Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1888-10-04
T VIRGINIA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1883.

congregation OF listeners. 1he minister:
as a rule do not appreciate or realize thi:
fact as much as their hearers.
The early train from Winchester land
ed me punctually in Baltimore at 10l in
the forenoon of August 13 After very
busy day in the office l was joined at the
depot in Baltimore at 10 p. m. by my
associate from Washington. We esoon re-
tired to our beds in the sleeping car and
did not leave them until we were nearly to
Pittsburg next morning.
We are so much accustomed now-a-
days to the railroad car that we do not
appreciate the great advantages and IA
cilities for travel it gives us over those of
even our fathers, much more over our an
cestors farther back. | am not very
old man and yet very great improve
ments have been made in my day. l
recollect well the first time went to Bal
timore from Charlestown about 1910. 1t
was a journey of nearly whole day
even by rail. The cars between Winches-
ter and Harper's Ferry were like the old
fashioned stage, with the entrance on the
sides, and half of the passengers riding
backwards. The conductor walked along
plank on the outside, poked his head in
the window, aud collected the fares.
Such cars are still extensively used in
Europe. The rails on which the wheels
ran were nothing but thin strips of iron
spiked down to longitudinal wooden
beams and not to cross ties as at present.
"Snake-heads" were terror to travellers
of those days.
On that first trip to Baltimore, my fa-
ther and | with the other passengers stop
ped for dinner at Harper's Ferry. In
due time a train came along from Cum
berland on the B. q O. road. We took
our places leisurely in this train and jour
neyed on to Baltimore at no great speed.
The car in which we rode was arranged
like long omnibus, the passengers being
seated along the sides and riding side
wise. There were no arms to separate
adjacent passengers. AT Mount Clare
the locomotive was left behind and we
were taken into the city several miles by
horsepower. The depot was then on
Pratt street nearly opposite the site of the
Maltby House of the present day.
We reached Baltimore toward sunset
and were glad to go to bed early at our
hotel after the fatigues of the day. 1t
was then styled the Wheatfeld Inn. 1t
is now the Howard House. Baltimore
was comparatively small place then and
hotels were few and not nearly so stylish
as now But the Inns and Taverns were
very comfortable and homelike. Almost
all Jefferson people then went to the
Wheatfeld Inn when in Baltimore. Some
Of the other names of the public houses
were the Fountain Inn where the Car
rollton now stands, BeltzhOover's Tavern,
The Indian Head Cor Indian Queen.
Barnum's was then the grand place and
was called the New City Hotel.
When entered West Point as a cadet
in 1S49, several days were consumed in
reaching that place from Chahestown.
The first night from home was spent in
Baltimore. The second morning boat
was taken in Baltimore which conveyed
us to Frenchtown via the Susquehanna
and Elk rivers. Thence the cars took us
across to Newcastle on the Delaware, then
another boat to Philadelphia where the
second night was spent. The Sd morning
we crossed the Delaware to Camden,
went by rail to Amboy and then by boat
again to New York, finally reaching
West Point the Sd evening by still anoth-
er boat from New York.
Now | can leave Charlestown at p.
m, ride all night in a comfortable bed
and take breakfast at West Point next
morning. What a change In those
days there wasn't postage stamp or
letter envelope in the United States, per-
haps not in the world Writing letters
was an expensive business at not less than
10 cents per each half ounce. The cleo
trio telegraph was not dreamed Of.
In this recent journey of 1888 we left
Baltimore at 10 p. M, and after sleeping
comfortably all night were in Pittsburg
at next morning, a distance of 334
miles. Spending the whole day in the
cars and speeding along out Of Pennsyl-
vania, across Ohio and Indiana, we were
in Chicago by 81 p. m, 46S miles more.
We were an hour in Chicago, changed to
another sleeper for St. Paul which city
we reached to dinner August 18th, after
crossing the northern part Of Illinois,
Wisconsin diagonally, and entering Min
I 1