The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1875-10-02
SALATuIEL AT GRAFTON.
The UgIincss and Beauty OF the
PIace-A Mountain Boat-The Graf
ton Fair.
GRAFTON, September 90, 1875.

duced the early express to stop Tor them,
| hustled out of their city this morning
minus breakfast. to be on time-and be-
ing in time called at hotel on the cor
nnr a square from the depot for a lunch
and got badly samdCichedin having to pay
40 cents for bad cup of coffee and II
sandwich, and meditating the thought
rs | munchcd the biscuit, that cat with
burnt toes goes round the fire evermore,
| hied me To the train which soon set us
down in safety to this cramped city oil
booms, river forks, railroad tracks, ma
chine shops and hillside houses, which
TO enter you must climb ladders IN front
to get into the cellars, and in the rear go
down stairs to reach the garrets.
The railroad tracks of which | should
say there are u million or so, the raj
road hotel, dcpots, and shops take up all
the ground there is any place about mere
and the rest of the city with streets
and ALLEYS, churches, business and dwell
ing houses, is Just boosted up on edge, l
may say and leaned over against the
mountain side, where its several ports are
held in position by stone walls and pill
lars, timber props, &c. If | lived on the
upper skyward edge, with my business
down at the lower, | should lnaugurate
and take stock in balloon line, as the
only locomotion possible. The immedi-
ate front on tho relroad is miserable
conglomeration. No street at al and no
room for one, unless you set it on edge.
All manner Of dilapidated stores, shops
and huts, with some decent buildings in
tcrspersed, are strung aud piled along in
every conceivable order and disorder.
Some sticking out; some sticking in; some
fronting and some backing down like
crabs, and others presenting their wealth
er-worn TANKS, like hogs going to war
and all these along the whole way 'front.'
ed with what? a street? No, | said so
above. | would take month to tell
what Pen couldn't describe IT, printers
wouldn't print 1t, nor the REGISTER hold
it. Suppose you try to pass along the
front. You'd strike out from II saloon;
for there's where you'd behold yourself
on rickety board walk-now you're not
but climbing down and scrambing up
over galleries; picking your way through
garbage heaps, old barrels, patches OF
Jimpson weeds and all such; now you
dodge a pig pen; now mount up stairs
and alonga balustrade; tumble OFT at the
other end-roll over a stone pile
down into another filthy guttcr-and-
Iand-and-well now my good sir, you've
only Just started, but if you're not killed,
and have bit of sense left, you II take
my advice and give 1t up. Slide down to
the bottom; wade the sloppy ditch, flank
ing the tracks, and picking your way
through engines and cars, 20 about your
. business, if you hayn't forgotten what it
is. Why is 1t thus Graftonians? Why
do you stick your worst. your dirty, de-
formed. unwashcd feet foremost? Poke
1t right into the faces OF hundreds OF peo-
pie every day, passing the cars, giving
! them false impressions of your cntcrprls-
Ing and prosperous city. Back against
the hill We find good street, with fine
business houses, shops, churches, nice
residences. &c. with all the thrift and
hustle OF q city thoroughfare.
But this j. not agricultural and mo
, chanical talk, | came for the Fair, and
soon after arriving this morning, |
| boarded Captain Blues mountain steam
er Excelsior bound down to the Fair
| Grounds While a passenger | inter
viewed, thoroughly this steamboat of
magnificent parts and gigantic pro
portions, playing with the trout and
| bass Of these mountain waters.
Applying the line, square and
the scales, l proved her as follows: %
! feet long, Is feet beam, Is inches hold, and
! drawing light Ii inches. Has an up
right boiler feet 4 inches by 10 inches,
with 10 hues. Cylinder "a inches in di-
ameter, with 81 inches stroke, the piston
entering and working the pump direct
something entirely novel. Paddle wheel
I feet in diameter. The engine com
! p'ete weighs % pounds, only, and with
boiler furnace, chimney, shafts and all
machinery TOR propclling the boat, just
/ $50 pounds. She carries her fuel and
seat! fifteen men safely and comfortably
and makes the run from the city to the
| fair grounds. thrce-.aurths of mile, IN
/ five minutes. She has run It miles in
| ~ minutes.
Now Mcssrs. stcamboatmen of mari
| tire Wheeling, how is that for high
steam navigation in the mountains?
| Captaln Blue. who owns and commands
I this novel craft, is am informed, poor
mechanic, and is himself, the inventor,
| designer and builder, and Dame Fortune
| is a profound wretch If she does not
crown his genius and enterprise with
/ substantial success.
Well. on entering the grounds, all |
could discover, either useful or ornamcn-
/ ,gI we're the four base ball clubs, con-
tending for the prize Of $50. The red
and blue brooches Of these agricultural
mines. don't draw like balloons and In
diaus. 4 score or so Of citizens
were Nil that were Interested III
their break-necl, games. The Clarks-
burrs carried of the lager beer money,
and doubtless returned as jolly as they
came this morning. In the forenoon the
Clarksburgs played the Activcs, OF Graf
ton. score ~ to 49, and the Flnlshers, OF
| Grafton. beat the Rough and Ready, OF
Pruutytown. score IS to o, in six innings.
And i'm the afternoon these two winning
club, played for the prize, resulting IN II
score of u to | in favor Of Ciarks-
burg. -,
There we're very few people on the
grounds, and though the first day here
!, intended mostly for making entries,
the e prospect look. slim for either much
show or people. If this lovely weather
continue the Society will have only itself
to blame fits fair Is not a success May
two BIZ days save them from seli-bl"me,
They have quite comfortable grounds,
though it has taken much work to make
pa.>able track over the ups and downs.
\ magnificent grove OF tall timber ut one
side, with green sod beneath it, makes It
lovely place for the swings, shows, cleo
tricity man, caterers, &c, and ON! S"ch
y delicious place for country lover, TO
munich candy ani-(whoopec)-s
swap k.sses-Oh my!
| have to stop,
SALhTHIEL.