>From Norfolk Baily passed northward to Baltimore, paying a fare
of ten dollars, and from there he went on to Philadelphia, paying
six dollars more
>From Norfolk Baily passed northward to Baltimore, paying a fare
of ten dollars, and from there he went on to Philadelphia, paying
six dollars more. On the way his stagecoach stuck fast in a bog
and the passengers were compelled to leave it until the next
morning. This sixty-mile road out of Baltimore was evidently one
of the worst in the East. Ten years prior to this date, Brissot,
a keen French journalist, mentions the great ruts in its heavy
clay soil, the overturned trees which blocked the way, and the
unexampled skilfulness of the stage drivers. All travelers in
America, though differing on almost every other subject,
invariably praise the ability of these sturdy, weather-beaten
American drivers, their kindness to their horses, and their
attention to their passengers. Harriet Martineau stated that, in
her experience, American drivers as a class were marked by the
merciful temper which accompanies genius, and their perfection in
their art, their fertility of resource, and the gentleness with
which they treated female fears and fretfulness, were exemplary.
