An Old Coachman's Chatter, with Some Practical Remarks on Driving

by Edward Corbett

The late Mr. Isaac Taylor had, at that time, a team of chestnuts as good as could be put to a coach working in the "Hirondelle" on the down side between Shrewsbury and Leighton, a stage of about eight miles. Little Bob Leek, a very clever coachman, used to drive the up side from Shrewsbury, and Jordan, a very powerful man, the down side. When they met they changed coaches, each returning over his own ground, which he drove double. Shrewsbury was, I believe, the correct place for the coaches to meet at, but, as the opposition was keen, it depended on the racing whether they met in Shrewsbury or a few miles on either side of it; and I have seen this same team driven by Jordan, and when he was hard at work with his whip to get up the hill, ascend it another day when driven by Bob Leek with ease, and he sitting on his box as if he had nothing to do. And, strange as it may appear to some, I believe one of the best tests that can be applied to a coachman is that he should appear to do nothing. I suppose, however, that this rule applies to most other crafts, for what a man does well he does easily to himself, and one who is always hard at work may be set down as a muff. I know from experience that this rule applies to steering a ship. If a helmsman is seen to be constantly at work with the wheel, it is a sure proof that he is not a good hand at it. Just the movement of a spoke or two occasionally is generally enough in the hands of a good helmsman.

And now I will bring the subject of driving to an end by giving a few hints, which, though simple in themselves, and probably known to many of my readers, may not have suggested themselves to some modern coachmen, for the simple reason that they have never felt the want of them, but which were well known to those coachmen whose business it was to get a coach through a country with all sorts of cattle, and when every little dodge was a help.

One of the commonest evils which befell coachmen was to deal with jibbers, they caused the loss of so much time. A kicker, especially if a well-bred one, would kick and keep going too, but a jibber sometimes stuck to the same ground if not got off with the first attempt. As a rule, flogging is of no use, though I have a few times in my life succeeded in making it too hot for them; and, of course, with three good starters one wheeler may be dragged on if he does not lie down. Sometimes, however, a whole team was not to be trusted.

I was once travelling from Aberystwith to Oswestry by the "Engineer" coach, and, as usual, was working, when, upon nearing Machynlleth, Wigram, the coachman, said to me, "You will find the next a good team, but they are all jibbers." I asked him if any one of them was a better starter than the others, to which he replied, "Well, perhaps the off wheeler is a little." The hint was sufficient, and as soon as I was on the box I laid the whip quietly over the off wheeler before trying to start the others, and then immediately pulling the leaders across to the near side, and at the same time speaking to them, the start was effected without any trouble.

Perhaps it may be thought by some that this was no very great test, as the horses were always what was called "running home," that is, they had always their own stable at each end of the stage. At the risk, therefore, of tiring the reader and being accused of egotism, I will venture to mention one other case where there was no assistance from that cause; and as a failure to start makes a fellow look foolish, there can be no harm in impressing upon the minds of young coachmen what will, in nine cases out of ten, save them from being placed in such a situation.

I was quartered with my regiment, the 72nd Highlanders, in the Royal Barracks, Dublin, so many years ago that the Garrison Steeplechases were run off at Maynooth instead of Punchestown as at present, and we had got up a regimental drag for the occasion, of which I was waggoner. As we were starting to return home, the off wheeler jibbed, much to the delight of the Paddies, who had come there for a day's "divarshun," and had some fun in them in those days. Of course, a small crowd was fast collected, and everyone was giving advice and wanting to help, the old Irishman's remedy of lighting a fire under him not being forgotten. I made everyone stand clear, and would not allow anybody to touch a horse, and then, after giving them a minute or two to settle down, I laid the whip lightly over the near wheeler, and then pulling the leaders across to the off side, spoke to them, and we were off in a jiffy. The pulling the leaders across is very important, as it greatly facilitates the draught.

There is also another good result which frequently follows the pulling of the leaders across in case of a jibbing wheeler, which is, that as he will probably have only placed his legs with the view of resisting forward motion, a sudden rough lateral bump of the pole may disconcert his plans and render it necessary for him to move his feet, in which case he is more than half conquered, unless, indeed, he lies down, which the coachman should be too quick to permit.

I think I have already remarked that flogging makes flogging, especially if the horses' heads are loosed too much. It adds, no doubt, somewhat to the labour of the coachman, but for all that he should always keep a good hold of his horses' heads, and a pull of the reins and then giving back again I have often found more efficacious than a good deal of whip. This movement used sometimes to be called by the uncomplimentary name of the "Blackguard's Snatch," but, in spite of an ugly name, it often had salutary results, and with a weak team, heavy load, and time to keep, a coachman could not afford to despise anything.

I have known sluggish leaders very much astonished when hit on the inside. Having only been accustomed to the punishment coming from the outside, they do not know what to make of it when coming from another quarter. It is not difficult to hit the near leader from behind the off pretty sharply, but it is by no means easy to do the same on the other side. It requires the elbow to be well raised, and the back of the hand turned well downwards, for, of course, the thong must be sent under the bars. If done well these are very neat hits.

Very hard-pulling leaders are often easier brought back by sending the other one well up to them than by pulling at them. I have had a raking leader, irritated by a very slow partner, try to bolt, and by hitting his partner have brought him back directly; but he must be "hit sly," so as to make no noise with the whip. The same thing will occur when a hard-pulling leader has a harder puller put alongside him—he comes back at once.