Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1880-08-20
NOTES OF TRAVEL.
Old Point Comfort Fortress
Monroe.

Correspondence o; the Register.
FORTRESS MONROE, Va, Aug. is.
Although aware that to newspaper
rea .ers there is no article less attractive
han "notes OF travel" since every
traveller, as soon as his first trip begins,
suddenly develops talent for writing
and must needs impose his essays upon
his 90 .d-natured editor and the uro''
Tending public, yet after four weeks OF
"excurting" AMI sight seeing, | yield to
the pressure and w,ite. After short
soiourn in Washington, ID. C., and Bal
tnore, acquiring Just appreciation oil
the grandeur Of our Capital. truly city
OF magnificent distances, and OF the
beauty, extent and traffic oil the mOnu-
mental city, find myself at Old Font
Comfort, OF late years very popular
simmer resort. The Hygeia Hotel
affords elegant Accommodations for
the numerous guests VINO
flock by hundreds from Washing.
inpton, Baltimore, Richmond al d other
intermediate points. Mr.. Phoebus, the
proprietor, informs me that in June he
had over four hundred, and the first
week OF July over eight uldred guests
per day. Terms S55O per day. There
are several other boarding houses run
ming as lOw rs so per day, and ~ per
week, which are we'll palrOnlzed. Tue
bathing. fishing, rowing, sailing and
driving facilities cannot he surpassed
except that there are only two good
horses in the vicinity, which fact rather
checks the ardor OF driving parties.
The Fort hcrc--the finest and strong.
esi in the United States-is feature OF
interest To- every one, that is not found
AZ other watering places. Tine Fort, m
Guiding some seventy-tve acres, Is
guarded on the bay side by classmates
OF heavy masonry, with forty 10 inch
nficd guns peering from as many port
holes; within this and surrounding the
tort. is a mOat with nine feet OF wa
ter AT high tide, sixty feet wide,
thanked on the river side by 30
foot wall, which is surmOun,cd by
an earthen brGastwOri nine feet high,
aud bearing numerous fifteen inch, eight
inch and hundred Founder guns. There
is garrison Of live companies here now,
occupying five new brick barracks, and
the business oi the pos; ROW Is 10 lur'
nsh school for perirctin. the knowl-
edge and practice oi the young officers.
who are required to spend two years
here after leaving West Point. The
grounds are elegant and the buildings
attractive as we'll - durable, giving, a.
all government buildings, evidence Of
the prodigality OF those who have their
hands in Uncle Sans pocket. The rip
raps. fort in the entrance Of the Bay,
furnish additional Qualifications. With
out the tort, with the exception OF lew
houses, the dwellings present very
shabby appearance, being old frame
structures daubed with dingy yellow
mineral paint, causing the unpleasant
sensation that You must have been
dropped among the adobe houses OF
North Africa Beyond old Mill Creek,
70 the west, lies SPRAYING little town,
hree,iourths cornticld and potato patch,
hoasting the prctcntiouS name o! Ches-
apeake City, aud two miles further the
the town OF Hampton, on the shores OF
the Hampton Roads, the scene OF the
contest betwcep the Monitor and the
MerrimaC, and the general winteriag
rendezvous for vessels. Here also are
the "cOlored" Normal School and the
Soldiers Home, the latter havin. some
six hundred inmates lodged in fine,
large building in elegant grounds, with
all the appurtenanCeS, such rs library,
smoking room, beer saloon, gas, water
works, laundry, amusement hall
everything, which is furnished in the
most approved style according TO Uncle
Sans want. Yesterday we visited Nor
folk. now a city OF over twenty thou
sand, where we ficd the United States
navy yard. similarly well fitted, and 4
great many men at work on repairs OF
war vessels.
The population here is about ali
and-'ali' citizens Oi color and whites,
and it is no uncommon thing to see The
former 90 the whar' in their car
riages, while eye po' W lite trash walk.
| imagine the WnceiiGgitcS would Zee,
'andaIizsd, at the appearance in their
streets, OF vehicle quite common here,
viz: Il twO-wheclcd cart with an ahQr-
tomato imitation Of 4 bed, about three
feet long, upon It, ard drawn by one
0N, or what We would call ysarling
steer, attached, by harness or yoke and
driven with bit and rope bride and
reins, by gray-bearded representative
Of Darwiu's theory, with blue spectacles
and bare feet. DO YOU see hlm2 We
have tried our hand with considerable
success fishing for ''shcep-heads' and
shooting "scows" therGns). Fishes OF
many kinds and herOns and cranes are
quite abundant; besides that inter
esting little bird-the mosquito
We do not have TO hunt him. We also,
10 be in accord with our surroundings,
INDUCED IN short spell OF sca.siCkncss.
We did not enjoy it, a second excur-
sion party from Pittsburgh, is expected
here on tomorrow (la.h) morning
Why does not Wheeling Get up an ex-
curSion? Hancock county was repre-
scented mere on SuRday last by Mcssrs.
Howard and Will Campbell and their
brother Frank, now OF the Interior De
parlmcnt, ID. G.. II is certainly a good
place to come, and with proper endeav-
0rs person ought To- gain half pound
Per day. Send out some OF our slender
NbaslinC friends and widen them