The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1873-03-29
A Letter from wheeling 10 the
Brooklyn Times.

We make the following extracts from
q letter written from Wheeling, and
published in the Brooklyn Tines, Of the
25th: .-..
To the eye OF an Eastern man there
is but one drawback here viz: the ei-
feet produced upon everything that
surrounds you by the extensive use OF
bituminous coal Tor domestic and man
ufacturing purposes The coal throws
of 1I- ..h... ..... ......
| BLACK SMUT OR SCOT,
that darkens everything and gives
dusky. dingy look to the whole iace OF
nature. The trees, the soil, the hill
sides, the houses, and even the faces OF
the people, bear upon them traces Of
this smut, that issues from every do
mestic freside and from every factory
and workshop where iuel is used and
fires are kindled.
The people. however, who live and
grow up here, and who spend their lives
in the midst o. these scenes, get used to
it and actually enjoy it - a fsttering
themselves that there is no country inlI
the world equal to this-no country in
which fuel is more plentiful the soil
richer, and health and general happi
ness more uriversal, Well, truly, it
may be admitted, this is q pleasant
country to live in. Industrious hands
may here find readily plenty OF work
and fair pay, and living is about cheap
as it is anywhere in the United States.
am sitting and writing at the vim
dow OF house on
WHEELING ISLAND
through which l look out toward the
east. The RIVER here runs almost due
south. The bank OF the river on which
my eye rests is surmounted by high |
ridge OF mills that hem in the city and
confine it 10 verv narrow limits Much |
OF the city of Wheeling is built on a
high, narrow bluff, that extends along
the eastern bank OF the river distance
OF some three miles. The southern |
portion is lower and has more width OF
terr tory; but the older, wealthier, and
business portion OF the city is very mar
row and is built on high ground.
AS | look over upon the city now,
the hills. under grey sky, f. ON which
the rain has been descending pretty
copiously all the forenoon, form the
background; the smoke ls issuing from
unnumbered chimneys, and, in place.,
rolls in dark clouds over against the
hills; while steamboat, with heavy
raft of empty coal boats, is just at this
moment passing mp stream under the
FIRST SUSPENSION BRIDGE
ever built in the country, and which
here spans the Ohio from the l-land
10 the Wheeling shore. This bridge
was built more than twenty-five years
ago, under the supervision OF Colonel
Elet, who afterwards constructed the
first bridge that connected Canada and
the United'Ststes. Some years aiterward
the bridge here
WAS BLOWN DOWN.
but it was at once rebuilt on a sma'ler
scale to be sure, but still large enough
to answer all practical purposes and
recently upon a plan devised by Mr..
RDeblng, now engaged upon the
Brooklyn bridge, it has been materially
improved and strengthened. 1t is the
pioneer suspension brdge in the coun-
try, and illustrates on small sca'e
what may be expected from similar
structures over the East River
BETWEEN NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN.
The bridge stock is as valuable as
any owned here except the stock OF the
local gas company, paying steadily as
high as eight per cent on the original
investment, as well as on tOe cost Of
reconstruction, and all the repairs since
required. II Wheeling, with Populs-
ton OF less than thirty thousand, with
one OF the smalest wards OF the city
located on the Island, can pay eight
per cent out Of bridge that cost be.
tween two and three hundred thousand
dollars, how much may not be finally
realized on the stock OF the E tst RIVER
Bridge, connecting, as it will do, two OF
the largest municipalities on the Conti-
uent, no matter il its construction
should cost twenty or even thirty times
as much as thls2 The bridge stock
OF our bridge company cannot fail 10
time 10 be valuable, and the city's in
terest in it should be carefully husband
ed and protected by the necessary safe
guards
Before railroads came largely into
use water navigation was the main
dependence ofthe world, and all other
methods OF travel had to yield to
THE ExlGENoIEs OF WATER NAVIGATION.
No important stream was then allowed {
10 be bridged, where the bridge would I
in any way be likely TO Interfere with I
water craft. The building OF railroads
has set this rule aside, and as the result
the Ohio River Is to-day brIdged at
Steubenville, at Wheeling, at Bellaire,
al Psrkersburgh, at Cincinnati, and in
time it will doubtless be spsunei at
every i'm portant point where traffic and
travel may require it. l well remem- ,
Der, although then hut q boy, the
trouble that arose some thirty years
ago over the purpose to built q bridge
here at Wheeling. All the steamboat
interests along the OHIO river were aP-
pealed 10 and aroused in active oppo-
sition. Pittsburgh was particularly
hostile, and had It not been Tor the tact
that the land on the Wheeling shore is
very high, giving to the bridge all the
elevation above high water mark that
river navigation could reasonably ask,
the probabilities are that the bridging
OF the river here would have been
postponed for many years longer than
II was.
! ought to add that even after this
Ex,lna ma kr,ilt aha nnnnaitinn Of :.