The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-02-14

UAl1Lf 1tSsIELLiUENC
cestors. acre much given to riding tc
the hounds and racing fast horses al
Beech Bottom and Edglnton's Lane.
They'd smoke. they'd drink. they'd til
the wink,
They'd bet you fifty pounds. sir;
And when twas morn, they'd join thu
horn.
And tally-bo the hounds. SIR"
That's the kind OF fellows they were
in those halcYon days OF copper still.
ed" spirits on Short Creek. when. ac-
cordiHg to the books OF Noses Shepherd
the pure article could be had for q levy
gallon. There were slaves and slave
owners hereabouts in those days, and o
good many OF them, too. The Zanes, the
Woods. the Paulls, the Caldwe!ls, the
Paxtons. were among those here in the
city who owned slaves. md out in the
country there were the Forcmans, the
Biggs. the RIdgelys. the McCollochs, the
McKlnleys, the kellys. the Mitchells,
and many more. perhaps the late
James W. Paxton was the only slave
owner In the United States who voted
for Abraham Lincoln In 1862 Old Mrs.
Cruser was 4 dashinS country woman
In those days. while yet she was the
wife Of Moses Shepherd. She also had d
number OF BLACKS" for she came of the
Boggs'. and riding about over her acres.
sitting In her slde-saddle, would play
overseec In the field when she was so
disposed. She was fond of money and
OF power, and clung to life and her pos
sessions even at hundred and two
Years of age.
The Location effort Henry.
Speaking of disputed ages and tradi-
tons, the late dispute In regard to the
location OF Fort Henry was brought to
Mr.. Botsford's attention, and it was
found that the old gentleman takes no
stock in the new contention that the
fort was located at the mouth OF the
creek. He says that Father Dunlap"
tmeanInS his father in-law). who was
Il boy at the time of the last rumor OF
an expected attack on Fort Henry, fol-.
lowing the actual attack that took place
In 1IS2 came with some other boys
from West Liberty to the top of Wheel
ing hill. whence they could look down
and recoRnoitre the fort. From that en-
inence they discerned that the threaten
ed attack was at Bridgeport and rot ut
Fort Henry. The contention OF Mr..
James Gilchrist is that the mouth of the
creek was the only natural location for
the fort, on account OF its close proX
unity to the water. but TO this Mr.. Bots
ford replies that the water, like the gun
powder. was supplied from Zanes prem
ises. He says further. that there was.
In his opinion. no protracted siege, but
simply an attack and L repulsc. and
that the settlers had run TO the block
house like western people run 10 their
tornado caves In the time of a storm.
To this testimony OF Mr.. Botsford. Mrs.
Boyd. his daughter. adds that her
grandfather Dunlap. when she was a
very young child. once pointed out to
he: the Knox house as being very close
to the exact location OF the fort. This
house. as is welt known. is now the
Wingerter residence. From this and
the general concurrence of tradition the
weight of evidence would seem to be IN
favor of the Eleventh street location OF
Fort Henry.
What may Have Happened to Wheel
ing.
An attractive feature OF life in Wheel
ing, in the early days following the
completion of the National road, was
the constant coming and going OF dis
tinguished people. That road was,as Mr..
Clay rightly named il. the American
Appian way, for, like its Roman prede-
cessor, 1t connected the orient and occ!-
dent OF the empire. The still existing
Roman road stretched four hundred
miles between the Tiber and the Adriat-
ic, while our great highway, when II
reached Wheeling. stretched three hun
dred and fifty miles between the Ohio
and the eastern seaboard. What the
former became to the city of seven
hills" bringing thither as 1t did the
riches OF the caravan trade. the latter
might, In some part at least. have be-
come 10 the young and growing city OF
Wheeling, but for one thing-one very
great thing-which was the rapid COM
Ing in of the railroad era. The great
wagons that thronged the road were.
like the schooners of the desert" rs
the Arabian and Phencian caravans
were called. freighted with wealth quite
sufficient to make its distributing ter
minus an important centre Of COM
merce: and this commerce of the road
and the river, in connection with her
rising manufactures, would have made
Wheeling rich and populous. But this
possible destiny was not so written
down In the annals of swift coming
change. The completion OF the Penn
sylvania road TO Pittsburgh and of the
Baltimore & Ohio to the river changed
everything, and radically.
The Good Old Stage Days of Wheel
lug.
Meanwhile. pending the change, as
Mr. Botsford tells us, Wheeling was
point that travellers could not and did
not ignore. There was no Bcnwood
crossing in those days wherewith to
side track Wheeling. She was the
terminus on the Ohio, and no mistake.
The Good Intent" and "Recsde"
stages. competing like the boats on the
river, for quick transit. blew their horns
when they had climbei the walled d.
vide between Fulton and the city. and
finally reached the summit, and then
getting carefully down into Main, ut the
corner OF Ninth, came rolling gaily
down the street behind their smoking
teams. loaded inside and out with pas
scngers three days out from Balti-
more" Those were the days when
they drought the news from Ghcnt."
or. in other words, the news from
Potter and Mexican" counties, in the
state OF Pennsylvania, in the great con-
test OF 1914. at the time when both
Pennsylvania and New York hung
trembling In the balance for days be-
tween Polk and Clay. Those were the
days when Wheeling literally wept over
the defeat OF Clay. her idol. the man
who had brought the Appian way TO her
gates, and who. rs the author OF the
american system" was breathing the
breath Of life into her embryo manu-
features. No man In American poll
tics, before him or since. ever had such