The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-03-08
WHEELING DAILY 1NTE111GENcER MONDAY. MARCH 9 1887

were, like "tho scnooHeLb ul t 80
ert, as the Arabian and Pheniclah ca ,.r
aynnB weTo called. freightea WIN NV
wealth quite sufficient TO make lla uis.
tributinR terminus an Important eeI''1 ~
az commerce.; and this commerce OF
thr road and the river, IN connection
with her rising manufactures, woulu
have made wheeling rich and populous'
but this possible destiny was NOT 10
written down In the annals or swift
coming change. The completion or lhs
| penpaVlVRulR road Ia Pittsburgh ana
OF the Baltimore & Ohio to the river
changed everything. and radically.
Tho Good oil stage Days OF Wheeling
Meanwhile, pending the change, AZ
Mir Botsford tells us, Wheeling was a
point that travellers could not and did
not ignore There was no Bcnwood
crossing is those days wherewlth 10
side track Wheeling. She was the ter
minus on the Ohio and no mistake
The Good Intent" and "Reeside" stages
competing like the boats OH the river
| for quick transit. blew their horns when
they had climbed the walled divide be-
tween Fulton and the city. and finally
reached the summit, and then getting
carefully down into Main, at the corner
| OF Ninth, came rolling Eaily down the
| street behind their smoking teams,
| loaded inside and out with passengers
three DAYS out from Baltimore" Those
were the days when they brought the
news from Client" or, In other words.
the news from Potter and Mexican"
counties. In the state OF Pennsylvania,
| in the great contest of 1874, at the time
when both Pennsylvania and New York
hung trembling In the balance for days
i 4 ~ NtuV FNhnHn wore
the days when Wheeling literally wept
over the Anal news OF the defeat OF
Clay. her idol. the man who had
brought the Appian way TO her gates.
and who. as the author OF the "Ameri-
can system" was breathing the breath
OF life Into her embryo manufactures.
No man in American politics. before
him or since, ever had such idolatrous
friends as Henry Clay. In his honor
old Moses Shepherd, away back In 1920,
set up the monument that still stands
hard by the noble stone bridge that
spans Little Wheeling" close to It's
junction with the larger stream, For
seventy-seven years II has stood there,
proclaiming by its Inscription the ephe-
neral character OF all things here be.
low.
Gen. Lafayette VtGIt la 1874,
In the year 1924 a notable event occur
red in the social life OF Wheeling. and
Mr.. Botsford becomes onca more en-
thusiastic as he recounts the partlcu
lars OF the visit of General Lafayette,
the friend and companion OF 1.-THE faith
err OF his country" and especially the
great bail in his honor that was given
in hail then prominent in what is now
the EGerter building at the corner Of
| Eleventh and Market streets. Exactly
forty-eight years before, In his youth,
he had left his titles and his estates
behind him in France and come to
America to help her win her Independ-
ence. and now he was on farewell
visIs-and the people everywhere rose
up to do him honor. and nowhere more
So than right here In Wheeling. From
all the country round. on both sides OF
the river. the people came to take him
by the hand. and all the wealth. beau-
ty and brilliancy" OF the region were
proud to have ticket TO the ball.
Washington himself could scarcely
have evoked more homage from the
people, Mr.. Botsford thinks 1t was
| something in his life TO leave hs Leg
acy behind him. the fact that he took
the venerable soldier Of the Revolution
by the hand that night.
Lafayette was only one OF many
men OF note who came TO Wheeling
from all parts OF Europe and America;
| came here then, as to Chicago now. ito
start somewhere else" The stages
brought. like the coaches to the EPSON
races. lords and ladies' gay, soldiers
and statesmen gray" all here for Few
hours only, II the connections were
| prompt, but sometimes for days when
there was ice or low water. In times
or low water Mr.. BOtsford has seen
| barCcs fitted up to take the place OF
| steamboats,. They were covered with
| tarDolinS, cots were put in cooking ar
rangcments provided and thus equip
ped they were iioated down stream
| loaded for points below with the acct
mulated passengers OF two or three
| davis blockade at the hotels, It was a
pleasant enough way TO travel, In good
| weather said lie. and generally there
were enough young and festive people
on board 10 make the voyage TO Ma
rIctta, Maysvillc and Cincinnati inter-
esting This was the way the early
| settlers Aoated down the Ohio at the
beginning OF the century. 1t was the
way that Washington and his party OF
surveyors iloated down from Pitts
! burCh to Point Pleasant In l77O. Many
| n little tot has tloRted past Wheeling In
those primitive barEes who returned on
the steamboats, and stages some years
later as congressman on their way TO
Washington.
Conclusion --'Ds SeneetRte."
Much more than what has been writ
ten above was suggested by Mr.
Botstorda "reminiscences Of the past in
his long life, but space would fail to
descant upon them. SO many years
must needs have a multitude Of memo
ries.
Life Is not much to the man of nine
| ty. Mr. BOtsford is surrounded by every
necessary OF life, and all his wants are
supplied by loving hearts and hands.
but still. he says he gets weary OF mere
existence. especially since his set back
| from a cold contracted late last fall,
which has kept him indoors all win
ter. For him the sun goes up and the
sun goes down. and what is II all when
all is done" Simply, as he says. to go
| through Il certain routine Of eating Il
little, rcndlnE u little. and sleeping and
dreaming and thinking and waking
good deal. and this, he says, has not
much in IL calculated TO make 4 man
| rIIDr IN no M dnuht This Is the re-