The Book of the Great Railway Celebrations of 1857

Works like The Book of The Great Railway Celebrations were published with multiple purposes - they served great publicity for railroad companies and town boosters, as well as celebrations of technological advancements and ingenuity. The detailed illustrations and descriptions of the celebrations also made them prized souvenirs for event attendees.

THE RAILWAY CELEBRATIONS OF 1857.

PART II.

EXCURSION OF THE WESTERN STATE AND CITY AUTHORITIES TO BALTIMORE, WASHINGTON, AND NORFOLK, IN JULY, 1857.

THE RAILWAY CELEBRATIONS OF 1857.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION TO PART II.

THE Grand Railroad Excursion from the West, which took place in July, 1857, deserves to be put upon record as an evidence of rare wholesome public spirit, and of sectional courtesy and fraternization which, except in the similar excursion of the East to the West that preceded it-and which we have now fully described-was without parallel in the history of our country. As an event, it must long live in the memories of those who participated in it, clothed with many reminiscences of pleasures enjoyed, knowledge acquired, friendships formed, and hospitalities received. Our detail of the history of this great commemorative visit of the West to Baltimore and the neighboring cities, must be confined chiefly to the festive and social characteristics, and the incidents of welcome, entertainment, and rejoicing, that were connected with the event from the time that guests were taken in charge by the Baltimore Railroad, at the Ohio River, up to their final separation in Baltimore, on their return from Norfolk.

To the people of Baltimore, the visit of their guests was an occasion which they hailed with joy and embraced with avidity, as a favorable opportunity for testifying toward these representatives of the West the feeling entertained for that section of the country, toward which they had perseveringly, and at last successfully, labored to construct the durable bonds of the iron rail. Nor was this feeling altogether selfish of origin, growing out of the consideration merely of commercial advantage and business gain. Active as these considerations might justly be, the social instincts of Baltimore had



been excited, its prevalent hospitality appealed to, and there was an eager anxiety to receive these guests as cherished friends, to whom they owed an amount of hospitable obligation that had become almost burdensome in its pleasant weight. This was the result of the visit of the Baltimore deputation to the West in the preceding month. The lavish and overwhelming hospitality with which-as we have shown-they had been received and entertained at every point along the extended route, impressed them too strongly to be quickly forgotten. They had returned home filled with admiration for the Great West and delighted with its people. This feeling was too enthusiastically entertained and freely expressed, not to have touched, with its agreeable infection, the whole mass of their fellow-citizens, and it was with this unanimous and earnestly entertained intent, that the people and the authorities of Baltimore awaited the coming of the day in which the "Western Excursionists" were to be declared the guests of the city.

It was with a knowledge of this feeling upon the part of the people of Baltimore, as well perhaps as with the proper desire that might influence so great a corporation, in desiring an opportunity to return to the people of the West the civilities that had been so profusely expended upon its own invited guests and representatives, that the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company originated the movement, which expanded, and resulted in the festival whose incidents we are attempting to describe.

Besides all this, there were practical and important public objects to be incidentally promoted by bringing the authorities of great Western cities to a close observance, at Baltimore, of the feasibility and efficiency of street railroads in securing a ready and easy connection between the tracks upon leading routes, without the more expensive and annoying transfers of freight and passengers now experienced, especially at Cincinnati-in moving between the East and the West.

In these objects the Baltimore and Ohio Company was promptly, and in the most cordial manner, seconded by the Little Miami and Central Ohio Roads, (which unite it, through Columbus, with Cincinnati, as well as by Xenia, with Dayton, Indianapolis, Terre Haute, and St. Louis,) of "the Great National Route," and also by the then recently opened Marietta and Cincinnati Road, intended to connect the Parkersburg terminus of the Baltimore and Ohio Road with Cincinnati and the farther West. Afterwards, the Ohio and Missiissippi Company liberally joined in the invitation to the St. Louis guests, and thus the unprecedented severity for its latitude. The Ohio River was frozen,



line of the excursion was extended to that city, from Baltimore and Washington.

In view of the important parts performed by the Little Miami and the Central Ohio Roads in this July excursion,-as well as their general relations to the great Baltimore and Ohio Road on the east, and to the Ohio and Mississippi Road on the west-we propose to give the best account of their history which we have been able to secure, before detailing the incidents of the Excursion itself.

THE RAILWAY CELEBRATIONS OF 1857.

CHAPTER II.

THE LITTLE MIAMI, AND COLUMBUS AND XENIA RAILROAD.

THE second stage of the excursion was from CINCINNATI, one of the great commercial capitals of the Mississippi Valley, to Columbus, the State capital of Ohio.

GENERAL FEATURES.-We will speak of the Road connecting the two, as the LITTLE MIAMI-so named from the beautiful river, up whose valleys it winds for the first sixty-five miles, to Xenia; thence to Columbus, fifty-four miles, across the fertile table-lands of the grazing district of southern Ohio. The Little Miami Railroad proper extends from Cincinnati, through Xenia, to Springfield, eighty-three and a half miles. But by a contract of union between the Little Miami and the Columbus and Xenia companies, concluded in 1853, the two agreed to permanently unite their respective roads, in their business management and uses, as one ; since when the two lines have been worked and managed together under the direction of one Superintendent, appointed by the concurrent action of the two Boards of Directors, subject to the direction of a joint committee of four.

The first annual report of the Little Miami Company was made 1842, that of the Columbus and Xenia Company in 1849. Since 1856 the companies have issued joint annual reports.

CHARACTER OF THE MANAGEMENT.-The Little Miami Railroad, then, as the line from Cincinnatito Columbus is popularly known, has the conceded position of the "model road" of the Western system. The administration of its finances has been above suspicion, and has materially contributed to arrest the tendency of the public mind to the universal distrust, if not contempt, of the indifference of the Direction

of this class of public works. By a coincidence, as remarkable as the existence of rare excellence in either department, the administration of the operative department and police of the road has been more successful, perhaps, than any other among American lines.

The standard of excellence established on this road by William H. Clement-for many years its General Superintendent, until he left it to take charge of the Ohio and Mississippi line, in 1857 -was, in some important respects, superior to that in the military service ; for it conserved all the accurate and manly elements supposed to result from the latter, while it left ample room for self-respect, and moral as well professional elevation, in the lower grades of employeés. Mr. Clement seems to have been one of the first to perceive that the almost indefinite extension of the railway system would demand for its operation a larger number of men, and possessing a greater average of ability, than either the civil or the military departments of Government, and would form, to a certain extent, a distinct class in the community, superior in numbers, and hardly inferior in talent, to all the liberal professions. A leading idea with him seems to have been the formation of character, as well as the selection of the best available material the community afforded for his employeßs.The influence of the Superintendent was such, that any man or boy appointed to any post on the Little Miami road, forthwith felt the pressure of personal responsibility felt that he was trusted and depended upon, and that-as a rule-his own report of himself would be taken. The self-respect of the employeé, thus appealed to and cultivated, his character and skill in his calling grew apace. Many a "bad man" has taken an agency, an engine, a train, or a break on the Little Miami, and been gradually and effectually reformed by the silent but operative influences of the service.

The severest discipline was found compatible with the entire devotion of the employeßs. Mr. Clement was sagacious enough to know that employeés and subordinates like nothing better than to be held to the strictest performance of duty. Such performance earns self-respect, and self-respect brings satisfaction with one's position and its surroundings. Discipline was never relaxed, and therefore the chief never lost complete control over all, and every unit of his force. Superadded to this was a felicitous ability to inspire affection ; nothing could shake the loyalty of his employeés. The winter of 1856-'7 was one to test the loyalty and devotion of the men of his road. The cold was of unprecedented severity for its latitude. The Ohio River was frozen



and the price of coal went up from fourteen to sixty cents per bushel. The result was a fuel famine! The Little Miami was the only Cincinnati line having a connection with a coal region. The effect of the intense cold was to derange the running of trains, the snapping of axles and wheels, as though their material was of brittle glass. The consequence of the fuel famine, was a vast increase in the demand for service. A populace, but little informed as to the capacity and operation of iron roads, and urged on by demagogues, not only menaced the wealthier classes, but threatened to tear up the track of the Little Miami Railroad, because it did not work the miracle of an instant adaptation of equipment and depot facilities to a new freightage, and daily precipitate an abundant supply of fuel upon a manufacturing city of two hundred thousand people.

This emergency was the opportunity that proved the Little Miami "the model road" in all that related to discipline and effectiveness. Every man and every engine was worked under the severest pressure, to his and its fullest capacity. There was no rest for the engineers ; the conductors were required to "double" day and night, the brake-men on the roofs and on the alert through all the nights, when the thermometer marked 20° below zero, but not a man left his post-there was not a murmur. The worst effects of the famine were averted, the city was practically relieved.

Men familiar with these facts, and who admire administrative ability and moral heroism in whatever calling, will think of CLEMENT and his associates in the winter of '56-7, as they think of HAVELOCK and his comrades at Lucknow. Under John Durand, its present excellent superintendent, the high character of the management seems to have been admirably maintained. Mr. Durand is from the Cleveland and Wheeling Railroad, also an excellent line.

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE ROAD-ITS PRESENT POSITION.-The Fifteenth Annual Report of the Little Miami Company, published early in 1858, makes the following exhibit: it is in such sharp and, withal, gratifying contrast with the lame and impotent conclusions of the majority of reports, that its statistics will interest and attract even the popular mind, and unprofessional readers.

Little Miami Railroad.

Surplus Dec. 1, 1856	$479,235 24
Little Miami Company's proportion of profits of joint company for the year 1857	290,120 89
Amount transferred from Depreciation and Renewal Fund	80,000 00
Total	$849,346 13
From which deduct-
Div. No. 21, declared Dec., 1856	$149,064 13
Do. 22, declared June, 1857	149,064 13
Springfield, Mt. Vernon and Pittsburg Railroad stock charged up	196,150 00
Hills. and Cincinnati Railroad stock charged up	1,444 72
Lake steamers, charged up	32,630 40
Sundry expenses and losses	674 08
529,027 46
Surplus Dec 1, 1857	$320,32867

The entire cost of the road and proportion of the equipment amounts to $3,925,157 30.

The assets of the Little Miami Company are:

Construction	$2,760,796
Real Estate and Depots	588,639 06
Bills Receivable	958 84
Columbus and Xenia Railroad Stock	425,650 00
Hillsboro' and Cincinnati Railroad do.	9,262 83
Springfield, Mount Vernon and Pittsburg do.	4,000 00
Sundry Stocks	6,130 41
Individual Accounts	25,971 40
L. M. & C. and Xenia Railroad Company	750,171 38
Total	$4,571,580 43

The liabilities are:

Capital Stock	$2,981,293 12
Loan from City of Cincinnati	100,000 00
Do. of 1848, in Bonds	138, 000 00
Do. of 1851, in Bonds	7,000 00
Do. of 1853, in Bonds	981,000 00
Dividends unpaid	43,958 65
Profit and Loss	320, 328 66
Total	$4,571,580 43

The exhibit of the Columbus and Xenia Section is not quite so late as the above, but may be taken as substantially its present position.

Final Balance Sheet, Dec, 1856 ; showing the Property, Means, Debts and Liabilities of the Company.

Construction Account	$1,261,434 01
Real Estate	21,101 46
Little Miami, and Columbus and Xenia Co's stock account	371,082 12
Second Track	43,928 65
Bills Receivable	1,476 91
Capital Stock owned by the Company	17,050 00
Dividend Bonds bought in 1*	9,900 00
Dayton, Xenia and Belpre Railroad Stock	51,000 00
Springfield and Columbus Railroad Stock	50,000 00
Central Ohio Railroad Stock	60,000 00
Lake Steamboats	15,369 60
Individual Accounts	32,580 85
Eastern Deposit	2,000 00
Telegraph Stock	50,472 22
S. E. Wright, Treas.	22,874 98
	$2,010,270 80
Capital Stock	$1,490,450 00
Mortgage Bonds	18,000 00
Bonds due Feb. 1, 1857	55,000 00
Bills Payable	50,500 00
Dividend Bonds, due Dec. 1, 1860	70,000 00
Do. June 1, 1866	69,600 00
Unclaimed Accounts	2,453 17
Individual Accounts	105 00
Dividend, No. 11, Dec. 1, 1856	74,522 50
Surplus	179,640 13
$2,020,270 80

On the occasion of the recent election of John Kilgour, who succeeds the venerable Jacob Strader, to the Presidency of the Little Miami Company (January 1, 1858), one of the editors of the Daily Commercial newspaper of Cincinnati, a gentleman, it is not improper to state, understood to be personally unfriendly to Mr. K-, made the following observations in the Railway Department of that journal. The author of this work will add the remark that these sentences, analytic and keenly discriminating as they are, might well be framed in gold by the President's children, and preserved in the archives of the family : in the future they will read better than patents of nobility.

There are in the personal traits of the new President some things that we, as journalists, jealous of the dignity of the estate, and, perhaps, not making due allowance for a merchant's misconception of its scope and relations criticise severely, but we can afford to do justice to decided ability and exalted worth, wherever society may have so rich a depository.

Daniel Webster would have designated Mr. Kilgour as "one of the solid men of the country." For more than a quarter of a century he has been a representative of what is creditable in a merchant, a banker, and a managing railway capitalist. He is strongly individual. His characterizing traits are unwavering integrity and an inevitable persistence of purpose.

The admirable organization and the excellent police of the operative department that made the Little Miami the model railroad of all the West, is the credit of Clement ; the administration of the finances of the company that

has made the Little Miami almost an isolated example of ability married to integrity, and the beneficent influences of which have diffused through all grades of the service, has been John Kilgour's administration.If he is not distinguished for a generous estimate of men; if he is not remarkable for the genial temperament and the human impulses that hold the loyalty and affection of employées, he has that attribute that wise men exalt above sympathy, and writers of proverbs place before generosity-he is a just man.

DESCRIPTION OF THE LINE.-The beauty of the Little Miami River country has frequently been the theme of praise, and deservedly too. Our space will scarcely permit us to go into an extended narration of the different points of interest that present themselves to the eye of the traveller as he is whisked along the pleasant route from the Queen City to Columbusbut we may at least give a currento calamo account of most of them. But before we proceed, we cannot but offer a word in commendation of the noble passenger depot at Cincinnati. This fine structure is capable of containing ten thousand people ; nor have its designers been at all too spacious in their ideas, as the increasing and already large influx of travel, from the north and east, brings into requisition all the area which the building can supply. Near by are also several other buildings of large dimensions for freight, in which an immense business is now done by this line.

On leaving the city the attention is first attracted by the large building containing the Cincinnati Water Works. It being necessary for the purposes of supply to give the water an elevation of one hundred and fifty feet, and there not being the requisite water power near, that of steam has to be resorted to.

Jamestown, some two miles from the depot, on the Kentucky shore, is a handsome place, and its thrift, though only laid out eight years, suggests a strange contrast with the ivied ruins of its ancient namesake in a sister State, and forms a beautiful picture from the railroad on the Ohio side.

Pendleton, is a continuation of the city that we have passed. It is here that the Company have located their buildings for locomotives, their repair and other shops, so indispensable to the preservation of the good working order of a railway.

Leaving Pendleton, by a curve in the road, you pass into the valley of the Miami, leaving to the left on a summit, a point rejoicing in the classic name of Tusculum. The extended panoramic view from the hill is represented as being fine indeed.

The first burying-ground-six miles from the city-is next reached.



A sight of it suggests the memory of the days when the axe was the great pioneer, and the first settler's foothold was maintained only by the clearness of his eye, and the unfailing accuracy of his rifle. When the hardihood and courage of the men, whose bones fill the graves beneath, is borne in mind, one may think their tombs, as well as that of Trafalgar's victor, deserve the inscription, Siste viater heroa calcas. The hum of population that now surrounds their burial-place, is the very antithesis of the solitude of the country, when they first penetrated the then Western wilds.

The Little Miami River, which is the next object of interest, is visible on either side of the track for fifty miles. This pretty stream is equable in its flow, yet its descent is such as to give fine water power, which is attested by the numerous mills and factories along its banks, whose products find a market in Cincinnati. The river rises in Madison county, and flows through those of Warren, Clermont, and Hamilton, a distance of eighty miles to its mouth. Of the exceeding fertility of the valley through which flows this stream, we may best convey an idea by saying, that there are over a million of bushels of wheat grown in it, and almost countless bushels of that great cereal, corn. Of course the flour into which the mills convert the wheat, the distillation furnished from the other grain, or the vast number of swine that are fed by it, become a tribute to Cincinnati through the invaluable medium of freight cars and locomotive. The road follows the valley to Xenia, where it is left, and the track is laid over an ascending plain in direction of Columbus.

The Little Miami, though twenty miles distant from the greater stream of the same name, runs parallel to it. It is from these two rivers that the valley which is watered by them derives its name. With the exception of the immediate vicinity of Boston, nowhere in New England does the density of population exceed that of this comparatively primitive country.

Plainville, nine and a half miles from Cincinnati, is quite a pleasant situation. The heights in its vicinity have been purchased for the erection of suburban residences, being but a short run by the railroad, and little more than an hour's drive from the city.

Milford's church spires and schools are now in sight. This place is situated on the opposite bank of the Miami. Its population increased with much rapidity. It is situated in the county named after the first boat propelled by steam in American waters, and distant 14 miles from Cincinnati.

Miami Bridge, elevated above the reach of floods, crossing the river 8 miles from the Queen City, is a fine structure for railroad purposes. It is substantially built, in contemplation of the use of a double track. Loveland is a place deserving of note, it being here that the Little Miami Railway is united to the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad, 23 miles from Cincinnati.

Deerfield Station is arrived at next, situated opposite to a dilapidated place of that name, which was settled as long ago as 1797.

Lebanon-four miles further on-is a pleasant retired country town. The "cedars" of its representation, are the number of prominent men of the country that it has produced, or who have made it their residence. Among them are John McLean and Thomas Corwin.

Morrow, distant from Cincinnati 36 miles, and from Xenia 28, is one of those places that has been brought into existence by the magic influence of railroad enterprise. Here the road crosses a considerable stream called Todd's Fork, by a handsome wooden bridge. This is the point at which the Little Miami Railroad intersects the Cincinnati, Wilmington, and Zanesville Railroad. The latter road forms a central link of straight line through a rich country, uniting with the Central Ohio road at Zanesville, 78 miles from Benwood Junction.

Fort Ancient is 41 miles from Cincinnati and 22 miles from Xenia. But little, indeed nothing, is known of the history of this site, leave what remains of it indicates that its original purpose was defence.

Corwin-a station opposite the pretty town of Waynesville-is 50 miles from Cincinnati and 14 from Xenia. Its surroundings of foliage are very attractive. Spring Valley, deriving its name from the numberless rills gushing from the hill-sides that enclose it, is a pleasant village. From Cincinnati it is distant 57 miles, from Xenia 7 miles. There are a number of factories and mills in the vicinity.

About 3 miles from Xenia, in the woods to the left, the traveller reaches the spot made memorable by the escape of the intrepid old pioneer, Daniel Boone, from his Indian captors. What is now called "Old Town" was then old Chillicothe, about six miles from this spot on the river. Here he found a body of Indians preparing to attack Booneburg, and, careless of the odds against him, the fearless old pioneer repaired hither to put his block-house in order, and to defend it from attack afterwards.

XENIA is nearly equi-distant between Cincinnati and Columbus. Xenia is the point of junction with the great railway system of Central Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, through Dayton, Indianapolis, and Terre Haute. It is regarded as one of the best towns in the interior of the West. Its reputation for furnishing a nice railroad supper seems to be well established.

Cedarville Station, deriving its name from the unusual growth the cedar tree at this point, is seventy-two miles from Cincinnati and forty-six from Columbus.

South Charleston Station, situated in a pleasant country of peculiar soil, is next reached, its distance from the Queen City being eighty-three miles, and from Columbus thirty-five miles.

From Xenia to the capital of the State, the railroad, with two slight exceptions, forms nearly a straight line.

London, the county seat of Madison county, is a small town, situated 24 miles from the Capitol, and 94 from Cincinnati. At this point the railroad from Springfield connects with the Columbus and Xenia, Springfield being 19 miles distant.

The Railroad Bridge over Darly Creek is a fine structure, but the stream which it crosses is possessed of historical interest, because on its banks dwelt the great Chief of the Cayugas, and the friend of the white man, LOGAN, the substance of whose speech, as given in the polished language of Mr. Jefferson, is as familiar as household words.

Franklinton is situated opposite Columbus, and distant from Cincinnati 118 miles. It was laid out in 1797, hence before the capital.

COLUMBUS, the Capital of the State of Ohio, is 119 miles from Cincinnati, and 137 from Bellaire, on the Ohio River, opposite Benwood, the junction with the Baltimore and Ohio Road. It is built on the eastern bank of the Scioto, in the midst of a beautiful plain, which forms Central and Western Ohio. The lands which surround it, were once the property of the Wyandotte Indians. The city is reached from Cincinnati by a substantial bridge over the Scioto. The building in sight to the left of the road is the State Prison. In coming to Columbus, the traveller crosses the plateau that divides the waters of the Scioto and the Little Miami. The head-waters of the latter stream at one point approach the Scioto, which is one of the principal rivers of the State. The area between the two rivers is called the "Virginia Military District."

On the same day that the last war with Great Britain was declared, the first steps were taken to locate the seat of government of Ohio at

Columbus. Previous to that time the Legislature had sat at Chillicothe and at Zanesville.

One of the features of Columbus is the State House of Ohio,-fronting on Main street-built of a durable and handsome gray limestone, and regarded as one of the handsomest public edifices in the country, and also one of the largest. It is stated that its dimensions are only exceeded by those of the Capitol in Washington. The area occupied by it is nearly double that of the State House at Nashville, and quadruple that of the largest in other States.

• JOHN KILGOUR, President.
• D. G. A. DAVENPORT, Treasurer and Secretary.
• JOHN DURAND, Superintendent.
• CHARLES KILGOUR, Master of Track and Machinery.
• E. P. FULLER, General Ticket Agent.
• S. E. WRIGHT, Auditor of Accounts.

• JACOB STRADER,
• JOHN KILGOUR,
• GRIFFIN TAYLOR,
• R. R. SPRINGER,
• JOHN H. GROESBECK,
• NATHANIEL WRIGHT,
• JOHN BACON,
• WILLIAM M'CAMMON,
• ABRAHAM HIVLING
• JAMES HICKS, JR.,
• LARZ ANDERSON,
• ALPHONSO TAFT.

• WM. DENNISON, JR., President.
• JNO. DURAND, Superintendent.
• CYRUS FAY, Treasurer and Secretary.

• WM. DENNISON, JR., Columbus.
• ROBERT NEIL, "
• ALFRED KELLEY, "
• D. W. DESHLER, "
• P. HAYDEN, "
• L. GOODALE, "
• WM. B. HUBBARD, Columbus.
• JOSEPH R. SWAN, "
• JACOB STRADER, Cincinnati.
• JOHN KILGOUR, "
• R. R. SPRINGER, "
• ABRAHAM HIVLING, Xenia.

THE RAILWAY CELEBRATIONS OF 1857.

CHAPTER III.

HISTORY OF THE CENTRAL OHIO RAILROAD.

THE Central Ohio Railroad Company was incorporated by the Legislature of Ohio, by a special act, approved February 8, 1849; and upon the 20th of March, 1850, several additional enactments in reference to this road were obtained, making up an aggregate of chartered powers of the most liberal character.

The original corporators were : Robert Neil, Samuel Medary, Joel Buttles, Joseph Ridgeway, and Bela Latham, of Franklin county ; David Smith, Daniel Duncan, Adam Seymour, Israel Dille, Albert Sherwood, Nathaniel B. Hogg, Levi J. Humphrey, Jacob Glessner, George W. Penney, Jonathan Taylor, A. P. Richard, and Wickliff Condit, of Licking county ; James Raquet, Robert Mitchell, Daniel Brush, John Hanna, Solomon Sturges, Richard Stilwell, Daniel Convers, Levi Claypool, and Solomon Woods, of Muskingum county. Of these persons, Joel Buttles, Bela Latham, Daniel Duncan, Robert Mitchell, and Daniel Convers, have passed from the stage of action. The rest, in various positions of trust and honor, business engagements, or honorable retirement, hold the continued confidence of the several communities around them.

The charter authorized the construction of a railroad through the east and west central belt of the Ohio, limiting the Company only to a contact with the towns of Zanesville, Newark, and Columbus, and allowing otherwise a full discretion in the location of the route, and the eastern and western termini. The construction of the several lines of railway from Columbus to the Indiana boundary, by way of

Dayton, and to Cincinnati, by way of Xenia, obviated the necessity of any exercise of the chartered powers of the Central Ohio Company west of Columbus; and they, accordingly, confined their operations to the filling up the gap between the western railway system, constructed and projected as radiating from Columbus and the great lines from east, converging upon the Ohio River, at or near Wheeling.

In the month of August, 1847, the requisite $10,000 of stock having been subscribed, the Company was organized by the election of Solomon Sturges, John Hanna, Wm. Dennison, Jr., George James, Albert Sherwood, Charles B. Goddard, Daniel Marble, Levi Claypool, Daniel Brush, and Stephen R. Hosmer, as Directors. The high reputation of Mr. Sturges in Ohio, as a capitalist and financier, naturally indicated his election as President. He was accordingly elected ; Daniel Brush made treasurer ; and D.H. Lyman, of Muskingum, chosen Secretary.

During the first year, the Directory confined itself to the reconnoissance, by Jonathan Knight-then one of the consulting engineers of the Baltimore and Ohio Company-of the country between Columbus and Wheeling, so as to determine upon the feasibility of the project. His report proved favorable. The year closing without any farther action by the Company, the impatience of the railroad spirit beginning to work on the community, indicated the propriety of a change in the management. Mr. J. H. Sullivan, of Zanesville, having (as a member of a committee elected for the purpose in the spring of 1848), in his pamphlet address to the citizens of Muskingum county on the subject of municipal subscriptions, manifested an earnestness satisfactory to the public mind, was elected to the Directory in August, 1848. His consent being had, he was elected to the Presidency in September of that year, which he filled, by successive annual elections, for seven years ; and until after the whole line of road from Columbus to the Ohio River at Bellaire was opened for trade and travel. The Directory for 1848-9-the opening year of active operations for the Company-were: J. H. Sullivan (President), John Hanna, Solomon Sturges, Charles B. Goddard, James Raquet, S. R. Hosmer, Daniel Brush (Treasurer), George James, William Galigher, Levi Claypool, Israel Dille, Albert Sherwood, and William Dennison, Jr.-D. H. Lyman was appointed first Secretary.

In a short time the Company were in a position to order the surveys, location, and contracting of the line, between Zanesville and Newark-a distance of 25 1/2 miles. On the 26th of January, 1852, this portion of the road was opened for business. In the spring of 1852,



31 sections of the line east of Zanesville were placed under contract. On the 18th January, 1853, the track was extended westwardly to Columbus, after much difficulty and delay, on the completion of the 52d section, at the crossing of Big Walnut Creek. This section has about 250,000 yards of embankment, and some 1800 feet of bridging and trestling. On the report of the engineers as to their difficulties in progressing, the President took upon himself the personal supervision of the work. The results of this course were very satisfactory. It restored the morale of the force of mechanics and laborers engaged upon the different subdivisions, who had become discouraged by the many physical difficulties interposing themselves, and which precluded that sense of advance, so essential to spirited action, even in the most indifferent laborers. Notwithstanding interruptions from freshets and dispersion of the force of mechanics twice after his taking charge of the work, the President was able to report the opening of the road, through to Columbus, on the period we have named (18th January, 1853) several months in advance of the time fixed for its completion by the Chief Engineer.

The practical experience obtained by his personal supervision of the work on this difficult section, was doubtless of very considerable service to the Company, in enabling the President to examine more critically the estimates and reports from the construction department of the road, in its after progress, east of Zanesville. It may also have been the secret of his success in opening the road through to the river, so much earlier than the public, in view of all the difficulties which had to be overcome, anticipated.

In the autumn of 1852, the unlet portions of the road between Zanesville and the Ohio River, were contracted to Bradley & Whittermore. Nearly a year's delay, in the completion of the surveys and letting, is said to have been caused by the course of the city of Wheeling, in first voting a subscription of $250,000 to the stock of the road, before the Company were ready to ask it (which, it is thought,operated also to cause a failure of the first vote, in Belmont county, for a subscription of $100,000), and afterwards, when the Company were ready to use the amount voted, declined giving it, unless with conditions in regard to route, which were deemed inadmissible. The route that she stipulated for, proved, by comparison of surveys and estimates, to be more costly than the route adopted by the company, in fully the whole amount of her subscription.

Up to this period-and, indeed, until the opening of the road through, in 1854-the duties of the management were complex and delicate, and required a combination of all the tact, energy, and firmness which the Directory could muster. A portion of the road was opened, a portion under survey, a portion under contract ; contracts with connecting roads, which were to exercise, probably, a perpetual influence upon the working results of their charge, had to be made ; subscriptions of stock, which, when Mr. Sullivan came into office, did not exceed 10,000, had to be provided, to furnish a respectable basis for the loans being made and proposed. All these subdivisions of duty required continuous and concurrent attention, and made an aggregate of labor which none but railroad builders can appreciate.

The obtainment of stock subscriptions from a community chiefly agricultural-who, although the most to be benefited, are sometimes the slowest to acknowledge the value of such enterprises-proved to be a work of peculiar difficulty. The authorization of county and town subscriptions, under a special law, by diffusing the burden, made the matter less objectionable to most ; but even in such cases, all the appliances of newspaper and pamphlet publications, and stump-speeches throughout most of the territory interested, had to be made available to carry even public subscriptions, against the reluctance of the tax-payers. Franklin county-in which is located the capital city of Columbus, having previously voted stock to the Cleveland and Columbus, and the Columbus and Xenia roads, by vote twice refused to subscribe to the stock of the Central Ohio road. In Licking, $50,000 was voted by the county, and $10,000 by the town of Newark. In Muskingum, $250, 000 by the county, and $50,000 by the city of Zanesville. In Guernsey, $100,000 by the county ; and in Belmont, on the Ohio River-after voting against subscription-upon a second trial, the people voted $100,000. The Columbus and Xenia Railroad Company subscribed about $60,000 ; citizens of Baltimore, about $100,000 ; Bradley & Whittemore the contractors, took about $200,000. The balance of the stock list, which shows an aggregate of $1,626,856, was made up principally along the line of the road, in individual subscriptions.

In addition to the labors which legitimately attached to the building of the road, the directory found, as the work progressed step by step, that it was growing in magnitude, and reaching immensely



beyond the estimates of the locating engineers. There were but few of the unfinished roads of the country upon which the Companies engaged were not compelled to stop working, during the excessive moneyed stringency of the last half of 1853, and the whole of the year 1854. It was at the period of the greatest distrust of railroad securities, in those years, that the Directors found themselves called upon to provide, by loans, for the unexpected requisitions of the engineers, to an extent equal to the original estimates of the whole cost of the road. Men of weak nerves were staggered ; but as over $3,000,000 had been expended upon the work, it was a question between the practical annihilation of that amount of capital, together with the still more serious loss of the road itself, on one side, and the incurring of a massive bonded and floating debt. The latter was the choice of the Directory, as the least of two great evils.

In his pamphlet address to the people of Muskingum, in 1848, upon the subject of municipal subscriptions, Mr. Sullivan had inidentally remarked that five or six years would elapse before the road from Columbus to the Ohio river could be built. It is supposed that he then little dreamed of being himself one of the principal agents in its construction ; and that in just six years and six months from that prediction-with one year's delay, from extraneous influence-he should be the first to announce the opening of the line through to Bellaire, and there establishing a connection between the Baltimore and Ohio road, and the indefinitely expanding railway system of the West! This interesting event occurred on the 1st of November, 1854, and was participated in by a large excursion party, from Baltimore and other Atlantic cities.

The opening of the road was attended with such a rush of freights and travel towards the new channel of intercourse, that its managers and friends seemed to be on the eve of the fruition of all their most sanguine views in regard to the enterprise, when a series of misfortunes, commencing in December, 1854, and running through the whole of the ensuing year, prostrated, by blow after blow all the credit which a careful nursing from the time of its organization had built up for the The comparative estimates of the locating engineers for the two routes from Hanna's Mills, near Cambridge, to Bridgeport, viz.: the "Central Route," so-called-being the one upone which Wheeling was willing to make her subscription-and the McMahon's Creek route, upon which the road was finally located, were as follows : McMahon's Creek route, $995,546 43; Central route, by St. Clairsville, Morristown, &c., $1,257,963 03. The actual cost, including discount upon bonds, &c., exceeded the estimate by two million dollars.



Company-a credit which, up to that time, had never been soiled by a single protest.

The deficiency of side-tracks, machinery, and experienced men for the working of trains, would not have exhibited itself with much inconvenience, had the business of the road, as usual in such cases, grown gradually with the gradual diffusion of information in regard to the value of the route ; but the closing of the Ohio River by ice in December, threw suddenly upon the road the traffic usually accumulating at Cincinnati, for transportation by steamers to the Baltimore and Ohio Road. The want of ample sidings and machinery, at that time, induced the accumulation and delay of freights, at almost every point on the line, between Columbus and the river.

By the month of July succeeding, every thing was beginning to work smoothly again, and the confidence of the public was gradually becoming restored to the line, when a still greater temporary disaster occurred, in the fall of the roof of the tunnel at Cambridge-which obstruction was not removed until the January succeeding, and which, for the whole of that period, compelled a troublesome and expensive transfer of freights and passengers at that point. It became, for the time being, practically a local road ; and with diminished resources, increased expenses, and prostrated credit, it could only stagger forward towards the period when it should appeal to the holders of its floating debt for a conversion of their claims into a funded form. The policy of Pesident Sullivan having been all entire abnegation of local interests, for the sake of the whole interests of the enterprise under his charge, he had naturally rendered himself unpopular with several of the communities along the line, and near its eastern terminus, who had over-estimated the special benefits to be conferred by the road. Many of those who had been dissatisfied with his policy during the construction of the road, were disposed to hold him responsible for its working operations, or management since opened for traffic, although that was, to some extent, out of his control. Believing, however, that the road would be benefited by the selection of a President with whom all its friends could be satisfied, Mr. Sullivan declined a re-election to the Directory at the annual meeting of the stockholders, in August, 1855 ; and recommended the selection of Elias Fassett, of New York, to supply his place. Mr. Fassett was elected to the Directory, and then made President.

In withdrawing from an official connection with the road, Mr. Sullivan adverted with much satisfaction to the cordial support which,



with but few exceptions, he had uniformly received from his colleagues and a majority of the stockholders, during the whole seven years of his administration. Without disparagement to the rest a few may be named, who were conspicuous in the services they conferred upon the Company. Wm. Ganglier, the second Treasurer, was always prompt to give his personal service, or the use of his name, when the credit of the Company was not sufficient to meet the exigency. Mr. Hosmer, the third Treasurer, and acting as such during the whole of the most difficult and trying financial troubles of the Company, gave unremitting, attention-to the exclusion, frequently, of personal considerations and his private interests-to almost every department of the road, whether surveys, construction, or management, of the portion in operation.

Among those who aided, especially in drawing confidence to the work along the line between Zanesville and the Ohio River, should be named Nehemiah Wright, of Belmont, and the late John Hall, of Millwood, in Guernsey county. These old gentlemen (both of the Quaker persuasion) belonged to the rapidly thinning ranks of the pioneers of Ohio, and had long passed the prime of life ; but their experience of the difficulties of the first settlers, particularly in the want of facilities for transport, enabled them to appreciate more sensibly than a younger generation, the great value of such improvements as the railroad. Their clear-headed views and firmness of purpose, always inspired confidence and respect in the counsels of the Board, with which they were associated for several years. Mr. Hall died in the summer 1854, about a week before the track of the road was laid past his house. He had expressed a hope to live long enough to hear the approaching locomotive, but was not so favored. Mr. Wright still resides at his old homestead, at Belmont, beloved and respected ; and although a large present sufferer in the depreciation of the stock and to securities of the road, he takes much satisfaction in having aided to accomplish a work so beneficial to the country at large.

Of the present Board of Directors, there are two only who have been with the Road through all its labors and trials : George James being one of the first Board elected, with an intermission of but year from service. George B. Wright has been in the Board uniformly since 1849 ; Charles B. Goddard belonged to the Directory in the first two years and during the last two years ; having, however, been the legal adviser of the Company since the day of its organization.

William Wing, the present Secretary and Auditor who has occu-



pied that station since September, 1853, has proved himself a faithful and valuable officer.

Mr. Fassett was the earliest financial agent of the Company, in the East, and by his instrumentality it was introduced to the favorable attention of New York capitalists. Subsequently, when all railroad securities, on the general merits of such investments, were excluded from sale in that city, by the moneyed revulsion of 1853, Messrs. Robert Garrett and Sons (upon the grounds of the great importance to the city of Baltimore and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, of furnishing means for completing and equipping a practical extension of their only western outlet) successfully claimed the attention of investors in Central Ohio securities, during the darkest period of 1853-'4, and those gentlemen, when sales were no longer possible, except at ruinous sacrifices, furnished from their own resources funds to meet the exigencies of the Company in some of its worst straits. Among the financial helps of the Company, also, should not be forgotten the "material aid" provided by Chauncy Brooks, now President of the Baltimore and Ohio Road, and by the firm of Josiah Lee & Co., and by others, who have at least the satisfaction of knowing that their means and influence have built up an adjunct to the Baltimore and Ohio, which, next to that great work, is doing more than all other accessories besides to build up the commercial prosperity of their beautiful city.

The value of the Central Ohio Road to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, is already exhibited in an analysis of the business of the former for the year ending 1st August, 1857. During that period the Central Railroad delivered to the Baltimore Road 86,060 tons of freight, and received in return 34,179, an aggregate of 121,239 tons. This is regarded by the friends of the road in Ohio and elsewhere, as a commemsurate return in one year for the loan of $400,000 in six per cent. bonds, for which she holds the fourth mortgage seven per cent. bonds of the Central Ohio Company. It cannot, in their view, be objected, that an important portion of this traffic would, without the Central Road, have been drawn over the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad by the instrumentality of the river. A comparison of the business of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad before the completion of the Central Ohio, with its business since, will show that an increase equal to the statement above may safely be assumed.

Mr. Fassett did not assume the active duties of his office until the Spring of 1856. After a second re-election he resigned the Presidency



(having also for several months performed the additional duties of General Superintendent) in October, 1857. During his administration, the larger portion of the floating debt has been funded into fourth mortgage bonds. The receipts of the road for the year ending August, 1857, even with a continued deficiency of machinery, were now up to $712,213 19-a gain of $217,508 57 over the preceding year. He left the administration of the Company with the confidence of the public in his sound judgment, integrity, and devotion to the interests he had in charge. Mr. Fassett was succeeded by H. J. Jewett, the late Vice-President.

Mr. Jewett assumes the Presidency at a period of unprecedented depression in the commerce of the country, and a consequent diminution of ordinary revenues from all commercial avenues. It is, however, a very gratifying fact to its friends, that the receipts of the Central Ohio Road have not fallen off in as great a ratio as those the railroads of the country generally, so that it shows relatively a gain. This is, doubtless, owing largely to the vigilance, forecast, and judicious management of President Jewett, whose earnest efforts and unquestioned ability-aided by an excellent corps of general officers and agents-are re-establishing, very rapidly, the original confidence felt by its friends in this enterprise.

The Fifth Annual Report of the Company, by President Sullivan, uses the following language in relation to the business position of the road :

Every additional development in the rapidly changing character of the business relations of the country have only induced additional confidence in the strength of our position, and additional satisfaction with the location of the Central Ohio Road.

The intense activity and interest which the minds of our people manifest at this time in public works have already developed all the projects of Railroads for Ohio which are likely to be indicated for many years to come and more than can be built at this time. But amidst them all, between a fortunate combination of circumstances and the topography of the country north and south of our line there is no road yet projected, nor likely to be, that will abstract any important portion of our local trade ; whilst for through business our geographical position is such as to leave us without an even-handed competitor. We are aware that rival interests have endeavored to depreciate the value of our geographical position by a reference to the grades and curvature to which we shall be subjected for about thirty miles through the country of Belmont. The comparison of roads by their maximum grades is a very fallacious way of judging of value. A frequent succession of grades of 50 feet to the mile over a stretch of line of 20, 50 or a 100 miles in extent, is certainly much more objectionable than the occurrence of a grade of 76 feet to the mile at the passage of a single summit in a long line of road, especially if a large portion of the balance of the road is level, or practically so. The measure of objection upon the score of grades, if they be workable at all with a single



engine, is not the inclination of any particular plane so much as their frequency of occurrence and their disposition-their relation to each other. In view of this the distinguished engineer, Mr. Latrobe, introduced into the location of the Baltimore and Ohio Road maximum grades of 116 feet to the mile, instead of 80 feet to the mile, with less favorable "disposition." In the matter of curves we have no portion of our line, between Zanesville and the Ohio river, with such stringent curvature as some that exists upon the road between Zanesville and Newark, and yet the latter portion of the road we have run, under schedule, 35 miles per hour.

We have no hesitancy in expressing the belief that in alignment and grades our road and its affiliate lines south-westwardly, westward, and north-westerly, may claim at least an equality with the best lines radiating from Pittsburg and Wheeling, or branching from the Baltimore and Ohio Road ; whilst in lineal distance,-with the exception of the Parkersburg route between Baltimore and Cincinnati-it will be a part of the shortest line of communication between Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, in the East, and the capitals of Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri, and the cities of Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis, in the West. With reference even to the Parkersburg route from Baltimore we believe that the superiority of the Central line west of Zanesville, through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, in point of grades and curvature, over the route through the more broken region in the vicinity of the Ohio river, together with an exemption from the delay to which travel will be exposed in transfer through the city of Cincinnati, from the eastern to the western lines and a like exemption from the expense of transferring freights, will make the great Central route the favorite line of travel between St. Louis and Baltimore and Washington. As a preparatory for this result, an unbroken chain of railroads for the whole route is partly built or in process of construction, and will be soon complete. Taking up the line of our connections at Columbus, the Columbus and Xenia Road, by the instrumentality of the Xenia and Dayton Road, will be practically extended to Dayton. The Dayton and Western Railroad will be practically extended to the Indiana State line. From there the Indiana Central-(with which the Dayton and Western is consolidated)-will be complete to Indianapolis in the coming month of October. From Indianapolis to Terre Haute the road is in successful operation. From Terre Haute to Alton, on the Mississippi, within 25 miles of St. Louis, the whole line is under contract. For the construction of a road from Terre Haute to St. Louis direct, another Company is organized ; but with some legislative obstructions thrown in their way, by what is called "Illinois policy," they are yet delayed in their work. From Indianapolis another magnificent chain of roads stretching to St. Joseph's, on the Missouri, and all of which, except about 37 miles, are either built or under contract, lies under the same 40th parallel of north latitude, along which the Central Ohio and the Indiana Central Railways are laid.

These several interests we indicate as constituting the GRAND CENTRAL TRUNK LINE, which, taking into consideration either perfectness of relation to the east and west business of the country, fertility of soil, density of population or its affluence of general trade, is not now equalled in the valley of the Mississippi, and will never be surpassed.

It is needless to tax your patience with a list of the roads destined to be tributary to this great Arterial Line ; but a glance at the map of Ohio, with the various roads converging upon the central route, will show the propriety of the order which we have made to adjust our tunnels and masonry with a view to a double track.

But without confining its relations to the line of connections through Central Indiana to St. Louis, the Central Ohio Road may legitimately claim to form a medium of transit between the Ohio and Mississippi Road at Cincinnati, and the Baltimore and Ohio Road well as the southern route. The controlling question for both trade and travel, is not the comparative lineal distances upon respective competing routes ; but first, the character of the connections ; secondly, the character of the towns passed and the country traversed ; the accommodations upon the line, and the punctuality of the trains. In all these elements of just consideration, the Central Ohio Road is not surpassed by any road in the Valley of the Mississippi. The road is substantially built, the machinery superior and the accuracy with which the trains have been run upon it, has been the subject of special comment in the Postmaster-General's Report.

• H. J. JEWETT, President and General Superintendent.
• J. W. BALDWIN, Vice President.
• DANIEL APPLEGATE, Treasurer.
• WM. WING, Secretary and Auditor.
• JAMES BULL, Master Machinist and Assistant Superintendent.
• D. S. GRAY, Master of Transportatition and General Freight Agent.
• J. W. BROWN, General Ticket Agent.
• E. A. WILKES, Engineer and Master of Road.

THE RAILWAY CELEBRATIONS OF 1857.

CHAPTER IV.

INVITATIONS AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE EXCURSION TO Baltimore.

The idea of the excursion of the Western authorities to Baltimore and vicinity-as explained in the Introduction to this portion of our volume-having been once received, the arrangements that were necessary to perfect and carry it out, were initiated and undertaken by the president of the Baltimore and Ohio Road, and its Directors, Officers, and Agents.

0n the 6th of July, 1857, the President addressed the following communication to the Mayor of St. Louis ; similar formal invitations being also forwarded to the authorities of Cincinnati and Chillicothe. The Company's General Western Agent, John M. Sharp, was in the mean time actively co-operating in extending its courtesies-with those of the uniting roads, the Little Miami and Central Ohio-among such of the Cincinnatians as were expected to participate in the affair.

Besides the authorities proper, many of the most distinguished and public-spirited of the citizens of the western towns were invited, but it was found that the hurry and consequent want of formality incident to the short interval first fixed at Cincinnati for the visit, prevented many of them from accompanying the excursion.

President's Office, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, } BALTIMORE, July 6, 1857.

Hon. JOHN M. WIMER, Mayor St. Louis :

Sir-This Company, as a faint acknowledgment of the generous manner in which the authorities and citizens of St. Louis welcomed its representatives



upon the occasion of the late celebration of the opening of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, respectfully tenders to you, and also, through you to the City Councils of St. Louis, a cordial invitation to pass over its roads to Baltimore and Washington, at such time as may be best suited to your convenience.

We have the assurance of the intermediate lines of railroad, that it will be equally agreeable to them to extend the freedom of their respective portions of the through line which unites us with St. Louis.

It has been intimated to us that the authorities of Cincinnati propose accepting a similar invitation for the 16th instant.

If agreeable to you and your associates in authority, to join them at that time, we shall be glad to hear from you at the earliest moment, so that we can promptly make the necessary arrangements for the trip.

We have heard very general expressions of a desire upon the part of our citizens, that they might have an opportunity to welcome you to Baltimore, and also are advised that our municipal authorities are likely to add their official civilities in some earnest form.

Awaiting your response, I remain Your obedient servant,

C. BROOKS, President.

To this invitation, Mr. Brooks received the following answer by return mail, having previously heard from the Cincinnati and Chillicothe authorities through the Company's General Travelling Agent at the West.

Mayor's Office, ST. LOUIS, July 10, 1857.

Hon. C. BROOKS, President of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Baltimore:

Sir-Your kind invitation to the authorities of this city to pass over your road, has been received and accepted. A large portion of the City Council will avail themselves of the opportunity thus presented of visiting your city.

Very respectfully,

JOHN M. WIMER, Mayor.

It having been definitely ascertained that the authorites of St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Chillicothe had accepted the invitation extended by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the city authorities of Baltimore prepared to take their appropriate part in the ceremonies of reception and entertainment. Hon. Thomas Swann, Mayor of the city-who was himself the President of the Baltimore and Ohio Road for five of the most eventful years of its history-addressed the Council, then in session, on the subject, and appropriate action was promptly taken. A resolution was adopted inviting the authorities of the three western cities named, to become the guests of the city of Baltimore during their



stay ; appropriate executive and supervisory committees were appointed, and all the necessary arrangements made for giving the City's guests the whole-hearted Maryland welcome. Mayor Swann sent by telegraph the following invitation to the Mayors of St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Chillicothe.

Mayor's Office, City Hall, BALTIMORE, July 13, 1857.

I am authorized by the authorities of the city of Baltimore to invite you most cordially to become the guests of our city on your arrival here by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, on the 18th instant. We trust that your city authorities will be fully represented.

THOMAS SWANN, Mayor.

On the same day Mayor Swann forwarded the annexed dispatch to Govs. Henry A. Wise, Richmond, Virginia ; T.W. Ligon, at An-napolis, Maryland ; Salmon P. Chase, at Columbus, Ohio; Ashbel P. Willard, at Indianapolis, Indiana ; Wm. H. Russell, at Springfield, Illinois ; and Hancock Jackson, at Jefferson City, Missouri.

Mayor's Office, City Hall, BALTIMORE, July 13, 1857.

I am instructed by the city authorities of Baltimore, to invite you to participate in the ceremonies attendant upon the reception of the corporate authorities of St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Chillicothe, by the city of Baltimore, on the 18th instant. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and its associate lines will send you travelling tickets for the excursion in due season. Please reply early.

THOMAS SWANN, Mayor.

On the 15th, mayor Swann received a number of letters and dispatches in reply to those he forwarded on the 13th. Gov. Ligon, of Maryland, in a brief note, expressed his thanks for the invitation, and concluded thus :

Having been much indisposed for a week or ten days past, and having at present a very sick child, I can hardly expect to be in Baltimore on either of the days during the sojourn of your guests in the city, but if not prevented by either of these causes, I will endeavor to be with you on Monday for the banquet ceremonies to your city's guests.

Richmond, Virginia, July, 13,1857.

To THOS. SWANN, ESQ., Mayor of Baltimore:

Dear Sir-I have the honor to acknowledge your dispatch of today, inviting me, in the name of the city authorities of Baltimore, to participate in the ceremonies of receiving the corporate authorities of St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Chillicothe by the city of Baltimore, on the 18th inst. I beg you to accept my acknowledgment of this compliment, and to assure the city authorities of Baltimore that I would take great pleasure in accepting their invitation, but



the urgency of my duties and the state of my health will not allow me to partake of their hospitality, as they propose.-You have my most hearfelt interest in the great works which link you with the cities whose corporate authorities are to be your honored guests, and I tender to you all, sir, my sincere congratulations. I trust that this is but the beginning of lines to connect the East and West as far south as the Chesapeake bay, and that every year, for many to come, shall call us to celebrate the completion of new national union and thought.

With my thanks to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and its associate lines, for their tender of tickets for the excursion, I am, with the highest respect,

Your obedient servant,

HENRY A. WISE.

Telegram to the Railroad Company.

CINCINNATI,July 15.

Gov. Chase, of Ohio, and suite, have accepted, and will certainly be in Baltimore. Gov. Willard, of Indiana, has been compelled to decline. Nothing definite has yet been heard of the other governors invited. The Chamber of Commerce of Cincinnati will send a committee. One hundred and twenty-five excursionists left St. Louis this evening. On their arrival here they will be the guests of the city of Cincinnati. Mr. Coleman, of the Burnet House, has invited the the entire party to dine at that establishment to-morrow. The authorities of Chillicothe will meet the excursionists at Grafton.

Whilst the proposed excursion had been so happily suggested by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the officers of that corporation, in conjunction with the city authorities, had made the preliminary arrangements for the conveyance and reception of the guests, the people of Baltimore were eagerly waiting the moment that permitted their active co-operation. The acceptance of the invitation and the designation of the time at which the excursionists would start, permitted this, and the citizens were immediately called together to offer their assistance in giving to the occasion the impress of popular enthusiasm and approval.

Pursuant to a previous call numerously signed, a town meeing was held in the rotunda of the Baltimore Exchange, on the 13th July. On motion of Gen. Columbus O'Donnell, S. Owings Hoffman, State Senator, was called to the chair, and upon motion of Dr. H. Willis Baxley, W. Pinckney Whyte was chosen Secretary.

The President stated the object of the meeting to be to make preparation for an extension, by the merchants and citizens generally, of the hospitalities of the city to the representatives of the cities of St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Chillicothe.

John W. Garrett nominated Wm. McKim. Enoch Pratt, Robert R. Kirkland, Thomas C. Jenkins, Albert Schumacher, Wm Crichton, Wm. f. Brune, Wm. D. Miller, and Wm. J. Albert for Vice Presidents of the meeting, and the nominations were unanimously confirmed.

The same the gentleman nominated Dr. H. Willis Baxley as Secretary, in addition to W. P. Whyte. This nomination was unanimously confirmed.

Gen. O'Donnell offered the following preamble and resolutions, which were adopted (the number of the Financial Committee, fifteen, is an amendment offered by Gen. O'Donnell, the number first named being smaller. The appointment of two committees, one of finance and one of arrangements, was suggested by Dr. Baxley):

"Whereas, It has been announced to this meeting of the citizens of Baltimore, representing all classes, social, commercial, and mechanical, that the corporate authorities of our sister cities, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Chillicothe, together with the Governors of several States of our Union, and a number of prominent and distinguished citizens of the West, purpose making a visit to this city on the 18th inst.; and

"Whereas, Apart from the social and commercial ties which have so long bound us together, the citizens of Baltimore feel that they have a return to make for the generous hospitalities extended to them during the late celebration of the great American central line of railroad, connecting, by a continuous chain, the waters of the Chesapeake and Mississippi:

"Resolved, That a grand banquet, to take place at the Maryland Institute, on Monday next, the 20th inst., be given by the citizens of Baltimore, in honor of their distinguished guests.

"Resolved, That a financial committee of fifteen be appointed by the Chair, to procure the necessary subscriptions; an executive committee of three, to make the arrangements, in conjunction with the city authorities and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, to carry out the purposes of this meeting in a manner creditable to the character of our city, and worthy the distinguished guests who propose to honor us by their presence, and to act in concert with our public authorities, in contributing to their comfort and entertainment during their sojourn among us.

"Resolved, That a committee of fifteen be appointed by the Chair, to act in concert with the committee appointed by the corporate authorities of our city, and the committee of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, to proceed to some point on the line of the Balitmore and Ohio Railroad, to extend to the invited guests a cordial weclome on the part of the citizens of Baltimore."

The President, expressing a desire that the meeting should know what arrangements the city had made, Mayor Swann spoke in support of the resolutions.

He said that he had come there merely as a citizen, to take part in devising measures suitable to the occasion ; but in support of the resolutions, he would say that the city authorities had been actively engaged, for two days past, in making arrangements for the reception of the visitors. He understood that, in the celebration which took place on a recent occasion, the citizens of St. Louis and Cincinnati bore a prominent part in the proceedings attendant on that great jubilee. The city council had appointed a committee, with full power to make arrangements which would be of a character corresponding with the character of the city, be received on the part of the city by the military and other associations, and with the receptions at St. Louis and Cincinnati.

On the arrival of the visitors at the Camden station, Baltimore, they will be received on the part of the city by the military and other associations, that may think proper to unite in the reception. They will parade through the streets, so as to give them a just view of the improvements going on, and which we think are such as to give them a proper idea of our position as a sea-port. They will proceed to the Hall of the Maryland Institute, where they will be received by the corporate authorities. It will then be late, and they will be conducted to their hotels, and rest till evening. At night there will be a display of fireworks in Monument Square. On Monday night there will be a banuet at the Maryland Institute, in which it is designed that the citizens generally, without distraction, shall participate. For that object, in part, this meeting had been called. He hoped that the spirit manifested would be creditable to the city, and commensurate with our mercantile connection with the West.

On this occasion, the first which has been afforded to the citizens of Baltimore to manifest their feeling towards the West, a spirit should be manifested which would justify our claim to a position as one of the leading cities on the seaboard.

The resoluion were then carried unanimously.

On motion, the President of the meeting was made Chairman of the Committee of Reception.

The following gentlemen composed the respective committees, on the part of the citizens :-

• WM. J. ALBERT,
• CHARLES M. KEYSER,
• DR. H. WILLIS BAXLEY.

• Laurence Thompson,
• Henry M. Warfield,
• Joseph H. Rieman,
• Wm. Gilmor,
• J.J. Turner,
• Dr. J. Hanson Thomas
• C. Oliver O'Donnell,
• Z. Collins Lee,
• Wm. Devries,
• R. M. Kirkland,
• C. D. Slinghuff,
• Wm. H. Keighler,
• Wm. E. Mayhew, Jr.,
• Wm. Gil. Meredith,
• G. A. Henderson.

• S. Owings Hoffman,
• J. Morrison Harris,
• Jacob Trust,
• Moore N. Falls,
• W.H. Young,
• Geo. P. Kane,
• Beale H. Richardson,
• Robert A. Dobbin,
• W. H. Graham,
• Wm. T. Walters,
• Galloway Cheston.
• Wm. Pinkney Whyte,
• A. S. Abell,
• A. Kennedy,
• C. C. Jamieson,
• Wm. Chesnut,

The Committee of Arrangements appointed by the City Council met on the evening of the 13th, at the Mayor's office. At this meeting the Railroad Company was represented by Messrs. Garrett, Vansant, and Turner-a special committee of its Directors. A large number of the members of both branches of the City Council were also present.

Mayor Swann presided, and Mr. Siedenstricker acted as Secretary.

The Mayor suggested that the members of the Council resolve themselves into a committee of the whole, whose duty it would be to receive the visitors at the depot, and make them at home-the members of the Council to be designated by a badge.

Mr. Vansant said that the Railroad Company would be very happy if the members of the Council would go up the road with the committee which is to meet the visitors. In reply to this, Mr. Siedenstricker said it would be inexpedient, as the presence of the members would be needed in the city.

It was arranged, however, that a joint committee of the Councils should leave Baltimore on Friday morning, to meet the visitors at Cumberland, 180 miles distant.

Messrs. Forrest, Wilson, and Tidy were appointed a committee to secure the Maryland Institute, and to retain the galleries of the Hall for the exclusive use of the ladies.

The Chief Marshal was authorized to procure music.

Many other details were provided for before the meeting adjourned.

The annexed very courteous and creditable letter was received by the President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, on the 15th July, from the President of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad Company, viz.:

Office Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore R. R. Co.,} PHILADELPHIA, July 14, I857.

CHAUNCY BROOKS, ESQ., President Balt. and Ohio R. R.,

Dear Sir-Having understood that the City Councils of Cincinnati, and St. Louis, and Chillicothe, are about to visit Baltimore, as the guests of your Company and your city, I have thought that perhaps it might be agreeable for them to visit this city, and I therefore, through you, tender them a free passage over our road to Philadelphia and return to Baltimore. I regret exceedingly that I am obliged to be absent, to fulfil an engagement made some time since, and that I shall be thus deprived of the pleasure of meeting you and them. Will you also tender to the committee of your Company, and your City Councils, an invitation to accompany their guests to Philadelphia and return.

Yours truly,

S.M. [FELTON]

Besides the above, invitations were thus early tendered by the liberal President of the magnificent Bay Line of Steamers, running between Baltimore, Norfolk, and Portsmouth, through George R. Vickers, one of its Directors, for the guests to visit those cities, and enjoy the pleasures incidental to the summer trip of their splendid boats.

Invitations to visit the city of Washington were also in contemplation, and the most ample preparations made, to extend the largest and most general hospitalities to the expected guests.

RAILWAY CELEBRATIONS OF 1857.

CHAPTER V.

THE TRIP FROM ST. LOUIS AND CINCINNATI TOWARDS BALTIMORE.

The guests from St. Louis, representing the authorities, as well as the commercial and social worth of that great Western emporium, left the city on the evening of the 15th of July, en route for Cincinnati, over the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad. The interest which the the St. Louis People felt in this then recently opened road, heightened their interest in the excursion generally ; and to many of them, who were then to make their first transit over what is by them regarded as, par excellence, the St. Louis Railroad, every mile of this great highway between the two principal Western rivers had its suggestions of a great accomplished work, from which the enterprise of their city was to reap the greatest benefits. And the road is worthy of the enthusiasm which its completion originated.

Starting from the Illinois side of the Mississippi, it intersects five independent Railroads ere it reaches the Ohio at Cincinnati, namely : the Illinois Central Railroad to Cairo, on the south and northward to Chicago and the entire north-west ; the Evansville and Terre Haute Railroad to Evansville ; the New Albany and Salem Railroad to New Albany, Indiana ; the Jeffersonville Railroad, from Indianapolis to Louisville ; the Madison and Indianapolis, running, to those cities. Thus, for its entire distance, it may emphatically be called an Ohio and Mississippi Valley improvement. Looking at this road in this aspect, it derives a double importance and value, for it is generally conceded the Ohio River is really the great origin and generator of all the commercial business on the two hundred thousand square miles which constitute the area drained by that river, an area large enough



to be, and which is, actually occupied by five large and prosperous States.

Previous to leaving St. Louis, the guests who had accepted the invitation, were each provided with a ticket, by Mr. John M. Sharp, the Western Travelling Agent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, who had been charged with this duty for want of time to undertake greater formalities on the part of his Company. These tickets-which were fully recognized by the Ohio and Mississippi Company-bore on one side the following words:

GREAT NATIONAL RAILWAY EXCURSION!

COMPOSED OF THE
LITTLE MIAMI, CENTRAL OHIO,
AND
BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROADS

Pass_______________________________________________
?This Ticket is good until August 1, 1857.

JACOB STRADER, President L. M. R. R. E. FASSETT, President C. O. R. R.
C. BROOKS, President B. & O. R. R.
J. M. SHARP, General Western Agent.

July 10th, 1857.

?Conductors will make one punch going, and one returning, opposite the name of their road.

Endorsed S. M. Cole,
General Ticket Agent, B. and Ohio Railroad

On the reverse side of this ticket was inscribed:

The following roads have agreed to pass the parties named thereon over their respective roads :

• LITTLE MIAMI,
• CENTRAL OHIO,
• BALTIMORE AND OHIO.

Excursionists wishing to go further East than Baltimore, will be furnished other tickets in that city.

Excursionists leave St. Louis on the evening or the 15th inst.

" " Cincinnati on the evening of the 16th inst.

Fortified with these talismanic pieces of pasteboard-which opened their way alike to railway cars, cities, and the hearts of the people who were eagerly expecting their visit-the St. Louis guests, as we



have before stated, left that city on the evening of Wednesday, the 15th of July, and, after a pleasant night's ride, reached Cincinnati in due course next morning.

The annexed is a list of the excursionists from St. Louis, as far as they could be obtained at the time:

• C. R. ANDERSON,
• CHARLES H TILLSON,
• AMEDEE VALLE,
• Dr. E. M. POWERS,
• J. SEXTON, jr.,
• JOHN H. FISSE,
• C. L. COLMAN,
• CHARLES W. HORN,
• HENRY C. LYNCH,
• C. C. SIMMONS.

• J. R. DOBYNS,
• F. A. MCDONALD,
• DAVID MOORE,
• F. S. NELSON,
• FRED. BUSCHMAN,
• CONRAD DOLL,
• S. J. LEVI.

• JAMES WAUGH, Auditor's Office,
• J. J. BAKER, (Clerk of Board of Delegates),
• Dr. O. C. JOHNSON, Resident Physician of Hospital,
• JOS. M. MAGHAN,
• CHARLES ROGERS,
• WM. B. ORRICK,
• RICHARD F. BARRY,
• T. W. GILMER,
• AUG. W. LEWIS,
• THOMAS D. FORD,
• BERNARD CRICHER,
• WM. GROSHEN, (St. L. N. G.)
• LAFAYETTE WILSON,
• H. H. LINDELL,
• D. C. TUTTLE,
• J. W. JENKINS,
• JOHN FRANCISCO,
• GEORGE A. GOODLETT,
• WM. C. WILCOX,
• LIEUT. WALKER, U.S.A.
• CHARLES A. ELY,
• PETER MCQUEEN.

• JOSEPH E. ELDER,
• THOS. G. REYBURN,
• WM. WADE,
• J. B. S. LEMOINE,
• CHAS. ROGERS,
• PETER MCQUEEN.

• JAMES F. GEARY, Leader,
• GEO. L. POLLARD, "
• J. E. WALSCHIED, "
• CHAS. G. GONTER, Price Current,
• H. K. DAVIS, Democrat.
• P. P. FERGUSON, Herald.

• Capt. JOHN N. PRITCHARD, of St. Louis National Guard,
• CHARLES D. DRAKE,
• H. W. WILLIAMS,
• PAT'K E. BURK,
• Dr. J. T. TEMPLE,
• JAMES McDONOUGH,
• OLIVER GREEN,
• Dr. W. H. IANSEN,
• A GALLAGHER,
• G. W. TENILLE,
• Dr. C. W. SPALDING,
• M.W. WARNE,
• M. S. MEPHAM,
• EDWARD CHASE,
• L. R. WILSON,
• Wm. H. BARKSDALE,
• Wm. D. WOOD,
• WM. A. McLURE,
• R. J. DOWLING,
• JAMES HINCHCLIFF,
• JOHN Y. PAGE,
• Rev. Dr. ANDERSON,
• Professor WM. L. BAIRD.

The St. Louis excursionists were accompanied by Le Brun's brass band, attached to Captain Pritchard's noted company of St. Louis National Guards. The trip to Cincinnati was much enjoyed, the unusually large size of the new passenger-cars upon the Ohio and Mississippi Road, broad gauge track, affording peculiar comfort to the travellers. At Cincinnati they became the guests of the authorities of that city, and were hospitably entertained. By invitation of Mr. Coleman, the proprietor of the Burnet House, the authorities of both cities dined together at that famous Western Hotel. A very agreeable time was had at the Burnet, and all who participated will doubtless long remember the pleasurable event.

After viewing the sights at Cincinnati during the afternoon of the 16th, at an early hour in the evening the St. Louisians were escorted to the passenger station of the Little Miami Railroad, on Front street, where, with Baltimore's guests from Cincinnati-who had also gathered for the start-they embarked for Columbus.

The annexed is believed to be a nearly complete list of the guests from Cincinnati:

• Chas. Rule,
• DANL. COLLY,
• R.M. BISHOP,
• H. KIERSTEAD,
• S. B. HURST,
• W. H. GLASS,
• J. H. F. GROEVE,
• B. EGLESTON,
• H. BAETHERST,
• A. STUBB,
• JAS. KEENAN,
• D. HARRISON,
• THOS. H WEASNER,
• WM. PERRY,
• JOHN S. ROSS,
• THOS. MARSH,
• J. J. TORRENCE,
• J. WADSWORTH,
• J. F. HOLLISTER,
• G. W. SHAATS,
• THOS. GAINES,
• WM. HAMILTON.
• S. M. HURT.,
• J. J. FARAN, (ex-Mayor,)
• S. B. HULSE,
• S. SAWYER,
• J. M. BELL,
• P. HENNESSLY,
• FRANK MEEKER.
• J. M. BLUNDELL,
• J. H. NIETER,
• J. BROWN,
• Wm. WARD,
• ISAAC VOORHEES,
• J. KIERSTED,
• Judge JACOB FLINN,
• JOHN R. MORTON,
• WM. H. KERR,
• ADAM GEISS,
• A. W. CHURCHILL,
• L. J. SCHELL,
• W. B. LACEY,
• GEO. MATHERS,
• FRANK LYONS,
• J. A. O'CONNER,
• Dr. H SCHULTZ,
• Judge JAS. SAFFIN,
• CHAS. THOMAS,
• JNO. KINNEY,
• W. C. PRATT,
• P. J. MOORE,
• P. MCCABE,
• J. B. HOLMES,
• JNO. B. BELL,
• JNO. E. BELL,
• JAS. N. LINDSAY,
• R. B. MCCRACKEN,
• J. R. HALLAM,
• M. J. KING,
• SETH EVANS,
• ALEX. SWIFT,
• M.A. SLOUGH,
• WM. BROMWELL,
• WM. JUCHER,
• N. P. POOR,
• J. HARPEL
• JNO. G. JONES,
• M. B. COOMBS,
• F. D. BELL,
• G. H. HUSTER,
• S. C. GERARD,
• WM. H GOULD,
• JOHN BEATTIE,
• CHAS. B. SCHAFER,
• G. F. KOEHLER,
• Col. FRANK LINCK,
• HENRY GROTLENSE,
• R. C. HAZLEWOOD,
• ISAIAH ROGERS,
• JAS. MCCOY,
• M. CLEARY,
• OLVER BROWN,
• W.M. BURGOYNE,
• J. S. DESILVER,
• E. ROSS,
• E. A. FERGUSON,
• JOHN RIDEWAY,
• REV. SAML. J. BROWN.
• W. C. CRIPPEN, of Cincinnati Times,
• WM. P. GEE, Vincennes Gazette.
• H. H. ROBINSON, Cincinnati Enquirer,
• WASH, ARMSTRONG, " "
• RICHARD SMITH, " Gazette,
• JOS. A. FITCH, Dayton Enquirer,
• A. BURNETT,
• F. LINBURG, Volksfreund.
• R. B. MCCRACKEN,
• J. R. HALLAN,
• M. J. KING,
• All members of the City Council.

Mentor's splendid brass band accompanied the Cincinnatians, and proved themselves to be a most excellent addition to the excursion.

Leaving Cincinnati, the excursionists progressed over the Little Miami Railroad, with all the comfort usual to passengers in these days, when railroad travelling has-and especially on this excellent line-reached toward the perfection of locomotion, and with the added enjoyment that was natural to a party so full of pleasurable anticipations. Before reaching Columbus a delay, provoking in itself, but affording occasion for a roadside episode, occurred. About midnight some portion of the machinery about the locomotive gave out, and an enforced halt followed, in the midst of thick woods, until a new engine could be procured. The fact that the detention might last several hours, was no sooner ascertained, than a space in the woods was cleared, a ball-room extemporized, the music of the bands put in requisition, and the pleasures of the dance enjoyed with all the zest that the addenda of such unusual surroundings could impart to it. The detention was thus beguiled of its tediousness, and, with the sun of the bright summer morn, a fresh locomotive replaced the disabled machinery, and, all in their places in the train, they were quickly on the way toward Columbus, the capital of the State of Ohio, and the Eastern terminus of the Little Miami Railroad. At this point the excursionists were joined by the following named gentlemen of that city, Gov. Chase and his suite having preceded the train, for a more leisurely trip to Baltimore:

• W. T. BASCOMB, O. S. Journal,
• J. GREINER, Columbus Gazette,
• W. DENNISON, Jr., Pres. C. &. X. R. R.
• R. NEVINS, O. Statesman.

At Columbus the excursionists were transferred to the Central Ohio Railroad, extending 137 miles eastward, through the most fertile part of Ohio, intersecting the cities of Columbus, Newark, Zanesville, and Cambridge, in its course, and connecting at Bellaire, Ohio, opposite Benwood, in Virginia, with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The



train was in charge of Conductor Marrow, one of the oldest upon the road. Leaving Columbus, the line passes through the level table-land of this part of Ohio, exhibiting on every side a fertility of soil and a plenitude of agricultural wealth that charms the eye, and in an almost straight line reaches Newark, 33 miles distant. Newark is pleasantly located, in a populous agricultural region, and is a place of some manufacturing importance. The Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark Railroad, running from Sandusky City, on Lake Erie, here intersects the Central Ohio Railroad, and gives it a connection with North-west Ohio and beyond. The Steubenville and Indiana Railroad also terminates here, and connects at Steubenville with the Ohio River road to Pittsburg. From Newark, twenty-six miles' progress brought the train to Zanesville, the county seat of Muskingum, one of the richest counties in Ohio, embracing in its area the valleys of the Muskingum and Licking rivers, which have their confluence at that point, and abound with mineral and agricultural advantages. The city has a population of about 18,000, and is a neat, well built, and prosperous place. At Zanesville the following citizens of that place were added to the Eastern bound guests:

• Rev. S. J. COX,
• W. H. BALL,
• Dr. A. BALL,
• S. H. KAUFFMAN, Zanesville Courier,
• A. R. CASSIDY,
• JOHN HAYNES,
• JOHN Q. LANE,
• JAS. P. BARTON.

An hour's ride from Zanesville, through the fertile Leatherhead Valley, brought the train to the ancient town of Cambridge, situated at the crossing of the old National Turnpike Road over Wills' Creek. For many miles on each side of Cambridge, the Central Railroad runs close to and parallel with the National Road ; and the view of this early national effort to open a communication between the seaboard and the West, naturally suggested comparisons between the railroad and the wagon, as types of the past and present progress of the country. From Cambridge the Central Ohio Road continues its course for fifty miles through a rich, rolling country, the agricultural features of which, its richness of soil, abundance of heavy timber, and large herds of stock, will always arrest and gratify the eye of the traveller.

The interest and pleasure of the excursionists gave an impetus to time, that appeared to compete in rapidity with the flight of the locomotive, and by two o'clock, P. M., the fertile state of Ohio had been



crossed, and the train drew up at the expanding town of Bellaire, on the west bank of the Ohio-the guests congratulating themselves that, notwithstanding the delay beyond Columbus, they were still on time to pass a part of the grand mountain path of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in daylight.

At this point the excursionists were met by Chauncy Brooks, president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company,accompanied by Wendel Bollman, Road-master, Col. J. B. Ford, agent at Wheeling, and other officers of the company. After they had left the cars, they were welcomed by Mr. Brooks, in remarks to the following effect:

GENTLEMEN OF THE WEST-REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CITIES OF ST. LOUIS AND CINCINNATI:-As President oF the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, it is my pleasant duty to welcome you at this point of your progress toward the east. It will he our agreeable office to take you in charge, and endeavor to promote your enjoyment, until we resign the task to the authorities and citizens of Baltimore. They, I know, are prepared to welcome you warmly, entertain you hospitably, and surround you with all the attractions and courtesies which may be in their power.

Leaving the cars on the west bank of the Ohio, the excursionists were transferred to the Railroad ferry-steamboat, gayly ornamented with flags, in honor of the occasion, and quickly landed on the Virginia side. Here two trains of cars were in waiting for their accommodation, in the charge of the following officers of the Baltimore and Ohio Company : Joseph Brown, General Supervisor of Trains ; Geo. A. Rawlings and E. T. Petticord, conductors. The time already lost rendered despatch advisable, and in a very brief period all were in the cars, and the train started eastward. The bright rays of a summer afternoon's sun gave light and glory to the scene, as the trains swiftly passed Moundsville-with its classic mound-Cameron, Welling Tunnel, and other places of interest, and pproached the western slope of the Alleghanies. The excursionists enjoyed with extreme gratification the constant calls for examination and admiration which the grand characteristics of the scenery by which they were surrounded, made upon them. the Great Board Tree Tunnel, 4O miles from Wheeling, where numerous workmen were engaged in putting in the permanent stone arching, attracted much attention from the fact of its being the scene of Mr. Engineer Latrobe's original triumph in crossing great elevations with locomotive and cars, by means of a series of steep inclines, called Y's. The guests generally, however, were hardly aware that at this spot they were but











THE ORIGINAL TERMINUS OF THE BALTIMORE & OHIO RAILROAD. The Railway Station appears on the Bank of the Ohio, and the Wire Suspension bridge in the middle ground.



MOUNDSVILLE, ON THE BALTIMORE & OHIO R. R. AND OHIO RIVER, 12 MILES BELOW EHEELING.





two thousand feet from from the south-west angle of the great State of Pennsylvania. The approach to the Monongahela River, above the beautiful towns of Fairmont and Palatine, with the picturesque wire suspension bridge uniting them, excited the general surprise of the excursionists. The great 620 foot iron bridge, too, by which the railroad crosses the Monongahela, a mile east of Fairmont, was pointed out as a remarkably strong and beautiful structure. The views along the Tygart's Valley River, between the Monongahela and Grafton, for twenty miles, with the "Valley River Falls," were among the objects most admired, so far, upon the route.

The excursionists might-perhaps some of them did-exclaim :

• Singing through the forests,
• Rattling over ridges,
• Shooting tinder arches,
• Rumbling over bridges,
• Whizzing through the mountains,
• Buzzing o'er the vale,
• Bless me! this is pleasant,
• Riding on the RAIL.

The shades of evening were just closing in, as the shrill whistle of the iron horse announced that the excursion trains were approaching Grafton. The deep-voiced artillery thundered forth its welcome, joined with the joyful shouts of the population. On the platform were assembled Alexander Manafee, the Mayor of Grafton, and the corporate authorities, Dr. Charles F. Stansbury, of Washington, Messrs. W. P. Smith, D. P. Rennie, and John L. Wilson, assistant masters of the three departments of transportation, machinery, and road respectively, Mr. Thomas, editor of Appletons' Railway Guide, Mr. I. D. Barton, reporter of the BaltimoreClipper, Mr. Thos. D. Sultzer, the representative of the BaltimorePatriot, and nearly the entire population of Grafton, male and female.

The train halted only about half an hour, and after the exchange of congratulations, the entire party, numbering not less than four hundred persons, sat down to a most excellent and bountiful entertainment, prepared by Mr. Horace Resley, the proprietor of the new and beautiful Railroad Hotel, at the instance of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. By the time the hungry travellers had fully satisfied their appetites, sharpened by their protracted delay on the road, whistle of the engine summoned "all aboard," and amid the firing of cannon, the waving of flags, and the shouts of the people, the



excursionists took their departure eastward, accompanied by the gentlemen who came up on Thursday evening from Baltimore, to meet the trains at this point.

Though the delay of the excursionists, by the detention beyond Columbus, had altered the arrangements for their transmission over the Baltimore and Ohio Road, yet no further delay was permitted to occur on that account. Through the admirable system of numerous telegraph-stations, in use on the road, the experienced Master of Transportation at Baltimore, Dr. W. S. Woodside, and other officers of Company, were kept informed throughout the day of the exact movements of the trains, and such arrangements immediately made, as enabled them to prepare for the excursionists a clear track.

The guests from Chillicothe arrived at Grafton by the north-western Virginia, or Parkersburg Branch Railroad train, at half-past eight o'clock on Thursday evening, the 16th July. They left Chillicothe at nine in the morning, by the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad, and on the arrival of the train at Scott's Landing, on the Ohio River, embarked on board the favorite connecting ferry steamer John Buck, for Parkersburg, and thence to Grafton, as above stated. The gentlemen from Chillicothe were :

• EDWARD ADAMS, Mayor of the city.
• SENECA W. ELY, President.
• M. ARMOUR,
• M. SCHILDER,
• JOSEPH SANDFORD,
• A. PIERSON,
• M. LEWIS,
• M. E. GILMORE,
• WM. WELSH,
• WILLIAM B. FRANKLIN.
• HENRY M. PINTO, Recorder City Council.
• G. S. BAKER, City Marshal, and
• A. BLACKER, City Solicitor.

These gentlemen, in consequence of the delay in the arrival of the excursion trains, were sent on to Cumberland, in the Wheeling and Cumberland accommodation train, which duly arrived at Grafton shortly after noon, and they thus had ample opportunity of witnessing some of the most picturesque and interesting portions of the road,-lying between Grafton and Cumberland-by daylight.

On leaving Grafton, several of the guests, representatives of the Western press, with the disposition of their profession to keep a good look-out, took positions on the engines, and from their novel elevation enjoyed with additional zest the grand scenery which passed in review, as the



locomotives pursued their devious but securely solid way up the mountain ; winding now along its side, anon thundering through the stone arched tunnels, that pierced its summits, and then crossing its ravines, over superstructures on which the art of the engineer had lavished the strength and solidarity, almost, of the rock-ribbed hills to which they joined the iron path.

As the trains, having successfully scaled the mountain on the eleven-mile grade from Cheat River Valley at Rowlesburg, and passing Cranbury summit, drew up at Oakland, on the Glades, a pleasantly designed and tastefully executed welcome greeted the guests. The entire front of the hotel, a favorite summer resort, was brilliantly illuminated, and the portico decorated with a display of flags. Guns were fired, cheers given, and the large number of ladies at that time temporarily sojourning at this pleasant mountain home, appeared on the platform, and, by their pleasant greetings, bright smiles, and waving handkerchiefs, sent the excursionists on their way with the pleasantest recollections of this welcome on the mountain. A susceptible young gentleman, as the train left, was detected making ardent manifestations of love to one of the ladies, whom he has since put in print as being "fairer than the fairest, arrayed in spotless white, and who will ever linger in his memory, a bright vision of loveliness." Evidently he thought with the poet

• "Parting was such sweet sorrow
• He could say farewell, till it be morrow;"
but the locomotive had pangs of a different kind, and bore him relentlessly away.

The grand scenery of this entire region of mountains and valleys, from Kingwood Tunnel to Cumberland-a distance of some seventy-five or eighty miles-was almost entirely lost to the travellers by reason of the darkness of the night. The Cheat River and Piedmont Grades were especially hidden from the view.

The gentlemen from Chillicothe, who went down to Cumberland by the regular train, were the only ones of the party who were enabled to enjoy the hospitalities of the people of Cumberland. The Baltimore Council Committee, Messrs. Kirk, Ford and Hynes, and Messrs. Vansant, Brinkley, and other Directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, were in attendance, to show the Chillicothe guests every attention Possible. The entire party partook of a sumptuous entertainment at the hospitable mansion of Col. J. H. Tucker, the former mayor of the city, during the evening. The lateness of the hour at



which the excursion trains arrived, prevented the great bulk of the guests from enjoying a fine supper prepared at the Revere House, at the instance of the Railroad Company. As the trains came rushing in at 1 A. M., they were saluted with salvos of artillery and the cheers of the assembled citizens. Even at that late hour flags were seen dis-played in many quarters. After a brief stay, the trains were again put in motion.

At this point the guests were each furnished with the following circular :-

PROCEEDINGS ON THE ROAD, AND ORDER OF RECEPTION AT Baltimore.

The excursonists after dining at Grafton, on Friday the 17th instant, will proceed thence to Cumberland, where they will sup. At Cumberland they will be received by a Committee of Escort appointed by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore and the Directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

Each visitor will be furnished with a Badge, which he will attach to the lapel of his coat, and wear during his sojourn in our city as a distinguishing mark. Each State and City delegation, in order to facilitate the arrangements entered into for their reception, will please select one of their number for a Marshal, who, it is courteously requested, will furnish the Committee of Escort with a complete list of the names of the members of his delegation. This measure is essential to the avoidance of confusion and delay upon the arrival of the trains at Baltimore.

Special guests will also oblige by reporting their names to the Committee before leaving Cumberland.

Before leaving Cumberland it is desirable and important that all baggage,of every description, remaining unchecked, shall be put in charge of the Baggage Master, who will give the owner Baltimore checks.

After leaving Cumberland, the Committee on the part of the City Council will go through the train, assigning each guest his quarters at Baltimore, and furnish tickets indicating the hotel in which the are to be respectively placed. Following the Committee of the City Council,a Baggage Master will collect from each guest his check or checks, and deliver the baggage at the hotel which the owner is assigned. This will ensure comfort and order in advance.

The trains will arrive at the Washington Junction on Saturday, the 18th instant, at 8 o'clock, A. M., and time given to breakfast at the Relay House, and there make preparations for entering the city, leaving the Washington Junction at 9.45 and arriving in Baltimore at 10.15. On the arrival of the excursion train at Baltimore, the visiting guests will retain their seats in the cars a few moments, preserving their State and City organizations, when they will be escorted in carriages by the military and firemen to the great Hall of the Maryland Institute, where they will be formally received by the Mayor and city authorities.

At the conclusion of the reception ceremonies, the guests will return to their carriages and be conveyed to their respective hotels. In the evening a grand display of Fireworks will be given in honor of the guests, at Monument



Square by the city. On Monday afternoon the Grand Banquet by the citizens of Baltimore will take place at the Hall of the Maryland Institute.


J. H. HYNES,
SAM'L KIRK,
JNO. T. FORD, Committee of Escort on the part of the City Council of Baltimore.
JOSHUA VANSANT,
JOHN W. GARRETT,
ROBERT TURNER, Committee of Escort on the part of the Baltimore & Ohio R.R. Co. ? The attention of the guests is respectfully called to the foregoing requests of the Committees.

As the trains left Martinsburg and entered upon the last hundred miles that separated them from Baltimore,
• -The sun had in the lap
• Of Thetis taken out his nap,
• And like a lobster boiled, the morn
• From black to red began to turn.
In more matter of fact prose it was sunrise, and the bright rays of the the luminary revealed grace and beauty in the landscape, whilst it roused the excursionists and bade them prepare for the reception awaiting at the end of their nearly accomplished journey. In reference to this part of the excursion, the intelligent reporter for the Baltimore Patriot made the following full notice, in that journal, of one of the new passenger train locomotives put upon the Baltimore and Ohio Road.

The excursion train left Martinsburg at 4 o'clock in the morning, and was drawn over the first division of the road by a new and splendid engine recently placed upon the road, and bearing the high number of "232." This engine is of the largest class used for passenger trains, (except the heavy ten-wheelers for the mountain grades,) and was built for the Company by the Messrs. Mason, of Taunton, Mass., several of whose machines of a smaller class have been running for more than a year upon the Washington Branch Road. Independent of the striking appearance of this engine, from its size, apparent strength, and beautiful finish, the reader will, no doubt, be willing to learn some interesting facts concerning its practical advantages. It is well known that the most expensive item in the practical working of locomotives is fuel. The ordinary consumption of wood by first-class passenger engines in this hundred-mile run, between Martinsburg and Baltimore, is about four cords. This requires, as a rule, a special stoppage of the passenger train of four or five minutes above the Monocacy Junction, in order to "wood up." Upon this engine, however, the run is made with the consumption of but two and a half cords of wood, which being less than the capacity of its tender, entirely dispenses with the stoppage



for renewed supply. Although this reduced quantity of fuel is consumed, the engine has no lack of steam, but seems equal to a more enlarged task even than hauling the heavy train which contains the great throng of Baltimore guests.

Without enlarging too much upon these practical details, the subject is of such paramount importance in railway economy, that I have made a careful calculation, to show the actual advantages presented in this seemingly model locomotive. In the first place, the cost of wood used between Martinsburg and Baltimore is said to average $3.80 per cord, when prepared for the locomotive. The quantity consumed by the engines for the round trip of 200 miles is, say eight cords, while, as I have stated, by the engine it is but five cords, being a saving of three cords, $11.40. The number of round trips made by the passenger engines during the year is about 150, by which it is evident that the total saving of wood reaches, in the course of a year, the large quantity of 450 cords, with the attendant reductio of $1,710. Assuming that there are twenty engines of this general character in use upon the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the saving to that Company would reach the enormous figure of $34,200 in this one particular of its working expenses. With regard to the consumption of oil, the same economy is effected in the use of this engine, there being but little more than half the usual quantity required for its supply. The saving in this item of running expenses is roundly estimated at the minimum of one gallon, costing $1.30 for the round trip of 200 miles, amounting to the sum of $195 for a year's operation for each engine. I learn that this estimate is fully verified by the Company's experience with the same make of engines on the Washington Branch. Besides the foregoing invaluable features, the engineers inform me, that owing to the substantial and careful manner in which the several parts of these machines are made and adapted to each other, the cost of keeping in repair is also very materially reduced. Having no opportunity upon my trip to obtain reliable data upon this point, I am not enabled to say what the advantage therein realizes to the Railroad Company in dollars and cents. I can only add, in this connection, the general remark, that No. "232" is evidently a tip-top No. 1 passenger locomotive, and will, no doubt, prove its efficiency in adding to the already good repu-tation of the road for prompt, safe, and regular running.

At Monocacy station-the Frederick Junction-the excursionists were received with another of the pleasant manifestations of welcome that had enlivened their progress at all the principal points on the Baltimore and Ohio Road. A large number of ladies and gentlemen had come out from Frederick City-three miles distant by the branch road-in a special train, and were prepared to greet the guests right heartily. Flags and banners decorated the platform, and the firing of guns and hearty huzzas mingled in a cheerful chorus as the trains






SHOWING THE GREAT IRON BRIDGE BY WHICH THE BALTIMORE & OHIO RAILROAD CROSSES THE FORMER, NEAR FAIRMONT, 307 MILES FROM Baltimore. THE GAS COAL MINES APPEAR IN THE FOREGROUND.









drew up, whilst the bright faces and waving handkerchiefs of the ladies gave the zest of female sympathies to the scene. The momentary stoppage of the trains afforded an opportunity to repay these courtesies with some fine music, and with three hearty cheers for the ladies of Frederick, the Junction was left behind in the onward progress towards Baltimore. At this point Col. Edward Shriver, Director on the part the State, in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and others, joined the company.

Speeding onward, the trains passed over Mount Airy, through Sykesville, Elysville, Ellicott's Mills, and other rural towns on the line of the road, at all of which there were some demonstrations of welcome. At Ellicott's Mills is located the extensive and celebrated fashionable Ladies' School of Mr. Archer, especially well known throughout the Southern States, as "The Patapsco Institute." The cheers of the people mingling with the "clash and clang" of the trains as they swept by, reminded the excursionts continually that while they were the guests of Baltimore specially, yet that the whole of Maryland was united in welcoming them to her soil.

At the Relay House, Washington Junction-nine miles from Baltimore-in accordance with the programme of arrangements, the guests were to halt for breakfast, and for the completion of the preparations necessary for their proper entry into the city. The Citizens' Committee of Reception and the Committee on the part of the Board of Trade, had proceeded from Baltimore to the Relay House at an early hour, and were in waiting there to perform their appropriate functions. These Committees consisted of the following gentlemen :

On the Part of the Citizens.-Messrs. S. Owings Hoffman, Wm. Pinkney Whyte, J. Morrison Harris, C. C. Jamieson, Robt. A. Dobbin, Beale H. Richardson, A. S. Abell, B. G. Hoffman, Wm. T. Young, George P. Kane.

On the Part of the Board of Trade.-Messrs. Wm. McKim, Robert Leslie, C.D. Hinks, Geo. H. Kyle, Alexander Riemon, and George U. Porter.

Shortly after eight o'clock the whistle of the locomotive was heard, and the two excursion trains, composed of fourteen cars, came in sight. The excursionists, tired with the travel of two successive nights, gladly learned that a brief halt for ablution and refreshments had been provided. Arrangements had been made to provide them with breakfast, and so far as the time allowed, and the accommodations at command would permit, this was accomplished. The ladies of the excursion 3



party were first provided for, and the tables were successively spread until all were provided. The guests were satisfied with the efforts made for their comfort, and mingling with the citizens of Baltimore gathered there to meet them, exchanged the greetings of welcome. In addition to the gentlemen present, officially charged with the reception of the guests, a number of Baltimoreans who had participated in the Western excursion, seized the opportunity to offer their earliest greeting to the visitors, and as they successively found among them those who, in Chillicothe, Cincinnati, and St. Louis, had met and entertained them with a hospitality so cordial and warm as to leave an enduring impression, salutations and handshakings were interchanged, the blithe greeting was everywhere heard, and jocund laughter added its notes to the general acclaim of welcome.

Before leaving the Relay House the guests were called together, and Col. S. Owings Hoffman, chairman of the Citizens' Committee, addressed them briefly to the following import:-

Wearied, dusty and uncomfortable as you are, after your journey, it would be unkind in us to detain you with any ceremony. Our purpose now is on behalf of the citizens generally to tender you a cordial welcome.The lavish kindness you of late extended to a portion of our citizens, not only created in the participants the kindliest feelings, but has animated our whole community with like regard And we thank you for the opportunity you thus afford them of reciprocating your generous hospitalities. You will now be conducted to the depot of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the city-there carriages will be in readiness to carry you through several of the leading thoroughfares to the Hall of the Maryland Institute, where you will be welcomed by Mayor Swann-Monday you will be entertained with a drill at the Fort by the Artillery-at six o'clock on the same day you will be expected to partake of a Banquet, and on Tuesday enjoy an excursion down the Bay. Renewing our assurance of a cordial welcome once more, we proceed to the cars.

Whilst at the Relay House, the guests from St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Chillicothe, selected their marshals, speakers, &c. Those from Cincinnati selected Judge Pruden, of the Police Court, to speak in the absence of Mayor Thomas ; Benj. Eggleston, to speak on the part of the City Council, and H. Kiersted, as Marshal. Those of Chillicothe selected Mayor Adams to speak, and Capt. Gilmour, as Marshal. George R. Taylor, President of the City Council of St. Louis, was selected as the representative of that city.



THE RAILWAY CELEBRATIONS OF 1857.

CHAPTER VII.

THE ARRIVAL AT BALTIMORE-GRAND PROCESSION-THE DECORATIONS-FORMAL RECEPTION AT THE MARYLAND INSTITUTE-FIRE-WORKS, &c., &c.

WHILST the excursionists thus approached Baltimore, its citizens were on the alert to receive them with the strongest demonstrations of welcome. The aspect of expectation, the busy bustle of preparation, and the movements of the masses of expectant sight-seers, were visible throughout the city, indicative of the general enthusiasm that prevailed. In every direction the National flag was spread to the breeze, decorations were in progress of construction, mottoes, bearing words of welcome and fraternization, were being extended across the streets, and the imposing triumphal arch of the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company, after a night of labor, pursued unremittingly by the public spirited members of that organization, at last stood complete in its ample and beautiful construction and decoration. Along all the streets through which the procession was to pass, the work of preparation was actively progressing ; flags and bunting, gay drapery and fluttering streamers, were being displayed in every variety, impressing on the scene a gala-day appearance, which was the more striking in contrast with the usual business absorption of these avenues of trade. The morning sun shone with unclouded splendor, as if that luminaryhad taken an interest in the display, and was anxious to add his quota to the warmth of the reception. Soon, too, the general movement of the population added its impressive significance to the scene. The assembling of the military and other bodies designing to participate in



the pageant, the movements of the police in their neat equipments, and the swelling music of the bands as they marched into position, heightened expectation and gave zest to the enthusiasm that had been infused into all classes, who now began to throng the windows,house-tops and side-walks along the entire route of the procession. Thus, the city waited, in eager anticipation for her guests, prepared to hail their first appearance with a prolonged shout of welcome, which should express, in all its fulness, the hospitable intent she entertained.

In the cities of Old Europe, where pageants are the toys with which rulers amuse the people, and turn their thoughts from the more serious affairs of state, the paraphernalia of decoration and and rejoicing are kept ready made, and displayed on the scores of lighter occasions which have no deeper significance than the pleasure of the masses over a gala day. Not so with the American people. We are undemonstrative, and need to be strongly moved ere we give to our rejoicings the popular and tangible demonstrations, that clothe the city in holiday attire, and concentrate the will of all to the single purpose of doing honor to any event or occasion. Keeping in view these characteristics of our people, the outward display which had been made by the people of Baltimore in honor of their visitors, was impressive, not only in the extent to which it had been pursued, but more especially as a significant expression of the warm, cordial, and generally felt enthusiasm which dictated it.

The business establishments, newspaper offices, &c., on Baltimore street, showed much taste and considerable liberality in the decorations. From Eutaw street, to the Maryland Institute, a distance of one mile, the fronts of a great number of the houses were ornamented by red, white, and blue festoons, displaying words of welcome to the guests, and in some places immense scrolls were stretched across the street bearing mottoes expressive of good fellowship. At Howard and Baltimore streets, from the store of Devries, Stephens & Thomas, on the northeast corner, to that of Orendorf & Ensey on the southeast corner, a red, white and blue flag was stretched, bearing the inscription : "Welcome Western Friends to Baltimore." From the store of Messrs. Dallam, Miller & Shipe, two doors below Messrs. Devries & Co., another red, white and blue flag was stretched to the clothing house of Straus, Hartman, Hofflin & Co., with the inscription : "Welcome to our City." The entire front of the building on the northeast corner, and occupied by Devries, Stephens & Thomas, Bennett's Notion House, and Dallam, Miller & Shipe, was decorated between the rows of



windows with heavy white, red and blue festoons. The establishment of Fisher, Boyd & Co. was ornamented between the first and second stories with red, white and blue festoons, the motto, "Welcome West," being formed by placing the letters at the points of the festoons. The front also displayed a large number of small flags.

From the corner of McClellan's alley, opposite the extensive Domestic House of Duvall, Keighler & Co., several large national flags were suspended across the street, one having on it the name First Baltimore. The carpet establishment of Messrs. M'Dowell, Gable & Co. was decorated from top to bottom in a manner somewhat difficult to get an idea of from a description. Along the front, between the first and the windows of the second story, were heavy red, white and blue festoons, and between the second and third were also heavy festoons and drapery in volume, increasing towards the centre, and there held by a large gilt bracket. The great Trunk and Carpet Bag emporium of the enterprising Van Nortwick, on Sharp adjoining Baltimore street, also attracted particular notice.

The Paper-hangings establishment of Messrs. Howell & Bro. was freely ornamented with red, white and blue festoons, and with flags. Messrs. Tiffany, Long & Byrn placed over their door a shield bearing the word "Welcome," and heavily draped with red, white and blue stuffs. The front of Marston's china establishment displayed a large gilt eagle, and directly over that a large bust of Henry Clay, the two being heavily draped with masses of red, white and blue material. The national flag was displayed from the staff on top of the building. Messers. John N. Bruff & Co. also decorated the front of their warehouse with red, white and blue festoons.

Messrs. Canfield & Bro. ornamented the front of their large jewelry establishment, at the corner of Charles street, with a number of small flags, which had a very pleasing effect. Messrs. J. Edward Bird & Bro. decorated their beautiful front with red, white and blue material, the colors being placed in alternate transverse sections.

Among the conspicuous objects of interest to the guests as they passed down towards the Institute, was the new and magnificent white marble drygoods House of Hamilton Easter & Co., who have adorned Baltimore's Broadway with a structure rivalling Stewart's famous New York store, in its general effect.

The new and large white white marble Book and Printing House of John Murphy & Co., opposite Light street, deserves mention here for its beautiful appearance.



From the splendid iron-front warehouse and office of Adams' Express Co. was suspended over the middle of the street a national flag, with the words attached, "Welcome the Great West!" "Adams' Express Company," in large letters, was at the end of the flag next the cord.

The American office was skilfully and beautifully decorated by Mr. T. M. Conradt, the favorite Upholsterer. Along the awning were festoons of loosely plaited red, white and blue stripes. On the front of the second story was a large full-length figure of the Goddess of Liberty, supported on the right by a figure of Washington, and on the left by that of Lafayette with full length, the whole draped with red, white and blue material. Above these three figures was a tablet with the word "Welcome" in large antique letters. Between the second and third stories and along the top of the third were displayed heavy folds of material, colored as those already mentioned. The two spires which surmount the front were fully draped, and American flags were displayed from staves at their summits. From several windows flags were flying, and the large national flag belonging to the office was suspended across the street. The Clipper and Patriot offices displayed their large American colors ; while the Sun building-which is one of the city's standing decorations,-also displayed its flag.

The building occupied by Messrs. Connolly & Lloyd and by Adams' Sewing Establishment, was plentifully decorated with red, white and blue swallow-tailed pennons, such as are used by lancers.

The House Telegraph office and Wm. F. Richstein's bookstore were decorated with American flags, and red, white and blue festoons. The regalia establishment of Mrs. Sisco was ornamented with flags.

From the armory of the Baltimore City Guards the word "Welcome " in very large fancy letters was stretched across the street, and from the windows were displayed several company flags.

From the room of the Friendship Fire Company on the southeast corner of Frederick and Baltimore streets was stretched to the north-east corner a flag, in the centre of which was a shield having upon it the figure of two men, one in fireman's costume, the other in citizen's dress, shaking hands ; above this shield was that of the American coat of arms lying down, and upon it an eagle ; below it were two hands clasped in greeting. The whole was surrounded with the national ensign in heavy folds. Upon the right of the centre piece a locomo-



tive with a train attached was coming up to the front, and upon the left a number of Indians were at work on a canoe. The motto, painted in large letters, was "In Friendship we Progress."

Mr. Givens, the "Chinaman," placed several good sized cedars along the curb in front of his store, the deep green of which gave relief to the eye after it had been resting on the bright colors elsewhere.

Mr. James Kidd, the confectioner, put up along his awning a light arch festooned with red, white and blue, enclosing the motto, "Welcome to our Hearts and Homes." Upon the chord of the arch was a miniature locomotive and train of passenger cars. In a frame, suspended in the arch just under the keystone, were the mottoes "Our Country," "Union," with two hands clasped, and under these words "North and South." The whole affair was surmounted with a portrait of Washinoton and ornamented with red, white and blue drapery, relieved by the deep green of a wreath of box.

The extensive new clothing establishment of Messrs. Wiesenfield & Bro., the corner of Market Space, was profusely decorated between the stories with red, white and blue festoons. On the front of the second story were placed portraits of Clay and Webster, and between them a miniature copy from the Battle Monument in a niche of the same material as the festoons. On the third story front was a portrait of Washington, and above that the words "Welcome to our Western Guests." In the centre of the fourth story front was a colored Picture of the Goddess of Liberty.

That triumphal arch, however, was the most conspicuous decoration that was put up on the occasion. It was built at the instance of Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company, No. 1, under the immediate superintendence of its members. The arch was built over Baltimore street at the intersection of Harrison street, and the procession passed under it, and then turned to go into the Institute Hall. The columns on each side were square and white with blue corners and capitals. Upon these columns were hung a number of pictures of scenes in the life of a fireman. On the inward side of the northern column were the names of the visiting cities, in this order, beginning at the top : Chillicothe, St. Louis, Cincinnati. On the southern were the names ranged thus : Cincinnati, Chillicothe, St. Louis. The names were of white frost-work upon blue scrolls. The outside of the structure was square in its outline, and at the corners, from the capitals of the columns to the top, the white ground was relieved at the corners by red and blue stripes.



The corners formed by the fronts and inside of the arch were covered with evergreens made ropewise. Upon the front on one side of the keystone, reading from left to right, was the title of the company, "Pioneer H. & L. Company, No. 1." Over it the word "Welcome," in large letters ; on the other side, "To the City's Guests ;" the lettering, like all on the arch, being of white frost-work on a blue ground. The whole structure was surrounded by a large American shield, supporting an eagle. The height of the structure was about sixty feet. As may be supposed, it is difficult to give a definite idea of any thing of this kind by words. This arch was the only attempt by any association to get up a decoration of importance, except the ornamenting of the New Market Engine House with flags, &c., a description of which will be found below. The company also suspended an immense flag across Harrison street, and placed both its trucks on Baltimore steets.

With the Eutaw street display, may be included the Baltimore and Ohio Company's Camden Station. From the stories of the steeple of the office building several flags were displayed, one of the largest having on it the name "St. Louis;" on a flag flying from the right side of the building was the name "Cincinnati," and on a similar one on the left side was the name "Chillicothe." A large flag was hoisted at the ticket office on Conway street, and across Conway, at Eutaw street, was a flag with the words "Welcome St. Louis." From Broaders' Washington Hotel a number of flags were flying, and one was stretched across the street, displaying the words "Welcome to Baltimore."

In Eutaw street a large flag, suspended on a long piece of leather hose, was flying from the large Card and Hose manufacturing establishment of Mr. T. H. Haskell.

One of the most conspicuous, liberal, and effective displays,was that made by the great piano-forte manufacturers, Wm. Knabe & Co., whose large factories, on both North and South Eutaw streets, as well as their new sales-rooms on Baltimore street, were all beautifully decorated.

At the intersection of Franklin and Eutaw streets, a flag was sus-pended across the latter-named street, having on it this sentiment, "Welcome Visitors ; the Guests of the West and the citizens of Baltimore-may their hearts be like their cities, iron-bound together." There was also an American flag at each end of this one. The Gilmore House displayed an immense burgee with the name of the hotel, and relieved by an American jack at one end, and a red and white flag at



the other. The two centre columns of the second story portico were draped with broad stripes of the national colors.

At the Relay House, at 10 o'clock, the excursionists again took the trains, now thrown into one, with the beautiful locomotive and cars gayly decorated with flags, and moved onward to Baltimore. As they neared the city, the preparations for the reception ceremonies began to demonstrate to the visitors the earnestness of the welcome awaiting them. Groups of people were formed at different points on the outskirts, from the windows of the houses welcomes were waved to the excursionists.

At half-past ten o'clock the train entered the Camden street station, amidst the cheering of the many thousands who had gathered there. The visitors, in accordance with previous arrangements, remained in the cars until the carriages were prepared for their reception. This was accomplished comfortably and without unnecessary loss of time-the city police, under Marshals Herring and Manly, maintaining excellent order, keeping the premises clear-and at 11 o'clock the procession was formed and moved in the following order :

The escort, consisting of the United States troops and a portion of the First Light Division of Maryland Volunteers, were posted on Eutaw street, with the right resting on Saratoga street, extending southwardly. As soon as the guests were comfortably seated in the long train of barouches and Carriages, the trumpets of the artillery gave the signal for the column to proceed, which was precisely at eleven o'clock. It moved along the route in the following order :

The Chief Marshal, Geo. W. Herring. Aids : Lieut. Col. A. P. Shutt, Major J. G. Johannes, Johnes, Col. J. T. Farlow, Col. M. Benzinger, Major Jos. J. Robinson, L. F. Barry, Wm. H. Quincy, F. C. Crowley, Dr. J. W. Houck, Thomas Creamer.

Nearly all the aids wore broad sashes of white satin, and such as belonged to the various regiments were in full uniform. All were superbly mounted, and gave a beautiful appearance to the head of the line. The military appeared in the following order, viz. :

Batteries of United States Artillery, under the command of Major William H. French, as follows : Company A of the Second Regiment of Artillery, Lieutenants Larned, Mullin and Smith ; Company K of the First Artillery Regiment, commanded by Lieutenants Davis, Gilman Cooper. Both companies paraded their strength, mustering about 170 rank and file, with eight field pieces and eight cais- 3*



sons, all in the finest possible order, and exhibiting a high state of discipline. First Light Division Maryland Volunteers.-Maj. Gen. Geo. H. Steuart, commanding, Brigadier Gen. N. Hickman, commanding First Light Brigade, with the following staff and other officers: Col. Richard Lilly, Major W. H. Hayward, Paymaster Hugh Gelston, Jr., Quarter-Master John W. Watckins, Jr. Fifth Regiment of Infantry.-City Cornet Band, Capt. Feltman ; Law Grays, Captain Thomas Bowers, First Lieut. Alex. Cross ; National Cornet Band Capt. Egger ; German Riflemen's Band, Capt. Scheiber ; Maryland Guards, Lieutenants James McLaughlin and George A. Freeburger; Jackson Guards, Captain Antone Heiderick. Second Brigade Fifty-third Regiment.-Lieut. Colonel Samuel S. Mills. commanding; Pay-master Richard H. Tyson, acting Major ; Lieut. J. M. Wampler, of the Lafayette Guards, acting as Adjutant ; William H. Cole, Quarter-master's Sergeant ; Independent Blues' Band, Capt. Holland ; Baltimore City Guards, Captain Joseph P. Warner ; first Lieutenant, Lloyd B. Parks ; second Lieutenant, David E. Woodburn ; third Lieutenant Ellis Coleman. Cornet Band of the Linhart's, led by Captain Philip Linhart. Marion Reserve Guard, Captain Samuel T. Harvey ; first Lieutenant, James K. Elderkin ; second Lieutenant, James H. Speakes ; third Lieutenant, Dowling.

Independent Greys, under the command of First Lieutenant Benjamin Simson. The Greys ended the militay escort. The column extended a half-mile in length, and presented a brilliant and soldier-like appearance.

Following the military were three omnibuses, in which were seated Captain Mentor's Cornet Band, of Cincinnati, and Le Brun's Brass Band, of St. Louis, both of whom discoursed alternately with the Baltimore bands-there being seven in the line.

The barouches and carriages (110 in number, and furnished by the Stewarts) came next. They were flanked by a detachment of two hundred city police, all in full uniform, and appearing as a civic guard of honor. The first barouche, drawn by four beautiful white horses, contained His Honor Mayor Swann, His Excellency Governor Chase, Ohio, and his Aids-de-Camp, Col. H. B. Carrington, and Col. William McMillen. Previous to the arrival of the guests, the Mayor called on these gentlemen at the Gilmor House, in his family coach,and escorted them to the Camden Station, where they awaited the arrival of the other excursionists.

The second and third barouches contained John B. Siedenstricker,



President of the Second Council, and John F. McJilton, President of the First Branch of Baltimore, with some of the more distinguished guests, whilst they were followed by a train of over one hundred coaches, each containing from three to five of the guests-and which alone extended the length of a full mile.

The procession passed over the following route : Up Eutaw street to Madison street ; Madison street to Charles ; around the Washington Monument ; Monument street to Park street ; Park to Franklin ; Franklin to Charles ; Charles to Fayette ; Fayette to Eutaw ; Eutaw to Baltimore street, down Baltimore street.

Upon the head of the column reaching the intersection of Baltimore and Calvert streets, the artillery passed up Calvert to Fayette street, and thence down into Baltimore by way of Gay street, and dashed along at full speed, so as to throw its right on Baltimore street, at Calvert. The remainder of the escort then moved down Baltimore street and took position on the left of the artillery, where it came to a present, and saluted the visitors as they passed into the Hall.

Nothing of unusual interest occurred along the route, except that all the splendid dwellings and public houses of every character were crowded with thousands and tens of thousands of citizens, mostly ladies, all of whom apparently were much gratified upon seeing the visitors from the West in such good hands.

The scene presented as the procession passed over the route, was one of the most effective and attractive pageants which has at any time elicited the sympathies and admiration of the people of our great cities. The gay decorations of teh houses, the waving flags which reached in every direction as far as vision extended, the brilliant appearance of the military, the resounding music of the bands, and above all, the presence and enthusiasm of the immense mass of people,-who along the side-walks, from the windows, house-tops, and every elevation that promised a view of the cortege, greeted with loud and constantly renewed shouts of welcome the excursionists as they slowly filed past in the long line of carriages provided for their accommodation-were the imposing characteristics of this most exciting demonstration. The guests themselves thoroughly participated in the excitement and enthusiasm of the spectacle, and evidenced their generous appreciation of the popular manifestation. The weariness following their long confinement in the cars in midsummer, disappeared in the the presence of the cordial salutations and impressive welcomings offered them. Leaning from the vehicles, they enjoyed the brilliant panoramic



scene passing before them, and returned with earnestness the cheerings and other greetings showered from every side.

As the cortege passed the extensive daguerrean establishment of Mr. Henry Pollock, on Baltimore street near Calvert, numerous views of the surrounding vicinity, with the different portions of the procession passing at the moment, were skilfully taken by the proficient head of that popular gallery. These views were subsequently photographed on paper, and many of them were procured by the guests as interesting souvenirs of the occasion.

In the vicinity of the entrance to the Maryland Institute Hall, the imposing aspect of this grand civic demonstration culminated. A dense mass of people covered every available foot of ground, from the windows fluttered innumerable white handkerchiefs proclaiming the ladies' interest in the scene, whilst far down Baltimore street was a "sea of up-turned faces," framed, as it were, in the triumphal arch which spanned the street at this point, and presenting an animated picture that no mere grouping of art could have excelled. As the military escort reached the Hall, they filed off right and left, leaving a lane in the centre through which the carriages approached, the police in open lines took possession of the immediate approach to the Hall, and as the guests, accompanied by the various committees, they were conducted up the broad stairway into the grand saloon.

The capacious hall of the Institute was tastefully decorated with streamers, flags, and banners of various associations. The front of the speaker's stand was festooned with white and blue streamers loosely plaited. The back of the stand was covered with a large American flag, relieved by the banners of several Lodges of Odd Fellows. Two large streamers, looped up to the ceiling, stretched across the hall, divided its length into three equal parts, and all around the galleries the national colors hung in festoons. Full-length figures of Washington, Jefferson, Lafayette, and Franklin, adorned the walls. Directly over the gallery, at the lower end of the room, was a flag with this inscription : "A Hearty Welcome from Baltimore to the West."

Upon the rostrum the following gentlemen were arranged : Mayor Swann, of Baltimore; Gov. Chase, of Ohio; Mayor Adams, of Chillicothe ; Colonels McMillen and Carrington, Aids to Gov. Chase, in full uniform ; Messrs. Seidenstricker and McJilton, Presidents of the two Branches of the City Council of Baltimore; Judge Pruden, representing the Mayor, and B. Eggleston, representing the City Council of Cincinnati, Ohio ; George H. Taylor, President of the Board of Alderman,



and then representing the Mayor of St. Louis ; the city authorities of Baltimore, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Chillicothe, and the representatives of the Western press, whose names are given in the list already presented. The excursionists occupied seats immediately in front of the rostrum. The galleries were exclusively devoted to the use of the ladies, and the display of beauty and fashion, and the fluttering of fans and handkerchiefs, made this one of the features of the reception. The tasty decorations of the hall, the animated throng which occupied every portion of the immense saloon, the fine music of the bands, and the pleasant excitement in which all seemed to indulge, made the scene one of the most effective that has ever been presented in our city.

The visitors all being seated in the Hall, the doors were opened to the public, and whilst the band played the national air of "Hail Columbia," the citizens soon filled the vast area behind the visitors.

As soon as order was had in the audience, CHAUNCY BROOKS, the President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, arose, and stated that,

Having received on the banks of the Ohio the distinguished guests of the city of Baltimore, from St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Chillicothe, he had the pleasure of announcing that he had safely conducted them to our city. It only remained for him to say that they would be publicly welcomed to Baltimore by the honored Mayor of the city.

His Honor, Thomas Swann, Mayor of Baltimore, then rose and delivered, in his accustomed impressive manner, the following

ADDRESS OF WELCOME.

GENTLEMEN: The honor which has been conferred upon us by your presence here to-day, is an event which has seldom occurred in the past history of this State. The corporate authorities of three great cities, occupying the same parallel of latitude with our own, situated upon the line of the national highway which spans the entire breadth of our public domain, from the valley of the Mississippi to the Atlantic coast, are here in our midst, to recognize, by an interchange of friendly courtesies, the common interests and common sympathies by which we are bound together ; and to draw closer the ties of social brotherhood. The compliment is not without its appreciation. We receive you, one and all, in a spirit of reciprocal welcome. Whatever of generous impulse or kindly prepossession has prompted this act of municipal courtesy on your part, we need hardly assure you that it meets a ready response in the heart of every Baltimorean and every Marylander here present. [Applause.]

A few weeks ago, in connection with a representation of distinguished citi-



zens from almost every section of our Union, in the presence of the high dignitaries of our own government, as well as the accredited agents of foreign states, we were called to inaugurate an event of great national importance-honorable alike to you and to us. The celebration to which I refer, whose stirring incidents are so fresh in the recollection of us all, proclaimed the opening of a line of communication a thousand miles in extent-with the cities of St. Louis and Baltimore at the two extremes ; and united in bonds of commercial fellowship the important sections represented here to-day, which are destined to contribute most largely to our advancement and prosperity in the future. [Loud applause.]

The triumphs of human skill and enterprise have been sufficiently manifest in the varied journey through which you have passed. You have the same evidences in what you see around you. Scarcely a century ago this goodly city, whose population has now reached a limit of little less than two hundred and fifty thousand souls-whose crowded streets and stately edifices give token of the career upon which she has entered-numbered just twenty-five houses and two hundred inhabitants. A brig and a sloop constituted her whole marine list. In a space of fifty years she had increased her numbers to twenty-six thousand-a great achievement in those early times, when it is recollected that the white population had scarcely penetrated beyond the Ohio river, and the fertile region upon which we have since drawn so largely, was a locked-up and forbidden land. In 1827, when the first meeting was held to consider the expediency of a railway communication with the West, the whole taxable basis of the city of Baltimore did not exceed $25,000,00. These evidences of tardy growth in the early stages of this government, are referable to causes which the more recent introduction of steam will sufficiently explain.

With you, gentlemen, the same indications have attended the progress of Western expansion. If we go back to the early explorations of Christopher Gist and Daniel Boone, not a century ago, we find the Indian watch fires burning upon the sites of what have since become prosperous and thriving cities. At the time of Wayne's treaty, about the year 1800, the whole Miami country, with the exception of Cincinnati, was an undisturbed wilderness, and, at the same period, the population of that great city did not exceed seven hundred and fifty inhabitants. In 1828, before the effect of her internal improvements began to be felt, her white population had barely reached twenty-five thousand souls.

Until within the last quarter of a century, the progressive energies of our people had scarcely found a vent, in those efforts of power and development which have since resulted in so many stupendous works of skill and enterprise, which stand forth in every State as enduring characteristics of the age. Steam, gentlemen, is the active agent to which we are indebted for this new impetus which has been given to the march of improvement. The tardy sail of the



primitive boatman is no longer the solo dependence of the navigator of your Western rivrs. The voice of the locomotive is heard in the valleys and upon the hill-tops ; it has driven before it the red man of the forest ; it has surmounted the obstacles heretofore deemed to be impregnable, and has raised its shout of triumph amidst the repose of centuries. [Renewed applause.]

The beautiful plain on which Chillicothe now stands was once, within the recollection of some here present, the favorite haunt of the Indian. Since her first settlemem, with a surrounding country unsurpassed in fertility and productiveness, she has been shut out from the benefits of a liberal commercial interchange. It is only now, since the opening of the American Central Road, that the steam whistle has proclaimed her release from the thraldom in which she has so long struggled, and opened upon her a prospect of enlarged growth and usefulness. [Applause.]

And further, still further, in the recesses of that vast domain, which the stretches away to the shores of the Pacific, your beautiful city of St. Louis-the abode of generous hearts and noble impulses-[great applause by the Baltimoreans,] has only within a few weeks past stretched forth her iron arm, to meet the embrace of her adventurous allies, in the completion of that stupendous work which has aided in bearing you to our midst, in combination with the associate lines over which you have passed.

Your journey here to-day is one of significant import. The past and the future crowd upon us with their lessons of patient endurance, indomitable effort, and successful triumph. It is no common jubilee which unites upon the soil of the State of Maryland the corporate authorities and distinguished citizens of the remote states and cities which you represent, whose increasing treasures lie scattered along the extended line of intercommunication which you have opened, with our co-operation, between the Chesapeake and the teeming valley of the Mississippi. [Great Applause.]

The City of Baltimore, gentlemen, stands prominent in that great commercial league which, in times past, even before railroads were known or heard of, had its origin in the necessities of convenient distance and a free commercial traffic. Planting herself upon the extreme verge of one of the boldest indentations which breaks the margin of the noble bay on which she stands, she has stepped forth to give the first welcome to the trade of the West. A glance at her past history will show how diligently she has labored in the effort to do justice to her geographical position. She has manifested a becoming zeal in the appropriation and protection of her sacred birthright. With an aggregate population of little more than half a million in the entire State to which she belongs, she has maintained, unaided, a successful rivalry with the giant cities of the North. By a mighty effort-an expenditure of thirty millions of capital-she has established a terminus on your northern frontier. Another, and not determined move, finds her arms outstretched towards a shorter and more



direct communication with that central highway so lately brought into use, whose lengthened chain-extending onward and onward, with Chillicothe and Cincinnati and St. Louis as links in the brilliant combination-is destined sooner or later to bind together the two great oceans that wash our Eastern and Western borders. Still jealous of her more powerful rivals, she has tapped the trunk line of a sister State, and even now, when the struggle is at an end-when the battle has been fought and won-when the prize is in her own hand, and we are assembled to rejoice together in the encouraging prospect which is already beginning to dawn, we find her casting a jealous eye to the head waters of the Ohio, and engaging in the construction of a line of communication in direct contact with the terminus of a rival work, in order claim aparticipation in the fruits of that productive region. [Great and hearty Applause.]

In this struggle for commercial ascendency-stimulated and urged on by the advantages of her natural position-the city of Baltimore has been actuated by no mean and grovelling spirit. She has watched with pride the efforts of her northern sisters. Tracing their descent from the same common stock-members of the same glorious Union-embarked in the same great work of physical development-she has recognized without disparagement the triumphs of engineering skill and financial power, which have called into being some of the proudest monuments which this country can boast. North, South, East and West, she hails the developments of American progress as part parcel of a common renown. [Renewed Applause.]

The advantages of the position which we occupy here, in referance to the States which you represent, will be apparent when you measure the distance to points similarly situated, and claiming a share in the profits of Western commerce. Baltimore justly aspires to the destiny, at no remote period, of a powerful and stately City. She has already ceased to be a point of local transit and distribution merely. The comparatively imperfect arrangements under which she has heretofore acted, have given her the daily control of more than 1,000 tons of Western produce. When this shall have been trebled-a result certain to be realized in the next few years-an active system of direct interchange with the markets of the world will be the immediate consequence. Already, her claims as the key of the Western and Southern States, in those more remote combinations which look to the future of our glorious Union, are being recognized by the General Government. [Applause.]

Improvements are going forward, with the cooperation of Congress, intended to give increased facilities to our mercantile marine, in the improvement and removal of obstructions in our harbor-the effect of which will be, eventually, to ensure the free and unobstructed passage of vessels of the largest class throughout its entire length. The extraordinary and unsurpassed mineral resources of Western Maryland, point here also, as a suitable location for



a naval depot, for the supply and defence of the Atlantic coast. Connections have been formed with every accessible point North and South, rendering the city of Baltimore a market of easy distribution, whether coastwise or with reference to more distant combinations. It has been asserted, and is believed to be susceptible of satisfactory demonstration, that, taking the Queen City of the West as the commercial centre of that particular vicinage, or still more remote, the city of St. Louis, the most convenient line of approach to these points, from Boston or New York, would be through the city of Baltimore, by the improvement which you have so lately inaugurated, rather than by any existing or proposed combinations of their own. These are interesting inquiries to you here, and it is therefore the more gratifying, that your presence among us will enable you to verify, by actual experiment, what might otherwise have been treated as mere speculation.

The completion of the American central line was an event, I repeat, of national importance. To you and to us it was the commencement of a new epoch. It cemented forever the covenant made by nature between our respective sections. It consolidated into one common family Baltimore, and Parkersburg, and Athens, and Chillicothe, and Cincinnati, and Vincennes, and St. Louis, with their kindred supports. It bound them together by ties of indissoluble onion. [Further Applause.]

Gentlemen, we stand here upon a soil consecrated by some of the proudest reminiscences of our revolutionary history. A monument dedicated to the illustrious Washington towers above you. It was the first to greet your welcome approach, and will be the last to fade upon your departing gaze. Almost within sight of the spot where you now stand, is the noble city which bears his name and further on, upon the silent banks of the Potomac, repose his sacred ashes. That great man, under a commission of the Governor of Virginia, visited what was then the great West in 1753. The French and the English claimed the rightful occupancy of a territory which is now greater than the combined possessions of both in the Old World. The whole country beyond the Ohio River was little more than an impenetrable waste. The visit of Washington was not without its practical results. It indicated the probable direction of Western trade, even before artificial lines of intercourse were thought of, and fixed the seat of federal government upon the spot which it now occupies. It is proper and becoming that his honored name should be appropiately associated with the rejoicings of this day. [Hearty Applause.]

Gentlemen from the far West!-Brothers from that distant city, whose gigantic efforts in the march of improvement have made you known and honored beyond the limits of your own State, we bid you welcome here today. You have journeyed a distance of a thousand miles. From the beautiful valley of the Mississippi you have been transferred, almost by magic, to the banks of the Chesapeake. We receive you not as strangers. In times past,



Baltimore and St. Louis claimed their descent from a common parentage. The blood of our ancestors runs in your veins. The sons of many a gallant spirit, sleeping upon the soil of the State of Maryland, have sought a refuge and a home in your midst. In all the characteristics of whole-souled benevolence, in commercial honor and integrity, in boundless and never-ending hospitality, who shall stand before the kind and generous-hearted citizens of St. Louis. [Great Applause.]

And you, gentlemen of Cincinnati!-we extend to you the same cordial welcome. [Renewed Applause ] Coming from that graceful city-the attractive centre of a growing commercial system-whose matured image and fair proportions, arrayed like a bride for the nuptials, are reflected from the surface of that noble river which bears upon its bosom the treasures of so many States, we open to you our hearts and homes, in recognition of your ancient friendship. Thrice honored should we feel, when the Chief Magistrate of the State to which you belong-a man who shares alike your admiration and your confidence-has united with you in this act of social interchange, and signalizes, by his presence, the imposing ceremonies of this visit. It is with no unmeaning purpose-no attempt at empty compliments-that I embrace this occasion to reciprocate here the kindness so liberally extended by him to the corporate authorities of the city of Baltimore, upon the soil of his adopted State. I reflect the sentiment of those whom I represent, when I welcome to our midst the Governor of the State of Ohio. [Applause.]

And not less entitled to our distinguished notice in this assemblage, are the representatives of that cherished city, for whose friendly alliance we have shown our appreciation in past times by so many efforts to tempt her to our embrace. The opening of an unobstructed passage to the Chesapeake, after so many years of deferred hope, was a glorious day for Chillicothe. We cordially invite her to that union which she has so auspiciously inaugurated. [Applause.]

The incidents of this day, gentlemen, will be long remembered. Such manifestations of reciprocal courtesy between so many and remote States cannot be fruitless of results in all our relations-political, commercial and social. They will soften the asperities of party rancor-they will rekindle the fires of an enlarged patriotism-they will cause us to value more highly those free institutions under which we have been enabled to accomplish so much for the benefit of ourselves and our posterity-and they will cement by stronger ties that bond of Union which has secured to us, so long as it shall be permitted to endure, the multiplied blessings which we enjoy.

Once more, fellow-citizens of the great West, in the name of the corporate authorities of the city of Baltimore, I bid you a cordial welcome.

Mr. Swann's speech was delivered with an earnestness and effect



that told upon his numerous auditors, and the visitors were especially ardent in its praise.

Music by the Independent Blues' Band.

His Honor, the Mayor, then introduced, with the following remarks, S. Owings Hoffman, the Chairman of the Citizens' Reception Committee :

Gentlemen: You are aware that the citizens of Baltimore, jealous, I might almost say, of the participation which the corporate authorities of this city have borne in the reception of our fellow-citizens from the far West, have appointed a committee, who are here to-day, for the purpose of tendering through their chairman, a cordial welcome upon the part of our citizens at large to our fellow-citizens of the West. I have the pleasure, therefore, to introduce to you Mr. Hoffman, the Chairman of the Citizens' Committee.

Mr. Roffman came forward and said :

Gentlemen: I can add but little to the eloquent remarks addressed to you by our Chief Magistrate. Our only purpose, on the part of the citizens of Baltimore generally, is to tender to you a most cordial welcome. We would not respond to the wishes of our whole community did we not perform our part, by endeavoring, by every means in our power, to make you comfortable and happy. We therefore tender you, on their behalf, a most cordial welcome.

Music by the Band.

His Excellency, Gov. Chase, of Ohio, was then introduced, and was warmly received. He proceeded to address the assemblage as follows:

When I had the gratification, Mr. Mayor, of welcoming to Ohio, a few weeks since, yourself and your respected associates in the city government of Baltimore, together with the honored President, Directors and officers of your great Pioneer Railroad-which is itself the grandest among the splendid monuments of your monumental city-I little expected to find myself so soon in your midst, at a loss for language to express in my own behalf, and in behalf, I am sure I may add, of my fellow-citizens of Ohio, our deep sense of the kindness and courtesy with which our endeavors to prove by our acts the cordiality of our welcome, are now and here so signally overpaid. [Applause.]

But so it is. Baltimore, ever nobly unwilling to be excelled in generous aims and deeds, proves to-day that she cannot be overcome in a contest of hospitality. And the kind warmth of your words of welcome, emphasized as they are by the approving presence of this vast assemblage of your fellow-citizens, and illumined as they are by the beaming smiles of lovely ladies, whose beauty and grace crown as with fair Corinthian capitals the splendid structure of your city's strength and power, doubles the value of that welcome itself.







Prompted by your invitation, we come hither to-day from the great central valley, where a boundless wilderness for more than half a century has been undergoing the process, long yet to be continued, of transformation into populous States, to rejoice with you in what has been achieved, and to anticipate with you the vaster achievements of the future. [Applause]

We, in Ohio, have some special reasons for sympathy with you in Maryland. It is a curious fact that the establishment of the northern boundary of Maryland determined on one side the boundary of Ohio. The famous line of and Dixon marks at its western extremity the beginning point line which divides Ohio from Pennsylvania. And it is another curious fact not much thought of, yet well worth thinking of, that the very existence of the State of Ohio and her sister States of the old Northwest, with their present dimensions and institutions, is due, in no small degree, to the persistent determination with which Maryland, during the Revolutionary struggle and at its close, insisted that the vast domain west of the Alleghenies was, in fact, and of right ought to be, the common property of all the United States, and not the special property of any particular State. It was at Cumberland, in Maryland also, that the great national road began, that first practical conquest of the Alleghanies, forever identified with the name and memory of the patriot statesman to whom his grateful countrymen are now rearing another monument amid the green fields of his beloved Ashland. [Great applause.] And now you have made us your neighbors, and invited us into your midst by the great Railroad over which we have come hither.

We rejoice, sir, with you in that remarkable career of civic prosperity which you have so eloquently depicted ; and we earnestly hope that all you anticipate of wealth, prosperity, and honorable distinction in the future of the city of Baltimore, may be more than realized. We gratefully acknowledge all our debts, ancient and modern, to the State of Maryland. We remember, with pride, the days when Maryland, by the hands of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, and his distinguished associates, subscribed the Declaration of Independence ; when, in the fierce struggle which followed, Maryland, in the heroes of the gallant Maryland Line, displayed her ardent courage and noble constancy the battle-fields of the Revolution ; and when, after the war was ove and the great victory secure, she assisted by her Chase, her Paca, and her Martin, in framing the glorious Constitution which still constitutes-and far distant be the dark day when it shall not constitute-our bond of Union. [Great applause.]

Sir, it was fit that the most splendid monument yet reared to Washington, to which you have so appropriately referred, should rise sublimely in the midst of a city penetrated by his spirit. [Hearty applause.] It was even more becoming that the cherished scheme of Washington of uniting the seabord to the interior by a system of roads and canals, which he himself sought to realize



as President of the old Potomac Company, the first association ever organized for any such purpose, should be more than accomplished through the magnificent work of which you are so justly proud-itself a monument, and the grandest of all monuments, to the wisdom and patriotism of Washington. [Loud applause.]

It is not for me to speak of the obstacles, seemingly insurmountable, which have been overcome by the State of Maryland, and the city of Baltimore, and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, in the formation of their first undertaking. You have yourself happily indicated them. But I may, perhaps, be permitted to say that in my judgment the conquest of the financial difficulties of the enterpise was an achievement no less splendid than the triumph over the vast obstacles which nature offered to its success. And I trust I shall not be thought to overstep the proprieties of this occasion, if I add that the unshrinking fortitude and manly faith with which your noble State has assumed and sustained the enormous burden of pecuniary liabilities growing out of this great undertaking and her other works of improvements, is not the least among her many titles to admiration and honor. [Great applause.]

No one, Mr. Mayor, who thinks at all of the westward progress already achieved by the railroads which form this American Central Line, can help anticipating the time when it shall reach the Pacific. How many years ago was it that Oliver Evans declared that the child was already born who would go from Baltimore to Boston in twenty-four hours? Many then thought him crazy. He only thought himself bold. But his anticipation lagged far behind the reality. As I was borne along, day before yesterday, from our State Capital to this City, in twenty-two hours, over great rivers and lofty mountains, through winding valleys, intensely interested in the bold and picturesque scenery changed before me like a kaleidescope, and watching the line of the track, wet with recent rains, and glistening in the light of the descending sun as it stretched away and away, farther and farther, towards the Western horizon, I thought of Oliver Evans, and wondered how old is now the man who shall yet go from Baltimore to San Francisco in five days by rail? Perhaps it was a little presumptuous, but I did actually fancy myself hurled along, with shriek, and puff, and clatter, through the defiles of the Rocky Mountains, across the plains of the Great Basin, under or over the rugged summits of the Sierra Nevada, until the Bay of San Francisco flung back under my eye the glances of the sun. I hope, Mr. Mayor, I shall have the pleasure of meeting you at the celebration of the opening of the Atlantic and Pacific road, to which I trust the people of California will invite us all. [Applause.]

You have spoken eloquently, Sir, of railroads as bonds of union, and your observations were as just as they were eloquent. No man conversant with railroads can be a disunionist. [Prolonged applause.] The social intercourse which they foster, the ties of business which they create, the mutual depend-



ence which they establish and exhibit, make disunion impossible. There must, of course, be differences of opinion on some points. Real grievances may from time to time demand redress. But there is no evil of which disunion is the proper cure. [Renewed applause.] And the more we see of each other the less likely shall we be to commit the error of thinking otherwise. The fact is, that we who live along the line of the American Central Railway don't mean to let this Union be broken up. [Applause.] Maryland will not consent to it, I think. I trust Virginia will not. Ohio, I am sure, will not. Nor Indiana, or Illinois, or Missouri. Who, then, will? No Sir. We may differ hence-forth, as we have differed heretofore. We will maintain our respective opinions and positions with candor, courtesy, firmness, and resolution. And we will refer whatever question may be between us, to the great American tribunal of popular discussion and popular judgment. But in the time to come as in the time past we cleave to the Union as our ark of refuge, and, under God, our surest guaranty of prosperity and power, and abiding glory. [Hearty and continued applause.]

But I have detained you too long. Other gentlemen, representing the cities whom Baltimore welcomes here to-day, await an opportunity of expressing their acknowledgments of your courtesy. Thanking you, and the authorities and citizens (so fitly represented by the Chairman of their Committee,) you so worthily represent, again and again, for these magnificent acts of hospitality, I beg you to rest assured that Ohio, on her part, will ever keep bright the friendly bonds into which she enters with you to-day.

The beautiful speech of Governor Chase elicited a marked interest from all his hearers, who frequently interrupted him as he proceeded by their very hearty and generally well-timed applause.

Music by the band. Mayor Swann then spoke as follows:

We have to regret-and most sincerely regret-on this occasion, the absence of the Mayor of Cincinnati. But I am happy to inform you that there is a gentleman present who worthily represents him. I have the pleasure now to introduce to you Judge Pruden, of Cincinnati, who represents the Mayor of that city.

Judge Pruden responded as follows :

On behalf of the citizens whom you have so cordially welcomed here to-day, I wish to assure you, Mr. Mayor and citizens of Baltimore, that this kindness is fully appreciated upon the part of Cincinnati, and will be remembered by her citizens to the latest period of their lives. Not expecting, however, to be called upon here, to-day, and feeling quite fatigued and somewhat indisposed, I will not detain you by any further remarks of mine.



Music by the band. Mayor Swann then introduced Mr. Taylor, President of the City Council of St. Louis, in the following remarks :

Gentlemen: I have the pleasure to introduce to you now the representative of that far off city in the West, to which we have but recently made a visit, and the recollection of whose hospitalities is still fresh in the minds of you all. I introduce to you, Mr. George R. Taylor, who represents the corporate authorities of St. Louis.

Mr. Taylor responded-as soon as the general applause with which his rising was welcomed had subsided-as follows :

Mr. Mayor, and you, the corporate authorities of the city of Baltimore, and to you gentlemen, last, though not least, who have so kindly conveyed us over your stupendous and magnificent iron artery, that finds its way towards the Belle of rivers and the mighty Father of waters, to you and through you to the citizens of Baltimore, I beg leave to return, in the name and on behalf of the corporate authorities and citizens of St. Louis, our most hearty and cordial thanks for the reception you have given us to-day.

It is with the most profound regret, which I am sure is felt by the guests the city of Baltimore, coming from the far distant State of Missouri, that I find myself under the necessity of stating to you that we must deplore the absence of the Executive of the city of St. Louis. We believe, in sincerity and truth, that you would have received him, as we strove to receive you, Mr. Mayor, when you were the guest of our beautiful, though far distant city.

I come to your city at the bidding of the lightning, which reached me unexpectedly from the president of that stupendous enterprise, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. I come here upon a formal invitation, sent me to St. Louis, over the wires of the lightning, and I now appear before you, as the representative of St. Louis in her corporate capacity, having the honor of filling the office of the President of the City Council of St. Louis.

I came here with no set speech, and charged with no particular duty. I am now fulfilling a duty, feebly I confess, though one of infinite pleasure, which has been devolved upon me by the body over which I have the honor of presiding, who have called upon me, in the absence of their Executive, to be their exponent.

And now, Mr. Mayor, in reference to the most kind, cordial and eloquent welcome which you have given us, couched in language most choice and select, I do again profoundly thank you, not only for the demonstration which your citizens have made, in the gala day which now is exhibited in the city of Baltimore, but for the hearty welcome which you of Baltimore have given us, hailing as we do from beyond the banks of the great Mississippi. [Cheers.]

I have no intention, Mr. Mayor, even if I were capable, of going into a



historical description of the settlement of the territory that I have now the honor to represent. I do not intend to speak of that great iron artery that binds Baltimore to what we conceive to be the most free, the most wholesome city that stands upon the soil of our glorious confederacy. I do not intend to speak of the golden sands of California, nor of the lands bordering upon the Atlantic. We occupy a middle position, and may well say that in a national point of view, "we are monarchs of all we survey." We have no fears of the dissolution of the Union. [Applause.] Sectionalism, the result of the depraved minds of men ; the dark, the cold, the callous heart of sectionalism, may disturb the peace of this confederacy, but never will the word "disunion" be written in legible characters in the history of the land. [Cheers and applause.] There is a power known to you ; there is a power of which you have most eloquently spoken, Mr. Mayor, which is now growing into manhood, and ripening into mature age. That power is in the centre of this great American republic, and when the North and South, and the East upon the Atlantic, and the West upon the Bay of San Francisco, shall rise up in revolution, and strive to tear in pieces that glorious Constitution, which has been handed down to us from our fathers, the great central power of the valley of the Mississippi will rise in its might, and proclaim in tones that shall be heard to the farthest limits of this great republic, "peace, be still." We, of St. Louis, do not mean that you shall disrupt this Union, even if you would. We scorn to believe that you would do so. It is but a few days since we extended to you the right hand of fellowship, and we have already seen enough of you to prove that you are most worthy. [Applause.]

The city of St. Louis, Mr. Mayor, and the whole State of Missouri, was, at the time to which you have referred as being an era in the history of the city of Baltimore, subject to a foreign potentate, was the possession of a foreign power, and no part or parcel of this confederacy. In 1803, as you all well know, it was acquired by purchase, under the administration of Thomas Jefferson. Since then its history is known to you, and to every man within the sound of my voice. But there is one thing which, perhaps, is not known to you, and permit me to say, as the representative of the city of St. Louis, that there is a more practical and direct similarity between the people of Baltimore and the people of St. Louis, than between the people of any other two of the principal cities of this great confederacy. I am still young, yet I am old enough to know and understand the difficulties that beset the undertaking of the enterprise of which the gentleman on my right here is the president. The commencement of this great work dates back almost as many years as I have numbered. And if you, gentlemen, who have accomplished some of the greatest feats in railroad engineering known to the world, could then have looked forward and perceived the difficulties which you have since encountered and surmounted, I am very apprehensive that even you would have shrunk from



the responsible and arduous task. From six to eight millions of dollars were subscribed and guaranteed by the city of Baltimore to this work. Without any foreign aid, either Southern or Northern, with no vast area of land donated by the General Gevernment, with no sectionalism to assist you in building up this great artery, you put your own shoulders to the wheel, and have accomplished, in the period of twenty-five years, what would never have been accomplished by any but a self-relying and energetic people.

The citizens of St. Louis partake of the same character. We have no Northern friends to build great iron roads leading to our city. We have no public lands donated us by Congress. We have but a mere moiety of lands, and those are not now available. We have no friends from abroad to assist us in making connections with the Atlantic seaboard, with the Gulf of Mexico, or the Northern Lakes. We have been necessitated, as you have, to rely upon our own unaided efforts. Yet the city of St Louis, in her corporate capacity, has already subscribed three millions of dollars to building the iron roads of commerce that stretch from her to the East. And when the great iron artery that streches from this beautiful and tranquil bay to the banks of the Father of Waters, a thousand miles distant from here, when that, or any other road, shall be continued to the shores of the far-off Pacific, and when his Excellency, the Governor of Ohio, and you, Mr. Mayor, shall be invited to San Francisco to celebrate its opening, I trust you will stop in St. Louis to meet the welcome which will be cordially tendered you. [Cheers and applause.]

It is due to the people that I represent ; it is due to the travel-stained and weary individuals who have come on here at your invitation, to say that under thier dusty garments beat as warm, as generous, and as loving hearts as ever beat under broadcloth and satin. [Cheers.] We have come on here at your bidding ; not in files, but in squadrons, bringing with us our wives, our sons, and our daughters. And, Mr. Mayor, who can tell what is in the future? How know you, but what the ties of friendship, and affection, and love, that may be the consequence of this visit, may give us of St. Louis a Mayor who, years hence, will welcome your children with as warm and hearty greeting as we have met here to-day ? [Renewed applause.]

We are told, upon excellent authority, that the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years, and when they came in sight of the promised land they turned back again. The people whom I have the honor to represent here, have had their trials and tribulations. But when they came within sight of the promised land, they did not, like the children of Israel, turn back again, but are here. [Applause.] And we are unlike the ancient Israelites in another respect. They wandered in the wilderness for forty years. But those warm-hearted sons and daughters of Missouri have traveled over more territory in two days and three nights than did the children of Israel in all those fory years. [Continued applause.]

4





And I beg here to assure you, on the part of those I represent here, that we believe that the welcome you have given us to-day is but a representation of the motto inscribed upon the flags I see suspended over us : "Friendship, Love and Truth ;" and we receive it in the same spirit of love and appreciation which it has been so eloquently and earnestly extended to us.

Music by the band. His Honor, Mayor Swann, then arose and said :

Gentlemen, the last city, whose representative I have the honor to present to you, is so near our Western borders, that I had almost considered her representatives as members of our own family, and was going to let her go up here, and, through her representation, speak for herself without any introduction. [Applause and cheers.] I, however, take pleasure in introducing to you, Mr. Adams, the Mayor of Chillicothe.

Mayor Goward Adams then advanced, and was most heartily received. He said :

I thank you, Mr. Mayor, and citizens of Baltimore, for the kind and cordial welcome you have extended to us of Chillicothe to-day, and assure you that we reciprocate it from our inmost hearts. Until recently we were separated from you by high mountains, deep valleys, and wide rivers. But your skill and energy have levelled the mountains, filled the valleys, and crossed the rivers, until now we are near neighbors. I again thank you for your welcome ; I trust this may be auspicious of our future intercourse and kindly relations to each other. [Earnest applause.]

Music by the band. Mayor Swann then said :

There is a gentleman present, distinguished in the Councils of whom we are exceedingly anxious to hear upon this occasion. I therefore take pleasure in introducing to you-and trust the guest will respond to the call made upon him-Mr. Benj. Eggleston, of Cincinnati.

Mr Eggleston, who was most heartily received, came forward and said :

Mr. Mayor: At the request of the City Council of Cincinnati, of which body I am a member, I now appear before you to return my warmest thanks for your kind invitation to visit this city. When we received your invitation we immediately responded to it by accepting it through the unanimous vote of the body of which I am a member, and I regret very much that our worthy executive is not here to-day, to respond in my place.

We are indebted not only for your kind invitation, but for the kindness of the President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, who sent the iron horse and the commodious rail carriage to meet us at the borders of our State,



and which brought us so safely and pleasantly to this great city of Baltimore. All along the route we have been most kindly received and hospitably entertained. We have been carried down the valleys and up the hills-aye, and through the mountains ; and when we arrived here you have met us, and without allowing us time to remove the dirt from our clothes, have carried us in triumph through the streets of your beautiful city.

And allow me to say that you have the heartfelt wishes of Cincinnati for the success of the enterprise, in the promotion of which you have so earnestly and faithfully labored ; and I must express the wish and the belief that the trade of Southern Ohio must come to your city. I hope your fondest anticipations may be fully realized.

At this stage of the proceedings, Mayor Swann announced that the ceremonies of the reception at the Maryland Institute were concluded, and that a grand display of fireworks, in honor of the city's guests, would be given at Battle Monument Square at night. The guests were then reconducted to the carriages in waiting, and conveyed to Barnam's Hotel, the Eutaw House, Gilmor House, and other hotels, where superior accommodations had been provided for them by the city authorities.

During the afternoon of Saturday many of the visitors availed themselves of the carriages which were placed at their disposal, and paid a rapid successive vist to many of the objects of interest in and around Baltimore, whilst others, accompanied by Baltimore friends, made calls upon acquaintances. Late in the afternoon a mammoth balloon was sent up the square opposite the Holliday Street Theatre, by Mr. Basil Moxley, connected with that establishment, which was witnessed with infinite pleasure by many of the visitors.

The various Committees to whom the arrangements were intrusted acted energetically and with unanimity in discharging their duties, and deserve especial credit for much of the success that the demonstration attained. We again record here a full list of these Committees :

• Committee of Arrangement.-Mayor Swann, ex-officio Chairman-First Branch.-Jos. H. Hynes, John T. Ford, F. H. B. Boyd. Second Branch.-Samuel Kirk, Geo. W. Herring, Lemuel Bierbower.
• Committee of Reception.-Messrs. Kirk, Ford and Hynes.
• Committee of Fierworks.-Messers. Ford, Boyd and Herring.
• Committee on Carriages.--Messrs. Crowley and Daiger.
• Committee on Halls.-Messrs. Forest, Wilson and Tidy.
• Committee to assign Guests posts in Line.-Messrs. Crowley, Nalls, Carroll, Muller, Gordon and Sullivan.
• Executive Committee.-William J. Albert, Charles M. Keyser, Dr. H.Willis Baxley.
• Committee of Reception.-S Owings Hoffman, W. Pinckney Whyte, Hon. J. Morrison Harris, B. H. Richardson, A. S. Abell, Robert A. Dobbin, George P. Kane, Hon. Anthony Kennedy, Moore N. Falls, William H. Graham, C. C. Jamison, William H. Young, William T. Walters, William Chesnut, Galloway Cheston.
• Finance Committee.-Laurence Thompson, Joseph Reiman, J. J. Turner, H. M. Warfield, Charles D. Slingluff, A. A. Chapman, Dr. J. Hanson Thomas, J. Hall Pleasants, C. Oliver O'Donnell, William F. Murdoch, William E. Mayhew, Jr., Z. Collins Lee, William Gilmore Meredith, William Devries, William H. Brune.
• Board of Trade Committee.-Laurence Thompson, Joseph H. Rei-man, Henry M. Warfield, Wm. Gilmor, A. A. Chapman, Dr. J. Hanson Thomas, J. Hall Pleasants, C. Oliver O'Donnell, Wm. F. Murdoch, Wm. E. Mayhew, Jr., Z. Collins Lee, C. D. Slingluff, Wm. Gilmor Meredith, Wm. Devries, J. J. Turner.
• Committee on Part of Railroad Company.-Messrs. Joshua Van-sant, John W. Garrett and Robert Turner, Directors.

The announcement that the corporate authorities designed presenting a grand exhibition of fireworks at the Battle Monument Square, in honor of the visitors, attracted there one of the most immense outpourings of the people ever witnessed in Baltimore, a very large proportion of whom were ladies. It had been previously arranged that signal rockets would be thrown up from Patterson's Park, Federal Hill, and Lafayette, Franklin and Madison Squares. At eight o'clock, a number of these were let off in the Square from Court House yard, and although it was scarcely dark, they were seen from all parts the city, and soon thereafter the avenues of approach to the square were filled with continuous crowds of persons, eagerly wending their way along, and helping to swell the great assemblage. So multitudinous was the crowd that it was impossible for one to thread his way through. It extended from Baltimore Street to Saratoga-three blocks-whilst Lexington and Fayette Streets were also densely



packed-all the buildings fronting upon the square were also crowded, whilst the balconies of Barnum's Hotel and the Gilmor House gave fine accomodations for the guests, if not to see all the display, at least to view the crowd and listen to the music. In the balconies of the latter establishment were placed Captain Mentor's cornet band, of Cincinnati, and the Independent Blues' band, of Baltimore, which alternately performed a large number of selections, comprising the national airs, and other appropriate music. In the course of half an hour, after the first rocket was fired, it was estimated that from fifteen to twenty thousand persons were gathered within the square, whilst the windows, doors and house-tops of the surrounding residences were occupied by the inmates and others. Eligible positions were at a premium, and apartments presenting a good view were sought after and struggled for like the highest seats at a sensation concert.

Meanwhile the rockets continued to ascend in rapid succession, and to a great altitude, bowing the heavens with a brilliancy which put the stars to a temporary dimness, each eliciting from the crowd of upturned faces a buzz of admiration as it shot upwards through a column of sparks, and disappeared with a faint report in the upper air. Volleys of Roman candles continued to discharge their pulps of flame, whilst now and then a volcano would fling into the air its fountain of fire-balls, and explode with a deep report, throwing a spray of fire and distributing its balls of flame among the swaying throngs, whose faces suddenly lit up by the white light, exhibited the admiration and delight which pervaded them.

At a quarter past eight o'clock, all things being in readiness and the crowd anxious, the first piece, a magic wheel, was set off ; under the direction of John and Joseph Bond. The wheel (about three feet in diameter) burst out in blue flame, and revolving in opposite directions, ended in a variety of strange and unexpected transformations. This was exceedingly beautiful, and evidently prepared the crowd for something better, as they cheered vociferously.

After music, and the discharge of a number of rockets and Roman candles, the second piece, a Chinese sun, was ignited. This commenced of spangled points, and spinning with great rapidity, in a moment revolved itself into a circle of stars in green and blue flame. The spectators were left to contemplate for the space of a minute nearly, when it dropped away, and the third representation, an Egyptian Pyramid, followed. This began in a revolving wheel, and ended in a conical flaming outline of the pyramid, the summit of which wast-



ed itself away in explosions, accompanied with loud reports. The fourth display was a magic scroll, with circle revolving within circle, exhibiting a complicity of invention which fully sustained the idea conveyed by its appellation. The fifth representation was Saturn and Satellites. The planet Saturn was represented in a ring of flame encircled by starry rosettes of fire.

The sixth representation was the grand feature of the evening-complimentary to the Western guests,-and concluded the exhibition. All at once, amid the ascension of rockets, the music of the bands, and the cheering of thousands, the fuses were touched and the words, "Welcome St. Louis, Cincinnati, Chillicothe," sprung out of darkness in sentences of fire, with a star at each extremity, whilst above glowed a fac-simile in fire of the honored battle-monument of Baltimore, with the flaming words, "September 12, 1814." For a moment the thousands stood silent, contemplating the sentiments of friendship and patriotism before them ; but as the scene began to fade the cheering became tremendous, as though to prolong the sight. But gradually the words of welcome to the cities died out with the letters, and the monument of flame crumbled from its height, but only to engrave the sentiment of welcome on the thousands of hearts who witnessed it, and to reveal the real monument in marble close upon the scene of its representation in fire.

The immense throng then dispersed. No casualty of any description occurred. But one rocket discharged took a wrong direction, and that struck harmlessly upon the roof of a dwelling in Lexington Street. A ball of fire from a bomb entered the doorway of a dwelling upon the Square, and a child's clothing was set on fire in consequence.

After the dispersion of the main throng, an assembly numbering nearly a thousand persons. stationed themselves in front of Barnum's Hotel, and wanted some one to make a speech to them. Loud calls were made for Governor Chase, of Ohio, who not responding, one or two gentlemen present spoke briefly, when the audience retired. During the remainder of the evening the Independent Blues' band occupied one of the apartments at Barnum's Hotel, and performed a selection of pieces.

After the conclusion of the fireworks, a considerable number of the guests, headed by several officers of the Corporation proceeded to the residences of Dr. Woodside and W. P. Smith (officers of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad) and of Hon. Thomas Swann and S. Owings Hoffman, as well as to other residences of prominent citi-



zens, and with the visiting bands, gave them handsome serenades. At several places handsome collations were provided, and the visitors doubless soon felt themselves as welcome and as agreeable as if they had been in their own homes. This was a very happy feature of the visit.

On Sunday, nearly all the ladies, and a number of the gentlemen composing the excursion party, attended Divine worship at the various churches. At the special invitation of Captain Joseph P. Warner. of the Baltimore City Guards, and Major Johannes, a number of the guests visited the Brooklyn House, at Spring Gardens, when a most agreeable day was spent-they partaking of a dinner of soft crabs and fish prepared expressly for the occasion. Another party, principally Chillicotheans, made a visit to the City Jail, accompanied by several members of the City Council, and were hospitably received by Captain Thomas C. James, the gentlemanly warden, who kindly escorted them through the old prison, and allowed them to inspect the work as far as done on the splendid new building. After viewing all in this locality, the company returned to the residence of the Warden, where a substantial dinner awaited them.

Shortly after nine o'clock on Monday morning, the delegation from St. Louis marched from their quarters at Barnum's Hotel, headed by their fine band, and being joined by the Cincinnatians, from the Eutaw, the Chillicotheans, and the City Council of Baltimore, proceeded to the steamer Lancaster, at Light Street Wharf. As soon as the party were all on board, the boat cast loose and rapidly steamed off, showing our Western visitors a harbor most excellently located, and sufficiently commodious to float the half of the ships that bear our country's flag. A few minutes after ten o'clock, the Lancaster reached the wharf at Fort McHenry, and the five hundred passengers on board of her disembarked as rapidly as possible. On landing, the party found a large number of ladies and gentlemen, who had gone down in carriages. Among them were Governor Chase, Colonels M'Millan and Carrington, Mayor Swann, and others. The eminent American tragedian, Edwin Forrest, who happened to be in the city on his way to the Virginia Springs, was also present, having been driven down by his friend, William E. Bartlett, of Baltimore, in his private carriage. The visitors, many of whom were ladies, accompanying the excursionists, were soon dispersed throughout the fortification, all seeking the most eligible situations from which they could view the expected drill of the United States Flying Artillery. The ramparts presented quite a different



aspect from that prevailing at the time the Baltimore poet composed "The Star-Spangled Banner." Then they bristled with the "dogs of war," but on this happy occasion they also sparkled with the bright eyes of hundreds of the fair ladies of the West, with a quota of Baltimore beauty. Company K, of the First Regiment Light Artiller, Lieutenants Gillan and Cooper, and Company A, of the Second Regiment Light Artillery, Lieutenants Larned and Mullin, never appeared to better advantage, and the able manner in which they performed the many difficult evolutions was the theme of praise on each of the thousand lips present. At one moment in one quarter of the field, and at the next in another and distant one, all in regular order, was a movement which must be seen to be appreciated. The firing was also most capital, and the rapidity with which the pieces were unlimbered, loaded and discharged, again limbered, the men mounted, and galloped off at full speed to a distant quarter, was sufficient to convince all present of the efficiency of this important branch of our Army.

The parade lasted at least one hour and a half, and at its conclu-sion, after the horses had been housed, the companies were escorted from the parade-ground to the inner Fort by Mentor's celebrated brass band. The sabre drill was then gone through with in the same perfect manner that the other drill had been executed.

The visitors were highly delighted with the entire proceedings, and left the Fort wharf with three cheers for the United States Light Artillery. The drill of the troops was witnessed by nearly a thousand spectators, and it would be a fair estimate to say that at least nine-tenths of them had never seen any thing of the kind before. A number of those present were ladies, who appeared to enjoy the scene amazingly.

At a quarter to twelve o'clock, the Lancaster started from wharf at Fort McHenry for the new Fort Carroll, some miles lower down the Patapsco River towards the bay ; and after a fine run down, and giving ample time for all on board to view the works there, her head was turned towards the city, where all were safely landed before two o'clock. As the boat rounded Fort Carroll, one of the bands played "Hail, Columbia," and when she touched at Fort McHenry on her return, the band performed "The Star Spangled Banner." On leaving the fort, cheer after cheer went up for the United States Army, and its accomplished officers, who, being on the wharf, received the honors with heads uncovered. On the trip, both up and down, the true Baltimore song of "The Star-Spangled Banner,"



and other patriotic songs were sung, the choruses being swelled by lusty voices from St. Louis, Chillicothe, Cincinnati and Baltimore.

The City Council Committee of Washington, accompanied by the Committee of its citizens appointed in town meeting, reached Baltimore on Monday morning to unite in the celebration, and to invite the guests and Baltimore authorities to visit their city on Tuesday. The programme for this was an unusually inviting one. The party was expected to leave Baltimore by a special train about seven o'clock, and arriving at Washington by half-past eight or nine, would be met and welcomed, and then conveyed to the President's House, where they would be received in the great east room by the President of the United States and his entire cabinet. After leaving the Presidential mansion, the company were to be taken to the Patent Office, Smithsonian Institute, and the Capitol, to view those structures. Thence, by one or two o'clock, they would be put on board the steamer George Washington for a visit to Mount Vernon, sixteen miles distant, to view the tomb of the Father of his Country. On returning from Mount Vernon, the guests would be further entertained by the people of Washington in a grand banquet at Carusi's Saloon, which, with the other features of the day, promised to reflect great credit upon the national metropolis.

The Committee on the part of the citizens of Washington was as follows: Walter Lennox, J. C. McGuire, C. F. Stansbury, S. P. Franklin, Joseph Bryan, Peter Hooe, Nicholas Callan, and Colonel Irwin. The Committee of the Board of Aldermen were Messrs. Smith, Riggs and Miller ; and of the Common Council, Messrs. Brown, Edmondson, French and Hutchinson.

Among the courtesies so generously tendered the Western guests during their stay in Baltimore, we ought not to omit the invitation of the Northern Central Railroad Company, of which at the time the John P. Kennedy was President, but who has since been succeeded by Zenus Barnum, one of the proprietors of the well-known hotel at Baltimore. This invitation was tendered at the instance of Robert M. Magraw, one of its oldest directors, and C. C. Adreon, its intelligent superintendent, was active in putting it into effect.

The several delegations from the West also received invitations from the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad to use their road on their return, and a large number of them availed themselves of the invitation to view that new and important line.



THE RAILWAY CELEBRATIONS OF 1857.
CHAPTER VII.

THE GRAND BANQUET AT THE MARYLAND INSTITUTE, BALTIMORE.

* * THE grand banquet given by the citizens of Baltimore to their Western friends, was the culminating feature of the hospitable and friendly welcomings which their presence evoked. There was combined to do honor to the occasion-

• "The music, the banquet. and the wine,
• The garlands, the rose odors, and the flowers,
• The sparkling eyes, and flashing ornaments ;
• All the delusions of such dizzy scenes-
• Their false and true enchantment."
-and back of the animating accessories thus brought together to enliven, with their magnificent array, this social re-union of the East and West, there was the strong feeling of fraternization, the prevailing sentiment that the assembly was not simply one of those occasions of edacious and bibacious enjoyment which pass away, leaving no deeper impress than their mere conviviality is capable of inspiring. The "true enchantment" pervadingly felt was drawn from the hearts of the participants, and found its most generous impulses in the genial effervescence of a national saloon of and patriotic feeling.

The commodious saloon of the Maryland Institute is Peculiarly suited for the appropriate arrangement of a festal occasion, so huge in proportions and imposing in display as this, and all its facilities had been seized upon by the Committee of Arrangements to make the tout ensemble as perfect as possible. They had a right to congratulate themselves in succeeding in this endeavor to a gratifying extent. The decorations of the hall were profuse, appropriate, and in good taste.



Above the rostrum, at the head of the hall, placed so as to attract the eye immediately upon entering, was extended a decorated canvas, bearing the inscription : "A HEARTY WELCOME FROM BALTIMORE TO THE WEST."

Immediately beneath, on a gorgeous banner of green silk. were emblazoned in gold two hands, clasped in the fervent grasp of friendship, surrounded by evergreens and flowers. The balustrade of the galleries was richly festooned with evergreens, interspersed with brilliant flowers, edged with a drapery of red, white and blue, with miniature American flags at appropriate intervals. In the centre of the Hall a draped canopy of American flags was surmounted by the American eagle, whilst throughout the saloon the general effect was sustained by the disposition of brilliant and varied decorations.

These accessories served to bring into strong relief the arrangement of the tables upon which the banquet was spread. At the head of the Hall a cross-table, slightly raised, was placed, for the accommodation of the presiding officers, and some of the more eminent guests. From this, three long tables were placed, extending the entire length of the Hall, and affording seats altogether for very nearly one thousand guests. These tables, under the care of the experienced caterer for the occasion, Mr. Wm. Guy, were abundantly laden with the choicest provision, and most sumptuously furnished and decorated. Rich china and glassware, magnificent bouquets of flowers, and splendid ornaments of confectionery, flashed and glittered in the brilliant gaslight, and completed the enchantment of the scene, whilst giving the abundant promise of gratifying the more material tastes of thep participants.

The galleries were exclusively reserved-first, for the accommodation of the families of the excursionists, and then for the friends of the Baltimore participators in the banquet. These were filled at an early hour, and the presence of the fair occupants was one of the pleasing incidents of the scene, provoking many a gallant reference from the orators of the night, and also eliciting an interest that had a practical exposition in the sight of bouquets, thrown with rapid dexterity into the midst of a group of smiling faces.

The guests of the occasion assembled between six and seven o'clock, and were received and welcomed in the fine Library rooms of the



Hall. Soon after seven o'clock the main doors of the saloon were thrown open, and the procession, headed by Mayor Swann, marched in and took seats at the long extended tables, which, in the briefest time, were completely occupied. Whilst these preliminary arrangements were in progress, the Independent Blues' Band, of Baltimore, advantageously posted, filled the Hall with delicious music.

Hon. Thomas Swann, Mayor of the city, presided, and was seated at the elevated table at the southern end of the hall. He was assisted by C. C. Jamieson, J. Hanson Thomas, John W. Garrett, Adam Denmead, B. A. Vickers, A. Schumacher, Hugh A. Cooper, and Robert Clinton Wright, as Vice Presidents. His Excellency Gov. Chase, of Ohio, was on the right of the Mayor, and Hon. Judge Pruden, of Cincinnati, on his left. Occupying adjoining seats were Chauncy Brooks, Gen. Columbus O'Donnell, with G. H. Taylor, representing the Mayor of St. Louis ; Mr. Adams, Mayor of Chillicothe ; J. L. Smith, representing the Mayor of Washington ; Wm. Pinckney Whyte, Wm J. Albert and Hon. C. M. Keyser, of the Citizens' General Committee of Arrangements. On the inside of this table were Col. Wm. McMillan and Col H. B. Carrington, aids to Gov. Chase ; Lieut. Mullen, U.S.A., from Fort McHenry ; Hon. D. M. Barringer, late U. S. Minister Spain, John F. McJilton, President of the First Branch of the City Council, J. B. Seidenstricker, President of the Second Branch, and others.

At each of the tables extended down the hall. one of the Vice Presidents named above, presided. The guests being seated, and welcomed to the entertainment before them, the clatter of dishes, the ringing of glasses, the busy motions and frequent calls upon the waiters, gave audible token of the activity and zest with which it was enjoyed. The "proof of the pudding is in the eating," but as all our readers not have this pleasant demonstrative test of the sumptuous variety of the feast with which Baltimore entertained her guests, we annex the bill of fare for the occasion. It has a presumptive suggestiveness about it of good things, edible and bibible, sufficient to appease even that class of grumblers who

• Criticise your meat, and analyze your wine,
• And yet on plain mutton deign at home to dine.

BILL OF FARE.

• Green Turtle.
• Soup a la Julienne.





• Boiled Salmon, Lobster Sauce.
• Boiled Sheepshead, White Sauce.
• Striped Bass, Baked, Genoise Sauce.
• Chesapeake Bay Mackerel, a la Maitre d'Hotel.
• Worcestershire Sauce.
• Apple Sauce.
• Olives.
• French Mustard.
• Currant Jelly.
• Anchovy.
• Assorted Pickles.
• Cucumbers.
• Ham.
• Lamb.
• Spring Chicken.
• Filets de Boeuf, Madeira Wine Sauce.
• Petites Pates, a la Reine.
• Sweet Bread, Larded, Gardinere "
• Fillets of Veal, Perageaux "
• Vol au Vent, a la Financier.
• Young Chickens, Maryland Style.
• Mountain Oysters, Sauce Royale.
• Bender la Richelieu, Tomato Sauce.
• Lamb Chops, Soubaise Sauce.
• Timbale de Macaroni, Milanaise.
• Galantine de Poulets.
• Roast Saddle of Mountain Mutton, Currant Jelly Sauce.
• Soft Crabs Fried, Butter and Parsley Sauce.
• Soft Crabs, Broiled.
• Hard Crabs, Deviled.
• Summer Ducks, with Olives.
• Green Goose, Apple Sauce.
• Roast Ham, Champagne Sauce.
• Stewed Tomatoes.
• Green Corn.
• Boiled Beets.
• Baked Tomatoes.
• String Beans.
• Cymlings.
• Green Peas.
• Boiled Potatoes.
• Ham on a Pedestal, decorated with Jelly.
• Boned Turkey, on a Socle, French Style.
• Poulets Truffe, a la Belle Vue.
• Boeuf Sale, en Presse.
• Lobster Salad, Mayonnaise.
• Pate of Liver Jelly.
• Aspic d'Huitres
• Salade de Poulets Historee.
• Buffalo Tongues, Garnished with Jelly.
• Sliced Tomatoes, a la Harden.
• Crab Salad, Baltimore Fashion.
• Emblem of Commerce.
• Ancient Cornucopia.
• Corbeille Renaissance.
• Corbeille Antique.
• Pyramides la Amors.
• Pyramide la Dolphin.
• Nougat Casket.
• Pyramides Dessert.
• Bisquit Glacee, au Cream Caisso.
• Madeira Wine.
• Punch Cakes.
• Vanilla Ice Cream.
• Almond Ice Cream
• Strawberry Ice Cream.
• Orange Ice Cream.
• Raspberry Ice Cream.
• Pine Apple Ice Cream.
• Caramel Ice Cream.
• Charlotte Russe.
• Maraschino.
• Charlotte Russo (Lemon).
• Jelly Rum Maraschino.
• Plumbier
• Bisquit Glacee au Chorolade.
• Fancy Cakes.
• Water Melons.
• Apples.
• Oranges.
• Pine Apples.
• Pears.
• Bananas.
• Apricots.
• Raspberries.
• Pyramids.
• Bouquets and Baskets of Flowers, in every variety.

The activity of the onset had somewhat subsided, the clatter and crash of crockery became intermittent, the popping of champagne-bottles was reaching to a rapid fusilade, and the social feeling of the guests was accumulating in a chorus of intermingling voices, when the presiding officer, Hon. Thomas Swann, called upon the large company to receive and do honor to the first of the

REGULAR TOASTS.

1. Our Country, our whole Country, and nothing but our Country-What the political wisdom of our forefathers created by constitutional compact, their sons have consolidated by the practical application of scientific discovery and commercial enterprise.

Air-Hail Columbia.

Wm. Pinckney Whyte, of Baltimore, was called upon to respond to this toast, and, rising amidst the cheering of the assembly, spoke as follows:

I should have preferred, Mr. President, that the pleasing task of responding to this toast should have been confided to abler hands ; but as you have called upon me, I will not resist the impulse to reply to that sentiment, which has already found an echo in every heart.

"God and my right" is inscribed on the banner of kings, but "God and my whole country" is the motto engraved on every true republican heart. [Applause.] It is this love of country, which nerves men to great and heroic deeds of self-denial ; which makes them leave home, friends, family ties, and go forth, baring their breasts to the bayonets of invading armies. It is this love of country, that stands like a shield of steel to protect our constitution from the assaults of internal foes. [Cheers.]

Nothing so much encourages this feeling as the happy union of the people of different communities and commonwealths in festive gatherings like these.

Social intercurse is the corner-stone of good government. It kindles generous sentiments and strengthens mutual regard. The oftener citizens of the several States and sections are brought together, the sooner will all asperities



be softened and all unkindness done away. This interchange of hospitality makes us truly feel we are members of one family, born to the same inheritance of liberty, and protected in our rights by the same constitution. It teaches us that the various States are but "many mansions" in one house-the home of our fathers. It engenders a common love for each, and implants in our hearts the resolution to maintain the welfare and the rights of every portion of our Confederacy.

It assures us that the "border ruffians" of the far West have but little more reality in their existence than the phantom ship or the Flying Dutchman, and the shriekers for freedom who are always bleeding (but never die!) for Kansas, are as small in quantity as the prize-money to a seaman of an English man-of-war after the officers have taken their share. You remember Jack's reply, when asked how the prize-money was distributed. Oh! said he, they strain it through a ladder ; what falls to the ground belongs to the officers, what sticks to the rounds goes to the men.

In that feeling, then, of common love, men of the West, we welcome you here to-day!

Some of you, for the first time, look upon us and our homes. Here were we born, and here have we reared our household gods!

To many of you are our names and lineage unknown, but to you all there is a guarantee of friendship, in that our fathers shed their common blood to earn the blessings we now share. [Applause.]

Some of you are returning to the place of your nativity and to the happy memories which cluster round your "childhood's home." "Fidelity to the home of your adoption finds no guarantee in a renegade desertion of that of your birth," and there is no want of manliness in the tear which gathers in your eye as you view your native hills, "the valley's changeful green," and tread with filial reverence the sod upon your fathers' graves.

Under whatever circumstances you come, we give you a warm and heart-felt welcome to our homes and our firesides. As we know each other better, so will our bond of friendship be more enduring.

I know the value of such friendly visits. It was my privilege to enjoy a similar opportunity on the recent railroad celebration, so pleasantly denominated the "Wedding of the waters of the Chesapeake with those of the great West." Although present at the marriage ceremony, I cannot tell who was the happy bride. I cannot say whether it was the blooming maiden, who came leaping, like a thing of joy and beauty, from the mountain, and was called Miss Souri, or whether it was the stately widow, who came majestically and royally from the cold North, under the name of Mrs. Sippi. [Laughter.] But this I do know, it was a brilliant wedding, and the sun shone brightly on the bride; and on the way to and from the wedding, we had a gloriously



"good time." [Renewed merriment.] The "Catawba" and "Missouri" flowed in torrents, like Niagara. It was served to us in bottles, it was given to us in demijohns ; indeed, Mr. President, it was everywhere "lying about loose." It was a great trial to resist that Catawba or that insinuating Missouri. I saw a leader of a Total Abstinence Society, who declared he found no more harm in it than in the "hard cider" of 1840. [Cheers and laughter.]

That great railroad, too, extending its iron grasp from our own Patapsco to the shore of the " Father of Waters," what a lesson did it teach us. I learned from it what a powerful agent it is to republicanize a people. It teaches man how, in his own individuality, in this country, he is lost sight of in the mass. There the senator and humblest citizen sit together, and the rich man enjoys no greater privileges than the poor emigrant by his side. They travel alike, with no courier but the telegraph, and with no coat of arms but a good character. It brings citizens of far distant sections close together, and keeps alive those friendly feelings which absence too often wipes away. We are under obligations to it for placing you among us this day, and in behalf of Baltimore and its citizens, I desire to offer you a cordial welcome.

Men of the West, welcome! Do you hail from Cincinnati, famed throughout our land as the Queen City of the West? Welcome! Do you come from Chillicothe, which, for a quarter of a century, has stood with its portals wide open to receive the weary pilgrim on his journey West? Welcome! Or do you come from the city which La Clede founded on the shores of the Mississippi? We greet you!

Women of the West! (oh! what would these men be without you?) we welcome you!

Music by the band.

Mr. Whyte's remarks were enthusiastically cheered throughout. At the close, the Chair announced the second regular toast:

2. The Young West.-The finger of destiny points to it as the future Empire of surpassing agricultural wealth, manufacturing production, commercial energy, and political power. May its wisdom and its patriotism, transcending even these, continue to enrich our country's history, with imperishable examples of national grandeur, civil justice, and social happiness!

AIR-Speed the Plough.

His excellency Gov. Chase, of Ohio, was called upon to respond to this toast, and was received with rounds of applause. He said:

Mr. PRESIDENT:-I am called upon to respond to a sentiment in commendation of the young West. For what portion of our broad land am I ex-



pected to speak? A hundred years ago there was no West at all. There was a vast, unexplored, unknown tract, which extended westward from the summit of the Alleghenies, no man could tell whither. But there were no settlers. Beyond the mountain crest, in 1763, settlement was forbidden by the British King. But the authority of royal edicts went down before the storm of the revolution, and it was then that the Genesis of the new-born institutution of freedom called into being a West. It was a fair and lovely land, over which the Alleghanies kept watch from the East, while the Mississippi, rushing down from the region of Northern snows, guarded its western borders.

[At this point the Mayor desired the speaker to pause for a moment, on account of some confusion-arising out of the growing animation in that quarter-in the lower end of the immense all where it was impossible to hear. After a brief delay he resumed.]

It is not very easy, Mr. Mayor, to speak to an assemblage of many hundred gentlemen, gathered in one hall, upon an occasion like this. It is impossible for anybody to make himself heard throughout the vast extent of this room, and it would be unreasonable to expect of men, whose hearts are set all a-glow by Baltimore hospitality, and who cannot possibly hear what is said at this end of the hall, that they should keep very silent at the other end. I am not at all surprised that they should prefer a little talking among themselves, to trying to listen to what they cannot hear. And, surrounded as they are on every side by so much grace and loveliness, who can wonder that they are even a little more than joyful to night. [Applause.]

And indeed, Mr. Mayor, it hardly seems necessary that I should make any elaborate speech for the Young West, when you have all around you so many of her sons, drawn, by your invitation, from their homes to your hospitable board. From the shores of the Father of Waters, from the borders of the beautiful Ohio, from the valley of the gentle Scioto, they have come at your summons, and they find that the warmth of Baltimore hearts is only surpassed by the warmth of a Baltimore sun. [Applause.] They greet you, Mr. Mayor, with glad and grateful hearts, filled with sincere and earnest aspirations that City of Baltimore, which has already achieved for herself such splendid distinctions, may go on from strength to strength, and from conquest to conquest, until she shall have fully realized the most glowing anticipations which even your zeal for her interests has ever indulged. More than that, what lover of Baltimore can wish?

The men of the West, Mr. Mayor, come to you, we trust, with hearts as warm and as loyal as your own. We love, indeed, with special devotion, the great States whose children, by birth or adoption, we are ; but we should be ashamed of ourselves if ignobly conscious that the circle of our affections embraced anything less than our country and our whole country. We should be



ashamed to accept your hospitalities if we could not pledge ourselves to uphold and defend, with you and with equal zeal, now and evermore, Right, Justice, and Union. [Cheers and applause.] Sir, in that great central valley from which we come, there are no disloyal hearts. From the mountains which, from its eastern border, look down upon the Atlantic, to that far off range whose snowy summits are reflected from the tranquil waters of the Pacific, there beats, I trust, no heart-and I trust there never will beat a heart-disloyal to this glorious Union. [Renewed applause.] In devotion to the Union we do not mean to let anybody go beyond us. Our Kentucky neighbors are in the habit of boasting that they have the fastest horses, the fleetest dogs, and the fairest women in the world. We in Ohio are not quite so apt to vaunt, but you will forgive me, Mr. Mayor, if, catching something of that spirit, I affirm that love of the Union is nowhere more earnest or more ardent than in the hearts of our people. [Cheers and hearty applause.]

And now sir, permit me, in behalf of these young men of the West, and in behalf of the men of the West not quite so young, whom your invitation has drawn hither, to return to you, and to the city of Baltimore, our heartfelt acknowledgments for your kind and cordial welcome. We shall take the vivid sense of it home with us, and rejoice in the remembrance of it for years to come. And, though we cannot hope to match your matchless hospitality, we shall not be satisfied until, with hearts warm as your own, and with as cordial grasps of friendly hands, we can reciprocate your welecome in our western homes. [Applause and cheers.]

I will detain you no longer, Mr. Mayor. I have heard of a good old Connecticut minister who said that sometimes, he was ashamed to say, he had done some very wrong things, and at other times, he was sorry to say, he done some very foolish things ; "but," said he, "I am very grateful, brethren, that I was never left to do a long thing." Permit me, therefore, that I may not be "left to do a long thing," to close here by expressing the feelings of my own heart, and of all the western hearts around me, in this sentiment :

The City of Baltimore.-Generous in hospitality, energetic in enterprises, great in achievement ; the young West welcomes the embrace of her iron arms.[Prolonged cheers and applause ]

The President announced the third regular toast, as follows :

3. Charles Carroll, of Carrollton.-The last survivor of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, and who, on the 4th of July, 1828, laid the foundation stone of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

• "True honor comes, a pilgrim gray,
• To deck the turf that wraps his clay."

AIR-Oft in the Stilly Night.







Mayor Swann called upon John W. Garrett, of Baltimore, one of the Directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, who responded :

I regret, Mr. President, that the privilege of casting anew laurels upon the grave of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, has not been confided to abler hands ; but, sir, if perfect veneration for his patriotism and high appreciation of his services, in the last great act of his life, in inaugurating the magnificent enterprise which has assured the destiny of our city, afford any title, I may not refuse my humble tribute to his memory.

On the 4th of July, 1828, amid the imposing ceremonies and demonstrations of interest manifested by every class of the citizens of Baltimore, of Maryland, and the surrounding States, after ninety-one winters had silvered his head, and he alone remained, the solitary survivor of the 56 immortal signers of the Declaration of Independence, that illustrious man then declared, through the orator of that day, whilst "in the full possession of his powers, with his feelings and affections still buoyant and warm," "that the proudest act of his life, and the most important one in its consequences to his country, was the signature of Independence-the next the laying of the first stone of the work, which was to perpetuate the Union of the American States, to make the East and West as one household in the facilities of intercourse and the feelings of mutual affection."

At that period, sir, the great idea of the railroad was in its infancy. But one charter then existed in Europe, granted in 1826, for the construction of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The charter of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was obtained in 1827.

All honor, then, to the comprehensive minds, to the sagacious and disin-guished men, who originated and commenced the magnificent enterprise of connecting the waters of the Chesapeake and the Ohio, and who pressed forward the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the splendid pioneer in the great system of American Railways.

The Prophetic inspiration of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, has been realized. During the past year more than 600,000 passengers and nearly one million tons of freight have been transported on this great highway, and we find its revenue for that period $830,000 in excess of the entire original capital of the company, which was but four millions dollars.

Foresight, enterprise and energy have distinguished the leading administrations of this company. For twenty nine years, without a single exception, its affairs have been administered with singular and uniform integrity and honor ; and now, with 230 locomotives and 4,000 cars, it presents a greater equipment than any other road of the Union-a large portion of second track, a double line of magnetic telegraph, a most substantial and superior road, and a capacity for a large increase of its already immense business.







Mr. President, the natural position of Baltimore is a most favorable one. Situated on the western borders of the noble Chesapeake, where the salt waves of the Atlantic almost lave the feet of the Alleghanies, it is thus nearer the great centres of western commerce, and the mighty valleys of the Ohio and the Mississippi, than our rival sister cities of the North. We required but the foresight and indomitable perseverance of those who have so wisely planned and executed our iron routes to command success. [Applause.]

We have stretched our arm in the South to Parkersburg, thus offering facilities and economy of river transportation, so desirable as undoubtedly to attract an important portion of traffic, that has heretofore sought the seaboard markets by way of New Orleans. And through this branch also the union as has been accomplished with the Marietta and Cincinnati Road, thus perfecting the American Central Line. By the northern arm we have still another most desirable route, which may be properly styled the Line of the Capitals. Grasping at our side the brilliant and progressive National Metropolis and our own revered Annapolis-the seat of classic and eloquent memories, and still, as of yore, of cordial and elegant hospitalities-thence Westward by our welcome tributary and connection, the Central Ohio Road, to Columbus, whose magnificent government buildings indicate the wealth and greatness of the mighty State of Ohio. While it has important branches here, north to the Lakes and south to Cincinnati, it progresses still directly onward to the seat of government of Indiana. And this, sir, is not only the line of the capitals, but, as I feel assured our guests who have passed over it will endorse, a most capital line. [Applause.]

We have here, sir, noble contestants for the palm of enterprise, energy, and public spirit. Distinguished representatives from the communities of Chillicothe, of Zanesville, of Columbus, of Cincinnati, and last but not least, of St. Louis. Each, in its degree, has accomplished miracles, and our highest claim is only fraternity and equality. [Applause.]

By the great achievements of these communities we are linked in iron bands from the Chesapeake to the Mississippi. By their aid the great Southern path is open between these distant points, directly and reliably, and comparatively free from the fierce rigors of northern winters.

I have detained you too long-but I must be pardoned to add that if there be degrees of beatitude in Heaven, and souls there are sensible of progress and happiness here,-this festive scene, embalmed by the cordial brotherhood and friendly greetings of citizens from many States, and from a territory of more than 1,000 miles in extent, graced by this galaxy of the lovely and amiable from the West, intermingling with the sweet sisterhood of our hearts and homes,-if there be such sensations there-at this delighful fruition of his words of Faith and Hope, in friendship, patriotism, harmony and the promotion of mutual interests, surely we may imagine an additional



throb of joy to the heart of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, even in the Spirit land.

This very practical and earnest speech was well received.

The next toast was :

4. The City of Chillicothe.-May the facilities of present intercourse strengthen the bonds that joined us in ancient amity, ere "Young America," irreverently faster than his father, began to " ride us on a rail."

AIR-Few Days.

Wm. E. Gilmore of Chillicothe. responded as follows :

Gentlemen of the city of Baltimore: In behalf of our Mayor, who feels that his lungs are not sufficient to make himself heard in this vast hall, I am unexpectedly called upon to respond to the toast which has just been read, in regard to my native city. It is with fear that I trust myself to speak here, and give utterance to the thoughts which arise in my mind, in view of the the beautiful excursion and magnificent entertainment with which you of Baltimore have treated us of the West. [Applause.]

I have fears that the expressions of my mind might savor of childish enthusiasm if I permitted myself to respond as my thoughts present themselves. And yet, why should I not be enthusiastic upon an occasion like this? We of Chillicothe have come 500 miles by rail to the city of Baltimore. We have come over a road more wonderful in its accomplishment than the road built by Napoleon across the Alps. The mighty Alleghanies with their peaks have passed in review before us, as it were by magic, or as the army of an emperor might pass in view before him. We thought as we came along of the mighty intellect that first conceived the road, of the wondrous energy that executed it, and why should we not be enthusiastic? And above all, in this fair city of Baltimore, with these warm and hearty greetings with which we have been met, not as strangers from distant lands-but as brothers-why should we not be enthusiastic? Under circumstances such as surround me here, it would be folly indeed for me to attempt to speak at any length, and it would be equally in bad taste. I will only add to what I have said, that we of Chillicothe will remember this kind greeting-will remember all these things attending this excursion, and record them in our hearts upon leaves to which we will turn every day and read with affectionate regard. [Applause and cheers.]

Mr. Gilmore was highly complimented for his beautiful remarks. President announced as the next regular toast :

5. The City of Cincinnati. Her lap teeming with varied manufactures, and the rich productions of mechanical skill, art and commerce ; she well becomes the coronet that graces her queenly brow.

AIR-Prima Donna Waltz.







Judge Hart, of Cincinnati, responded to this toast as follows :

Mr. PRESIDENT : -There is confined in one of the Western Lunatic Asylums a man who is laboring under the delusion that the original seat of Paradise was not in Asia, but upon the farm where he was raised, through which flows a stream called Goose Creek. [Laughter.] Now it is charged against the people of Cincinnati that we labor under a delusion not unlike that of our Goose Creek friend. It is said that we believe that the sun, the bright old sun, does not rise in the east, but in Cincinnati, and there he retires to his rest. And to judge of our State pride by our city pride, we plead guilty of it, but claim that our fancy in this respect was confined within the limits that are reasonable and pardonable.

An occasional display of this fancy we know that the people of can forget and forgive, for it has been my pleasure to know many men in the West, born and reared in Baltimore, and I never yet have known one of them whose face did not flush deeper, and whose heart did not heat quicker, when an allusion was made to the city of his birth. [Applause and cheers] In the proudest days of the Roman republic, the exclamtion, "I am a Roman citizen," was never uttered with that proud emphasis that I have heard from the lips of a child of Baltimore, as he said, "I am a Baltimorean." [Applause.]

Baltimoreans, you have many and various causes for self-congratulation. Your prosperity has kept pace with the physical developments of this favored land, and that prosperity rests upon a sure and solid foundation. But there clusters around the name of Baltimore a prouder glory derived from the pages of history, which gives you a just right to exult, and which ought properly to inspire you with the noblest sentiments of pride. The names of your ancestors are linked with events in our history to which we all ascribe the greatness and glory of our common country. The shackles of religious intolerance were shaken off upon the soil of Maryland, and the doctrine of religious liberty was here maintained and upheld, and that every man had an indisputable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of his own conscience, was first proclaimed in Maryland. [Cheers and applause.] Your antecedents are linked indissolubly and gloriously with the events of the American Revolution, and in those other brilliant achievements of the second war of independence, which you have commemorated in monumental stone. [Renewed applause.]

But, Baltimoreans, I want you to remember that Cincinnati, too, has a history to which we proudly point, and which we say ought to challenge the wonder and the admiration of the world. You know, Mr. President, that within the memory of men and women still living, the place now occupied by the city of Cincinnati was the abode of the Indian and the wild beasts of the forest. It is not long since that but a few cottages were the only signs of civilization in that vast and extended wilderness that stretched from the Alleghany to the



Rocky Mountains. And yet, within a single lifetime, from a few log-cabins you have seen grow up a city containing over 200,000 souls. Is not that, in itself, a wonderful creation? And what manner of men and women were they who have built up a city like that from such a small beginning? They were brave and noble-hearted, and we of Cincinnati are as proud of their achievements and their memories as you of Baltimore are of the bright galaxy of names which are inscribed upon your many noble monuments. [Applause]

I do not desire to speak of Cincinnati altogether as she was fifty years ago. I desire to speak of Cincinnati as she is now. She is not now a mere cluster of log-cabins, whose smoke only indicates to the emigrant that there was a clearing or a settlement in the far wilderness. She is now the centre of civilization and the gate of commerce and trade of a vast region of country. Her present commercial and manufacturing facilities are daily creating new elements of power and wealth ; and let me say to you, Baltimoreans-let me whisper it privately in your ears-that we of Cincinnati are your natural allies in trade and commerce. [Applause and cheers.]

And aside from our commercial and manufacturing wealth, there is another thing I would speak of for a moment. We have a system of common schools which is the pride of the West. [Renewed and prolonged applause.] It has attained that degree of merit, that even men of wealth turn aside from the private and commit to their public institutions the education of their sons and daughters. We have, too, a fire department, which, in its appointment and in its execution, exceeds any thing in the known world. [Applause and cheers.] I ought not omit a reference to the progress which we have made in the fine arts.

But I will not detain you with any more remarks upon this subject. Nor will I detain you with a reference to the parks and public buildings of Cincinnati. But I cannot close without presenting to you, and through you to the people of Baltimore, in behalf of the Cincinnatians who are assembled around me here, our sincere thanks for the kind hospitalities which you have tendered to us, and to express the hope that we shall have the opportunity at no distant day to reciprocate them. [Applause and repeated cheers.]

Mr. Swann asked the company to fill up for another bumper :

6. The City of St. Louis. Fair daughter of the Father of Waters. Joyously do we celebrate the nuptials of the beauteous bride, whom our twenty-nine years of wooing have won.

AIR-Marsellaise Hymn.

Mr. Charles A. Drake, of St. Louis, responded as follows :

MR. PRESIDENT, AND FRIENDS OF THE MONUMENTAL CITY :-The honorable duty of responding, on behalf of your guests from the far distant city of St. Louis, to thee sentiment just given, has been devolved by them on me,



Well were it for their representative, if, with hand on heart, and with head lowly bowed, he could be permitted silently to offer you the grateful homage which swells all our hearts, and impedes that utterance which, however and by whomsoever given, could not rise to the height of what we have felt scine we became your honored guests, and what we feel most deeply now, in this hour of your munificent and triumphant hospitality. Well would it be for him, if, in the midst of those who have been familiar with the oratory of a Pinckney, a Wirt, a McMahon, and others whose names and eloquence illustrate your city, he could be spared a contrast which nothing less than a call of imperial duty could impel him to brave. But this is not the hour for silence. We are here to open the floodgates of thought and feeling, and to speak with tongue, and eye, and hand-each heart bearing to every other its grateful offering of fraternal courtesy and regard, and taking from every other a sure return from its exhaustless treasury. To you, our hosts, however, is due the first expression of our feelings ; and to you, on behalf of St. Louis and her citizens here assembled, I offer thanks, warm thanks-thanks with our hearts all in them: take them, I pray you-they are all we have to give. [Great applause.]

The events of the past few days, reaching their most befitting consummation in this scene of unsurpassed elegance, may seem to the superficial observer to be merely the overflowing of a generous hospitality ; but to the calm and philosphical inquirer they are full of a higher and more enduring meaning. They impress upon the face of history the character of the age and country in which we live. The Old World will read of them as something strange, and will wake up to the consciousness that Time, which, with them, is old and decrepit, and in his slumberous senility evolves little which is allowed to reach and move the popular heart, is here young and powerful and cheerful, and ever and anon, in his rapid flight, throws off from his resplendent wings events which startle and delight for the moment, only to prepare the way for others still more animating, remarkable, and impressive. The simple fact that we have, upon an invitation only a few days old, traversed a thousand miles of distance to take you by the hand and to accept your hospitality; that we have come from the farther shore of our great river to meet you here by the waters of the beautiful Chesapeake ; that in doing so we have traversed the entire width of three great States, which were not States when the Nineteenth Century was ushered into existence, but whose inhabitants are now numbered by millions; that all that distance has, as it were, vanished from under our feet, as the iron-clad and steam-breathing coursers swept with unflagging power over the trembling earth ; that from the moment of farewell to the queenly home we left, till that of our welcome to the almost regal hospitality of our scarcely less than home in your midst, we neither saw nor heard of custom-house, or troops, or officials jealous of our passage, nor required passport other than that which heart gives to heart; that each particular foot and



inch of the way lay through a land where freedom and republican institutions shed their united effulgence down upon a happy people, all speaking one tongue, all glorying in one national name, all instinct with one patriotism, all emulous to excel in devotion to one and the same country ; that these things can now be seen, and written, and spoken of-what is it but opening a new page in history? Where, when, by whom was its like ever before written, except concerning your recent excursion to our own St. Louis? Where else than in this land can its like ever be written? And for what price that earth could offer would we this day barter away that page and its new and resplendent glory? [Loud and long continued applause.]

We come to celerate a nuptial feast! The lord of the Chesapeake weds the fair daughter of the Father of Waters! Long has he wooed-at last he has won her. Started on his journey toward her by a hand trembling with age, but which, in its youth, was immortalized by another and a nobler work, the lord went forth to seek beneath the setting sun the daughter of Missouri. Slowly, with discouragement, difficulty, doubt, and fatigue, but ever with hopeful heart, and patient endurance, and iron will, he wends his way over hill and mountain and valley ; now ascending peak after peak ; now descending slopes of rugged grandeur ; now rushing on the verge of precipices overlooking an Alpine world ; now leaping yawning chasms at a bound ; now cutting through embattled rocks, where nature had enthroned herself from creation's natal hour ; ever battling, but never baffled ; delayed, but not dismayed ; shouting forth his cheerful song to echoes whose long slumbers had been waked only by the the rolling voice of the clouds ; onward, and ever onward he moved, till a generation had passed away, and then, with a new generation to witness the august nuptials, he clasps his willing bride in his embrace, and binds the union with an iron knot, which the Almighty may cut asunder, but man can never. Joyfully this day do we join hand and heart in celebrating with you these glorious espousals. Henceforth you and we are no longer only friends-we are brothers. May confusion seize the ruthless hand that would ever put aught but brotherly love between you and us. [Applause.]

But, my friends, leaving the figurative, and descending to the substantial realities which belong to the present circumstances, what shall we, your guests, say-nay, what can we say that would not be trite and tame-concerning the great road which has, after so long a time, and through so many delays, and apparently almost insurmountable trials, and at such a vast expense, been built? Should we say that you have, in it, constructed your own noblest and most enduring monument-that has been often said before. Should we say that it is a great bond of union among the States of this confederacy-however The foundation stone of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was laid on the 4th of July, 1828, by CHARLES CARROLL, of Carrollton, the last survivor of the Signers of the Deelara-tion of Independence. 5



glorious may be the truth, and however it may deserve to be repeated and cherished, it has yet been said a thousand times. Should we say that along this vast iron artery which you have laid, commerce is to pursue her beneficent way for untold years to come, dispensing countless blessings to future generations, and glorifying, while it exists, the names of its founders, and of the noble city whose name it bears, an of your dearly beloved State, we should but weary you with the repetition of a truth which has been spoken and written unnumbered times. But when we say that you have done a work which gave a new impulse to civilization, which belongs in its results to the world, and whose benefits are not to be confined to this or that people, but are to be felt directly or remotely by all nations with whom we as a people have intercourse-we but express the conviction that forced itself upon us as we looked for the first time upon your gigantic and now completed enterprise.

We confess that the interest with which we started on our route from the Ohio River to your city, soon deepened into admiration, and that, in its turn, became awe, as the reality forced itself upon us, that you had, for all practical purposes of transit, obliterated the Alleghanies from the map of our country. They are there as ever, but they are no longer there as an obstacle, a hindrance, a barrier. Their Altamont, 2,700 feet above the sea, is practically now no higher than a prairie village on the banks the Wabash or the Illinois. You have, as it were, with a huge claymore, riven the back-bone of the eastern portion of our continent asunder, that your iron steeds may rush and snort through the open, but not bleeding, gash. It is a mighty achievement, before which all others of a similar kind must be regarded as comparatively insignificant. History will ask-we would ask now-from whose brain leaped forth the thought of this mighty work? Upon whose name is destined to rest the fadeless glory of its origin? We know not ; but whoever he is or was, what patriot would exchange the honor this work does him for a conqueror's laurels or a kingly diadem? If he be not known, seek him out, and record his name now, while his contemporaries live, and leave it not to be buried beneath the falling leaves of an age that soon must pass away. Be grateful to at least one benefactor of the human race! [Long-continued applause.]

We should lose the great lesson which this, your work, should teach us, if we failed to inquire and note the characteristics of your people which led to its construction. As there never was before such an achievement ; as it stands, and must stand out forever, not only the pioneer in this land, but without any peer in any land ; as its creation required an exhibition of man's power, such as he had not put forth in all previous time ; it concerns us to inquire how, Altamont is the highest point on the mountains reached by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. See page - of the first part of this volume. Refer to page - of the History of the Baltimore and Ohio Road, in this volume, which Mr. Drake had not read, or he would have acknowledged PHILIP E. THOMAS as the "benefactor."



and through what channels, this power was exerted. It was by concentration, action, and transformation. Concentration of thought, purpose, will, means, and men-not futile and impotent, but quick with life, and taking shape in action, and that action tending, not to rebuild and perpetuate the old and decayed, nor to hem in what is, so that it should never be aught else, but to transform it into something better, and in the transformation to make it give forth new qualities, and put forth new and more exquisite beauties. It is only as a people thus develop their powers, that they march in the way of improvement to the goal of a substantial glory. All honor to Maryland and her citizens, for this illustrious example of what concentrated, transforming action can accomplish! [Great applause.]

Time's contrasts are powerful but humbling teachers. We build at vast expense, in one generation, what comes in the next to degredation, if not contempt. We suppose the achievement of to-day will be regarded with wonder in years to come, and lo, to-morrow almost, it is withered beneath the blaze of some more brilliant exploit. A mighty government performs a work too great for individual power, and soon individual power surpasses all that government wrought out. These thoughts intruded upon the mind as I read in an advertisement, that the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad "is located nearly upon the line of the old National Road." The old National Road! What a place in our history does that old road occupy! What an interest would its legislative history not have to political antiquarians! How many politicians has it not, in years gone by, made and unmade! Who can estimate the good it did in the day of its usefulness? And who shall say that that monument which was erected by its margin to the then living and glorious but now departed-but in our hearts not the less living and glorious-statesman of Ashland, was not worthily erected, because already that great structure is sinking from view beneath the green carpet which time spreads over the graves of all men and things? Great as it was in its conception and execution for the period in which it was called into existence, it lies before us now, presenting one of time's most striking contrasts, rebuking man's self-sufficiency and pride, and pointing ever to that mightier work which you of Maryland have accomplished, and over which, with you, we this day rejoice. Was it not this old National road which was in the poetic fancy of our American artist-poet, when he sang in tuneful numbers the requiem of the Deserted Road?

• "Ancient highway, thou art vanquished ;
• The usurper of the vale
• Rolls in fiery, iron rattle,
• Exultations on the gale.
• "Thou art vanquished and neglected ;
• But the good which thou hast done,
• Though by man it be forgotten,
• Shall be deathless as the sun."






But where would the mind repose, if we followed the streams of thought which spring forth, as we yield ourselves up to the contemplation of your great work, and the fame with which it has crowned your city and your State? Were these festivities prolonged beyond the hours of the passing day, and every moment devoted to the rapid enunciation of those thoughts, time would yet be wanting to utter the half that might be told. We would speak, too, of the consecrated dust which sleeps beneath the storied marble that daily meets your eyes ; we would refer more fully to your illustrious dead and your scarcely less illustrious living ; we would rejoice to dwell on much of all that makes Maryland the beloved and cherished MARY of our national family ; but the voice of the bride must not now be heard too long in the halls of the the bride-groom. [Hearty applause.]

He, however, in sight of the noble structure erected by your State to the Father of his Country ; in the region of his exploits ; with the city near by which bears his august name ; with soil all around you consecrated by the blood of our common ancestors ; here, this day, before the world-ay, and before angels and Heaven itself-we adjure you to bind yourselves to us and to all who share our lineage, our country, and our hopes, to preserve, protect, and defend, with lives, wih fortunes, and with honor, the Union of these States, now, hereafter, and forever. This there is time to say-this there were time to say though death were at the door&this we of St. Louis will say, till the last drop of our mighty river is lost in its green ocean grave.

After the hearty applause following this speech, the next toast was read :

7. The Prosperity of the Great West.-The rainbow which the city of Baltimore rejoices to behold.

• "In it she sees the joys of corning years,
• Before whose heavenly hues all darkness disappears."

AIR-Swift as the Flash.

Dr. H. Willis Baxley, of Baltimore, being called upon to respond, spoke as follows :

I regret that the absence of another has devolved upon me the task of replying to this toast. But the sentiment it announces is the sentiment of Baltimore, and as such should not fail of public endorsement by one of her sons. True, there are circumstances which should absolve me, personally, from this duty ; but the obligation of hospitality, at all times, and in all places, one of religion, requires that this sentiment, especially, should not pass as if indifferently entertained. As a member of the committee who presented it, and one often and most flatteringly distinguished by western kindness, I will say, that sincerely do our fellow-citizens rejoice in the prosperity of the Great West. Nor does that joy flow merely from selfish interests promoted thereby, through the great central channel, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,



justly considered the direct and main arterial trunk, arising from the agricultural heart of the North American Continent, the geographical centre of the Mississippi Valley. It is so natural in contemplating good fortune, to indulge in self-gratulation, that we would not seem to imply, much less profess indifference to ours, by failing to recognize and acknowledge the great advantages which must come directly, and in a commercial alike with social sense, from the command of the shortest and most expeditious avenue to that immense source of production and supply ; an avenue which follows most nearly the national highway indicated by Washington ; which was mapped and chartered by Nature herself, and adopted by the wisdom of our forefathers-an Appian Way of the States, East and West. Whilst recognizing this truth, we would, however, on this national occasion, proclaim what we feel-a philanthropy above profit ; a patriotism not restrained by merely selfish and mercenary calculation. And looking beyond local interests to the broader field of human good, we rejoice at that western prosperity, which, however palpably recognized, yet can retain no mere sectional centralization, but must radiate its beneficent influences over the broad expanse of our own and other lands. At that prosperity which comes of inexhaustible soil and genial climate ; of industry, frugality, enterprise, morality, sources of knowledge, and of the mingling of civilized nationalaties and races, through immigration-that problem of moral grandeur, which seems to have been reserved for a sublime demonstration on this greatest and appropriate theatre of physical nature, and finding a fit type of its power and effects in that mighty river, which, having its source in the frozen regions of the North, receives the tribute of every clime to swell the stream that bathes the limits of Empire States, as it flows onward to the sunny seas of the tropics, dispensing the blessings of civilization and commerce to all. [Applause.]

In this career of prosperity, not merely ours, but the sympathies and the hopes of nations are with the great West, for the people of these nations are of the West, and for it ; not merely with idle commendation, but in the power of industrial effort, mechanical and manufacturing skill, and progressive science. The oppressors of the old world may frown, their sycophants may sneer, but they are alike powerless, however they may combine and plan, to retard the progress of the sublime experiment of popular sovereignty and happiness, which is now in process of fulfilment ; and which the West, if it remain true to its immense resources, its privileges of position, its balance-power, and its fealty to a greater than England's great charter, the Constitution of this Union-for it guarantees the rights of States as well as of individuals-if true to these, the Great West will continue to present its sublime career to the nations of the earth as a covenant of political promise, a "rainbow" which all will rejoice to behold ; for, in the language of the toast,

• "In it we see the joys of coming years,
• Before whose heavenly hues all darkness disappears."






8. Washington.-Let his memory at each recurring dawn receive the homage of his countrymen, as yonder monument the sun at its coming ; whilst patriotism, glowing with warmer effulgence, as the vesper hymn salutes the evening air, shall liken the parting beam that pencils his marble brow.

Air-Washington's March.

Judge Z. C. Lee, of Baltimore, being loudly called for, in response to teh 8th toast, said :

We hail, Mr. President and gentlemen, with a sincere welcome, our friends and brethren from the West. That welcome has greeted them everywhere : around the gorges of the mountains and through the green valleys they have passed ; music, banners, and woman's smiles have heralded them to our city and here we indeed hail them as our guests. It is not, however, as citizens of Missouri, Ohio, and the West, that we honor them, but because they are our fellow-citizens of the United States, and to-day, at this festive board, we meet with them to rekindle on our coutnry's altar the fires of patriotism and the love of uion, which more than eighty years ago our fathers lighted up, and to pledge to each other the determination to guard, with vestal vigilance and more than Roman constancy, the sacred flame which burns on that altar of the Union.Extinguish this(for through bloodshed and civil war it can alone be done), put out this glorious light, and what power on earth can restore it? [Applause.]

• "I know not where is the Promethean heat that can this light relume."

Our Republic (as has been well said) now extends across the whole continent. The two great oceans of the globe wash its Atlantic and Pacific shores, and we realize the poetical description of the ornamental edging of of Achilles :

• "Now the broad shield complete the artist crowned
• With his last band and poured the ocean round,
• In living silver seemed the waves to roll,
• And beat the buckler's verge and bound the whole."

So appears our country and our Union ; may it be perpetual!

It was my good fortune to visit lately, as one of their guests, the great cities whose representaties are now here. On the banks of the Ohio and the Mississippi, I beheld with astonishment and admiration the evidences of their progress, wealth, and power-palaces of merchant princes, public institutions of arts and charity met the eye on every hand. Not a wave that broke their shores but bore the emblems of their commerce and trade-not a sound that woke with the morning's sun but brought to the ear the hum of busy industry from their workshops and manufactories. And, standing on the banks of the great Father of Waters, I asked myself the question-Is there a faction



or a party in this broad land which can ever dare to contemplate, or imagine, a disunion of these States?-whose cities stand here like bright sentinels with flaming swords to guard from treason and violence this Paradise our heroic fathers established with their blood-whose noble rivers, commingling in harmony, together flow on-becoming wider, deeper, and purer as they approach the ocean-fit emblems of our country's power and destiny. The Potomac, the Patapsco, the Ohio, the Missouri, and the Mississippi, can never bear upon their bosoms any banner but that of the Union ; nor can the day ever come, as we fondly hope, when their waters shall be crimsoned with fraternal blood. The bad man is not yet born who can successfully rally to his standard traitors enough to form a corporal's guard ; so long as we, the people of the United States, have the spirit to be free and the virtue to be just. [Applause.]

Two revolutions have occurred within the memory of some who yet survive. The American and the French-the former vindicated the rights of man without crime and outrage ; the latter asserted human freedom, but deluged the world in blood, and buried liberty and religion beneath the ruins of very despotism which had oppressed them.

From the one rose the majestic form and glorious character of Washington as the brightest living model of a citizen and a patriot ; from the other the warlike and imperial figure of Napoleon Bonaparte, an example of human ehlevation without patriotism and virtue. The conqueror of Europe and the captive of St. Helena survived the Father of his Country ; chained to his island rock he expired crownless and abandoned. Washingtonbreathed his last upon the bosom of that beloved country he had redeemed, and closing his own eyes in peace, died as he had lived, without fear and without reproach. And although his bones repose not beneath the gorgeous temple of the Invalids, and were borne with no imperial ceremonies to the tomb, yet they are canonized by a nation's gratitude, and have a monument more enduring, we may trust, than yonder column ; that monument is the Constitution and Union of these States. Maryland will preserve it until its last armed foe expires. What say you men of the great West ? [Enthusiastic Applause.]

But in our efforts to maintain the happy Union under which we live, let us invoke the aid of religion and education-the school-house and the church can do much to retard the fearful stream of vice and insubordination which is sweeping throughour land. A spirit of order and obedience to law should be inculcated and enforced-social and political virtue revived and law rewarded-men of integrity and truth placed by popular suffrage in places of power and trust, and thus shall we realize, sir, the fond and anxious wishes of the immortal Washington, who, in his farewell address, implores his countrymen to cultivate sentiments of affection and good will between the different parts of the Union, and impress upon our children the importance and value of civil liberty, which can alone flourish where that liberty is regulated by law.







But it is not my purpose to dwell on this interesting theme-this is not the occasion ; and I have only to add, that these meetings of citizens from distant sections of our country should be recognized as happy auguries of our future undivided brotherhood and our national spirit. [Applause.]

In 1775, Mr. President, there was a tea party in Boston, where assembled the patriots of Massachusetts. No feast like this was spread before them-around and over their banquet no banners waved and bright eyes flashed, as here to-day, to greet them. At that revolutionary banquet, which they opened, their music was the cannon's roar; the wine they tasted was not this, nor the sparkling champagne, but wine from that grape whose juice was the red blood, for the battle-field and the conflict then commenced was terminated only on the plains of Yorktown. I, therefore, in remembrance of that banquet of valor and patriotism, give you, for their descendants here to-day, to drink with flowing bowls, this sentiment, with the hope that the spirit of our fathers may be cherished by us all, be we citizens of the North, the South, the East, or the West :

The Spirit of 1776-Which animated our fathers at their tea party in Bos-ton, where they preferred the Gunpowder to the Imperial. [Applause]

After music by the band, the ninth toast was announced, and Lieut. Mullen, of the U. S. Army, was called upon to respond :

9. The Army and Navy of the United States-With them the honor of that flag which genius, alike with liberty, has consecrated, will ever remain untarnished.

Air-Yankee Doodle.

Lieut. Mullen said :

MR. PRESIDENT : In responding to this toast, it may not be inappropriate for me to remark that this is an occasion in which the citizens of Baltimore, and the gentlemen of the great West, may not only congratulate themselves, but which we, of the Army and Navy, also have a right to feel proud in being permitted permitted to commemorate. And I have no doubt but that the toast which you have just read meets a hearty response in every heart here this evening. We have assembled to commemorate an occasion which has been characterized by a degree of no ordinary importance ; and it is one in which, as citizens Baltimore, and as representatives of the West, you all, and I may say, myself, feel doubly proud ; for, gentlemen of the West, I welcome you here to Baltimore to-day, in the double capacity of a soldier and a Marylander. You are weccome ; and when I say that, I but repeat the sentiment of the profession which I, myself, humbly represent here this evening.

You have been cordially welcomed to the city of monuments, in behalf of the Marylanders here this evening, by the Demosthenes of Baltimore, W.



Pinkney Whyte, but I must again welcome you, coming as you do, from a section of country in which the profession I represent has heretofore played so conspicuous a part. You, gentlemen, are not strangers to the times that are past-the stirring times of peril, and those days "that tried men's souls;" but in the halcyon days of the future, this will be an occasion to be looked back upon with pride and pleasure, after you return to your hospitable homes. It is to the citizens of St. Louis, particularly, that I address the present remarks. I can never cease to remember with the warmest emotions of gratitude, the kind and hospitable reception which I met with when sent out as one of the emissaries of the Department, that represents the country at large, to survey the route for a railroad to the Pacific. We were not looking to advance the interests of any one section of the country in preference to another, but to gather the facts upon which a great national work might be built. We were not hostile to a Northern route, although by nativity and education, I should have preferred a central route, but we determined not to represent a northern nor a central, but a national railroad route to the Pacific. [Applause.]

And you, gentlemen, are this evening called upon to commemorate an occasion of no ordinary importance. The rocky hills through which you passed but a few days ago, echo and re-echo from day to day in praise of the enterprise, and skill, and success of a few Baltimoreans who undertook a project that was then regarded as a mere chimera and utterly impossible, but which has been brought to a successful termination, as has been proved by your own visit to Baltimore this evening. You are here to commemorate an occasion in which science has battled with the difficulties of nature and has overcome them; she has made gap through the Alleghanies, and conneancted the fertile valleys of the West with the great cities of the seaboard. We have reason to be proud of such an achievement, and I must again express the pleasure it gives me to find that the profession which I represent is held in high and honorable esteem among you, and is not regarded as a mere excrescence upon the body politic; but we are afforded an opportunity to say to you that we are ready, and willing, and anxious to prove that the flag which you have alluded to shall ever be untarnished while in our keeping. [Hearty applause.]

The tenth regular toast was then announced :

10. The Baltimore and Mississippi Railroad-The iron key which has unlocked our front door. In future, friends of the West, as now, you will find on our table a plate, knife and fork, and the string of the latch not pulled in."

Air-Old Folks at Home.

To this toast, Hon. Thomas Swann, Mayor of Baltimore, being loudly caled for, responded as follows :

5*





GENTLEMEN OE THE GREAT WEST: I regret to say that the gentleman who was expected to reply to the toast which has just been read (Wm. Dennison, Jr., of Columbus, Ohio), is unavoidably absent. I did not expect make a speech in his place, and I could have wished that my friends had not been so urgent in their calls upon me, for I have been assigned a far more agreeable duty.

An old friend of mine in Virginia-a barrister of some note-was once loudly called for on an occasion similar to the present. "Gentlemen," said he, "you have placed yourselves at my mercy-you have invited me to make a speech, and courtesy requires that you should hear me through. Now, I know of no better mode in which I can make you a substantial return go your kindness, than to take my seat and say nothing" (cries of no, no; go on; go on!) This was a better speech, in my judgment, than Logan ever made, Mr. Jefferson to the contrary notwithstanding. It was a sensible speech ; it was a practical speech. My first impulse would have been to have followed the example of my friend the barrister, and after thanking you, quietly taking my seat (cries of no! no !); but how can I remain the midst of a scene like this? There are gentlemen present who have come a thousand miles to do us honor. The great West is presented here tonight. No Baltimorean can look upon such a scene without emotion, mach less one who has been deputed to stand in the first rank to dispense the offices of hospitality for this goodly city. This is my excuse for intruding upon your time in responding to the call which has been made upon me. Besides, I have to answer to my constituency of the city of Baltimore, for the manner in which you are entertained here, and received here, upon the soil of the old State of Maryland; and you will permit me to say, that when you touched the soil of that State, you came to the embrace of warm hearts-of men who felt a real pleasure in receiving you-of men who understood and appreciated your position in the Great West, and the relation in which you stood towards the social and commercial interests you of the city of Baltimore. [Applause.]

They recognized in you participants in that common trade, and in that grand combination of commercial interchange, into which they had entered for the purpose of carrying forward and illustrating the views upon which they had been acting for the last quarter of a century. The distinguished gentleman on my right (Gov. Chase), in his remarks when our guests from the West were received on Saturday last, took occasion to say, that the triumph of the State of Maryland-in the maintenance of her credit in the midst of such stupendous undertakings-in the accomplishment of her great financial plans-had established for her a monument more durable than the gigantic line of railway over which you have passed, from the confines of his own State, and to which we are indebted for your presence here to-night. That remark was as beautiful as it was just. The first effort of the city of Balti-



more, as of the State of Maryland, has been to guard, at all sacrifices, that credit, upon which we have been enabled to accomplish, without aid from any quarter, those works of internal improvement, which have not only attracted the interest of our own State, but have awakened the attention of all the States of this Union. [Applause.] The history of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, depending, as she did, upon the limited power and resources of her own little State, furnishes an example to the States whose public works are still undeveloped. That example, gentlemen of St. Louis, you have nobly initiated in the completion of the Ohio and Mississippi Road. You have indeed "unlocked our front door," and the scene before you to-night is evidence that you have not miscalculated the kind sympathies of our people, or the advantages to which you have been looking in your well-directed efforts.

The maintenance of our State credit--the credit of our public works upon which so much depends-has enabled us to pass, with unfaltering step, through the trying scenes of the last ten years. It has truly built up a name for the State of Maryland of which she has just reason to be proud-a name which will enable her in time to come, not only to complete what is yet unfinished, but to enter upon enterprises yet to be conceived; and to cheer on, by her example, our brethren of the Great West, in extending that stupendous line of communication, which is to terminate only upon the distant shores of the Pacific. [Great applause.]

Gentlemen, we have already gone beyond the limits of the State of Maryland in the distribution of our capital, and in furtherance of the system upon which we have been acting. We have not only accomplished-successfully accomplished-the works of internal improvement which have devolved upon us within our own limits, but we have aided our friends in Ohio, and we have lent a helping-hand to improvements which have crossed the contiguous States of Virginia and Pennsylvania. We have been jealous of the Western trade. We did not choose that any power should wrest it from us. We have been exerting all our efforts, for years past, for the purpose of opening a direct communication with the great cities of the West, which we are here to-night to welcome; and to invite that cordial union which has been inaugurated by the opening of the American central line. [Applause.] These objects, so necessary to our successful development, have been kept steadily in view-and the State of Maryland has not been wanting in what may have been expected of her in carrying out plans, which have redounded so largely not only to her own credit, but of the whole Union, from east to west, and I may add, from north to south. It is known that we occupy a middle ground; that we are the connecting link between these remote sections. It is known that, when there has been talk of disunion in some quarters, the State of Maryland has stood up, as she will ever do, the fast friend of the Constitution. [Applause.] She has stood up under the folds of that star-spangled banner, which



is the symbol of freedom and constitutional liberty, not only in our own glorious land, but throughout the world. [Renewed applause.]

Gentlemen, I am glad to meet you here to-night. You come at an opportune moment, to afford us the gratification of reciprocating a courtesy which was extended to us on a recent occasion. The visit of our people to their Western brethren cannot soon be forgotten. I have heard something, from yourselves, of the inadequacy of your preparations ; but I tell you that I was there in your midst ; and a more generous-a more whole-souled-a hospitable reception could not be extended to any people, than that which was extended to the people of Baltimore during that great celebration. Gentlemen, we feel grateful for your kindness, and I am most happy here to-night as the representative of the city of Baltimore, responsible to the people of Baltimore , and knowing full well what I have to encounter if I omit any thing in that programme which has been prepared for your comfort and your pleasure-I am most happy to greet you, and to receive you as brothers ; and in the absence of the Governor of the State, to tender to you the hospitalities of the State of Maryland ; and to say to you, that, whenever you may come among us, in the language of the sentiment which has just been announced, you will find our hearts open, "on our table a plate, knife and fork, and the latch not pulled in." [Great applause.]

After further music from the band Mayor Swann again arose and remarked,

That the Committee were pleased to have among them, on the present occasion, a large delegation from the Federal city, and he hoped that they would be heard. These gentlemen had visited the city of Baltimore for the purpose of extending a hearty invitation to the friends from the far West to go over and see the National Metropolis, and one of their representatives on his left would be called upon to address them. He begged to introduce Mr. John T. Smith, of Washington City.

Mr. Smith arose, and in a few humorous remarks alluded to the pleasure which he and his fellow-Washingtonians experienced in meeting with such a host of genial spirits apparently from every State, though mostly from the West.

He would, in the most earnest manner, tender to the western visitors and the official committees of Baltimore, an invitation to proceed to Washington, in the special train of the next morning, and assured them they would find a national reception. He read an official telegraphic dispatch just received, which stated that the authorities and citizens of Washington would expect them. At nine o'clock they would visit the President, then the Capitol, Patent Office, Smithsonian Institute, Washington Monument, and



proceed in a steamer as far as Fort Washington and Mount Vernon, stopping the latter place to view the grave of the Father of his Country. Upon returning they would partake of a collation at Carusi's saloon, and remain at Washington until Wednesday morning.

This announcement was received with great enthusiasm.

The following sentiment was then read by the chair :

The Governor of Ohio and his Staff : a staff that any Commonwealth in the United States may be proud to lean upon.

Col. Carrington, Judge Advocate General, of Ohio, acting as one of the Governor's Aids, responded on behalf of the Governor and Staff :

Accepting the compliment as one of the numberless civilities with which the city of Baltimore had gladdened the hearts of their guests, now no longer strangers, but recipients, even of their very fire-side favors, he said he must still plead inability to reply in terms corresponding to the delicacy of the sentiment uttered. It was like the occasion itself, so replete with generous overtures, that the spirit sank under the weight of obligation, and silence became the most significant response. Words failed to measure the offering the heart would pay.

But there was, in the gathering of so many, from so far-distant States, one pregnant circumstance, which would make the occasion more celebrated than even Baltimore hospitality itself. Those present had been whirled over State boundaries and past sectional lines without a conscious jar, or a single suspicion that everywhere they went, was not their native soil. [Applause.]

Strange features, indeed, were seen; but all were enlivened by the same fraternal smile, and bespoke a common joy and welcome. Space had not been annihilated without good cause. States had actually lost territorial definition, when crossed by an unbroken track; and the whole UNION was fast becoming the unit standard by which to measure space, and not the narrow bounds of STATES.

He would not be pardonable, at so late an hour, to venture upon a speech. Only the compliment extended called him forth, while so many senior and abler guests still waited by the festive board. He would, however, give a sentiment which the trip had made significant, and which was no less worthy of the social hour:-The continuous rail: destined to unite the Atlantic and Pacific. ITS PURPOSE: commercial Union. ITS LOCOMOTIVE POWER: a cordial fraternity and general self-respect. ITS END: one common destiny.

Joseph H. Rieman, of Baltimore, offered the following volunteer toast :

The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce-the pioneer of Western mercantile interest, and a model of integrity, intelligence, energy and activity-the necessary elements of commercial success.

Mr. Graham, of Cincinnati, was here loudly called for, and in responding to the sentiment made an excellent speech.

He alluded to the enterprising railroad spirit which the citizens of Balti-



more had ever evinced since the great undertaking of connecting the cities of the West by one continuous line of railway, and stated that the citizens of Cincinnati, imitating the example, were also ardently engaged in the good work. He deeply regretted that all the members of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce were not present. Could they have witnessed the whole-souled reception given the guests, partaken of the magnificent banquet, and listened to the warm-hearted sentiments of welcome which greeted them upon every hand, they would have felt a still deeper regard for the commercial prosperity of Baltimore. Cincinnati has been built up principally by the enterprising men of the present day, and all must admit that her railroad interests have contributed very materially to her progress. [Applause.]

The speaker saw in the hall a young man who recollected when Cincinnati was a village; now she possessed a population of hundreds of thousands, with enormous exportations and importations, whilst her mechanical and manufacturing interests require the constant service of over 900 steam engines. He concluded by exhorting the business men of the city to push on with still increasing energy all their works of internal improvement, and they might be assured that the citizens of Cincinnati would gladly meet them in a spirit of unity and with the best of feeling. [Applause.]

The Cities of Baltimore, Chillicothe, Cincinnati and St. Louis: all links of one great chain: may it never be severed!

This sentiment was offered by Mr. Levi, of St. Louis, and eloquently responded to by Mr. George R. Taylor, of that city.

He said that it was entirely too late to afflict the company with a speech, and after a few brief observations about the warm-hearted reception extended by the citizens of Baltimore, and the relative progress which the several cities of the West were making, sat down amid applause.

The following letter from the Hon. Reverdy Johnson, of Baltimore, was not received in time to be read at the Banquet, as intended:

WASHINGTON CITY, July 17th, 1857.

To the Executive Committee of the citizens of Baltimore:

Gentlemen :-The invitation with which you have just honored me to the banquet to be given our Western and South-western friends, on the 20th instant I am pained to be unable to accept. The professional demands upon me in this city, for that day and the next, will engross every moment of my time, and make it even impossible to be present with you, much less to take the part you so flatteringly offer. The occasion is one it would give me the truest pleasure to participate in. To welcome in our midst those who have so recently show-



ered upon many of our citizens the magnificent hospitalities of their own homes, and who individually have such high claims to our regard, is such a pleasant office that I feel very sensibly the gratification which I am forced to deny myself. Here will be no gathering of party politicians or indulgence in unfriendly and often unjust feelings, but an assemblage in which all narrow and selfish thoughts, all local, sectional consideration, will be forgotten in the elevation which truly belongs to us, if looking only to, and thanking God for, the whole country which he has given us, and for the free Institutions so admirably calculated, if administered in their true spirit, to preserve to us as one united, and the happiest and the most powerful nation the world has ever known. Nor could an opportunity occur more certain to suggest such thoughts than that whose immediate cause, is the joining by iron bands so many central States in one unbroken and indissoluble union of interest and patriotism. As the waters ofthe mighty rivers after performing their appropriate functions are lost amidst the magnificence of their ocean destiny, so do local and contracted views cease to be remembered, when the magnitude and magnificence of our entire land are before us. In conclusion, permit to propose this sentiment :

"The West and South-west, rich in all the elements of national wealth, richer still in enlightened enterprise and devotion to the Union.

"With much regard, "Your obedient servant,


"REVERDY JOHNSON."

The following volunteer toast was handed in by Joshua Jones, of Baltimore, and received with applause:

The Ladies in the Galleries:

• Honored be woman, she beams on the sight
• Graceful and fair as a being of light,
• And scatters around her wherever she stays,
• Roses of bliss on our thorn-covered ways ;
• Roses of Paradise sent from above,
• To be gathered and twined in a garland of love.
• Honored be woman!

In answer to another volunteer toast, Mr. Taylor, of St. Louis, spoke in the highest terms of Baltimore, of her hospitality, and of gentlemen born and educated there, but now residents of St. Louis. He closed by giving this sentiment:

"May the reciprocal interests of commerce, agriculture and manufactures, cemented by the interchange of civilities on the opening of the great national highway between the cities of Baltimore and St. Louis, be as permanent and enduring as the waters that float the commerce of the one and wash the base of the other."







The sentiment was received with hearty cheers.

The following volunteer toasts were then successively offered:

By Donald McLeod, of Washington:

The Ladies of Baltimore-Ever renowned for loveliness, grace and social talents; they have made an impression on the manly hearts of the West which will never be effaced.

• Theirs are the looks and tones which dart
• An instant sunshine through the heart,
• As if the soul that minute caught
• Some treasure it through life had sought!
• As if the very lips and eyes,
• Predestined to have all our sighs,
• And never be forgot again,
• Sparkled and spoke before us then!

By F. A. McDonald, of St. Louis:

The Citizens of Baltimore-May their warm and patriotic hearts stand as firm and unshaken as the lofty mountains of the Alleghanies.

By J. B. Seidenstricker, of Baltimore:

The onward progress of Railroad improvements, until every State shall be but as a large plantation, every county a farm, and every city a common granary.

By G. P. Ferguson, of St. Louis :

Baltimore:

• When Tamerlane a vict'ry won,
• 'Tis said he held a court,
• Composed of bloody human heads
• From captive bands increased.
• But Baltimore, victorious Queen,
• From such a rule departs;
• She honor sheds upon our heads,
• And captivates our hearts.

These proceedings closed the regular and more formal observances of the banquet, as sketched in the programme of the Committee of Arrangements. They were excellently carried out, and justified the taste and judgment which had been exercised in their projection. The speeches of the chosen orators of the occasion were warmly received, but not more so than the reader, who has attentively perused them, will admit their merit deserved. In this respect, indeed, the occasion was marked by an excellence of sentiment, a grace of diction, and an



eloquence of delivery that has very rarely been paralleled on a similar festive occasion. The animating spirit of social and national feelings gave warmth and fire to the minds of the speakers, and they spoke fitly and well.

These more formal observances, however, though the great points of the celebration, were not the only ones deserving mention. There were brief speeches brought out impromptu in response to pertinent toasts, witty and happy things said, good songs sung, and many jokes honored with a full chorus of laughter at various points of the board, and at none more than at the extreme lower end of the hall. The guests and their entertainers there, finding it impossible, owing to the excitement and their distance from the principal speakers, to participate in the enjoyment of the flow of oratory so lavishly poured out, improvised a meeting for themselves, at which there was no lack of entertainment. Mr. John M. Smith, an intelligent and popular Baltimore merchant, was called upon to welcome the guests, which he did in a peculiar but very acceptable manner, and amidst continued peals of laughter and applause. With the most vehement earnestness, he said:

GENTLEMEN OF THE WEST: I am called upon to greet you and bid you welcome to what you will be told, as you progress North, is a cold and barbarious section of the country. (Cincinnati man, pausing in the task of extracting a champagne cork, comments: "Cold! thermometer 98 in shade.") [Laughter.] They will tell you that we, of Baltimore, are all "plugs." [Laughter.] If you see fit you can defend us, and say, for it is the truth, that the honest desire of our hearts has been to fill you full of joyful happiness, and then "plug" you up, that you might forever continue to be in that happy condition. [Uproarious merriment.] Another truth you may reveal, and say that your desire was to "Plug" your appetites with the best that our fields and waters afford-to give you the true "Plug" welcome. [Laughter and applause.]

Gentlemen of the West, resent with harshness nothing you may hear said against, for we are not "afeard if they ain't." We care nothing for the opposition of New York or Philadelphia. They are overreaching themselves, and are bound to be "sot back." The day is not distant when Baltimore will be prepared to take the tide at the flood, and produce a glorious sensation as a commercial community, with those important results which will impress you of the West that we are entirely worthy of your patronage. [Applause.]

Gentlemen, let us start now with your assistance. Say that we are to the important trade of Chillicothe, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. Why,



concentrate that trade with us, and in ten years we would be so superior to New York and Philadelphia, and they of so little account, that Government would not longer recognize either of them as Ports of entry, but like something decrepit and obsolete, they would be rubbed out. So, who's afeard of opposition? [Laughter and applause.]

Gentlemen of the West, I have spoken as a Christian, and said "resent nothing;" but should they carry the war of malice into Paradise, (turning to the ladies in the gallery,) and insinuate that these galleries, now filled with beauty from the West and our own city, are not most lovely, or are not deserving the most profound respect and the most flattering compliments, then let loose the fury of your wrath, and lick them for a fib so awful! [Applause.] But they cannot be so base as to attack yonder galaxy of purity and beauty, so brilliant that I know not what in the firmament to compare it with for loveliness. I am ignorant of the science of astronomy; still, the impressions of innocence and infancy upon my memory, made by my old nurse, who was an astronomer, (for she knew the star under which I was born,) have induced me to believe that the "milky way" is so brilliant and lovely that they should have a place in it. [Long continued laughter and applause.]

My countrymen from the West, it is useless for me, after so much heartfelt sympathy has been manifested for your happiness, to say any thing more than-Welcome! Fellow-children of the American Eagle, (!) [with expanded arms, or wings,] let me once again affectionately salute you! May your ways ever be as pleasant as the great Baltimore and Ohio Rail-way; may you always slide down the greased plank of ancestorial delinquency; but may you always abide in the delightful field of perennial superflickity. (!) like that which contradistinguishes the present hour!! [Sensation.] Oh, that I were a Demosthenes, or that, greater than he, I had the power of an earthquake and a voice of thunder. Then I would stir the waters of your mighty rivers, widen the passes of your stupendous mountains, and make your wide-spreading, soul-expanding prairies reverberate with the shout of welcome! WELCOME!! WELCOME!!! [Repeated cheers and uproarious laughter.]

Mr. Smith's lively speech was followed by numerous brief responses, in the same spirit, from gentlemen of the Western delegations. Toasts were given, songs sung, and merriment and enjoyment ruled the hour. The interest in the ladies above was manifested by more than words, and many laughable stratagems were practised in conveying to them portions of the feast below. These proceedings were interspersed with some excellent vocal music. The patriotic anthem of the "Star Spangled Banner" was sung by George Kemble Wilkins, of St. Louis, who followed it with





THE GREAT RAILWAY SONG,

written by himself in commemoration of the grand reception of the guests from Cincinnati and St. Louis, by the people of Baltimore, on the 18th of July, 1857, and which reads as follows:

TUNE-"Teddy the Tiler."

• It happened but the other day Cincinnati to St. Louis did say,
• "Come, boys, we'll have a gala day-we're going to open a railway."
• They thought of towns near half a score, and then they thought of Baltimore,
• The very city they'd all adore, if that some folks were not so sore;
• Of Chillicothe, too, they thought, that town for railways has been sought,
• But Whether 'tis bought up or not, 'tis all the same to the railway.
• Rickety-fickety, fee-foo-fum, how do you think the world begun?
• Adam and Eve would had such fun if they had built a railway.
• Accordingly they did invite the heads of States that had a right,
• With shareholders in numbers quite, to open up this railway;
• Mayor Swann he took the lead, as in all things he does indeed,
• The merchants promised free to bleed, if that he would stand in their stead;
• He did it truly like a man, and now let's ask the world who can,
• If such a return jubilee was e'er began opening up this Western railway.
• Rickety-fickety, &c.
• Of meetings nearly three or four-yes, I may say half a score-
• The merchants then of Baltimore did have upon the railway;
• They voted dollars in galore, ten thousand, aye, five thousand more,
• To open the hospitable door, and greet them from the Western shore;
• To meet the West, the East, the South, and have it spoken in each child's mouth,
• That Baltimore was nothing loth to meet pioneers of a railway.
• Rickety-fickety, &c.
• Politics are thrown aside to make this happy theme just glide,
• The moment of America's pride is opening up a railway;
• The demagogue cannot deride, the stump speech-maker and such tribes
• Must melt away like snow before the sun when o'er the earth he rides-
• Securely seated in your seat, the iron horse in vigorous heat,
• 2.40-(whistle)-say what nag can beat the travelling on the railway?
• Rickety-fickety, &c.
• Now merely to complete the song, and now to make it something long,
• Let every woman, child, and man amongst us grace the railway;
• Firemen you must not deride-Union and Friendship will be your guide,
• While Vigilant, Patapsco, First Baltimore with Independentt-
• Washington, Watchman to join the corps-
• Liberty, Deptford, Mechanical and
• Lafayette, Pioneer, Monumental stand!
• Whilst the New Market and Western finishes the grand
  Consolidation of the railway.
• Rickety-fickety, &c.






The company, at midnight, separated, with three cheers for Mayor Swann, three for the city of Baltimore, and three for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

The following handsome tribute was sung quite effectively by some of the visitors after the banquet had closed :

TO BALTIMORE.

WRITTEN BY PHILIP FERGUSON, OF THE ST. LOUIS HERALD.

• We are going far away, far away from Baltimore,
• The city of the Monuments is fading from the shore;
• But the noble hosts we leave behind, we never shall forget,
• And the image of her daughters in our bosom's shrine is set.
• We have crossed the lovely prairie, we have crossed the mountain heights,
• The magic car has borne us o'er through tireless days and nights,
• And now our homeward way we take to Mississippi's shore,
• And bid a warm and sad adieu to lovely Baltimore.
• Hurrah for noble Baltimore, Queen City of the Bay.
• Her iron hands we warmly grasp, and meet her on the way;
• The waters of the Chesapeake with Mississippi pour,
• And link our own St. Louis to the hills of Baltimore.
• The ties that bind the East and West are not all iron bands,
• For friendship's links unite us, and we join both hearts and hand,
• And when at home our minds revert to scenes we've travelled o'er,
• The brightest spot in Mem'ry's green, will be old Baltimore.







AS IT WILL APPEAR WHEN THE NEW WINGS AND DOME-NOW RAPIDLY BEING ERECTED-ARE COMPLETED.



THE RAILWAY CELEBRATIONS OF 1857.

CHAPTER VIII.

TRIP OF THE WESTERN GUESTS TO THE NATIONAL METROPOLIS.

THE citizens and authorities of Washington having learned that it was the desire of the Directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to have the Western guests visit Washington City and Mount Vernon, a Meeting of citizens was called, and an invitation extended to the visitors to become the guests of the city during their stay. A committee of the following gentlemen was appointed to carry out the plan on behalf of the citizens, viz.: Walter Lenox, Charles F. Stansbury, J. C. McGuire, and J. Bryan. The City Councils also passed resolutions to the same effect, and appointed Messrs. Miller, Houston, Smith, and Edmundson a Committee of Arrangements on their part.

A Joint Committee on behalf of the City Councils and of the citizens, proceeded to Baltimore for the purpose of communicating the invitation to the guests. A meeting of the Western visitors was held at Barnum's Hotel, when the invitation on the part of the City Councils was tendered by Dr. Thomas Miller, of the Board of Aldermen, and by C. F. Stansbury on the part of the citizens. The invitation was accepted in a brief and appropriate address on behalf of the St. Louis and other delegations.

The authorities and the people of Washington City came forward on this occasion with a promptness and a liberality that did them infinite credit. No expense or labor was spared to do justice to their metropolis and themselves, and the Western guests, as well as their Baltimore entertainers, were all delighted with the thoroughness and effect of the Washington visit. It is believed that the credit of the



initiative in this very spirited demonstration-as well as for much of its success-belongs to Dr. Charles F. Stansbury, one of the most intelligent and public-spirited citizens of the National Metropolis.

The Western guests of the city of Baltimore having thus cordially accepted the invitation of the people of Washington to visit them, left the Camden Station of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on Tuesday morning, the 21st of July, at 7 o'clock, in a train of cars specially provided for the purpose. The party was composed of about hundred persons, including a large number of ladies. The fine bands of music attached to the St. Louis and Cincinnati delegations were also on the cars, and contributed their efforts towards the enjoyment of the day. The train was under the especial charge of Mr. Geo. A. Rawlings as conductor, and was drawn by one of the nine splendid new passenger engines lately introduced upon the road. A number of the members of the City Council of Baltimore accompanied the guests from the West to the National Metropolis; among them were Messrs. Seidenstricker, Simms, Bierbower, and Sullivan. Mr. Tyson, the Master of Machinery, and Colonel Edward Shriver, of Frederick, one of the State Directors in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, accompanied the train some distance below the Annapolis Junction, from whence they returned returned to Baltimore by the next upward train. A committee from Washington was also on the cars, who paid every attention to the guests during the trip. The train reached Washington a few minutes before 9 o'clock, and as the visitors stepped from the cars, they were greeted with music from the Marine Band of the Government Navy Yard. They were met in the Station House by the Mayor, a number of the members of both branches of the City Council, and a large body of the citizens of Washington.

Mayor Magruder addressed the visitors substantially as follows:

Gentlemen visitors from the Western cities, in behalf of the corporation and citizens of the National Metropolis, I welcome you to our city. I trust you will find it in plan and dimensions such as to constitute it in your opinion not unworthy to be the capital of so great a country. It is yours and not ours; it is for us to keep it for you and the whole people of the United States; we claim it not for our own, but as the representatives of the people of the Union, Hoping you may find in the many objects of interest it contains, matter for individual pleasure and patriotic gratification, I again welcome you, and hope that when you return home you will think and feel of us in such a way as will induce you to visit us again. [Great applause.]



Edward Adams, Mayor of Chillicothe, responded in behalf of those from his own city and vicinity. He commenced by returning his hearty thanks for the very kind welcome thus extended.

You are right, Mr. Mayor, (said he,) in calling the city of Washington our own, for in fact it is such ; we all feel it, and are free to acknowledge the deep interest we take in its welfare. We feel that it is becoming in us to make an occasional pilgrimage here to look after our interests. You have here, sir, our national capitol, our national executive buildings, in which the official business of our country is conducted, and many other objects of deep interest to us all, not the least of which is the great Smithsonian Institution. We accept your hospitality, Mr. Mayor, with the liveliest satisfaction, and on behalf of my fellow-townsmen I thank you heartily.

Messrs. Eggleston and Kercheval, of Cincinnati, and a gentleman of St. Louis, whose name we were unable to procure, also happily responded. Alderman Kercheval spoke of the delight experienced by the party when it was heard in Baltimore of the handsome invitation extended to them from Washington, and of the manner in which their Washington friends had interposed for their pleasure. He thanked the Mayor of Washington and its citizens, and accepted their hospitality in the same cordial spirit in which it had been proffered.

At twenty minutes to ten o'clock the guests were conducted to the carriages and omnibuses, in which they proceeded to the White House, to visit the President of the United States. At ten o'clock the doors of the White House were thrown open, and the visitors passed through the large hall into the President's reception room, from which, attracted by some fine stirring music, they proceeded to the President's grounds, overlooking the Potomac. The musicians were stationed on three of the shaded mounds, and the place presented a most animated appearance. At about twenty minutes past ten o'clock the President arrived from his country seat, some three miles north of the city. Immediately all eyes were directed toward him, as he approached the expectant company. He was accompanied by General Secretary of State ; Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury; Toucey, Secretary of the Navy ; John B. Floyd, Secretary of War, and Aaron V. Brown, Postmaster-General, members of the cabinet, and by Mayor Magruder and Dr. Blake, the Commissioner of Public Buildings and Grounds. President Buchanan, in the simplest and most cordial manner, received the numerous strangers presented to him by the Mayor, charming all by his affability and un-



studied friendliness of speech and bearing. There was nothing formal whatever in the reception by the President, and as the large company passed him, he gave all a hearty shake of the hand ; whilst to each and every one of the ladies he had something pleasant to say.

This republican reception having been concluded, Mr. Buchanan and his Cabinet retired to the White House, and the visitors again entered the carriages in waiting, and devoted two hours and a half to visiting the Capitol, the Patent Office, the Smithsonian Institution, and the various other prominent objects of interest in the city, previous to embarking on the steamer George Washington, for Mount Vernon.

At about two o'clock in the afternoon carriages came pouring in from all parts to the steamboat wharf, where lay the steamer George Washington, ready to receive the visitors and their entertainers, and convey them to Mount Vernon. With a company on board numbering nearly five hundred, the little steamer, amid the swelling strains of martial music, steamed on her way. The boat was decorated with a number of waving flags. On her way down she passed the United States ship Fulton, steaming up toward the Washington Navy Yard her crew giving three hearty cheers as the excursionists passed, which were returned with a good will by those on board the Washington. The guests from the West were thus enabled, quite unexpectedly, to witness one of Uncle Sam's ships-of-war under full headway.

The steamer reached the Mount Vernon wharf about half-past three o'clock. The excursionists disembarked and slowly marched to the tomb of Washington. During the performance of a funeral dirge by the band, they gazed in successive groups reverently into the sacred vault upon the marble sarcophagi holding the sacred remains of the Father of the Country and his beloved consort. After satisfying their laudable and patriotic curiosity by this act of devotional interest, the guests became scattered. Some of them proceeded to take a view of the old mansion, whilst others wandered over the classic grounds that surround it, all finding something to view of deep interest to every American. Those who visited the house registered their names in a book kept for the purpose. After refreshing themselves with copious draughts of the pure well-water of the premises, the numerous visitors retraced their steps toward the boat. Embarking at half-past four, they reached Washington City again a little after six, without the least accident to mar the interest of the trip.



On the arrival of the boat at Washington, on her return, omnibuses and carriages were again brought into requisition, and the guests were speedily set down at Carusi's Saloon, where the grand banquet was to take place. Whilst waiting, the entire St. Louis delegation, headed by their fine band, marshalled by the gallant Captain Pritchard, marched to the residence of the Hon. Thomas H. Benton, with a view of paying their respects to him in a body. Unfortunately their ex-senator was not in the city, having left a short time previous for the residence of a friend in the country. After the band had performed several pieces of music, the delegation returned to the saloon, considerably disappointed at not meeting with the distinguished statesman of Missouri.

At 8 o'clock the guests sat down to the bounteous banquet provided for them at Carusi's saloon. There were five tables extending the entire length of the hall-about 100 feet long-and one on a raised platform facing the parallel tables. The guests were all comfortably seated, the ladies occupying the centre tables. After the Marine Band, of Washington, had performed a fine piece of music, Mayor Magruder rose and remarked: "Ladies and gentlemen, if your appetites are as good as mine, you will not wait for an invitation to fall foul of what is set before you." The clatter of knives and forks following this laconic invitation showed the keenness of the appetites of the guests after their aquatic excursion. As the rattle of plates and the running to and fro of servants began to subside, the champagne corks began to pop and soon all present seemed to be in the full tide of successful enjoyment.

The appetites of the guests having been appeased, Mayor Magruder of Washington arose and in eloquent terms alluded to the wonderful change in the circumstances of travelling that had happened within his youthful recollection of twenty-five years! It was at that time a day's journey to Baltimore and a day's journey back, and a journey to New York was ground enough for a man's making his will and having his life insured. In view of this wonderful progress, he too gave as a toast, "Our Country," which was responded to. After this toast the Marine Band played "Hail Columbia." The Mayor next gave the "Father of the Liberties of his Country"-George Washington. This toast was greeted with loud and long-continued cheers, the band playing "The President's March." As soon as the Mayor could be heard, he said that the next sentiment was in reference to a distinguished gentleman venerated for his patriotism, for his unstained



character. He regretted that he was not present, but would read the following letter which he had written:

WASHINGTON, July 21st, 1857.

GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to receive your invitation to meet the guests of the city from the West at Carusi's Saloon this evening, but I sincerely regret that pressing engagements will deprive me of this privilege. I was most happy to give them a cordial welcome this morning. Railroads are truly said to bind the different portions of the Union together in bonds of iron, but neither iron nor adamant is so effectual for this purpose as kind and patriotic hearts from different and distant States united together in bonds of mutual respect and affection, and in a common love for one whole, great, and glorious country. These bonds are always strengthened by such visits as we have received from our Western friends, and I most heartily wish them a safe and prosperous return to their homes.

Yours, respectfully,


JAMES BUCHANAN.

This letter was very heartily received by the guests. After the band had played "Hail to the Chief," Mayor Magruder gave the next toast, "The President," which was drank standing; and immediately after the cheering which succeeded had subsided, one of the guests proposed three cheers for the President, which were given most heartily. The Mayor also read letters from General Cass, Secretary of State; Gov. Floyd, Secretary of War, and Judge Black, Attorney General. Each of these gentlemen expressed great regret that pressing public business prevented his meeting the guests of the city at Carusi's Saloon. His honor stated that as these were the sentiments of the absent members Cabinet," and hoped that there was a member present, he would answer for himself. After the applause succeeding this announcement had somewhat subsided, Mr. Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury, rose to respond. It was one of the happiest and most patriotic efforts attendant upon the entire excursion, and fairly brought down the house. To a toast in honor of the Empire State of the West-the State of Ohio-Mr. Brown, of Cincinnati, responded, after which, in answer to a sentiment complimentary to St. Louis, Mr. Henry W. Williams, a talented young member of the Bar of that city, replied in a most felicitous manner. During the remarks of Mr. W., and whilst he was giving a history of his journey from the West, when he came to that part announcing his



arrival in Baltimore, the entire party simultaneously rose to their feet, and interrupting him, gave three long and loud cheers for the city of Baltimore.

In reply to the toast complimentary to the city of Chillicothe, Seneca W. Ely, of that city, being called upon, responded as follows:

After having eaten of your bounty to satiety, Mr. President, and drank even to the bounds of a sober discretion, I would now ask you how it is, in psychological science that the most grateful emotions of the heart find most difficult utterance? How is it, sir, that while we, your guests, are filled with admiration at this unexpected exhibition of your magnificent welcome, we yet find it impossible to command our muscle, and to syllable our tongues full gracefully to express our gratitude and kind appreciation? Why does language fail us, in this our need? The question I leave for more skilful casuists than I pretend to be to determine; but I confess, that since my comrades and myself have crossed our own Ohio, coming hitherward, the thousand-stringed harp within me has been thrumming music too sonorous for labial utterance-too precious to be coined into words. [Applause.]

One day our love of the sublime and beautiful was gratified to the full, by the towering Appalachians, beetling with crags, and made picturesque by "rock and tree and flowing water;" while, constantly, we had before us that stupendous monument of human skill and science, overcoming Nature's rudest obstructions-the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Next, the great extent, the diversified architecture, the commercial thrift, the peerless hospitality of the MONUMENTAL CiTY, commanded our praise. [Loud applause.]

This day, we have looked upon the splendid avenues and palatial offices of our National Capital; have exchanged greetings with our Executive Chief; have gazed upon the Tomb of Washington! Here, certainly, language is dumb-we can only uncover with reverence, and mentally ejaculate with the Celtic Bard, "Our harp is hung on a broken branch-its strings thrum a mournful sound:"

• "Come, then, expressive silence, muse his praise."

The men I accompany Mr. President, come from the little city of the hither West, couched among the corn-gardens of the Scioto; the little city, I may add, without boasting, with a big heart. A city, sir, which has had the heart to devise and prompt the construction of the middle section-two hundred miles of the American Central Railway. The people of that little city, sir, started that work-'twas there the first dollar was subscribed ; and it was there the first spadeful of earth was excavated-that city and her county have put a million of hard dollars in that great work, and with the potent help of Marietta, Athens, and the other counties and towns along the line, have constructed a first class railroad across the peninsula of Southern Ohio, in connection with your great national Baltimore and Ohio route, making for you, of Washington and Baltimore, a bee-line to St. Louis and the West, at a cost of nearly nine millions of dollars, without asking either community to subscribe to a cent's worth of stock, orCongress to appropriate an acre of land to their work. [Renewed applause.]

It was the good fortune of our city, sir, on the late occasion of the opening of that great Central Line, to be designated, for a single night, as the lodging and sojourning place of the guests of the railway lines. Our citizens, you may



be assured, accepted the appointment with alacrity. They believe they inhabit a favored spot, in a land of plenty, a land of oil-olive and honey-a land of corn and barley; and of wine that maketh strong the heart.

Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of Washington, we welcomed our Eastern friends with whole heartedness to our homes and boards-and, let us assure you, our welcome was not in the nature of a draft, at forty-five days' sight, as they and you have treated it, with an hundred per cent. interest added.

No, sir; we felt amply compensated in the act and fact that you had left your homes on the seaboard and come over our road to look at our great mineral and agricultural country, and see for yourselves what a wealth of commerce we offer to the acceptance of our Eastern friends if they will but stretch their hands across the Ohio and grasp the prize. [Applause.]

Your humble speaker, Mr. Chairman, left your neighbor city on the evening of a bleak December day, almost twenty-three years ago, in a small stage coach, and after toiling as long as Jonah was in the body of the fish, through Little York and Carlisle, along by Bedford, and away over the snow-drifts of the Alleghanies, reached the smoky city at the head of the then frozen Ohio. Another week of toilsome travel conveyed him to the inconsiderable village which then, as the fine city of the same name does now, served as the Capitol of the Buckeye State. Such were the difficulties then encountered, and so much was the time then wasted in passing from Baltimore to Columbus. At that time Chicago, Dubuque, Peoria, Iowa City, and many other now populous emporia, had no municipal existence, while Vincennes, St. Louis, Detroit, and other towns of early French origin, were little more than missionary stations. But Chillicothe, though of but small civic consequence, was long before an historical point, having heen the capital of the Northwest Territory; subsequently, of the young State of Ohio; afterwards, the headquarters the army of Major General Harrison, during the late war with Great Britain-the residence of Tiffin, McArthur, Worthington, Creighton, and other Western statesmen known to you older citizens. Well, sir, after a deliberate breakfast, at home, on Friday morning last, we stepped into the luxurious cars of the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad, and, presto ! within twenty-four hours we had travelled 590 miles, and were receiving the elegant hospitalities of your munificent neighbor. [Great enthusiasm.]

Such is one of the every-day histories which mark our era of physical progress-such the contrast with our modern "olden time." The steamship the railroad, the ten-cylinder printing press, the electric telegraph, the cheap newspaper, cheap knowledge universally diffused-these are the stepping stones of civilization-the great ornaments of social progress, which bring us all together as neighbors, and sanctify our neighhorhood with the golden spirit of friendship and fraternal charity. It but remains for me, in the name of our city and her delegates, on this excursion, to attempt a faint expression of our hearty thanks for the princely hospitality and elegant amenities which have everywhere been extended to us, especially in Baltimore and here, and to press you, one and all, to make a return of our visit whenever your convenience will permit. [Loud and long applause.]

Other toasts were given and drank, in honor of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, the city of Washington&c., &c., when, at a little past nine o'clock, the party separated so as to allow the excursionists an opportunity to be on board the returning special train for



Baltimore, to start at ten o'clock. They were again taken in carriages and omnibuses to the railroad station, which they left at ten, and arrived in Baltimore before twelve o'clock. The entire trip was a most pleasant one, and the excursionists could scarcely find words adequate in Which to express their thanks to the noble-hearted kindness shown to them by the citizens of the national metropolis.



THE RAILWAY CELEBRATIONS OF 1857.

CHAPTER IX.

THE STREET RAILROAD SYSTEM OF BALTIMORE.

THE day succeeding their return from Washington was spent by the Western guests in various ways. A number, under the escort of their friends, were employed in visiting the different points of interest about the city, inspecting the public institutions, and in making themselves generally familiar with the sights and scenes of Baltimore. The private hospitality of the people also availed itself of this day of leisure from more public observances to lavish its welcome upon the guests, and numerous dinner and social parties took place, at which different delegations of the visitors were entertained.

The most important business of the was an official inspection of the street railroad system, by which Baltimore's great arteries of railroad communication with the East, West North, and South are put in unbroken connection. In order to the accomplishment of this purpose a number of the official visitors, with other guests, assembled at the Camden Station, upon the invitation of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, for the purpose of being conveyed over the Pratt street track, between the President (or Philadelphia Road Station) and Camden street and Mt. Clare (both Baltimore and Ohio Road) Stations, when an opportunity was afforded them for viewing the practical working of the system of street railroads, and to experience its utility and convenience in the transmission of through passengers and freight from one depot to another. At ten o'clock the guests were all seated in one of the capacious new omnibus-cars of the Company-No. 36-drawn by six bay horses, and started off towards the President street Station, upon their miniature journey of pleasure and



scientific inspection. Chauncy Brooks, President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, and Henry Tyson, master of machinery, accompanied the excursionists-also Samuel W. Smith and John W. Garrett, of the Board of Directors. The Western cities, upon this interesting occasion, were represented by the following named officials and citizen visitors: From the city council of Cincinnati, J. S. Ross, G. W. Skaats, T. Marsh, Thomas H. Weisner, John J. Torrence, Theopolus Gains, James Keenan, Daniel Gruney, H. Keirsted and Daniel Hannan; Judges Pruden and Saffin, of the Cincinnati Police Court; Henry B. Brown, Police Prosecuting Attorney. J. M. Sharp, General Agent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at the West; F. Leinburg, an attaché of the Cincinnati "Volksfreund" and a number of other Cincinnatians were also in the car.

From the Board of Aldermen of St. Louis, Charles H. Tillson and Henry C. Lynch, with Henry W. Williams, Dr. C. W. Spaulding, and other St. Louisians-the company numbering about forty-five or fifty. During the ride to the President street depot, a partial opportunity was afforded the visitors for viewing the wharves, shipping, &c., and frequent halts were made at points along the route. At the depot an hour was spent in examining the buildings, &c. At eleven o'clock, the company re-embarked, and were quickly gliding back over the rails to Mount Clare, the "outer" Station of the Baltimore and Ohio, or the western border of the city. Here are located the extensive shops of the Company for the manufacture of locomotives, and the other machinery of the road.

The large shops, Nos. 11 and 9, were in full operation, and the visitors were shown through them in the charge of President Brooks and Henry Tyson, master of machinery. The scientific knowledge of the atter enabled him to impart much information to the visitors. There are generally employed in these shops over a thousand workmen. Another hour was thus spent in the inspection of the extensive works, machinery, &c., and at 12 o'clock, the company again took seats in the excursion car. Here, literally "upon the rails," a railroad meeting was organized, and on motion of Judge Pruden, of Cincinnati, John W. Garrett, of the Board of Directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, was called upon for a speech.

In introducing the motion the Judge remarked that as there were some interesting features in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company's street connections, &c., regarding which the visitors desired further information, he was influenced by Mr. Garrett's knowledge of



the same, in calling upon that gentleman for a statement. Mr. Garrett arose and responded as follows:

He premised that the guests had been, doubtless, fatigued with the numerous speeches to which they had recently listened. He would be brief, and should decline altogether the invitation, had not so much interest been manifested on the subject of our system of street railroads, especially by our friends from Cincinnati.

It is gratifying, said Mr. Garrett, to find around us so numerous and intelligent a representation of the councils of Cincinnati, leaving the agreeable hospitalities of their friends for a practical and thorough examination of the working of a railroad through a populous and active portion of the city, impelled, as I understand they are, by a desire to obtain information to decide properly for the interest of their own community an important question of a similar character.

On the opening of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad its principal depot was at this point, (Mount Clare,) near the western limits. When the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Road was built its Baltimore Station was about two miles distant, in the eastern part of the city. Much prejudice existed against, and great clamor was excited by an application for a connecting road through the streets to facilitate the transportation of passengers and freight between the two roads. It was urged that by the grant the business of draymen and laborers would be diminished, that the passage of vehicles and the general transaction of business in the thoroughfares would be seriously interrupted, and that the chief result of such facilities would be to injure the hotels of the city, by inducing travellers to pass at once through Baltimore, with scarcely a glance at its merchants and business advantages.

On the other hand, the comprehensive view was presented that at all important commercial points there were competing lines to the East; that New York Central, New York and Erie, and the Pennsylvania Central Roads all tendered their best facilities, with the least interruption practicable, to induce patronage to their respective routes, and that, unless Baltimore offered every possible inducement of speed and economy of shipment, travel and trade would avoid her and flow into other channels; that the ultimate result would be to attract a large increase of business through Baltimore; that many passengers, for convenience, from fatigue and other causes, though designing to visit Philadelphia and New York, would rest at Baltimore, and gradually open and improve intercourse with her merchants, and such general increase in business would permanently advance the interests of all, including the laboring classes.

Fortunately for the city, the privilege of the connecting road was granted, and it has been found to work most beneficially for all the great interests involved. As you have seen in passing this morning, in this large and com-



modious car, through Pratt, one of our most crowded and active commercial streets, its general business is not interrupted. A vast increase of local business has resulted under the liberal policy of Baltimore. Our system-

• "To welcome the coming, speed the parting guest,"
and to impose no unnecessary tribute on freights destined for other markets, (whilst under the tariff arrangements of the road fully protecting and discriminating in favor of Baltimore,) attracts, as it merits, approval from the traveling and business public, and our hotels, our merchants, and all interested in the Prosperity of Baltimore feel its favorable effects.

I have referred especially to the connection over which you have just passed. The Baltimore and Ohio Road has, additionally, a street connection with the Northern Central Road, and a branch to Locust Point, on the south side of the harbor, where freights destined coastwise are most economically shipped.

Gentlemen of Cincinnati, you have recently added an important source of increased greatness to your rapidly improving city-the Ohio and Mississippi Road. You have, I learn, a distance of two miles from its station to the depot of the road, which connects your city with our great line. It is said the grades and the streets are favorable to the proposed connection. In the judgment of those familiar with the subject, this interruption in your great southern, east and west line is equivalent in delay and cost to a distance of 100 miles of road.

We trust your practical examination of the subject here, endorsed by the satisfactory experience of years, will enable you to decide that the interest of your community will be promoted in removing this sole difficulty in the line, by perfecting the iron bands, and thus completing the chain from the Chesapeake to the Mississippi.

At the conclusion of the address, the car containing the excursionists was started forward, and the topic of the speech furnished abundant material for conversation and further discussion among the officials and guests, all of whom manifested the utmost interest in every thing connected with the system-assured as they were of its utility and importance. When the car arrived oppposite the Maltby House the guests were discharged therefrom, and returned to their several hotels in time to dine. Altogether, the trip, combining as it did the pleasure as well as the interest of the participants, was one of the most practically important that engaged the attention of the visitors during their stay at Baltimore.

A meeting of the Chillicotheans present in Baltimore city was held at Barnum's Hotel, on the 21st of July, 1857. Edward Adams, Mayor of Chillicothe, was called to the Chair, and A. Pearson appointed Secretary. On motion of Hon. W. B. Franklin, seconded by S. W. Ely, it was 6*





Resolved, That the unwonted kindness, unremitted attention, manifest hospitality, and princely liberality, so gracefully accorded us by the municipal officers, citizens of Baltimore, and officers of the railroads united in the excursion we are now celebrating, command our profound gratitude, and have erected for them, in each of our hearts, a monument of memory which shall endure throughout our existence.

Resolved, That this resolution be attested by the officers of this meeting, and communicated to the press of Baltimore, to whose assiduous civilities we are greatly indebted.

E. ADAMS, Chairman. A. PEARSON, Secretary.



THE RAILWAY CELEBRATIONS OF 1857.

CHAPTER X.

THE WESTERN GUESTS ON THE CHESAPEAKE-TRIP TO OLD POINT COMFORT, NORFOLK, AND PORTSMOUTH.

MOOR N. FALLS, President of the famous Chesapeake Bay steamers, having renewed his generous invitation to the Western guests, to visit Norfolk by that favorite line, received the following note of acceptance on the 22d July:

BALTIMORE, July, 22, 1857.


M. N. FALLS, President of the Norfolk Steamboat Company
:

Dear Sir: -I am instructed by the excursionists from Ohio, (who have been the guests of the city of Baltimore, Washington, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company,) to tender to you their grateful acknowledgments for the generous offer by which you propose to extend the excursion, and on their behalf accept your invitation to take a voyage on one of your fine steamers to Norfolk. We shall be pleased to leave Baltimore in compliance with your suggestion, on Wednesday evening, at 5 o'clock P. M., July 22.

Respectfully yours,


B. EGGLESTON, Chairman of Committee.

The splendid steamer North Carolina, of the Bay Line, accordingly left the Company's wharf, foot of Concord street, on Wednesday evening, July 22d, about half-past five o'clock. She was under the charge the following officers : Capt. James Cannon ; Clerk, L. B. Parks ;



Through Agents, Messrs. George S. Allen and James B. George, Jr. Moor N. Falls, the liberal President of the Company, was on board during the entire trip, and was assiduous and successful in his endeavors to make everybody comfortable.

There were on board some two hundred of Baltimore's guests, from the cities of St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Chillicothe, they being on this occasion the special guests of the Bay Line of steamers. A number the members of the Baltimore City Council were also on board, as well as several citizens of Baltimore, who accompanied their friends from the West. The whole number of passengers was hardly less than three hundred. The run down the river and bay was most delightful, the refreshing breeze proving quite acceptable to the excursionists, who had been somewhat worn down by the heat and exertions of the few previous days. The band of the National Guards of St. Lois, and Mentor's Cornet Band of Cincinnati, were both on board. On passing Forts McHenry and Carroll, near the harbor of Baltimore, the bands played "The Star Spangled Banner" and "Hail Columbia." The large party on board, soon after dark, sat down to a bountifully supplied supper, which was partaken of with a gusto only to be appreciated by those who know by experience what it is to have an appetite sharpened by a thirty miles' ride on the beautiful Chesapeake.

After supper the party scattered over the spacious boat, and soon the noble steamer presented what might not inaptly be termed a Carnival scene. On almost every accessible part of her some kind of amusement was going forward. On the lower deck the devotees of Terpsichore held full sway, and until long after midnight a gay and happy party of ladies and gentlemen were tripping it lightly, to band of very good cotillion music. In the main saloon a musical and dramatic soiree was organized, and amid songs and recitations, jokes and flows of wit, the hours flew rapidly away. This party were indebted to Col. Johnson and Mr. George S. Allen, of Baltimore, and Alfred Burnett, of Cincinnati, for their proficient and ready contributions to the general entertainment. While these proceedings were going on, the military bands played alternately upon the upper deck, and, altogether, the company was one of the happiest ever on board a steamer. It was long after midnight before the various parties of pleasure broke up. On Thursday morning at sunrise, the party found themselves rapidly approaching Old Point Comfort. The water was rather more



rough there than higher up the bay, yet the weather was exceedingly pleasant. The steamer reached Fortress Monroe about six o'clock, after one of the most pleasant trips ever made between Baltimore and Old Point.

As soon as the North Carolina was made fast to the wharf, the gueststs proceeded to Fortress Monroe. The commanding officer and his aids were unremitting in their attentions, and in a very brief space of time all objects of interest connected with these great fortifications were made familiar to the guests. Many souvenirs were collected within the Forts and along the shores of the noble Bay, and after a stay about an hour and a half, the North Carolina cast loose and steamed away up the broad river for Portsmouth, opposite Norfolk, the terminal station for the Bay steamers.

The United States sloop-of-war Germantown, desitned to join the squadron in the Chinese waters, was lying in the stream as the steamer approached Norfolk. The North Carolina had on board some twenty recruits intended to complete her crew; she lay to in the stream, and them boats of the Germantown were lowered for the purpose of taking them on board. As the boats bearing the recruits neared the Germantown, her yards were manned, her sails unfurled and spread to the breeze. During the day she took her departure for the land of the Celestials. The wheels of the North Carolina were again put in motion, her head turned towards Portsmouth, and amid the firing of guns, the cheers of the populace, the bristling of bayonets on the wharf, and the pleasant smiles of hundreds of the fair daughters of the Old Dominion, she reached the wharf. Whilst at Old Point, Messrs. W. Reed, Joseph Price, and M. W. Minter, on the part of the council, and Dr. Arthur R. Smith, and Messrs. Holt, Wilson, and G. Henderson, on the part of the citizens, came on board, and generously welcomed the guests to Portsmouth. A committee from Norfolk also came on board, and tendered a like welcome to their city.

The North Carolina reached Portsmouth about eight o'clock on Thursday morning, and immediately a salute of fifteen guns was fired by the National Guard. The excursionists formed on the lower deck, and to the strains of the inspiriting music of the St. Louis band, the people of Missouri and Ohio marched on the soil of the Old Dominion. Here the committees who, on the part of the citizens and council, had come down in the steamer from Old Point, handed over the guests to the following committee of reception :



• James Gregory Hodges.
• John T. West,
• W. W. Peed,
• A. C. Moore,
• W. H. Morris,
• Samuel Hoffer,
• Wm. W. Davis,
• Samuel Turner,
• O. B. Sherwood,
• V. O. Cassel.
• Samuel Watts,
• Thomas Brooks, Jr.,
• D. D. Fiske,
• Charles A. Grice,
• Wm. H. H. Hodges,
• John G. Hatton,
• John C. Cooke,
• Captain H. N. Page,
• John W. Young.
• Lt. Col. D. S. Walton,
• Capt. Jas. Richards,
• Maj. P. H. Daughtrey,
• Capt. Edward Kearns.
• Surgeon Geo. W. Peete,

The lady guests, and many of the gentlemen accompanying them, were speedily placed in carriages, and the others of the party formed in procession, and proceeded to the corner of North and Raceford streets, where they were received by the military and City authorities. Mayor Hodges, in a very happy style, warmly welcomed the guests to Portsmouth. He remarked that the hearts of the people of Portsmouth, as well as those of her twin-sister city of Norfolk, were thrilled with pleasure at the coming of the hardy sons of the West, and he felt it to be one of the very proudest acts of his life to bid them a hearty welcome to the city of Portsmouth.

The gallant Mayor was fluently and acceptably responded to, on behalf of the visitors, by Mr. Thompson, of Cincinnati, who thanked him in behalf of Missouri, of Ohio, and Maryland, for there were Baltimoreans in the ranks. He said they had been invited to Portsmouth as friends, and as such they had come. He referred to the fact that the visitors from the West had come at the bidding of this people as friends-that though, in the nature of republican government, there would be differences of opinion and different creeds respecting many things, yet, in regard to one great question there could be no difference of opinion-they could, they must and would be single-minded, as long as they were true to their fathers or themselves, in defending and preserving the Union. He continued throughout his speech in the same glowing strain.



When Mr. Thompson had concluded, the procession was formed and moved off in the following order: Major Daughtrey; the Portsmouth Rifles, Capt. Richardson; the National Grays, Captain Deams; the Marion Rifles, Captain Hodges; the Union Guards, Captain Godwins; the Old Dominion Guards, Captain Kearns; the various committees of the city of Portsmouth; the delegations from the West; and last, though by no means the least, ladies from the West in carriages. The fine bands from St. Louis and Cincinnati, as well as one belonging to Portsmouth, were in line. The procession passed through the principal streets of the city, across many of which were suspended the American flag, and in some instances those of other nations were suspended with our own proud ensign. The streets through which the procession passed were filled with the citizens, and at a number of private dwellings the guests were greeted by the pleasant smiles of the fair ladies of the city, who waved their handkerchiefs and flags, and in every possiblemanner endeavored to show their Western friends that they were welcome.

When the procession reached the Navy Yard, it was met at the entrance gate by Commodore Dornin, the commander, and the visitors received a cordial invitation to view the works. The entire party were soon spread through the yard, and many novel sights to them were presented. The Dry Dock received a thorough inspection, and was unanimously pronounced a great work. The thing of material interest to view at that time at the Gosport Navy Yard was the fitting out of the new steam frigate Colorado, built there, and the repairing the Powhattan, made famous by her participation in the recent commercial arrangement with Japan. Another object of considerable interest was the old frigate New York, as she now lies in the ship house, having been built some thirty years and never launched. The people from the West could not understand why it was that such a fine ship should thus be allowed to rot, but they all seemed to admire every thing connected with the stupendous works, the opinion being unanimous that the proper way for our country to maintain peace was to obey the grand injunction, "in time of peace prepare for war." The mammoth ship Pennsylvania was also visited, her accommodating commander, Capt. Tucker, having boats ready to convey such of the party as desired to go on board from the Navy Yard. Whilst the guests were on board of this proud old specimen of the handiwork of our countrymen, the officers were studious in their attentions, showing, with the greatest politeness, the most minute details of the ship. The band



attached to the Pennsylvania discoursed the most eloquent music while the party were on board, and after all had satisfied their curiosity, the same kindness and attention were showed them by the officers in regaining the shore. About half past eleven the tap of the drum summoned the ladies to the carriages and the gentlemen to the line of the procession, which being again formed proceeded to the Macon House, where the citizens and authorities had provided a substantial collation.

The good people of Portsmouth called their entertainment a collation, but it partook very much in its nature of a banquet. Every thing in season was found upon the tables in profusion, and champagne and other wines fairly flowed in streams. After the guests had satisfied their appetites, Capt. Watts, of Portsmouth, arose and addressed the company in a felicitous manner.

He remarked that the great West, and the East, had recently entered into a matrimonial contract, and no man was found who had the hardihood to forbid the banns. He said that the agreeable meeting of to-day had satisfied him that the bone and sinew of the land knew no East, no West, no North, no South, but that the whole country, and nothing but the whole country, would satisfy the good and true men of all sections of the Union.

Judge Carter, of Cincinnati, was next vociferously called for at the conclusion of this speech. As soon as order was in a measure restored, the Judge rose and remarked that, although he and his fellow-citizens owed allegiance to Ohio, yet they considered themselves the friends of the Old Dominion and the lovers of the whole Union.

He said that the men of the West had suddenly come among tho citizens of Virginia, and the most generous hospitality had been showered upon them. He dilated at considerable length on the glories of the American Union, and paid a high compliment to the good old State in which he had accidentally, almost he might say, found himself. The cities Cincinnati, Chillicothe, and St. Louis claimed to be the sisters of Portsmouth and Norfolk, and awful would the responsibility of the individual who should attempt to break the bonds of friendship to-day so tightly cemented. These communities had ever been warmly attached friends, and doubly cemented as they were now, or soon would be, by bands of iron and the union of hearts, the attachment must last forever. He said he was heartily gratified, nay more than gratified, to meet on this occasion the men of the East and the West. He and his friends had travelled from the Western cities over stupendous works, and all they had seen



and all they had heard had only tended to make them the stronger lovers of our glorious American Union.

He concluded by offering as a sentiment : "The cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth-in their recent great distress by pestilence they had the heartfelt sympathies of the entire Union, and we rejoice to see their prosperity and growing greatness to-day."

Henry W. Williams, of St. Louis, rose to express the thanks of the Missourians for this overpowering expression of esteem and respect. From the banks of that mighty stream, the Father of Waters, he said, to the justly proud Monumental City their journey had been a triumphal one.

The Missourians, he continued, had great capacity for enduring comfort and hospitalities, but this excursion had over-tasked their powers ; they had been literally overwhelmed with kindness and friendly attentions. The representatives of the West were here to-day to shake hands with the East. They came with a higher motive than their own selfish enjoyment. They came to unite with the East in a Union which should obliterate any distinctions or differences between the North and South; they came desirous of changing the geographical lines which had been drawn; to blot out that line which had been made running East and West, and to establish one running North and South-the people on each side of which being united, as upon this occasion, in the bonds of friendship, would render the Union secure and perpetual. There would then be no North or South,-our whole country would be East or West. This being accomplished while Virginia, the Old Dominion, contained the ashes of Washington, and Maryland contained all that was mortal of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, the fanatics and factionists who seek to destroy that Union could not, should not, accomplish their evil designs.

Those States, and others here represented, through which the excursionists had passed-indeed all of the glorious thirty-one-were bound together by the strongest ties of interest and of consanguinity, as well as by that mutual love of country which nothing can resist. After some further eloquent and much applauded remarks, Mr. Williams concluded by again thanking the authorities and people of Portsmouth for the kindness and attention paid to the Western visitors while among them.

After Mr. Williams closed. and as the ladies were conveyed to the Norfolk ferry-a summer-shower fell upon the scene. The ladies were, however, soon transferred to the ferry boat from the vehicles by the gentlemen of Norfolk and Portsmouth. On arriving at Norfolk the guests were met by the Artillery Blues, Capt. Corprew, and the Juniors, Capt. E. C. Robinson. The ladies were placed in carriages



by a committee appointed for the purpose, consisting of Messrs. Sol. Cherry, John E. Tunis, and W. C. Williams, and soon arrived at the National Hotel, where, after a slight rest, they were regaled with a most bountiful dinner by those gentlemen. The ladies had quite a pleasant time, the delicious viands and champagne were freely discussed, and when the gentlemen of the party next met their fair friends on board the North Carolina, whither they had been taken in carriages from the hotel, they wore most cheerful and happy faces, and were as merry as crickets. The male guests were escorted from the ferry by the military, Mayor Ferguson, and Commodore Dornin and other naval officers, a committee of citizens, composed of Messrs. Myer Myers, J. I. Bloodgood, W. H. C. Lovett, Stephen Bonsall, S. R. Bourne, and Henry Gheseline, and headed by the two bands of music, marched to Mechanics' Hall, where the grand reception took place. The hall was soon filled to overflowing.

The Mayor of Norfolk, Mr. Ferguson, rose and stated that, as chief officer of the city, he heartily welcomed the guests from the Western cities.

We are, said he, the more pleased to welcome you from the fact that we hope and believe that at no distant day we shall be allied much more intimately than at presert, by means of the James River and Kanawha Canal. Situated as we are on the seaboard, with one of the finest harbors on the face of the earth, it becomes our duty to use our best endeavors to cultivate friendly feelings with, not only the West, but with the entire country. We shall soon be enabled to receive your Western produce in our harbor, where shortly we expect to see the flags of every nation on the face of the earth. Allow me, gentlemen, in the name of the corporation, and on behalf of the citizens of Norfolk, to bid you a most hearty welcome.

When the applause which followed the Mayor's remarks had somewhat subsided, Charles D. Drake, of St. Louis, rose to reply.

He said this was the first, and perhaps to many now here the last time that the present company might ever meet. In behalf of his fellow guests from Ohio and Missouri, he would return his heartfelt thanks for the very kind manner in which they have been received in Norfolk. The invitation to make this visit had come upon them somewhat unexpected, whilst they were receiving the munificent hospitalities of the Monumental City. Coming suddenly, on short notice, travel-worn, the aspect of the outer-man against us, we certainly present an unprepossessing appearance-but these only reflect the



warmest impulses of our hearts, and the generous feeling of the warm-hearted citizens of Norfolk towards us is almost beyond thanks.

Of all who have come from the West with us I am, perhaps, (said Mr. Drake) the oldest acquaintance of your ancient city. A curly-headed red-faced midshipman, on the 19th day of February, 1828, fresh from the banks of the Ohio, sailed from Norfolk in that good old-ship-of-the-line Delaware, then and for many years later the pride of the American navy. That individual has now the honor of addressing you. I have never seen Norfolk since, until to-day, and my heart has been gladdened by a sight of her once more. I am proud, doubly proud, to return backed by such an assemhlage as have received your kindness to-day. We come from that section of the continent, on Which the Almighty has set his seal of beauty and verdure-of beautiful landscapes and plains-from a soil which is capable of producing enough to feed the world. We come as representatives of a valley boundless in extent-from the great valley through which runs the noblest river in the world-from the land of prairie, where the labor of a generation is not needed to make the soil productive. We come from a section of country Where you first see a hamlet, then a village springs up, a town succeeds, Which soon looms into the importance of a city. This all occurs whilst the foundation of a house is being laid, in some quarters.

You of the Atlantic cities have your grand and gigantic forts of defence and magnificent ships-of-war, and in this respect we are unlike you ; but your success in your magnificent exchanges, as merchants, as traders, as manufacturers, creates no envy in our hearts-on the contrary, such successes only tend to make the heart of the West throb with joy. We of the West have our glories too, and it pleases us to see you rejoice in our prosperity. We are not now situated as we were a short time ago-the barriers of the Alleghanies have been overcome-the earth is no longer in the hands of nature-towns and cities have sprung up as if by magic-the virgin lands of the West are now producing immense quantities of flour, which is floated down the beautiful Ohio, or passed on to our own Missouri by rail. We are looking beyond-our eyes are on the Rocky Mountains-on San Francisco-on the Pacific. There sits our beautiful section of country in all her majesty, and the man who comes to this section from the West will in a fewyears have to come from the Pacific, and not from that region of country from whence We hail. We come from the grand and stately centre of the Union-a Union which must last forever. Who, sir, is it, living away from this geographical centre, has the fatuity to predict that this Union will ever dissolve while this grand centre exists? Should the attempt ever be unfortunately made to detach the great West from the mouth of the Mississippi, a torrent would sweep down on the miscreant such as was never heard of before. No such thing can come. He who would make the attempt must first try to forget the geography of his country. He must first



cease to remember that the hub of the great wheel on which our glorious government revolves is firmly fixed in the mighty West. Mr. Drake concluded by again thanking the Mayor and citizens for the kind reception extended to the guests.

Mr. Chandler, of Norfolk, followed.

He said : Brethren from the setting sun, we heartily bid you welcome to the hospitalities of our city. We can show you no splendid monuments of architecture-no royal exchange in which merchants do most delight to congregate, but we could show strangers many things not to be seen elsewhere. Many now present had heard to-day for the first time the roar of old Ocean, and had also witnessed some fine specimens of naval architecture. We of Norfolk have these and many other things worthy to be proud of, and we should be unworthy of the trust did we not feel proud. Our good old city has been said by many to be in a state of decay, but, said he, thank God, we are waking up from our Rip Van Winkle sleep. Our citizens have buckled on their armor and have gallantly entered the race for greatness-they have at length determined to use the sinews of steel and joints of iron, and they fervently hope to be enabled within a short time to join hands with the Western and central portion of the Union.

Mr. Chandler said, he hoped the friendships made to-day would be lasting, and he knew that as soon as Norfolk had completed her improvements, as things were now constituted in this age of the almighty dollar, the people of the ancient city and her brethren in the West could not by any possible means fail to become strong and lasting friends. After setting forth at considerable length the many natural advantages of the city, Mr. Chandler remarked that with a few words to the fair ladies present he would conclude.

The ladies, said he, are a subject of which my heart is full. In the course of my life I have mixed with whiskered and moustached men, have participated, in days gone by, in the excitement of log cabins and hard cider, while some of my most esteemed friends may have an indistinct recollection of endeavoring to raise the longest kind of hickory poles. These and other matters have been subjects of excitement, but I always feel a queer sensation in the presence of ladies, and I must say I feel proud and gratified to see so many of the fairest part of creation from the Western cities present to-day. Where they are seen in such numbers and loveliness every thing is safe. They were the first at the cross and the last at the sepulchre-they were ever present where deeds of mercy were to be performed-and as Daniel Webster once said of the Constitution, I love them as a peculiar institution. A learned man once remarked that the world was governed by three boxes, the cartridge-box, the ballot-box, and the band-box ; and, as a representative of the married men I must say that last, though not least, is the band-box. God grant, continued



Mr. C., that the links of friendship made this day may be cemented and made stronger day by day till time shall he no more.

At the conclusion of his remarks, the gallant speaker was literally covered by a shower of bouquets thrown at him by the ladies present. He bore his honors quite blushingly, and for the balance of the day was quite a lion among the fair ones.

The ladies were taken in charge by the Norfolk Committee, as previously stated, and the gentlemen formed in procession and marched to the Assembly Rooms, where a bountiful collation was awaiting them. After justice was done to the viands, the Mayor arose and read the regular toasts, viz: "The Union of the States;" "The Guests from the West;" "The City of Baltimore;" "The President of the United States;" "The Father of Waters and the Chesapeake;" "The Governor of Virginia;" "The Army and Navy;" "The Ladies." Eloquent speeches were made by the Mayor of Norfolk; Judge Carter, of Cincinnati; Messrs. Tillston and O'Conner, of Ohio, and Hallam, of Kentucky; Lieut. Fyfe, of the sloop of war Germantown ; Geo. S. Allen, of the steamer North Carolina, and several others.

The toast to Baltimore was highly complimentary, and was followed by three hearty cheers. Loud calls were made for John B. Seidenstricker, but that gentleman having previously left for Old Point, Neilson Poe-a prominent member of the Baltimore Bar-responded in a few happy remarks. He said what Baltimore had done to make her so lovely to the people of Norfolk she was ready to do again should the unfortunate necessity occur, but this was an event which he and his fellow-citizens trusted the Almighty would avert. Mr. Poe made an excellent speech, as he always does.

During their stay at Norfolk a large number of the excursionists repaired to the hospitable mansion of Mr. Ball, where champagne corks flew merrily for a short time, and many pleasant things were said and done. Among other gentlemen who made short addresses at the residence of Mr. Ball, was Capt. Pritchard, of the National Guards of St. Louis. His remarks were most happily conceived, and uttered with a vehemence which at once proved that all he said came from the heart.

At five o'clock, on Thurday afternoon, the entire party being on board, the North Carolina cast loose from the Norfolk wharf, amid the cheers of hundreds of citizens, and steamed over to Portsmouth, on her return to Baltimore. A large number of the citizens of Norfolk accompanied the party to Portsmouth, and many went as far as Old



Point Comfort-sixteen miles distant-where they were reluctantly compelled to leave their newly made friends. Whilst waiting at the wharf at Norfolk, nearly all the ladies of the party being in the upper saloon of the North Carolina, loud calls were made for Mr. Chandler, who, having survived the broadside of bouquets which were aimed at him a few hours previously, came forward, and for about ten minutes entertained those present with a strain of witty remarks. The Seaboard Road train having arrived, and its passengers safely on board, the North Carolina gently swept out from the Portsmouth wharf amid the most vociferous cheering from hundreds collected there. One of the bands played an appropriate tune as she passed out of the harbor, and the yards of the Germantown were manned by her hundreds of gallant tars dressed in clean white pantaloons and blue jackets. The boat stopped but a moment or so at Old Point Comfort, where the five hundred ladies and gentlemen then sojourning there, were assembled on the wharf to greet the excursionists as they passed. Mentor's Cincinnati Band treated them to fine strains of music whilst we briefly stopped. The North Carolina again started up the Bay, amid the cheers of the gentlemen and the waving of handkerchiefs by the ladies. The return trip was pleasant in the extreme, but the party being exhausted with the fatigue of the day, generally retired at an early hour. The North Carolina reached her Wharf at Baltimore about seven o'clock, on Friday morning ; previous to her arriving, however, the guests and all on board partook of one of those famous fish breakfasts peculiar to the Chesapeake Bay Line.

Before reaching the wharf a meeting of the Western excursionists was held in the main saloon of the steamer, when the annexed proceedings were had, as reported in the Baltimore Patriot :

MEETING OF THE WESTERN EXCURSIONISTS.

At a meeting of the excursionists from Ohio and Missouri, held on hoard of the steamer North Carolina, on Friday, July 24th, 1857, Benjamin Eggleston, of Cincinnatti, was called to the chair, and John D. Caldwell, of Cincinnati, appointed secretary.

On motion of Charles D. Drake, of St. Louis, the following resolutions were adopted by acclamation:

Resolved, 1. That we tender to the civil authorities and citizens of Baltimore, Washington City, Norfolk and Portsmouth, our cordial and sincere thanks for the hearty and munificent hospitality we have received at their hands, and for the innumerable individual attentions on their part, which have so greatly enhanced our enjoyment in our sojourn among them.







2. That in our courteous reception by the President of the United States and the members of the Cabinet, at the White House, we rejoice to see, on their part, an appreciation of the value to the country of social interchange such as we have participated in, assuring us of their patriotic regard for the welfare of the whole people.

3. That our thanks are due, and are hereby most kindly presented to the different railroad companies whose courtesy has been extended to us, and for the unceasing efforts of the officers of those roads over which we have passed to render our travel safe and agreeable.

4. That we would in a special manner commend the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad-with which the idea of this excursion originated-to persons in all parts of the country as an excellent and delightful route for travellers. We would particularly express our high admiration of the skill, care, and apparent perfection of every thing about its management, and have no hesitation in prounouncing it the best constructed, and one of the safest railroads of which we have any knowledge.

5. That our thanks be likewise presented to the proprietors of the steamboat line between Baltimore and Norfolk for their kind invitation to visit Norfolk and Portsmouth on their boats, and for the very courteous treatment we received on board the noble steamer North Carolina, in going to and returning from those cities.

6. That in the interchange between different portions of the country, of social courtesies such as We have enjoyed, we see a means, heretofore almost unknown, of cultivating a broader and deeper nationality of feeling, and of binding us together more closely in the ties of brotherhood, and consequently of cementing more firmly the sacred Union of these States; and we would express the earnest hope that similar excursions may become frequent-particularly between parts of our country Which have not been called heretofore by the demands of business to the establishment of close intercourse.

7. That the Press generally, and particularly that of Baltimore and Washington City, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Cincinnati, Chillicothe, and St. Louis, be requested to publish the proceedings of this meeting.

The meeting then adjourned With three cheers.

BENJ. G. EGGLESTON, Chairman. JOHN. D. CALDWELL, Secretary.

We should not close this account of a delightful trip without saying a word in praise of the gallant officers of the noble steamer North Carolina. From the time the boat left her wharf at Baltimore until her return, each and all of them were unremitting in their attention to the passengers, their Wishes as it were being in many cases anticipated. They freely abandoned their own comforts and conveniences for the purpose of making the guests comfortable, and it cannot be doubted that they made an impression upon all their numerous guests which will never be erased.



THE RAILWAY CELEBRATIONS OF 1857.

CHAPTER XI.

CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS-THE POSITION OF BALTIMORE: ITS ATTRACTIVE SURROUNDINGS.

IN bringing to a close this narrative of the incidents attending the hospitable reception and noble entertainment of the Western guests, it may not be inappropriate to dwell for a moment upon its salient points. These are to be found in its social and friendly design, in the completeness with which that design was carried out, interesting in its execution the representative people of four States and three great Cities, and in the happy fraternal feelings which it did so much in creating, and is still powerful in perpetuating. The unceasing clangor and rivalry of business that pervade the land, and the excessive political excitements which seem inherent in our system of government, require the opiate influence of these public festivals, by which the people of different States and sections may be brought together to rub off the asperities that variant interests may have created, or to gather strength for a common purpose from the increase of confidence and respect, of which such opportunities for fraternization and communion are productive. In these aspects the Railroad Celebrations of 1857 were eminently successful. In the wide circle of Eastern guests, who enjoyed the abounding hospitalities of the West in June last, he must be a dullard indeed who has not some treasured souvenirs of his experience at that time ; to whom the mention of Cincinnati, St Louis, Chillicothe, or even of little Vincennes, (whose citizens crowded a wealth of hearty reception and sumptuous entertainment into a brief hour's halt,) does not bring a pleasant excitation of the blood and a warmer beating of the heart. Equally fruitful of these minute but strong ties which bind together cities and States by appealing to the highest



attributes of their people, was the visit of the Western excursionists to Baltimore and its vicinity. They were invited as honored and desired guests, were received as esteemed and welcome friends, for Whose entertainment and pleasure all that the most cordial sociality conld suggest, or an earnest desire to do them honor, execute, was ungrudgingly lavished, and they returned to their homes satiated with enjoyment, carrying with them a better knowledge of the commercial claims and facilities of Baltimore than any thing short of such an actual experience could have produced, whilst the social attributes of the occasion added its attractions and influences to the knowledge thus gained.

The citizens of Baltimore found the visit productive of results eminently gratifying. They were enabled to repay to their friends of they West the obligations of courtesy and hospitality under which they had been placed, and at the same time make manifest that Baltimore possessed within herself the resources of a great city, in which the visitor can supply all his business wants, whilst finding there also an abundant field for the gratification of his social instincts. The guests themselves found in Baltimore and its vicinity a variety of scenes and objects of interest that fully gratified their appetite for sightseeing,-so entirely, indeed, as to induce the great majority of the excursionists to forego their intention of proceeding farther north, and to lead them to return home with the impression that what they had seen, heard, and experienced, was quite as much as the most exigeant of tourists could desire for the result of one trip to the Atlantic seaboard.

The attractions of Baltimore were on that occasion proved to be manifold. Its advantageous location, its pleasant and salubrious climate, its magnificent monuments, its great public institutions, the elegant private residences, which the industry and taste of its residents have contributed, the beautiful suburban retreats that surround it, and the bountiful hospitality that its people are so prompt to offer to those whom they receive as friends, each and all in turn were examined and enjoyed by the visitors. No city in the Union is surrounded by more objects of beauty and interest. Lippincott's Gazetteer, an impartial witness, may be quoted in confirmation of this assertion.

"Perhaps no city in the United States has such a picturesque site as Baltimore covering as it does a number of eminences which furnish a pleasant variety for the stranger. If the visitor ascends the Washington Monument, in 7



the northern part of the city, on a hill itself, one hundred feet above tide, he has one of the finest panoramas furnished by any city in the Union. Immediately beneath and around him are some of the most capacious streets, lined with residences rarely equalled in elegance, size and position. To the north and north-west are the newer and finer buildings, constituting the ton quarter of the city, while to the south lies the great centre of trade ; a little to the south-east is the harbor, and beyond it Federal Hill, while far in the distance, but nearly in the same direction, stretches the beautiful arm of the bay, on which Baltimore stands. To the east and south, across Jones' Fall, lie the Old Town and Fell's Point, and to the west the newer portions, which are extending rapidly. The view is varied by the domes of the Catholic cathedral, the Unitarian church and the Exchange, by the shot-tower, the Battle Monument, and by the steeples and towers of the various churches and other large edifices (among which is the new and beautiful steeple of the Camden Station, which forms a conspicuous finger-post to the traveller) scattered in all directions; the whole girt on the north, west, and east, by beautiful hills crowned with a natural growth of trees."

On every side the city is surrounded by a country of great natural beauty, presenting that intermingling of land and water, and hill and dale, which constitute the charm of landscape scenery. What nature has bountifully granted art has lavishly improved. The splendid country-seats of its millionnaire citizens dot the hill-sides and beautify the valleys for miles around its suburbs, pleasing the eye and gratifying the refined taste. Prominent among these, and to which the attention of every appreciative visitor to Baltimore should be directed, is "The Crimea," the splendid country-seat of Thomas Winans, whereon a highly cultivated natural taste, a large European experience, and abundant means, have reproduced all the beauties of the seignorial manors of the feudal estates of the Old World. The city residence and grounds of Mr. Winans, have already become a prominent object of attractive interest to citizens and strangers, but this recently improved and similar incomplete country place promises at once to far excel any similar estate in the Union. It is located within four miles of the city and is quite elevated. The general character of the ground is wildly picturesque in the extreme. Its strikingly effective mansion, crowning the highest summit, completely overlooks the city and the neighboring country. and commands an admirable view of the Patapsco River and the Chesapeake Bay at its mouth. Bordered by its more than two miles of Osage orange hedges-with its aboriginal forests, its beautiful runnng streams, its precipitous rocky hills, its lawns, its woodlands, its deer-



parks, its fish-ponds, its meandering walks, its extensive floral and vegetable gardens, its towering windmill, and its many other attractive features-this magnificent place must become the boast of Maryland, long before the taste and means of its owner shall have been exhausted in its perfection. The country seats of John S. Hopkins, Reverdy Johnson, A. S. Abel, G. W. Lurman, Zenus Barnum, D. M. Perine, and many others, each in different styles of adornment and rural elegance, prove the aesthetical cultivation and worthily bestowed means of their owners. From the surrounding hills, the surface of Baltimore undulates gently down to its beautiful harbor, which in turn possesses some remarkable points of attraction. Perfectly land-locked, the three branches of the Patapsco, spreading into ample sheets of water, offer a secure harbor for the commerce of the city, and afford to its citizens the fairest opportunity for the enjoyment of those aquatic sports and pleasures that furnish the best relief from the harassing toils and close confinement of city life. The noble Chesapeake Bay, Which every Baltimorean considers a part of the belongings of his city, of which he speaks always with pride, from whose nearness he gathers health and pleasure, and out of whose waters he procures the choicest delicacies that make enviable Baltimore fare, is last but not least of the ensemble of natural beauties and attractions which endear the city to its inhabitants, and offer to the visitor a variety of sources of amusement and pleasure.

The public institutions of Baltimore, for the moral and intellectual advancement of her people, should also be honorably named among the attractions of the Monumental City. The University of Maryland, the patriarch of its scientific institutions, and the venerated Alma Mater of a large and eminent alumni, was incorporated in 1812, and is one of the most highly esteemed medical colleges in the country. It has a faculty of arts and sciences, of physic, of theology, and of law, and is well supplied with the materials for anatomical and clinical instruction. Baltimore College, which constitutes the collegiate department of the University, is under the general supervision of the regents-among whom is John H. Alexander, one of the most erudite scholars in the country-with a separate faculty of professors and teachers. The Baltimore Infirmary, a large and well managed institution, is also connected with the medical department of the University. The Maryland Institute, for the promotion of the mechanic and useful arts, though a young institution, has achieved the most decided success. It occupies a field of widely extended usefulness, and through



the medium of its numerously attended schools of design, a large and constantly augmenting library, its lectures of a literary, scientific, and chemical character, (the latter being given in connection with a very complete philosophical apparatus,) and its annual exhibitions of art and industry held in its large hall, has arrived at an importance which gives to it the highest place in the appreciation of the community. The projected and munificently endowed "Peabody Institute" will also soon be added to the list of public institutions, and whilst an ornament to the city, will unquestionably be capable of much useful effort in its field of operation. Did our limits allow, we might something worthy of mention in connection with various other educational, scientific, and literary organizations of the city. The Maryland Historical Society, the Mercantile Library Association-one of the largest and best conducted of its class-the Maryland College of Pharmacy, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, and Loyola College, are each in their sphere institutions of established character and usefulness. The public school system of Baltimore is also one of its proudest boasts. It embraces seventy-nine schools, classed as primary, grammar, and high schools, (of which latter there are three, one male and two female,) with evening schools, and a "floating school" for amphibious learners, in all which, during the year 1857. eighteen thousand nine hundred and thirty-one children received instruction. The schools are nearly all conducted in buildings owned by the city, some of which are edifices of fine appearance, and admirably arranged for school purposes. The plan of instruction pursued is well digested, and is constantly being enlarged and improved, and the whole system is carefully promoted and liberally supported by the intelligent goodwill of the people. In addition to its system of public schools, Baltimore is distinguished for a number of excellent and flourishing private academies, within which many of the resident youth, and large numbers of scholars drawn from the rural portions of the surrounding States, receive their education.

The moral, charitable, and reformatory institutions of Baltimore are also numerous and respectable. The Maryland Hospital for the Insane, now located on the eastern suburb of the city, but soon to be replaced by a more extensive and modern edifice in another location ; the Mount Hope Hospital for the Insane, in the northern part of the city, under the management of the Sisters of Charity ; the new and commodious House of Refuge, already exerting a deep and beneficent influence ; the Widows' Home, within whose beautiful edifice all of



Christian care and kindness are expended upon its inmates ; the Union Protestant Infirmary, into which sickness and suffering are the only required passports ; the Protestant Episcopal Church Home, entering upon a like career of beneficent charity, in a large and admirably arranged edifice crowning the summit of one of the beautiful eminences in the eastern part of the city ; the General Association far improving the Condition of the Poor, which relieved the wants of 10,000 persons in 1857; the Baltimore Protestant Orphan Asylum, gathering three hundred orphans under its sheltering care ; St. Mary's Catholic Orphan Asylum, equally extended and successful in its provision for the unprotected young, and many other institutions, of which these named are only the most prominent, might be cited as among the organizations through which the private and public charity of Baltimore seeks to alleviate the suffering and promote the moral and religious well-being of the needy and poor within her gates.

In points of national and historical interest, Baltimore is not deficient. The proximity of Washington, and the almost hourly facilities afforded by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for a transit from one city to the other, has rendered the National Capital almost a suburb of Baltimore, and united the attractions of the two places. Washington, growing with the rapid increase of the nation, becoming every day a capital more distinguished for its magnificent public buildings, its Points of national interest, and its polished and courtly society, must continue to concentrate upon it more and more largely the attention of the people of the country, and nourish that increasing taste which makes a visit to it one of the necessities of a home tour, omitting which no traveller will be considered to have "seen all that was worth seeing."

Nearer yet to her limits Baltimore claims among her historic lions Fort McHenry, against whose stout embankments and well-served batteries the British fleet in 1814 in vain discharged its thunders, and amidst the roar and glare of whose gallant defence the most popular of our national anthems-the Star Spangled Banner-was improvised by the patriotic Key. From the eminence of Fort McHenry, across the waters of the Patapsco, lies, almost within sight, the Battle Field of North Point-but eight miles from the city-whereon the gallantry of Baltimore volunteers, aided by the ready assistance of the militia of Washington City, and the borough of York, in Pennsylvania, won honor and victory from a British invading force, and saved their city from the barbarian pillage and destruction which the same troops had but recently inflicted upon Washington. Annapolis-but thirty



miles from Baltimore, on an arm of the bay-the "ancient city" of happy memories, has also an historic interest. Annapolis is one of the few cities of the United States that counts its age by centuries. It was founded in 1649, and yet presents in its aspect many of the peculiarities of the early colonial times. Its venerable State House, within whose Senate Chamber Washington surrendered his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Army, yet stands untouched by time, and almost unassailed by improvement, one of the Meccas of the country, upon which the patriotic veneration of its sons will ever descend. Of the more modern attractions of Annapolis, the principal is the United States Naval Academy, the counterpart of West Point, and performing for the Navy what the latter institution does for the Army, the raising up of successive corps of well educated, thoroughly disciplined, and scientifically efficient naval officers.

The commercial, trading, and manufacturing facilities of Baltimore must, however, be relied on as the principal attractive power that will bring to her the trade and travel of other sections of the country. In drawing toward her this necessary papulum of a metropolitan city, Baltimore has already been greatly successful, and the future holds out the most solid promises of further and more important achievement. Her position at the head of the Chesapeake Bay, is one of superior advantage for foreign commerce, whilst the numerous lines of railway, radiating East and West, North and South, built mainly by her capital and controlled by her energy and enterprise, and having their termini within her borders, invite to the city the agricultural and mineral wealth of a vast interior. In the eloquent language of one of her citizens, she may justly claim to have "reached the threshold and stepping-stone of her true commercial greatness, and there is nothing now that can turn her back." Beside her large commerce carried on in sailing vessels with coastwise and foreign ports, Baltimore has regular steamship communication with Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Charleston, and Norfolk; whilst her fleet of steamboats keep up close connections with all the country bordering on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The foreign trade of the city, even under the commercial depression of 1857, showed an aggregate value of inward and outward cargoes of nearly twenty-four millions of dollars. The arrivals at the port, exclusive of bay craft, in the year ending Dec. 31, 1857, included 286 ships, 181 barks, 323 brigs, and 1,903 schooners : total 3,693. Of these 73 ships, 96 barks, 224 brigs, and 182 schooners, were from foreign ports. The number of clearances



during the same year was 3,732; of which 521 were for foreign ports. During the year 51 vessels, of 12,059 tons burthen, were built at the port. Of the general trade of the city, there is, perhaps, the most comprehensive view presented in the following extract from the last annual statement of the Baltimore American, a recognized authority upon all matters relative to the commerce of the city :

"For the first time, we believe, since Baltimore has attained any commercial importance, we have ventured to estimate the value of its business in actual figures. In doing so, we have chosen mostly to under-estimate rather than to set down values at hazard. This will be seen by the figures themselves in the statements which follow ; and in order to approximate to something like the value of merchandise which constitutes the trade of our city, we prefix the following summary :

VALUE OF ARTICLES.

Dry Goods	$30,000,000	Live Stock	$4,100,000
Coal	3,600,000	Provisions	8,000,000
Coffee	3,500,000	Sugar	5,000,000
Cotton	2,100,000	Salt	160,000
Fish	400,000	Molasses	1,000 000
Flour	5,500,000	Tobacco	4,250,000
Grain	6,000,000	Whiskey	2,500,000
Guano	1,600,100	Lumber	1,000,000
Pig and Bar Iron	2,000,000	Wool	400,000
Copper	2,000,000
Hides
Leather	1,650,000	Total	$84,760,000

"The gross value of the articles above enumerated is set down in round numbers at eighty-five millions of dollars.-The enumeration, however, comprises only the largest items of merchandise, and is far from including every thing.-We may observe that there is no estimate of many articles of great Value, such as Brandy, Gin, Wines, Dried Fruits, Hardware, Cutlery, Gold and Silver Ware, Watches, Jewelry, Cigars, Stationery, Paints, Oils, Naval Stores, Malt Liquors, Staves, Bricks, Lime, Artificial Fertilisers, Drugs, Oils, Candles, Soaps, &c., &c. Nor do we include Ship Building, Steam Engines, Locomotives, Railroad Machinery, Agricultural Implements, Crockery and Glassware, which form a large aggregate.

"We regret much that there is no data on which we could found an estimate of the value of the trade in Oysters, prepared for exportation, of which immense quantities are sent to the Western States and to foreign countries, from this port exclusively, which we are confident may be set down at one million of dollars, and might probably be much more. "As the principal articles of merchandise enumerated above, to which we are enabled to affix the actual value (because they mostly pass under the official surveillance of the Custom-House or of authorized inspectors), amount in gross to eighty-five millions of dollars, we think it quite safe to estimate the value of the merchandise and produce generally, last enumerated, about half that of the former. This would make the general trade of the city, in round numbers, fully one hundred and twenty-eight millions of dollars."



The many and various facilities which Baltimore possesses as a manufacturing city, have gradually been brought into requisition until, in this point of progress, it is rapidly taking range with the most advanced of its rivals; The Patapsco river and Jones', and Gwyn's Falls, afford an immense water power, extensively employed for flouring mills, of which there are about seventy within twenty miles of the city, with also a very large number of cotton and woollen mills, iron works, tan yards, and other important branches of productive industry. The cheapness of the Cumberland semi-bituminous coal, its constant supply through the medium of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and its superior adaptabilities for steam generating purposes, has also an important influence in developing within her limits a great variety of manufacturing interests. From an elevated point of examination, the city will be perceived to be surrounded on almost every side by lines of factories, mills, and manufacturing establishments, whose columns of dark smoke and jets of steam, demonstrate the constant activity and innumerable variety of her productive interests. These establishments embrace the manufacture of cloth, cotton, and woollen goods ; paper mills, copper, glass, chemical and tobacco works; the iron trade in all its branches of melting, puddling, rolling, forging, and final product in the thousand of purposes of use and ornament to which the science of the age has made the metal applicable ; steam engine and locomotive founderies, nail mills, hollow ware and stove factories; whilst in other departments of labor may be enumerated piano, cabinet ware, chair and wall-paper manufactories ; cedar ware factories ; steam, stone, and wood sawmills, and a list that might be almost indefinitely extended of the numerous products for which the augmenting trade of the city has created a demand. In all these departments of labor, Baltimore has achieved some special excellence which has given to her manufactures a high rank. The product of her, flour mills is valued for family use and export to South America and the West Indies ; the achievements of her steam engine and locomotive builders have been attested by many triumphs of mechanical skill ; her ship-builders have a national fame; her iron workers have successfully filled large and important government contracts, and in this way might be enumerated in all her branches of industrial enterprise the evidences of an ability to fulfil the largest demand that her commercial and trading progress may originate. From the best data at com-mand, the manufacturing establishments of Baltimore are estimated to number about four thousand, in which is invested a capital of from



twelve to fifteen millions of dollars, consuming annually raw material to the aggregate value of eighteen millions of dollars, and producing annually manufactured articles of the value of from thirty-five to forty millions of dollars.

With these favorable influences, and the important bases of a preferred geographical location, of completed lines of railway connecting directly with all sections of the country, with a large foreign and domestic trade, and a growing system of manufactures ; Baltimore, through the social courtesies we have detailed, has sought to present her claims, extend her influence, and strengthen the ties which unite her interests with the vast interior country upon which all the Atlantic cities depend for prosperity and increase.

7*





THE RAILWAY CELEBRATIONS OF 1857.

APPENDIX.

CONTENTS.

• I.-PRESENTATION BY CINCINNATI GUESTS.
• II.-OPENING OF THE RAILROAD TO WASHINGTON, IN 1835.
• III.-OPENING OF THE WINCHESTER AND POTOMAC ROAD, IN 1836.
• IV.-RESIGNATION OF PHILIP E. THOMAS, IN 1836.
• V.-HON. REVERDY JOHNSON, ON THE BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD.
• VI.-WINTER SCENES ON THE BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD.
• VII.-HARPERS' MAGAZINE AND BRANTZ MAYER.
• VIII.-PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION-EXTRAORDINARY TRAVEL.
• IX.-THE PRESENT EXTENT OF THE RAILROAD SYSTEM.
• X.-THE VALUE AND IMPORTANCE OF RAILROADS.





APPENDIX.

I.

VALUABLE PRESENTATION BY THE CINCINNATI EXCURSIONISTS.

A FEW weeks after the return of the Cincinnati visitors, they revived their association with the July excursion, by presenting a testimonial to Mr. J. M. Sharp, the General Western Passenger Agent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Of this pleasant affair the Cincinnati Daily Times, and other journals, give the following full account:-

CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE LATE EXCURSION.

TESTIMONIAL FROM THE CINCINNATI EXCURSIONISTS TO Mr. JOHN M. SHARP.

On Saturday evening last, a party of the late excursionists to Baltimore and vicinity, visited the residence of Mr. John M. Sharp, Western Agent for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, for the purpose of bestowing upon him a testimonial, that had been prepared by order of the Cincinnatians, who participated in that great excursion. They arrived at Mr. Sharp's residence, located near Cumminsville, one of the suburbs, about nine o'clock, and were warmly received by Mr. Sharp and his estimable lady.

At the proper season, Judge A. J. Pruden stepped forward, with the testimonial in his hand. It is a gorgeous gold watch, with suitable trimmings, and the following words engraved upon the case: "The Cincinnati Excursionists, of 16th July, to John M. Sharp. Presented October 3, 1857."

Judge Pruden presented the testimonial in a brief and pertinent address. Approaching Mr. Sharp, with the gift in his hand, he remarked as follows, viz.:

SIR:-I am delegated, on behalf of the excursionists who left the city of Cincinnati for Baltimore on the sixteenth of last July, to present to you this beautiful watch and chain, as a slight token of the high regard we entertain for you, as a gentleman, and as an efficient officer of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company; and also for your kindness, courtesy, and attention to our comfort, whilst on our recent excursion.







This is not presented for its intrinsic value alone, but as a token of friendship and esteem. Coming from friends who know and can appreciate your merits, we present it as something substantial and endurable, which being worn upon your person, will cause you to have recurrence to its dial, when there may be brought to your recollection our delightful excursion, with the many pleasant incidents, receptions, and smiling faces we met upon that happy occasion. We wish you to wear it until time shall cease to be with you, and when you shall have gone to that bourne from "whence no traveller returns," we hope that our token of esteem may descend as an Heir-loom to your children.

And permit me upon this occasion, on behalf of the excursionists, through you, to return to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, as well as all the other Roads, and the several steamboat corporations, that so generously extended to us the courtesy of their lines, our thanks for their liberality, courtesy and attention.

I wish also, in conclusion, to say that we look upon the opening of these great Railroad lines from the east to the great West, as an epoch in the history of our country,-as a harbinger of peace, wealth, and happiness,-and as strengthening the common ties of our common country. As these great channels of commerce are opened, and our people visit and intermingle one with another, their ties of friendship will be strengthened more and more, and we will in truth and in fact be a national and not a sectional people.

To the above earnest remarks, Mr. Sharp made the following response,viz:

GENTLEMEN OF THE COMMITTEE AND FRIENDS-

Never before have I so keenly felt the poverty of language, as now, that I attempt to respond to the kind words you have just addressed me, and to thank you and those you represent for this munificent testimonial.

An an Ohioan, identified with your proud city, this elegant gift, coming from those of my fellow-citizens who know me best, fills my heart with gladness. To be thus assured that I have been appreciated far beyond my merits, and as the humble agent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, but discharging my duty, as assigned by them, that your approbation should be so unmistakably expressed, gives me just cause for pride, and adds incentive to bring to the discharge of my duties all that zeal for the interest of the road I represent, and to create and sustain on the part of the people of the great West an interest in, and a favoritism for, that road, so far as it may, by its policy and advantage, worthy of their support.

Without obtruding on your patience, it may not be out of place, at this time, to briefly revert to the history of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which, considered in all its bearings, from the inception of that enterprise to its completion-for the difficulties encountered and overcome-its immense cost and steady progress, until the fullest success named its projectors as men of no common stamp, in fact, men of prophetic genius. It is, indeed, without parallel in its boldness of inception, determination of progress and triumphant results.

As early as 1827, before a single Railroad for the conveyance of freight or passengers had been constructed in this or any other country, when the value Watt's and Fulton's legacy was hardly appreciated, a few of the leading citizens of Baltimore felt the necessity of providing some certain, cheap, and rapid means of connecting the Monumental City, on the noble Chesapeake, with the beautiful river which laves the feet of your majestic Queen of cities. The granaries of the West, her fertile fields and teeming valleys, were building up a wealth that only required an accessible market and a port, to realize the fullest wish of the husbandman and the artisan. No point on the continent, so near miles, so perfect in all its requirements, was presented as that of Baltimore; and although the cloud-capped Alleghanies, and the rugged with Blue Ridge presented their obstinate barriers, still the entrprise of man, with the aid of wealth, scientifically directed, overcame all obstacles, and erected a monument of skill such as the world had never before beheld.

During the year 1827, through the efforts of some leading citizens of Balti-



more, the Legislature of Maryland granted an act of Incorporation to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. This act in the following year was confirmed by the Legislatures of Virginia and Pennsylvania. The organization of the company was effected in April, 1827, and the construction of the road-the venerable Charles Carroll, of Carrolton, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, laying the corner stone-was commenced on the Fourth of July 1828. The capital stock of the company was first fixed at $5,000,600, with the privilege of increasing the amount if necessary, requiring the subscription of $1,000,000 before organization. This being effected, it may be said the enterprise was fully under way ; but the almost insurmountable difficulties which met them at every step, the obstacles interposed by adverse parties, and the heavy increase of cost over the estimates, would have appalled men of less nerve than those who had undertaken this majestic work. Not only were the barriers interposed by nature to be overcome, and the most trying difficulties of a financial character to be surmounted, but the perverse jealousy of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company interposed with a determination to cripple and to foil the Railroad Company in every step they proposed to advance. And thus it was, gentlemen, by efforts almost superhuman, the brave people of Maryland, and especially the enterprising men of Baltimore, with Spartan courage, advanced mile by mile, with a determined perseverance, which would admit of no defeat, scarce of delay, fought their way through the valleys of Maryland, tore asunder the rocky barriers, mounted the Blue Ridge, stretched across the plains of Virginia, ascended and pierced the frowning Alleghanies, until, when nearly a quarter of a century had elapsed, the glad waters of the Ohio were tapped, and now your queenly city, in point of time, lies just upon the seaboard.

How grand the result! A Western world with its wealth untold, scorning the impediments imposed by nature, upon its iron-girded channel whirls the cars of commerce, annihilates time and space, and lays its treasures at the gates of old ocean. A people before separated by weeks of toiling travel shake hands of greeting every day, and in the marts of commerce and trade, and in the Banquet all cement ties of interest and friendship that nothing short of the "terror-king" can separate. The East, the West, the North, the South, thus become one neighborhood, strangers have become friends, and friendship ripens into brotherhood.

It is peculiarly pleasing to me, that I this night meet a portion of those citizens at Cincinnati, who have lately had the opportunity, through the facilities offered by the road I represent, to visit their homes, the people who have projected and executed the great work of uniting the East with the West. Then it was most unmistakably exhibited that a fraternal feeling of brotherhood animated the hearts of our people ; that it was only necessary to meet each other at having point on our common country's soil, when like children of one father, having but one hope, and one aim, and that for our common country's weal, they mingled in the bonds of friendship and of love. And aside from this, how plainly was shown that the bond of interest so closely united each other that to sever it would be but a suicidal act.

An examination of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from its eastern terminus, tapping the noble Chesapeake, where the navies of the world may ride in safety, spreading its strong arms until by two distinct approaches it cleaves our State, and then uniting at your city, must certainly present inducements unequalled for transportation between the Ohio valley and a seaboard outlet. The Central Ohio and the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroads, passing as they do by their direct lines through the most densely populated regions of the West, and uniting with the great artery at Wheeling and Parkersburg on the East, need only to be known to divert to their lines all that travel and transport which seeks a safe, prompt, and speedy route.

If we consider railroads in a business point of view, as adding to the facilities of commerce of every character, or in a political or social aspect, we must be as-tonished at the results that follow them. The conflicting interests of latitude are dispelled, the fluctuations of trade are controlled, the wealth of distant and heretofore inaccessible regions is developed, and a centralizing community of interests



established. Within the last quarter of a century the iron network inaugurated by the city of Baltimore had spread, until the dark waters of the Atlantic and the turbid Mississippi are closely united; and the time is near at hand when our brothers upon the Pacific will meet us in the valley of the "Father Waters."

A generous rivalry will and should exist as to which portion of our country shall present the greatest inducements for the grand trunk thoroughfare, and this question will be settled by certain and fixed laws. Where the fewest obstacles are presented, and the least delay required, there will the great bulk of travel seek a channel. Cincinnati, by her lines of railroad, now completed and in progress, holds a position unequalled, to make her the centre of the great through line. It will only be necessary by a liberal policy to unite, without break of rail, her Eastern and Western arms, to enable her to compete with those lines of North and South of her, making no delay or extra cost in the handling of freights at this point, when with her other pre-eminent advantages she will firmly retain her position as the Queen of Western cities, bidding all others God speed, but fearing no rival to her growing greatness. During the late excursion, you had an opportunity of observing the peculiar advantages presented to Baltimore by a continuous line of rail through her principal streets, and I am satisfied that there is not one of you, who took time to inquire into the merits of its utility, but that became fully convinced of the great importance of a similar arrangement in our city between the great Ohio and Mississippi and the Little Miami Railroads. You have seen the great advantage it gives Baltimore as the seaboard port for the great West. Her position is unequalled and her advantages great. Her merchants are liberal, and their enterprise will compare with those of any other Eastern city ; beside, the great road they have constructed to our State border, and her aid to the two branches which span our State, and terminating at this point at an immense cost of treasure, are considerations well worthy your attention.

In conclusion, permit me again to thank you for this mark of your esteem and friendship. It will be treasured in kind recollection of the past, and as an heir-loom, become more valuable as years shall pass away.

After this, the company sat down to a feast prepared for them, and spent an hour or two in the happiest conviviality. Many pleasant incidents of the excursion were recalled, and those who were so beneficent in their hospitality on that occasion were remembered and especially mentioned with due praise.

II.

OPENING OF THE RAILROAD TO WASHINGTON, 1885.-A PROPHECY.

Upon the opening of the Baltimore and Ohio Company's Branch Railroad to the city of Washington, in the month of August, 1835, the President and Directors of the Road, with a very numerous company of invited guests from Baltimore were, on their arrival, met by the Mayor and City Council of Washington, and a large collection of citizens, among whom was General Andrew Jackson, then President of the United States, and other government functionaries. They were cordially welcomed by the Mayor in an eloquent address, in which he expressed the high gratification which the opening of the Road afforded the people of Washington, and the mutual advan-



tages it would confer upon both cities. To this address the following interesting reply was made by Mr. Thomas, the originator and first President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, who said:

"It is with feelings of great pleasure that I receive, on the part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, the congratulations which, as the representative of the corporate authorities of the city of Washington, you have been pleased to offer on this occasion, and I avail myself of the opportunity to reciprocate the kind wishes and sentiments you have expressed, and to tender you the thanks of the company for the facilities afforded by the corporation, in the location and construction of the Road within its limits.

The Board of Directors fully concur in your estimates of the advantages of that system of internal communication, of which the Railroad between the cities of Washington and Baltimore is so important a link; and they look to its extension throughout our whole country, as affording the best guarantee for the perpetuity of our National Union. Even to the casual observer of the map of the vast Empire, into which the thirteen original States have expanded, under the beneficent influence of our free institutions, the national advantages of Maryland upon whose soil we now stand must be apparent, and having been once included in the limits of this State, the city of Washington must feel an interest in whatever affects its happiness and prosperity. It is in Maryland that the Atlantic, rolling far up the magnificent estuary of the Chesapeake, brings its waters into closer proximity to the streams that flow into the Gulf of Mexico.

To complete the great plan of intercommunication which nature had already thus far effected, was the object of the people of Baltimore, when the company I now have the honor to represent first went into operation. The enterprise was novel in its kind, and the knowledge essential to its success could only be obtained by costly and patient experience. The natural obstacles that existed Were, however, less discouraging than the doubts and gloomy forebodings of some of the best friends of the scheme. All doubts and obstacles have been surmounted, and the practicability of the undertaking has been demonstrated. Of the force of the difficulties here alluded to, none can better judge than the people of Washington, who have so zealously, and under such adverse circumstances, prosecuted their great work, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Hitherto however, the city of Baltimore has mainly relied on its own resources, but now the work, the completion of which we meet this day to celebrate, and in which We all have a common interest, brings to its aid a most powerful and efficient coadjutor. It unites in the bonds of mutual interest two large communities, aiming at the same point, and which have both succeeded in completing portions of the great highway of Western intercourse. Competitors, without being opponents, is the feeling that should hereafter exist between them in their labors, either by Canal or Railroad, to effect that communication with the West, which they simultaneously commenced. In the mean time, brought as it were almost within speaking distance of each other, permit me to express the hope, that with all the kindly feelings and courtesies of life extended and fostered, the citizens of Washington and Baltimore may continue severally to pursue the great works which they have so energetically promoted.







You have alluded to the change that is now wrought in the travel between our respective cities, since the time when the sun both rose and set on the wayfarer, he toiled on the journey between them. I trust the traveller to the West, who on his departure sees that luminary emerge from the bosom of the Atlantic, may be enabled to follow in its course, so that on the same day he will witness its descent beneath the broad horizon that circumscribes the waters of the Mississippi!

The last paragraph of Mr. Thomas's effective and eloquent address seems almost the language of prophecy ; for the hours of a June sunshine are now more than sufficient to take the traveller at regular speed over the Baltimore and Ohio Road, from either Washington or Baltimore to the banks of the Ohio River at Wheeling or Parkersburg.

III.

PHILIP E. THOMAS'S SPEECH AT THE OPENING OF THE WINCHESTER AND POTOMAC RAILROAD.

This line of road was one of the first to be built as a connection of the Baltimore and Ohio Road. Upon its completion, early in 1836, the President and Directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and other citizens of Baltimore, were invited to be present at the celebration of its formal opening for travel, and the transportation of produce and merchandise. Upon their arrival at Harper's Ferry, the point of its junction with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad-81 miles from Baltimore-they were met by a deputation and conducted to Winchester-32 miles distant-where they were received by the President and Directors of the Railroad, and a large number of citizens.

A very eloquent and appropriate address was delivered on the occasion, by John Bruce, President of the Winchester and Potomac Railroad, to which Mr. Thomas, the President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, made the following reply:

Permit me in the name of the Company which I have the honor to represent, to thank you for the very flattering manner in which you have been pleased to speak of its exertions. Remote as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is from the points of its ultimate destination, it may be considered, nevertheless, to have accomplished much, in advancing its steps, so far as to form the connection we this day meet to celebrate ; and whatever may hereafter be its progress, I am certain that at no point in its onward course can those intrusted with its execution find a warmer or more gratifying welcome than we have on the present occcasion experienced.

In the connection that is now established between the valley of the Shenan-



doah, or what has been emphatically called "The Great Virginia Valley," and the city of Baltimore, there can be little doubt that the interests of Virginia and Maryland will be materially promoted.

You have alluded to a by-gone day, when common dangers in a common cause, united these States in the closest bonds of sympathy and affection. The feelings which that memorable epoch elicited, have been cherished and kept in full vigor during the happy and peaceful times that have followed, and the column which has won for the chief city of Maryland the epithet of "Monumental City," is a tribute to a son of Virginia, universally hailed as the Father of his Country, and whose fame now fills the world.

Your eloquent exhortation to continue our efforts until the work we have commenced shall be accomplished, will not be disregarded. The country is now aware of the importance of the undertaking, and should the necessary means be obtained, of which there seems but little doubt, we may, in a few years from this day, call upon our hospitable hosts to join us in a trip to celebrate the connection of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad with the tributaries of the Mississippi. In return may we not with equal certainty hope that the time is not far distant when we shall be called upon to join in proclaiming on the summit of the Southern Alleghanies the completion of the great Railroad, which, passing through the valley of Virginia, is destined to cement in one common interest the vast country between Portland and New Orleans. Then will our most sanguine anticipations be realized, and then may the patriot, in the full exultation of his feelings, exclaim, "The Union has been preserved!"

These remarks of the first President and founder of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad are revived here, to show the directness and comprehensiveness of that officer, to whom so large a debt of public gratitude is due for his efforts in originating and organizing the greatest undertaking of the day.

With the same view, his letter resigning the Presidency of the Company, on the 7th of June, 1836, after his arduous and successful labors, is obtained from the records of the company, and reprinted in our volume.

These papers-like the memory of their author-possess an increased interest with the lapse of time and serve admirably to show the spirit by which he was animated in his connection with the origin and development of the great Work in which he had enlisted his wealth, his talents, and his energies.

IV.

RESIGNATION OF PHILIP E. THOMAS, AS PRESIDENT OF THE BALTIIMORE AND 0HIO RAILROAD.

Office of the Baltimore and Ohio R. R. Co., June 7, 1836.


To the Directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company :


GENTLEMEN : It is known to you that the duties which have devolved on me



as President of this Company have been extremely arduous, and that for several years past they have necessarily so wholly occupied my time that I have scarcely had any opportunity to devote the least attention to my private affairs. The circumstances of the company have, however, until very recently, been such, in the opinion of my friends, as to render my withdrawal from the post in which your confidence and kindness had placed me, incompatible with the interests of the Company; and this consideration alone has prevented me from carrying into effect my earnest wish to retire.

The extension of the main line of the road being effected as far as Harper's Ferry, on the Potomac River, at which point it is now connected with the Winchester and Potomac Railway, and the lateral road to Washington being also opened and in successful operation, I feel myself at liberty to withdraw from the situation of President of the Company.

On retiring from a position in which I have received so many proofs of your personal friendship, I cannot forbear the expression of my most grateful acknowledgments. When I entered upon the duties of this office, little was known in our country, either as regarded the construction of railways, or the application of moving power upon them, and indeed the experience of Europe at that time offered but faint and very uncertain lights in relation to this system ; we had therefore, of necessity, every thing to learn, and without your constant and cordial co-operation, I am sensible I could not have sustained myself under the many complicated difficulties which often pressed upon me. An extensive fund of valuable information has now been obtained, a universal confidence is felt in the undertaking, and a firm determination is manifested to carry it forward to its final completion, as originally intended.

Under these circumstances, I feel assured that with the excellent organization you have adopted in relation to the several departments into which the concerns of the Company are divided, its further management will be rendered much less difficult, and that the early completion of the road may be considered as certain. An opportunity will then be afforded of fully testing the usefulness of this undertaking: and whilst important benefits will be secured to our country, and, especially to the city of Baltimore, by the facilities opened through this channel of communication with the West, the stockholders, under a prudent management of their affairs, will receive a fair remuneration for their capital invested.

With the assurance of my highest regard and esteem,

I am, very respectfully, your friend,


F. E. THOMAS.

V.

THE EXTENT AND IMPORTANCE OF THE BALTIMORE & OHIO RAILROAD.

EXTRACT FROM A SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE HON. REVERDY JOHNSON BEFORE THE CIRCUIT COURT, AT BALTIMORE, UPON THE "EXTRA DIVIDEND" CASE.

But may it please your Honor, he who does not know,-looking to the extent, and the infinite number of the ramifications connected with this road, he who does



not know the progress in wealth and prosperity which is before the people of the United States, the result of fortunate climates, free institutions, and rich and fertile soils, of an ingenious and industrious people, of mineral resources to be found in abundance everywhere,-is not fit for a seat at that board. You do not know, your Honor, and cannot know, for it has not been the subject of your study-what this road is to be in the future. At my instance, some statements going to show the extent and importance of this Road and its connections have been placed in my hands by a gentleman who has long been connected with this Company, and who takes a very lively interest in it, and I thought it was due to your Honor to present you some of these facts, in order that you might see what a mighty engine it is which you are asked, in some measure, to arrest, through the instrumentality of that discretionary process of injunction, striking down from the hands of the Directors the power of management over the Road, which the law supposes them abundantly able to manage, and therefore intrusts them, so far as words can go, with authority to manage. I thought it was proper that you should have brought before you the actual extent of this great work, which practically, according to the doctrines of the counsel upon the other side, is to be conducted here, or in the rooms of the City Council of Baltimore, or around the table of some stockjobbing speculators. Your Honor will therefore pardon me, if I give you very rapidly some general idea of the extent of this work.

Its length from Baltimore to Wheeling is 379 miles, and the length of its branch road to Washington is 31 miles. Its local branches and its tributaries, connecting it with Frederick, Md., Winchester, Va., the Coal Mines of the Cumberland region, and other coal mines, and the Parkersburg branch, just added, give it some 175 miles more, making an aggregate of 586 miles ; and if to that you add the extent of the double track which is now about 105 miles, (without adding the extent of almost one hundred miles of sideling,) you have an aggregate of 691 miles, belonging, or exclusively tributary, to the Baltimore & Ohio R. R. Co. But this is only the beginning. May it please your Honor, what are the connections it has all around the compass? Eastward, it is connected directly With Portland, in the State of Maine ; Southward, near the Atlantic Coast, beyond the Cape Fear River ; Northwestward, beyond Wisconsin to Minnesota Territory ; West, to St. Josephs and Fort Leavenworth, on the confines of Kansas ; and Southwest, to New Orleans. And its lateral ramifications, may it please your Honor, during these immense routes, are innumerable.

On the East, we find that it connects, first, with the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, 98 miles, to Philadelphia, where it then connects with the Camden and Amboy and the New Jersey Railroads, the one 87, and the other 96 miles in length. That carries us to New York ; from New York to Boston it is extended by two at least of the inland routes to that city, and there we have the Boston and Maine Railroad, 111 miles, which virtually continues our Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to Portland. These are all now in operation, and contribute to this road, making in the aggregate 600 miles. Besides this,-as your Honor, of course, knows,-we have also through the intermediate Canals, and by sea around the Bay, by means of all descriptions of Steam and Sail Navigation, we have thousands of miles of substantial business connections.

On the South, we connect with the Potomac River, Richmond, Fredericksburg,



and Potomac, the Orange and Alexandria, the Manassas Gap, the Virginia Central Railroad, uniting Baltimore and the West through Baltimore with Richmond, Staunton, and all the intermediate portions of Virginia ; beyond Richmond, the Richmond and Petersburg, Roanoke and Weldon, the South Side, the North Carolina Central, and other lines, continue these connections in the most direct form to Southern and Central Virginia, with Raleigh and the greater portion of North Carolina. Beyond Wilmington, by the Wilmington and Manchester and other finished roads, all portions of the State of South Carolina are united. I have got them all here, but I have not time to read them over. I have read all that is necessary for my purpose.

Now see its direct ramifications, West. In looking to the West, we find that at Benwood, 4 miles below Wheeling, the Road unites with the Central Ohio Railroad, running through the heart of Ohio to Columbus, 137 miles. At Zanesville, 78 miles from Benwood, upon this line, the Wilmington Road connects it with Cincinnati, 167 miles.

At Newark, 108 miles from Benwood, the Sandusky and Mansfield Railroad diverges to Sandusky on Lake Erie, distant 112 miles. At Columbus, the Central Ohio Road unites with the Cleveland and Columbus Railroad, 138 miles to Cleveland, and at Columbus it also unites with the Little Miami Railroad to Cincinnati, 119 miles. At Parkersburg, the last completed terminus of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, an important new connection is about being developed in the Marietta Railroad, which is to connect Baltimore with Cincinnati, and through Cincinnati with all the great West and Southwest, by a line from thirty to sixty miles shorter than at present. At Cincinnati, the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, a great enterprise-the last rail of which is perhaps this day being laid-will carry the Air Line connection to the city of Saint Louis, 335 miles dis-tant, where, again, the rapidly extending Pacific Railroad still further unites Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri, 125 miles further west, with Baltimore , and its eastern and southern connections. The various lines that radiate from and concentrate business upon these trunk lines between Baltimore and Missouri, are almost innumerable, draining the States of Kentucky and Western Tennessee, on the South, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, on the North, and Missouri and Kansas on the West. I have not half exhausted the enumeration of these uniting lines, which, in the aggregate, form a system of nearly 8,000 miles of railroad, and tributary to the Baltimore and Ohio Road.

Need I ask you, may it please your Honor, is it not as certain as the revolution of the seasons, that a road of that description has not reached in its present prosperity, the limit of which it is capable? It is evident, manifestly evident, that this work, mighty as it is now, great and extraordinary as is the wealth which it is pouring into our city now-which has increased the value of one property even beyond the estimate of figures, and rendered us able to bear taxation which, years ago, we could not have borne,-which is destined in a few years, comparatively speaking, in the age of a city, to make Baltimore one of the first cities of the American continent, if not of the world, in all the grandeur that consists in population, in arts and sciences, and in wealth,-this work is but in its infancy. It has but just started in its progress of perpetual manhood, which is to know no decay. Its charter is permanent, it looks to all time,-provided,



in the Providence of God, these institutions of ours,-the freest with which He ever blessed humanity,-are suffered to remain, with an ability to withstand all the arts of the demagogue and the fanatic!

WINTER SCENES ON THE BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD.

The following paragraphs, which appeared under the above caption in the Baltimore Sun, on the 29th of January, 1856, will be read with interest by all who have ever travelled over the Western divisions of the Baltimore and Ohio Road:

The extraordinary weather that has prevailed in this latitude for the past three or four weeks has had its full effect upon our railroads and other means of travel and transportation. At times, indeed, it was thought that a perfect embargo had been laid by the snow upon our communications, especially those with the West. When it is remembered that the Western or Mountain divisions of the Baltimore and Ohio road, with their long grades, deep cuts, enormous gorges, &c., have never before been visited with a serious snow storm since that great work was opened to the Ohio river, three years ago, the unusual difficulties lately presented will be better understood. One whose position necessarily renders him conversant with these difficulties, as well as the means which are employed for achieving a triumph over them, furnishes us the following interesting portraiture of the present "winter scenes" upon the road :

In many places upon this magnificent highway the Express trains have had to literally plough their way through immense drifts of snow, often from six to fifteen feet in depth. This has in every case, however, been successfully done, though sometimes requiring the united power of four and five of the pondrous Winans engines linked together. The company is, fortunately, well supplied with these powerful machines, which weigh some thirty tons each, and have great tractive power. Their resources under this head are also much increased by a number of splendid and powerful ten-wheel engines, built by the Denmeads, and at their own shops, by Mr. Hayes, their well known Master Mechanic.

The encounters with the snow upon this road have led to some very thrilling scenes. At times the string of locomotives with their bold "plow" in front have rushed suddenly upon a heavy drift, and before their power has been checked by the opposing force, they have become well nigh buried in the white bank. After passing through this obstruction, the engines are turned around at the next station, and renew the assault from the opposite direction, thus by repeated efforts effectually pushing off and "crushing out" the obstinate mass, until a lane is formed and the track is thoroughly cleared for the passage of the regular trains. These trains in traversing the avenues thus made for them, literally pass through the snow, for it is piled up on either side in some places to the height of the car tops. An interesting view of this character may now be seen at the Passage through the Carroll Manor in Frederick county, but 60 miles from Baltimore, where the late snows have invariably drifted across the road to a great depth.







Perhaps the most magnificent phenomena on the line of the road presented by the late action of the elements are to be witnessed west of Piedmont at the bold "approach cuts" to the larger tunnels. Here are views worthy of the poet and the painter, and that would justify a thousand miles journey. As you enter one of these cuts, the gaping mouth of the tunnel is seen at the farther end. The sides of the cut are quite steep and rapidly rise until the head is reached, at the mouth of or entrance to the tunnel, where they are from forty to eighty feet in height. This forms an avenue for the road, open above, of from four to eight hundred feet in length, before the tunnel itself is entered.

The whole of the sides of these great chasms, as well as their high ends at the entrance to the tunnel, are completely covered with a solid coating of ice, varying in thickness from two inches to two feet. This is formed by the congealing water which trickles down from the lofty hills around and above.

This sight is a novel one, and at the Board Tree and Welling Tunnels approaches the sublime. Ideas of the Alpine glaciers at once possess the mind, while the gigantic icicles that hang from the higher edges of the cliffs and the mouths of the excavations, remind us of the stalactites of the Mammoth Cave, and the more celebrated Grotto of Antiparos. At any time this scene is inspiring and wonderful, but when the bright sun bestows his full blaze upon its crowning points, the effect is greatly heightened. It will thus be seen that this great road presents its peculiarly romantic wintry aspects, as well as its already renowned scenery to attract the eye of the summer tourist.

It is to be presumed, however, that the severity of the season, which has closed the Ohio river and otherwise impeded the connections of the road, besides exercising a depressing effect upon business affairs generally, has operated materially against the company's revenue for the current month. It is said that the business had greatly revived last week, and its usual regularity returned, when the new and heavy weekly instalment of snow which fell Sunday morning and yesterday again impedes its progress. But it is expected that no serious interruption will follow this last storm, as all things were in readiness for the labor of clearing the track.

We may allude to another difficulty with which the company has had to contend during the recent severe weather ; this is the great effect of the frost upon the machinery. It is well known that continued frost acts with damaging effect upon the more exposed parts of cast iron. In locomotives, and in the wheels, axles, &c., of all cars, this is especially the case. We hear from all quarters of the effects of the cold in this particular. The newest and most solidly built machines are not exempt from this liability, and it may be safely estimated that at no previous period has there been more damage resulting from the weather,-in this part of the country particularly,-than during the last three weeks.

"A JUNE JAUNT" ON THE BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD.

In June, 1856, a distinguished party of gentlemen tourists, among whom were the historian Bancroft. Prof Henry, and several others, took a leisure look



at the historical and natural scenery of the Baltimore and Ohio Road. Brantz Mayer, the Author, was of the number, and who afterwards published a very full and graphic account of the trip in Harper's Monthly Magazine. From this we extract the following paragraphs relative to the Mountain division of the Road, from Piedmont to Grafton, 70 miles in length:

"No one, I am sure, has ever looked westward from this point without wondering how the passage is to be effected; yet no one has made the journey without equal surprise at the seeming ease by which science and energy have overcome every impediment. As you pass forward from Piedmont, the impression is that you are about to run a tilt against the mountain flank with blind and aimless impulse ; but a graceful curve winds the train out of harm, and you move securely into the primeval forest, feeling the engine begin to tug up the steeps as it strikes the edge of Savage River, which boils down the western shoulder of Savage Mountain. The transit from the world to the wilderness is instantaneous. Mr. Bancroft and I mounted the engine at this spot so as to enjoy an unobstructed view of the scenery during the ascent ; and although a gust began to growl over the mountains, with frequent flashes of lightning and thunder, we kept our post, finding the grandeur of the prospect enhanced by the rush of the storm as we rose higher and higher on the mountain flank.

No one has observed fine scenery without acknowledging the difficulty of its description ; for its impression is purely emotional, and emotion is so evanescent that the effort to condense it into language destroys the sentiment as breath destroys the prisms of a snow-flake. We may give a catalogue of pines, precipices, locks, torrents, ledges, overarching trees, and all the elements that make one feel the sublimity of a stern solitude ;" but I have never been able to convey, by words, the exact impression of such scenes, nor do I believe we can obtain What is somewhere called " a realizing sense" in the descriptions of others. In this respect, music and painting have more power than language; music has the spirituality which painting lacks, and painting the body in which music is deficient; but, as their effects can never be completely united, we must despair of influencing the mind at second hand from Nature.

And so we rolled resistlessly upward, for seventeen miles along the broad ledges, seeing the tree-tops sinking as we swooped into the air, which freshened as we rose ; seeing the vale grow less and less, and the summits that were just now above us come closer and closer till we touched their level ; seeing the river Whence we started shrink to a film in its bed ; and seeing the narrow, upward, imprisoning glimpse widen into a downward, distant reach.

On we hurried without halting but once, till we turned from the Savage Valley into the Crabtree Gorge, along the flank of the great Alleghany Backbone; and a few miles above Frankville, (an eyrie among the summits, some 1,800 feet above tide, and 1,100 feet above Cumberland,) cast our eyes back toward the north-east for a rapid glimpse of one of the grandest views in the mountains. The gloomy masses of Savage Mountain tower on the right, fold upon fold, and the eastern slopes of Meadow Mountain, with its spurs on the left; while between them the Savage River winds away for miles mid miles in a silvery trail till it is lost in the distance. Throughout the whole passage from Piedmont to Altamont (2,620 feet above tide and the greatest elevation along the route) the road constantly and almost insensibly ascends, in every portion tilling the mind With a sense of as perfect security as if the transit were made in a coach.

At Altamont we dipped over the eastern edge of the Alleghanies, and by a slight descent entered the highland basin of the old mountain lakes, which extends over many thousand acres, and is known as the "Glades." There the Youghiogheny takes its rise, while the dividing ridge of the great Backbone sends the water on one side into the Gulf of Mexico, and on the other into the Chesapeake. These beautiful glades, or mountain meadows, are not connected in a level field like our western prairies, but lie in broken outlines, with small wooded ranges between them or jutting out from their midst in moderate eleva-



tions. At this height the air is extremely rarefied and cool throughout summer; so that, although the country is not adapted for agriculture, it is calculated for every species of animal and vegetable life that is disposed to run wild and take the world as it finds it. It is rich in all the natural grasses that delight a herdsman, relieved by islands of white-oak interspersed with alder ; it is full of copious streams, kept full and fresh by the clouds that condense round the summits ; its waters are alive with trout, and waste themselves in deep cascades and falls after furnishing pools for the fish ; it pastures innumerable herds of sheep, whose ten-derness and flavor rival that of the deer which abound in the woods ; wild turkeys and pheasants hide among its oaks, beeches, walnuts, and magnolias; the sugar maple supplies it with a tropical luxury in abundance; the woods are vocal with larks, thrushes, and mocking-birds ; and in the flowering season nothing is gayer than the meadows with their showy flowers.

A little village is growing up at Oakland in the midst of these glades, as a sort of nestling-place for folks who are willing to be satisfied by being cool, quiet and natural during summer. We halted there for the night, and were not reluctant to ensconce ourselves beneath blankets even in the "leafy month of June."

In order to make a new resort popular, it is necessary, as the world goes, to have the lead of a fashionable belle or the command of a fashionable doctor. Nature, of itself, is not sufficiently attractive for artificial society ; so that one must either be ill or be led, in order to adopt what is really good, and surround it with allurements of French cookery, fast horses, a band of music, and weekly bulls. It was many years before Saratoga and Newport ripened from a simple well and a wild sea-shore into the luxuriant style of Beth and Brighton. Yet I do not despair of seeing the day when the Maryland Glades, the head-waters of Potomac and Cheat, and the romantic cascades of the neighboring Blackwater will be crowded with health-hunters. The turn of Nature to be in fashion again must come round ; for when invention exhausts the artificial, (and the age of hoops seems verging on that desirable end,) there is no resource but simplicity. There are numbers of reasonable people who must be eager to quit the beaten paths, and escape to spots where they will not be stifled by society; and these glades and mountain streams, with their constant coolness and verdure, are precisely the places for them. For several years, many of our Maryland and Virginian sportsmen have been fishing the streams ; beating up the deer, pheasants, and wild turkeys ; driving over the fine upland roads ; drinking the pure water ; exercising robustly for a month or more; sleeping soundly every night of July and August, and getting back to their work in the fall, as hearty as the "bucks" they made war on in the mountains.

Let me recommend Oakland to a cook who wishes to make a reputation on venison and trout, and to a belle who is breve enough to bring Nature into fashion!

We slept at Oakland. The mists hung high over these highlands long after sunrise, and the air was so bracing that we found overcoats necessary as we bowled across the great Youghiogheny, on a single arch of timber and iron, and passed the picturesque Falls of Snowy Creek, where the road quits the prairie and strikes a glen through which the stream brawls in foam, contrasting bravely with hemlocks and laurels that line the pass.

At Cranberry Summit the mountain-levels and glade-lands terminate,at an elevation of 2,550 feet above tide, and only 76 feet lower than Altamont, where we entered the field, twenty miles back.

From this elevated point we catch the first grand glimpse of the "Western World," in a long gradual sweep down the Alleghanies toward the affluents of the Ohio. The descent begins instantly, along the slopes of Saltlick Creek, through a mass of excavations, two tunnels, and fifty feet of viaduct. Downward and downward we swept as comfortably as on a plain, till an easy and almost imperceptible descent of twelve miles, through a forest of firs and pines, brought us to the dark waters of Cheat River. After the difficulties of ascending, crossing the Backbone of the Allegheny, and descending its first western slope-all of which, like Columbus's discovery, "seem so easy" now that they are overcome-a new marvel has



been accomplished in the preservation of a high level by massive viaducts and by boring the mountains with tunnels. On Cheat River, at the bottom of this descent, we approached the first of these marvels, two noble arches of iron, firm and substantial as the mountains they join. Then comes the ascent of Cheat River Hill. Next are the slopes of Laurel, and its spurs, with the river on the right; till the dell of Kyer's Run is passed on an embankment, and Buckeye Hollow crossed on a solid work whose foundations are laid deeply below the level of the road. Both of these splendid structures have walls of masonry, built of the adjacent rock.

Beyond this we reach Tray Run, which is passed by an iron viaduct, six hundred feet in length, founded on a massive base of masonry as firm as the mountain itself. All these remarkable works-chiefly designed by Mr. Fink-have borne the trial of heat and frost, travel and transportation for several years; and when closely inspected, their immense solidity, security, and strength, are as easily tested by the eye as they have been by use and time.

These beautiful structures had hardly been passed when we wound upward across Buckthorne Branch, and half a mile further, left the declivities of Cheat River, with its brown waters dyed by the roots of laurel and hemlock, and bordered by the bright flowers of the rhododendron. Our last glimpse of this mountain river was through a tall arch of forest, rounding off; far below, in its dark valley of uninhabited wilderness.

Beyond Cassidy's Ridge we encountered another, and perhaps the most remarkable of these gigantic works. The road can only escape from its mountain prison by bursting the wall. Up hill and down hill, through brake and ravine, it has cleft its way from Piedmont, like a prisoner seeking release from his bars, till at last it finds a bold barrier of 220 feet abruptly opposed to its departure! For a while, (before the entire completion of the road,) engineering skill led a track over this steep by an ascent of 500 feet in a mile ; but finally the giant has been subdued, and the last great wall of the Alleghenies passed by piercing the Mountain. For nearly three years crowds of laborers were engaged in blasting through solid rock the 4,100 feet of the Kingwood Tunnel, and a year and a half more was spent in shielding it with iron and brick, so us to make its walls more solid, if possible, than the original hills.

For five miles from the western end of this tunnel, we descended to the broader valleys about Raccoon Creek, and gliding through another tunnel of 250 feet, followed the water till we entered the Tygart River Valley, at Grafton, where the North-western Railway diverges to Parkersburg, on the Ohio, ninety-five miles below Wheeling. The establishments of the Company at this point are erected in the most substantial way for the comfort and security of all who may visit this interesting region.

There are few routes of travel in America-and none, probably, by rail-worthier of attention than the region between the slopes of the western gladeland to the mountain exit at Kingwood. It is all absolute mountain, absolute forest, absolute solitude. In winter it is the very soul of desolation, when the trees are iced, like huge stalactites, from top to bottom, and the ravines among the cliffs blocked with drifted snow. But in spring or summer it presents splendid bits of forest scenery. The glens are narrow, and there are few distant prospects; but there is every where the same ragged gloom-the same overarching hemlocks and firs-the same torrent roar, foaming over rocky beds-the same fringing of thick-leaved laurel-the same oozy plashes of morass, rank with dark vegetation-the same black mountain face-the same absence of people and farms-the same sense of absolute solitude.

But in Tygart's Valley the landscape softens and becomes more human, with the marks of agriculture and habitation, and the road seems to bound along more gayly, as if exulting in its release from the mountain. The river winds gently through rounder and lower hills and broader meadows, broken only by "the Falls," which, in a few steep pitches, tumble seventy feet in the distance of 4 mile. Not far from this point, Tygart River and the West Fork unite to form the Monongahela, which, a quarter of a mile below the junction, is crossed by an



iron viaduct (650 feet long-the largest iron bridge in America, and due to the engineering skill of Mr. Fink. In these central solitudes every thing seems to be the property of the wilderness-a wilderness incapable of yielding to any mastery but that of an engineer and it may fairly become a matter of national pride, that scientific men were found in our country bold enough to venture on grades by which any mountain may be passed. Where ground was wanted, Nature seemed to have scooped it away ; where it was not wanted, Nature seemed to have stacked it up for future purposes. There are considerable difficulties between Baltimore and Cumberland ; yet, in a country which rises only 639 feet above tide in 179 miles, a road may be constructed by ordinary perseverance and skill. But they who desire to understand the power of science in conquering nature by steam and iron, must climb and cross, the Alleghanies between Piedmont and Kingwood. The success of this, the most difficult portion of the enterprise, is due to the engineering of Mr. Latrobe, and the financial energy of Mr. Swann.

As the pioneer of such internal improvements in the Union, it has been the school for subsequent railways, and deserves the gratitude of scientific men for the true principles of location and construction. The bridging and tunneling alone along the whole route, amount to about, five and a quarter miles ; the laborers and employees form almost live regiments in number; and, when we take into consideration the depots, tanks, engines, rails, station-houses, and innumerable cars for freight and travel, as well as the two lines of telegraph wires, belonging exclusively to the Company, which keep every portion in communi cation and successful operation throughout the line, one no longer wonders that twenty-five millions were expended on the structure, but is only surprised that the people of a small, single State, could accomplish so colossal an enterprise.

THE PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION,-CAPACITY OF RAILROADS FOR TRANSPORTING LARGE MASSES OF PEOPLE.

The Baltimore and Washington newspapers teemed with accounts of the prodigies performed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, in its very large operations in transporting visitors to Washington to witness the Inauguration of President Buchanan on the 4th of March, 1857. The ease and thoroughness with which this great movement of the masses was executed, affords a striking illustration of the value of the railroad system in promptly concentrating an army at a given point for defence. It has been since estimated by an officer of the Baltimore and Ohio Company,-the pioneer in the system in our country-that in an emergency requiring it, this road could transport from Ohio to Baltimore within 30 hours an army of 10,000 men, with all their munitions, without exhausting the resources of the road

One of the notices alluded to, in a Baltimore Journal, of March 7th, was as follows:-

Extraordinary Railroad Travel.-The number of persons carried into Washington by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad during the four days ending with noon of the fourth instant, is said to be as nearly us it is possible to get at it, be tween 10,000 and 11,000. As the same number will be likely to have been brought away from Washington during the succeeding four days, we have thus the extraordinary and probably altogether unprecendented aggregate of 21,000 persons transported in eight consecutive days by a single track railroad between two of



the principal cities of the Union, 40 miles apart. When it is borne in mind that this has been done promptly and regularly, and in the most satisfactory manner; that it has been attended With no loss of life or limb, or even the slightest personal injury ; and that (as far as the officers of the road are advised) not a single article of baggage has been lost, it certainly presents a favorable result, of which the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company and the Baltimore community may be proud.

At times as many as two or three thousand persons, mostly men, have been congregated at, the Camden Station in this city, upon the departure of the cars, but as far as we can learn, not a single disturbance or serious altercation has occurred. This gratifying tact is attributed by the Company to the constant presence of a strong and attentive police force, under the direct charge of Mr. Manly, the new deputy marshal, assisted by sergeant Pamphillion. Mr. Gorman, of the detectives, with Messrs. Potee, Graham and McKinley, were specially devoted in their polite attentions to the very large and interesting assortment of professional and amateur pickpockets who had evidently expected to make their harvest at this juncture. Besides these, Mr. Chisholm and Mr. Woodall, the Company's regular policemen, did their usual good service in this Babel of excitement.

The Master of Transportation, Dr. Woodside, although confined by illness, with his usual industry and forethought, prepared his arrangements at home. They were put into execution by his assistant, W. P. Smith, and Mr. Jos. Blown, general supervisor of trains, and his assistant, Mr. A. Diffey. The officers of the other departments of the Railroad service contributed their aid, particularly Messrs. Tyson and Rennie, heads of the machinery, and Mr. Jno. R. Smith, James Anderson and William Hughes, and the several engineers of the six excellent locomotives engaged in this laborious duty. Messrs. L. M. Cole, general ticket agent, and J. T. England, agent of the Camden station, deserve most conspicuous mention for their zeal and their experienced efforts in carrying on the extraordinary movement of trains. The heaviest trains in this week's work on the road have been drawn by the large ten-wheeled engines, which have thus proved themselves a most reliable and efficient machine, carrying from 20 to 24 full-sized passenger cars packed with people, in less than two hours between Baltimore and Washington.

The conductors on these human caravans were Messrs. J. W. Showacre, John Collins, George W. Hoover, George A. Rawlings, Wm. P. Gorsurch, J. P. Dukehart and Edward Thompson, and their peculiarly heavy task seems to have been cheerfully and properly performed.

We are thus particular in attempting to give due credit in this connection, because the universal sentiment demands an expression of our approbation of the complete and harmonious manner in which the officers and men of the road have executed their great and responsible undertaking.

ONE WORD ABOUT RAILROAD CONDUCTORS.

How much it adds to the comfort of travelling to be placed in charge of gentlemanly, polite and attentive conductors. We have seen persons in charge of railroad trains who evidently appreciated the importance of their position. The office of a conductor is a responsible one, and they seem determined that every one should know that they felt it so. To travel under the direction of such a man, all dignity and self importance, is the most unmitigated bore I know of. But I am glad to say from the experience of my present route, such instances are not frequent. I have not met a single example of starched importance, or gross impertinence on any of the roads I have travelled. It is particularly due to the



conductors of the Baltimore and Ohio, and the Central Ohio railroads, to say that they are gentlemanly and attentive to the wants of travellers. I do not mean that outside politeness, which has a bow and a smile always ready, bet that more solid sort which anticipates the wants, and prompts to little acts of attention so acceptable to a stranger, and which makes one feel at home and cared for. It is this politeness exercised towards every one, which makes these roads so comfortable to travel on.-Cincinnati Railroad Record.

THE PRESENT EXTENT OF THE RAILROAD SYSTEM.

The New York Courier and Enquirer of a recent date, gives a summary showing the number of miles and cost of railroads in the world. The summary is of later date than the separate statements given by the different writers on railroads-Tooke, Gardner, and others-and, of course, shows an increase. There is a discrepancy between the number of miles in operation in Germany, according to the authority of Tooke, and the following. This is explained by the fact that many of the railroads stated by Tooke as belonging to Germany should be placed in the column of French and Belgic Railroads. The following table also exhibits the low cost of American Railroads compared with those of Europe :

COMPARATIVE TABLE OF RAILROADS IN OPERATION.

	English miles.	Cost in dollars.	Cost per mile.
United States (1856)	26,000	$920,000,000	$35,000
Great Britain (1855)	8,297	1,487,016,420	179,000
France (1856)	4,038	616,118,995	152,000
Germany (1855)	3,213	228,000,000	71,000
Prussia (1855)	1,290	145,000,000	63,000
Belgium (1855)	1,095	98,500,000	90,000
British Provinces	823	41,600,000	50,000
Cuba	359	16,100,000	45,000
Panama	47	7,000,000	150,000
South America	60	4,500,000	75,000
Russia	422	42,500,000	100,000
Sweden	75	7,500,000	100,000
Italy	170	17,000,000	100,000
Spain	60	6,100,000	100,000
Africa	25	3,100,000	125,000
India	100	15,000,000	150,000
Total	46,074	$3,655,435,415	$79,000

Accompanying this a table appears, showing the railroad progress in the United States for the year 1857, and a comparative view of the progress annually in each State since 1828, the date of the beginning of the system.

From the column showing the number of miles for the year ending January, 1858, we find that there were only about seventeen hundred miles



named or built during the year, which is a smaller number than for any year since 1850. The construction of American railroads for the past year of 1857 has been principally in the following States, namely : Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa and Missouri.

The Courier observes that:-The progress of railroads in the United States, their effect upon the prosperity of the country, and their future prospects, are much beyond the wildest dreams of the originators of the system. The number of miles built in the first ten years of our railroad history, beginning in the year 1828, was 1,843, of which New York State built 18 per cent. The number of miles built in the second ten years, or from 1838 to 1848, was 3,039, of which New York built 15 per cent. From 1847 to 1856 the number built was 18,704, of which New York State built 9 per cent. At the present time New York State has over 11 per cent. of the total length of railroads, and ranks next to Illinois in number of miles. Our railroad history has had two eras-the first, from 1828 to 1848, when there was in the number of miles built an average increase of 268 miles per year-and the second from 1848 to 1856, having an average increase of 2,350 miles per year. In many of the States the development of the railroad system is quite equal to the wants of the people-but in many others, Kentucky being the most notable instance, it is much less.

For the next few years, new railroads will have to be built by local assistance and with the aid of the State to be benefited. The time has past for the West to depend upon us for capital, or for us to look to Europe."

RAILROAD PROGRESS IN THE UNITED STATES.-INTERESTING STATISTICS.

The Secretary of the U. S. Treasury, in his last annual report, stated the railroad debt of the United States at four hundred millions of dollars, and attributed no little of the monetary disturbances of the country to the very heavy and frequently indiscreet expenditures and action of these roads. The New York Railroad Journal estimates that $1,000,000,000 have been expended upon the work already completed or now in course of construction; the annual receipts being $120,000,000, affording a net revenue of five per cent. upon the entire cost. This statement is more favorable than has been expected,-if it is fully reliable.

In the year 1857, 1,920 miles of new roads were opened, and since 1850, 19,000 miles. The number of miles in operation in 1858, is set down at 26,210, against 15,511 in 1854, 10,898 in 1852, and 7,350, in 1850. The actual number of miles in each State, and the aggregate cost, are said to be as follows:-



	Miles.	Cost.
Maine	543 1/2	$17,365,220
New Hampshire	631 1/2	19,766,405
Vermont	557	23,322,085
Massachusetts	1,338	71,569,326
Rhode Island	98	4,384,489
Connecticut	582	21,788,477
	Miles.	Cost.
New York	2,590	143,316,876
New Jersey	468 3/4	24,552,397
Pennsylvania	2,545	96,031,086
Delaware	101	2,034,351
Maryland	571 1/2	37,422,742
Virginia	1,233	34,583,082
North Carolina	586	11,421,939
South Carolina	943 1/2	16,208,070
Georgia	89	24,536,656
Alabama	559 3/4	17,392,337
Mississippi	469	5,457,274
Florida	112 1/2	2,275,000
Louisiana	260	8,375,891
Texas	127	1,816,292
Arkansas	39	780,000
Tennessee	635 1/2	22,375,515
Kentucky	314	12,112,092
Ohio	2,946	89,140,442
Indiana	1,799	39,556,987
Michigan	614	36,617,323
Illinois	2,677	87,848,448
Missouri	342	17,777,414
Iowa	311	7,751,646
Wisconsin	872 1/2	21,403,814
California	22 1/2	1,100,000
Total	26,210	$919,990,516

In the year 1857, there were in the United States 126 railroad accidents, causing the death of 130 persons and wounding 530 others. This is a decline on the previous year. In Great Britain, during 1856, 281 persons were killed by the railroads and 394 injured, out of an aggregate number of 129, 347,592 passengers. The per cent. of killed being only .07, and of wounds 2.18, or in other words, one person in every sixteen million was killed, and one in every four hundred and fifty thousand wounded.

THE VALUE AND IMPORTANCE OF RAILROADS.

The National Intelligencer-the Nestor of Newspapers,-in a very recent number, says:-

We have heard of a farmer in the Tenth Legion of Virginia, who is an unbeliever in the benefit of Railroads, and opposed to his county's giving any encouragement to the making of one through it. As there may be "more of the same sort" in that region of the Ancient Dominion, we insert for their edification, if they "ever read the papers," the subjoined forcible article from the Philadelphia Inquirer, and which we understand is from the practical pen of the Hon. JOEL B. SUTHERLAND, of Pennsylvania.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The railroad interest is sadly depressed at the present time. We are sorry, moreover, to see a disposition in some quarters still further to depreciate this



invaluable species of property. The railroads are among the essentials of the age. No great country can do without them. They facilitate trade and travel, increase the value of land, and open up to the hardy pioneer new homes and fresh sources of independence and wealth. What, indeed, would Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Baltimore be without railroads? What would be the condition of the mighty West at this time but for these great highways, these links of steel which bind the Union together in a common brotherhood? But let us enter somewhat into detail, and show the true use of railroads. A thousand points might be stated calculated to prove their advantages; but on the present occasion we will confine ourselves to a few. First, then. They carry the mails of the United States with a certainty and celerity never anticipated in olden times. Nor do they allow mail-robbers to stop the cars and bear away the letters.

2. They transport the soldiers of the Republic, with all the munitions of war, at all times, cheaply and expeditiously. During the war of 1812 a barrel of flour at Buffalo cost $70, in consequence of the almost impassable roads thither, and the snail-like travel of the horse and wagon line.

3. They have enhanced the value of lands greatly in the Eastern and Middle sections of the Union, and in the almost boundless West, the value of the territory is nearly, if not quite, quadrupled by them.

4. They have enlarged our commerce between the several States immensely. In fact, they may be said to have taken up whole cities, with their almost countless inhabitants, quietly, as if by magic, and have set them down in close proximity to other flourishing cities.

5. They, with the Telegraph, give speedy notice of the illness of sick or dying friends, and transport us to the bedside of those we love at a moment most desired in one's whole existence.

6. Without them the people of the Eastern metropolitan cities would be left in a great measure destitute of beef and produce from the great West.

7. They protect our seaboard from the assault of a foreign enemy, as they can upon the flash of the telegraph notify the whole West if any foe should threaten to land upon our soil, and thus hurry down to the point of attack innumerable men and arms to drive back the assailants.

8. Nay, more, they may be said to stand in stead of forts; for no nation would think of venturing to land with such swift and prompt lines of railroads to pour down our forces upon them almost instantaneously.

9. It, is now conceded by all reflecting men, that if a railroad had been in existence between Philadelphia and Washington, the British would never have made an assault upon the capital of our country.

10. Nor would the French and English armies have carried the war into the Crimea if the Emperor Nicholas, before he broke with the Turks, had been as sagacious as many represented him to be, and constructed railroads to run to the Black Sea, and thus at any moment have had it in his power to carry all Russia in arms to meet an approaching hostile force.

11. Our railroads are, therefore, a wall of defence, and may be pronounced the preservers of the peace of our Republic.

12. So prodigiously important are our railroads, that were the companies to stop running the cars for a single week, the whole country would come to a stand still; our trade and commerce with the interior would be closed up, and our cities be filled with dismay.

13. Railroads should, therefore, be sustained, that their benefits may be properly distributed. Surely every traveller would gladly agree to pay sufficient to give them a just remuneration, and thus shield these leading lines of travel that are now almost driven to the verge of bankruptcy from so disastrous a calamity.

14. The editors of the public press are deeply interested in the permanency and success of the railroads. They carry their journals from one end of this broad Union to the other. They impart life to trade everywhere. They fill our ships with produce at the wharves, and carry from our landings merchandise to the remotest boundaries of the nation. Now and then accidents may 8*



happen, but always solely against the will of the companies. Nor should courts or juries pursue the goose that lays the golden egg and kill her.

15. Our vast country can only be traversed by railroads. They have become an institution, and cannot be abandoned. Let us, therefore, support them with a liberal, if not a generous hand.

16. Congress should compensate them in a proper spirit. The Government now, by the enterprise of these companies, get swift and sure mails, and by them, too, they are virtually protected from foreign assault upon its vast boundaries.

17. Besides, in many instances, where rails are imported, the railroad companies pay for duties on their rails more than they receive for transporting the Government mails.

18. Moreover we should look to the countless number of persons in the constant employ of the railroads, who are, even at this time, kept on duty.

19. The compensation to be paid them should be so ample as to keep their stock at par, constantly at par, and then men would not lose, whose public spirit, in many instances, urged them on to unite the vast interests of the people by iron bands in one brotherhood of affection.

20. The railroads should, therefore, act in concert, raise their tariff of charges to a just height, and not drag out an existence of feebleness, resulting in some measure from their own rivalries.

But enough for the present. The subject is an important one, and we may return to it again. Millions of money have been expended in railroads, and thousands of citizens have invested their funds in this description of property. Let us hope that the day is at hand when confidence will revive, and when by some general and enlightened system of reform and management, every leading railroad line in the nation will be able to make a fair and regular dividend. The interests of the public at large require that these important improvements should be encouraged and sustained, and not depressed or depreciated.