The Weston Democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1875-current, 1875-10-04

Iuisi;c bouquets Of phIox aud lahlias.
DR.. Kun;z, tho Assistant Supcrinteud-
.ut, took the pains to put these floral
beauties on exhibition, aud received
he FIRST premium on house plants aud
cut flowers, as was his due. I noticed
in tho Floral ball specimens Of cotton
produced on Elk Greek, Harrison
county.
The Races this afternoon, although
confined to local horses, werc quite
exciting. The County Belt Purse Of
S775 was won by Mr. J. NJ. Benefits
thoroughbred horse "Woffindiu" (chris.
tened in hocor Of the editor Of the
Democrat. } in 3:l5. The second pre-
MUM of S25 was taken by Scott With
ers. The first premium Of $50 10 the
pacing race was carried of by Dr.. Da-
VISIONS hsrse, in 3:33t, and the sec.
onl premium of SIS was won by Elan
Riggs. A foot.race, in which FIVE
sturdy mountaipccrs contested. attract
ed a good deal Of attention, and the
fast and slow mule races did likewise.
The Balloon Ascension by Miss Is.
tcllc Young, Of Cincinnati was the
great attraction Of the afternoon. The
time put down ION the bills" for the
ascension was two O'Clock, but for
some reason there was a detention Of
two hours and a half. Shortly before
four l stepped over to tho spot where
the balloon was being inflated with hot
air. 1t was ccrcmonious busincss-
not my stepping over, but the imitation.
A furnace had been built tor tho oc.
casioA that suggested the manufacture
Of sorghum molasses. The balloon
was placed over the chimney and twen-
ty-seyen men were delegated to hold
the thing down. Three gallons of al.
cohol, four gallons Of benzole, cord
OF wood and twenty-five minutes were
consumed iu making the imitation.
Tho balloon is quito large ono, being
So fcot in height; (whcn standing of
COURSE 100 feet in circumference at
the bilgc; and 10 feet in diameter at
the mouth. At about half past four
the work Of imitation having been CON-
pletea, Miss Young stepped in the
basket and skipped" as the boys
would say. The balloon rose to the
height of probably 1900 feet, bore her
of in q south.easterly direction and
came down outside the grounds prob.
ably 500 yards from where it started.
The ascending and descending were an
immense success and every one seemed
satisfied. Miss Young has been ION
high" about twenty times. I under.
stand sho goes from here 10 Taylors-
vile, Illinois, and from thence to Van
dalia, Missouri.
will stake Lewis county against
the world for horse trading aud horse
racing, and II believe l will venture
to 60 it alone" The country people
out this way have an inherent DISPOSE
ton to "swap horses" and il no OPP
portunity is offered for tic qualification
Of the propensity, they pho and die
at once. While going out to tho Fair
Grounds this morning, i. was as much
as We could do to get through the
frantic crowd Of hersemcn that had
blockaded the road, and were engaged
every one Of them, 10 arguing about
tho speed Of their respective horses, and
in cnumcra,ing a hundred or moro good
qualities which they never possessed.
| have never seen such ~ array Of
"plugs" since left Florida last via
ter, and have heard so much talk
about horses within tho last two days
that am sorely disguised with horse
flesh Of every Kind. These traders
have q peculiar slang Of their own
which is as musical as anything ever
produced in the mining regions Of the
west. When one Of thcm wishes to
strike trade with another he says,
"How'll you eut?' "Let me plough
your field for you," or uso other phra.
SOS with tho same force Of Impression
about them. l heard Of netrade yes.
terduy in which bottle Of whiskey
was given by ono party to the other as
boot, Tho man who got the whiskcy
drank it up; and, then DO and the other
fellow got into a. fight to settle the
question as to who should have the
bottle. In another case q quarter was
agreed upon as tho difference in value
Of the two horses, and after the money
hal been paid over and the trade closed
the two men went to tossing coppers 10
see who should have both horses. AT.
Ter leaving tho grounds las. night /
came up to the Bailey House expecting
to got out Of the range Of the turbulent
traders, but had not been in town very
long until tho streets were fairly
swaruiag with them. l sat down on
the steps Of tho hotel and gave way to
disappointment and distraction.
Tho trading stock Of the country is
very poor, but there arc some Of the
best bloodcd horses here that | have
seen ut any of the Fairs this fall. In
the vicinity Of Weston, especially,
there is q good deal Of interest taken
in the raising Of thoroughbred horses.
Mr.. Louis Benefits sorrel mare, Car
lotta, by imported Australian, and her
colt, Revcrie, by Boswell, have been