Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1893-08-10

Building, and found it rather uncom
fOrtably crowded. We were told thai
interest in this exhibit never ceases
and that from opening to closing the
building is packed with people anxious
to see the living products Of flowing
river, encircled lake and ..vasty deep.
Certainly there is enough of curious life
in the big glass tanks to challenge the
wonder of the multitude. Sea turtles,
conger cells, gold fish, gars, catfish,
brook-trout, pike, buffalo, crabs, she'll
| fish of innumerable species, etc., pass
ed before our eyes in bewildering con-
fusion, and when we retired, after two
hours survey, our memory tried in
vain attempt to classify the things
we had seen. All was a jumbled mass
of beautiful and hideous, appetizing and
nauseating. All ih all, ichthyolOgy
has few charms for us; we are no
disciple of Isaak Walton, and there are
no big fish lies recorded against as in
Gabriel's ledger.
Then we took in La Rabida, an exact
reproduction of the Convent of that
name in Spain, where Columbus found
shelter in time of trouble, for himself
and son, and where it is said he de-
veloped the theory which resulted in
the finding of the New World. This
building is filled with relics, one of
them being the door to Columbus
dwelling. The hinges, lock and key
bear testimony to the crudity of art in
iron in the 10Th century. There are sew
eral old portraits in oil of the great dis
coverer, with absolutely no resemblance
one to another; which goes far to prove
that in portrait-painting the artist of
old was as uncertain in delineating the
human face as is his humble successor in
the great newspaper of to-day. Other
pictures there are of interest to one
possessed Of time to study them, but as
the evening was rapidly approaching
we left the building with more than half
the sights unseen, and wended our way
to the lake front and refreshed the
inner man with viands solid and liquid
of the latter stronger than
Milwaukee beer, however. It wasn't
ice-cold, and little of it went a long
er way than usual
We concluded to take the water-trip
to the city this evening, on the famous
steamer, '.ChristOphter CO.
lumbus," and as soon as she pulled
alongside the pier, we started toward
her landing-place. The pier is 2 300 feet
long and 25O feet wide, divided into
two parts its full length. One part
carries a movable sidewalk which has |
loops at both ends, and carries pas
sengers at ten cents the round trip. |
When we started for the boat a big |
crowd preceded us, and in our verdancy |
we hurried along so that we might not
get left. Probably twenty-five hundred
people boarded the vessel that trip,
out such is her immense capacity that
when we seated ourselves and looked
.bout us, there was still a beggarly ar
'ay of empty chairs. Though the sky
vas cloudless, the lake was roughened
" strong breeze, and the white-caps
lashed in every direction. We men
ok went into the bow to get the full
,enefit of the blow, and our glasses
uivered and danced as if the wearer
vas enjoying a frst-class swamp-fever
hake Mac held onto his stove-pipe
With both hands, and Scoville's tile
would have gone overheard if a
tranger had not caught it on the fly.
he trip took about fifty minutes, and
7e all felt sorry when the landing at
9th street was made. Disembarking,
re went to the Union Depot, saw Mr..
/. and wife off for their suburban home
at La Grange), and then returned to I
he hotel--by a more direct route, S
owever, than we had taken when first
ne Association came to the city. /.