The Old Pike Part 42

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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 compet.i.tor 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 pa.s.sed 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 partic.i.p.ate 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 a.s.sembly 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 s.p.a.ce in the history and councils of this nation. We stand here, sir, upon the c.u.mBERLAND 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 const.i.tutes 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 G.o.d 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DR. HUGH CAMPBELL.]

The Appian Way was a great road, and is invested with much cla.s.sic 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 pa.s.sing 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 pa.s.s 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 c.u.mberland 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 cla.s.sic 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 Caesar. 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 cl.u.s.ter 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 ill.u.s.trious authors of cla.s.sic 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 pa.s.sed 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 Ca.n.u.sium, 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BIG WATER-TROUGH ON LAUREL HILL.]

APPENDIX.

_A Digest of the Laws of Pennsylvania, relating to the c.u.mberland 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 pa.s.s 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 c.u.mberland 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 cla.s.ses and persons exempt from toll, provides for the erection of directors (boards ordering teams, etc., to pa.s.s 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 c.u.mberland 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 a.s.sembly of this Commonwealth, relating to the collection of tolls on that part of the c.u.mberland Road which is within this State, pa.s.sed June 13th, 1836, and April 5th, 1843, do not authorize the collection of any amount of tolls whatever for the pa.s.sage upon said road of any stage, coach, or other vehicle carrying pa.s.sengers 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 a.s.sessment 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 pa.s.senger 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 pa.s.sengers in his carriage or coach. Section 15 provides that in case of refusal of pa.s.sengers 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 pa.s.sengers to ascertain the number of pa.s.sengers 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 pa.s.sengers 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 pa.s.s 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.