The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1894-12-17

s,sOry that the little CITY OF "hee''
!. ,ni the big city from whose neigh
S - | write began their careers to.
..h.,2 Perhaps not, but nevertheless
-, ,s,lly 8 historical fact that at about
~ lime the Zaues left the vallay Of the
s,rtb Branch and pitched their tents at
A, do 81 what is now Union and Main
',,..,,, in commanding view OF the
.I,ud that had struck their fancy and
gr.,ninsd their location, a Ftenchmaa
,,nsd Laclede left New Orleans with
~, followers aud made his way up
4. Mississippi in dugouts and pitched
H. ,.nts on a spacious aud attractive
.i'.S,u. close to the junction OF two
s..,t rivers, whereon now stands the
~. eity Of St Louis. Thus you have
4 bnef the origin Of the two places in
A about the year 1853.
Another curious fact with reference
:, tbs two settlements is that for so
r,ny Years they should have kept SO
,io,s together IN the matter OF popula'
,ion Your readers will hardly credit
Ma statement that for nearly six
Sscadss there was at no time any great
T,,gin 81 difference between them.
When The end Of the sixth decade, in
N, YEAR 1880, was reached, the differ
.5se was only about 500. St Louis had
hen about 5, 800 people and Wheeling
,bout 800. Curious, isn't it, that for
,imost two generations two places now
"a widely apart in population, wealth,
isue and prospects, should have kept
,orlo,e together. But everything has
hen possible in the United States in
tbs eccentric development OF cities and
iOEns. The whole country has record
10 that respect
ACCOUNTING FOR IT.
his easy enough, looking backward,
10 account for this parallelism, such as
iti., between the little city on the east
bank Of the Ohio aud tina big city here
on tho west oaak OF tho Mississippi.
There were no railroads in those days.
The tide Of immigration from abroad
vas not 80 great, and domestic move.
ueuts we're made more slowly and over
land, across the river and through Ohio.
Missouri was only freshly admitted into
The Union, and there had been great
turmoil over her admission as slave
state. The caravans OF those days did
no. look with favor on her, and avoided
her. And as for the country beyond
Iad adjacent to her, 1t was practically II
terra incOgnita, and supposed to be bet
nr for Indians than white people. And
70 as Missouri, and the trans-Missis-
.ppi country generally, did not grow
npiily prior to the time / am speaking
d, SO also st. Louis did not grow rap
idly.
As for Wheeling, she was on. the Dor.
der, and on about the same parallel as
Philadelphia on tho one side OF her and
Columbus, Ohio, on the other, and only
nOminally in a slave state. she was
also on tho great highway OF travel. the
National road, and was the Ohio river
terminus OF that road. Tho stages with
their passengers and the great road
teams with their freight met the boats
At Wheeling, and old-tine river people
like John X. Botsford, Capt. Richard
Crawford aud Capt. Wash Dunbar, who
we're more or less on the water in those
days between Wheeling and St. Louis,
viii no doubt tell you that the former
place was about as well known as the
hitter, and was almost, il not quite, as
important landing place for boats.
Indeed, as late as the year 1899, nine
years further on than the time l am
Speaking OF, which was the year in
which Bowen's celebrated boom direc.
tory Of Wheeling made its appearance,
tits doubtful whether she would have
Traded prospects even up with St-Louis,
aad suppose that corner lots up in the
neighborhood OF the old Beginner house,
IN North Wheeling (which was then
The city, would have brought about US
much money aI those yhereon the
magnificent new Planters house now
stands in st. Louis. | presume that
wheeling man never gave any odds
IN those days TO st. Louis man
when he met him at any point
east or west, and that he took as much
pains as Saul OF Tarsus did to let the
world generally know that he was "a
ci'lzen OF no mean city," You see that
Tue Baltimore & Ohio road had been ex-
tended TO Cumberland then and con-
nnecilns line was being surveyed from
bridgeport 10 the lakes, and the old
'o"n was really big with great eXpecta-
lions. Like the immortal Simon Tap.
peful, she had inward workings far
Above her station" In other words,
IhaI was perhaps the ono tino in the
career Of Wheeling (unless it was once
more IN 1857 when she really asplred
70 meiropotitaRism. And why not?
nov could she help it, with such loads
q passengers and frei0hts already Wis.,
10y, y and such prospects ahead when the
baltimore Il Ohio should come, and
iueh additional prospects when con-
,neetIon to the lakes should be estab-
,,''hei, and when all ireights should
n'eaE bulk at Wheeling and all passen.
gers should stop over at tho hotels 3?
residents and vice presidents. sena-
'ots aud representatives. generals and
Colonels and captains OF the army, titled
anl untitled foreign travellers, rich
.au''t! and important business men,
topped over In Wheeling in those
rays and no less man than General
lafayette once received at one OF the
w time hotels down oil tho river bank.
ATALE OF rwo CITIES.
With these few explanations your
alter day readers will better understand
Ina appreciate the pnralIeIism between
" heeIinE and St Louis that l ventured
70 Introduce At tho outset OF this letter,
wa now perhaps it may not look SO
i,,nachronlstIc to them, or, il that is not
i4e word, so soleCistic. At any rate, rs
,shaInp Clark said in Congress the
5'heF day, don't laugh; you soc Pm
rom Missouri" Tho next thing to
ItkunIIV Intna -. ~