Henry P. Leland’s Short Story, ‘The Dutchman Who Had the “Small Pox”’

A stagecoach and driver make for an exciting team, especially when misunderstandings and hilarity ensue. Public Domain

In his short story “The Dutchman Who Had the ‘Small Pox’,“ Henry P. Leland follows a writer as he climbs aboard the New Jersey stage coach. As the writer sits next to the Dutch coachman, he compares his own good English with the Dutchman’s broken English. Yet, the writer soon realizes that the differences which separate them actually bring them together.

The Dutchman

The writer climbs into the New Jersey stagecoach in early morning and places himself beside the coachman. Along with the writer, other passengers pile into the coach, filling it to the brim.

As the coach sets out from Blackberry towards Squash Point, the writer decides to strike up a conversation with the coachman. He begins by praising one of the horses, to which the Dutchman responds: “Ya-as; she’s a goot hoss, und I knows how to trive him!”

The writer is taken aback by the Dutchman’s accent, and, after asking another question, falls into silence to avoid the Dutchman’s “murdered English.” Yet one of the other passengers continues conversing with the Dutchman.

"The Old Stagecoach", 1871, by Eastman Johnson, recalls the joys of childhood. Public Domain

As they converse, one of the ladies in the coach is so pleased by the Dutchman’s accent that she can’t help but laugh. Her contagious laughter spreads throughout the different passengers, until it infects the writer himself. Soon the whole group is awake and joined in a camaraderie of laughter and jokes.

The jolly stagecoach soon pulls up to the first watering hole on their journey. Because so many of the passengers are pleased with the Dutchman, they agree to buy him a drink before they continue on.

The Box

As they prepare to leave the first stop, a man approaches the coach and gives the Dutchman a box to deliver: “Here’s a package to leave at Mr. Scudder’s, the third house on the left-hand side after you get into Jericho.” After accepting payment for the package, the Dutchman stores the package and spurs the horses forward.

Moving at a steady pace, the stagecoach comes to another tavern. After a brief stop, they soon reach Jericho.

As they pull into Jericho, the Dutchman addresses all of the passengers: “Anypotty know ter Miss Scutter haus?” The passengers consult one another, but none of them can tell the Dutchman where “Miss Scutter” lives.

At a loss, the Dutchman notices a woman duck into her house as the coach pulls up. In an instant, the Dutchman places the reins into the writer’s hands, grabs the box, and hops out of the coach.

The Dutchman proceeds to follow the fleeing woman. Holding the box, the Dutchman pursues the woman into her house, all the while yelling: “I‘fe got der small pox, I’fe got der—”

Through his comical story, Leland demonstrates that, though the Dutchman differs from all of the passengers, his differences bring them together with joy and laughter. His Dutch accent and “murdered English” prove to be the factors which bring camaraderie to everyone in the stagecoach.

A small box can't find its intended owner, in this short story by Henry P. Leland. Unsplash

Much like John Joseph Powell in “The Secret of Staying in Love,” Leland shows that “[I]t is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being.”

The Dutchman’s differences don’t diminish his value, but rather bolster it. Because his differences are reflected back to him by the stagecoach passengers, they produce camaraderie amongst all and, consequently, his value is more fully realized.

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