that wheel which you never could guess. That point is
+marked with the year 1838. I had been turned up far enough out of the
+darkness of the wheel pit to get a view of the top of the wheel, where
+stood a group of men who have over since been 'the heroes I loved and
+the chiefs I admired.' In the center of this group, and the most heroic
+figure in it, stood WILLIAM HOPKINS. The various members of that group
+have gone down beyond sight, as the wheel of time kept turning steadily,
+but their virtues and their public services remain fresh in my memory.
+They rendered Pennsylvania as great a service as Washington and his
+compeers rendered the United Colonies."
+
+Such a man was William Hopkins, once a commissioner of the National
+Road, familiar with every mile along its line, and in daily touch with
+its moving masses. The writer of these pages had the honor of knowing
+Col. Hopkins personally and well, and can and does testify that no word
+of eulogy herein quoted concerning him is in the least overwrought.
+
+An act of the Pennsylvania Legislature, approved April 4, 1831, named
+William F. Coplan and David Downer of Fayette county, Stephen Hill and
+Benjamin Anderson of Washington county, and Thomas Endsley of Somerset
+county, to be Commissioners of the Cumberland Road for the term of three
+years from the passage of the said act, after which time the right to
+appoint said Commissioners shall vest in the Governor of the
+Commonwealth. In 1834 the Governor appointed these same gentlemen
+Commissioners for another term of three years. In 1835 an act was passed
+reducing the number of Commissioners to two, and under this act Stephen
+Hill of Washington, and Hugh Keys of Fayette county, were appointed on
+May 7th, 1835, until their appointments were suspended or annulled. On
+the 9th of January, 1836, the Governor appointed George Craft of Fayette
+county, and Benjamin Leonard of Washington county, to act in conjunction
+with the other Commissioners appointed in pursuance of an act approved
+April 1, 1835. Thompson McKean of Fayette county, and Robert Quail of
+Washington county, were appointed Commissioners by the Governor on the
+29th day of January, 1839, until appointments were suspended or
+annulled. Robert Quail's appointment was suspended by an act of 1840. An
+act was approved March 28th, 1840, reducing the number of Commissioners
+to one, and William Hopkins was appointed for a term of three years, but
+served less than two years, and resigned, to take the position of
+secretary of the land office. William Searight was appointed by the
+Governor on May 3, 1842, for a term of three years, and on April 19th,
+1845, William Hopkins was again appointed. On the 8th of April, 1848, an
+act was approved authorizing the courts of Somerset, Fayette and
+Washington counties to appoint trustees for the road, with power to
+appoint Commissioners. Under this act William Searight was again
+appointed, with jurisdiction limited to the line through the counties of
+Fayette and Somerset, and served until 1851, when David Hartzell of
+Somerset county was appointed. William Roddy of the same county
+succeeded Hartzell in 1852. James Marlow succeeded Roddy and died in
+commission. Robert McDowell was appointed in 1856. Under the act of
+1848, above quoted, Joseph Lawson was appointed for Washington county,
+and was succeeded in 1852 by Mark Mitchell, in 1856 by Alexander
+Frasher, and in 1858 by John Long. In 1861 the act of 1848 was repealed
+in so far as it related to the appointment of Commissioners in Fayette
+and Somerset counties, but continued in force as to Washington county,
+stripped of the intervention of trustees. In 1862 John Long was
+appointed Commissioner for Washington county by the court. In 1864 G. W.
+Botkins was appointed; in 1866 John Long was restored, and continued
+until 1871, when T. W. Beatty was appointed. In 1872 Joseph Doak was
+appointed, and was succeeded in 1876 by George W. Smith. In 1877 the
+appointing power, as to Washington county, was restored to the Governor,
+and Samuel Kelley was appointed. In 1881 Peter Hickman was appointed, in
+1887 James W. Hendrix, in 1890 Marshall Cox, in 1891 John McDowell,
+present incumbent. In 1862 the Governor of the State appointed Redding
+Bunting Commissioner for the counties of Fayette and Somerset. Bunting
+was the famous old stage driver and stage agent, mentioned in previous
+chapters. He served as Commissioner until 1864, when the Governor
+appointed Sebastian Rush, the old tavern keeper before referred to. Rush
+served until 1870, when Solomon Crumrine was appointed, and served
+until 1872, when Rush was restored. In 1875 Charles H. Rush, a son of
+Sebastian, was appointed, and served until 1881, when William Endsley
+was appointed. In 1883 George W. Daniels was appointed. In 1887 David
+Johnson was appointed, and in 1891 Ewing Searight was appointed.
+
+As before stated the road east of Cumberland was owned by associations
+or companies. Allen Darsie was one of the leading stockholders and
+general superintendent as early as 1835. He lived at Poplar Springs,
+twenty-six miles west of Baltimore, was the proprietor of a large and
+fertile tract of land, and a slave owner. Allen Darsie, jr., succeeded
+his father in the superintendency of the road, and remained in charge
+down to the date of the civil war. Thomas Bevins of Hancock succeeded
+the younger Darsie, and Denton Oliver succeeded Bevins. West of
+Cumberland, in the State of Maryland, the superintendents were: Thomas
+Thistle, the old tavern keeper near Grantsville; Jonathan Huddleson,
+another old tavern keeper, Nathan Dudley, John Swan, Benjamin B.
+Edwards, George Cady, Henry Atkinson, Robert Welsh, Edward Doneho and
+William Hall. William Otterson was an old Commissioner in charge of the
+road through Virginia, and among his successors appear the familiar
+names of Moses Thornburg, Lewis Lunsford and Abram Bedillion.
+
+In the year 1888 the court of quarter sessions of Somerset county,
+Pennsylvania, condemned that portion of the road lying within the
+borders of said county, decreed it exempt from tolls, confiscated all
+its belongings, and turned it over to the tender care of the township
+supervisors, under authority supposed to be conferred by an act of
+assembly, approved June 2d, 1887.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIII.
+
+ _Old Contractors--Cost of the Road--Contractors for Repairs--Stone
+ Breakers--An Old Stone Breaker Convicted of Murder--The Measuring
+ Ring--The Napping Hammer--An Old Stone Breaking Machine--A Second
+ Table Showing Heights of Mountains and Hills._
+
+
+The first contracts in sections for the first ten miles of the road west
+of Cumberland were signed April 16th and May 8th, 1811, and were
+finished in the fall of 1812. The next letting was in August, 1812, of
+eleven miles, extending west as far as Tomlinson's, and these contracts
+were completed early in 1815. The work was let from Tomlinson's to
+Smithfield, eighteen miles, in August, 1813, and completed in 1817. The
+delay was caused by the scarcity of laborers during the war, war prices,
+and apprehension of failure of some of the contractors. The next letting
+was in September, 1815, embracing the work six miles and a half westward
+from Smithfield. This was awarded in sections to John Hagen, Doherty,
+McLaughlin and Bradley, and Charles McKinney. In May, 1817, the work was
+let to Uniontown, the successful bidders being Hagan and McCann,
+Mordecai and James Cochran, Thompson McKean, and Thomas and Matthew
+Blakely. From Uniontown to Brownsville, portions were let in September,
+1815, to Kinkead, Beck & Evans, who soon thereafter undertook the
+residue to Brubaker's. This firm sub-let many sections of the work. Bond
+and Gormley had the contract from Brubaker's to Brownsville, and their
+work was completed in 1818. George Dawson had the contract for the heavy
+stone walls in Brownsville. John Miller and John Kennedy, of Uniontown,
+took contracts in the mountains. Miller was a son-in-law of Jacob
+Beeson, one of the founders of Uniontown. Mr. Kennedy was the
+grandfather of Hon. John K. Ewing, of Uniontown, and after his
+experience as a contractor, one of the justices of the Supreme Court of
+Pennsylvania. The whole line of the road, for purposes of construction,
+was laid off in two divisions, called Eastern and Western. David Shriver
+was superintendent of the eastern, and Josias Thompson of the western
+division. The dividing line between the two divisions was Brubaker's,
+near, and east of, Brownsville. Mr. Shriver lived in Cumberland, and was
+the father-in-law of Hon. Andrew Stewart. Mr. Thompson was a Virginian.
+
+In March, 1817, the greater part of the work, from a point two miles
+east of Washington to the Virginia line, was let to Thomas McGiffin,
+Thomas H. Baird and Parker Campbell, the latter one of the foremost
+lawyers of his time. In 1819 the same gentlemen contracted to do the
+work, from the point first above named, to a point two miles west of
+Brownsville. The work east of Hillsboro was turned over by the
+contractors above named, to William and John H. Ewing, who were returned
+to the authorities at Washington City as original contractors, and they
+finished the work for $6,000 per mile. The remainder of the work west of
+Hillsboro was sub-let by McGiffin, Baird and Campbell, to a number of
+small contractors.
+
+The road was completed from Cumberland to Uniontown at a cost, including
+all expenses of survey and location, salaries, bridges, and some
+repairs, of $9,745 per mile. The average cost of the entire road to
+Wheeling was nearly $13,000 per mile, showing the Eastern division much
+less costly than the Western. This was charged to some prodigality of
+work and too liberal contracts, for which Superintendent Thompson was
+"investigated" and superseded.
+
+Daniel Steenrod, the old tavern keeper, and Col. Moses Shepherd, were
+extensive contractors for construction on the Virginia line of the road.
+Colonel Shepherd built Feay's bridge, near Wheeling, one of the best on
+the road, and also the bridge over Wheeling creek, near Mrs. Gooding's
+old tavern. Capt. Valentine Giesey, a veteran of Brownsville, who is
+well remembered by the old citizens of that place, was a large
+contractor on the work of taking up the original road bed.
+
+The foregoing were all contractors for work on the original construction
+of the road. Among the contractors for repairs, after the road was
+completed, and during its prosperous era, the following familiar names
+are recalled: Abram Beagle, James McIntyre, William Hastings, John
+Whitmire, James Dennison, Henry Masterson, Hiram Freeman, Thomas Egan,
+John Robinson, William Paull, Charles Stillwagon, Jacob Stillwagon,
+Jacob Dougherty, Anthony Rentz, Henry Murray, James Thompson, Thomas D.
+Miller, Daniel Canon, Hugh Graham, Morris Whalen, Perry White, Anthony
+Yarnell, John Whollery, Thomas McKean, John Risler, Isaac Nixon, Robert
+Brown, Thomas McGrath, Matthew McNeil, Edward Kerven, John Bennington,
+William H. Graham, Henry Showalter, John Dickey, John McDonough, Morris
+Purcell, Daniel Ward, Daniel Valentine, Jacob Probasco, John Bradfield,
+William Reynolds, Thomas Brownfield, Peter Lenhart, James Marlow, John
+W. McCollough, Nicholas McCartney, John W. McDowell, Robert McDowell,
+James Snyder, Lewis M. Snyder, Samuel Shipley, Elias Gilmore, Samuel
+Rush, German D. Hair, Jackson Brown, William C. Stevens, John Gadd,
+Robert S. Henderson, Joseph Lawson, Michael Thomas, Charles Rush,
+Nicholas Bradley, John Bradley, Daniel Bradley, Henry Show, William
+Griffin, Robert McDowell, esq., Adam Speers, James Speers, William
+Hatfield, Thomas Brown, Thomas Moxley, Hiram Miller, Matthias Fry, John
+Wallace, John Hardin, William Hardin, John G. Burnworth, Henry Sampey,
+Henry Clay Rush, Alex. McDowell, Benjamin Miller, Jefferson Miller,
+John Worthington, E. W. Clement, John Snider, Hiram Mitchell, John
+Mitchell, William Endsley, Daniel Augustine, John M. Oliver, and many
+others, some of whose names appear in the accounts of the old
+Commissioners in the Appendix to this volume.
+
+[Illustration: DANIEL STEENROD.]
+
+The average result of a stone breaker in a single day was eight perches,
+and the price paid was twelve and a half cents per perch. Tradition has
+it that Robert S. McDowell, still living in Dunbar, Fayette county,
+Pennsylvania, was the speediest stone breaker on the road. He is the
+eldest son of "Gate Bob," elsewhere mentioned. In the year 1848, when
+Colonel Hopkins was commissioner, Robert S. McDowell broke in one day
+sixteen perches and two feet. This was done on a bet, and in a contest
+with Capt. Elias Gilmore. A string of stones one rod in length made two
+perches, under the gauge in use, and McDowell's string measured eight
+rods and two feet. Captain Gilmore, who was one of the most vigorous men
+on the road, gave up the contest about the middle of the afternoon, and
+yielded the palm to McDowell. Peter Kelley, who lived at Searights, was
+one of the best and speediest stone breakers on the road. His
+occupation, for many years, was breaking stone on the pike, and near the
+close of his life he became an actor in a tragedy, which lost him his
+liberty, as well as his former good name. He was not a vicious man, but
+on occasions would indulge in immoderate drinking. On one of these
+occasions he killed William Thornton, father of the Hon. J. Russell
+Thornton, member of the Legislature of Pennsylvania for the county of
+Fayette. Kelley and Thornton were returning from Brownsville after
+nightfall, and quarrelled. When near the old Brubaker tavern, Thornton
+was struck by Kelley, and killed. Kelley was tried, convicted and sent
+to the penitentiary for a long term, and never thereafter returned to
+the familiar scenes of the old pike. Alexander Campbell, of Somerfield,
+was one of the fastest stone breakers on the road, and Robert Hogsett,
+the well known millionaire of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, broke stones
+on the road when a boy.
+
+In the early work on the road, there was a requirement that stone for
+the lower stratum or bed should be broken so that the pieces would pass
+through a seven-inch ring, and for the upper stratum, which was six
+inches in thickness, would pass through a three-inch ring. Old
+contractors provided rings of these dimensions, respectively, and
+enforced a strict compliance with the regulation mentioned. Subsequently
+the rings fell into disuse, and were ultimately abandoned, but the
+stones spread over the surface of the road were always broken to small
+pieces. The hammer of the stone breaker was a very simple contrivance.
+It was of iron, round as an apple, weighing probably one pound, with a
+hole through the center for the insertion of a handle. The handle was of
+hickory wood, slender in the middle, with a thick end for the grasp of
+the hand. There was also a larger hammer, with a longer and stouter
+handle, used for breaking stones thrown into holes. In using this hammer
+the breaker stood on his feet, and in using the smaller one, sat on the
+stone pile, moving his position as his work advanced. In hot weather
+the stone breaker, in many instances, used a ready-made, movable bower,
+to ward off the scorching rays of the sun. About the year 1848, some
+person whose name is forgotten, supposing himself endowed with inventive
+genius, constructed a machine for breaking stones. It was operated by
+horse power, proved a failure, and was laid aside to rot on the summit
+of Laurel Hill.
+
+The following table showing the heights of mountains and hills on the
+road is copied from the sketch by Mr. Veech, accompanying the map of
+Fayette county, Pennsylvania, before mentioned. It will be seen that it
+differs somewhat from the measurement of the Commissioners who ran the
+original lines of the road, but it will be remembered that their
+measurement was from a point in the Potomac, near Cumberland, whereas
+the table below gives heights above the Atlantic and above Cumberland.
+This table also gives heights of hills, west of Uniontown, and the
+heights furnished by the old Commissioners, are of mountains and hills
+between Cumberland and Uniontown. As to the accuracy of, and authority
+for, this table, the author of this volume is not informed, but it seems
+to have been sanctioned and adopted by Mr. Veech, whose reputation as a
+local historian is unimpeachable.
+
+
+ THE TABLE.
+
+ Above the Atlantic. Above Cumberland.
+
+ Cumberland 537 feet
+ Wills Mountain 1003 " 466
+ Frostburg 1792 " 1255
+ Big Savage Mountain 2580 " 2043
+ Little Savage Mountain 2480 " 1943
+ Red Hill 2437 " 1900
+ Meadow Mountain 2550 " 2013
+ Little Crossings 2000 " 1463
+ Negro Mountain 2825 " 2288
+ Keyser's Ridge 2843 " 2306
+ Winding Ridge 2534 " 1997
+ Smithfield 1405 " 868
+ Barren Hill 2450 " 1813
+ Woodcock Hill 2500 " 1963
+ Laurel Hill 2412 " 1875
+ Monroe 1065 " 528
+ Uniontown Court House 952 " 415
+ Colley's Hill 1274 " 737
+ Brownsville 833 " 296
+ Krepps' Knob 1040 " 503
+ Beallsville 1010 " 473
+ Hillsboro 1770 " 1233
+ Egg Nog Hill 1532 " 995
+ Washington 1406 " 869
+ West Alexander 1792 " 1255
+ Wheeling Hill 850 " 313
+ Wheeling City 748 " 211
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIV.
+
+ _Two Noted Old Tavern Keepers--Thomas Endsley and William Sheets--The
+ Latter the Driver of the First Mail Coach Out from Cumberland--A
+ Wedding Party Surprised, and a Marriage Prevented--William M. F.
+ Magraw, a well known Man of the Road._
+
+
+A prominent and widely known man of the road was Thomas Endsley. He was
+born near Richmond, Virginia, in 1787. He was the only child of parents
+who came from Switzerland and settled in Virginia at an early day. His
+mother was of an old family of Gilberts, who were Quakers, well known
+and much respected in their day and generation. His wife was Mary
+McCloy, to whom he was wedded in the year 1805. The offspring of his
+marriage consisted of eight children, five sons and three daughters. The
+sons were John, Thomas, James, William and Andrew Jackson. The three
+last named are still living, James and William in Somerfield, and Andrew
+Jackson in Somerset. The daughters were Mary Ann, who became the wife of
+Redding Bunting, the noted old pike boy heretofore mentioned; Nancy, who
+was the wife of J. Squire Hagan, another old pike boy; and Julia, who in
+1842, married P. R. Sides, and is now living with a son in New Mexico.
+Her husband died in Missouri in 1877, or thereabout. Mrs. Hagan died in
+Uniontown in 1849, and Mrs. Bunting died in the same place about five
+years ago. Nancy Endsley and Squire Hagan were married in 1834. Mrs.
+Endsley, wife of Thomas, the subject of this sketch, died in the stone
+tavern at Somerfield in 1832, and her husband died in the same house in
+1852.
+
+Thomas Endsley was an old wagoner before the Cumberland Road was
+constructed. In the years 1812, 1813, 1814, 1815, 1816, 1817 and 1818,
+he hauled goods and merchandise from Baltimore to Nashville, Tennesse,
+to points in Ohio and to Brownsville, Pennsylvania. He owned two
+six-horse teams, one of which he drove himself, and placed the other in
+charge of a hired driver. In spring and fall he was frequently compelled
+to remain with his teams at the old Smith tavern, near the present town
+of Somerfield, for several days awaiting the subsidence of freshets in
+the Youghiogheny river, so that he could ford that stream, there being
+no other means of crossing at that time. The road was frequently in such
+condition by reason of mud, deep cuts, and other obstacles, that a whole
+day's progress did not cover a greater distance than three or four
+miles. To pass through Jockey Hollow it was often found necessary to
+attach twelve horses to one wagon.
+
+In the year 1819 Thomas Endsley moved from Virginia to Frostburg,
+Maryland, and at that place commenced a career of tavern keeping, which
+terminated only with his death. He leased the old Frost House in
+Frostburg, and conducted it for three years. In 1822 he went to the
+Tomlinson House, a prominent old landmark twenty-one miles west of
+Cumberland. He occupied the Tomlinson House for two years, and while
+there enjoyed the patronage of one of the stage lines. In December,
+1823, he bought the old Smith farm at Somerfield, lying on both sides of
+the road. On this farm was erected the large stone tavern house, at the
+eastern end of the big stone bridge which spans the Youghiogheny river.
+For this property he paid $8,000 cash down, which shows the enhanced
+value of the property at that day by reason of contiguity with the
+National Road. He took possession of this property on the first day of
+April, 1824. The land was poor, the fences were dilapidated, and the
+general outlook unpromising. But Mr. Endsley was a man of great energy
+and good judgment, and going to work with determination, soon changed
+the aspect of things, and had flowers blooming and grass and grain
+growing, where before the eye had rested on nothing but briars, weeds
+and rocks, with here and there a scant appearance of sickly oats and
+buckwheat. It is said that he was the first man who ever attempted to
+raise corn and wheat in the neighborhood of Somerfield, and old settlers
+jeered him for trying it. It was not long under his judicious management
+until his farm yielded thirty-five and forty bushels of wheat to the
+acre, and crops of corn equal to the best of the adjoining county of
+Fayette. This farm continues in the possession of the descendants of
+Thomas Endsley. The northern portion of it is owned and occupied by the
+heirs of Thomas Endsley, jr., deceased, except the stone tavern, which
+with the southern portion of the farm, is owned and occupied by William
+Endsley.
+
+While assiduous in bringing up his farm, Thomas Endsley was by no means
+neglectful of his tavern. He was always attentive and courteous to
+guests. His table was spread with well cooked victuals, and his rooms
+were clean and neat, so that altogether his house was one of the most
+inviting on the whole line of the road. The Stockton line of coaches
+stopped at the Endsley House during its entire career on the road, with
+the exception of a short time, when it was withdrawn by reason of a
+temporary estrangement between Mr. Stockton and Mr. Endsley. Stockton
+was of a fiery temper, while Mr. Endsley was not slack in resenting a
+supposed wrong, and at one time in going over their accounts they
+disagreed, and each gave utterance to expressions not taught in the
+Sunday schools. As a result, Mr. Stockton removed his stock from
+Endsley's tavern and passed and repassed the house thereafter for awhile
+without casting a glance of recognition toward it. It was not long,
+however, until Mr. Endsley was surprised to see Mr. Stockton enter his
+house, extend his hand, and hear him say: "This foolishness has lasted
+long enough; my coaches must stop at this house." "When?" calmly
+queried Mr. Endsley. "To-morrow," said Mr. Stockton, and the old terms
+of friendship between them were restored, and continued as long as Mr.
+Stockton lived. As stated in another chapter Mr. Endsley was a slave
+owner, and frequently aided in the capture and return of fugitives. Two
+of his slaves, Peter and Phebe Butler, after acquiring their freedom,
+settled in Brownsville, and died there. They were well known by the old
+people of Brownsville, and held in high esteem. Thomas Endsley, in
+1834-'35, in connection with James Black, of Somerfield, had contracts
+for taking up the original road bed on Winding Ridge and Negro Mountain,
+and proved himself as efficient in this line as in every other line of
+business he engaged in. He was imposing in personal appearance, well up
+to six feet in height, and weighed about two hundred pounds. He was an
+habitual reader, and a subscriber for the _Cumberland Civilian_ and the
+_National Intelligencer_, from the time he lived in Frostburg to the
+date of his death. He carefully and studiously read the long and prosy
+editorials of the _Intelligencer_, as well as the speeches it published
+of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, Thomas H. Benton, and
+other noted statesmen of that era.
+
+In 1828 a military company called "The Addison Blues," was organized,
+drawing its members from Somerfield, Petersburg and the surrounding
+neighborhood, of which Thomas Endsley was elected captain, and ever
+thereafter known and hailed as Captain Endsley. At all the old battalion
+parades in Somerset, Bedford and Uniontown the "Addison Blues" bore off
+the palm for soldierly bearing, and especially for the stalwart size of
+its rank and file, all of whom were hardy mountaineers, and known and
+honored as "frosty sons of thunder."
+
+WILLIAM SHEETS was a prominent character of the road, more widely known
+as a tavern keeper, than in any other relation. He was a remarkable man
+in many respects, and in none more than relates to his extreme
+longevity. He was born February 2d, 1798, near Martinsburg, Berkeley
+county, Virginia, and died May 4th, 1892, in Jefferson county, Iowa. He
+was a wagoner before the Cumberland Road was made, and hauled goods from
+Baltimore to points west, over the old Braddock road. He also had some
+experience as a stage driver. His first venture as a tavern keeper was
+at or near the Little Crossings, where he remained but a short time, and
+did not do a paying business. Leaving the Little Crossings, he went to
+Negro Mountain and took a house there. His first experience at Negro
+Mountain was attended by only limited success, and he abandoned tavern
+keeping and moved to a small house on Jennings' run, about two miles
+west of Uniontown, and near the old Moxley tavern, then kept by William
+Cox. In that vicinity he engaged in various pursuits, mostly of a
+precarious nature, with a downward tendency, accelerated by too much
+indulgence in drinking. This was between the years 1835 and 1840, and
+probably a little earlier. He seemed to realize that his fortune was on
+the wane, and resolved to retrieve himself. He accordingly, by some
+means not ascertainable, secured a new lease on the Negro Mountain house
+which he had left, and returned to it. Beginning life anew, as it were,
+he quit drinking and devoted himself energetically to business. It was
+not long until he established a good reputation and did a large and
+profitable business. His house was a favorite stopping place for hog
+drovers, and in the latter part of his career on Negro Mountain, the
+number of barrels of corn he bought and sold would count up to hundreds
+of thousands. The weary and hungry hog drover (pig pelter the pike boys
+termed him), as he trudged along the road in snow and slush, urging
+forward the lagging, grunting porkers, apparently reluctant to move on
+to the sure slaughter awaiting them, would cry out at intervals, and in
+despairing tones: "Suboy, suboy, forty cents a day and no dinner; how
+far is it to Sheets'?" For many years William Sheets fed the hungry
+hogs, and their no less hungry owners and drivers, and while his profits
+were small, his business was so large that his accumulations in a few
+years aggregated a sum which made him a comfortable fortune. William G.
+Beck, the old stage driver living in Fairfield, Iowa, before referred
+to, avers that William Sheets drove the first mail coach out from
+Cumberland that ever passed over the National Road west of that place.
+This was in the year 1818, and on Kinkead's line of coaches. Kinkead was
+an uncle of William G. Beck, and a member of the old bridge building
+firm of Kinkead, Beck & Evans, and an owner of the first stage line on
+the road, as before stated. The wife of William Sheets was Sarah
+Wiggins, a sister of Isaac Wiggins, late of South Union township,
+Fayette county, Pennsylvania, deceased, and an aunt of James H. Wiggins,
+a prosperous and well known farmer of that township. She was an
+attractive girl, and had many suitors. One of her lovers was a man by
+the name of Bradley, an employe of Kinkead, before mentioned. She gave
+her hand to Bradley, and consented to become his wife, and went so far
+as to appear upon the floor with Bradley to have the knot tied by the
+Rev. William Brownfield. The relatives and friends of Miss Sarah were
+stoutly opposed to her alliance with Bradley, and a moment before the
+old and renowned Baptist parson began the ceremony of marriage, Col.
+Cuthbert Wiggins, an uncle of the would-be-bride, and father of Harrison
+Wiggins, the old fox hunter of the mountains, appeared on the scene and
+carried Miss Sarah from the floor, thus abruptly terminating the pending
+nuptials, to the great astonishment of those in attendance, and causing
+much comment and town gossip. This unusual incident happened in a house
+on Morgantown street, in Uniontown, about the year 1821. No subsequent
+effort was made by the parties most interested, to consummate the
+forbidden marriage, and the fair Sarah, in a short time thereafter,
+forgetting her affection for Bradley, became the wife of William Sheets.
+The after career of Bradley is unknown. He seems to have passed from the
+memory of men without making a sign. In the year 1855 William Sheets
+took final leave of Negro Mountain and the scenes of the National Road,
+and moved to Jefferson county, Iowa, where he made his last
+settlement, and died at the date above given. At his death he was the
+possessor of a large estate, chiefly in lands, which descends to his two
+surviving sons, Isaac and Joseph, and to the heirs of deceased sons and
+a deceased daughter. He had six sons and one daughter. Bazil Sheets, one
+of his sons, was an old wagoner, well remembered by the old citizens
+along the line of the road.
+
+[Illustration: W. M. F. MAGRAW]
+
+One of the smartest, best known and most picturesque men of the road
+forty years ago was WILLIAM M. F. MAGRAW. He was probably little known
+west of Brownsville, as his business was for the most part on the line
+east of that point. He was a native of Maryland, and belonged to an old
+and influential family of that State. His brother, Harry, practiced law
+for several years in Pittsburg, and served a term as State Treasurer of
+Pennsylvania from 1856 to 1859. The Magraws were intimate friends of
+James Buchanan, and Harry was a leader in the movements that led up to
+the nomination and election of that old time statesman to the
+Presidency. W. M. F. Magraw became identified with the National Road as
+many others did, through a matrimonial alliance. His wife was a daughter
+of Jacob Sides, who owned the Tomlinson tavern. His first business
+engagement in the vicinity of Uniontown was with F. H. Oliphant, the old
+iron master of Fairchance. Soon after engaging with Mr. Oliphant that
+gentleman put on a line of teams and wagons hereinbefore mentioned, to
+haul freights between Brownsville and Cumberland, and Magraw was placed
+in charge of the line as its general road agent. This put him in
+communication with the people along the road, and established him in the
+ranks of the pike boys. He was a large, fine looking man, always well
+dressed, attracting attention wherever he appeared, and making friends
+by reason of his agreeable manners. He was not fleshy, but broad
+shouldered, tall and erect, of ruddy complexion, light hair, and
+habitually wore gold rimmed spectacles on account of some defect of
+vision. He was generous almost to a fault, and lavish in his personal
+expenditures. He spent much of his time in Uniontown, making his
+headquarters with his friend Joshua Marsh, of the National House. His
+habits of living were different from the majority of the old pike boys,
+especially in the matter of eating, and he enjoyed a good supper at
+midnight, better than any other hour. He brought in game of all kinds
+from the mountain and had it served in savory style at the National
+House. He kept a carriage, and often had it ordered out as early as
+three and four o'clock in the afternoon, to go to the mountain, but
+lingered about the town, chatting with friends, until nightfall. He
+seemed to delight in driving over the mountain in the night. Leaving
+Uniontown about the dusk of the evening, he would reach the Tomlinson
+tavern about daybreak the next morning. He called up the old tavern
+keepers along the road, all of whom knew him, chatted a while with them,
+took a mint julip, or something stiffer, and pushed on, and this was his
+habit as long as he remained on the road. He was a southern sympathizer
+during the war, and participated as a Confederate partisan, in some of
+the irregular skirmishes in Missouri, in the incipient stages of the
+long struggle. Notwithstanding his southern sentiments, he was well
+liked by his northern acquaintances, and had many warm friends among
+them. There was no bitterness in his heart. He was clever and courteous
+to all. He had no stauncher friend than Redding Bunting, the good old
+stage driver, who was a pronounced Union man. Sometime near the close of
+the war, Magraw appeared in Harrisburg. Upon being questioned as to the
+object of his mission, he said he had come to see the Governor on behalf
+of the appointment of his old friend, Red Bunting, to the office of
+Commissioner of the Cumberland Road. He knew the Governor (Curtin)
+personally. In fact, he knew nearly all the public men of his time. He
+called on the Governor, and was cordially received. "What brought you
+here," queried the Governor. "I came," said Magraw, "to solicit the
+appointment of Redding Butting as Commissioner of the Cumberland Road."
+"How does it come," further queried the Governor, "that all you
+copperheads are for Bunting?" "Oh!" said Magraw, "Bunting is a good man,
+the right man for the place, and a good Republican." "Well," said the
+Governor, "I guess I'll appoint him," and he did. Mr. Bunting was not
+aware that Magraw intended to go to Harrisburg in his behalf, which
+shows the disposition of the man. During the administration of President
+Pierce, Magraw had a contract for carrying the mails from the Missouri
+boundary to western points beyond the plains. He suffered much loss by
+reason of Indian invasions, and preferred a claim to Congress for a
+large sum of money to reimburse him. While his bill was undergoing
+consideration by the committee, he appeared before it and emptied upon
+the floor a number of bags of mules ears, as evidence of his losses. His
+bill was passed. Magraw died suddenly, in Baltimore, a number of years
+ago, much lamented. His wife is also dead. He had a daughter, Miss
+Sallie, well remembered by the older citizens of Uniontown, who is
+living in Kansas City, a widow, in affluent circumstances.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLV.
+
+ _Dumb Ike--Reminiscences of Uniontown--Isaac Johnson--Squire Hagan--A
+ Musician Astride of a Hog--Anecdote of Judges Black and
+ Williams--Morgan Miller, an Old Tavern Keeper--Philip Krishbaum, an
+ Old Stone Cutter--Crazy Billy--Highway Robbery--Slaves Struggling
+ for Liberty--William Willey, an old Friend of the
+ Slaves--Unsuccessful Attempts at Suicide by an old Postmaster and
+ an old Drover--Tom Marshall, of Kentucky, appears on the Road and
+ amuses the boys._
+
+
+The National Road had its variety, as all the ways of life have, and
+this variety added spice to it, and gave it much if not all of its
+flavor. There were high types, and low types, and queer types of life on
+the road. Every section of the road had its noted character. There was
+Marion Smith (Logan), who made his headquarters, for the most part, at
+Searights, but a familiar figure all along the line between Uniontown
+and Brownsville. He stood ever ready to fetch the gear pole and insert
+it between the spokes of the hind wheels of the big wagon, the moment it
+was driven upon the yard at the old tavern in the evening, to rest for
+the night. He was likewise prompt in carrying the hay and grain to feed
+the big six horses that stood with their heads to the long, strong
+trough supported by the wagon tongue, and when this little job was done,
+his compensation was replete, and his topmost ambition realized in the
+big drink he took with the driver at the bar. And Logan was further
+noted as an imitator of the rooster, and gave many a long, loud crow
+over Democratic victories in the olden time. Bill Hickman will be
+readily recalled by the reader who is familiar with the history and
+traditions of the road, as an eccentric character. He gravitated between
+Chalk Hill and Jockey Hollow, and Billy Brubaker afforded amusement for
+the men of the road near Brownsville. It would scarcely be doing justice
+to the nomenclature of the old road, without writing this name
+"Bluebaker." There were many others of this class, but time and space
+will not permit a reference to them, and besides, this sketch is devoted
+especially to "Dumb Ike." His name was Isaac Griffin, or Toner, and he
+belonged to the queer type in the above enumeration. He was not in fact
+dumb, but everybody called him "Dumb Ike." He was opaque and bright by
+turns. Dr. Hugh Campbell once asked him why they called him dumb, and he
+said "he didn't know, unless because they were dumb themselves."
+
+Isaac was born and reared in Springhill township, Fayette county,
+Pennsylvania. The sound of the glories of the old pike reached his ears
+at his rural home, and he resolved to cast his lot upon it. It was
+previous to the year 1840 that he made his appearance in Uniontown, and
+for the first time beheld the National Road. When he shook the dust of
+Springhill from his feet, it was with a high resolve to never engage in
+hard labor, a resolution he never thereafter broke. His ambition was to
+become a stage driver and it was irrepressible. He reached his goal. He
+obtained employment as a driver on one of the stage lines and approved
+himself a good one. Not given to absolute steadiness of habit, his
+employment was not continuous, but he was held in reserve, as it were,
+to take the place of regular drivers in cases of accident or emergency.
+He could handle the reins and crack the whip equal to the best of
+drivers, and took good care of his team. He not only drove stage but was
+a driver on the express line, and perched on the high front seat of an
+express wagon, drawing the reins over four stout horses, was the
+personification of a proud and happy man. A little incident in the old
+National House on Morgantown street, when that popular old hostelry was
+kept by the kind-hearted and gentle Joshua Marsh, goes to illustrate the
+eccentric ways of Isaac. It was in the bar room. Samuel McDonald, a
+prominent citizen of the town, had occasion to call there, and among
+those in the room at the time was "Dumb Ike," with whom McDonald was
+well acquainted, as was every other citizen. McDonald invited Isaac to
+take a drink, a proposition quite agreeable to him, and which he
+promptly accepted. Standing at the bar with glass in hand, well filled,
+Isaac felt it a duty to compliment his entertainer, and said: "McDonald,
+I respect you," and hesitating, continued, "and probably I am the only
+man in town that does." Isaac intended to be complimentary, and McDonald
+knowing this, joined in the loud laughter of the bystanders over Isaac's
+bull.
+
+During the prevalence of Asiatic cholera in Uniontown in 1850, some one
+was speaking to Isaac in reference to the fatality of the epidemic, and
+was much astounded to hear Isaac say it was not cholera. "What then is
+it?" queried the other party. "It is death," retorted Isaac. When Isaac
+wished to express indignation against a person he thought was putting on
+airs, he called him "The Great Nates," and of conceited persons he said
+they were "great in their own _estimashing_." The writer has in his
+possession a boot jack made and given to him by "Dumb Ike" in 1852. It
+is a clumsy specimen of mechanism, but prized on account of the maker
+and donor. Isaac's patriotism was accelerated by a drink, and often
+under its influence he exclaimed with emphasis of voice and violent
+gesticulation of his right arm, "I am going to the District of Columbia
+to see the Goddess of Liberty." When the war against the South assumed
+the shape of open and active hostilities, "Dumb Ike" volunteered as a
+soldier, and proudly marched to the front under the flag of the stars
+and stripes. He was assigned to duty in the transportation service, for
+which his experience eminently fitted him, and he died in the faithful
+discharge of duty, and was buried where he died, near the capitol of
+the Republic beneath the shadow of the Goddess of Liberty, at whose
+shrine he was a devoted worshipper. At his death a small sum of money
+was on deposit to his credit in the old bank of Fayette county, which
+was absorbed by claims for nursing and other services in his last
+illness. He left neither widow or heirs to survive him. His
+administrator was Nathaniel Brownfield, his old friend of the Swan
+tavern in Uniontown, where he made his headquarters for many years, and
+where he was living when he enlisted as a soldier. There were worse men
+and better men than "Dumb Ike," but no one who knew him will begrudge a
+good, kind word for his memory.
+
+Isaac Johnson, a former well known and respected citizen, who died at
+his residence near Uniontown a number of years since, had occasion to
+visit the East in the year 1833, and on his return home walked the
+entire distance from Baltimore over the National Road. His mission
+carried him as far east as New Castle, Delaware, and from that point to
+Frenchtown he rode on the first passenger cars propelled by steam in the
+United States. He was a native of Greene county, Pennsylvania, and the
+father of David D. Johnson, of Fayette Springs, who was Commissioner of
+the road during the administration of Governor Beaver.
+
+Squire Hagan, who died in Uniontown a few years ago, much lamented,
+father of Miss Maggie, the popular clerk in the Uniontown postoffice,
+was a "Green Mountain Boy," born in Vermont, near Montpelier, the
+capital of that State. The fame of the old National Road was carried on
+the wings of the wind to the snow-capped hills of his native land, and
+he yearned for a share of its glories. His first appearance on the road
+was at Somerfield, where, in the year 1834, he owned and conducted a
+general store. The leading trait in the character of Squire Hagan was
+amiability, and the trend of his mind was toward philosophy. He was
+widely known along the line of the road, and highly respected.
+
+William Hunsucker was a hog drover from Greene county, Pennsylvania, and
+the boys called him "Suboy Bill." Upon being asked who owned the hogs he
+was driving, and where they came from, he replied in words that jingled
+thus:
+
+ "Mr. Lindsey is the owner,
+ They call me Suboy Bill,
+ The hogs came out from Greene county,
+ Near the village of Blacksville."
+
+It is said that Joe Williams, a wit, musician, comedian, lawyer, and in
+his riper years Chief Justice of the Territorial Court of Iowa, once
+straddled a big black hog in a drove, and rode it through the main
+street of Uniontown, playing a clarionet. Judge Williams was born in
+Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and was a brother of Mrs. William Murphy,
+who lives near Uniontown. Hon. Jeremiah S. Black, of national fame, and
+Joe Williams were cronies in their boyhood days. Williams visited New
+York after he became Chief Justice, and it happened that Judge Black
+was in that city at the same time. A morning paper stated that Judge
+Black was a guest at the Astor House, and this falling under the eye of
+Williams, he proceeded hastily to the hotel to see his old friend. He
+walked into his room, to discover that he was out, and seeing writing
+material on the table, indited the following lines, which he left in the
+room for Judge Black's perusal, on his return:
+
+ "The salutations of the Chief Justice of Iowa, to the Chief Justice
+ of Pennsylvania:
+
+ "Oh, Jerry, dear Jerry, I have found you at last!
+ How memory, burdened with scenes of the past,
+ Restores me to Somerset's mountains of snow,
+ When you were but Jerry, and I was but Joe."
+
+Morgan Miller kept a tavern on Morgantown street, Uniontown, as early as
+1830, and probably before that time. His house was a dingy frame
+structure, painted red, which time and storm made a dead red. The
+location was on the hill near the old Baptist church, in that day called
+"Prospect Hill." At this old tavern many persons of the neighborhood
+were accustomed to spend their evenings in drinking and gossipping.
+Among its patrons were Philip Krishbaum, a stone cutter, and Abram
+Brown, a farmer. Krishbaum had some aptitude in making rhymes, a talent
+he found useful in his business of chiseling tomb-stones. After spending
+an hour or two, one evening, in alternate drinking and gossipping with
+his friend Brown, he rose from his chair and remarked that he must take
+a drink and go, as he had to finish some lettering on a tomb-stone.
+"Stay awhile," said Brown, "and write an epitaph for my tomb-stone, and
+I will treat." "Agreed," said Krishbaum, who, taking up a pen, wrote
+this:
+
+ "Here lies the body of Abram Brown,
+ Who lived three miles from Uniontown.
+ The more he got, the more he craved,
+ Great God! can such a soul be saved!"
+
+Brown paid for the drinks. Seeing that Krishbaum had made a success of
+the Brown epitaph, Miller, the landlord, requested him to write one for
+his tomb-stone, which he did, as follows:
+
+ "Here lies the body of Morgan Miller,
+ Who has drunk the whisky of many a 'stiller.
+ He once lived up on Prospect Hill,
+ And sold his whisky by the gill."
+
+[Illustration: CRAZY BILLY.]
+
+The well known character brought to mind by the name of "Crazy Billy,"
+was at no time in his strange life engaged in any pursuit connected with
+the National Road, but his long stay at Uniontown, covering a period of
+fifty years and more, entitles him to a place in this history. He was
+well known to many of the stage drivers, wagoners and tavern keepers of
+the road, and to every man, woman and child in Uniontown. His name
+was William Stanford, and he was horn in England. It was evident that he
+had been well bred, and had received some education. He was often heard
+quoting from the liturgy of the Church of England. He was brought to
+Uniontown about the year 1829, and closely confined in the county jail.
+His first appearance in Fayette county was in Springhill township,
+whither he wandered without any apparent object, and no one knew whence
+he came. On a certain day of the year above mentioned, he was discovered
+alone in the house of one Crow, in the said township of Springhill. The
+Crow family had all been absent during the day, and upon their return in
+the evening were surprised to find an occupant within, and the doors and
+windows securely fastened. After reconnoitering the premises the family
+discovered that it was the manifest intention of the strange intruder to
+"hold the fort." In this state of the case Mr. Crow proceeded to a
+neighboring justice of the peace, made complaint, and obtained a
+warrant, which was placed in the hands of the township constable, who
+with the aid of the local _posse comitatus_ hastily summoned, entered
+the beleagured dwelling, arrested the intruder, took him to Uniontown,
+and lodged him in the county jail, in and around which he remained from
+that time until the date of his death, which occurred on the 26th day of
+January, 1883. Soon after his incarceration one John Updergraff was
+committed to the jail for disorderly conduct on the streets, and after
+the keys had been turned, "Billy" fell upon the new prisoner, and killed
+him outright. He was indicted and tried for murder, but acquitted on the
+plea of insanity, and remanded to jail. Henceforth, and to the time
+hereafter mentioned, he was heavily ironed and chained fast to the jail
+floor. William Snyder was elected sheriff in 1847, and a few months
+after his induction to the office, his wife, who was a good and
+discerning woman, observed some redeeming qualities in the nature of the
+chained lunatic, and concluded that it would be wise and safe, as well
+as humane, to remove his fetters. Accordingly with the aid of her son
+James, who was a sort of general deputy about the jail and office, she
+released "Billy" from the chains which had so long bound and chafed him,
+and permitted him to walk about his dingy cell, untramelled. Gradually
+he gained the confidence of the sheriff's family and after a season was
+permitted to enter the official mansion, and move about at pleasure. He
+showed an inclination to care for the sheriff's horses, and was
+permitted to feed and clean them, exhibiting much skill in this line.
+About this time, James Snyder having occasion to visit Monroe, told
+"Billy" that he might go with him if he chose. Pleased with the
+opportunity, "Billy" placed saddles and bridles on two horses, mounted
+one himself, and Snyder the other, and off they sped to Monroe. It was
+an agreeable trip to "Billy"; the first time in many years, that he had
+enjoyed the privilege of seeing the country and snuffing the pure air of
+liberty. After this, he rode out frequently with the deputy to various
+parts of the county; but his mind was never fully restored. He was
+incoherent, and given to unintelligible mutterings. As time wore on, the
+people of the town became familiar with "Crazy Billy," and as before
+stated everybody knew him. He carried letters, and performed errands for
+the county officers, for many years, and up to the date of his last
+illness, and his fidelity was proverbial. Nothing could divert him from
+the faithful execution of any little mission he undertook. In addition
+to his constant mutterings before alluded to, he was a habitual
+scribbler. He entered any of the offices in the court house at pleasure,
+and invariably sat down and began to scribble. He wrote a fairly good
+hand, but there was no intelligence in his writing, or rather no
+connected thought. One of his favorite lines was this: "I am a bold boy
+in his prime." He would write this as often as a dozen times a day.
+Another of his favorite screeds was this:
+
+ "He drew his sword and pistol,
+ And made them for to rattle,
+ And the lady held the horse,
+ While the soldier fought the battle."
+
+The garb in which "Billy" from day to day appeared, was of the shabby
+order, and he paid little heed as a rule to personal cleanliness. His
+ablutions were periodical, but when he did indulge in them, they were
+thorough. He had a habit of rubbing his head with both hands, and would
+sit engaged in this exercise as long as an hour at a time, with great
+energy. He never would submit to an interview. He talked much, but
+always on the run. If approached by anyone with a purpose of conversing
+with him, he invariably walked off muttering in loud tones as he moved
+away. He wore a full beard, which in his latter years was quite gray. He
+had a small foot and hand, and many marks of intellectuality. After his
+death his body lay in state in the court house at Uniontown, and was
+viewed by thousands. He was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, near
+Uniontown, with the rites of the Episcopal Church, under direction of
+the late lamented Rev. R. S. Smith. A section of one of the stone
+columns of the old Uniontown court house is made to serve as a monument
+over his grave. Maj. Jesse B. Gardner of Uniontown, who attended "Billy"
+in his last illness, gives the following pathetic narration of his
+closing hours. Until the last ebb, he continued to utter the sonorous
+and unintelligible mutterings so familiar to those who knew him, but in
+the final throe, he turned his eyes upon his attendant and exclaimed:
+"Oh, Gardner, if I could only see my mother!" This was not a lucid
+interval, in the ordinary meaning of that phrase, but an expiring
+thought, a final flash of affection, a wonderful testimonial to the
+sweetest of all names, and a most forcible and striking illustration of
+the ineffaceable impression made by a mother's care and love, and all
+the more, since at no time before, during his long sojourn at Uniontown,
+was he ever known to have mentioned his mother, or his father. A poor,
+unfortunate lunatic, separated for more than a half century from the
+parental roof, a stranger in a strange land, tossed by the billows of a
+hard fate, and lying down to die, light flashes upon his long
+distempered mind, and his last and only thought is "MOTHER."
+
+The year 1823 developed one of the most extraordinary examples of grand
+larceny that ever occurred on the road, and excited the people all along
+the line from Baltimore to the farthest point west. During the early
+spring of the year mentioned a merchant whose name was Abraham Boring,
+doing business in an Ohio town, took passage in a coach of one of the
+regular stage lines for Baltimore to purchase a stock of fresh goods. At
+Tomlinson's tavern, west of Cumberland, John Keagy and David Crider,
+merchants, of Salisbury, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, took seats in
+the same coach that was conveying Boring, destined also for Baltimore,
+on a like mission. It required considerable time to reach Baltimore, and
+passengers in a stage coach became acquainted, one with another. The
+three merchants not only became personally acquainted with each other,
+during their long stage ride, but formed strong friendly relations.
+Reaching Baltimore they stopped together at the same hotel and talked
+over their business, the quality and quantity of goods required by each,
+forming the leading topic of their conversation. They went out among the
+wholesale stores of the city and bought the goods they desired, the
+stock purchased by Mr. Boring being much larger, finer and more varied
+than the stock bought by the Somerset county merchants. Upon completing
+his purchases, Mr. Boring's first thought was to have his goods safely
+shipped upon the best terms obtainable. Messrs. Keagy and Crider kindly
+tendered their services to aid him in engaging a trusty wagoner to haul
+his goods to Ohio, and introduced one Edward Tissue as the right man for
+that purpose. Tissue was engaged, but one wagon bed would not hold all
+the goods, and Tissue brought in and introduced another wagoner by the
+name of Edward Mitchell, who was engaged to haul the remnant that could
+not be handled by Tissue. Mr. Boring having arranged for the
+transportation of his goods, said good-bye to his friends Keagy and
+Crider, and left for his home in Ohio. His goods, not arriving when due,
+he supposed some accident had caused a delay, and that they would be
+forthcoming as soon as practicable. But days and weeks passed and Mr.
+Boring began to feel uneasy about the long delay, and wrote the
+consignors in Baltimore for an explanation. They replied that the goods
+had been carefully loaded in the wagons of Tissue and Mitchell,
+according to the agreement, and they knew nothing of their destiny
+beyond that. Boring then took to the road to find his goods. He went
+first to Baltimore and learned that Tissue and Mitchell had left the
+city with the goods in their wagons, and proceeded westward. He traced
+them as far as Hagerstown, and at that point lost his clue. He proceeded
+to Cumberland without tidings of his lost goods. From Cumberland he went
+on, making inquiry at every tavern and toll gate, until he reached
+Somerfield, but heard nothing of Tissue or his companion, Mitchell. He
+put up for the night at a tavern in Somerfield, and while at supper
+discovered an important clue. The waiting maid at the table wore a
+tortoise shell comb, resembling very much those in a package he had
+bought in Baltimore. In polite and delicate terms he inquired of the
+girl where she obtained so handsome a comb. She replied, "In a store at
+Salisbury." In an instant Mr. Boring recalled his fellow merchants and
+recent fellow travelers, Messrs. Keagy and Crider, of Salisbury, but
+concluding that they had purchased the same quality of combs in
+Baltimore, went to bed, with a purpose of continuing his researches
+along the National Road. During the night he changed his purpose, and in
+the morning returned to Tomlinson's tavern, and thence directly to
+Salisbury. Reaching Salisbury he entered a store, and to his amazement
+saw upon the counters and shelves various articles, which he recognized
+as belonging to his stock. Investigation disclosed a remarkable example
+of criminal conduct. Keagy, Crider, Tissue and Mitchell entered into a
+conspiracy to steal Boring's goods. The acquaintance formed in the stage
+coach constituted the initial point of the scheme, and Keagy and Crider
+found ready confederates in Tissue and Mitchell. There was of course to
+be a division of the spoils, but in what proportion never was made
+public. The wagoners to avoid identification changed the color of their
+wagon beds, and upon reaching Hagerstown diverged from the National Road
+and took the country by-ways. The goods were placed at first in a large
+barn in the vicinity of Salisbury, and thence carried in small lots to
+the store of Keagy & Co. A portion of the goods consisting of fine china
+ware, thought to be too expensive for the Salisbury trade, was broken up
+and buried under ground. There was a third owner of the Salisbury store
+by the name of Markley, who did not accompany his partners on their tour
+to raise stock. Boring, after thoroughly satisfying himself that he had
+found his goods, proceeded to Somerset and swore out a warrant against
+the parties accused. The warrant was placed for execution in the hands
+of ---- Philson, the sheriff of Somerset county. Keagy was first
+arrested and promptly gave bail for trial, but goaded by the weight of
+his offense, soon thereafter committed suicide. Tissue fled the
+jurisdiction and was never apprehended. Crider also fled and located in
+some of the wilds of that early day in the State of Ohio, where he
+married and raised a family, and, it is said, has living descendants to
+this day. Markley essayed to flee, but made a failure of it. Giving out
+the impression that he had followed in the wake of Tissue and Crider, he
+concealed himself in the woods not far from Salisbury, and was supplied
+with food by a devoted wife. One Sloan, however, happened to fall upon
+his hiding place and he was arrested. Markley owed Sloan a sum of money
+and proposed to settle if Sloan would release him from custody. To this
+Sloan assented. Markley had no ready money, but owned property and
+proffered his note, which Sloan agreed to accept. But no means were at
+hand to prepare a note. After canvassing the situation for a while a pen
+was made from a stick of wood, ink obtained from stump water, and Sloan
+producing a scrap of paper, a note was prepared and duly signed by
+Markley for the sum he owed Sloan, and the money subsequently paid by
+Markley's wife. Sloan promised Markley that he would not make known his
+hiding place, but it leaked out and he was arrested by the sheriff. He
+requested permission of the sheriff to go to his house to change his
+clothes, which was granted him, and taking advantage of the sheriff's
+indulgence, fled to parts unknown. His wife rejoined him in after years
+at some point in the West.
+
+Mention was hereinbefore made of the tragical death of Atwell Holland,
+killed by a fugitive slave on the 4th of July, 1845, at an old tavern in
+the mountain. In this connection it is proper to state, that fugitive
+slaves were frequently captured on the National Road, and returned to
+their masters. Capt. Thomas Endsley, an old tavern keeper, mentioned
+elsewhere, once had a terrible conflict with three powerful fugitive
+slaves, at his barn near Somerfield. Without assistance and against most
+determined resistance, he succeeded in capturing two of them and
+returning them to their owner or master. The third escaped and became a
+free man. Capt. Endsley was himself a slave owner as before stated. He
+owned and used slaves when he lived at Frostburg, and also during his
+incumbency as landlord at the old Tomlinson tavern, and brought eight
+with him when he located at Somerfield in 1824. Like all other old slave
+owners, he thought there was no wrong in owning slaves and considered it
+a conscientious duty to aid in capturing and returning fugitives. His
+sons, however, probably from witnessing the struggles of the slaves to
+gain their freedom against the efforts of their father, all grew up to
+be abolitionists, and abide in the anti-slavery faith to this day.
+
+One of the most untiring and devoted friends of escaping slaves, was
+William Willey of Somerfield. He was a shoemaker without means, yet it
+is said that he secreted, fed and otherwise aided more fugitive slaves
+than any other man on the National Road. He is known to have harbored as
+many as eight and ten in a single night, in his lowly tenement. He was a
+native of Baltimore, and reared a Democrat. Those of his friends who
+survive him regard him as a philanthropist, worthy of a granite
+monument. The wife of William E. Beall, the well known manager of the
+Uniontown steel mill, a most excellent lady, is a daughter of William
+Willey, the old friend of the escaping slaves.
+
+In the year 1829 the postoffice at Somerfield was in the brick house, on
+the south side of the street, known as the Irvin house. John Blocher was
+postmaster. The old line of coaches, carrying the mail, stopped at the
+Endsley House. It was customary for the driver after reaching the tavern
+to carry the way mail pouch on his shoulders to the postoffice. One
+evening Charley Kemp drove the mail coach in from the west, and upon
+going to the office with the mail, found the door locked, and was
+unable, after repeated efforts, to gain admittance. Going around to a
+window, he looked through the glass into the office, and was horrified
+by seeing Blocher, the postmaster, lying on the floor, weltering in
+blood, and forcing his way into the room discovered that his throat was
+cut. Dr. Frey was summoned, and applied agencies first to arrest the
+flow of blood, and then sewed up the gash, and to the surprise of all,
+the man recovered and lived for many years thereafter.
+
+In 1834 John Waters, a cattle drover of Ohio, fell sick at Frazer's
+tavern, in Somerfield, and languished for many weeks. His mind becoming
+affected by reason of his severe bodily suffering, he rose from his bed
+one evening when alone, opened his pocketbook and tore into small
+fragments a number of good bank notes of the aggregate value of $800. He
+then deliberately cut his throat. When discovered he was lying on his
+back on the floor, and small pieces of bank notes were seen floating in
+blood all around his body. Dr. Frey was summoned on this occasion also,
+and under his treatment the much dejected old drover was restored, and
+afterward took many droves of cattle over the road to Baltimore. The
+fragments of notes were gathered up, carefully cleaned, dried and fitted
+together with mucilage, so that the loss of money was inconsiderable.
+
+Some time during the year 1840 or '41 a rather tall and cadaverous
+looking individual, presenting the appearance of a man on a protracted
+spree, was observed coming down the hill into Somerfield from the east,
+walking and leading a beautiful bay horse, equipped with a handsome
+saddle and bridle. The quaint looking and quaint moving stranger halted
+to converse with a cluster of boys, who were sitting on the pavement in
+front of Endsley's tavern, near the stone bridge at the Big Crossings.
+He told the boys so many amusing stories, that they reckoned him to be
+the clown of a coming circus. That man was Tom Marshall, one of the
+brightest of Kentucky's many bright sons, a brilliant lawyer, orator and
+statesman, who carried off the palm in every intellectual combat he ever
+engaged in save one, and that was when he locked horns with Henry Clay.
+The horse led by Marshall was a favorite animal which he kept and used
+in Washington, while attending the sittings of Congress. He frequently
+passed over the road in the manner described, and often tarried several
+days and nights in Uniontown. Many of the surviving pike boys remember
+Marshall with distinctness.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVI.
+
+ _The Arrest, Trial, Conviction and Sentence of Dr. John F. Braddee,
+ the Notorious Mail Robber--George Plitt makes the Information--Bill
+ Corman turns on his Chief--Braddee gives Bail--His
+ Bondsmen--Strayer and Purnell--The Witnesses--The Indictment--The
+ Jury--The Verdict--The Defendant Dies in the Penitentiary._
+
+
+There is no doubt that Dr. John F. Braddee was the most notorious
+individual that ever lived in Uniontown. The exact date of his advent to
+that place seems to be unascertainable, but it was more than fifty years
+ago. The culmination of his remarkable career occurred in 1841. Of his
+early life but little is accurately known. It is certain that he came to
+Uniontown from Virginia. Tradition has it that he was born in Kentucky.
+The story goes that when quite a youth he engaged himself as a stable
+boy, in the service of a gentleman who dealt in horses in the town of
+Paris, State of Kentucky. His employer was accustomed to drive horses to
+the eastern market for sale, and on one of these occasions young Braddee
+was taken along as an assistant. The horses were driven over what was
+called the "North Western Pike of Virginia." At some point on this old
+road Braddee fell sick and was left behind. Alter his recovery he made
+his way to Uniontown, stopping for a while in, or about Morgantown.
+Notwithstanding his robust appearance, which will be remembered by his
+old acquaintances, it is said that when a boy he was delicate and
+inclined to consumption. This is the story, whether true or not is
+immaterial in view of his subsequent history. When he reached Uniontown,
+he was not known to be the owner of a single dollar, that he might call
+his own. Without education or professional training, he announced
+himself a physician, and commenced the practice of medicine. His success
+was remarkable. He had a commanding personal appearance, a good address,
+and by these means alone impressed himself upon the confidence of the
+common mind. He gathered around himself a large circle of friends and
+admirers, some of doubtful, but not a few of unquestioned reputation.
+His fame as a doctor extended far and wide, patients flocked to consult
+him from all points. Many came hundreds of miles. Fifty horses have been
+seen hitched around his office at one time.
+
+He possessed and cultivated a fondness for fast horses, probably the
+result of his early education in the stable at Paris, Kentucky. He
+always kept a number of race horses in training for the turf, and often
+matched them against others on the race course. In this line his success
+was varying, sometimes he won and as often lost, but losses did not
+diminish his love for the race course. The accumulations received from
+his large practice of medicine, and his winnings on the race course did
+not satisfy his greed for gain, and he conceived and carried into
+execution an extraordinary scheme for increasing his gains. It was
+nothing less than a carefully organized plan to rob the United States
+mail. His success as a physician had enabled him to acquire property,
+and he had not been living in Uniontown long until he possessed himself
+of one of the most handsome and valuable properties in the place, viz:
+the property known as the "Old National House," on Morgantown street. He
+bought this property from Hon. Thomas Irwin, who afterwards sat as one
+of his Judges in the famous trial to be hereafter mentioned. When
+Braddee bought this property, it contained only a single building, the
+three story brick on the southern side of the lot. He added the wing to
+the north, and here he established his headquarters, carrying on his
+business, professional and unprofessional, with a high hand. His office
+was convenient, in fact immediately adjoining Stockton's stage yard and
+coach factory. Into this stage yard, coaches were driven every day.
+Stockton had the contract for carrying the mails. The old pike was in
+full blast then, and as many as thirty coaches were driven along it both
+ways every day. Among the coaches carrying the great and lesser mails,
+one William Corman was a driver, and Braddee cultivated his acquaintance
+and secured his confidence. He assured him that money could be made
+easily by rifling the mail bags, and promised Corman that if he would
+hand him the bags, he would "go through them" and divide profits with
+him. Corman consented. It was of course soon discovered that the mails
+were tampered with, and United States detectives were set upon the
+tracks of the offenders. They were not long in ascertaining the guilty
+parties. Corman was arrested and told the whole story. Braddee had other
+accomplices, viz: P. Mills Strayer, and Dr. Wm. Purnell. Strayer was a
+saddler, who carried on a shop in Uniontown, and died only a few years
+ago. Purnell was a sort of body servant of Braddee, and for many years
+after Braddee's death peddled Braddee's medicine through Fayette and
+adjoining counties. Braddee was arrested on information made by Wm.
+Corman, and his arrest caused more excitement than any event that ever
+transpired in Uniontown.
+
+
+ THE INFORMATION.
+
+_Pennsylvania, Fayette County, ss_:
+
+George Plitt, agent of the P. O. Department, being duly sworn, says that
+the United States mail from Wheeling, Virginia, to New York, traveling
+on the National Road, has been stolen, to-wit: The mails made up at
+Wheeling on the 13th, 19th, 23d and 29th of November, 1840, and on the
+5th, 12th and 18th of December, 1840, and that he has reason to suspect
+and does suspect and believe that Wm. Corman, who on those days drove
+the mail stage containing said mail from Washington to Uniontown,
+Pennsylvania, is guilty, with others of stealing said mails.
+
+ GEO. PLITT, _Agt. P.O. Dept._
+
+Sworn and subscribed this 6th day of January, A. D. 1841, before me.
+
+ N. EWING,
+ _Prest. Judge 14th Judicial District, Pennsylvania_.
+
+Same day warrant issued, directed to the Sheriff of Washington county,
+and to all other Sheriffs and Constables within the Fourteenth Judicial
+District.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+George Plitt, agent of the P. O. Department, being duly sworn, says that
+the United States Mails from Wheeling, Virginia, to New York, traveling
+on the National Road, has been stolen, to-wit: The mails made up at
+Wheeling on the 13th, 19th, 23d and 29th of November, 1840, and on the
+5th, 12th, and 18th of December, 1840, and that he has reason to
+suspect, and does suspect and believe that John F. Braddee, William
+Purnell, and Peter Mills Strayer, with others, are guilty of stealing
+the mails.
+
+ GEO. PLITT, _Agt. P.O. Dept._
+
+Sworn and subscribed this 7th day of January, A. D. 1841, before
+
+ N. EWING,
+ _Prest. Judge 14th Judicial District, Pennsylvania_.
+
+Same day warrant issued to George Meason, Esq., Sheriff of Fayette
+county, and to all constables.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+_The United States of America vs. John F. Braddee, William Purnell, et
+al._
+
+William Corman, being duly sworn, says that more than one year ago John
+F. Braddee repeatedly urged him to let him, the said Braddee, have some
+of the mail bags from the mail coach, and that he would divide the money
+taken from them with said Corman. Said Braddee said he had frequently
+known such things done, and that lots of money had thus been made, and
+it had never been detected. While said Corman was driving the mail coach
+between Smithfield and Uniontown last winter, the said Braddee sent
+Peter Mills Strayer frequently in a sleigh after him to get a mail bag
+containing a mail--that at length he, said Strayer, took one from the
+coach, which was then on runners, while he, the said Corman, was
+watering at Snyder's, east of the Laurel Hill. That Braddee afterwards
+told him that there was nothing in it.
+
+That he knows of no other mail being taken until within about two months
+past, when he, the said Corman, was driving between Uniontown and
+Washington, and when at the instance and after repeated and urgent
+requests of said Braddee he commenced leaving a mail pouch or bag in the
+stage coach, when the coaches were changed at Uniontown, and continued
+to do so at intervals of (say) a week, ten days or two weeks, until
+within a week or ten days before Christmas. That the said mail bags were
+taken from the coach by said Braddee or some one under his direction.
+That Braddee after the taking of said mails would sometimes say there
+was nothing in them, and again that others had but little money in them.
+One he said had but fifteen dollars. The last but one gotten, as before
+stated, he said had a large amount of money in it, but he was going to
+keep it secretly--bury it until the fuss was over. That said Braddee
+said he had a secret place out of doors where he could hide the mail
+bags so that they could not be found. That said Braddee from time to
+time gave him three dollars or five dollars as he asked for it, and once
+ten dollars; and loaned him forty dollars when his (Corman's) wife was
+going away. That William Purnell several times after a mail bag had been
+taken, would take him, said Corman, aside and whisper to him that the
+bag had nothing in it. That on the day before yesterday he was several
+times at said Braddee's house and Braddee wished him to leave a mail bag
+in the coach for him when he, said Corman, should return from Washington
+last night. That said Braddee very often wished him to leave a mail bag
+when he did not. That he, Braddee, requested him to leave the large mail
+bag in the coach for him, but he never did do it.
+
+ WILLIAM CORMAN.
+
+Sworn and subscribed this 8th day of January, A. D. 1841, before me
+
+ N. EWING,
+ _Pres. Judge of the 14th Jud. Dist., Pa._
+
+
+Dr. Howard Kennedy also made a preliminary affidavit, which is given in
+a previous chapter.
+
+ WARRANT OF ARREST.
+
+ _The United States of America to George Meason, Esq., High Sheriff of
+ Fayette County, Pa., and to all Constables of said County_:
+
+WHEREAS, John F. Braddee, William Purnell and Peter Mills Strayer have
+been charged before me, the President Judge of the Fourteenth Judicial
+District in the said State, on the oath of George Plitt, an agent of the
+Post Office Department, with stealing the United States mails from
+Wheeling to New York, these are therefore to command you, and each of
+you, to take the said John F. Braddee, William Purnell and Peter Mills
+Strayer, and bring them before me, or some other Magistrate having
+jurisdiction, to be dealt with according to law.
+
+Witness the hand and seal of the said N. Ewing, President Judge as
+aforesaid, at Uniontown, the 7th day of January, A. D. 1841.
+
+ N. EWING, [SEAL.]
+ _Pres. Judge of the 14th Jud. Dist., Pa._
+
+ * * * * *
+
+_Pennsylvania, Fayette County, ss_:
+
+The examination of Dr. John F. Braddee, of the borough of Uniontown,
+Fayette county, Pa., taken before me, N. Ewing, President Judge of the
+Fourteenth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, the 8th day of January, A.
+D. 1841.
+
+The said John F. Braddee being brought before me by virtue of a warrant
+issued by me, on suspicion of stealing the United States Mails from
+Wheeling, Va., to New York, made up at Wheeling on the 13th, 19th, 23d
+and 29th days of November, 1840; and on the 5th, 12th and 18th days of
+December, 1840, says: I know nothing about the alleged stealing of the
+mails.
+
+ his
+ JOHN F. × BRADDEE,
+ mark.
+
+ Taken and subscribed before me,
+ N. EWING,
+ January 8, 1841. _Pres. Judge 14th Jud. Dist. of Pa._
+
+ * * * * *
+
+_Pennsylvania, Fayette County, ss_:
+
+The examination of Peter Mills Strayer, of the borough of Uniontown,
+Fayette county. Pa., taken before me, N. Ewing, President Judge of the
+Fourteenth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, on the 8th day of January,
+A. D. 1841.
+
+The said Peter Mills Strayer being brought before me by virtue of a
+warrant issued by me, on suspicion of stealing the United States Mails
+from Wheeling, Va., to New York, made up at Wheeling on the 13th, 19th,
+23d and 29th days of November, and on the 5th, 12th, and 18th days of
+December, 1840, says: I know nothing about the mail bags or the stealing
+of the mails.
+
+ P. M. STRAYER.
+
+ Taken and subscribed before me,
+ N. EWING,
+ _Pres. Judge 14th Dist. of Pa._
+ January 8, 1841.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+_The United Stales of America, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, ss_:
+
+The United States of America vs. John F. Braddee. January 8, 1841,
+ordered that John F. Braddee enter into security himself in fifty
+thousand dollars, and two sufficient sureties in $25,000 each. Prisoner
+remanded until Monday, the 11th instant, at 10 o'clock A. M., to afford
+time to procure bail.
+
+The same vs. Peter Mills Strayer, January 8th, 1841, ordered that Peter
+Mills Strayer enter into security himself in $15,000, and two sufficient
+sureties in $7,500 each. Prisoner remanded until Monday, the 11th
+instant, at 10 o'clock, to afford time to procure bail.
+
+The same vs. William Purnell. January 8th, 1841. Ordered that William
+Purnell enter into security himself in $10,000, and two sufficient
+sureties in $5,000 each. Prisoner remanded as above, etc.
+
+January 11, 1841. Monday, 10 o'clock, A.M. Prisoners ordered before the
+Judge. Prisoners say they are not provided with bail and ask further
+time, until say three o'clock P.M. Three o'clock, P.M., no bail being
+offered the defendants are committed to the custody of the Marshal of
+the Western District of Pennsylvania.
+
+ N. EWING,
+ _Pres. Judge, 14th Jud. Dist., Pa_.
+
+
+ MITTIMUS.
+
+_The United States of America, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, ss_:
+
+The United States of America to the Marshal of the Western District of
+Pennsylvania, Greeting: WHEREAS, John F. Braddee, of the borough of
+Uniontown, in the County aforesaid, hath been brought before the Hon.
+Nathaniel Ewing, President Judge of the Fourteenth Judicial District of
+Pennsylvania, by virtue of the warrant of the Hon. Nathaniel Ewing,
+President Judge as aforesaid, charged upon the solemn oath of George
+Plitt, agent of the General Post Office department, with stealing the
+United States mails made up at Wheeling, Virginia, for New York, on the
+13th, 19th, 23d and 29th days of November, 1840--and on the 5th, 12th
+and 18th days of December, 1840.
+
+These are therefore to command you the said Marshall to receive the said
+John P. Braddee, and keep him in safe custody until he be delivered by
+due course of law. Hereof fail not.
+
+Witness the Hon. Nathaniel Ewing, President Judge as aforesaid, at
+Uniontown, the eleventh day of January, Anno Domini 1841.
+
+ N. EWING,
+ _Pres. Judge of the 14th Jud. Dist., Pa_.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ _The United States of America vs. John F. Braddee, William Purnell,
+ Peter Mills Strayer and William Corman, charged on oath of several
+ robberies of the U. S. Mail._
+
+
+George Meason tent in $1,000; William Crawford tent in $1,000; William
+Freeman tent in $1,000; James McCune tent in $1,000.
+
+On this condition, that the said George Meason, William Crawford,
+William Freeman and James McCune shall be and appear at the next Circuit
+Court of the United States, to be held for the Western District of
+Pennsylvania on the third Monday of May next, and give testimony in ----
+of the said United States against the said John F. Braddee, William
+Purnell, Peter Mills Strayer and William Corman, and not depart the
+court without leave, otherwise the recognizance to be in full force and
+virtue.
+
+ GEO. MEASON, [SEAL.]
+ WM. CRAWFORD, [SEAL.]
+ JAS. McCUNE, [SEAL.]
+ WM. FREEMAN. [SEAL.]
+
+ Taken and acknowledged this 13th day of January, A. D. 1841. _Coram_,
+
+ T. IRWIN,
+ _Dist. Judge of the U. S., Western Dist. of Pa_.
+
+
+ U. S. COMMITMENT.
+
+_United States of America, Western District of Pennsylvania, ss_:
+
+The United States of America to the Marshal of the Western District of
+Pennsylvania and his deputies, to any constable of the County of
+Allegheny, and to the jailer of said County of Allegheny, Greeting:
+
+WHEREAS, John F. Braddee, William Purnell and Peter Mills Strayer are
+now brought before me, the Hon. Thomas Irwin, Esquire, Judge of the
+District Court of the United States for the Western District of
+Pennsylvania, charged on the oath of George Plitt, William Corman and
+others, with stealing the United States mail made up at Wheeling on the
+13th, 19th, 23d and 29th days of November, A.D. 1840, and on the 5th,
+12th and 18th days of December, 1840. These are therefore to command
+you, the said marshal, constable or jailer, or either of you, to convey
+the said John F. Braddee, William Purnell and Peter Mills Strayer to the
+said jailer of Allegheny county, and you, the said jailer, are hereby
+commanded to receive and keep safely the said John F. Braddee, William
+Purnell and Peter Mills Strayer in your jail until they thence be
+discharged by due course of law. For so doing this shall be your
+warrant.
+
+In testimony whereof the said Hon. Thomas Irwin, Esq., has hereunto set
+his hand and seal, this 13th day of January, A. D. 1841.
+
+ (Signed)
+ TH. IRWIN, [SEAL.]
+ _District Judge, U. S._
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ PITTSBURG, PENNA., 25th of Jan'y, 1841.
+
+Howard Kennedy, special agent of the Post Office Department, in addition
+to the testimony given by him before His Honor Judge Ewing, in the case
+of the United States against Braddee, Purnell, Strayer and Corman,
+relative to the probable loss of money, drafts, &c., in the stolen
+mails, further deposes, that since that time he has received reports
+from various persons and places in the West of letters mailed at dates
+which would have by due course of mail been in the bags stolen,
+containing bank notes, scrip, certificates, drafts and checks, amounting
+to one hundred and two thousand dollars and upwards; that every mail
+brings him additional reports of losses, and that he believes the
+amounts reported will not constitute more than one-half of what has been
+lost in the mails between the 16th of Nov., and the 18th of Dec., 1840,
+on the route from Wheeling to New York.
+
+ HOWARD KENNEDY,
+ _Special Agent P. O. Dep't._
+
+ Sworn and subscribed before me the 25th January, 1841.
+
+ T. IRWIN,
+ _District Judge_.
+
+
+ PETITIONS FOR HABEAS CORPUS.
+
+ _To the Hon. Thomas Irwin, Judge of the United States Court of the
+ Western District of Pennsylvania_:
+
+The petition of William Purnell respectfully represents that your
+petitioner is now confined in the jail of Allegheny county, in obedience
+to a warrant of commitment, a true copy of which is prefixed to this
+petition. Your petitioner humbly prays your Honor to award a _habeas
+corpus_, that he may be bailed by sufficient sureties, according to the
+first article and ninth section of the Constitution of the United
+States, January 29, 1819.
+
+ WILLIAM PURNELL.
+
+
+ _To the Hon. Thomas Irwin, Judge of the Court of the United States for
+ the Western District of Pennsylvania_:
+
+The petition of Doctor John F. Braddee respectfully represents that your
+petitioner is now confined in the jail of Allegheny county, in obedience
+to a warrant of commitment, a true copy of which is prefixed to this
+petition.
+
+Your petitioner humbly prays your Honor to award a _habeas corpus_, that
+he may be bailed by sufficient sureties, according to the first article
+and ninth section of the Constitution of the United States.
+
+The United States _vs_. John F. Braddee.
+
+ his
+ JOHN F. × BRADDEE.
+ mark.
+
+Petition for _habeas corpus_ granted, and issued January 28, 1841.
+
+The same _vs._ Wm. Purnell, _alias_ William Purnell, January 29, 1841.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+_United States vs. Braddee._
+
+Let a _habeas corpus_ issue in this case according to the prayer of the
+petitioner, returnable forthwith.
+
+ THOMAS IRWIN,
+ _District Judge_.
+
+ E. J. ROBERTS, Esq., _Clerk_.
+ January 26, 1841.
+
+_United States vs. Purnell._
+
+Let a _habeas corpus_ issue in this case according to the prayer of the
+petitioner, returnable forthwith.
+
+ THOMAS IRWIN,
+ _District Judge, Western District of Pennsylvania_.
+
+ E. J. ROBERTS, ESQ., _Cl'k D. Court_.
+
+
+ THE WRIT AND JAILER'S RETURN.
+
+_Western District of Pennsylvania, ss_:
+
+The President of the United States to the Marshal of said District, and
+the jailer of Allegheny county, greeting:
+
+We command you the body of John F. Braddee in your custody, under safe
+and secure conduct before the Hon. Thomas Irwin, Judge of our District
+Court, at his chambers in the city of Pittsburgh, together with the day
+and cause of his said caption and detention, forthwith then and there to
+be subject to whatsoever our said Judge shall consider in that behalf,
+and have you then there this writ.
+
+Witness the Hon. Thomas Irwin, Judge of the United States for said
+District, at Pittsburg, the twenty-eighth day of January, A. D. eighteen
+hundred and forty-one.
+
+ E. J. ROBERTS, _Clerk_.
+
+The body of the above named John F. Braddee I have brought before your
+Honor, together with day and cause of his being detained, in obedience
+to the writ.
+
+So answers Jas. McCune, jailer of Allegheny county.
+
+To the Hon. Thomas Irwin.
+
+
+ BOND AND BONDSMEN.
+
+ _The U. S. vs. John F. Braddee, Application to be admitted to bail,
+ Jan. 28, 1841._
+
+The following named persons being sworn, depose, That they are worth
+severally as follows: Hugh Graham, $20,000; Benjamin Brownfield,
+$18,000; Isaac Hague, $5,000; Henry Smith, $5,000; R. Laughlin, $4,000;
+Emanuel Brown, $3,500; B. Brown, $3,000; D. S. Diamond, $1,000; Thomas
+Moxley, $2,000; Michael Franks, $2,000; Abraham White, $800; Jacob
+Humbert, $200; Peter Humbert, $1,000; Andrew McClelland, $3,000.
+_Coram_,
+
+ T. IRWIN.
+
+These amounts were taken from the property lists in the Commissioners
+Office of Fayette county, Pa. Abraham Brown, $3,400; Benjamin Brown,
+$4,050; Emanuel Brown, $2,925; Benjamin Brownfield, $6,869; Michael
+Franks, $1,400; Henry Smith, $2,272; Andrew McClelland, $1,170; Peter
+Humbert, $1,200; Isaac Hague, $3,170; Isaac Brown, $3,552; *Hugh Graham,
+$3,868; Samuel Hatfield, $4,500; Thomas Moxley, $2,000; *David Chipps,
+$200. Names marked with a star, are already security for Hugh Keys,
+Canal Commissioner, with Wm. Searight, for $50,000, and also on the bond
+of Thompson McKean, late Road Commissioner, for a large amount.
+
+
+ POINTS RAISED BEFORE THE COMMITTING MAGISTRATE:
+
+Quere.--Can bail be given on any other species of property than real
+estate?
+
+Quere.--Are not these persons indemnified? If so, how? Would it be
+policy to recognize them as witnesses on the part of the United States?
+
+Quere.--The order is that two sureties in $25,000 each should be
+furnished--will any other members be taken?
+
+ * * * * *
+
+_The United States vs. John F. Braddee._
+
+In the Circuit and District Courts of the United States, for the Western
+District of Pennsylvania, charged with the larceny of the U. S. mail or
+mails and stealing therefrom. Hugh Graham, Benjamin Brownfield, Isaac
+Hague, Henry Smith, Robert Laughlin, Emanuel Brown, Daniel Diamond,
+Thomas Moxley, Michael Franks, Abraham White, Jacob Humbert, Peter
+Humbert, Andrew McClelland, Lewis Williams, James McLean, David Chipps,
+James Douglass, John Hague, Abraham Brown, Daniel Franks, John
+McClelland and William Hague acknowledge themselves to be held and
+firmly bound unto the United States in the sum of sixty thousand dollars
+each, lawful money of the United States, to be levied of your goods and
+chattels, lauds and tenements, upon condition that the said John F.
+Braddee be and appear at a session of the Circuit Court of the United
+States to be held at the city of Pittsburg the third Monday in May next,
+to answer the said charges, and such other matters as shall then and
+there be preferred against him, and that he shall not depart the court
+without leave. Taken and acknowledged. _Coram_.
+
+ T. IRWIN,
+ _District Judge._
+ January 28, 1841.
+
+
+ THE INDICTMENT.
+
+In the Circuit Court of the United States of America, holden in and for
+the Western District of Pennsylvania, at May sessions, in the year of
+our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-one. Western District of
+Pennsylvania, to-wit:
+
+The grand inquest of the United States of America, inquiring for the
+Western District of Pennsylvania, upon their oaths and affirmations
+respectively do present and say: That John F. Braddee, late of said
+Western District of Pennsylvania, a practitioner of medicine, did on the
+twenty-fifth day of January, in the year eighteen hundred and forty, at
+Uniontown, in the said Western District of Pennsylvania, procure,
+advise and assist Peter Mills Strayer to steal, take and carry away the
+mail of the United States of America, then in progress of transmission
+from the postoffice in Washington City, in the District of Columbia, to
+the postoffice at Wheeling, in the Western District of Virginia,
+contrary to the form of the act of Congress of the United States, in
+such case made and provided, and against the peace, government and
+dignity of the United States.
+
+ C. DARRAGH,
+ _U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania_.
+
+True bill--JAMES RIDDLE, Foreman.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+May 24th, 1841.--The Grand Jury came into court and presented a bill of
+indictment against Wm. Purnell for stealing a letter from the mail and
+other offenses. Same day John F. Braddee by his bail, Hugh Graham, is
+surrendered into Court and Hugh Graham discharged from his recognizance.
+Same day, on the motion of Mr. Austin, and affidavit of John M. Austin,
+filed, habeas corpus ad satisfaciendum, issued to the jailor and Sheriff
+of Fayette county for the body of William Collins. United States vs.
+John F. Braddee, No. 3 of May Term, 1841. Stealing from the United
+States mails. And now, to-wit: May 25th, 1841, a jury being called came,
+to-wit: George Fortune, William Plummer, Samuel Cooper, William Raymond,
+Edward A. Reynolds, Arnold Eichbaum, James Stewart, John Clemens, Joseph
+Alexander, Thomas F. Mitchell, Thomas S. Cunningham and Samuel A.
+Roberts, twelve good and lawful men, duly sworn, summoned and balloted
+for, and sworn and affirmed, do say on their oaths and affirmations that
+the defendant is guilty on the first, second and fourth counts in the
+indictment, and not guilty on the third count. Verdict given on the 4th
+day of June, 1841. The jury was polled at the instance of defendant's
+counsel.
+
+
+ EXCEPTIONS.
+
+The Court referred to the trial of Robinson, which had taken place at
+the present term, and in which some of the jurors now empanneled had
+rendered a verdict of guilty. It was not pretended that this trial had
+the remotest connection with the mail robbery at Uniontown, or that the
+case of Robinson involved any principle of evidence, or consideration as
+to the credibility of witnesses, analogous to the case under
+consideration; yet the Court asked the jury to reflect how it would
+look, out of doors, after the conviction of a poor friendless boy like
+Robinson, to acquit such a prisoner as was then on trial; that it might
+countenance the reproach which had been cast upon the law of permitting
+big fish to escape while little ones were caught, and that the Court
+would be deeply mortified at such an appearance. These remarks, which
+could afford no possible grounds for salutary reflection, were
+calculated to make the jury forget their oaths; to lead them away from
+a conscientious and fearless examination of the testimony to
+calculations upon the probable opinions of others, founded not upon oath
+or upon a full hearing of the testimony. This, too, in a case where it
+had been made to appear that the most infamous attempts were resorted to
+for the purpose of inflaming the public mind by falsehoods through the
+press. The jury to reflect that if they took a course unpopular at the
+moment, the whole odium must rest upon them, and that their characters,
+motives and conduct would be placed in striking contrast with the more
+popular tone of the Court.
+
+2. That the Court whilst forbearing altogether to notice, or noticing
+very slightly, the considerations which took all weight from the
+testimony of Corman and Strayer (witnesses for the prosecution), told
+the jury it would be a farce to pay any attention to the testimony of
+Collins and Owens, witnesses for the accused, although the latter stood
+infinitely fairer before the jury, and had no such powerful inducements
+as Corman and Strayer to give false testimony.
+
+3. The offense, if any, established against the prisoner, was that of
+taking the mail with the consent of the person having charge thereof.
+Yet the Court declined to give the prisoner the benefit of this
+discrimination.
+
+4. The charge of the Court that the testimony of Turk, as to the
+non-arrival of the mail at New York, derived from the register, was
+sufficient, without the production of the register or any copy thereof,
+or extract therefrom.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+United States _vs._ Braddee. Reasons in arrest of judgment.
+
+1. The indictment did not pursue the language of the Act of Congress,
+but mingles together words which in the act are intended to describe
+different offences. The accused is consequently not apprised of the
+clause under which he is indicted, and the especial character of the
+offence which he must prepare himself to meet. These crimes being
+statutory, must turn altogether on the language of the Act of Congress.
+Suppose the same count had charged the accused with robbing, stealing
+and taking?
+
+The indictment does not allege that the mail stolen or taken contained
+any valuable thing.
+
+Overruled.
+
+
+ THE SENTENCE.
+
+United States vs. John F. Braddee. May sessions, 1841. Sentence on the
+first count of the indictment: That you, John F. Braddee, be imprisoned
+in the Western Penitentiary of Pennsylvania, at hard labor, for and
+during the term of ten years, and in all respects be subject to the same
+discipline and treatment as convicts sentenced by the Courts of the
+State; and that you pay the costs of this prosecution, and stand
+committed until this sentence be complied with. And while so confined
+therein you shall be exclusively under the constraint of the officers
+having charge of said Penitentiary.
+
+
+ DOCKET ENTRIES.
+
+May 27th, 1841.--Test. for United States: J. H. Phillips, J. H. Dicus,
+Henry H. Beeson, Frederick Byrer, John Keffer, Samuel McLean, Peter
+Mills Strayer, Amos Jolliff, Samuel Costello, William Wagner. May
+28th--Test. for Defendant: John Warner, Thomas Moxley, Adam George, John
+Hendricks, Uriah Hoke, Aaron Wyatt, James McLean, James Smith, Jacob F.
+Brant, Robert Carr, Thomas Rowland, Abraham White, Isaac Hague, Jacob
+Eckel, Decatur Wolfe. May 29th--Test. for Defendant: John Haney, William
+Collins, Francis Wilkinson, Jesse King, H. Mitchell, David Chipps, Wm.
+D. Swearingen, Henry Hally, Margaret Collins, William Purnell, John
+Imbre, John Campbell, John M. Crane, Alfred Core, Seth Holl, John
+Woodward, Henry Smith, Matthias C. Baker, James Marinder, Madison
+Mooney, James Owens. May 31st--Test. for Defendant: Jesse Jones, Wm.
+Hall, T. Shaw, William Ebert, Gideon John, Alexander I. Fowler, John F.
+Sangston, Benjamin Brownfield. June 1st--Test. for United States: Brown
+Snyder, George Meason, Robert L. Barry, John Keffer, Alfred McClelland,
+Ellis Baily, Isaac Nixon, William Nixon, Samuel Nixon, Geo. Rider, J. T.
+Williams, Jas. McGayen, Wm. Reddick.
+
+June 1. Court took a recess for half an hour. Mr. Black (Col. S. W.), on
+behalf of the United States, addressed the Court and jury. Mr. William
+Austin, for defence, addressed the Court and jury. Mr. Darragh, district
+attorney, addressed the Court and jury. June 2. Mr. Darragh continued
+and concluded his address. Mr. McCandless, for defense, addressed the
+Court and jury; Court took a recess for half an hour. Mr. McCandless
+continued and concluded his address. Mr. Biddle, for the defense,
+commenced his address to the Court and jury. June 8. Mr. Biddle
+continued and concluded his address. Mr. Loomis, on behalf of the United
+States, commenced his address to the Court and jury. The jury, having
+been charged by Judge Baldwin, retired. Same day rendered a verdict as
+before mentioned. Mr. McCandless moved the Court in arrest of judgment
+and for a new trial.
+
+June 5. Affidavits as to the ownership of a portion of the money in the
+hands of Messrs. Darragh and Kennedy filed. Mr. Finley for Edward H.
+Brags, moves to take the money out of Court found in the mail stolen,
+and identified by the affidavits filed. Same gentleman makes the same
+motion for John J. Young. Both motions referred by the Court to Messrs.
+Darragh and Kennedy as auditors. Amos Jolliff discharged from his
+recognizance to attend as a witness. The following report was made to
+the Court by Messrs. Darragh and Kennedy viz: Pittsburg, June 5, 1841.
+The undersigned beg leave to report that they have paid out on
+affidavits to individuals claiming, or their order, the following sums
+from the money recovered on the premises of John F. Braddee: E. H.
+Pandell, $250; Timothy Goodman, $1,060; Silas D. Force, $100; James
+Sproul, $690; H. S. Abbott, $647.10; Sibbett & Jones, $1,127; Haney St.
+John, $1,455; B. S. Williams, $30; G. G. Moore, $170; A. H. Bangs,
+$934.90; John S. Young, $190; Chas. S. Bradford, $300; in all $7,154.60.
+Whole amount recovered, $10,398.60, leaving $3,244 undistributed.
+Report of auditors confirmed, and claimants who have been paid are
+directed to give receipts, and the balance unclaimed be deposited in the
+Bank of Pittsburg to abide the further order of the Court.
+
+United States vs. William Purnell. Wm. Freeman, James McCune, O. T.
+Moore, H. H. Turk, A. McClelland and William Crawford each bound in a
+recognizance of $500 to appear at the next term of the Circuit Court of
+the United States for the Western District of Pennsylvania, on the 3d
+Monday of November next, to testify in the above case. J. M. Austin
+moves the Court to direct the Marshal to pay the witnesses subp[oe]naed
+on the part of the defendant in the case of the United States _vs._ John
+F. Braddee. Court refused, and ordered that the expenses of compulsory
+process be paid to the officers by the United States.
+
+United States _vs._ William Purnell. Defendant tent in $4,000 on
+condition that he be and appear at the next term of the Circuit Court of
+the United States, to be held in the city of Pittsburg, on the first
+Monday of November, next. James L. Bugh, Benjamin Watson and John
+Hendricks each tent in $1,000 on condition that defendant be and appear
+as aforesaid.
+
+June 7. The Court overruled the motion for a new trial in the case of
+the United States _vs_. Braddee, and also a motion by John M. Austin,
+esq., to postpone sentence, and the Court sentenced the defendant as
+before mentioned.
+
+November 16, 1841. The United States vs. Margaret Collins. Stealing from
+the United States mails. Witnesses sworn before the grand jury: E. S.
+Harris, Johnze Dicus, A. McClelland, D. H. Phillips, William Ebert, John
+P. Sturgis, Henry H. Beeson, Abraham Alexander and Dr. Howard Kennedy.
+
+Same _vs._ Same. Charged with receiving a $500 Treasury note, stolen
+from the mail, knowing the same to have been stolen.
+
+November 17. Recognizance of William Purnell and his sureties called and
+forfeited, and the witnesses in this case discharged from their
+recognizances. The grand jury came into Court and presented true bills
+of indictment against Margaret Collins.
+
+November 22. Defendant pleads not guilty. Tried and jury could not
+agree, and were discharged. Margaret Collins was Braddee's
+mother-in-law. Purnell and Corman were pardoned by the President before
+trial.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Thus ended the great Braddee trial; an affair that caused more
+excitement than any local event that ever interested the people of
+Uniontown. The actors are all dead. Judges Baldwin and Irwin, who heard
+the cause, are both dead. All the lawyers who were concerned are dead;
+some of the witnesses are still living. The bondsmen are all dead.
+Braddee died in the penitentiary about ten years after his
+incarceration. Many persons believe that he did not die in the
+penitentiary, but in some manner escaped therefrom. There can be no
+doubt, however, that he died in the penitentiary.
+
+[Illustration: THE GERMAN D. HAIR HOUSE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVII.
+
+ _John Quincy Adams visits Uniontown--He is Welcomed by Dr. Hugh
+ Campbell--The National Road a Monument of a Past Age--A Comparison
+ Between the National Road and the Appian Way._
+
+
+ "We hear no more of the clanging hoof,
+ And the stage coach, rattling by;
+ For the steam king rules the traveled world,
+ And the old pike's left to die."
+
+The foregoing lines were written by one who mourned the departing
+glories of the old road. When they were written the steam car had taken
+the place of the four-horse coach, and the writer was giving vent to his
+grief over the change. Steam has since encountered a formidable
+competitor in the shape of electricity, and the time is coming when the
+steam car will follow in the wake of the old stage coach. Progress is
+the inspiring watchword of the hour, and while there may be nothing new
+under the sun, old things are certainly presented in a new light, and
+old agencies applied to new work.
+
+No sound greets the ear of the pike boy now, like the clink of other
+days. The glory of the old road has departed, but the memory of its
+better days fades not away. The old tavern has gone with all the rest.
+The incidents and anecdotes, accidents and episodes of the road have all
+passed to the domain of history.
+
+In the month of May, 1837, John Quincy Adams visited Uniontown, on his
+return from Cincinnati, where he had gone to participate in the
+inauguration of the observatory on Mount Adams, near that city. Dr. Hugh
+Campbell was appointed to deliver the address of welcome to Mr. Adams on
+his arrival at Uniontown. The following opening sentences are quoted
+from Dr. Campbell's address:
+
+"_Venerable Sir_: I have the honor of being the organ of this community
+to express for them and myself our hearty welcome of you among us. You
+see here, sir, an assembly of people of every political faith, come
+together spontaneously as one man to express their respect and
+veneration for one who has filled so large and distinguished, and I may
+add, beneficial space in the history and councils of this nation. We
+stand here, sir, upon the CUMBERLAND ROAD, which has, to some extent,
+broken down the great wall of the Appallachian mountains, which served
+to form so natural a barrier between what might have been two great
+rival nations. This road constitutes we trust, an indissoluble chain of
+Union, connecting forever as one, the East and the West. As a people
+directly interested in this great national work, we are glad to have the
+opportunity of expressing our acknowledgments to you in person. It is a
+part of that great system which has always received your support, known
+as the American System, the happy influence of which you have recently
+had the pleasure of witnessing in the rapid and extraordinary
+development of the resources of the West."
+
+Dr. Campbell proceeded at some length in a well conceived and happily
+expressed address, and concluded as follows:
+
+"Again, sir, I bid you welcome to the hospitalities of our town, and may
+the God of all grace prolong your existence, and finally receive you to
+himself."
+
+It is noteworthy, because out of the ordinary line, that two of the
+ablest debaters and most popular public speakers of Western
+Pennsylvania, fifty years ago, were physicians--Dr. F. J. Lemoyne, of
+Washington, and Dr. Hugh Campbell, of Uniontown, the first named an
+Abolitionist and the other a Whig. Those who have heard them on the
+stump aver that they never heard better speakers. They were both highly
+educated, masters of logic, forceful in delivery, and in the modern
+phrase, "clean cut" in all their utterances.
+
+In the latest map of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, there is a sketch of
+the National Road, written by the late Hon. James Veech, in which that
+able man said:
+
+"It is a monument of a past age; but like all other monuments, it is
+interesting, as well as venerable. It carried thousands of population
+and millions of wealth into the West; and more than any other material
+structure in the land, served to harmonize and strengthen, if not to
+save, the Union."
+
+There was a popular belief, in the olden time, that the National Road
+was a bond of union between the States, and that it served to harmonize
+and bring together on friendly terms, people of remote sections, and of
+different pursuits. This will be seen by the quoted remarks of Dr.
+Campbell and Mr. Veech. The generation of to-day regards the affection
+of the old pike boy for the old road, as a mere memory, the recollection
+of the animated scenes of trade and transportation on the old highway.
+It is something more. The old pike boy sincerely and truly believes that
+the old pike was a bond of union, that for years it kept the peace
+between discordant interests, and prolonged the evil day when the
+outbreak of disunion came.
+
+[Illustration: DR. HUGH CAMPBELL.]
+
+The Appian Way was a great road, and is invested with much classic and
+historic interest, but, unlike the National Road, it did not yield its
+place to greater lines of progress and improvement. The Appian Way was
+designed to gratify the pomp and vanity of consuls and pro-consuls,
+kings and princes, emperors and empires. The National Road was designed
+to meet the wants of a free and progressive people, and to aid in
+building up and strengthening a great and growing republic. The Appian
+Way had more vitality than the government that built it. It outlived its
+country. The National Road served its purpose grandly, was a complete
+success, the pride and glory of its day and generation, and when it lost
+its place as a national thoroughfare, the government that made it was
+all the stronger because it had been made. The average width of the
+Appian Way was from eighteen to twenty feet, so as to admit of two
+carriages passing each other, and the expense of constructing the first
+section of it was so great that it exhausted the public treasury of
+Rome. The National Road was sixty feet wide, and eight carriages could
+pass each other within its borders, while the cost of its construction,
+although a very large sum of money, made so light a draught upon the
+resources of the public treasury of the United States, in comparison
+with subsequent appropriations for other objects, as to be scarcely
+worthy of observation. The Appian Way derived its name from Appius, who
+was consul of Rome at the time of the undertaking. Its initial southern
+terminus was Capua, distant from Rome one hundred and twenty-five miles,
+very nearly the same as the distance from Cumberland to Wheeling. It was
+subsequently constructed as far as Beneventum, and ultimately to
+Brundisium, a seaport town of the Adriatic, distant from Rome three
+hundred and seventy-eight miles. We are informed by Anthon, an ancient
+classic author of high renown, that the city of Beneventum derived great
+importance from its position on the Appian Way, and the same can be
+truthfully said of the towns and cities which were so fortunate as to be
+located on the National Road.
+
+Paul the apostle traveled over a portion of the Appian Way on his
+journey from Jerusalem to Rome to carry up his appeal from Agrippa to
+Cæsar. He intersected the Appian Way at Puteoli, where he remained seven
+days, and his brethren having learned that he had reached that point,
+came to meet him as far as Appii Forum and the Three Taverns. The Appii
+Forum was a station, and the Three Taverns a house for the entertainment
+of strangers and travelers on the Appian Way. The latter may have been
+three distinct houses moulded into one, as is sometimes done, or a
+cluster of taverns consisting of three. That they were taverns, or a
+tavern, is unquestionable. There was an old tavern on the Mountain
+division of the National Road, in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, called
+the Three Cabins. The cabins were put up for boarding and lodging
+workmen engaged in the construction of the road, and when the work was
+finished, united and made one. This grotesque old tavern enjoyed a large
+patronage, and was a source of no little profit to its old-fashioned
+proprietor.
+
+Horace, as before intimated, was an occasional traveler on the Appian
+Way, not infrequently accompanied by Virgil, and apparently with no
+other object than the mere pleasure afforded by the jaunt. These
+illustrious authors of classic verse were, it is said, given to
+convivial habits, and we have the word of Horace himself that the wine
+on the Appian Way was "thick." From some other things said by Horace, it
+is very evident that the taverns of the Appian Way were inferior to
+those of the National Road. As an instance, he says that "the bustling
+landlord of the inn at Beneventum almost burned himself in roasting some
+lean thrushes." Lean thrushes never entered the well stored larders of
+the old taverns of the National Road. Fatness was the leading feature of
+flesh and fowl and bird of every kind that passed inspection of the
+old-time landlord of our National highway, and fatness distinguished all
+the surroundings of his overflowing hostelry. Nor was it the habit of
+our old tavern keepers to do the cooking and roasting of their
+establishments. All that pertained to the dominion of the landlady, who,
+as a rule, was tidy and robust, and felt a just pride in her calling.
+Horace also complained that at an inn at Canusium, on the Appian Way, he
+was served with "gritty bread." Shades of John N. Dagg, Joseph Hallam,
+Daniel Brown, Charles Miller, James Workman, Alfred McClelland, Joshua
+Marsh and Boss Rush, defend us forever against the thought of gritty
+bread! Horace, in further deprecation of some things on the Appian Way,
+mentions a little town where "water is sold, though the worst in the
+world." Generosity was a leading trait of the old tavern keepers of the
+National Road. There was an inexhaustible supply of water along its
+line, the best and purest in the world, and no man ever heard of a cup
+of it being sold for a price. One of the most attractive features of the
+National Road was the big water-trough that stood by the side of every
+tavern, filled with fresh, sparkling water, and absolutely free to all
+comers and goers.
+
+[Illustration: THE BIG WATER-TROUGH ON LAUREL HILL.]
+
+
+
+
+ APPENDIX.
+
+ _A Digest of the Laws of Pennsylvania, relating to the Cumberland
+ Road--Unexpended Balances in Indiana--Accounts of Two Old
+ Commissioners--Rates of Toll--Letters of Albert Gallatin, Ebenezer
+ Finley and Thomas A. Wiley--Curiosities of the old Postal Service._
+
+
+ 1807. Act of April 9th gives the State's consent to the making of the
+ road within its limits, provided the route be changed to pass
+ through Uniontown and Washington; also gives the United States
+ authorities full power to enter upon lands, dig, cut and carry
+ away materials, etc., for the purpose of completing and
+ _forever_ keeping in repair said road. Pamphlet Laws, page 185.
+
+ 1828. February 7th. Joint resolution authorizes the Government of the
+ United States to erect toll gates, enforce the collection of
+ tolls, and to do and perform every other act and thing which may
+ be deemed necessary to insure the PERMANENT repair and
+ preservation of the road. Andrew Shultz, Governor, Nerr
+ Middleswarth, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Daniel
+ Sturgeon, Speaker of the Senate. Pamphlet laws, page 500.
+
+ 1831. Act of April 11th. Preamble: "Whereas, that part of the
+ Cumberland Road lying within the State of Pennsylvania is in
+ many parts in bad condition for want of repairs, and as doubts
+ have been entertained whether the United States have authority
+ to erect toll gates on said road and collect toll, and as a
+ large proportion of the people of this commonwealth are
+ interested in said road, ITS CONSTANT CONTINUANCE AND
+ PRESERVATION, therefore, etc." The act then goes on and
+ authorizes the erection of at least six gates, designates
+ classes and persons exempt from toll, provides for the erection
+ of directors (boards ordering teams, etc., to pass to the
+ right), establishes rates of tolls, regulates the manner of
+ collecting the same, etc. Pamphlet Laws, page 419. For a
+ judicial construction of this act, see case of Hopkins vs.
+ Stockton, 2 Watts and Sargeant, page 163.
+
+ 1835. Act of April 1st requires supervisors of highways to make paved
+ valleys or stone culverts where other roads intersect the
+ Cumberland Road and this act also signifies the State's
+ acceptance of the road from the General Government. Pamphlet
+ Laws, page 102.
+
+ 1836. Act of June 13th provides for payment of half toll by persons
+ carrying the United States mail, and fixes penalties for
+ attempts to defraud the State of toll. Pamphlet Laws, page 534.
+ This act declared inoperative by the Supreme Court of the United
+ States, in so far as it levies toll on mail coaches.
+
+ 1837. Act of April 4th exempts persons hauling coal for home
+ consumption from payment of tolls. Pamphlet Laws, page 353.
+
+ 1839. Act of February 5th in form of a joint resolution requires
+ Commissioners to give bond in the sum of $6,000. Pamphlet Laws,
+ page 637. Changed by subsequent acts.
+
+ 1839. Act of June 17th, in form of a joint resolution, fixes the
+ compensation of Commissioners at $3 per diem, not to exceed one
+ hundred and fifty days in any one year. Pamphlet Laws, page 679.
+ Changed by subsequent acts.
+
+ 1840. Act of March 24th authorizes the appointment of one Commissioner
+ by the Governor for a term of three years, at a compensation of
+ $3.00 per diem, requiring him to give bond in the sum of
+ $10,000, to keep an account of receipts and expenditures, and
+ publish the same; and further provides for auditors to adjust
+ accounts. Pamphlet Laws, page 207. Partially repealed by
+ subsequent acts.
+
+ 1843. Act of April 5th authorizes Commissioners to stop mail coaches
+ to enforce payment of tolls. Pamphlet Laws, page 164. This act
+ held to be void by the Supreme Court of the United States, and
+ supplied by act of April 14th, 1845, _postea_.
+
+ 1845. Act of April 14th (Omnibus Bill).
+
+ "Preamble: Whereas, it has lately been decided by the Supreme
+ Court of the United States, that the acts of assembly of this
+ Commonwealth, relating to the collection of tolls on that part
+ of the Cumberland Road which is within this State, passed June
+ 13th, 1836, and April 5th, 1843, do not authorize the
+ collection of any amount of tolls whatever for the passage
+ upon said road of any stage, coach, or other vehicle carrying
+ passengers with their baggage and goods, if such stage, coach,
+ or other vehicle, is at the same time carrying any of the
+ mails or property of the United States; and whereas, the said
+ court sanctions the power of Pennsylvania to provide for the
+ repairs of said road by a general assessment of tolls upon
+ persons traveling thereon, which it is deemed just and right
+ should be paid; and whereas, also, it is found to be
+ impracticable to keep said road in good repair and out of
+ debt by the tolls collectable under the existing laws of this
+ Commonwealth, as interpreted by said Court, therefore," &c.
+ This act then goes on and in section 12 imposes a toll of not
+ less than two nor more than fifteen cents, as shall be fixed
+ and determined by the Commissioner, upon every person riding
+ or traveling in any vehicle carrying the United States mails,
+ for every fourteen miles over which such person shall have
+ been a passenger or traveler, and in proportion for shorter
+ distances, provided that no toll shall be demanded from any
+ guard to the mails, agent of the postoffice, bearer of
+ dispatches for the General or State Government, nor any naval
+ or military officer of the United States or this State,
+ traveling in the discharge of official duty. Section 13
+ provides the manner of collecting tolls under this act.
+ Section 14 imposes a penalty of fifty dollars on any driver
+ who neglects to report at every gate the number of passengers
+ in his carriage or coach. Section 15 provides that in case of
+ refusal of passengers to pay or neglect of drivers to report,
+ collectors shall charge in a book all unpaid tolls and sue for
+ the same. Section 16 provides that in every case where a
+ collector may be unable from omission or neglect of drivers or
+ passengers to ascertain the number of passengers liable to
+ toll under this act, he may charge and recover for so many as
+ the carriage shall be capable of carrying. Section 17 provides
+ a penalty of twenty dollars for every fraudulent attempt to
+ evade the payment of toll imposed by this act. Pamphlet Laws,
+ pages 430-1. This act is still in force, though mail coaches
+ (rather hacks) have been carrying passengers and freights for
+ many years without paying toll.
+
+ 1847. Act of March 16th authorizes the Governor to appoint a
+ Commissioner on each side of the Monongahela river, at a salary
+ of $350 each. Pamphlet Laws, page 477. Subsequently repealed.
+
+ 1848. Act of April 8th provides for the appointment of trustees by the
+ courts of Somerset, Fayette and Washington counties (one in
+ each), said trustees to appoint one or more Commissioners.
+ Pamphlet Laws, page 523. Repealed.
+
+ 1850. Act of May 3d authorizes the Commissioner and the Court of
+ Quarter Sessions to determine what travel and transportation
+ shall be in part or in whole exempt from toll; also authorizes
+ the imposition of toll upon persons using the road who do not
+ pass through the gates thereon, and prescribes the manner of
+ collecting the same; also authorizes the Commissioner to change
+ the location of gates, and to sell and convey toll houses and
+ grounds, and to purchase sites. Pamphlet Laws, page 682. This
+ act remains in force.
+
+ 1856. Act of April 22, authorizes the Courts of Fayette and Washington
+ counties to appoint superintendents. Pamphlet Laws, page 523.
+ Prior to the date of this act, the officer in charge of the road
+ was invariably called Commissioner. This act repealed as to that
+ portion of the road east of the Monongahela by Act of May 1,
+ 1861. _Postea._
+
+ 1861. Act of May 1, authorizes the Governor to appoint one person as
+ Superintendent for so much of the road as lies within the
+ counties of Fayette and Somerset, and repeals part of the act of
+ April 22, 1856, _supra_. Pamphlet Laws, page 678.
+
+ 1864. Act of April 13th, requires Superintendents to appropriate fifty
+ per cent. of the tolls to the payment of old debts. Pamphlet
+ Laws, page 408. Repealed.
+
+ 1865. Act of March 21, repeals so much of the act of April 13th, 1864,
+ _supra_, as requires Superintendents to apply fifty per cent. of
+ tolls to the payment of old debts, and provides that _bona fide_
+ holders of certificates of indebtedness for repairs shall be
+ allowed credit for tolls on their certificates. Pamphlet Laws,
+ page 474.
+
+ 1865. Act of November 27th, provides for the adjudication and payment
+ of certain claims against the road. Appendix to Pamphlet Laws of
+ 1866, page 1,226.
+
+ 1867. Act of January 7th, repeals outright _in toto_ the act of April
+ 13th, 1864, _supra_. Pamphlet Laws, page 1,543.
+
+ 1868. Act of March 20th, authorizes and _requires_ the Superintendent
+ to repair the road, and keep it in repair, where it passes
+ through any town or borough forming a street thereof in the
+ county of Fayette. Pamphlet Laws, page 444. In force.
+
+ 1877. Act of April 4th, authorizes the Governor to appoint a
+ Commissioner for that portion of the road lying between the
+ Monongahela river and the line of the State of West Virginia for
+ a term of three years from the termination of the term of
+ incumbent, at a salary of $3.00 per diem, not to exceed $300 per
+ annum, to account under oath to the auditors of Washington
+ county. Pamphlet Laws, page 53.
+
+ 1893. Act of June 2d, appropriates $1,500 to repair the great stone
+ bridge at the Big Crossings. Pamphlet Laws, page 213.
+
+The following communications and statements show the unexpended
+balances in 1834 of appropriations made by Congress in preceding
+years, for constructing the road through the State of Indiana:
+
+ WASHINGTON, Jan. 20th, 1835.
+
+ _Sir_:--I have the honor to transmit herewith a report from the
+ Chief Engineer respecting the unexpended balance of the
+ appropriation for the Cumberland Road in Indiana, in answer to the
+ resolution of the House of Representatives, of the 17th instant.
+
+ Very respectfully, your most obedient servant,
+
+ MAHLON DICKERSON,
+ Acting Secretary of War.
+
+ TO HON. JOHN BELL,
+ Speaker of the House of Representatives.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ ENGINEER DEPARTMENT, Jan. 19th, 1835.
+
+ _Hon. Lewis Cass, Secretary of War_:
+
+ SIR:--In obedience to the resolution of the House of
+ Representatives of the 17th instant, I have the honor to hand you
+ the enclosed statement, explaining the difference in the amount of
+ unexpended appropriations on account of the National Road, in the
+ State of Indiana, and furnishing the information called for
+ therein. I beg leave to remark that it is often necessary to close
+ the annual statement of the fiscal operations of the Engineer
+ Department before the returns, &c., from all the work are received.
+ The Department, therefore, can only act on the information before
+ it. This was the case in the present instance, as well as some
+ others included in the same statement.
+
+ I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant,
+
+ C. GRATIOT, Chief Engineer.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In the tabular statement of the fiscal operations, under the Engineer
+Department for the year ending the 30th of September, 1834, the
+unexpended balance of former appropriations is thus stated, relating to
+the Cumberland Road in Indiana:
+
+ Amount undrawn from the Treasury, 30th of September $160,882 00
+ Amount in the hands of agents, 30th of September 17,631 09
+ -----------
+ Total $178,513 09
+
+ Which amount was ascertained from the statement of
+ balances from the Treasury, on the 30th of Sept $160,882 00
+
+ And an acknowledged balance in the hands of
+ Captain Ogden, on 30th of September $1,925 79
+
+ And from the accounts of Mr. Milroy,
+ which had been rendered only to
+ the first quarter of 1834, inclusive,
+ which showed a balance in
+ his hands, after deducting $7,218 38
+
+ Paid over to Capt. Ogden, credited in
+ his account current for the 3d quarter
+ of 1834, of $15,705 30
+ ----------$17,631 09
+ ----------
+ $178,513 09
+
+ Since preparing the annual statement and its transmission to
+ the War Department, Mr. Milroy has rendered accounts for
+ the 2d quarter, and part of the 3d quarter of 1834, by
+ which he shows a balance due him of $1,147 89
+
+ So that, had Mr. Milroy's accounts been received to the time
+ of preparing the statement, the amount in the hands of
+ agents would have been, instead of $17,631 09, only 777 90
+
+ Which added to the amount in the Treasury,
+ on the 1st of Oct., 1834 $160,882 00
+ ===========
+ Would make available for the service of the 4th quarter of
+ 1834, and the year 1835 $161,659 90
+ ===========
+ The balance in the Treasury on the 1st of October, 1834, was $160,882 00
+
+ Since which there has been drawn and remitted to the Superintendent,
+ as follows:
+
+ October 21, 1834, to Captain Ogden $30,000 00
+ November 25, 1834, to Captain Ogden 17,520 00
+ January 10, 1835, to Captain Ogden 30,000 00
+ $77,320 00
+ ----------
+ Remaining in the Treasury on the 19th of January, 1835 $83,562 00
+
+
+The following accounts of two of the old Commissioners are interesting
+as showing the amount of tolls received and disbursements made for
+repairs and maintenance at the dates covered, and disclosing the once
+familiar names of many who had contracts and were otherwise employed on
+the road:
+
+ ACCOUNT OF WILLIAM HOPKINS,
+
+_Commissioner of the Cumberland Road in Pennsylvania, from Nov. 10th,
+1840, to Nov. 10th, 1841._
+
+EASTERN DIVISION, EMBRACED IN FAYETTE AND SOMERSET COUNTIES, VIZ:
+
+ DR.
+ To cash received from the National Road Stage Co $2,378 12
+ " " " " Holt & Maltby, supposed 113 94
+ " " " at Gate No. 1, Wm. Condon, collector 1,758 87
+ " " " " Gate No. 2, Hiram Seaton, " 1,948 24
+ " " " " Gate No. 3, Wm. D. Beggs, " 769 27
+ " " " " Gate No. 3, Jas. Reynold, " 1,125 29
+ " " " a fine collected by Wm. Bradley 5 00
+ " " " " " " John Tunsell 5 00
+
+ Total amount received from Nov. 10, 1840, to Nov. 10,
+ 1841 -------$8,103 73
+
+ BY DISBURSEMENTS, VIZ. CR.
+
+ Cash paid Thompson McKean, late Superintendent $50 00
+ " " Henry Woolery in full for work 15 62-1/2
+ " " Thompson McKean, late Superintendent 40 00
+ " " Jackson Brown in full for work 20 75
+ " " George Hensell ditto 8 22
+ " " Jesse Sachett ditto 90 00
+ " " John Smalley, hauling stone 34 20
+ " " Peter Leonard, quarry leave 8 62-1/2
+ " " Elijah Crabb, work 197 95
+ " " Samuel Dean 15 00
+ " " George Colley, quarry leave 100 00
+ " " J. & W. W. Woolery, work 242 40
+ " " Hugh Wilson, " 2 50
+ " " William Jeffries, " 83 37
+ " " Isaac Brownfield, " 59 85
+ " " Thos. McKean, " 300 00
+ " " John Brownfield, " 41 25
+ " " John Risler, " 3 90
+ " " John Dean, " 106 88
+ " " James Spears, " 23 25
+ " " Isaac Nixon, " 125 22
+ " " Elias Gilmore, " 168 20
+ " " Ephraim Conway, " 20 00
+ " " A. McDowell, " 94 63-1/2
+ " " McClean & Emberson, " 28 92
+ " " C. Rush, " 4 89
+ " " John Deford, quarry leave 9 04
+ " " Rich'd Beeson, costs, Com. vs. Stockton 11 83
+ " " S. D. Skeen, in full for work 4 60
+ " " Thomas Prentice, " 6 00
+ " " James Amos, " 135 31
+ " " Jno. Hatzman, " 52 84
+ " " William Reynolds, " 982 66
+ " " Michael S. Miller, " 38 37-1/2
+ " " James Watkins, " 2 20
+ " " Jos. M. Sterling, " 60 00
+ " " Samuel Rush, " 881 89
+ " " Hiram Hanse, " 8 00
+ " " Thomas Brown, " 324 60
+ " " Upton Shaw, " 314 37
+ " " John Bennington, " 130 00
+ " " William C. Stevens, " 5 18-3/4
+ " " Hugh Graham, work $300 00
+ " " " " toll house 200 00 500 00
+ " " James Snyder, on account for work 235 41-1/2
+ " " same in full 28 06
+ " " Charles Kemp, jr., " 32 00
+ " " I. & R. Hill, " 39 64
+ " " Wm. H. Graham, " 395 67-1/2
+ " " George Colley, " 80 80
+ " " James Marlow, " 651 70
+ " " John Bradfield, " 1,508 64
+ " " John M. Claybaugh, " 107 63
+ " " Henry G. Brown, " 24 69
+ " " Joseph Dillon, " 49 64
+ " " Charles Rush, " 23 85
+ " " Sam'l McReynolds, " 29 33
+ " " M. H. Jones, " 23 32
+ " " Hiram Hayney, " 50 00
+ " " Morris Mauler, " 69 47-1/2
+ " " Huston Todd, hauling stone 20 00
+ ---------$8,722 41
+
+The foregoing items of expenditures were contracts made by Thompson
+McKean, Esq., late Commissioner, and paid on his certificate.
+
+ Cash paid Adam Speer, for work on road $ 5 00
+ " " William D. Beggs, do 1 50
+ " " same do 1 00
+ " " same salary for keeping Gate No. 3 83 30
+ " " James Reynolds, work on road 1 50
+ " " E. Crable, do 2 00
+ " " Rush & McCollough, do 25 00
+ " " E. H. Showalter, on account of work on road 100 00
+ " " N. Bradley, " " " 2 50
+ " " William Milligan, " " " 14 00
+ " " A. L. Pentland, Esq., costs, Com. v. Stockton 5 00
+ " " Wilson McCandless, Esq., Prof. services 20 00
+ " " same " " 30 00
+ " " R. P. Flenniken, Esq., " " 56 62-1/2
+ " " John Irons, for advertising 4 00
+ " " Upton Shaw, work on road 30 62-1/2
+ " " Samuel McReynolds, work on road 1 25
+ " " Samuel Lazure, " " 25
+ " " Robert McDowell 20 00
+ " " John Bradfield 67 50
+ " " William Reynolds 273 00
+ " " John L. Dawson, Esq. 33 62-1/2
+ " " Nicholas Bradley 58 75
+ " " William Condon, Gate No. 1, salary 200 00
+ " " George Farney, for work on road 2 62-1/2
+ " " John Nelson, " " " 1 50
+ " " Jas. Reynolds, Gate No. 3, salary 116 66
+ " " Hiram Seaton, Gate No. 2, salary 200 00
+ " " McCollough & Rush, for work on road 169 55-3/4
+ " " Robert S. Brown, " " 169 90-1/2
+ " " Anthony Yarnell, " " 150 00
+ " " Sam'l Dean, " " 50 00
+ " " Henry Showalter, " " 137 50
+ " " Jackson Brown, " " 65 00
+ " " John H. Deford, Prof. services 20 00
+ " " John Risler, for stone 6 40
+
+ Total amount of expenditures on Eastern division -----$10,847 98-1/4
+
+ WESTERN DIVISION, LYING IN WASHINGTON COUNTY.
+
+ To cash received from Good Intent Stage Co. $4,246 25
+ " " " Moore & Henderson 512 16
+ " " " Wm. R. Cope 70 00
+ " at Gate No. 4, Stephen Phelps, col. 1,694 23
+ " " " No. 5, Wm. Hill 1,773 36
+ " " " No. 6, David Guinea 1,569 44
+ " " " No. 5, in Oct, 1840, under R. Quail 150 41
+ " " " No. 6, Sept. and Oct., 1840, R. Quail 304 67
+ " a fine collected by John Freeman, Esq. 5 00
+
+ Total amount received -----$10,325 52
+
+ BY DISBURSEMENTS ON WESTERN DIVISION, VIZ:
+
+ Cash paid Egan & Dickey, in full for work on road $1,387 00
+ " " John McDonough, " " " 249 22-1/2
+ " " John Dickey, " " " 50 62-1/2
+ " " Henry Murry, " " " 889 04
+ " " same, alleged error in settlement 150 00
+ " " Morris Pursell, in full for work on road 215 87
+ " " Bradley & Morgan, " " " 234 27
+ " " Daniel Ward, " " " 746 66
+ " " Brown & Valentine, " " " 287 00
+ " " David Guinea, Gate No. 6, salary 133 18
+ " " Wm. Hill, Gate No. 5 66 72
+ -----$ 4 409 49
+
+The above items of expenditure were on contracts made by R. Quail, late
+Commissioner, and paid on his certificate.
+
+ Cash paid T. H. Baird, Esq., Prof. services $ 5 00
+ " " I. P. Morgan, digging well 32 50
+ " " Joel Lamborn, building chimney 11 00
+ " " William Craven, smith work 15 80
+ " " J. T. Rogen, powder 5 60
+ " " Amos Griffith, pump 40 50
+ " " A. J. Harry, stove pipe 2 96
+ " " Robert Bradley, in full work at well 60 12-1/2
+ " " Griffith Taylor, wheelbarrow 1 75
+ " " John McMath, in full work on road 8 59
+ " " John Bausman, printing 4 00
+ " " Grayson & Kaine, " 10 25
+ " " H. Winten, in full for work on road 27 00
+ " " Samuel Adams, " " 4 50
+ " " James P. Morgan, " " 35 31
+ " " J. Worrell, on account 7 30
+ " " same, in full 2 75
+ " " J. McGuire, on account 57 70
+ " " Jacob Shaffer, stove pipe 1 37
+ " " Robert Sprowl, on account work on road 253 00
+ " " Thomas Egan, in full 253 68
+ " " Henry Murray, stone 36 86
+ " " Jacob Stillwagon, on acct. stone 227 00
+ " " Anthony Rentz, " " 59 84
+ " " David Andrews, work 128 00
+ " " Joseph Miller, in full, stone 62 50
+ " " John Huston, work 42 00
+ " " Joseph T. Rogers, powder 5 50
+ " " Isaac Leet, Prof. services 10 00
+ " " William Watkins, acct. stone 15 00
+ " " Stephen Phelps, Gate No. 4, salary 200 00
+ " " Robert Bradley, work in full 122 96
+ " " same on account 81 16 204 12
+ " " William Hill, Gate No. 5, salary 200 00
+ " " David Guinea, Gate No. 6, " 200 00
+ " " on acct. book for Superintendent 3 00
+ " " counterfeit money received 11 00
+ " " Superintendent, for his services, per
+ account filed, 309 days at $3.00 per day 927 00
+ " " Auditors, for settling and stating this
+ account, viz:
+ H. Langley $2 00
+ J. K. Wilson 5 00
+ S. Cunningham 5 00 12 00
+ Total expenditures on Western division -----$7,594 09-1/2
+
+ RECAPITULATION. DR.
+
+ To amount received on the Eastern Division $ 8,103 73
+ To amount received on the Western Division 10,325 52
+ ------$18,429 25
+
+ CR.
+
+ By cash paid out on the Eastern Division,
+ per statement $10,847 98-1/4
+ By cash paid on the Western Division,
+ per statement 7,594 09-1/2
+ ------$18,442 07-3/4
+
+ Balance due Wm. Hopkins, Esq., Superintendent, on the
+ 10th Nov., 1841 $ 12 82-3/4
+
+The undersigned, auditors appointed by the Court of Common Pleas for the
+county of Washington, Pennsylvania, on the 9th day of November, 1841, to
+audit, settle and adjust the account of William Hopkins, Esq.,
+Commissioner of the Cumberland Road, having carefully examined the
+accounts submitted to them by said Commissioner (a full statement of
+which is herewith presented), and having compared the vouchers with said
+account, do find that the said William Hopkins, Commissioner as
+aforesaid, has expended up to the 10th day of November, 1841, the sum of
+twelve dollars and eighty-two 3/4 cents more than came into his hands,
+and that said sum of twelve dollars and eighty-two 3/4 cents was due to
+him on said day.
+
+In testimony whereof, we have hereto set our hands and seals the 22d day
+of January, A.D. 1842.
+
+ SAMUEL CUNNINGHAM, (SEAL)
+ JOHN K. WILSON, (SEAL) _Auditors._
+ HENRY LANGLY, (SEAL)
+
+
+ WASHINGTON COUNTY, 88.
+ THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA.
+
+I, John Grayson, prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas for said
+county, certify that at a Court of Common Pleas for the county
+aforesaid, held on the 9th day of November, Anno Domini 1841, Samuel
+Cunningham, John K. Wilson and Henry Langly were appointed by said Court
+auditors to settle and adjust the account of William Hopkins, Esq.,
+Commissioner of the Cumberland Road, as appears of record in our said
+Court.
+
+In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal
+of said Court, the 22d day of January, 1842.
+
+ [SEAL] JOHN GRAYSON, _Prothy._
+
+ ACCOUNT OF WILLIAM SEARIGHT,
+
+_Commissioner of the Cumberland Road in Pennsylvania, from the 1st of
+May, 1843, to the 31st of December, 1844, inclusive._
+
+ TO TOLLS RECEIVED ON THE EASTERN DIVISION, VIZ: DR.
+
+ To tolls received from Thos. Grier, Gate No. 1 $4,466 24
+ " " " " Robert McDowell, Gate No. 2 4,102 70
+ " " " " James Reynolds, Gate No. 3 4,410 43
+ " " " " National Road Stage Co 3,200 00
+ " " " " Express Co 254 00
+ --------
+ Total amount received on Eastern Division $16,433 37
+
+ TO TOLLS RECEIVED ON THE WESTERN DIVISION, VIZ:
+
+ From David Mitchell, Gate No. 4 $3,509 32
+ " Wm. Hill, " No. 5 3,843 87
+ " Wm. McCleary, " No. 6 4,105 81
+ " Good Intent Stage Co 8,447 30
+ Cash received from John S. Brady, on account of Quail's
+ securities 769 44
+ ---------
+ $20,675 74
+ ----------
+ Total receipts $37,109 11
+
+ CR.
+ By cash paid Thomas Grier, collector at Gate No. 1 $333 33
+ " " Robt. McDowell, " " " No. 2 333 33
+ " " Jas. Reynolds, " " " No. 3 333 33
+ " " Dan'l Kaine, for certifying auditors 1 00
+ " " D. Kaine, Wm. P. Wells and Joseph Gadd 12 00
+ " " William Jeffries 65 62
+ " " Geo. Craft, costs 6 60
+ " " Thos. and Robert Brown 330 63
+ " " Wm. Hager 3 00
+ " " Elias Gilmore 2,737 40
+ " " George Palmer 55 25
+ " " William C. Stevens 16 80
+ " " Peter Kerney 1 50
+ " " James Dougan 42 77
+ " " Thomas Brownfield 1,922 98
+ " " Robert S. Henderson 150 00
+ " " John Malone 30 62
+ " " Sam'l Shipley, admr. of S. Rush 216 03
+ " " Andrew Bryson 3 00
+ " " John McCalpin 7 50
+ " " Thomas McGrath 485 94
+ " " Samuel Harrah 4 87
+ " " John Bradfield 1,748 82
+ " " Robert McDowell 1,041 80
+ " " Calvin Perry 44 25
+ " " Wilson Fee 79 93
+ " " Thomas D. Miller 403 66
+ " " James Dolan 92 25
+ " " Upton Shaw 65 75
+ " " Elijah Crable 36 00
+ " " Samuel Shipley 833 38
+ " " Matthew McNeil 107 44
+ " " Fall & Herbertson 24 53
+ " " James White 8 80
+ " " Jackson Brown 50
+ " " J. L. Wylie & Co 1 44
+ " " Byers & Gregg 35 00
+ " " William Reynolds 698 87
+ " " James Marlow 65 15
+ " " Rudolph Brinkman 82 12
+ " " William Spaw 99 90
+ " " Sebastian Rush 92 75
+ " " John McDowell 809 14
+ " " Edward G. Roddy 49 84
+ " " Isaac McLaughlin 5 25
+ " " George W. Cass 70 00
+ " " John Irons, printing 21 50
+ " " Samuel McDonald, printing 10 00
+ " " J. & G. S. Gideon 24 00
+ " " James Veech, professional services 100 00
+ " " R. P. Flenniken " " 100 00
+ " " Edward Kerven 140 73
+ " " Thomas Hougan 30 00
+ " " Thomas Dougan 51 75
+ " " John Powell 37 75
+ " " George Parmertor 71 75
+ " " Daniel Cannon 329 75
+ " " Hugh Graham 233 95
+ " " Morris Whalen 118 28
+ " " Nicholas Bradley 91 78
+ " " Perry White 116 06
+ " " Simon Deal 96 39
+ " " William McClean 73 23
+ " " James Collins 27 37
+ " " James McCartney 82 08
+ " " Anthony Yarnell 192 65
+ " " William Conard 1 25
+ " " Thomas McCoy 33 00
+ " " James Reynolds 9 47
+ " " John M. Claybaugh 20 43
+ " " Robert McDowell 300 44
+ " " Gadd & Henderson 2,531 50
+ " " Francis L. Wilkinson 12 29
+ " " Kerney & Redfern 44 62
+ " " Matthias Fry 442 67
+ Depreciated money on hand 10 00
+ Balance due Commissioner on former settlement 1,580 00
+ Salary of Commissioner, from May 1st, 1843, to 31st
+ of December, 1844, being 513 days at $3.00 per
+ day 1,539 00
+
+ Whole amount expended on Eastern Division -------$22,066 53
+
+ BY THE FOLLOWING SUMS EXPENDED ON THE WESTERN DIVISION.
+
+ CR.
+ By cash paid David Mitchell, collector Gate No. 4 $ 333 33
+ " " William Hill, " " No. 5 333 33
+ " " Wm. McCleary, " " No. 6 333 33
+ " " E. L. Blaine, for use of Patrick Egan 34 96
+ " " J. S. Brady, on account of Wm. Paull 41 84
+ " " William McCleary 7 00
+ " " James Denison 213 90
+ " " Henry Masterson 307 87
+ " " Hiram Freeman 1,402 37
+ " " Charles Kern 136 72
+ " " Thomas Egan 263 32
+ " " John McCollough 956 58
+ " " Robert Sprowl 2,995 38
+ " " Adam Fishburn 1 50
+ " " John Robinson 303 07
+ " " Joseph Lawson 1,962 50
+ " " Patrick Egan 203 00
+ " " John Bradley, admr. of R. Bradley 221 25
+ " " Thomas Hagerty 87 95
+ " " John Huston 20 25
+ " " George Irvin 162 07
+ " " William Hill 2 81
+ " " William Paull 161 00
+ " " Samuel Rodgers 3 00
+ " " Michael Monahan 55 00
+ " " Thomas Finley 36 25
+ " " John Curry 6 00
+ " " Michael Dougan 9 00
+ " " McCollough & Gilmore 980 22
+ " " Charles Murphy 70 00
+ " " Charles Stillwagon, 75 00
+ " " Jacob Stillwagon 305 21
+ " " Jacob Daugherty 229 00
+ " " Anthony Rentz 534 25
+ " " Baldwin Miller 3 75
+ " " William Pepper 13 41
+ " " Henry Murry 170 66
+ " " James Thompson 291 17
+ " " James Hurley 280 63
+ " " J. J. Armstrong 58 12
+ " " B. Forester 25 00
+ " " John Mitchell 62 71
+ " " Mark M. Passmore 33 75
+ " " Grayson & Kaine, printing 17 00
+ " " John Bausman " 15 00
+ " " Richard Biddle 60 00
+ " " Michael Price 21 00
+ " " William Scott 15 00
+ " " William Hopkins 52 50
+ " " E. L. Blaine, costs 11 01
+ " " Thomas Sprout 14 94
+ " " John Wheeler 62 87
+ " " Robert Patrick 45 95
+ " " Cornelius Daly 37 85
+ " " James McIntyre 226 50
+ " " William Hastings 125 62
+ " " Jacob Dixon 6 10
+ " " Michael Bail 16 00
+ " " Keyran Tolbert 55 52
+ " " David Butts 2 00
+ " " James Redman 160 00
+ " " John Gadd 1,556 53
+ " " Thomas Hagan 34 50
+ " " James Gainer 185 56
+ " " John Whitmire 150 00
+ " " Peter Kerney 51 50
+ Depreciated money on hand 5 00
+ Whole amount expended on Western Division -------$16,655 41
+
+ Whole amount expended on Eastern Division 22,066 53
+ ---------
+ Whole amount expended on both divisions $38,721 94
+
+ Balance due Commissioner, December 31, 1844. $ 1,612 83
+
+FAYETTE COUNTY, SS.
+
+We, the undersigned, auditors appointed by the Court of Common Pleas of
+Fayette county for that purpose, having examined the accounts and
+vouchers relating to the receipts and expenditures of Wm. Searight,
+Esq., Superintendent of the Cumberland Road, from the 1st day of May,
+1843, to the 31st of December, 1844, inclusive, have found the foregoing
+statement of the same to be correct and true.
+
+ H. CAMPBELL,
+ JOHN HUSTON,
+ RICHARD BEESON.
+ _Auditors._
+
+ NOTE.--Gate No. 1 was located at the east end of Petersburg, Gate
+ No. 2 was near Mt. Washington, Gate No. 3 was near Searights, Gate
+ No. 4 was near Beallsville, Gate No. 5 was near Washington, and
+ Gate No. 6 near West Alexander.
+
+
+ RATES OF TOLL.
+
+The following were the rates of toll fixed by the act of April 11th,
+1831, which were subsequently, however, changed: For every score of
+sheep or hogs, six cents; for every score of cattle, twelve cents; for
+every led or driven horse, three cents; for every horse and rider, four
+cents; for every sleigh or sled, for each horse or pair of oxen drawing
+the same, three cents; for every dearborn, sulky, chair or chaise, with
+one horse, six cents; for every chariot, coach, coachee, stage, wagon,
+phaeton, chaise, with two horses and four wheels, twelve cents; for
+either of the carriages last mentioned with four horses, eighteen cents;
+for every other carriage of pleasure, under whatever name it may go, the
+like sum, according to the number of wheels and horses drawing the same;
+for every cart or wagon whose wheels shall exceed two and one-half
+inches in breadth, and not exceeding four inches, four cents; for every
+horse or pair of oxen drawing the same, and every other cart or wagon,
+whose wheels shall exceed four inches, and not exceeding five inches in
+breadth, three cents; for every horse or pair of oxen drawing the same,
+and for every other cart or wagon whose wheels shall exceed six inches,
+and not more than eight inches, two cents; for every horse or pair of
+oxen drawing the same, all other carts or wagons whose wheels shall
+exceed eight inches in breadth, shall pass the gates free of tolls, and
+no tolls shall be collected from any person or persons passing or
+repassing from one part of his farm to another, or to or from a mill, or
+to or from any place of public worship, funeral, militia training,
+elections, or from any student or child going to or from any school or
+seminary of learning, or from persons and witnesses going to and
+returning from courts, or from any wagon or carriage laden with the
+property of the United States, or any canon or military stores belonging
+to the United States, or to any State. The reader will note that the
+exemptions provided for by this act are changed by force of the act of
+May 3, 1850, which authorized the commissioner and the court of quarter
+sessions to determine who and what shall be exempt from the payment of
+toll. A large wide board, having the appearance of a mock window, was
+firmly fixed in the walls of every toll house, displaying in plain
+letters the rates above given, so that the wayfarer might not err
+therein.
+
+
+ MR. GALLATIN DEFINES HIS ATTITUDE AS TO THE LOCATION OF THE ROAD, AND
+ GIVES INSTRUCTIONS TO DAVID SHRIVER, SUPERINTENDENT.
+
+When the road was authorized to be constructed by Congress, Mr. Gallatin
+was Secretary of the Treasury, and a citizen of Fayette county,
+Pennsylvania. His home was "Friendship Hill," in Springhill township,
+near New Geneva, about fifteen miles south of Uniontown, afterward the
+home of Hon. John L. Dawson. It was intimated in various quarters that
+Mr. Gallatin was desirous of having the road located through or near his
+place, and that he used his official influence to further his desire in
+this regard. The following letter, however, to his old friend David
+Acheson, of Washington, Pennsylvania, shows that the intimations
+mentioned were without foundation:
+
+ NEW YORK, September 1, 1808.
+DAVID ACHESON, ESQ., Washington, Pa.
+
+_Dear Sir_: On receipt of your letter respecting the Western Road, I
+immediately transmitted it to the President at Monticello. I was under
+the impression that he had previously directed the Commissioners to
+examine both routes and to report to him. It seems, however, that it
+had not then been yet done. But on the 6th ultimo he wrote to them to
+make an examination of the best route through Washington to Wheeling,
+and also to Short Creek, or any other point on the river offering a more
+advantageous route towards Chillicothe and Cincinnati, and to report to
+him the material facts with their opinion for consideration.
+
+That it is the sincere wish of the President to obtain all the necessary
+information in order that the road should pursue the route which will be
+of the greatest public utility no doubt can exist. So far as relates to
+myself, after having, with much difficulty, obtained the creation of a
+fund for opening a great western road, and the act pointing out its
+general direction, it is sufficiently evident from the spot on the
+Monongahela which the road strikes, that if there was any subsequent
+interference on my part it was not of a selfish nature. But the fact is
+that in the execution of the law I thought myself an improper person,
+from the situation of my property, to take the direction which would
+naturally have been placed in my hands, and requested the President to
+undertake the general superintendence himself. Accept the assurance of
+friendly remembrance, and of my sincere wishes for your welfare and
+happiness.
+
+ Your obedt servant,
+ ALBERT GALLATIN.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ TREASURY DEPARTMENT, March 9th, 1813.
+
+_Sir_: You will herewith receive the plot of the road as laid by the
+Commissioners from the 21st mile to Uniontown.
+
+I approve of having a stone bridge across Little Youghiogheny, and the
+measures necessary to secure masons should be adopted, but the site
+cannot be fixed until you have examined whether any alterations in the
+course be practicable. In that respect I beg leave to refer you to my
+former letters. As soon as your examination of the ground has taken
+place, and the alterations you may have found practicable shall have
+been received and approved, public notice may be given inviting
+proposals to contract for completing the road as far as Big
+Yioughiogheny river; an additional appropriation of $140,000 having been
+made by Congress. You will therefore perceive that in every point of
+view your examination of the ground is the first object to attend to.
+
+I have the honor to be, respectfully, sir,
+
+ Your obt. servant,
+ ALBERT GALLATIN.
+
+ D. Shriver, jr., Cumberland, Md.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ TREASURY DEPARTMENT, April 17th, 1813.
+
+_Sir_: Your letter of the 3d inst. has been duly received. The principal
+object in finally fixing the course of the road is its permanency and
+durability without the necessity of perpetual and expensive repairs. To
+select, therefore, the best ground which that mountainous country will
+afford, avoiding, as far as practicable, cutting along the side of steep
+and long hills, always exposed to be washed away, appears to be one of
+first importance. The other considerations, subordinate to the selection
+of the best ground, but to be also attended to, are, the expense of
+making the road, the shortness of the distance and the accommodation (by
+intersecting lateral roads) of important settlements not on the line of
+the road.
+
+As an erroneous location would be an irreparable evil, it is better that
+the contracts for the ensuing twenty miles should be delayed, than to
+make them before you have had time to take a complete view of the
+ground. Examine it well before you decide and make your first report.
+This is more important because it is probable that I will be absent when
+that report is made, and that it will be decisive, as the acting
+secretary, to whom the subject will be new and the localities unknown,
+cannot have time to investigate it critically, and will probably adopt
+it on your responsibility. If a decisive advantage should arise from an
+alteration in the last sections already contracted for, and the
+contractors assent to it, you may, in your report, propose such an
+alteration. You are authorized for the purpose of facilitating your
+review of the road, without neglecting the duties of general
+superintendence, to employ John S. Shriver, or some other able
+assistant, with a reasonable compensation. You have not stated what this
+should be, but it is presumed that you will not, in that respect, exceed
+what is necessary for obtaining the services of a well qualified person.
+You are authorized to draw for a further sum of twenty thousand dollars;
+whenever this is nearly exhausted you will apply for a new credit.
+
+With respect to details, they are left at your discretion. You are
+sensible of the great confidence placed in your abilities and integrity,
+and I am sure you will not disappoint our expectations.
+
+With perfect consideration and sincere wishes for your welfare, I have
+the honor to be, sir,
+
+ Your obedient servant,
+ ALBERT GALLATIN.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ TREASURY DEPARTMENT, April 20th, 1813.
+
+_Sir_: You are authorized to employ a surveyor to view the most
+proper road from Brownsville to Washington in Pennsylvania, and
+thence to examine the routes to Charlestown, Steubenville, mouth of
+Short Creek and Wheeling, and report a correct statement of distance
+and ground on each. If the county road as now established
+from Brownsville to Washington is not objectionable, it would be
+eligible to prefer it to any other which might be substituted. The
+surveyor thus employed will meet with every facility by applying to
+the gentlemen at Washington who have this alteration in the western
+road much at heart.
+
+I am respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,
+
+ ALBERT GALLATIN.
+ D. SHRIVER, JR., Cumberland, Md.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ TREASURY DEPARTMENT, April 23rd, 1811.
+
+_Sir_: Mr. Cochran has signed his contract and bonds for the third and
+fourth sections of the road at the price agreed on, that is to say, at
+the rate of twenty-two dollars and fifty cents per rod for the third
+section, and of sixteen dollars and fifty cents per rod for the fourth
+section.
+
+I now enclose the contracts and bonds for the first and second sections;
+that for the first in the name of Henry McKinley, and at the rate of
+twenty-one dollars and twenty-five cents per rod. The proposal of Mr.
+Reade was at the rate of thirteen dollars for a road covered with a
+stratum of stones twelve inches thick, all the stones to pass through a
+three-inch ring. He did not stay here or return here to complete the
+business and was not present when the road was altered to a stratum of
+stones fifteen inches thick. The same additional price, viz: one dollar
+and a half per rod, is allowed him for that alteration which was by
+agreement given to all the other contractors, making fourteen dollars
+and a half as set down in the contract, instead of thirteen. The
+contracts and bonds are in every respect (the names of sections and
+difference of price only excepted) verbatim the same as both those
+signed by Mr. Cochran, and they were as you will perceive all executed
+by me, and signed by the President. After they shall have been signed by
+the contractors respectively, they will each keep a copy of their own
+contracts, and you will return the other copy, together with the bond
+(both being signed by the contractors respectively) to this office.
+
+If either of the contractors should for any reason whatever refuse to
+sign the contract, you will return the same to this office, notify the
+person thus refusing that he is not considered as a contractor, forbid
+his doing any work, and immediately advertise in Cumberland that you
+will receive proposals for making the section of the road thus not
+contracted for. You will afterward transmit the proposals which may
+accordingly be made.
+
+I also enclose a copy of the contracts for your own use in order that
+you may in every case be able to secure the additions agreed on.
+
+I have the honor to be with consideration, sir,
+
+ Your obedient servant,
+ ALBERT GALLATIN.
+
+The dates were the only blanks left in the contracts and bonds
+and must be filled at the time of signing, by the contractors.
+
+ A. G.
+ MR. DAVID SHRIVER, JR., Cumberland, Md.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ TREASURY DEPARTMENT, April 30th, 1811.
+
+_Sir_: Your letter of the 22d inst. has been received. The President has
+confirmed the alteration in the first section of the road. It will be
+proper to have a short endorsement to that effect entered on the
+contract with Mr. McKinley, and signed by him and yourself.
+
+You are authorized to contract for the bridges and mason work on the
+terms mentioned in your letter, with the exception of the bridges across
+Clinton's Fork of Braddock's Run, which may perhaps be avoided by the
+alteration which you contemplate, and which, if necessary, we may,
+perhaps, considering other expenses, be obliged to contract of cheaper
+materials. It is left to your discretion to contract for the other mason
+work as above stated, either with Mr. Kinkead or with the road
+contractors.
+
+If you shall find it necessary to employ a temporary assistant, you are
+authorized to do it, provided he shall be employed and paid only when
+actually necessary. I should think that one dollar and twenty-five, or
+at most, fifty cents, a day, would in that part of the country be ample
+compensation.
+
+Respecting side walls no decisive opinion can be given until you shall
+have matured your ideas on the subject, and formed some estimate of the
+extent to which they must be adopted and of the expense.
+
+I have the honor to be respectfully, sir,
+
+ Your obedient servant,
+ ALBERT GALLATIN.
+
+ MR. DAVID SHRIVER, JR.,
+ Superintendent of the Cumberland Road, Cumberland, Md.
+
+
+LETTER FROM EBENEZER FINLEY.
+
+ RELEASE, September 1, 1891.
+
+HON. T. B. SEARIGHT,
+
+_My much respected friend_: In our conversation the other day, I spoke
+from memory entirely, as I had no statistics from which to quote. Your
+father bought the stone tavern house at Searights from Joseph Frost. It
+was unfinished when your father bought it. I knew Joseph Frost, but have
+no recollection of the family he came from. Your father was a single
+man, when he bought the house, but married shortly after.
+
+In relation to Mr. Stewart's and Mr. Benton's colloquy about the
+National Road, Mr. Stewart said that "hay stacks and corn shocks would
+walk over it." Mr. Benton replied that "he could not conceive how hay
+stacks and corn shocks could walk over this bowling green road." "Ah!"
+rejoined Mr. Stewart, "I do not expect to see them walk in the shape of
+stacks and shocks, but in the shape of fat cattle, hogs, horses and
+mules from the Western and Southern States." This was in a discussion in
+Congress, over an appropriation bill for repairing the road. Another
+conversation with you at some time, would be very much enjoyed by your
+unworthy scribbler.
+
+P. S. Now, Colonel, since writing the above, many things have come
+crowding on my memory, and I will mention some of the principal hotels
+with which I was more or less acquainted. I frequently traveled over the
+National Road in my younger days. I went often to Cumberland and
+occasionally to Baltimore. I will begin at Big Crossings (Somerfield).
+Coming this way, Thomas Brown kept a tavern on the hillside. Next Daniel
+Collier, then Inks, and next Widow Tantlinger (Boss Rush's place). Next
+James Sampey at Mt. Washington, then several stopping places before
+reaching the Stewart stone house, a hotel that was not largely
+patronized by travelers on the road. Next the Chalk Hill house and then
+Jimmy Snyder's. Next the first house to the left as you come to Monroe,
+built by Mr. Deford. Then several other hotels before you come to
+Uniontown. In Uniontown, the Walker House (now Feather's) was well
+patronized. Then James Seaton's and Thomas Brownfield's wagon stands.
+Next the Cuthbert Wiggins wagon stand (later Moxley's), and next the
+Searight house. Over the hill, next was a house kept by Samuel
+Woolverton and Hugh Thompson. Then the Robert Johnson (later Hatfield)
+stone house. Next old Peter Colley, father of Abel, Solomon and John
+Colley. Then the Bowman house, kept by John Gribble, and next the
+Brubaker house. Then the first house to the left as you go into
+Brownsville, kept by Darra Auld, and next the Workman House. But I
+presume you have all these.
+
+ Respectfully,
+ EB. FINLEY.
+
+
+LETTER FROM THOMAS A. WILEY, A NATIVE OF UNIONTOWN, WHO RODE THE PONY
+EXPRESS.
+
+ BALTIMORE AND OHIO R. R. CO.,
+ GEN. TICKET AGENT'S OFFICE,
+ BALTIMORE, July 16, 1892.
+
+T. B. SEARIGHT, ESQ.--_Dear Sir_:--I have been receiving from some one
+the _Jeffersonian Democrat_, a paper published in my old favorite
+Uniontown, and have read with great pleasure your publication of things
+that transpired along the National Road. I knew a great many of the old
+wagoners, stage drivers and tavern keepers you mention. When I was
+working for the stage company the Baltimore and Ohio railroad was only
+completed to Frederic, Maryland, and I used to travel the old pike very
+often. I hope to be able to come once more to Uniontown before I go
+hence, where nearly all the rest have gone, and would delight in a long
+talk with you about old times on the road. In looking over the paper you
+sent me I scarcely see any names that I used to know in Uniontown. When
+last in Uniontown I met William Wilson, Ewing Brownfield and Greenberry
+Crossland, and did not get a chance to see my old friend and shop-mate,
+Philip Bogardus. He and I worked for the Stockton stage company. The
+shops were on Morgantown street. I understand that since I was out my
+old friend, Bogardus, has passed away. I recollect the lady he married
+was a Miss Lincoln, and I also recollect his boy, Winfield Scott. I have
+been with the Baltimore and Ohio company since October 10th, 1852, and
+am still in its service. Again thanking you for the paper you sent me, I
+close, in the hope that God will bless you and spare your life and mine,
+that we may meet in old time-honored Uniontown, and talk over the
+glories of the old pike.
+
+ Yours most respectfully,
+ THOMAS A. WILEY.
+
+
+PROPOSALS FOR CARRYING THE MAILS.
+
+ WASHINGTON CITY, September 26, 1831.
+
+We will agree to convey the mail on route No. 1,031, from Philadelphia
+to Pittsburg, daily in four-horse post coaches, agreeable to
+advertisement, for the yearly compensation of seven thousand dollars.
+
+Or we will make the following improvements: To convey two daily mails
+from Philadelphia to Pittsburg: First mail to leave Philadelphia at two
+o'clock A. M. and arrive at Pittsburg in two days and five hours, so as
+to arrive in Pittsburg at seven o'clock A. M., and extend the route to
+Wheeling so as to arrive, including route 1,170, at Wheeling the third
+day by nine o'clock P. M., from the first of April to first of December,
+and, from first of December to first of April, to Pittsburg in three and
+Wheeling in four days; and return from Wheeling by Washington,
+Pittsburg, and Chambersburg, to Philadelphia within the same time;
+changing the mail as follows: at Lancaster, Harrisburg, Chambersburg,
+Bedford, Somerset, Mount Pleasant, and at any other office that is or
+may be established on the route. The second mail to leave Philadelphia
+at seven A. M., or immediately after the arrival of the New York mail,
+and reach Pittsburg in three days and five hours, so as to arrive in
+Pittsburg by noon, changing the mail at all way offices.
+
+We will agree to carry the mail on route No. 1,198, from Bedford to
+Washington, Pa., via White House, Somerset, Donegal, Mount Pleasant,
+McKean's, Old Stand, Robbstown, Gambles, and Parkinson's Ferry, to
+Washington, Pa., as advertised, for the yearly compensation of
+twenty-nine hundred dollars.
+
+We do agree to carry the mail on route No. 1,230, from Bedford, Pa., to
+Cumberland, Md., three times a week in coaches, from the first of April
+to the first of October, and once a week on horseback from the first of
+October to the first of April, so as to connect with the Winchester mail
+at Cumberland, and the Great Eastern and Western mail at Bedford, which
+is much wanted during the summer season, for the yearly compensation of
+thirteen hundred dollars.
+
+ JAMES REESIDE,
+ SAMUEL R. SLAYMAKER,
+ J. TOMLINSON.
+ To the Hon. WM. T. BARRY,
+ Postmaster General.
+
+
+CONTRACT.
+
+This contract, made the fifteenth day of October, in the year one
+thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, between James Reeside, of
+Philadelphia, Samuel R. Slaymaker, of Lancaster, and Jesse Tomlinson, of
+Philadelphia, contractors for carrying the mail of the United States, of
+one part, and the Postmaster General of the United States of the other
+part, witnesseth, that said parties have mutually covenanted as follows,
+viz.: The said contractors covenant with the Postmaster General:
+
+To carry the mails from Pittsburg to Harriottsville, Cannonsburg,
+Washington, Claysville, West Alexander, and Triadelphia, Va., to
+Wheeling and back, daily, in four-horse post coaches, the first mail to
+be changed at each county town through which it passes; the second mail
+at every office on the route; and to furnish armed guards for the whole,
+when required by the department, at the rate of six thousand seven
+hundred and fifty dollars for every quarter of a year, during the
+continuance of this contract; to be paid in drafts on postmasters on the
+route above mentioned, or in money, at the option of the Postmaster
+General, in the months of May, August, November, and February.
+
+That the mails shall be duly delivered at, and taken from each
+postoffice now established, or that may be established on any post route
+embraced in this contract, under a penalty of ten dollars for each
+offence; and a like penalty shall be incurred for each ten minutes'
+delay in the delivery of the mail after the time fixed for its delivery
+at any postoffice specified in the schedule hereto annexed; and it is
+also agreed that the Postmaster General may alter the times of arrival
+and departure fixed by said schedule, and alter the route (he making an
+adequate compensation for any extra expense which may be occasioned
+thereby); and the Postmaster General reserves the right of annulling
+this contract, in case the contractors do not promptly adopt the
+alteration required.
+
+If the delay of the arrival of said mail continue until the hour for the
+departure of any connecting mail, whereby the mails destined for such
+connecting mails shall miss a trip, it shall be considered a whole trip
+lost, and a forfeiture of one hundred dollars shall be incurred; and a
+failure to take the mail, or to make the proper exchange of mails at
+connecting points, shall be considered a whole trip lost; and for any
+delay or failure equal to a trip lost, the Postmaster General shall have
+full power to annul this contract.
+
+That the said contractors shall be answerable for the persons to whom
+they shall commit the care and transportation of the mail, and
+accountable for any damage which may be sustained through their
+unfaithfulness or want of care.
+
+That seven minutes after the delivery of the mail at any postoffice on
+the aforesaid route named on the annexed schedule, shall be allowed the
+postmaster for opening the same, and making up another mail to be
+forwarded.
+
+The contractors agree to discharge any driver or carrier of said mail
+whenever required to do so by the Postmaster General.
+
+That when the said mail goes by stage, such stage shall be suitable for
+the comfortable accommodation of at least seven travelers; and the mail
+shall invariably be carried in a secure dry boot, under the driver's
+feet, or in the box which constitutes the driver's seat, under a penalty
+of fifty dollars for each omission; and when it is carried on horseback,
+or in a vehicle other than a stage, it shall be covered securely with an
+oil cloth or bear skin, against rain or snow, under a penalty of twenty
+dollars for each time the mail is wet, without such covering.
+
+_Provided always_, That this contract shall be null and void in case the
+contractors or any person that may become interested in this contract,
+directly or indirectly, shall become a postmaster or an assistant
+postmaster. No member of Congress shall be admitted to any share or part
+of this contract or agreement, or to any benefit to arise thereupon; and
+this contract shall, in all its parts, be subject to its terms and
+requisitions of an act of Congress, passed on the 21st day of April, in
+the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eight, entitled, "An
+act concerning public contracts."
+
+And it is mutually covenanted and agreed by the said parties that this
+contract shall commence on the first day of January next, and continue
+in force until the thirty-first day of December, inclusively, which will
+be in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-five.
+
+_In witness whereof_, They have hereunto interchangeably set their hands
+and seals the day and year first above written.
+
+ (Signed.) JAMES REESIDE. (Seal.)
+ SAM'L R. SLAYMAKER. (Seal.)
+ JESSE TOMLINSON. (Seal.)
+
+Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of
+
+ ROB'T D. CARSON.
+ JACOB SHEARER.
+
+
+BOND.
+
+_Know all men by these presents_, That James Reeside, as principal, and
+Richard Morris and David Dorrance, as sureties, are held and firmly
+bound unto the Postmaster General of the United States of America, in
+the just and full sum of two thousand nine hundred dollars, value
+received, to be paid unto the Postmaster General or his successors in
+office, or to his or their assigns; to which payment, well and truly to
+be made, we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors, and administrators,
+jointly and severally, firmly by these presents. Sealed with our seals,
+dated the seventeenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one
+thousand eight hundred and thirty-one.
+
+The condition of this obligation is such that whereas the above bounden
+James Reeside, by a certain contract bearing date the fifteenth day of
+October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
+thirty-one, covenanted with the said Postmaster General to carry the
+mail of the United States from Bedford to Washington (Pennsylvania), as
+per contract annexed, commencing the first day of January, one thousand
+eight hundred and thirty-two, and ending the thirty-first day of
+December, which will be in the year one thousand eight hundred and
+thirty-five.
+
+Now, if the said James Reeside shall well and truly perform the
+covenants in the said indenture expressed on his part to be performed,
+and shall account for all penalties, and shall promptly repay all
+balances that may at any time be found due from him, then this bond is
+to be void; otherwise to remain in full force.
+
+ (Signed.) JAMES REESIDE, (Seal.)
+ RICHARD MORRIS, (Seal.)
+ DAVID DORRANCE, (Seal.)
+
+Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of
+
+ (Signed.) R. C. WHITESIDE.
+
+A true copy from the original on file in the General Postoffice.
+
+ MW. ST. CLAIR CLARKE, Secretary.
+
+
+CLAIM FOR EXTRA ALLOWANCE.
+
+ WASHINGTON CITY, December 28, 1831.
+
+_Sir_: For the four years which I have been your contractor for
+transporting the great Eastern mail from New York to Philadelphia, it
+has happened almost every week, and several times in a week, that
+arrivals from foreign countries have brought thousands of ship letters
+to the office of New York just before the time for my departure, and the
+importance of their being forwarded without delay to the Southern cities
+has required my detention from one to two hours beyond the ordinary time
+for me to leave New York. This detention I have been required to gain in
+speed, and that increased speed has required me always to keep on that
+route two extra teams of horses, at an extra expense of not less than
+one thousand dollars per year for each team. During the first year your
+predecessor made me an extra allowance for this expense, but during the
+last three years I have received nothing for it. I now submit the
+subject to you, in the expectation that you will allow the claim; it is
+certainly but just that I should be relieved, at least in part, of this
+burden, for the last three years it has subjected me to an expense of
+not less than six thousand dollars, which I hope you will direct to be
+paid to me, at least in part, if you do not think me entitled to the
+whole. I have also, within the same time, transported to New York all
+the large mail bags which are made in Philadelphia and sent to New York,
+not with mails, but to be used in New York, and to be sent from New York
+to other places. These within three years will amount to about five
+hundred pounds a week, as will appear from accounts of the manufacturers
+in your office. Wherever I could procure transportation for those bags
+in wagons, I have uniformly paid $2.50 per hundred pounds for carrying
+them, rather than overload my coaches in which we carry the great mail.
+For this service, I hope you will not consider my claim unreasonable, if
+I charge ten dollars per week for three years. All of which is submitted
+to your sense of justice for decision.
+
+ Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+ JAMES REESIDE.
+ HON. WM. T. BARRY.
+
+Endorsement--Allowed. Allow $4,500. The residue of the
+claim is reserved for future consideration. Allow the remaining
+$1,500.
+
+
+COULDN'T AFFORD TO CARRY NEWSPAPERS.
+
+ WASHINGTON, July 12, 1832.
+
+_Sir_: When we entered into contract with you to run two daily mails
+between Philadelphia and Pittsburg, one with unexampled rapidity, and
+the other in three and one-half days, we had no idea whatever of
+carrying the newspaper mail in our most rapid line, nor do we suppose it
+was ever contemplated by the department. It was our intention and we so
+expressed it in all our conversation with you, and with the
+superintendent of mail contracts, to carry the principal letter mail
+only in the most rapid line, not believing it practicable to carry the
+heavy load of newspapers sent to the West with sufficient rapidity to
+reach Pittsburg in the shortest time specified. Indeed, if we could have
+supposed that it would ever become necessary to carry the newspapers
+with that rapidity, we should not have undertaken it for less that
+fifteen thousand dollars a year beyond what we now receive; but
+experience soon taught us that great complaints were made against the
+department and ourselves when the newspapers were not received as soon
+as the letters, and that these complaints were not confined to
+Pittsburg, but extended all over the West. To satisfy the public, and
+sustain the credit of both the department and ourselves as its servant,
+we made the experiment of trying to carry the newspapers with our most
+rapid line. We have partially succeeded, but with very great loss. For
+three days in the week we are compelled to exclude all passengers, to
+the loss of not less than one hundred dollars a day. We are willing to
+perform our contract to the full extent of its meaning, but we must
+relinquish carrying the newspaper mails by our most rapid line, unless
+we can in part be remunerated for it. If, however, the Postmaster
+General is willing to silence the public clamor, which is so great when
+we carry them in our slow line, we will carry all the newspaper mails,
+together with the letter mail, in our most rapid line to Pittsburg and
+Wheeling, in the shortest time specified in our contract, and so arrange
+the connection of the Baltimore mail at Chambersburg with our swift
+line, as to carry the newspapers as well as letter mail, from Baltimore
+to Pittsburg in two days, for the additional allowance of ten thousand
+dollars per year, from the first of April last. The increased expense to
+us will not be less than fifteen thousand dollars a year, and for our
+own credit and for the credit of the department, we will make one-third
+of the sacrifice and perform the service for ten thousand dollars a
+year. We would gladly do it for a less sum if we could afford it, but we
+cannot, and at that rate our sacrifice will be as much as we can bear.
+It would be much more gratifying to us if the public would be satisfied
+without it, but they will not, and our own feelings will not suffer us
+to perform a service in which we cannot give satisfaction to the public.
+
+Very respectfully, your obedient servants,
+
+ JAS. REESIDE,
+ SAM'L R. SLAYMAKER.
+ To the HON. W. T. BARRY,
+ Postmaster General.
+
+A true copy from the original on file in the General Postoffice.
+
+(The above letter is marked "Granted.")
+
+ MW. ST. CLAIR CLARKE, Secretary.
+
+
+MR. REESIDE DEFIES ALL COMPETITORS.
+
+ PHILADELPHIA, January 25, 1833.
+
+_Dear Sir_: Your favor dated the 22d inst. has just come to hand, which
+I have examined with much care, but must confess myself at a loss to
+come to the exact meaning it is extended to convey.
+
+That there is at present, and has been for some time back, an express
+carried on horseback between this city and New York, is a fact which is
+well known, and which is publicly acknowledged by the newspapers in New
+York. That it is impossible to carry the whole of the great Eastern mail
+through in coaches or otherwise with the same speed as a small package
+can be carried through on horseback is a fact that requires no comment.
+
+Not having pointed out this matter clearly in your letter whether it was
+the wish of the department that a certain portion of mails should be
+sent by express to New York at an earlier hour than it now does.
+
+Should it be the latter, I would at once assure the department of the
+impossibility of having it carried through in as short a time as it is
+now carried by express on horseback.
+
+In either case the department may rest assured of my willingness and
+determination to use every exertion in order to meet the views and
+wishes of the department. Should you desire it to be sent by express, I
+have no hesitation in saying that I can have it sent through in a
+shorter time than it can be done by any other individual in the country.
+This will be handed to you by Mr. Ewing, whom I have sent on with
+directions to ascertain from you personally your views of this matter,
+and who will give you all the information respecting the express that
+has been sent from this place to New York alluded to in your letter.
+
+ With respect, your obedient servant,
+ JAMES REESIDE.
+
+N. B. I will say to a certainty I will go from this city to New York in
+six hours, or faster than any other one can do it.
+
+ JAMES REESIDE.
+ To Hon. O. B. BROWN,
+ Superintendent of Mail Contracts,
+ Washington, D. C.
+
+
+TEAMS READY FOR THE NATIONAL ROAD.
+
+ TRENTON, February 25, 1833.
+
+_Dear Sir_: You will perceive by the enclosed that I have attended to
+your directions as far as practicable. It is their own exposition of the
+matter, and such as they gave me.
+
+I neglected to mention to you in my letter of yesterday that the cause
+of the private express beating that of the Government alluded to in Mr.
+Mumford's letter, was owing to but one cause.
+
+Their express came through from Washington.
+
+The Government express from Philadelphia, after the arrival of the
+steamship, giving the newspaper express the start of six hours in
+advance of that of the Government. The lateness of the succeeding
+arrivals originated from the cause mentioned in the enclosed letter. No
+mail having arrived from the South, they supposed, from the lateness of
+the arrival of the express the following night, that there would not be
+any more.
+
+This was caused by the late arrival of the steamboat, and no preparation
+was made on the road for taking it on. This is their excuse; whether it
+will pass current is for you to determine. I have just received a letter
+from Mr. Washington on the subject. He attaches the blame to Thompson's
+bad horse, &c.
+
+I think we shall be able to get the mail through in time to connect with
+the boat, should the roads not get worse than they now are.
+
+The mail arrived in Philadelphia this morning at 6 o'clock. I have good
+reasons for believing that it will continue, unless a change should take
+place in the roads.
+
+The mail has left Jersey City the last few days at a few minutes past
+three o'clock P. M., and will continue to leave at that hour unless you
+direct otherwise: that is three o'clock.
+
+The teams intended for the National Road are here to-night, and start
+to-morrow for the West; they are twelve in number, Jersey stock.
+
+ Yours respectfully,
+ D. EWING.
+
+ COLONEL JAMES REESIDE.
+
+P. S. No opposition express for the last four days. Your express horses
+are in good order, with but two exceptions.
+
+ D. E.
+
+
+COPY OF AN ACCOUNT AGAINST COL. JAMES REESIDE.
+
+ COL. JAMES REESIDE, TO HUTCHINSON & WEART, _Dr._
+
+ 1833.
+
+ January 31.--To one horse on express $ 5 00
+ February 1. " two horses " 10 00
+ " 2. " two horses " 10 00
+ " 3. " two horses " 10 00
+ " 3. " horses and gig, Eastward, making arrangements
+ for regular express 5 00
+ March 7.--To two horses on express 5 00
+ " 7. " running express one month and four days, from
+ February 4 to this date, inclusive, between
+ Trenton and New Brunswick 1,885 71
+ --------
+ $1,970 71
+
+The above is a true copy from our books, so far as relates to expresses,
+and has been paid to us by Col. Reeside.
+
+ HUTCHINSON & WEART.
+
+
+BEDFORD, PA., GETS A DAILY MAIL.
+
+ February 14, 1833.
+
+_Sir_: The citizens of Bedford, Pennsylvania, desire that a daily mail
+be run between Bedford and Hollidaysburg. The latter being a place of
+great importance, being at the junction of the Pennsylvania Canal and
+Railroad, and an intercourse of communication very great between the two
+points, I will agree to perform the service for a pro rata allowance,
+and put the arrangement into effect in ten days.
+
+ Very respectfully, etc.,
+ JAMES REESIDE.
+
+ HON. W. T. BARRY, Postmaster General.
+
+No. 1215, Pennsylvania. James Reeside proposes to run daily for pro
+rata; Postmaster General says within "granted;" James Reeside written to
+25th February, 1833.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's End Notes
+
+Several illustrations ("ROAD WAGON" and "STAGE COACH") appear in the
+table of illustrations but do not have captions in the images
+themselves. These have been added. The table of illustrations indicates
+that a portrait of Ellis B. Woodward was to appear after p. 119, where
+he is mentioned. In fact, the portrait was bound between pages 132 and
+133. It has been placed in its intended position.
+
+In Chapter XIV and in the Appendix, accounting reports include balances
+carried over to the following page. Since this text will not contain
+page breaks, these are superfluous, and they have been eliminated.
+
+The spelling of place names vary locally, e.g., Allegany / Allegheny.
+
+The word "phaeton" appears both with and without the "ae" ligature. In
+both cases, the spelling here is "phaeton".
+
+Hyphenation can be variable and is retained as found. Where the sole
+instance of a hyphenated word occurs on a line break, modern usage is
+followed.
+
+For Chapters XXIX, XXXII, the chapter summary fails to consistently use
+the conventional '--' separator between topics. These omissions have
+been corrected.
+
+The following list contains typographical or spelling errors which were
+noted, by the original pagination: (29) excelerating, (145) sapplings,
+(155) ignominously, (157) wood-be robber, (166) Gautemala, (252)
+whatsomever, (269) germaine, (290) Abram, (297) from widow Goodings,
+(323) Tennesse, (327) mint julip, (328) Butting, (333), beleagured,
+(349) empanneled.
+
+Punctuation and spacing errors have been corrected to follow usage
+elsewhere in the text.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Old Pike, by Thomas B. Searight
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41799 ***
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