The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1884-07-12
GATHERING UP SHELLS,
The Convenient Arrangement and Elk.
ceIlent New Management of the At
lantic HOtela at MOrehead CIty--A Dis
tlnguished and Delighted Company.

Special Correspondence of The Chronicle.
MOREHEAD CITY, July 9.-No seaside re
sort on the Atlantic coast has more natural
advantages than Morehead City, and no
hotel In the South or elsewhere is better
kept or offers greater inducements to sum
mer wanderers than the Atlantic under its
new management Everybody that has
been here this season is charmed with the
place, delighted with the hotel, enthus-
astic over the amusements, and are natur
ally 10th to leave. During the past win
ter Major Gatling the owner of the hotel,
remodeled and enlarged it, furnishing it
with every convenience that tends to add
to the comfort Of its guests. 1t will now
comfortably accommodate SIX hundred
people, and it is rapidly filling up with a
very select and pleasant crowd
The dining room reaches out over the
water, and as you feast on every delicacy
that Mr.. Anderson, the Steward, can obtain
from land or water, you are famed by an
lnvlgUratlng sea breeze.
On the edge Of the water is the ball
room, the largest and most commodious
in the Southern States Well constructed
piers lead out over the water to the sum
mcr houses and to the bathing houses,
each Of them very attractive. On the
other side Of the hotel, built on the wa
ter's edge, are the club house, the bar and
billiard saloons; and a few yards above
are a splendid ten-pin alley, barber shop,
confectionery and news stand. Across
the sound, just few hundred yards from
the hotel, is the beach, one of the finest
in America. Here a pavilion has been
built 7Ox4O feet, in which the visitors sit
to watch the waves as they chase each
other up the sanded slopes of the beach
and break over the merry surf bathers.
A row Of dressing houses stretches along
the shore for two hundred yards, furnish
ing such Accommodations for surf bathing
as to make that one of the chief attrac-
tiOns
Every afternoon fifty or more of the
merriest, jollest, and liveliest young
men and old men, pretty young ladies and
happy matrons rush aboard the fleet
..sharpies" bound for the beach. A few
minutes sail takes them across the sound,
where a dozen pony wagons are III wait
ing to convey them across the sand banks
to the pavilion. Everybody is happy,
singing and laughing, and as jolly as jolly
can be. They return, the boys peeplng
out from under wide-brim hats, and
watching the bangs Of the pretty girls as
they are blown by the evening breezes into
careless ringlets Of perfect loveliness.
As you approach the hotel you are vel
coined by music furnished by Wurms
orchestra, of Atlanta, one Of the best in
the South. The supper bell announces
the tempting viands that have been pre-
pared by Francois Dierpont, the French
cook. You are soon appeasing an appe
tite only known to those who take in the
sports of a seaside resort
After supper some don their exquisite
ballroom attire and amuSe themselves IN
a quadrille or waltz; others tell a thousand
little tibs promenading in the verandas,
while others make the evening Zephyrs
vibrate with exquisite choruses as they
90 sailing in the moonlight. Next morn
ing the ladies rest while the gentlemen 60
trolling for bue-fsh and mackerel. A
fast boat, a little keg Of fresh water,(D
a wide brim hat, a cord hundred yards
long, with large hook attached to one
end, an ivory squib just above the hook,
and you are fully equipped for three
hours solid fun. Over the waves the
boat sails at the rate of fifteen miles an
hour, the lines trolling along in its wake,
while you hold on to one end and wait for
the unfortunate twelve-pOunder to strike
at the squib. You feel him strike and
commence drawing him in. Wildly he
rushes back and forth, leaping out Of the
water for several feet, then diving back
under the waves, until finally you have
pulled in your hundred yards of line and
find that you have him, and that he is a
first class, full grown member of either
the mackerel or blue family. After
you have exhausted yourself, and caught
as many as you want, you return to rest
and tell your fish story; and anything less
than thirtyfour blue-fsh and twelve
Spanish mackerel doesn't count.
An afternoon sail to the lighthouse, to
the fort or to a pony pennlng on the banks
is among the pleasant amusements.
g Gathering up the Shells by the Sea-
shore is not only sung, but aprons, bas-
kets and pockets are filled with shells Of
every shape and design, from the mann
moth tortoise, which you can hold to your
ear and hear the oceans roar, to the
dainty little polished curiosity that can be
worn as a watch charm.
No catch-penny business or eXhorbitant
prices are allowed. Boating, fishing, roll
ing ten-pins, the use of bathing suits, or
even wee bit Of apolonaris water with
just enough ''red rye" to keep you from
getting sick are all subjected to a scale
Of prices as reasonable as they can be OBJ
tanned anywhere.
Mr.. Raney is general favorite. His
gentlemanly manners, and his excellent
management of the hotel make every
body, both old and young, his friend.
His assistants are clever and courteous.
Mr. Fonza Young, of Charlotte, everybody
knows and everybody likes. Mr.. Nick l..
Jones's wit and good humor makes the
ten-pin alley and fruit stand even more
attractive than they would otherwise be.
Messrs. Kennedy of Norfolk, Campbell of
Atlanta, and Webb Of Morehead, are de
servedly popular, and never tire Of their
endeavors to make it pleasant for the
guests.
To Major Gatling's public spirit and en-
terprise is due the present high standard
Of Morehead as watering place, and
few years under its present management
will undoubtedly make it the most popu-
lar resort anywhere in the Southern States.
From the hotel observatory the views
are peculiarly enchanting one side
the silvery waters of Calico Creek and
Newport River mingle together and form
hoo FIJI lai- To bo is,