Fortunately, the letter was saved. Fortunately, it came to the attention of Sandra Larson of Petersham who recognized its value and transcribed it from early English script to an easy-to-read typed copy. Fortunately for the Historical Society of Phillipston, Larson volunteered to read it at a recent meeting, a very enjoyable evening that transported the audience back 186 years.
The letter is an 18-page account Ellen Bigelow wrote to her aunt about her trip from Petersham to Peoria, Illinois to join her father, who was a lawyer in that newly developing city. In 1835, it was a journey that took courage and stamina.
The trip took over a month, and required many stops to make travel arrangements to the next destination along the way. She traveled by stagecoach, train, canal boat, brig, lumber cart and steamboat. As you read this summary, try to imagine taking such a journey.
■Time schedules were irregular — “We hoped to obtain a little rest but hourly expectation of the stage prevented.” The stage was four hours late.
■Roads were rough and muddy … “the most horrid roads ever seen … I sat in constant fear for my life.”
■Sleeping cabins in the canal boat were crowded — “Twelve women shared a small 6-by-10-foot cabin with berths of straw mattresses” and bridges were so low that people had to lie flat on the deck “or submit to the alternative of being decapitated.”
■High winds on the brig “pitched and tossed incessantly … we were all dreadfully seasick.”
■Several times they had long delays because their brig became grounded — “The crew predicted the load was too heavy to make it and they were right … after 200 barrels of salt were tossed overboard, the brig was underway again.”
■“We were completely mired six times.” One time when the coach became stuck while crossing a stream, everyone had to get out and the men travelers “set their shoulders to the wheels of the carriage and with the horses kicking and plunging they finally got extricated.” It was a very muddy group back in the carriage.
■Sitting on the rough boards of the lumber cart “very nearly broke every bone in our bodies.”
How does that sound for a trip? The only segment that was without problems or discomfort was the train ride from Albany to Schenectady — “Traveling at a mile in three minutes, we soon reached the city.” However, it would be many years before a rail trip would be available from Massachusetts to Illinois.
Did all the trials discourage Ellen? No. She told about them but she didn’t complain about them. She realized that everyone was doing the best they could. She kept a positive attitude and found many things to enjoy along the way, and she wrote about them so poetically.
■At Genesee Falls “we had a fine view of the rainbow formed on the constantly rising spray … it was the most romantic and beautiful scene I ever looked at.”
■Several new passengers joined them in Rochester, “who contributed much to my happiness, the remainder of the passage.”
■In Lockport, to our great joy, “we saw the finest exhibition of stonework to be found in the United States.”
■“The banks on the Michigan side slope gently to the water, alternating in smooth savannas and patches of timberland, with here and there a cottage and a thrifty orchard of apple, plum, and peach trees in full blossom.”
■While sailing along Lake Huron — “the water smooth as glass reflected every object, and the bright torches of the Indians’ fishing boats illuminated the dim shadow of the woods along the shore.”
■A stop at Fort Mackinaw — “The soldiers quarters were the most perfect specimens of neatness I ever saw, and the labor all performed by men.”
■“In all my life, I never saw or dreamed of so beautiful a sight as the rolling prairies … the splendid hues of multitudes of flowers. I gazed in admiration too strong for words.”
Ellen’s letter is an inspiration. It made us realize how lucky we are to be able to make that trip to Illinois today in four hours from Boston by airplane or 16 hours by car. The letter also taught us to be understanding when things don’t go right; probably the people are doing their best. Ellen showed us that we experience life in the way we look for it.
Life isn’t always perfect, but if we look for the positive, that’s what we will experience.
Carole Gariepy of Phillipston has written seven books, all nonfiction. A recent one is a travel book, “Why Go There?” In her younger years, she was a teacher.