Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1888-09-22

TOR It's cllmacterlc u wind-Vane IT is
surrounded by all that convenience,
comfort and luxury suggest, and the
farm is equipped with mode. n machine
rN tor cultivation, harvest and haulape.
! "A laundry. creamery. icehOuse. n fine
barn and stables. the former filled with
thus years crops. fine horses. carriages.
wagons. etc, make up the parapher-
nalIa of an essential portion of an es-
tahllshment dedicated to pleasurab,e
mOney-making.
short distance from the residence
| coplouS. never failing spring of linn
| pld water fu nISheS the house and barn
| Had this spring behind nv house in
! Fort Benton" said Mr. Conrad. ..it
/ would be worth more than this farm"
! few yards below the spring the wafer
/ l. caught by hvdraulic machine
/ which. operating automatically. pro-
/ pelS the stream to the house thence
| the overflow gravitateS to the barn and
| stockyard.
The gas supply. developed from gas-
| ollne. is another cheap but effective
result of an ingenious conirivapce he
| ginning out III the park and terminat-
| ING in the cellar.
Should anyone ask--why all this
abunt an establishment which has it's
| parallel in thousands of instances p
We replN-true. perhaps. but in no
ease, we warrant any where nearly 100
miles from IL great city. Away out in
! the country 1t Is rare, very rare, to find
original ideals, but here is an agpre.
cation In the realms of art and utility
creations. not limitations. And all
through the house the additional art of
detachment is exhibited. Objects of
conspicuous interest, or value or both,
arise at intervals sufficient to make the
tour series of pleasant surprises. At
one place. for instance, is gold chair
presented Mrs. Conrad on the occasion
of her wedding by Gen. w. T. Sherman
and staff at another is a splendid gift
(the name of which we have lost to Mrs,
G. from Sir John Mcdonald, and at
another wrought gold smoking case
represents a tender of regard from the
! Queen of England to Mr.. Conrad.
AT the age of Is years QS6S) William
Il. Conrad, restlve under the CALLING
yoke of farm life, left the homestead in
Warren county, Va. and set out for
the far northwest Making Fort Ben
ton. Montana, his base, he worked him
self INTO business which dared severe
climatic conditions and aboriginal sur
roundmgs. After time the brave,
hardy, youthful pioneer prospered.
Erelong he sent for the next brother
these two for the third, and so on until
the entire family reunited in the new
home. Other evidences of growing
| fortune reached the native community
all highly creditable to the industry
and business talent of the young men.
AS William grew in wealth he also
advanced in popular favor. A plain,
unassuming man, with no taste for pol
itics-yet his good Judgment. business
sagacity, conservative disposition, and
thorough knowledge of territorial
needs became so widely known that he
was induced to sit one term in the up
per house of the Montana legislature.
He is the leading member of the old
and popular northwest firm of |. G..
Baker & Co., and president of the First
National Bank. of the same place. In
learned that he is largely interested
IN several railroads, lone Of which,"
he remarked, ''has already reached
Fort Benton, and we expect two more
next year" He predicts that Fort
Benton is destined to become one of
the foremost of northwest towns-that
it will be to the Missouri river what st.
Paul is to the Mississippi"
Mr. Conrad's dealings have been
with ii wide range Of people, from in
dlvldual Indians and trappers up to
the governments of Great Britain and
the United States, and they have Gov
cred all grades of transactions from a
single hide to contracts, which, in the
aggregate, have involved millions of
| dollars.
When he left Virginia he entertain
ed. among other laudable aspirations,
the hope Of returning some day to
claim the h and of ''the girl | left be
hind me-" This was known to but
few, if any, and the young lady was
vainly sought by host of ardent
suitors, comprising the elite of a wide
territory, many of whom could not
understand why she uniformly re
spondcd may One Of these, poet,
coined his devotions into pretty verse
and cmbalmed his idolatry in the
local prints of the day. But nothing
shook her fidelity to her earliest
choice, and I'm the fullness of
time" the long separation was sweetlv
broken by the return of the equally
loyal lover to claim his own.
Mr.. and Mrs. Conrad are still young.
! He is Il handsome man, of medium
height, and II robust specimen of old
| Nirginian Drawn and brain. Mrs.
Conrad is II lady whose figure. carriage
and mould Of feature would com
mand notice anywhere and in any as
Srmblage. Time has dealt tenderly
with her, and if the bcnedictions of
fortune have changed aught of her
| face and manner it has been to en-
/ hance their lovelineSS.
Are your expectations realized ,"
was aked the Journal near the time
of leaving.
In the languargc of the Queen of
Sheba to King Solomon we replied:
"Thc half was not told"
To many this may appear long re-
cital concerning an establishment in
which we have no local interest, own
ed by strangers, but the JOURNAL
stops here with the assurance that it
also has told the smaller half, and
that very imperfectly.
1t ought to be stated, i'll conclusion,
! that the few inaccuracies that may be
| found III this report are due to the
| fragmentary nature Of information
picked up at odd times during the last