Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1876-08-04
OUR CENTENNIAL LETTER.

Aug. End, 1876.
OUR CENTENNIAL LETTER.
Our Correspondence Note BOOk--SOme
Ofthe BxPees atIOns Of Foreign Visit
Ors..CenGennIal 'tSOur GraPeSs,--The
proposed tsDcrg'' ShOw-A mOunIaIn
Huntress and her TrOPhIes--HOw TO
secure eAeeOmmOdattOns,e etc.
From our Regular Correspondent.
II take up my detailed account Of the
displays of foreign nations this week it will
crowd everything else out of the letter, sol
am inclined to skip them, for the time
being, and devote my column to lot of
rambling notes of general interest that
won't keep so well. To begin with, it is
stated that from present indications the
ocean travel for the Exposition will have
fairly begun by the middle of August, re-
cent advices at the Tourist Office on the
ground having given information of four
Centennial excursion parties now organ
izing in England and upon the Continent,
all of which are expected to start about the
1st of August. From the West, as also
from the extreme South, the indications
are that the bulk Of the travel to Philadel-
phia will be largely confined to the period
between the 10Th of August and the first
week of October. The opening of the
autumnal season, the most delightful of
the year for American travellers, is there
fore anticipated as the most crowded
period of the Exhibition. AproPOs of the
''hard times" and the various theories con-
eerning the number of visitors, past and
prospective, l am constrained TO copy the
following lines from Mrs, A. NJ. Richards,
Of New Orleans.
Painting with hunger and longing his eyes,
Vain Reynard beautiful grapevine espies,
And oh how enchanting were each,
All covered with such delightful soft skin,
And the fruit so refreshing and cooling
within;
But, alas! too high for his reach!
"Oh, they are so green" said the cunning old
Sly,
@Fit only for fools. don't want such-not
Thus with the Centennial, where money doth
fail,
We hear not the truth, but a silly made tale,
That 'tisn't worth seeing-"Oh, wouldn't go
To see such a crowd, It you'd trouble me soI'
Why not state the fact; and let it go by?
The journey and all, like the grapes, are too
high!
Preparations are being actively pressed
forward for the great Centennial Dog Show
which, it is confidently expected, will excel
any similar exhibition yet held in the
United States. Very gratifying responses
have been received from the owners Of
fancy dogs in Great Britain and Ireland,
and should there be anything like fair
representation of the magnificent display
Of dogs annually held at the Crystal Palace
in London, it will make the Centennial
Canine Exhibition worthy of the occasion.
The greatest inducements are held out by
the committee to secure animals for exhibi-
ton. The prizes offered are of very
handsome character and silver cups from
various sporting organizations in the
United States. Five judges -four Ameri-
can and one foreign will be appointed, and
nothing left undone to make the exhibition
great success. The entries will close
August 10, and parties desirous of obtain
ing forms can obtain them from the Office
of the agricultural department. Among
the special prizes already offered, the Phil
adelphia Sportsman Club offers silver
cup, value 800, for the best pointer dog
over one year old; silver cup, value 800,
for best setter dog over one year old. The
Detroit Gun Club offers a 800 silver cup
for the best one-year-old setter from Michi-
gan. Several other prizes are announced
by private parties and by the publishers Of
various soprtng papers.
The Kansas and Colorado State building
which was not completed at the time l
gave review of the different State depart
ments, has lately been opened. 1t is a
good-looking structure, in the form OF
cross, and was erected by these two States
jointly. Unlike many Of the Others, it is
largely devoted to a display of the agricul-
tural and mineral products Of the States,
and some of the curiosities found on the
plains and in the mountains. Chief among
the attractions in that part reserved for Col
orado, is a lady-like woman Of less than
the ordinary stature and comparatively
slight physical development, known as
Mrs. Maxwell, the Rocky Mountain Hunt
ress. This lady is reputed to have killed
with her own hands five hundred wild ami
mails, and specimens of these stuffed by
herself, are on exhibition, Among these
are several large bisons, a number of deer,
including the red deer; pair Of Rocky
Mountain sheep, ferocious puma, num-
Der OF wild eats, two elk, three bears
grizzly, cinnamon and black-a wolverine,
said to be the most dangerous animal in
the West-many varieties of rabbits, in
eluding the rare coney rabbit, found only
on mountain peaks, above the timber line
and many specimens Of marmot, squirrel,
mountain rats, black-footed ferret, etc.
The last mentioned animal is a rare speci-
men, the one owned by the Smithsonian
Institute being the only other known to
have been shot and preserved. The col
lection also includes a family of prairie
dogs, owls and snakes, which the Huntress
has often seen in the same burrow, and to
these are added cases Of birds, waterfowl,
ETC., besidesa two exhibits Of live prairie
dogs and rattlesnakes, the entire display oil
over three hundred articles being very
srtistically arranged. Mrs. Maxwell is
native of Pennsylvania, but was taken to
Wisconsin at an early age, where, years
after, she married a business man Of that
State, who subsequently emigrated to Col
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