The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1879-07-24

! beginning that we inclined to believe W
were fated, and to go farther woul'
only lead US into further difficulties.
But the longese day must have an end
ing, and in due course of time our mot
ley train unloaded it's freight at the Por
Huron dock. The first sight of the blu,
waters of the st. Clair revived our spir
its and gave US the most pleasurablt
emotions VIC had experienced during the
day. We waited with suspended breath
while the question was being asked
"Has the boat arrivede" "Not yet,
was the answer, and our revived spirits
dropped agsin; but we consoled our
selves with the cheerful fact that We
could 60 no farther by rail. We were all
surprised when after an hours waiting
the Oswegatchie actually came in sight
We could scarcley believe that such good
fortune had befallen us-so eager are
| We TO rush into ills we know not of. 1t
only toned down our enthusiasm a little
that the boat was to remain at Port Hu.
ron over night. There was already q
large company aboard, but after some
difficulty we were supplied with state
rooms-close, hot, and narrow they
| were, mere band-boxes compared with
| the roomy couveniences of home-but
VIC were seeking pleasure you know.
| The long, narrow table in the narrow
cabin was nearly filled with travellers.
My neighbor on the right was a minis.
lister, the gentleman opposite was q law
yer. "There may be a Chaplin or q
Beecher in this Toledo party, who will
add interest to our celebration to-mor-
| row." was the first remark that attracted
my attention. But it was by no means
the last we were destined to hear of the
celebration of the GLORIOUS Fourth" il
the middle of Lake Huron. Our minis
ter, rs We speedily learned to designate
him, WAS one of those positive, persis-
tent, self-asserting men, who wish to
lead, who will not be turned from pur-
pose, and who continually reminded one
of the commands of closing exhorter
at a revival meeting, "Come, sinner,
come, right straight along now" After
supper we were separately and coliec-
lively interviewed as to our ability to
sing, to recite, to read, to reply to toasts.
The last thing we beard as we closed our
tired eyes in our hot, sufocating state
room was the loud voice of our minis.
ter, 1--WE will sing the Star Spangled
Banner to close with"
Port Huron seems to be the head qua
ters of the N. Il. Co.'S line of boats. We
were to start at o'clock A. NJ. Friday.
At about that hour the President of the
Company appeared on the deck and an
nounced that the boat would not leave
until afternoon-'had some more freight
to put on" "too strong q head wind"
II. was soon whispered around that the
President was in u bad humor. The
Captain told US afterward it was on ac-
count of the Encouragement in getting
our Toledo party to Port Huron. We,
four party Of ten) paid them seventy dol
lars from Toledo to Chicago. They had
had an actual outlay of over two-thirds
of that sum to get us to Port Huron-not
one-fifth of the distance. Hereafter
all boats of the line will stop at Toledo"
growled the President, which order the
Captain thought would not be counter
manded fer a week. You will be sur
prised to know that we were so i'll natured
as to find supreme satisfaction in the
fact that our discomfort had been at
somebody's loss.
Three of us, after a little conversation
with the captain to make sure that the
boat would not leave US, went out with
our sketch books on an investigating
tour. We took quiet path that led up
to Fort Gratiot. The fort itself was as
calm and peaceful with its white build
ings and well-kept turf, as though it had
never had poured into its precincts the
murderous shot and shell which it
never had. We met an old man. Ger
thirty years. We should have had no
difficulty in understanding the particu-
lar occasion for the erection of this fort
or any of its subsequent history, if our
old soldier had known anything about
either. We piled him with numberless
questions, but he seemed SO innocently
surprised that there need to be any rea-
son for the existence of his fort that we
gave up in despair. He showed us
through one Of the white cottages, dis
playing with evident pride its parlor and
kitchen. "Do the soldiers cook for
themselvess" Ivy vat is de vimmens
for, if not to cookw was his astonished
answer. "De mems eatI" / thought he |
had found q simple solution of the wom-
ems rights question. By his permission
we picked handful of the roses, peeped
cautiously under the weather-stained
canvas that covered the bright brass
cannons, and then turned our footsteps
to sketch lighthouse on a near point of
land. We visited in Her Majesty's do |
minion on the opposite side of the river,
grand aquarium. 1t contained 3400
surgeons, some of them seven feet long
and weighing over q hundred pounds. |
We watched them with curious interest
as they moved slowly and aimlessly un-
der and over, between and around each
other through the transparent water.
The morning passed quickly away for
us, but by the impatient remarks at din
ner we guessed others had found the de-
lay tiresome. At the frequent inquiries
as to when the boat would start, there
had been some mysterious nodding and
smiling between the steward and cabin
maid, which became more Ineligible
when the captain muttered, They'll
wish themselves back again"
At two o'clock the boat started. At
three the celebration was to begin. We |
have always had a supreme contempt for
people who get seas sick. From our lofty
standpoint of well balanced stomach,
we would look with Indifferent pity upon
those weaker creatures who could not
watch the beautiful rainbows in the high
mounting waves, or enjoy the dashing
of the sunlit spray, or endure the grace |
full rocking of the boat. Well-we-
think the celebration began at three
O'Clock. We believe the Star Spangled |
Banner was sung. We think that the
Toledo party was toasted. We heard
that the evening was made brilliant with
fire-balls and sky-rockets; but we can
not personally testify that any of these
things were so, and we talked after |
wards with many other Of the passengers
who seemed to have as indistinct and
confused an idea of that afternoon and
night as ourselves. We were on pleas. |
ure trip, you know; but we have changed |
o,1r mind ahout people who oet sea sick
The morning Of the fifth dawned bright
and fair, with the lake as smooth as
glass. Once more we looked upon exist
anca aa endnrahla After sevenfeen