Owyhee semi-weekly tidal wave. [volume] (Silver City, Owyhee County, Idaho Territory) 1868-1869, 1869-05-04

April. 9Th, 1869.

est Capitol in the world which |
would call good joke on the world.
The plan of Washington City placed
the Capitol in the center, but the
public refused to follow the original
idea, and so the town is all off to !
one side. There is great conges-
ton of brains and bowels around the |
Treasury and White House-mostly
bowels. There is nothing in front
of the building, except sort of
skeleton of park, in the center of
which is a figure of George Wash
ington in a sitting posture on top of
big store-box or workbench. Ev-
erybody goes into the Capitol build
ing from the back side. Well, now
word or two about the shape-the
beauty, &c. of this h-l-roaring Cap
itol of the United States.
Ever since the hight of my ambi-
ton was to go to circus or menag-
erie, / had big notions Of patriotism
and admiration for American institu-
tions that had never seen. Every
body else perhaps was in the same
fx-there are very few people who
don't want or expect to be President
or postmaster; and no one is satisfied
without seeing how these things are
done or where. The Capitol build
ing staggered me at first glance
After all my anxiety about Wash
ington during the rebellion-when
to learn that all was quiet on the
Potomac was so satisfactory to the
LOYAL heart-when / came to gaze
upon the big thing in the center, my
loyal heart was overcome. | spoke
about patchwork in a previous
scratch. The building is best rep
resented in outline by the tent of a
side-show fauked on opposite sides
with couple of big gingerbread
and small-beer awnings-the circu
lar tent answering for the Rotundi
and Dome, while the square clotl
sheds will admirably represent tn
two big wings, in which are the den
| for Congressman and Senators. II
say that have the same respect TO
the Capitol that | formerly enter
tanned for the side-show arrangement
is another thing | know darnet
well | won't say it. You see, " th'
Fathers Of the Republic (nict
clean old men y couldn't see farther
ahead than the length of one or two
Administrations, and so they com
menced the Capitol building on too
small a scale for the next generation
and used ordinary sandstone in thu
construction. During the war o
1872, the British took 1t and guttet
it and burned it. The Americans
fitted it up again, and built two
wings in addition-mentioned above
out of marble, and polished thu
whole thing up as best they could
with the mental reservation to show
the center up hundred feet or NOR
. higher at some future period, SO d
! to get fitness of things. The Amer
, leans are great on mental reserva
tions-and nearly HI on an lndial
reservation or postoffice. Well
there you have a beautiful outsid
view of the Capitol. The dom
peers up above the wings like tn
small end of goose egg, and tn
amount Of cackling heard inside G
: the wings over the affairs of the ma
ton, reminds one of how Rome wa
saved. The building spreads owe
a good deal of ground-seven hund
red feet in length, by half as wide
in places. 1t narrows down in place
: till it don't look more connecte
than the Siamese twins; and tn
I passages or corridors, leading bt
0 tween the three hulks, are to