The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-09-06
I9UCH-DOWNS.


That famous figure OF speech, "a mig
ger in the wood-plle," used by Mr. Lin
coin so long ago, still has its vogue and
has become almost classic. And speak
ing of this "nlgger," Is reminder OF
another gentleman OF color who recent-
ly figured In a hay pile, The scene Is
McCulloch street. East End; time, few
days ago. A quiet observer on the hill
side. Enter wagon loaded with hay
which Is driven onto the city scales
located in that part Of the city, The
hay Is weighed and the wagon is being
driven away. Mr.. Quiet Observer Is
watching the big, cumbersome vehicle
vending its way up the hill, when he Is
electrified by seeing a colored man
emerge from the hay-stack and take u
seat beside the driver. The ruse was
plain to be seen-Mr. C0lored Man had
played hide and seek In the hay so his
ayoirdupois would be counted as that
much hay. The man on the hillside
informed the scale man Of the episode,
who naturally was exceedingly wrothy
and vowed vengeance, And now comes
the sequel. A day or two later the
same wagon came up 10 be weighed.
The driver was accused of having a
man hidden In the hay, but denied the
charge strenuously, However, when
the scale man took the fork and began
to jab the pile of hay vigorously, Mr.,
Contraband lost no time in emerging
from his concealment There were no
casualties, The only loss was $50
pounds OF thoroughly cured hay"
which, at $l4 ton, amounted to some
thing like $40,
CHAPEL" RUN EXCAVATION
Chapel run is dried-up stream these
days, but when the spring freshets are
playing havoc, this little valley Is the
scene of waters that rage with the worst
OF them. A number of years ago part
OF the bed Of the run was filled and
Green's hotel in Triadelphla stands
where the run once wrought annual de-
Vastation. Last week, In eXcaYating for
a cellar in the rear of the hotel, two
great stone watering troughs were
found in what was once the course of
the run, Each weighs not less than 500
pounds and 1t seems almost impossible
that the water could have carried them
down the stream, but that Is the only
explanation given Of their location. Old
residents of Triadelphia do not remem-
Der of these troughs ever being In use
In the town. and 1t is thought they have
been buried seventy or eighty years,
A WEALTH OF SCENERY,-Slnc
the amateur Photographic craze has
caught Wheeling In its grasp, there Is
an ever-increasing appreciation among
uevotees of the camera of the wealth
of scenery and historic association that
surround one on all sides In and
about Wheeling. Mr.. j. II. Stoddard,
the well-knOwn photographer,
who has published volume of photo
graphs, showing American scenery from
Maine to California, told Mr.. A. II. Pat
terson, of Elm Grove, when here sew
eral years ago, that there is more beau
tlful scenery In the vicinity Of Wheeling
than he had found anywhere in this
country Praise from this Nestor Of
view photographers Is praise indeed 1t
is too bad that the local camerists
have not organized camera club In
order that some Of these scenes of nat
ural beauty and grandeur and historic
association might be secured in a sys-
tematic way and made what 1t Is posst-
bic TO make of themIthe finest coIec-
ton Of lantern slides now going the
rounds of the national lantern slide as
ISOLATION.
THE CLAY MoNUMENT.-The Clay
monument erected at Monument Place,
Elm Grove, in 1920 by Colonel Moses
Shepherd, a principal contractor of the
National pike between Cumberland and
Wheeling, in commemoratlon of Clay's
efforts in having the national govern
ment undertake the construction OF this
then greatest highway OF commerce be-
tween east and west, is fast crumblng
away and in few years will have lost
all the grace Of outline that 1t has now.
At the base there were originally four
inscription tablets. Now but one re-
mains. The yearly attacks Of Jack
Frost are responsible for the disappear
ance of the others, The remaining tab
let bears the following inscription: