The Portland daily press., 1897-10-08
RELICS OF DISASTER.
A Unique Collection of Articles in a Balti-
more Junk-shop.

IN the junk-shop of Hiram Winternitz,
Howard street, near Camden street, is
an interesting collection of relics and
curiosities, which is required nearly d
century to gather, says the Baltimore
American. Some of them are associated
with startling events.
For over 80 years the father of Mr..
Winternitz engineered this business, and
was indefatigable in adding to his stock
articles that might prove of value in the
future. Mr.. Winternitz himself has had
sole charge of the business for 90 years,
and during that time the collection has
increased in variety and scope to such an
extent that one might spend hours
among the rusty and seemingly valueless
articles that make up his collection with
interest.
Immense engine boilers, twisted axles
and shattered car wheels, that partici-
pated in horrible catastrophe, resulting
from collision near Chicago several
years ago, in which number Of persons
lost their lives, are piled up in q pictur-
esque heap upon the lot in the rear of the
shop. Ju st behind this heap, which har-
rows the brain with visions Of mangled
bodies and appalling deaths, are piled the
relics that have been gathered from the
wreck of the famous steamer, Lady of
the Lake, which was burned and sunk off
the flats in the Potomac river, near Wash
ington. Ny Winternitz has secured the
immense wrought iron shaft OF the ship,
which was snapped in half as II it were
imber by the tremenc GUS strain upon it
when the accident occurred. The shaft
is 10 inches in diameter and ~ feet long.
Great coils of rope belonging to the YES
sci were also secured.
AS the tour of the place Is made from
one dark and cavernous end to'the other,
"reminiscences of accidents of this kind
are heaped up on all sides, the history of
many Of them being entirely forgotten.
For years the WinternitZ family, father
and son, followed in the wake OF all the
terrible accidents and disasters in the
country, and purchased the damaged and
wrecked material, which they have added
to their collection, and sold from time
to time to the highest bidder. In this
way their stock in trade forms record of
the catastrophes of a century.
The wrecked and Anticipated machinery
that the Winternitze have gathered forms
the major part of the collection, and
comprises parts that are so far out OF date
that their existence has been forgotten by
the world. Old style boilers, shafts and
piston rods, that represent the ingenuity
and brains of some inventor Of earlier
days, are thrown together in an indis-
crimfnate heap, that, unless the facts
were known how and where they were
obtained, would be passed with casual
glance.
Historic relics of less weighty kind
are also in the stock, and light ID reflect
ed upon the sunny, as well as the shady
inside of life. Ancient spinning wheels,
couches and articles of colonial furniture,
that would gladden. the heart of the anti
quarian, are there to delight the eye and
stimulate the Imagination by their mys-
FERROUS hints of bygope days
Washingtonian relics are becoming ex-
ceedingly scarce, because of the enormous
owned by the beloved George and Martha
are extremely rare. Relics of the war
are still numerous, and the supply is al.
| most equal to the demand.
| Within the past year hundreds of bayo-
nets obtained from the fields of battle
have been sold. One of the most inter-
esting relics in the collection is an i'm
mense iron KETTLE SO large that it would
be possible for eight or.nine men to stand
in 1t. The history of this monster cult
nary affair has been utterly lost, and
what it was used for will always remain
q mystery. Articles damaged in all the
big fires that have occurred in the city
for years are in the Winternitz establish
NEXT, and the collection is being con-
stantly increased.