The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1876-10-05
OPENING PUBLIC ROADS.

applications to the State Legislature:
among Others 1 presented a petition
for turnpike from Milesburg, jp
Centre county, to the New York State
line, in the direction of Olean. on the
banks of the Allegheny river. 1t was
called the Milesburg and Smethport
Turnpike road. The work was long
and tedious, but it finally succeeded,
and the country was at last opened up
In 1924 or IS the project of securing
water communication between Phila-
delphia and Pittsburg was agitated.
In this movement / took an active in
terest. AT that time there were hopes
entertained of getting canal cut up
along the west bank of the Susque-
hanna and down the Red Bank or
Clarion, to Pittsburg. Extensive SUR
veys were made at the time through
this section of country, by James Will
son. of Lycoming county, and Gen
eral John Mitchell, of Centre. These
men were both good surveyors, but of
course were not to be compared with
the engineers of the present day.
When they had finished their reports
they were taken to Albany and laid
before General Geddes, who was then
the principal engineer OH the Hudson
River and New York Canal. He took
the reports, examined them carefully
and returned a favorable answer, say
ing, however, that everything depen-
ded for success on the accuracy of the
Pennsylvania engineers. That winter
the Legislature authorized the Board
of Canal Commissioners to employ an
engineer from New York to supervise
the work. Accordingly he came into
this State, went over the entire line,
and found everything to correspond
with the original report, together with
the necessary quantity of the water.
After this inspection the engineer
went with the Board, a member of
which was old Jimmy Clark, up the
Juniata, across the mountains to
Conemaugh and thence up to Rills-
burg. The result of this trip was the
rendition by the engineer of an adj
verse report to the entire water con-
nectiOn and in favor of a portage route
accross the mountains from Holli'
daysburg to Johnstown No one ever
learned what influenced the change of
mi in ,rit
1t was certainly not public senti-
ment.n
"Why not public sentiment"
because there wasn't any public
sentiment it was all woods"
THE PORTAGE ROUTE.
"Old Jimmy Clark said this por-
tage route would never do, ana yet he
couldn't just exactly see how a canal
could be got up the Juniata and across
the Allegheny Mountains. When this
enterprise failed turned my attention
next to railroad operations and was
elected one of the delegates in 1886. to
the first railroad convention at Will
Transport. The idea was to construct
a road from Philadelphia to Lake
Erie. l labored for this project two
years in the Legislature, and my effort 8
were crowned finally with success.
After the completion of the railroad
the country was greatly improved,
and after | had served term in the
Senate and two in the House l re-
turned to agricultural pursuits.
dealt largely in lumber, too, and sold
it in Pittsburg. In 1862 l left this
State for Iowa, where / am now liv-
ing, high and dry and cosy,
SOME OF THE MEN HE HoBNoBBEB
WITH.
Eyes, knew Henry Clay. He was
genial fellow-the most royal of
princely good fellows. Webster was
more reserved, but improved on ac-
quaintance. The latter was not the
equal of Calhoun, who, in his palmiest
days, was the ablest man in the Sen.
ate. His eloquence and force were ir.
resistible, but personally he was not g
companionable man. Benton / knew
well. He was a charming fellow
His speeches always read better than
those of any of them, but his delivery
was not so good. He always prepared
the heads of his discourse; while he
spoke his desk was Uttered with the
scraps of paper on which they were
written. AS he disposed of the heads
he tore up his notes into little scraps
and blew them away. jeff Davis wa'
cold and distant, and never popular
Lincoln and Grant l didn't know anC
don't want to. Andy johnson was /;
brick. Let me tell you little stcry
about him. One day during hi
Presidency was in Washington, and a
L passed the White House, with NJ
intention to enter, was hailed b.
the butler-a jolly old dog who knew
me when he clerked it at Jess
Browns hotel-and he insisted that
should call on the President. l said
"to-Jerusalem with the President!
But took 1t all back when / Learned
that he had good liquor in the cellar
In went and downit went, and thel
up went to see the President wa
received with the greatest courtesy
but told him at the outset that
hadn't come to ask any favors of hin