Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1884-04-03

the Train llTeuBu, Tree vi Gust " tuO
Ohio river, but they would decorate ev
cry car, thus filed, at their own eX-
pense. Last Saturday, the 18th, was the
day fixed to bring the offerings together,
when it was found that besides several
hundred dollars in cash paid in hand,
there were l2,400 bushels of corn,
enough, after it had passed through the
shelters and elevators, to bill solid
train of thirty-one cars. In the mean
time the Santa Fe's artist, with twenty
or thirty assistants, sent to work out his
designs, had gone TO work on the deco
rations and BY Saturday night 81 -car
loads of coin, every car bril-
liant with suggestive cartoons running
the full length, stood upon side-track
near the upper part of the city. ready to
move on its errand of good will. 1t is
not overstating the fact when we say
that the decorated train was visited by
thousands of persons from both town
and country on Saturday and Sunday.
1t would be impossible for us to de-
scribe the cartoons that filed both sides
of the 81 cars, making in all 81, each 2S
feet long, but for the many We will note
the makeup and character of few.
Immense grrsshopper. twelve feet long
and four feet high, made out OF plank
and painted to life celoring, with big
ear of corn in It's mouth. Above him
the motto: "An early settler in Wichita,
but now extinct"
On the second car was a festoOned
sign, held up at either end by grasshop-
pers standing on their hind legs. The
sign read: with compliments OF Wlch-
ita and Sedgwick county, Kansas, to the
people of the Ohio valley" On a stan
dard were the words "Given in 1874, re-
turned with interest 1884. The whole
piece was bordered with grasshoppers
about a foot long.
On another car was an immense ear
of corn ten or fifteen feet long and two
feet over, with grains as big as south
ern darkey's foot, mounted an wheels,
astride of which was big grasshopper
driving a long team of choppers. with
a big sign board just ahead OF the team,
pointing, "To the Ohio valley"
On another car was three immense
ears of corn linked end To end like an
Odd Fellows chain, with the words
above and below, Compliments of the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa railroad, ana
the Chicago s. Alton railroad, and the
Ohio & Mississippi railroad"
On another was a banner being up
held by two grassboppers, in beautiful
and artistic designs. bearing the legend,
Cast thy bread upon the waters and
after many days it will return to you.
Another taking picture was too i'm
mense eornucopias being empued by the
daddy of all grasshoppers, out or which
poured immense streams OF corn over
which two grandfather grasshOppers
stood shedding tears as big as your hist,
into wash basins, because they could not
eat up the corn as fast as 1t poured out.
A suggestive cartoon taking up the
whole side of a car, was the picture OF
a great fiood-a food of corn which had
engulfed houses, and out of which
church steeples peeped. A big grass
hopper in a boat was padding through
this flood to the rescue of family OF
grasshoppers perched upon the roof of
the house which was being washed
away by the flood of corn.
Probably the illustration or take-off
which produced the most laughter was
two companion pictures, ska each, one
entitled 1874, consisting OF gaunt,
starved settler, very living skeleton
of a long-horn Texas steer and a
center-breed brier-splitting hog too thin
to cast a shadow, with the settlers dl-
lapidated cabin in the background, the
roof which was being eaten up by g-hsp-
pers, and the crown of his hat going in
the same way, and cloud OF raining
grasshoppers. The companion, entitled
1884, was backed up by big two story
farm house, and wheat stacks, hog
that would weigh ton and melt down
in a warm day, and u cow that would
make car load of beef, and great,
Jolly, broad, fat farmer with diamond
as big as your fist stuck on his fob chain.
Several of the pictures are duplicated
and varied as to notices, but the grass
hopper was everywhere, every cartoon
being bordered with the mule-faced
whelps, but none of which were more
life-like than that serving as the horse
TO the beautiful native warrior, and
which serves to illustrate this article.
A map of the country, printed on
cloth, and headed, Great valley coun-
ty, three rivers, one-half of its entire
area consisting of rich valley with
property valuation of S20,O0O,000; and
WIchiti, its commercial center, with its
i've railroads, gas works, street railway,
and 10000 people" was tackled on sew
eral cars, which map also gave the yield
of corn. wheat and oats for 1888, and
the number of cattle, hogs and sheep in
the county.
Probably so spontaneous and, when
everything is taken into consideration,
so generous a contribution was never
made by any people, and it bears out the
claim of the Eagle, made for years, that
this county is blessed with people
whose enterprise, Intelligence and gen
erosity fits them tor an ideal civiliza-
tiOn.