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HISTORIAN’S CORNER
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From "200 Years of the Town of Phelps"
PHELPS HISTORY
By Don Tiffany
HORSES
America's love affair with the automobile began about 100 years ago and has never cooled down. We take for granted the profusion of trucks, cars, motorcycles, travel homes and various off-the-road vehicles that we use every day. And although each of us has complained, at one time or another, about heavy traffic, road rage, smog and the high cost of fuel, automobiles and car insurance, we still would not give up the convenience and independence that our own personal vehicle provides. We take our ability to jump in a car and travel almost anywhere at any time for granted. Perhaps we should reflect on this freedom and think about what it was like to depend on horses to take care of all the chores that mechanized vehicles do today.
The first horse in North America lived 55 million years ago. It was called eohippus and stood 15 inches tall at the shoulder and had 4 toes on each front foot and 3 toes on each rear foot. The horse became extinct on this continent before the arrival of the North American Indians 10-15,000 years ago. The Spaniards re-introduced the horse, as we know it, on this continent 500 years ago when they discovered the New World.
The first record of the use of the horse, equus, for transport comes from the Sumerians 4-5,000 years ago. The specialized breeds - draft horses, carriage horses and race horses were developed in the Old World and brought to America by the early settlers.
Most early colonial farmers used oxen as their principal means of mobile power. These draft animals were easily obtained from their beef and dairy cows. They were slow, reliable and very tractable animals and ox teams lasted well into the 19th century. But the horses that were being bred for specific purposes were faster, stronger and more prestigious then the lowly ox. The development of stronger and efficient harnesses helped speed the replacement of the ox by the horse.
Any job that is done today by mechanized vehicles, with the exception of rail trains and sea-going ships, was handled by horses for two hundred years. Freight wagons were replaced by trucks, democrat wagons by pick-ups, buggies by automobiles and gigs & sulkies by sports cars. Cadillacs, Lincolns, Pierce Arrows and Packards replaced fancy, custom-made carriages pulled by matched teams, mostly in the large cities.
It has been suggested that one of the reasons that the Confederacy lost the Civil War was that government's inability to replace its dead and worn-out horses. Horses were especially important in this war because they were needed for many and varied uses. Hundreds of thousands of them were necessary to pull supply wagons, ambulances, blacksmith forge wagons, pontoon wagons, artillery caissons, limbers and cannon, and for Calvary mounts and officers and couriers to ride. And the losses of horses in this conflict were also counted in the hundreds of thousands! These draft animals were still necessary 50 years later in the First World War even though the motorized trucks and staff cars were proving their worth on the battlefield. Horses were still needed to haul supplies to the troops both at home and in Europe.
The horse thrived decades after the introduction of the steam engine in the 1870s (early steam engines were hauled to the worksite by teams of horses). As late as 1915 there were almost 27,000,000 horses and mules on American farms. Forty years later there were only 6,000,000. Ed Eastman tells in his book, Journey to Day Before Yesterday, "When we moved to our farm in 1943, there were horses on every farm in the neighborhood. When we left that farm in 1957, just 14 years later, there was not a single working horse left."
There were countless uses for horses in the cities across the United States. To name just a few - pulling city omnibuses, cabs, freight wagons and peddler's carts and the canal boats. With the improvement in gear, horses could be harnessed together to pull extremely heavy loads. One old picture shows 165 horses pulling 5 combines in Walla Walla, Washington!
A farmer told Ed in the 1960s, "Ed, I miss my horses. You can damn a tractor but you can't love one!" Art Salisbury told me about 15 years ago that he kept his team long after he was farming with tractors just because he couldn't part with them. He eventually sold them because, as he said, it wasn't fair to the animals to just let them stand around without exercising them.
Two horse stories: A farmer named Harris and a horse dealer named Thompson tired to make a deal. Thompson wanted $300 for a horse and Harris only wanted to spend $100 so the deal fell through. Later the horse died. Thompson phoned Harris and told him he could have the horse for $100 but he would have to send him a check first. This Harris did and Thompson delivered the horse in the night to Harris' farm. Thompson heard no protest from Harris. When Thompson finally bumped into Harris he asked him if he had received the horse. Harris replied, "Yes." "Well, didn't you find him dead?" asked Thompson. "Yes." "Well, what did you do with him?" "Sold him for $500." "$500," yelled the dealer. "How did you do that?" "I raffled him off for $5 a bid to 100 bidders." "Yeah, well how about the feller who won? Didn't he raise hell when he found out he won a dead horse?" "No, he was alright. I gave him his $5 back."
Abraham Lincoln told the story that he and his friend, a judge, agreed to trade horses sight unseen and to meet at a predetermined time in the public square. Lincoln brought a sawhorse and the judge brought a broken-down, sickly horse that was barely able to make it to the square. Lincoln took one look at the sad, diseased animal and handed the judge the sawhorse and said, "You win!"
Every day we read of people being killed or injured in vehicle accidents. Horrible crashes caused by human error, weather conditions or drunk drivers. The following excepts from late 19th and early 20th century papers prove that while the instruments may change, humans still suffer and die from the same causes.
"…last Sunday night a horse made rapid tracks down Main Street through the west village. In front of T.J. Lyman's store it struck a horse and buggy belonging to H.G. Beardsley doing but slight damage. There was no carriage attached to the runaway which turned at the hotel and, with increased speed betook himself towards Lyons. Information was soon received by two severely injured men near the railroad crossing by the residence of Charles Coolidge. Dr. Howe was summoned and was soon at the scene of the accident. Frank Bailey and Dwight Keller of Newark had been to Clifton Springs and were returning; both had imbibed and Keller, who was driving, was beastly drunk. The thumping and jerking of the carriage as it crossed the tracks frightened the horse which struck a post. The buggy was soon capsized, and struck a tree; the horse cleared leaving the buggy with a broken cross bar and dash. Bailey's arm was broken at the elbow joint and Keller had a horrible gash over the eye besides sundry severe bruises…"
"…on Tuesday evening Mr. Frank Lord, his wife and two children were crossing the bridges over the Outlet at Snyder's mill. They passed the small bridge over the race and were approaching the long one. Just as the horse, young and fractious, neared the iron bridge some fishers appeared below with a flashing torch….the horse sprang backward and to the right…Mr. Lord called to the men to hide the light but only made the matter worse and throwing the reins, he attempted to spring from the buggy and was thrown into the race below…the wagon and its occupants were precipitated from the edge of the bridge and the horse came crashing backward upon them…in its fall the horse struck against the abutment which broke the force else the four human beings would have been crushed to death…"
"…Friday afternoon about 1:30 the…eastern part of the village were thrown into a state of excitement by the appearance of a large team and load of lumber tearing through the street and along the sidewalk at a runaway pace. Inquiry made known that Thomas Biddlecomb had been severely injured - He was taken home and died…At the junction of East Main and Wayne streets the team swerved to the north, the left hind wheel striking the first tree in front of Dr. Howe's residence. Here the wagon and load was left. The team with the fore wheels continued their maddened career directly up the sidewalk. In front of J.E. White & Co.'s they upset a shelf containing some kerosene stoves and disturbed a wheelbarrow in front of Pierce & Frisbee's…kept the middle of the sidewalk past the Phelps Hotel and in front of the Gibson block, turning in by the old Globe Hotel where they were caught…"
Some driving advice: "Generally speaking, there are more balky drivers than balky horses. Nine balky horses out of ten refuse to pull because of the meanness or foolishness of the driver. Some of the best horses ever worked would do their utmost for one man and absolutely refuse to pull when another driver handled the reins. A good driver will work a valuable horse without the slightest difficulty. When a horse balks there are just two reasons to account for it. It is either the fault of the driver or the horse is too hopelessly worthless to spend time with it."
Early 20th century - "Justice Dunwell held up a party of automobiles between Lyons and Clyde last Saturday. The judge, with his wife, was driving out behind a fractious horse when the automobiles approached at full speed. The judge signaled the chauffeur to stop but no attention was paid to the raised hand. Handing the reins to his wife, the Justice Dunwell jumped to the ground, picked up two big stones and, standing in the middle of the road, waited with arm held in a throwing position for the automobile to come up. The chauffeur stopped the machine, however, and Justice Dunwell severely lectured the astonished tourists."
"Will Hicks has his mustang broken so that he drives him over his mail route occasionally. He has some wild west notions in this head yet, but on the whole, gets over the route very credibly."
"While Mrs. Wm. Sherman was driving from Clifton Springs to her home north of Gypsum a few days ago, her horse became frightened of an automobile and threw her out of the carriage. The harness was broken in several places and the thills were broken off from the carriage. She escaped without serious injury."
"While engaged in shoeing a horse just before noon today, Andrew Doyle ran a nail into his right arm and ruptured a vein. He went at once to a physician and had the injury promptly attended to."
"When Spencer Westfall went to the barn last Sunday morning, he found his fine grey horse in the stall with a broken leg. The animal was shot. (A week later Westfall "purchased a horse of O.A. Middaugh".)"
"A team of horses owned by N.L. Rockefeller which was left standing near the G.L.F. store on Ontario Street by one of his hired men last Saturday, took fright when a train suddenly came into sight from behind the building, and ran away. They struck an automobile owned by Mrs. Minnie Prichard which was parked nearby and drove it a distance of 40 feet into a sedan owned by Mrs. Carl Lane. One of the horses mounted the hood of the Prichard car and the wagon pole was driven through the windshield. The Prichard car was damaged to some extent while the Lane car suffered a dented fender. One of the horses received cuts and bruises."
Ah, the "good old days!"
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