Touring New York When State Was Young: Schooner Days MCXXIII (1123) Happier Bride's Diary - 20

By C.H.J. Snider

FROM New York to Buffalo is now an easy daylight run with a good car. In 1805 it took Anne MacDonell of Toronto and her brother, Col. Samuel Boise Smith, the rest of the month of November to struggle that far, and then they were nearly a hundred miles from their ultimate destination, with worse roads ahead of them.

They had comfortable going as far as Schenectady, friends accommodating them in their carriage - and then -

"November 10th (Sunday). - Left Schenectady about 10 o'clock in a wagon. Mr. and Mrs. Walton on horseback accompanied us for a few miles. We got only 24 miles that night to Mr. Van Ranceler's [cq Van Rensselaer] the gentleman that drove us, his family were civil & quite genteel for Dutch." (A left-handed compliment for this patrician family!) We left there the morning of the 11th after breakfast. The road so intolerably bad that we could get only 3 or 4 & 20 miles, & put up for the night.

"12th. Going on slowly. We passed over some fine banks, where we had a delightful view of the country, river, flats & pass thro' a number of handsome villages & came to the Little Falls.

"The road about there begered all description for badness, tho' we had four horses they were hardly able to drag us thro' the mud & this a turnpike road. It was too muddy to think of calling to see Mrs. Alexander as we had intended.

"13th. Arrived at Utica 2 o'clock, 80 miles from Schenectady. Such a mud hole I never saw, impossible to stir out. I could not call on an old acquaintance as I wished, Mrs. Raculer." (And the diarist came from Muddy York at its muddiest!)

THISTLES AND CLOVER

"14th. Left Utica, got only 15 miles, the roads so intolerable. Completely taken in by our driver taking us to a Tavern (Marchal's) people disobliging & bad accommodation. Slept in our great coats, &c.

"15th. Got to Mrs. Barry's, 116 miles, slept quite in clover.

"16th. Got to Marcell's by 12 o'clock. Our driver again took us in by driving us to Barrett's Inn, and refused to go farther. We got breakfast and staid the day. Disagreeable enough but more so when we were shown to our beds in a room where several men were already in bed. Mrs. McGill started back & on my saying I preferred sitting up all night, the Landlord got in a violent passion told us we might go further. A stormy night & no conveyance. Sad times indeed, too ill-natured to let us have a bed on the floor. With some difficulty my Brother pacified him, & we were shown to another room with damp walls - a comfortless night.

"17th. To stay another day & night at this place. A dark snowy day & my brother gone in pursuit of a waggon. Sunday I took up the prayer book but really could not give my mind to reading, so as I cannot pay proper attention to it, took up my pen with thoughts of home. Indeed (the word) home is often re-echoed from one to the other. It is so desirable a place at this late season, & our prospect very dull with respect to getting on, the roads so intolerably bad."