Page:Historic highways of America (Volume 12).djvu/180

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176
PIONEER ROADS

with half his person on my legs, and the other half on the driver's.

"'Go a-head cap'en,' cries the colonel, who directs.

"'Go-lang!' cries the cap'en to his company, the horses, and away we go.

"We took up at a rural bar-room, after we had gone a few miles, an intoxicated gentleman who climbed upon the roof among the luggage, and subsequently slipping off without hurting himself, was seen in the distant perspective reeling back to the grog-shop where we had found him. We also parted with more of our freight at different times, so that when we came to change horses, I was again alone outside.

"The coachmen always change with the horses, and are usually as dirty as the coach. The first was dressed like a very shabby English baker; the second like a Russian peasant; for he wore a loose purple camlet robe with a fur collar, tied round his waist with a parti-coloured worsted sash; grey trousers; light blue gloves; and a cap of bearskin. It had by this time come on to rain very heavily, and