The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1869-09-17
EXCURSION TO BENWOOD
FULL PARTICULARS OF THE TRIP.
description of the Country,
Game, Products, &c.

written glowing accountS OF Lnelr Trips,
and as we have been unable to 20 from
home on 30 extended trip, we made
an excursion to Benwood yesterday and
propose to give to an anxious and ex-
pectant world full account of what
we saw and heard. To be sure Ben
wood is only four miles from here, but
you can think it thousand if You have
mind to.
Taking the neat, clean and yaller
Dinkey train, which runs to Benwood
without change of cars, and has Pull
mans silver palace sleeping coaches on
all night trains, at lilo Baltimore time'
we babe goodbye to our numerous
friends at the depot, smole the last
smile, spoke the last goodbye, allowed
Hannah to slobber on onr coat as we
pressed her to our manly bosom, heard
Commodore Shepherds "all aboard"
and in a few seconds were off on our
journey.
Before reaching Belmont Mills, the
assengers-Blobbs and ourself-had
settled down into their places and were
looking as comfortable as only old traV-
elers can.
On with a shrek and roar and q
rattle went the iron steed. On Win
rattle, a shrek and roar. Houses and
shops and pig-styes GO rushing past.
Little children with more dirt on their
faces than clothes on their bodies stand
at the doors of their dwelling places
and make mouths at the engineer. On
our right lies the beautiful Ohio, whose
placid bosom is torn by the cruel wheels
of the West Wheeling ferry-boat. AS
we pass the mills sight not unlike the
generally received idea of pandemon-
ium presents itself. Great, grim giants
barred to the waist, are torturihg huge
fires with long pokers, and the furnaces
shed showers of sparks as if they were
crying red hot tears. Great balls OF
iron, red as the nose of a professional
fusileer, pass under the rollers and
come out in long, glowing ribbons.
But bark, the warning whistle
sounds. We have reached the B. & o.
machine shops. Here VIM. Harrison,
ESQ.,, the master mechanic joins our
party and as it is near dinner time we
ioin him in hot meal of pepper sauce
and crackers.
OFF again. Our next stopping place
is Ritchietown, where we are to stop
awhile to hunt. Sweeping round the
beautiful curve between the rear of
Bill Schultz's Office and Hobbs Glass
Works we get our ammunition ready and
divide our force into details; Blobbs is
to hunt for beer and we are to stone
the geese swimming on the pond. Both
of us were successful. Blobbs got
drunk and we got black eye from an
enraged citizen whose favorite gander
we crippled.
We suppose this is as good place as
any to describe this wonderful reglen
and the tribes inhabiting it.
From Ritchietown to Benwood, we
noticed, the country is settled wherever
there is a house built and garden cul-
tivated or corn field planted. The land
rises in a gentle slope of twenty feet to
the square inch, except on the west side
of the railroad, where it don't rise until
half, past six or seven o'clock.
The principal productions are clnders'
lime kilns, coal pits and brickyards,
though we saw one man trying to raise
a house, and heard of another who
wanted to raise 5000 on his individual
note.
Game is plenty. The principal kinds
are geese, turkeys, rabbits, seven'up
and poker. ..t
The religious belief of the natives is
obOcnre One of their chiefs came on
hoard the train to welcome US. lie was
abopt three feet high, and had his face
streaked with war-paint, which, unlike
the war. paint of other tribes, is black
and closely resembles combination OF
crease. coal suit and mud. This warrior
was smoking a stogie, which resembles
the pipe of peace Of other nations, anu
said he belonged to the tribe OF Base
Ra,lers We asked him who made him.
He replied daddy" Blobbs, who has
read the Shepherd of Salisbury Plains,
Jack Sheppard and other exciting
works, told US that this was the name
of one of their idols, and that they had
n song composed in his honor, in which
thew avow their desire to "Meet High
Daddy in the Morning"
At length we arrived at Benwooa'
much worn with our long and fatiguing
trim. Here we were received by Capt.
Devries, the gentlemanly and efficient
agent of the road, who has learned the
habits and language of this people anu
| is deservedly popular with them. de
assured us that this place was called
Bsnwood long time after popular
New York politician and the reason Tor
its being called so is that Benwood Is
the name of the place. The inhabit'
ants are not BenwoodeD people, as some
! suppose, but are quiet, attentive ana
hospitable and chiefly devoted to the
Benwood nail works.
Here we received large accession to
our numbers. We saw several ladies
who had babies in their arms. These
babies had bawled to all the people on
the Ohio side of the river and now were
going to Baltimore.
Smoking hasty stogie we tucked our
head under our wing, curled mp in car
seat and never woke until we had re-
turned to Wheeling.
| rr,st;no our account NAV proye as