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Car,
horse and buggy being transported by barge
in the summer. |
Stage
drivers were called skinners and had names
like "Dummy" Coghland, "Hard
Face" Ned Reeves and Joe MacDonald "The
High Priest". They wore raccoon coats
tied with a long red sash and soft buckskin
gloves; when it was cold they sometimes held
the reins with one hand and pounded the other
hand against their shoulders to keep up the
circulation. According to one traveler, passengers
were expected to "carry enough overproof
rum to keep the drivers happy with hot rums
in the long evenings".
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At
river crossings, passengers and freight
were transported
across in canoes and reloaded on the other side.
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White
Pass employed as many as 275 horses in
a season on the stage line. They were fed imported
bran mash, oats and timothy hay native
hay wasn't considered to have enough nourishment.
Horses wore protectors over their chests and
nostrils against the cold and had metal devices
called caulks welded to their shoes for traction.
Each horse had its number stamped on a front
hoof and every horse had a name.
Three men try to assist a horse whose sleigh has
gone off the trail.

Passengers
circa 1910
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