Show STAGE COACH TALES TAUS by EC E C TAYLOR F arrom from stage driver to rail road president THE TIE lion ginery twitchell rose from obscurity to become one of the leading figures 0 of the era eta ot of state stage coach couch transportation then president 0 of the railroad that t put bis his stage lines out ot of business and then a mor ber her ot of congress many a now vw eng england land child bearing the cry ot of a coming I 1 gineros co coming ami and probably wondering what bat a ginery was watched with delight as a treat great stage coach with el at prancing reek ine ing foaming horse horses cam came to a top stop in front ct of the tile Buy state house in boston or the taverns ot of arces or ces ter mass or brattleboro Bratt leboro vt seated atop stop the TO intel 0 nas a a sen contented man ruddy of face ace bis his stout body swathed in a heavy greatcoat and on his bead head a tall silk still hat conery twitchell would lilt lt erect on the coachman conch mans s teat seat gather the reins well in hand and sullenly sul denly be off with a treat great rattle of wheels and blowing of horns query ra was called culled Ilono honorable rable eun ein then probably it was vias because ot of his vast deputa it alon tie n tor for integrity ani ant probably til so because he was mas na inveterate politician and always had a anger finger in the political maneuverings and plot tIngs ot of bis his part ot of new eng land tand ills stage stace coach was one ot of th the s moat most famous that ever rolled over er the tough roads of the early d day a of I 1 the united states it was built 0 in 1837 by heat y T frech of worcester and neer wai aa repaired beyond occasionally getting a new coat of varnish in 1810 at the request of 0 the citizens of 0 barre vt VL eats seats were added to the top so that the great coach carried 3 32 persons pera oni I 1 12 inside and 20 0 outside it once carried ca young women from honester on a blackberry ex curtion cur slon sion with eight horses drawing this record loa I 1 I 1 during the prest dentral campaign ot of 1810 it carried the political leaders to and from meetings around amond ills tits last arher henry miner narrates that twitchell before the dayi days of the railroad collected election mites iotes on horseback and once road from greenfield blasi to worcester 11 or cester a distance of 54 miles in four and a halt hours he ile had relays ot of fresh horses every six or ten miles and made the ride at night la in the days when he was a post rider ier before he bad had accumulated sufficient funds to buy an interest in a stage cach cinch line he once slept in his clothes including buckskin buck sLIn und emear Bear la in the american house in gorcester Nor cester for a week waiting for dispatches des patches from british steam ers era he ile also had men and fresh horses malting the entire week along the tle road to norwich conn hen the boats arrived twitch ell mounted bis his horse and started for norwich tor he ile met the boat and ild dellmere del lvere iverel I 1 the dispatches des patches in new york hours ahead of any other post line finery twitchell Tm Itchell was a great tar far with those who sho rode with him and the seat pent beside the driver river was eagerly vied for even in bad er he ile had an inexhaustible fund of racy anecdotes with which he regaled his acquaintances fhe rhe people along his post and stage routes trusted him min with ith their business busl nesa commissions an ant he perfumed per firmed a service similar to that of the ex press companies of today after a long perlo I 1 of self denial dental in his early days he be height a stage coach and two horses from a clr Stoc stockwell knell and a stage line between brattleboro Bratt leboro ani an worcester in 1843 he cuned and operated a line between barre and worcester Vor cester and later established a stage line from greenfield to brat in that year the postmaster gen eral at at Ans hington advertised tor for conducts to carry the mall mail and twitchell latea I 1 of bidding for one route went merit to washington and cb ob tagne 1 several athin thina a short time lime he was the largest stage operator la in new I 1 bigland owning a large number ot of fine stage lines and coaches conches one of his feats was Rs driving a coach from moncester Mor cester masi to hartford conn coca a distance of CO miles tittles in I 3 hours and 20 24 minutes I 1 through deep snow that was on january 23 1840 1344 1 ben the railroads came twitch ell turned to the new mode of or trans port atlon atlen and became become first prest dent of the boston Il western estern rail rall B nair vai r lola |