The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-07-17
ADDITIONAL LOCAL.
Old Time BOntlng-An Exciting
Scene on the Wheeling Wharf.


After had read your article, publish
ed last week, in which you gave the names
OF the seven steamboats, which formed the
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Passenger
Packet Line twenty-five years ago, n
number Of the splendid steamers which
made their owners rich in the dead years
Of the past, came back 10 me, and the
dead faces OF many boatmen with whom
l was acquainted appeared before me.
And now, as l write, my mind wanders
back through those glorious times when
at any hour in the day and at any point
on the Upper Ohio, large and elegantly
finished boat, carrying "bOne in her
teeth" with her guards crowded with
people, could be seen walking the water
like thing Of lite" and at any hour in
the night the noise Of her buckets pound
ing the water could have been heard,
waking the sleeping echoes on the dark
and silent shores.
Prominent among the boats which my
Retrospective wanderings bring before
me are the seven which constituted the
Wheeling and Louisville packet line.
They were named David White, Alvin
Adams, Thomas Swami, Baltimore, Falls
City, City Of Wheeling and Virginia
large, fast and handsome boats. There
was strong feeling Of rivalry between
these boats and the Pittsburgh packets,
which on one occasion might have been
attended with serious consequences, pos.
sibly los. OF life, il it had not been Tor the
cool head and good sense Of Capt. John
MclIure, Ot the steamer City Of Wheeling.
The frat suspension bridge at Wheeling
was not built high enough to allow boats
to pass under 1t at moderately high
stage OF water with their chimneya stand.
Ing; consequently they had TO be lowered,
aud rs there was none OF the mechanical
appliances for that purpose on boats al
that time, such a5 are now in use, it was
considerable Of job, sometimes attended
with accident, and always with delay.
In the year 1854, during terrific wind
storm, the wire cables jumped of one Of
the towers at the Wheeling end, and the
bridge went down, leaving two cables
suspended across the river on the upper
towers. OnSaturday afternoon the steam
Cr Messenger, Capt. Issac G. Woodward
on her down trip approached Wheeling
for the first time after the accident, and
Captain Woodward being under the i'm
preston that the remaining cables had
been partly pulled out OF their proper
positions, and were lower than the bridge
had been, ordered the men to lower the
chimheys. The people on the shore who
knew there was room enough for the boa
to pass under with her chimneys stand
ing, were greatly exasperated when shC
passed under with them down, and con-
cluded at once that the Captain had low
cred them for the purpose Of paying mock
reverence TO the cables. When the in
iuriated citizens rushed down 10 III,
wharf, Il was evident that the Messenger
No. . would be in great danger when shC
landed, and II she had not been rounded
in outside the City Of Wheeling, sht
would most undoubtedly have received ,
shower OF stones. Captain Mcclure
whose boat was ready TO leave, startet
out keeping lis own boat between th'
Messenger No. 2 and the shore until tht
latter was out Of the reach Of the yelling
crowd. Though Captain Woodward wa
severely blamed, / do not think HI
was guilty. l was on the deck OF the
Messenger, close TO him, and, il had
been in command Of the boat my judg
uGnt would have prompted me to do just
as he did, SPIRIT.
The above article appears in the Pitts
burgh Dapateh OF last Saturday. II
'hOwsho apt we are in short time to
either forget or pervertthe facts Of his.