The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-02-17
"FAIR BOATING STAGE
BUT NOT A FLOOD BY ANY MEANS.
III. Present Fr,.A.t Compared with Som. FOrm,r
Hl.IOri, Tlood,-Ths Vivid Recollection Of
ysrJ Od IIhsbItlut OF where the
water Va, Is Lorntr Year.

The recent high water at this point has been
as an interesting event by some Of
tia younger residents OF tue city. withs
few OF tho very old residents, however, The
rises, though coming in such close succession
As 70 excite the wonder Of some people, have
no. caused ripple OF interest In tho calm Of
their retrospective mindL Recently rtpOr.
,sr met such person on Water street, lean
ing against lamp post aud lABguidly arnOk
ius = pipe, vale all about him were talking
eagerly and watching the rushing torrent,
covered with drift wood aud holding 10 solu.
Ton real fStale fEoM three cOmmOhwealtha
Noticing lis lack Of interest, the journalistic
envoy addressed hIm inbinuAingiy with tht
remark:
.'sUns water there, Captain"
The newly bfeyettd Captain eyed ne young
man very deliberately from head to foot be-
torc replying aud then said, AS II he assent
ed merely ont Dt consideration for the re-
vOrIer's Rck Of experience:
"Oh, ys,; that's very EoOd stsHe Of water,
lbOut thirty.hVe feet, Shonld say. But We
don't have ilJOGs no more"
And be shock his head sOrroWfulIy as h
thought Of the degensraTy Of the times.
"Did you live here In '3A'
YES, 81; and that piu 4 flood. Why, u
thAt water hsh come nowadays the popped
have thought the dc!uge was TO be done over
again, That yeir-leL nir see, lived on th-
Island, thou, about where Capt McLure's
house Is now. Well, air, the rise came 30
sudden, aud there bein no Telegraph In them
DAYS, we WAS all taken by surprise, and II II
hadn't bppu Tor the kindness Of some steam
hOatmeu we'd never k1OWtd We was drowned
ill moruIug. 4 CAptGin-let uiB ste; what
was his nams now
And he lhoughllully removed the pip
from his mouth ard pAt'ed out the smoke
vigorously. hut the maine not recurring u
his mind lie continued;
WAnyhow, lie came over and woke up The
isw inhabitants Of 4 mes Island, And brought
MS over. Some little tlmB waS Occypied, Of
courre, pettin' all the people aboard, hui
when we got across the river BgAin-lhs cur
rent was purity strong, too, i III ttllin yot
this here place hero was the bottom Of tht
river. Why, could you blteve i we landed
at the secOld story Of the Mcclure Houser
The reporter frankly confessed that had
any body but The Captain made that state
prnt he would have doubted It's yerActty..
Fact, sir; absolute fact Ps ttllin'
teller about the circumstance tother day
when tue WAFER was putty ukubs anu ~
lowed I must be mistaken; that 1t was tb'
Il lanes. MT know II was Tho Mcclure
cause remember In trying to run her poinl
MO A window SOS the passengers could land
ha boat broke her wheel on the corner o
WphIDK on Hall. Besides, | don't bleeVt
he g.. James vas buiItgt that time, thOugl
can't say positive. Nj, Reilly csa tell yot
.hE'."
Just then prominent citizen fimiliHrl!
,nOHh Is ''!np Ma Ir' passed, aud seeini
The reporter with MS aged companion, b.
l-,IoRp stl aud said with chuckle:
Getting the old fellow stuff you With ION,
] Of his 80 stories, arc you? must Civ you
,1,i one on him. The other day met hin
I,ssr the Island end Of the Suspension bridge
md asked HIN what the river was doing. ~
f,iIan about six inches 10 the night, be says
SnT. / knew II bad risen several feet, aud
told him SO; but he insis,ed on show
ing me hi, marx. His mark was on chicken
,.o0p and |. had been on terra frmd the nigh
oef6ts when hs marked the height OF The
water, but more water coming along was tot
muchfo It and Il q Dttsd Oh. TdeOld fellow
Eas VauRing the stage OF water by t4uL =.
.xOect the McLuru House was floating II
,! when he did his second A,orysteamboa
leGt"
But the ''old fellow" had already left II
titEtnt, and the H5joE'S hearty laugh did no
wen Induce him To turn his head. though th'
,mVke from his pipe pulled over bis shoulde
more vigorously, rs Il lie EsS Trtakipg hi
vengeance on tAR tobacco.