Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-01-05
PITTSBURG IN 1865.
Some RecollectiOns of a Newspaper
Man Who First Came to
THIS CITY BACK IN THE SIXTIES.
A Smoky Atmosphere Contrasting With
Pretty Faces.
ABOLIsHING THE QUAINT OLD WATCH
WRITTEN FOR THE p1sPATcH. j

played very good-natured but extremel
telling practical joke on the Pittsburg audi
ences. He was great faYorite in the Smok
: City; for he was a witty talker and an e1
cellent musician as we'll as an exceptionall
good conjurer. And the black, town was
favOrite with him, too. Therefore, when h
exhibited on the stage large easel, and an
nounced that the curtained picture on
was perfect bird's-eye view of" "Pittsburg
the people took it as very friendly compli
ment, and prepared 10 do full honor to th
work of art.
After sufficient amount of preliminar,
talk the curtain which hid the picture wa
thrown back and he"perfect bird 's-eye view
was made manifest. There was a momen
of puzzled silence in old Masonic Hall, anC
then storm of uproarious laughter and ap
preciative applause. PittSburg was Away
quick to see joke, even at its own expense
and here was very neat joke of that kind
The frame which the curtain had hiddeI
held large square of black velvet, with mo-
even white margin to relieve its blackness
That was the idea the bird had gained o.
Pittsburg.
And really Heller's joke was not half SC
much of an exaggeration as stranger com
ing now to the city would suppose. In the
summer of 1866, when / first came to the old
town, remember finding the perpetual
darkness a cause of much mental disquiet as
we'll as of physical discomfort. There was
no signal service then to tell US every morn
ing what kind of weather to-not-expect,
and was continually apprehensiVe of the
severest thunder storm l had ever expert
enced.
AT that time, and for nearly 20 years aft.
| erward, the citizens had one infallible test
by which they were able to distinguish q
stranger before he had uttered word. The
visitors face was sure to be streaked with
blackness, while the Pittsburger's face was
eleanor had the dirt evenly distributed
| upon it.
The stranger would feel fake of the
black snow which filled the air alight upon
his nose or his cheek, and he would care
| fully rub it off with his handkerchief, the
result being a tell-tale smear which enlight-
ened ali beholders. The old resident under
such circumstances famed himself gently
with his handkerchief. and the fake of SCOT
futtered lightly away, leaving no trace.
A PITTsBURG ACCOMPLISHMENT
Chicago is a city of smoke now; SO is st.
Louis; so is Cincinnati. Some Pittsburgers,
made giddy by inhaling so much natural
gas, are even fond of saying that Philadel-
phia is begrimed with smoke, which it is
not. But in none of these places have
ever witnessed an accomplishment which
commanded my admiration in Pittsburg in
1865. doubt if it could be practiced any
where else. The natural and cultivated
talent necessary for it belongs to no other
people. The person who, by a peculiar
twist of the mouth, can blow a fake of SCOT
off his own nose is not the kind of person
you find scattered promiscuously through
all sorts of cities; but he is the kind pre-
valent in Pittsburg in 1866.
In those DAYS of murk one of the very first
strong impressions stranger received was
one of pleasant surprise. It was an unend-
ing marvel how SO many fresh, pretty girls,
and so many comely matrons, with COM
plexions fair and wholesome, could possibly
exist and keep their untarnished beauty in
such an atmosphere. They did, and have
heard avast amount of wondering comment
on the pleasant fact There are Just as
many beautiful girls and women to-day as
then, but for lack of contrast their beauty
shines less conspicuously.
Then every visitor to the city went to the
top of Mount Washington to get view of
the city. The journey was by no means a
trifiing one, for there was no inclined plane
there to give one lift; but if circumstances
favored, the view obtained was worth all the
toll and trouble. At night, particularly,
the spectacle was unspeakably weird and
picturesque; for there spread out below was
what Parton called Hell with the lid off"
But 30 very rarely did circumstances fa-
vorl The chances were o good many to one
that from the height attained at so much
cost of labor nothing in the world could be
seen but smoke. Probably not steeple or
chimney could be seen piercing the black
density, and not even visible CLEAN of fire
Frightening the gloom. The exhibition of
Pittsburg was most apt to be a repetition,
on large scale, of Heller's "bird's-eye
view"
But, after all, the stranger who STAYED
long enough to discover what else there was
beside smoke and SCOT, inevitably fell In
love with Pittsburg, and was always glad to
come again and again. There was so much |
of hearty, genial eordiality; of heartfelt |
hospitality; of the best refinement; of whole |
some energy and restless enterprise, that no |
person could fail to be |
charmed.
And besides, where there was so much |
smoke there must be fire. Yes, and what |
fire it wasl Nowhere is there another sort |
so cheering, so sociable and so heart-warm- |
ing as the old open-grate fire of bituminous |
coal. To sit alone in the room with one was |
like sitting close to a chatty and we'll |
beloved friend.
OF course, know all about the advantages |
of the natural gas fire. They are many and |
great; but tell me this: Can you poke a
natural gas fire and make it fame up and |
cackle with pleasant laughter, and sputter |
with unuttered jokes? Then go to with the
fire of gas! l like better the old sort, with
its smoke and its comradeship.
ALLEGHENY's OPPORTUNITY.
Another tour which the visitor was called
upon to make, If his entertainer was a pub
and far-seeing citizen, was
through some portions of Allegheny City
He was conducted north, south, east and
west, and waA carefully informed that he
was not to think for a moment that he was
seeing the best portions of the sister city.
He hoped he was not, for the portions he
looked upon were not Of the most fascinat-
ing character. Open spaces, long and wide;
with shortcut paths running through them
to suit the convenience of people who lived
beyond them-these were the features to
which his attention was invited.
The spaces were unkempt and in some
places were made unHghtly by heaps of
rubbish dumped upon the ground. Every
where they were disOrdered, neglected and
These, the visitor was in
formed, were the Allegheny Commons.
They were public property. public oppor-
Lunity and public reproach.
Straightway the visitor saw, with enlight-
sned vision, that which his guide had meant
him to see-what splendid chance was here
for grand public improvement. Allegheny
had what few cities have, the material laid
ready to her hand for continuous chain of
beautiful parks bordering the very heart of
The city
In 1866 the prospect that the commons
would ever become the parks seemed dim
and distant, indeed. Yet now the ALLIE
yheny Parks have been for SO long time
he pride and glory of the city that it is
,nly by calling memory to severe account
hat we can recall the time of the rubbishy,
1ncared-for commons. And suppose that,
n the extra summer which Christmas
brought into this winter, the statues that