A NOTE ON THE HORN.
Many guards on the day coaches carried key bugles, on which some of
them were able to play exceedingly well, and helped to while away many
a half hour on the journey; but on the mails and night coaches, the
former especially, straight horns were employed. Formerly these were
all made of tin, hence the "yard of tin," but in later years a good
many copper or brass ones came into use, and a few, in quite late
years, adopted a twisted horn without keys, much like the infantry
field bugle used in the army.
[Illustration: J. Sturgess del. et lith. M&N. Hanhart imp.
OBSTRUCTION ON THE BRIDGE.]
These horns, of whichever sort, were generally efficacious in warning
carts, carriages, or other vehicles to get out of the way, but were of
little avail against the worst obstruction met with on the roads. At
that time all the sheep, cattle and pigs which travelled from one part
of the country to another were obliged to make use of the highways,
and though the drovers were possessed of marvellous skill in avoiding
the turnpike roads on account of the tolls, nevertheless large droves
and flocks were not unfrequently met with, and were the cause of
considerable delay, and also sometimes of altercation. I was once
forcing my way through a large drove of cattle, rather more
unceremoniously than the drover approved of, when he threw his heavy
stick at my head, and only narrowly missed it; and here perhaps it
will not be out of place to introduce a few cases which exhibit the
danger incurred by coaches from the presence of cattle and sheep,
whether in droves and flocks or straying on the roads.
On November 7th, 1789, the Preston and Carlisle mail, after changing
horses at Garstang, when about three miles on the road to Preston, in
crossing a bridge over the Lancaster and Preston canal, encountered
some drove cattle in the road, when the coach was coming down the
bridge, which is a declivity, and the coachman pulled his horses too
much to the off-side of the road to avoid the cattle, and the off
wheels ran up the bank and upset the coach. Nobody seems to have been
injured.
A curious accident happened to the Devonport mail _en route_ to Bath,
on November 7th, 1839. The guard's report says: "A short distance from
New House, a bullock straying on the road became frightened at the
light of the lamps, and attempted to leap the hedge, but falling back
against the leaders, the horses all sprung across the road, and
running the coach into the hedge, threw the coachman off the box, and
the wheels passed over him." He, the guard, then proceeds to say that
he only lost one hour and a half's time, but gives no account of what
became of the coachman. His whole thoughts appear to have been
concentrated on his business, and he reminds one of the anecdote about
the trainer and the old woman.
As a string of race-horses were out at exercise one morning, one of
them bolted and came into collision with some obstacle which threw him
down, seriously injuring him, and killing the lad who was riding him.
The unfortunate lad was soon removed, and the trainer was lamenting
over the horse when he was accosted by an old woman, who happened to
be passing by at the time, and began to condole with him on the
accident. He replied, "Ah! it is a bad job, indeed, I am afraid he
will never be able to run for another race;" but, says she, "How's the
poor boy?" "Oh! drat the boy, he's dead," was the answer.
Sheep were sometimes the cause of accidents. On January 10th, 1840,
when the London and Hull mail was within a mile of Peterborough, the
horses shied at a flock of sheep, and ran the coach into a ditch six
feet deep, overturning it, and causing three hours' loss of time.
And now, having indulged in a stave on the guards' horns, perhaps the
coachmen's whips may feel themselves neglected if I have no word to
say about them, and on this subject it must be admitted that rather
different opinions prevailed. _Tot homines tot sententiæ._ Some
preferred, I think most professionals did, a stiff crop and a light
thong, but others, especially amateurs, were in favour of a supple
stick with a heavier thong. The latter are no doubt easier to manage
in a high wind, and can also be caught up with greater facility; but,
in my humble opinion, the former are far preferable for general use, a
supple stick and a heavy thong being insufferable in wet weather.
In the selection of a whip it is easy to observe whether the person
selecting is an old hand or not. If he is he will pick out a crop
without knots, or with as few as possible, whereas the tyro is nearly
sure to take the knotty one. The large knots, of course, tend to keep
the thong, when caught, from slipping down towards the hand, but it
ought to be caught tight enough to stay in its proper place without
them, and sticks always break first at the knots.
Some people are now in favour of long crops. I fancy a cricketer might
as well demand a bat of extra length. In old days W. and T. Ward, who
were by odds the best whipmakers, never thought of turning out whips
with crops of greater length than five feet two or three inches to the
holder, and most were not quite so long. Beyond this length it becomes
almost impossible to obtain a good balance. A very long stick must be
top heavy, and I will defy anyone to use a long top heavy whip as
effectually as one that is of a more handy length.
Even when the cattle were good, and but little whip was required,
thongs soon became rotten from the sweat of the horses and the rain,
and to avoid the frequent necessity for new ones, what were called
"three quarters and middles" were made, which coachmen were generally
able to splice on for themselves. Thongs also wear out more quickly if
they are not kept supple, for which purpose a dressing of two-thirds
hog's lard and one-third bees wax will be found very efficacious.