Yonge Street By Stagecoach

"An Old-Fashioned Conveyance"

The day's journey by way of Yonge Street was easily accomplished by stage - an old fashioned conveyance enough, swung on leather straps, and subject to tremendous jerks from loose stones on the rough road, innocent of Macadam, and full of the deepest ruts. A fellow-passenger, by way of encouragement, told me how an old man, a few weeks before, had been jolted so violently against the roof, as to leave marks of his blood there, which, being not uncommon, were left unheeded for days. My friend advised me to keep on my hat, which I had laid aside on account of the heat of the day, and I was not slow to adopt the suggestion.

Samuel Thompson,Reminiscences of a Canadian Pioneer(Toronto:Hunter, Rose,1884),p. 113

"By No Means an Unpleasant Mode of Travelling"

The body was closed at the front and back and covered with a stout roof. The sides were open, but protected by curtains that could be let down if rain came on ... . There were three seats inside, each of which was intended for three passengers ... . Outside there was the driver's seat, and another immediately behind it on the roof; each of these would hold three persons ... . At the back of the coach body was the baggage-rack for trunks, which were tightly strapped on and protected by a large leather apron ... . The whole affair was gaudily painted, and, with its team of four fine horses, looked very attractive and was by no means an unpleasant mode of travelling when the roads were good and the weather fine.

Edwin Guillet,The Story of Canadian Roads(Toronto:University of Toronto Press,1966),p. 169