National Republican., 1883-09-04
ATLANTIC CITY.
The Many Attractions Of This Busy Little Town
By the Sea-
Graphic Description Of the Washing
Away Of the Pier by the Sut,
The Life GuardSmOn and the Gallant Record the Brad
ford Brothers Have Made
A Rash Girl Who, After Being Saved from
Drowning, Wants TO Try IL Again.
SpecfdL LkIer.

Special Letter.
ATLANTIC CITY, N. j., Sept. 1.-Having
read so much about this watering place
and its alluring attractions, and, being q
seeker after pleasure, hied myself hither-
ward three weeks ago to-day with my mind
fully made up to remain but week at the
farthest.
AS have already overstayed my time by
two weeks and am still here it will readily
be inferred, without my confessing it, that my
sntieipations have been more than realized,
and what has been written about the place 1
have found not to have been exaggerated or
overdrawn.
The first impression one has of the place on
stepping from the depot is that it is pop
ulous, busy little town. One is Immediately
struck with the exceptionally bright, clean,
and tidy appearance Of the cottages in which
the city abounds. In truth, it is a city of
pretty cottages.
On inquiry 1 learn that for the remarkably
low figure of 81 400 very handsome nine
room cottage, with piazza reaching half way
round the house, can be erected. A house Of
the same design in Washington know would
cost at least 81, 900.
As you wend your way toward the beach
the next impression which takes hold of you
Is that there has just been an entertainment
or ta1r OF some KIM on INC DeaCn, winch Is
just about over. You get this impression from
noticing the multitude of people coming from
tho beach. This belief Is intensified when
you reach the beach, which extends from tho
inlet to South Atlantic, about six miles. At
lantic City proper, however, begins at the
inlet, where the lighthouse is, and ends at
the West Jersey excursion pier. From the
former to the latter IL is about two miles and
half. Along the shore for this distance is a
plank walk, on which from early morn to
midnight there is one vast throng of human
ity. From the West Jersey pier to South
Carolina avenue, about one mile and a half
the walk on either side is lined
with booths and stands of every variety.
Shooting galleries, spinning iennys, DUN
figures to knock down with q base ball
land basso profundo individual perched atop
barrel turned end wise bellows forth. "Will
entitle you to foin 'Havanny seegar' ") are
in countless numbers. So are ice cream, lager
beer, ginger beer, and lemonade stands, be-
hind most of which preside buxom, fascinat-
ing blondes and 1.-THE bewitching brunettes, to
beguile and captivate the unsuspecting So
journer. Strains of socalled music from the
lonely hand organ and ACCORDION to the more
elevated and popular brass band clash and
bang upon the tympanum of your weary ear
without cessation during your passage from
one end to the other of the walk. The i'm
pressible eye glass vendor is forever at
impossible to shake him off, You may
show him that you have already half dozen
glasses, or that you are blind as bat in the
daytime. 1t matters not, you must buy a
glass of him at any rate, and you do. l fully
and solemnly made up my mind that could
and would run the gauntlet of walk without
making single purchase. Result-had three
pairs glasses, a dozen shells, wicker basket
made by Chinaman Johnny four "Havqnny
seegars," cane, pint peanuts, and six dollars
less in my pocket But was q novitiate, and
it was my first attempt.
The streets here are named-those running
parallel with the ocean-after the Pacific At
lantic, and Arctic oceans and Baltic sea; those
leading from the beach after the various
states.
All day long and nearly all night there is
music and commotion here. Most of the
hotels and many of the saloons have bands
continually playing either Sweet Violets"
or the "Irish Patriot" Those pieces seem to
be the rage here just now. At night, espe-
cially Saturday and Sunday nights, the noise
and din are at their highest pitch. Then
King Revelry holds full sway then the side
walks are crowded with drunken men and
women and the saloons and gardens packed
with the demi-monde and her male attend
ant; then the streets are filled with carriages
in which you see drunken women reclining
in the arms of drunken men, all yelling
ance of intoxication. AS Texas is supposed
to be synonymous to Hades, they call this
place Texas.
The ocean pier is open from a. m. to 11:3O
p. m with music from $50 o. m. to 10 p. m.
This pier is one of the main attractions. It
extends some yards into the ocean and is very
prettily decorated. From it many persons
watch the bathers. A portion was washed
away last Tuesday by the high seas which
have been running steadily for the past week
As there has been comparatively no heavy
winds or other disturbing influences attend
ing these high seas, the native coastmen or
longshoremen are at loss and sorely puzzled
as to the cause of the unusual commotion of
the ocean in this vicinity. The height the
tide reached last Tuesday caused many to fear
for the safety of the piers, board walk, and
bathing houses. The only damage done then,
however, was tho washing away of the outer
portion ofthe above mentioned pier and also
the extreme end of the West Jersey pier.
Az o'clock Wednesday afternoon, which
was high water, the climax came. Although
workmen had been engaged all day in
strengthening the board walk, pavilions and
bath houses, when, at the above mentioned
house the surf came rolling in housetop
high, lashing the sea into fury, white with
foam, board walk, bath houses, and all went
to pieces like so much chaff. From Pennsyl
vania to South Carolina avenues the surf
rolled under the walk and breaking, lifted
It bodily from its piles and dashed il against
the underpnning upon which the bath
houses rested. Then like a huge wounded
serpent the surf squirmed out to sea kissing
warningly until broken to pieces by collision
with other surfs coming angrily in to COM
plete the work of destruction 1t was mag
nifcenJ sight to watch the waves lift the
wreck and carry and drop it into the trough
of the sea and then grind it to pieces Thou.
sands witnessed the thrilling scene from a
safe distance on the beach. Applegate's pho
tograph gallery, the park pavilions, Ripple &
hcCann's large bathing establishment went
down and We're carried away. The West
Jersey pier went in a twinkling. The Ocean
pier, though receiving terrible straining.
withstood the shock. The water advanced
up kentucky avenue, by actual measurement,
735 feet. The Camden and Atlantic extern
sion to South Atlantic six miles long, is
washed away in many places. The railroad
tracks across the meadows are under water.
The damage, as clearly as can be estimated at
present, is not less than 100000. Singular
to relate, no lives are reported to have been
lost. City Life Guardsman Homan says the
high seas would have been more disastrous
had they been accompanied by gale.
Apropos of life guardsmen, reminds me
that | have yet failed TO speak of the Brad
ford brothers, the principal attractions here
and whom every new conner wishes to see
before anything else. 1t is hardly necessary
to add that they arc the world renowned
voluntary life guardsmen here who from the
opening TO tho closing of the season