The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-08-16
Ght9nteIlfaenrens
LIFE IN THE PANHANDLE.
Nest Virginia's New Capital ana
Same Of lis characteristics.


orrespondencc ut this season should b
devoted to Saratoga, Newport, Lon
Branch, or the White Mountains, AM
chronicles Of hotel piazzas, iced tea
tlouncc. and the rccreatioRs oil city lash
jopabIe. generally, Bat for the grea
mas. Of people, the trite thing to say is
life ba. ju-t as work.a'day aspect in tn
mrril dog.duy- as at any other time
and especially is this 30 in this city o
rnl and IRON on the banks OF the tur
Nh Ohio.
There is q peculiar sordidness attached
m these iron.making towns in warn
e.ll4cr ior coal and iron are synony
NOUS with dirt and sulphurOus atmOs
pbrrr. The air is constantly filled with
IN. floating "bIackies," which have q
gnI,r!ul affinity for the pCrspiring skin
milne vicinity Of the nail mills and fur
n1r., thpy descend upon one in greasy
GIun ma,,rs Us il the contents OF some
nnr.uir leather.bed had been shaken
i,o.r overhead. There is no escaping
NH. gbo,lIy curse OF self coal. Sink a
.G,it m ynlr nose, and COLOR" OF ex-
,,rIinr richness can always be obtained;
m,nyour ,wcaty face with handkGr-
CIirf and the visagc becomes streaked in
a w9y that would make Sioux Indian
believe You had donncd the war-Paint;
w forth with the consciousness and moral
.lpport Of an immaculate shiFt-iront,
,nI in an hour your degradation Is nc.
comulishrd; or YOU sit at the table and
pensfyely spread piece Of bread with
inter. and a stroke of the knife brands
,br wheaton slice with mark tit for the
brow Of Cain. Sometimes think this
,u.reryading spirit Of SCOT must smutch
rypn the immortal souls OF the citizens.
This i5almosphcric Wheeling. Wheel
,nr Al, a material town is as solid as the
.1lelantial nature Of her chief industry
would make il lifting. Plentiful clay and
rh,np brick have, to u greater extent
Inn usual in American cities Of It's size,
kent ont fragile buildings OF pine, and the
plice has that air Of durability possessed
nv English or continental towns. In pop
ualion, it is about equal to Springfield,
and in likeness of situation there Is some.
Thing Of a parallel. Make the armory
NIL ~ lofty and abrupt that It's side could
mt be built upon and plant it with vine.
yarl. and the similarity would be more
pmpiele. So, being compressed within
Tie width Of three or four squares, the
civ has extended in cOmPactly.built
fashion up and down the river nearly
dyr miles, At one place, however, there
lean opening back through the ridge on
An easy grade that's builtup and through
which small river finds liz way to the
Ohio Across the river from Wheeling
and corresponding with West Springfield
in all but It's altractivcness, is the smutty
little town Of bridgeport. Midway be.
tween, though, and dividing the river, Is
Wheeling Island, largely built over with
lbc residences Of well.to.dO people. .-
And this island Is the only really
Elcnic thing thing | have discovered
about Wheeling. Ii il perhaps mile
and a half in length by tlree.qIartOrs Of
A. mile wide, and, being formed by the
rphaIInyiaI deposits Of the river, Is ex.
rcrdngly fertile. Tantalilingly beauti-
mi, il stretches its yerdant length along
ninll view Of some Of the more sordid
.,rect. Of the main city, whose inhabit.
ants, fancy, look upon Il rs wistfully as
Dives ga1ed into the unattainablo heaven
If Lalarus-only here the ease is re.
yer.ed and Poverty signs for the terres.
trial paradise Of the rich man. A toll Of
five cent. across the bridge serves to keep
lhi4 happy island free from the intru.
sion, Of yagrant children and moor peo.
plr and. there being no manufacturing
II INV Kind within ia limits il il clean
and sweet from Natures own hands. I
pn,.cI n jeliciously fresh and sunshiny
morning lately rambling over mi, island
,ioma;m LEAVING lhe central md more
thickiy built marion. I followed the lend
Of n arass.grown lane to lis farther cx.
tremity Reside lnxuriant corn.rows
lhrouch rustling fields of grain and
undetermined appIe orchards, by vine.
yori. md thriving vegetable gardens
tho woy lcd Now and then he natl,
gcnlcd n fence nv the rurnI English dc.
vice Of n stile. On the steps OF one Of
thc,c near n venerable farm house ant A
blooming lNss. md nj her feet in the rank
urasl several ruddy, rollicksome chill.
drcn were ulaying In a kitten.like way.
II wa. Arcadia come again, and only a
icnilorlv tuditnd nnatnFal rnnl1 do Ina.
tice to the idyllic charms Of my mornings
stroll. But this Utopian island has u
phantom broodiug over II. At intervals
Of years the floods in the river submerge
II, and when the telegraph from Pitts.
burgh announces any unusual height Of
water there, the islanders sleep unGasily
and have portentOus dreams.
Geographically speaking, it seems the
height Of Injustice that lghCeling,away up
here In the remote extremity of the State,
should be It's Capital. Practically, how.
ever, II is all right, and Charleston had
bcst succumb with what grace she can.
To the large majority Of the people the
latter il accessible only by tedious aud
roundabout ways, while Wheeling, on
the contrary, for all but Tic lower body
Of .parscly inhabited counties, Is readily
reached. The city has wealth and society
to furnish an attractive setting for Orna.
mental State officials and Legislators, and
iii not strange that these considerations
have enabled Il to triumph over isolated
Charleston. To clinch tie matter some.
what after tho Hartford manner, the
Wheeling people are constructing fine
CAPITOL building, and Il now only remains
for the tcnarioils Charlestonians 10 Weld
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