rider on the Pony Express between West Alexander and Wheeling. Bryant and Craven, of West Alexander, were among the contractors of the Pony Express line. "The Pony Express" did not remain long on the road, but when it was on, old pike boys say "it kicked up a dust." CHAPTER XXVI. _Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers from Baltimore to Boonsboro--Pen Picture of an Old Tavern by James G. Blaine--The Maypole--The Hand in Hand--Earlocker's--Pine Orchard--The Brown Stand--Levi Chambers, the Nullifier--Old Whalen's Sunfish, Bob Fowler's Goose and Warfield's Ham--Poplar Springs--Allen Dorsie, Van McPherson, The Widow Dean, Getzendanner's, Peter Hagan, Riddlemoser and the McGruder House, Peter Zettle, Emanuel Harr._ "CALDWELL'S TAVERN: We did not use the high sounding _hotel_, but the good old Anglo-Saxon _tavern_, with its wide open fire in the cheerful bar room, and the bountiful spread in the dining room, and the long porch for summer loafers, and the immense stabling with its wealth of horse-flesh, and the great open yard for the road wagons. How real and vivid it all seems to me this moment! All the reminiscences of the old pike, for which you are an enthusiast, are heartily shared by me."--JAMES G. BLAINE. Caldwell's tavern, mentioned by Mr. Blaine, is seven miles west of Washington, Pennsylvania, and will be referred to hereafter in its proper place. Mr. Blaine's description is appropriate to nearly all the old taverns of the road. The outward appearance of an old tavern of the National Road was no index to the quality of the entertainment it afforded. Many of the least pretentious houses furnished the best meals, and paid the most agreeable attention to guests and patrons. It was not unusual to see the wagon yard attached to a small wooden and apparently decaying tavern crowded with teams and wagons, while the inviting grounds of the imposing brick tavern near by were without an occupant. The May Pole tavern in Baltimore was a favorite stopping place for old wagoners. It is located on the southwest corner of Paca and German streets, and still standing, an object of much interest to the old people of the road. In front of it stands a tall, slim, granite column, representative of a pole, and preservative of the ancient name. The May Pole was kept in 1833 by Henry Clark, and in 1836 by James Adams, who remained in charge until his death. His successor was Isaac Willison, a Virginian, and before assuming control of the May Pole, an agent of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad company, at Frederic City. George Elliott, subsequently manager for Mrs. Adams, at the Mountain City house in Cumberland, was at one time a clerk in the May Pole tavern.