18. The trip to Sandusky took several days
Feeding the passengers traveling the stagecoach lines was accomplished at inns and stops along the way, often coinciding with changing the horse, coaches, or coachmen. The influence of the temperance movement was again felt, with many of the inns being described as temperance houses by Dickens during the journey. From Columbus to Tiffin, Ohio, the road was not macadamized, and the advantages the system offered to passengers and coaches was obvious from the terrible condition of the new road. Dickens noted during the journey a sight which was rare on the roads of England and the eastern United States.
Tree stumps liberally dotted the landscape. Firewood was still the principal source of heat in rural areas, and lumber for building was easier by cutting down a tree than shipping it from a lumber yard. He also noted the number of pigs which roved about freely, it being easier for farmers to allow the pigs to fend for themselves, scavenging for food, than it was to keep them penned and feed them while incurring costs. They were later driven to slaughter. The Ohio of 1842 was still home to a large population of Wyandot Indians, which were encountered by Dickens on his journey to Sandusky, and later described in detail.