History of Monroe County, Michigan, Part 38

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: New York, Munsell & company
Number of Pages: 882

USA > Michigan > Monroe County > History of Monroe County, Michigan > Part 38

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The situation was becoming strained. Mon- roe was on the alert for the first movement in- dicating any intention of carrying out the scheme. It soon came. Deacon French, of Detroit, appeared in Monroe, accompanied by a number of laborers in wagons, bearing tools and authorized by Van Fossen to remove the iron.

On the morning of December 12, 1840, a number of large hand-bills were conspicuously posted through the city of Monroe, bearing the following:

PROCLAMATION !

WHEREAS, Divers evil disposed persons and depredators on public property, actuated by the devil and John Van Fossen, are prowling about the streets of this city, with the avowed intention of seizing upon and carrying away from the Southern Railroad the iron, spike, etc., now in progress of being placed upon the road for public utility, and some of which is already spiked to the work ;

AND WHEREAS, Great and serious injury to the commercial prospects of this city woukd grow out of such ill-advised conduct ;

AND WHEREAS, It becomes all good citizens to bear with patience and magnanimity evils that cannot be averted in times of great calam- ity ; as it also becomes the duty of every ra- tional citizen to protect his rights in times of oppression and injustice ;

Now, Therefore, I hereby, by the authority in me invested, call upon all within the precincts of this city to assemble at the old court house instanter, at the ringing of the bell, for the purpose of deliberating upon the best mode of

protecting, without violence, the public prop- erty, which of right belongs to that portion of the Southern Railroad within the limits of this city.

Given under my hand and seal at the mayor's office, this 12th day of December, 1840.

DAN. B. MILLER, Mayor.

At the ringing of the bell the citizens turned out en masse and packed the old yellow court house to the doors, and numbers gathered in front unable to gain admittance. The meeting was called to order by the mayor ; numerous speeches were made and great enthusiasm pre- vailed. It was resolved to resist to the utmost any and every attempt to remove the iron, and the meeting dispersed with apparently no for- mulated plan. Deacon French and his laborers found themselves in a very feeble minority, and wisely refrained from any overt act. It is pre- sumed that he communicated with Van Fossen and informed him of the state of affairs, for the next morning the steamer " Erie " drew up at the wharves and the Brady Guards of Detroit filed on shore, with orders to uphold the au- thority of the commissioner. But they came too late; there remained on the docks no iron for Deacon French to carry away.

Ilistory may now tell that which for years was a profound mystery - how it disappeared. While Deacon French was doubtless congratu- lating himself that the citizens' meeting had passed with no definite plans of resistance ; that the most he would have to encounter would be an unorganized rabble of townspeo- ple, without head or plan ; while he was prob- ably wafted away to dreamland with a shrewd smile upon his countenance that the rabble would be surprised and overawed by the troops on the morrow, a small surprise was being arranged for the Deacon himself. While the meeting was listening to fervid oratory and shouting "aye" to resolutions, Joseph M. Sterling, William A. Noble, Austin Deane, Walter P. Clark, James Hall, Charles B. Mar- vin and Loomis Palmer quietly arranged a plan of action.

The winter night fell upon the city dark and cold. One by one the twinkling lights in the scattered houses disappeared as the tallow candles were extinguished, and the weary burghers sought their pillows. Midnight came with no sound to startle the stillness. Then

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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

softly one door after another opened and the plotters, singly or in pairs, sought the docks. With no unnecessary noise they promptly pro- ceeded to push some flat cars by hand up to the piles of iron and couple them together. They were vigorous young men, full of that energy which builds majestic commonwealths from the primeval forest, and they worked lustily. The iron was soon loaded upon the cars, and two teams were brought out and har- nessed to them - the teams belonging to John Hanson and J. M. Sterling. But an unforeseen difficulty arose. Though the men pushed and pried and the horses tugged and strained, the heavily laden cars would not move. There was a hurried consultation. The locomotive belonging to the road was in the city, but there was but one man who could manage it - James Kingsland. It was decided to impress him into the service. He was awakened, and, with a great deal of reluctance, consented to act. The locomotive was fired up and coupled to the train, and the arch conspirators clambered on board. The sleeping inhabitants wondered at a train passing in the night, but soon resumed their slumbers. Meantime the cars were creep- ing through the darkness westward till they reached a point on the Isbell farm, about four miles west of the city, at a place known as the " Bear Hut." Here they halted. Along the road were immense piles of wood, gotten out by John Mulhollen in clearing up a portion of his land. There was a deep ditch by the side of the track. First laying stringers in this ditch, the iron was unloaded from the cars upon the stringers in the ditch, and then huge piles of wood were placed over it to screen it from observation. When all traces of their work had been removed, the tired schemers were carried back to Monroe to await the events of the coming day.

Deacon French blithely arose the next morn- ing, and, gathering his hosts, proceeded to the dock, expecting to arrive simultaneously with the troops, and to proceed to take the iron lying there. The troops arrived, as did Dea- con French's forces, but they found no iron to move. They tested the bottom of the river, but found nothing; a search in the city was likewise fruitless of results. Then, some ru- mor of a train having been heard during the night reaching his ears, he got out the locomo- tive and a car and proceeded to search along

the line of the road. There were fearful hearts among those in the secret lest some telltale evidence might betray the hiding-place of the precious rails. But the work had been well done. The Deacon's sharp eyes discovered nothing, though he extended his search to the terminus of the road at Adrian. He then con- cluded that the iron had been thrown into the River Raisin at either Petersburgh or Le Roy (two miles cast of Adrian), but search at both these places failing to reveal anything, he re- turned to Monroe in discomfiture, and the iron was saved to the Southern.

At this period the influence of Monroe in the councils of the State was great. It had been successfully used in securing the appointment of General Humphrey as commissioner; and was again used with avail to get rid of Van Fossen, his successor. Van Fossen's reign was short and stormy. He failed in his pet scheme of building the Central at the expense of the Southern, and was succeeded by Shubael Conant, of Detroit.

Conant was an able and upright man, and the citizens of Monroe felt secure that under his administration the Southern would receive fair and impartial consideration. He issued a circular soliciting information as to the dispo- sition of the property which had disappeared from the longing gaze of Deacon French, and without hesitation the information was given and the iron and material restored.

With an almost depleted treasury and a vig- orous competition on the part of the Erie and Kalamazoo, the year 1841 was not a particu- larly prosperous one for the new road. Train service was instituted and kept up under the direction of the commissioner with some show of regularity. Some iron was obtained and put upon the road west of Adrian upon the section between Adrian and Hillsdale, and the second engine, the "Monroe," arrived from Detroit in July.

The gross earnings of the road for the fiscal year ending November 30, 1841, were $7,399.21; expenses, $5,098.05 ; net earnings, $2,301.16.

In 1842 an improvement in its condition be- gan to be manifest. The management or super- intendency had devolved upon the commis- sioner, but early in this year it was determined to appoint a superintendent, who should have charge of the operation of the line, and the gentleman who, ten years before, had traversed

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the line of the road on foot, J. IT. Cleveland, of Adrian, was offered and accepted the posi- tion, taking charge in May, 1842.

He found the equipment in a deplorable shape. There were two locomotives owned by the road : the " Ypsilanti," originally from the Central, and which by hard usage and lack of repair was so nearly worn out as to be practi- cally useless, and the " Monroe," comparatively a new engine and capable of doing fair service. There were also three passenger cars, having four wheels each, three dirt cars, one rack (eight wheels), two very antique transporta- tion or freight cars, which had been in use in 1840, together with some new ones which had been built in 1841. The efforts of the Central on the one hand and the Erie and Kalamazoo on the other had made serious inroads into the business which the line had anticipated would come to it, and upon the whole the outlook was not encouraging.

But Superintendent Cleveland was energetic, and set about improving the shattered fortunes ofthe line. Making arrangements with William H. Boyd, of Monroc, to furnish some iron and contracting with Pittsburgh parties for spike, he prepared to push the line westward, and by the end of the year had the iron two miles west of Clayton. He subdivided his track into sec- tions, the first from Monroe to Ida, the second from Ida to Petersburgh, the third from Peters- burgh to Palmyra, the fourth from Palmyra to Adrian. He also planned three sections west of Adrian, and put the first - Adrian to Clay- ton -into commission, and established the second to extend from Clayton to Pittsford, the third from Pittsford to Hillsdale. Over cach section he put a foreman who had two, three, and sometimes four men under him, whose duty it was to see that the track was kept in proper repair.

The next thing was to establish, if possible, a regular line of vessels to make the port of Monroe, to bring passengers and freight for the road and to receive from it. After con- siderable negotiation he succeeded in obtaining a line of boats consisting of the "General Scott " (Captain Edwards), the " Fulton " and the " General Harrison." These were steam- boats and principally devoted to the passenger traffic, though they carried freight as well. In addition to these, numerous sailing vessels

made the port of Monroe and brought and re- ceived merchandise.

The competition of the Erie and Kalamazoo likewise claimed a share of his attention. A firm believer in the virtues of printer's ink, he began to advertise the many advantages of the new line between the East and the West, and to seek a share of the patronage of the public. The following will serve as an example :

1842.

SEASON ARRANGEMENTS.

MICHIGAN SOUTHERN RAILROAD, FROM MONROE TO ADRIAN.

The most direct, expeditious and safest Route.

The public are respectfully notified that the Souri- ERN RAILROAD is now in complete operation from Mon- roe to Adrian ; and being well furnished with Locomo- tives, Passenger and Freight Cars, will transport Freight, and Passengers safer, cheaper and more expedi- tiously than any other road in competition.

This road was built by the State of Michigan, at an expense of

Four hundred thousand dollars

and in its construction is not surpassed by any in the United States.

PASSENGERS

Going to Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa and Western, Southern, or Central Parts of Michgian, will perceive, by referring to the Map, that no Public thoroughfare is so direct for them as the

SOUTHERN RAILROAD.

Great care is taken in keeping this Road in good repair, thereby avoiding accidents simitar to those occurring upon other roads almost daily, jeopardizing " life and limb."

STEAMBOATS

Are running from MONROE TO BUFFALO, in connec- tion with the Cars upon this Road.

STAGES, CARRIAGES, WAGONS, ETC.

Are always in attendance to convey Goods and Pass- engers to any direction from Adrian.

Kes Passengers passing over this Road will be met at the boats by Railroad Cars, and conveyed to the Depot, and from the Depot to the Boats without charge.

Cars leave Monroe daily for Adrian, Sundays ex- cepted, at S o'clock A. M. and leave Adrian for Mon- roe at 2 o'clock P. M. Running time 2} hours.

The public may rely upon statements here made, and their patronage is respectfully solicited.

J. H. CLEVELAND,

July, 1842. Superintendent S. R. R.

Rob't. D. Foy, Printer, 159 Main st. Buffalo.

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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

When it is borne in mind that the only " other road " seeking passengers and traffic over the same lines of travel was the rival Erie and Kalamazoo, the particular point of the italicized paragraph, alluding to the accidents "occurring upon other roads almost daily, jeopardizing ' life and limb,'" will readily be- come apparent.

The spring of 1843 found the road ironed about two miles west of Clayton, and the bed prepared for the iron some four miles further west, or to Hudson. It was found impracti- cable, however, to obtain the iron to put down at once, and Silas Eaton, of Hudson, then in charge of the construction under Superin - tendent Cleveland, suggested the idea of using sawed maple strips in place of the iron, and offered to have enough sawed to finish the track to Hudson as an experiment. His sug- gestion was accepted, and the strips sawed and put down. They answered the purpose fairly well, and were actually used to hanl trains over until the iron could be procured, when they were torn off the stringers and replaced by strap rails.

The road was opened to Hudson May 27, 1843. An old advertisement announces the fact in grandiloquent sentences, and' procceds to advise the public that stages will meet each incoming train from Adrian and convey pas- sengers and baggage to Hillsdale, making the return trip and arriving in time for the de- parture of the train to Adrian.

The failure of the United States Bank and of the Morris Canal and Banking Company again hampered the road in the purchase of iron, but construction was carried along dur- ing the summer, and on September 25th the road was opened to Hillsdale, with the an- nouneement of stages to Jonesville and return. By this time the Erie and Kalamazoo had be- gun to feel the pressure of competition, and was getting into financial straits. Finding itself unable to pay $8,000 dne on one of its locomo- tives. it sold the old " Adrian " to the Michigan Southern, which now felt the need of more motive power. A new cight-wheel engine, of heavy construction, and calculated to hanl more freight than any owned by the road, was also ordered by Commissioner Wells, and in due time arrived and was put in service. This was the " Hillsdale." More freight cars were also built, and Mr. Cleveland designed and be-

gan to build a new style of passenger car. Those at this time in use were built upon the general plan of the " Pleasure Car" of the Erie and Kalamazoo, previously described, only they were longer and held thirty-two passengers. They were divided into compartments, with seats facing each other in cach compartment; each seat holding four passengers. These compartments were separated from each other by sliding panels or partitions, and a " running board " ran along cach side of the car, along which the conductor walked, opening the doors of the varions compartments to collect the fares. Those designed by Superintendent Cleveland were on the same plan as the day cars of the present day-a car open from end to end, with seats for two passengers arranged on both sides of a center aisle which ran contin- uously from end to end of the car. These were pushed to completion as rapidly as pos- sible, and were found very pleasing to the public whenever put into use.

The herculean effort which had finished the second section of the road -- Adrian to Hillsdale -- had exhausted its resources, and its history for the years 1844, 1845 and 1846 is simply a tale of a continued struggle to " make both ends meet." The third section - Hillsdale to Coldwater - was never seriously undertaken, though the settlers along the route were clamoring for railroad facilities with sturdy voices, until the road passed into the hands of a private corpo- ration and out of the control of the State.

Superintendent Cleveland draws a quaint and interesting picture of the railroading of those days. The roadbed was an unfenced lane cut through the woods, with gutters for drainage on each side. The dirt from these gutters was thrown up on the roadbed, from which the stumps had been dug out or cut off. Hollows were filled with logs, stumps and branches of trees; ents were made by the plow and seraper, and when the bed was finally completed to the satisfaction of the engineer in charge, he pro- ceeded to have the track laid. There was no regularly appointed mechanical or civil engi- ucer connected with the staff of the road. When the route was to be laid out, or bridges built, an engineer was hired by the month to plan and construct the bridges and lay out the track.

When the roadbed was ready ties were next put on, and upon these were securely spiked

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oak stringers, lengthwise, six inches square, and with a space between them equal to the space between the outside of the flanges of the wheels on the cars, being in the case of the Michigan roads what is now known as the " standard gauge," four feet eight and one-half inches. The inner and upper edges of these oak stringers were " chamfered" to receive the iron rails. These were simply flat bars of iron two and one-half inches wide and from five-eighths to three-quarters of an inch thick, punched for the spikes, and countersunk so the head of the spike would not project above the surface of the rail. These rails were spiked as securely as possible in the " chamfer" of the stringer. The joints were made to " lap by" by cutting a right-angled triangle from the inside end of one rail and the outside end of the next one. This left cach rail terminating in a sharp point. The continual jar of trains tended to loosen the spikes, and after they had been driven home two or three times the hole became so worn as to afford but little grip to the spike. A passing train would loosen the spike, and, running on the yielding structure, when the load was transferred toward the mid- dle of the rail the loose end would fly up, to be caught by the next pair of wheels. These would rip it loose from the stringer and bend it upward, forcing the sharp point through the floor of the car to the serious detriment of whatever might be in the way, and derailing the train. This was the " snake head " of carly railroad experience. An attempt was made to avoid this class of accidents by changing the joint. Instead of the sharp-pointed end, rails were used having a square-ended tongue at one end and a cavity cut in the corresponding end to receive it; but this was found no particular improvement. The imperfection of the fasten- ing still remained, and it was found that the blunt-ended rail managed to tear its way through the car floor about as readily as the sharp-pointed one, and " snake heads " were a common incident of railway travel until the adoption of the " T" rail some years later.

The train service was as primitive as the track. In the early days and in a new country a distinctive passenger train was not thought of. Each train over the line was composed of such cars of freight as were in readiness for transportation - and those were put nearest the locomotive - in the rear of these was an

empty freight car, into which were put such small packages of freight as were to be un- loaded en route and the baggage belonging to. passengers upon the train, and in the rear of all the passenger coaches. No system of check- ing baggage was in operation, and each pas- senger was expected to claim his baggage when leaving the train, after the manner still pre- vailing on English railways. Each passenger was supposed to purchase a ticket, but as a mat- ter of fact did as he pleased about it. It was not until trains had been running for some time that a conductor and brakeman were employed. The engineer and fireman did all the train work. The engineer collected the tickets or the fares, while the fireman remained in charge of the locomotive. The fireman helped in hand- ling the baggage and unloading parcels of freight. He also, in conjunction with section or track men, loaded up the engine with wood and supplied it with water. When, later, a conductor and brakeman were employed, the brakeman assisted at this work.

The usual running time from Monroe to Adrian, thirty-three miles, was two and one- half hours ; this would be an apparent speed of a little over thirteen miles an hour, but as a matter of fact the rate of speed was about fifteen to sixteen miles per hour, owing to the . length and frequency of the stops. The trains were particularly accommodating; if two or three passengers appeared at some country road crossing, the train stopped and picked them up. Generally about ten minutes were required at each of the two stations between Monroe and Adrian, which, with careful run- ning over the bridges, consumed considerable time. In dry weather, and when no derail- mentsor accidents from " snake heads " occurred, the runs were made with a considerable ap- proach to regularity ; but a "snake head " would sometimes occasion a half day's delay. Wet weather also brought delay. The friction of the driving wheels with " inside connections " upon the track was very light as compared with the heavy " tread " of the locomotives of to-day, and a wet track meant slow progress through the slipping of the drivers. To remedy this, a box of sand was kept on top of the loco- tive, and when the engine came to a stand- still, the fireman and engineer each took some of this sand and sprinkled it from their hands upon the track for several rods in advance of

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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

the engine. Then mounting the locomotive, all the steam possible was crowded on and sufficient impetus gained to carry the train half a mile or more, when the sanding process was repeated. Sometimes so much time would be consumed in this manner between stations that the supply of fuel or water would run short. If the boiler was running low, recourse was had to the ditches by the roadside, and water was dipped up with a pail and put into the tank; if wood became short, the nearest wood pile by the side of the track was laid. under contribution, and thus, "painfully and slow," the train crept along to its destination.

Although the road was unfenced, accidents were of infrequent occurrence. This was prob- ably as much owing to the limited rate of speed as to any particular care exercised by the em- ployes. By a reference to the cut of the first locomotive on the Erie and Kalamazoo, it will be seen at the left of the picture that two people in a wagon are running a race with the train ; and, so far as appearances go, seem to have rather the winning chance. This, indeed, was by no means an infrequent occurrence, and horseflesh frequently had the best of the race. The most prolific cause of accidents was the loosening of the rails, occasioning snake heads. On one occasion Mr. Cleveland was sitting in the coach directly across from a rather heavy- set gentleman, who was clothed in a thick overcoat and winter suit. While the train was jogging along at its usual pace a crashing was heard, the car gave a lurch, and directly be- tween the passenger's feet appeared a " snake head." Catching his coat, overcoat and vest, it neatly and expeditionsly tore out the fronts of them and pinned them to the roof of the car. The passenger was greatly alarmed at first, but finding himself physically unharmed, his fear gave way to indignation, and he breathed ven- geance and suits at law for damages. Upon the arrival of the train at its terminus, how- ever, Superintendent Cleveland purchased a new suit of clothes for him and the lawsuit was averted, but the advertisement regarding " jeopardy to life and limb" still confronted the public. Accidents arising from the careless- ness of the parties injured were not unknown at that early day. On one occasion some track laborers were going on their hand car from the vicinity of Deerfield to their home at Palmyra. The train going west was nearly due and they

concluded it would be easier to have the train push them than to pump the car; so when the train came in sight, they stopped the car and remained standing upon it till the locomotive struck it. Possibly had the car been in motion no serious results would have followed, but as the car was standing still, it was thrown from the track, two of its occupants seriously bruised, one had his leg crushed and was taken on the train to Adrian, where it was amputated, and another was killed.

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History of Monroe County, Michigan, Part 38

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed Publication date: 1890 Publisher: New York, Munsell & company Number of Pages: 882

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: New York, Munsell & company
Number of Pages: 882