Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1893-08-12
Worlds Fair.
special WORLD Correspondence.
CHICAGO, August 4, 1893.
MIDWAY PLAIsANCE JOKE.

Esquimeaux village and thought tina
they were in the Midway Plaisance, anc
they went home with the idea that there
was nothing in Midway but Esquimeaux
Well, when you consider what they
missed, it is no joke either, for there Il
no place like Midway. Imagine street
wide and clean with buildings on either
side patterned after buildings OF every
country almost on the globe, present
ing an appearance, as to architecture
alone, unlike any other street in the
world, unique, attractive, and interest
ing to the highest degree. Imagine this,
then you have the street as it would
look if viewed from the Ferris wheel on
a bright moonlight night, when this con-
glomerate city is wrapped in slumber.
But, people, this street with bright
turbaned Turks. white-gowned Arabs,
scantiIy-clothed New Zealanders, yellow,
slanting-eyed Mongolians with their in
scrutable countenances, North Amerl-
can Indians with their stoical faces, the
expression of which you can never in
terpret, laughing, merry Algerlans,
anxious to air their knowledge of the
English language, and Caucasians from
every cline, and you have the national
ity of the Plaisance. But the sights and
sounds of this place are utterly indis-
cribable. You hear a babble of every
known tongue, music that runs through
all stages of harmony-from the savage
efforts that can only be designated as a
noise, to the meliffulous cadences of civ
ilization. And the sights-if you would
sit down in the shade of building and
simply watch the crowd, you would be
entertained from morning till night.
But YOU haven't time for that so you
start I'D the street from Goth entrance
and take the left hand side, determined
to go up on the left and come down on
the right, so as not to miss anything.
The fellow with the kodak has my
hearty sympathy, SO ! waited to see if
he could catch the dancing Moor in one
Of his best poses. But the Moor was as
capricious as was the Airy Fairy
Lillian" on q similar occasion, and the
matter was very difficult. ooh! I'll get
him vet" said the Ak. F." enthusiast
tically; but alas a guard came up just
then with his inevitable request: "Let
me see YOUR permit" And by the time
the permit was examined the Moor had
vanished, and travelled on glad that it
was not my patience that had been tried
The Normandie cider press is what at
tracted nv attention-it looked so invit-
ing. Then, too, some one had told me
of the pretty maidens who dispense the
cider, so | wanted to see them. Well,
they were quite pretty, in their quaint
attire, and they had their sleeves rolled
up to show their plump, rosy arms.
Please don't think me too critical when
/ tell you that when the pretty maiden
turned to draw the cider saw that she
had "chicken heels" on her elbows, that
is a calloused place, showing too much
contact with dirt and too little regard
for soap and water. And | remembered
what the artist had said to me in the
Art galley. Zone does not need to go
outside of America to find lovely women.
The women of the United States are the
most beautiful, the most graceful, and
the most charming of all the women in
the world" and, inasmuch as he had
travelled and knew whereof he spoke, l
was happy to agree with him. So |
turned away thinking that American
beauty was more to my taste, let those
who will praise up the foreign born.
THE FERRIS WHEEL.
"There are two things 1 want you to
promise me-" said a friend before you
90 to Chicago: One is that you will not
ride on the ice railway; the other is,
that you will not 60 up in that Ferris
wheel. Having no desire to do either
since l had not seen either, the promise
was readily given. But the faith was
only half kept, for the wheel is so mas
sive looking that one has not the slight
est fear OF it. Then you do not care to
be outdone by half of the family who
lived to tell of having rode in the Ferris
wheel. 1t is very difficult to describe
this so that you can have an adequate
idea of it, unless you have seen the pict-
ure or representation. 1t is built en-
tirely of steel and looks slightly like a
huge bicycle wheel suspended between
two towers or rather two skeleton
wheels 2S19 feet apart and held together
by steel shafts and ties. Thirty-siX
passenger coaches are hung between the
outer rims, balanced on big steel trun-
MON piers. The coaches will carry six
ty passengers each, and are so suspend
ed that unless you take particular notice
to see when the tower is perpendicular
with your window frames, you cannot
tell when you are going up or coming
down. There is nothing about it to
cause the dizzy sensation that one is apt
to feel in going up or down in an eleva-
tor. These cages or coaches are closed
and locked and supplied with guard
who will name the points of interest to
be seen from the wheel-if you ask him.
You get magnificent view of the fair
grounds, Washington Park, the race
tracks, and the city.
The view of the city is perhaps not
so good as you get from the Masonic
Temple, that is you see more of the city
from the temple, though do not think
the view so beautiful as from the wheel.
But from the temple you get an idea OF
that unmigated nuisance-the Chicago
river
The wheel is 264 feet high and takes
you up within foot of the height of the
dome of Administration building, the
highest point on the grounds. Yet from
Administration building the view is not
to my notion, as satisfactory as you get
from the wheel. The two steel towers
upon which the axle of the wheel rests
are 1877 feet high, 5 feet square at the