The Old Pike / A History of the National Road, with Incidents, Accidents, and Anecdotes Thereon

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.”

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.”

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.

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.

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