The Old Pike Part 17

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 Was.h.i.+ngton 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 towns.h.i.+p, 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 towns.h.i.+p, 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 canva.s.s 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 sh.e.l.l oysters. They were not carried away, but the eager oyster lovers picked them up, cracked open the sh.e.l.ls 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GERMAN D. HAIR.]

Samuel Youman, of Was.h.i.+ngton county, Pa., was an old wagoner, stage driver and tavern keeper. He drove stage from Hillsboro to Was.h.i.+ngton, 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 succ.u.mbed 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 companions.h.i.+p of old wagoners who have pa.s.sed 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 c.u.mberland. 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 towns.h.i.+p, 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 towns.h.i.+p, 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 towns.h.i.+p, 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 Was.h.i.+ngton.

Henry Foster, late of North Union towns.h.i.+p, 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 Was.h.i.+ngton 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 towns.h.i.+p when the steam railway usurped the functions of the old pike.

William Hankins, a well known farmer of North Union towns.h.i.+p, 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 c.o.ke 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 c.u.mberland, 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, c.o.o.n 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 a.s.sociate 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ASHAEL WILLISON.]

John Short, an old wagoner, retired from the road at an early day and took up his abode in Franklin towns.h.i.+p, 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 towns.h.i.+p about eight years ago, aged nearly eighty. The old citizens of Franklin towns.h.i.+p 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 c.u.mberland and drawing a pension. Another son of the old wagoner is a watchman at the rolling mill in c.u.mberland, and the third is on the police force of that city.

Ashael Willison, another of the old wagoners, is still living in c.u.mberland, and one of the most prominent citizens of that place. He was postmaster at c.u.mberland 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 pus.h.i.+ng 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 c.u.mberland, 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.