The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-03-19
Letter from whesIing, West virxinia.

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DEAR PRESS, s,-Comparative few of your
readers have ever been in this city, and am
thinking brief letter will be acceptable. Like
Pittsburg, it is a smoky city, and for the same
reasons, viz: it is a manufacturing place, and
all its motive power comes from coal, and that
of the most smoky kind. After the smoke, the
most noticeable thing is the Suspension
Bridge across the Ohio. Viewed from point
half a mile above, or below, it looks like ga
thing of beauty" dropped from the Clouds
The bridge at Niagara is very much more
massive; but not nearly so long or beautiful.
believe the span is the longest in the world,
being upwards of q thousand feet. 1t is sus-
pended on four iron cables, two on either side,
passing over massive stone arches some forty
or fifty feet high. The cables consist OF wire,
less in size than telegraph wire, something
like fifteen strands being twisted into small
cable, and five or six OF those into one huge
this immense span, and all the weight that
accumulates on it, but many times more than
all this; for it withstands the force of the
heavy winter winds beating against it for
more than thousand feet.
. Tie first experiment was failure. 1t stood
ordinary burdens, but the wind twisted and
shattered it after it had done brief service.
The present bridge cost something more
then $780, and it must be paying institu
ton.
, wonder why such brid ge was ever con-
structed here. Certainly there was no neees-
sity for it. The bottom is firm for piers; and
thor follc 10 tI,a M
but found, on inquiry, that the bridge was
built when the steamboat was king. Nothing
must interrupt steamboat navigation. The sus-
pension form would leave from 70 to 100 feet
between water and bridge at all stages Of the
water. But suspect that vanity helped
choose this form. The honor of having the
longest suspension bridge in the world was a
consideration not without weight ~
The city proper has about 20, 900 inhabitants
while within few miles there are 10000
The city is the result of the immense coal
deposit in the hills that lie at the back of it, in
fact right at its back doors. There is vein
from five to six feet in thickness lying be-
tween strata of limestone, some 80 feet above
the bottom lands, and extending for miles up,
down and back from the river. 1t costs only
some so cents a ton to bring it to daylight, and
it is sent to all parts of the South, even to
New Orleans. .-.
There are eleven rolling mills most of which
have nail factories, some of them making 5000
kegs a day Some of the ore comes from Iron
Mountain, Missouri, and some from Cheat
Mountains, West Virginia. There are II glass
factories, the sand for which Is brought from
Cheat river, back towards the centre of the
State. One of the industries of the place most
novel to me was the coke mandatory. This
article is made in an upright retort 10 feet in
diameter, 6or feet high, 15 or 20 of them in
a row. 1t takes week or more to make one
of these fullof COKE But what is SO much
coke wanted for? answer for foundries. -
Their coal is not suitable AY
The people Of this city are very social and
interesting But for their pronunciation, and
Western words and phrases, they might easily
be taken for Maine Yankees They are better
specimens of the genus homo than the people
of Southern or even Central Ohio The al
mighty dollar is not so big by one half in
this vicinity as in Ohio. The bulk of the peo-
PIE are ior improvements. ret Dack IN the
mountain districts the schoolmaster has not
made his appearance, and, stranger still, there
are many people in this new State who have
never seen wagon, or a loaf of wheat bread.
But the schoolmaster, the mechanic, and
the merchant are starting out to seek homes
and riches along the Great, and the Little
Kanhawa, and among the mineral mountains
of this undeveloped State Emigration must
set strongly in this direction soon. There are
mines of coal and iron here richer than most
of the silveg mines of Nevada. But more of
these when my eyes have seen them.
A word for the Good Templars of Portland.
This city of Wheeling has eight or nine four
ishing Lodges their large halls being crowded
every evening. 1t is the banner temperance
city OF the West. e. w. Locke