The reader who never saw the endless procession on the old pike, in the days of its glory, may have the impression that the bells used by some of the old wagoners on their teams were like sleigh bells, or those of the milk wagon of the present day, and in like manner strapped around the horses. But that was not the way of it. The bells of the old wagoners were cone shaped, with an open end, not unlike a small dinner bell, and were attached to a thin iron arch, sprung over the tops of the hames. The motion of the horses caused a quiver in the arch, and the bell teams moved majestically along the road attracting attention and eliciting admiration. The great majority of wagoners did not use bells. CHAPTER XVIII. _Old Wagoners continued--John Deets--His story told by himself--David Church--John Snider loads up with Butter--Billy Ashton, John Bradfield, Frank Bradfield--An Escapade--William Hall, Henry Puffenberger and Jacob Breakiron--Collision between a "regular" and a "sharpshooter"--Joseph Lawson, Jeff. Manypenny, Joseph Arnold, The Sophers, Robert Beggs, Thomas Gore, and John Whetsel._ John Deets was a wagoner on the road as early as 1826, before the invention of the rubber, or at least before its application to wagons on the National Road. He had a brother, Michael, who preceded him as a wagoner on the road. John Deets located in Guernsey county, Ohio, in 1835, whence he went from Menallen township, Fayette county, Pa. He is still living. The following from his own pen furnishes a graphic account of life on the road in his day: MR. SEARIGHT: I will try to give you as much information as I can at this time. My brother, Michael Deets, about four years older than myself, was among the first that wagoned on the pike. That was about the year 1822. He first drove his father's team, and the first load of goods he hauled from Baltimore was to Uniontown for Isaac Beeson or Isaac Skiles, I am not certain which. After that he drove for Abram Beagle, who lived in the west end of Uniontown. After that he bought a team, and a few years after bought two more, so that he owned three teams at one time. He drove one of the teams himself and hired drivers for the other two. The team he drove himself was a bell team. One of his drivers was George Richards, and the other, Jesse Barnet, a colored man, who lived in the east end of Uniontown. When they took up the old bed of the road, and macadamized it, my brother took a contract and put his teams to hauling stones. After finishing his contract, he resumed the hauling of merchandise on the road and continued until about 1837, when he moved to Ohio, thence to Illinois, and thence to Missouri, where he died. [Illustration: JOHN DEETS.]