Odd, Old News: At the Mercy of a Crazy Driver

Bell Springs Hotel [Photo from the collection of the J. Johnson family]

The dangers of travel a hundred years ago were made clear to the family of D. W. Hanson who were making the 18 hours steamer journey from Eureka to the Bay area via the “Pride of the Coasters”, the S.S. Pomona, on September 5, 1904 when their ship was rammed by the Westport seventeen miles north of Point Reyes. (The Pomona survived the collision, it’s third in as many years, only to wreck four years later on Monterey Rock near Ft. Ross.)

Mr. Hanson’s return journey home from the Bay area by stagecoach proved to be nearly as hazardous to his health as was his trip south.

(Please excuse the absence of a few words in the account below, the microfilmed newspaper account had blackened areas too dark to be read)

AT MERCY OF CRAZY DRIVER
Daily Standard, September 14, 1911
Startling Experience of D. W. Hanson and Other Passengers

D.W. Hanson, who left here last week with his wife and daughter to attend the conclave at San Francisco, as a Knight Templar of Eureka Commanderly, returned this morning via the overland route alone. Mrs. Hanson and daughter were left at San Jose where Miss Hanson will enter the State Normal School and when the young lady is settled in her temporary home Mrs. Hanson will return by the steamer.

From the story told by Mr. Hanson upon his return this morning, this trip of his will be a memorable one for him., from the startling experiences and narrow escapes with his life that he encountered both going and returning. The first of these was shared with him by his wife and daughter, they having been passengers on the P.C.S.S. CO’s. steamer Pomona when she collided with the steam schooner Westport, early on the morning of Monday, Sept 5. It was almost directly at his stateroom door that the Westport’s bow dented the Pomona’s side, the force of the blow heeling the Pomona far over(–too blurred to read–) several of the passengers on the opposite side of the vessel, out of their bunks.

Contrary to the first press reports of the accident, Mr. Hanson says that there was absolutely no panic on the vessel and that the discipline of officers and crew was admirable. Before he could dress the Pomona’s crew had lowered a boat on the side where the Westport had struck their vessel and with lights had carefully inspected the ship’s outer shell to determine the extent of the damage. At the same time Captain Swanson went below and made an inspection of the vessel’s hold on that side. Almost simultaneously the inspections were finished and the Captain and his officers went about personally assuring the passengers that there was no danger or serious damage. After the Pomona’s safety was assured the condition of the other vessel was inquired into and that was all there was to it. So far from having been a panic Mr. Hanson says that many of the passengers did not even get out of their berths to inquire into the cause of the commotion.

This in itself was quite a startling experience but the Fates has still another in store for him, so that after escaping the peril of the sea he must needs have to fight to escape death or at least serious injury on dry land in an everyday old stage wagon. The last of his traveling trials occurred on the overland stage road, just one week later, and on this occasion as on the former, other lives were endangered. In this he and two other passengers on the stage, one of them a lady, were placed at the mercy of a [crazy] stage driver and for a time were at the imminent risk of being driven over the grade and hurled to death or injury down the mountain side.

It was the stage of the overland trip from Laytonville to Bell Springs and in the coach with him was W.J. Condon, wagon master for Wells, Fargo and Co’s. Express in San Francisco, who with his wife was en route for Blocksburg on a vacation trip. Soon after leaving Laytonville the driver, a great, husky fellow, commenced to act strangely and the nearer they got to the summit with its many precipices around which the road winds, the more careless the driver became, and several times narrowly avoided upsetting the stage(–too blurred to read–). As his carelessness increased it became evident to Messrs. Condon and Hanson that something must be done to prevent an accident, so while ascending a grade they dropped out of the stage, and after a consultation decided that the only thing to do was to relieve the driver of his “ribbons”, peaceably if possible, forcibly if necessary.

Accordingly when they remounted the stage Mr. Condon took the empty seat alongside the driver and Mr. Hanson the one immediately behind him. Mr. Hanson then suggested to the driver that he allow Mr. Condon to drive for a while, and to their surprise he consented readily and exchanged places with his successor. Hardly had the change been made, however, when the driver asked Condon if he had a gun on him and receiving a reply in the negative, suddenly pounced upon Condon and endeavored to throw him off the seat. Condon immediately grappled with the insane man and dropping the lines, which were immediately grabbed by Mr. Hanson, proceeded to choke him over the back of the seat.

In the struggle both fell out of the stage into the road, but in the meantime Mr. Hanson had brought the horses to a standstill and getting out also he assisted Condon in overpowering the man without having to injure him. Thus outnumbered the fellow quieted down and upon being given the alternative of allowing someone else to drive or being left there to find his way to the next station as best he could he consented to behave himself and drive as a passenger.

This he did after a fashion, and with Mr. Hanson standing over him and Mr. Condon tooling the team the stage arrived at Bells Springs at 4:30 o’clock in the afternoon, four and a half hours late. Here a report of the occurrence was made to Mail Agent Grothe but owing to the delay on the road the party was compelled to lay over. When they resumed the journey it was with another and safer driver, the end of the cray driver’s run being Bell Springs. What became of him afterward, Mr. Hanson does not know. Neither could he learn his name nor anything about him at the Springs. No one there seemed to know him as he was said to be a new man on the road.

Earlier Odd and Old News:

There are many more, but here are the most recent:

• Odd, Old News: Early Stagecoach Travel in Southern Humboldt
• Odd, Old News: Alderpoint in the 1870’s
• Odd, Old News: The Devil’s Elbow’s First Victim
• Odd, Old News: 1st Sheep in Humboldt County