Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1874-10-01
From the pNIY Of Sept. IS
STATE FAIR.

AVotVAuAy AuVtuAu8, ~ y W. VIZ W.
gether with . hundred or more other
Ottumwa people, got aboard a X. h d.
M. train, bound for the State Fair at
Keokuk. BY the time we reached Far
mington our train had increased to
nine passenger cars, containing about
GOO people. All went of smoothly,
except being detained half hour by q
hot box, which delayed our arrival at
Keokuk until 10 A. N. We expected
ON our arrival to be greeted by hum
dred voices with shave . hack, cir ?"
but nsry hack was in sight, and all
was as quiet ~ funeral. The crowd
footed it up town, insearch Of convey
ances to the fair ground. by walking
about . mile ont Main street We head
ed OF . bus, chartered 1t for sour
crowd" and, by hard fighting, keptthe
crowd out until we reached the Pat
terson House, where they had hung
mp. The town was literally jsmmed
full Of people wanting conveyances to
the fair grounds. We reached the
grounds at II o'clock, and the first
thing We did was 10 look up some
dinner, which We found ct 4 boardisg
tent kept BY the ladies Of Westmin-
stsr Prssbytsrian Church, and . better
dinner was never oct down to 1t any
first-class hotel. or course, we did
ample justice to 1t, and got the lworth
Of our six bits.
After being thus fortified We COM
menced our tour TO sec the sights, and
the first thing that struck the ladies
was Floral Hall. Here we found q
most magnificent array Of hot house
plants Of all descriptions, and the uni
vcrsal verdict was that it was magnifi-
cent. In this hall there was also ex-
hibited the fruits Of our glorious
State. Such magnificent display Of
apples, peaches, pears and grapes -
We saw here certainly cannot be excel
led anywhere.
From Floral Hall We went to the
Fine Art Hall. This we found filled
with most beautifal paintings. photo.
graphs, needlework in every conceiva-
BILE shape, wax work, furniture,
and thousand other things We
cannot now remember; suffice II to Gay
thatitwas equal to thegrsat exhibition,
Of the kind usually held at st. Louii
Fair, II not superior. From this hall
We went to the Vegetable and Grain
Hall. Here was exhibited the pro.
auctions of . number Of States, bnt
Iowa led them all. Such corn, wheat
rye, barley, oats, potatoes, onions, beets
cabbage, cauliifower, and other sveget
ables ~ were shown from Iowa, O
this seasons growth, never was exoell
in any country, and they were I'd
mired and commented on by thousandi
of people.
From the Vegetable Hall We wen
to the Mechanical Hall, and here WA
the only failure we saw at the Fair A
few buggies and carriages, paten
churns, ETC., made up the show. And
We saw nothing here but that coult
havs been excelled by our Ottumw'
carriage makers. Our friend, R. N
Harlan, was on hand with his paten
chimney top, and ELECTED good deal o
| attention. Outside Of this hall was 10
Gated the machinery, such as engines
reapers, mowers, plows, etc. The dis
| play in this line was very good, bu
We saw no better plows and cultiva
tors than are manufactured In Ottum
VA.
There were on the ground the usua
number Of side shows OF tall men, II
women, big snakes, lung testers, orgal
| grinders, and Ill conceivable scheme
for getting money without working
honestly for It k
i From there We went to zee the livl
stock, and with this part Of the show
no ono could fail of being pleased
Tho show Of sheep was ilne, the dis
play Of hogs immense, and the bes
ever seen in the State. The show o
cattle was grand. There were : yer.
large number comprising Aldsrnayf
Ayrshires, Jerseys, Devon, Durhaml
grades and common. In this depart
ment We cannot particularize, but tw,
fat steers raised by Timothy Day, 0
Van Buren, county, deserve esrecia
mention. They were Durhams, tire.
years old past, and weighed respect.
lively $500 and 264O ms. Two finel
boyines certainly never were seen IN
any country. Our next move was Il
see the horses, of which there was ,
large and magnificent show. tn,
show Of Norman horses was particu
larly iine. Such fine specimens Of farm
or draft horses we never saw before
as there was among these Norman
horses. There were the usual number
Of fast going high-steppers, but thes,
were locked up and only seen ~ the,
were brought into tho ring. Their
was but little racing yesterday, and
We saw only two, one scrub runnin,
race and trotting race, time of tn
latter 2 :32. '
II One Of the directors told US, at fou
o'clock, that 5000 tickets had beef
sold Yesterday, and there must hav
been 1t least 10000 people on the FAi
i ground during the day. Taken alto
i gsther, the Fair wasa success in ever
respect. The Gate CITY and Weste,'
FARM Journal had Offices ON th
ground, and w here desire to retur
our thanks 10 John r. Ehaher, Sec'y