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The fare from Columbus to Zanesville was $2.00, and from Zanesville to
Wheeling $3.00. By motor bus today the fare from Columbus to Wheeling is
only $2.85. The time from Columbus to Wheeling is about four and one-half
hours.
 
About 1840 special coaches were put on the road to carry the mail. These were
operated at a greater speed than the ones carrying passengers. They were kept
so close to schedule that farmers along the road knew the time by their
passing. In order that there might be the minimum of delay at stations, fresh
horses stood harnessed and waiting for the arrival of the mail coaches.
 
Stage Gives Way to the Railroad Train.-The stage drivers regretfully
withdrew when the railroads came through, affording a speedier form of
travel. Many of them drifted westward and obtained like employment for a
time where the railroad was not known. Some of the "Old Pike Boys" settled
down here in other lines of work. All are now gone, but as long as they lived
they delighted in relating their experiences in the stagecoach days on the
National Road.
 
Wagoners on the National Road
 
At the coming of the railroad through Guernsey county in 1854 there passed
out a class of men familiar to all who lived along the National Road. These
were the wagoners-ruddy-faced through exposure, physically strong and
daring. They helped to develop the western country. They hauled great loads
of farm products, such as tobacco, pork and wheat, to Wheeling, and "over
the mountains," and brought back goods from the eastern factories and mills,
to be sold in the stores.
 
Classes of Wagoners.-Wagoners, as a rule, owned their own teams, and
worked independently of each other. In this respect they were unlike the
drivers of stagecoaches which were owned by companies and operated much
as bus lines today. There were two classes of wagoners-regulars and "sharp-
shooters." The regulars followed wagoning year after year, making regular
trips "over the mountains." The "sharp-shooters" were farmers who, at the
busiest season on the road, would leave their farm work and engage in
wagoning because the remuneration was attractive. They were looked down
upon by the regulars who considered themselves professionals. Guernsey
county "sharp-shooters" seldom hauled farther than Wheeling.
 
What the Wagons Were Like.-The beds of the wagons were long and deep,
with curved bottoms higher at the ends than in the middle. In this form of
bed a load could be so distributed as to be carried over the hills more safely
than in one with a straight floor. On top of the bed were wooden bows over
which canvas was stretched to protect the freight. The wheels were massive,
having tires from three to five inches wide and an inch thick. From the rear
axle a kettle of tar, used freely, was suspended. The first wagon of this type
was made at Conestoga, Pennsylvania, hence the name, Conestoga, by which
they were called.
 
How the Horses Were Hitched and Driven.-Each freighter was usually
drawn by six horses. The wheel horses were hitched to single- and double-
trees fastened to the tongue and hounds; the middle horses, to single and
double-trees which hung at the end of the tongue. A chain fastened to the end
of the tongue was stretched between the middle span of horses and received
the double-tree of the leaders. A single line fastened to the bridle rein of the
near lead horse was used by the driver who walked by the side of the near
wheel horse, carrying a blacksnake whip over his shoulder. This near wheel
horse carried a saddle upon which the driver would occasionally ride. To
guide the horses, also to attract the attention of people whom they passed, the drivers, whose lungs were always strong, gave much volume to
their "gees" and "haws."
 
CONESTOGA WAGON 
In 1840 freight was hauled over the National Road in Conestoga wagons, each wagon drawn by six horses. These wagons carried farmers' products, such as tobacco, wool, meat and grain, to eastern markets and returned loaded with manufactured goods to be sold in the western stores. It required three days to haul a load from Cambridge to Wheeling; time was taken out for feeding and resting the horses. Hauling across the mountains was both dangerous and difficult. It took a teamster two months to make a trip from Cambridge to Baltimore and return. To transport goods from Baltimore to Cambridge cost approximately four dollars per hundredweight. With the coming of the railroads the wagoners gradually withdrew from the National Road. They could not compete with ule steam horse.
 
Wagoners used heavy harness on their horses. The breeching was four or five
inches wide, made of double and sometimes triple pieces of leather sewed
together. The better class of wagoners suspended bells from iron bows
between the hames. Their music, as the horses plodded along, cheered the
drivers and attracted attention. A rule of the road was that no team should
ever pass one that had stalled, without rendering assistance. Having been
helped, the owner of the team that could not make the grade, according to the
rule, would give the assisting teamster one of his bells. A bow full of bells was
often proudly displayed by a wagoner as an indication of the strength of his
team.
 
Great Loads Were Hauled.-As many as nine hogsheads of tobacco, each
weighing one thousand pounds, have been hauled "over the mountains" in
a single load. The charge for hauling goods was based upon distance and
number of hundred-weight. As much of the goods sold in the early Guernsey
county stores came from New York and Philadelphia, the selling price was
necessarily high on account of the transportation cost.
 
Life of a Wagoner.-For the accommodation of the wagoners a wagonlot was
provided at each tavern along the road. The most commodious one of these
in Cambridge adjoined the Hutchison tavern which stood on the site of the
present National hotel. The Jeffersonian building stands on this lot. A half
dozen or more big freighters would often be seen parked for the night in a
single wagon-lot. Feed for the horses could be obtained at the wagon-stands.
 
The wagoners carried their own bedding and during the summer nights they
slept in the open. In winter they spread their bedding on the floor of the
tavern, before the big fireplace, and slept there. For this privilege one "bit"
(twelve and one-half cents) was charged. They ate with the other guests at the
table of the tavern. Their evenings were usually spent in the barroom where
they engaged in some kind of entertainment. Many of the wagoners were
fiddlers, and carried their instruments with them.
 
As a rule the wagoners were inveterate users of tobacco. They liked to smoke
cigars better than pipes, as it was considered a mark of distinction. Their
wages were small and cigars were expensive. About 1840, Marsh, a cigar-
maker in Wheeling, began the manufacture of a cheap cigar from home-
grown tobacco, especially for the wagoners. They were called "conestogies"
after the Conestoga wagons. This name was soon shortened to "stogies." A
colloquialism was thus coined, which has since become a standard English
word, meaning "cheap cigar."