26 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[July 15, 1893. 



Forest and Stream in the World's Fair. 



As Seen by Our Staff Correspondents. 



The Transportation Building:. 



The Transportation Building is not behind any other 

 of the great storehouses of wonders which make up the 

 Columbian Exposition. Indeed, in respect to its exhibits, 

 I think it is m the lead of most of them, for while all 

 show us more or less of the productions of the world, the 

 treasures of the Transportation Pudding, besides exhibit- 

 ing the great object lessons of present development, carry 

 us far back into unknown ages, to a time when the things 

 we now call crude beginnings were the most finished pro- 

 ductions of human skill. 



The building itself, as compared to some of its fellows, 

 is not so vast or so ornamental, although, if placed else- 

 where, it would be vast. The dimensions of the matu 

 building are 250 by 960ft. The main floor and galleries 

 have a little more than nine acres of area. The annex, in 

 which are the railways, railway plant and equipment, is 

 425 by 900ft., and has a floor area of 9.2 acres. Thus a 

 little over 18|- acres of flooring are available for transpor- 

 tation exhibits. 



The main feature of the exterior is the great single arch 

 of the main entrance, called the "Golden Door," from its 

 profuse ornamentation in gold leaf. It also has a great 

 number of carving and bas relief ornamentation. 



Notwithstanding the liberal floor space, many of the 

 departments are pressed for room, the railroad exhibits in 

 particular filHng their allotted space most thoroughly. 

 Two of the most beautiful vestibule trains, one of them 

 the Empire Express, have been placed alongside the annex 

 and awnings built over them. 



Barring the broomsticks on which witches took their 

 nightly rides, there is hardly a kind of transportation 

 which was not represented either by model or original. 

 The vehicles of primitive man and the modern record 

 breakers by sea and land are present in endless variety, 

 thus the countries of the world and the centuries since 

 man became inventive are brought together. The old 

 order of things are not the least wonderful. The majestic 

 engine, No. 999, with a record of one mile in 32 seconds, 

 or at the rate of 112.5 miles per hour, made while draw- 

 ing the Empire State Express, from New York to Chicago 

 for exhibition, is no more wonderful than its neighbor 

 engine, the De Witt Clinton, the latter a rough, feeble, 

 uncouth infant as compared to its 200-ton brother. Small 

 and inelegant though it be, the De "Witt Clinton is a crea- 

 tion made from chaotic data, while No. 999 is but an im- 

 provement. The Transportation Building, in a general 

 way, has three divisions, namely, railways, vessels and 

 vehicleB. 



The Railway Exhibits. 



In the railway exhibits, the evolution of the locomo- 

 tive and railway equipment are most completely shown. 

 Dozens of the most grotesque rudimentary engines, far 

 below the beauty and dignity of a common steam thresher, 

 represent an era in ti'avel yet within the memory of man. 

 There are all kinds representing the immediate degree of 

 development. Many of the engines are historical, and 

 also mark important epochs in the development of the 

 nation. There is in the nine or more acres of railroad ex- 

 hibits more history than could ever be written. The ex- 

 hibits are not without their suggestions for the future. 

 Such short intei'vals mark such great improvements that 

 the modern locomotive, with all its beauty, size, power 

 and speed, may be a crude mechanism a few years hence. 



The vehicles representing transportation by land, are 

 in j)rofusion of models and makes. There are all kinds, 

 from the lightest bicycle to the heaviest drays and freight 

 wagons. The variety of wheelbarrows, carts, pleasure 

 and business carriages, omnibuses and racing vehicles, 

 are endless. There are grades and kinds to suit rich or 

 poor, and for those who are well, or sick, or dead. 

 Harnesses resplendent in the glitter of gold and silver 

 mountings and high polish, made a complementary ex- 

 hibit to the vehicles. 



There were baby carriages worked cunningly in elegant 

 designs and richly furnished in silk, lace and satins, 

 made for single or double occupants. One model was 

 particularly noticeable in that it was collapsable. By 

 giving a twist and a shove, it became instantly as flat as 

 a board. It could be then packed in a trunk and taken 

 along on a journey. Thus do aU the comforts of a home 

 continually thrust themselves on people who do not want 

 any home. Fleeing to the wilderness for peace and rest 

 will soon avail naught. 



Probably the sedan chair and palanquin embody the 

 simplest idea of a . vehicle. Some of them are made 

 highly ornamental, yet the principle is the same as that 

 employed by two fishermen who tie their fish to the 

 middle of a pole or oar, each places an end on his shoulder 

 and walks blithesomely homeward. That is the principle 

 when they have the fish; but no fish, no principle. 



The works of primitive man and modern man were in 

 many contrasts. An ox-cart made and used by the In- 

 dians of Pueblo, of Acoma, N, M., was about the crudest 

 and coarsest in construction of any. It was made entirely 

 of wood. The two wheels had three pieces each. The 

 middle piece, in which was the hub, was made out of a 

 log. A cross section of the log had been left for the hub, 

 which thus was cross-grained, and the rest had been 

 worked down to about Sin., the ends forming part of the 

 circumference of the wheel. Two rough pieces, one set 

 on each side of the middle pieces and pinned to it, made 

 a rickety wheel with a lumpy circumference. Neither 

 wheel was true on its axle. A rough tongue, set in the 

 middle of the axel, formed the means of traction. What 

 untold tortm-es the oxen must have suffered when draw- 

 rag such a burden for the noble Eed Man, the Child of the 

 Forest. The idea, however, is an advance over tying the 

 lodge poles to a pony, piling the family belongings on the 

 dragging end, while the Light of the Home rides astride 

 pony and poles, with a few pappooses hxmg about miscel- 

 laneously wherever there is a place to fasten them. 

 A bullock cart from the Maderia Islands presented at 



VIII. 



coach body set on side springs. It was marked "Carro 

 Des Bois or Bullock Cart," and the inquirer was informed 

 that no wheels are used in that country. 



A Turkish country carriage, resplendent in gilt and 

 white, yet inelegantly designed, was shown to be drawn 

 by oxen, two mounted specimens illustrating the maimer. 



But to go into a description of the different kinds of 

 wheeled vehicles and saddles of domestic and foreign 

 countries would fill volumes. 



Water Transportation. 



The means of transportation on lake, river and ocean 

 was most elaborately exhibited. From the Hght canoe, 

 worked in elegant design and finish and weighing but a 

 few pounds, to vessels, large and small, deep and shallow, 

 wide and narrow, were shown either by originals or 

 models. The great ocean steamship companies illustrated 

 their leviathan craft by fine models, some quite large. 

 Nor were the vessels confined to the peaceful ways of life. 

 There were dozens of models of warships, terrible de- 

 stroyers, mounting heavy guns to batter down and de- 

 stroy all protection to the enemy, and many machine 

 guns tristling out of every unoccupied corner, ready to 

 slaughter men in job lots. There were models of torpedo 

 boats, dredging boats, ferry boats— vessels of all kinds, 

 propelled by sails, steam or electricity, for pleasure, busi- 

 ness or war. There, too, were many models which have 

 sad, pathetic, tragic or sentimental associations. Prob- 

 ably the most intense interest, because of the recent 

 calamity, is that shown in connection with the model of 

 the sadly unfortunate Victoria. The model of this vessel, 

 so recently the just pride of Great Britain, is set up not 

 far from the "Golden Door." It is large and woi'ked out 

 in elegant detail. A raised platform, brass railed, runs 

 along about 12ft, parallel in front of it for spectators, and 

 an aged seaman has charge. The heavy black draping on 

 it suggests its fate. 



It is the constant center of a small crowd which though 

 constantly changing never seems to diminish in size the 

 whole day long. The old salt in charge tells, in endless 

 repetition, the story of the Camperdown's ram cutting 

 deep into the hull of the Victoria, the consequent founder- 

 ing, and therewith the destruction wrought by swiftly re- 

 volving scre%v blades, hot water and steam and the deep 

 sea. The model, built on a large scale, represents a noble 

 modern battleship, floating on a calm sea, with torpedo 

 nets set — a giant at rest. The half model is set against a 

 mirror, which, by reflection, makes a complete whole. 



Only a few yards away from the Victoria is a roughly 

 made large row boat, protected from vandals or relic 

 hunters by a stout framework. On its bows it bears the 

 name Grace Darling, It attracts the constant attention of 

 the sightseers aad divides honors and interest with the 

 Victoria in holding the attention of the public, though 

 the story of Grace Darling is over a half century old and 

 is a simple story of noble effort. A type-written piece of 

 paper above the boat tells briefly the well-known story as 

 follows: 



The Grace Dablino. 

 In this boat on the morning of September 7, 1838, Grace Darling, 

 then twenty-two years of age, with her father, rescued nine peoijle 

 from the wreck of the Forfarshire, at Longstone, on the Fame Islands. 



There were large models of the Pinta, the Nina and the 

 Santa Maria, the latter being specially honored by several 

 models, each one different from the other. Yet that is 

 not remarkable, as the different portraits of Columbus 

 differ. Heretofore, I have always considered Columbus's 

 crew as a cowardly, craven lot for talking back to Colum- 

 bus, and wanting to go home when the mighty Columbus 

 had made up his mind to discover India on its outside 

 and thereby make himself rich and famous. That 

 America happened to be in the way and stopped him 

 from going to India, I never thought detraxjted from his 

 merits as a discoverer. But, since I have seen those 

 models, my mind is changed about the crew, I believe 

 that they had good sense in objecting to prowling around 

 an endless ocean so far from home in the Santa Maria, 

 whose quarterdeck, two or three stories high, was up 

 near the main top, whose steersman stood in the hold, 

 and Avhose tublike hull and poor rigging suggested slow- 

 ness, inefficienGy and discomfort. That crew had sense. 



A dugout, from Central Africa, was made out of a 

 crooked log, a segment of a circle, A man would need a 

 wheel in his head to row it straight. 



One of the most interesting crafts was a Bimba or 

 canoe, from Benguella, Africa, It was made of round 

 poles, 3 to 4in. in diameter, tied together and made in 

 shape something like an ordinary boat, though much 

 deeper and without any sheer. It was about 12ft. long, 

 3 wide and 2ft. deep. A couple of roughly-squared tim- 

 bers, about 4xoin. , placed across and fastened at the ends, 

 made two rude seats. There was nothing placed between 

 the poles to keep the water out. It was free to come in or 

 go out as it pleased. Nothing could be grander than the 

 sight of an African king, dressed in his kingly raiment, 

 seated in the royal Bimba -wdth the queen, and gently 

 floating down the Kuango River. In the Dahomey vil- 

 lage on the Midway Plaisance the king each day drinks 

 much of the fire beer of the white man, and while his 

 eyes look ugly, and he makes many useless and aimless 

 motions, he does everything with such decorous dignity 

 and gravity that no monkey could show more seriousness. 

 His subjects appear to respect Mm if not to love him. 



A model of a boat used on the Sea of GaUilee, the S3,me 

 as used in the time of Christ, is a marvel in its way. It is 

 aboitt Oft, long, 3ft. beam, and seemed to have been mod- 

 eled after a half watermelon, a bit sharpened at the ends. 

 In the exact center was the place for a mast. It was truly 

 going to sea in a tub. The GaUilee sailors were brave men 

 if they went down to the sea in such crafts, though the 

 Sea of GaUilee is not very large. 



A model of an ancient canoe-shaped craft, the original 

 of which was found in the marshes of the Baltic Sea, in 



length 75ft., in width lOft, 6in., 15 oars on each side, was 



^„ r a curiosity, 



sight a very strong claim to worthlessness. It was simply In walking about, one runs across gigantic implements, 

 a sled with iron-shod plank runners, with a cheaply-made ' A great trip hammer, said to be [the largest in the world. 



towers high above the other exhibits. The hammer and 

 foundations weigh 2,400 tons. The weight of the faUing 

 parts weigh 125 tons, and they have a stroke of 16ft.; yet 

 this enormous weight can be used with more precision and 

 delicacy than a man can use a tack hammer. Traveling 

 cranes, which can pick up tons of weight with ease, are in 

 many models. 



In fact, most modern wonders are tons in weight, A 

 12in, breechloading rifled cannon, 36ft, long, 3ft. 9in. in 

 largest diameter, powder charge 42olb3. , is not a small 

 mass of iron, yet it is small compared to the great Krupp 

 gun. Near it lay a cylinder of cast steel, 15ft. long, 4ft. 

 6in. in diameter, which weighed 108,1901bs, 



A section of a barbette, one of thirteen, a monster sheet 

 of iron, 12ft. Itn, high, 8ft, 4in. wide and 17in. thick, 

 weight 69,7981bs., stood on edge in lordly majesty. Large 

 as it is, it is none too large for protection from the mod- 

 ern gim. as various other plates, all thick and heavy, 

 showed the destructive powers of the modern rifled can- 

 non. Some plates were pierced clear through or were 

 shattered where the shot impinged. These numerous 

 plates also showed the development and resisting force of 

 armor as improved since 1863 to 1892. 



But all thesfi will not be so interesting as a mention of 

 what concerns the needs of the present day and where the 

 exhibits of manufacturers can be f oimd. 



Mr. J. H. Rushton's Exhibit. 



In the gallery, Section E, near columns 31, 33, near the 

 large entrance caUed the Golden Door, is. the exhibit of 

 Mr, J. H, Rushton, Canton, N. Y., who is famous as a 

 manufacturer of pleasure boats and canoes. In great 

 contrast to his finished productions Avith their graceful 

 lines and elegant finish are some rude crafts in an ad- 

 joining exhibit. One of them, a straw Balsa from Lake 

 Titicaca, Peru, thick, almost flat, and more like a mam- 

 moth straw horse collar sewn together, hung over a red 

 cedar Haida canoe, from Queen Charlotte's Islands, For 

 neighbors they had an ungraceful canoe from Colon, U. 

 S. of Colombia, a spruce Tlingit canoe. Upper Yukon 

 River, This canoe was very narrow. A bark canoe made 

 from one piece of bark, a lialf cylinder in shape, is tied at 

 the ends with tough strips of bark in the same m.anner 

 that sacks of grain are tied. It was a most primitive ves- 

 sel. Indeed, it seemed to be only one remove from the 

 raft. This was from Lake Tyers, Gippsland, Australia, 



Mr. Richard AUen, in charge of Mr. Rushton's exhibit, 

 very kindly showed me through it and explained the 

 special features of the productions. There were ten boats 

 on exhibition. There was an Adirondack or Saranac 

 Lake boat, 16ft,, smooth skin, A two-man cruiser, A Rush- 

 ton cruiser. A racing sailor, 16 by 20, A racing paddler. 

 A beautiful pleasure boat, with awning and elegant fur- 

 nishings. All the boats are made in different grades. 

 Several beautifiil canoes made up the rest of the boat ex- 

 hiliit. Two figures of men with canoes resting bottom up 

 on their shoulders showed the manner of ti-ansportatiou 

 in the wilderness, or where other transportation is not 

 available. 



Specimen oars, spoon and straight blades, double and 

 single blade paddles, of exquisite handmake and finish, 

 were part of the exhibit. All kinds of canoe and boat 

 furnishings were displayed. 



IVIr. George B. Carpenter &, Co.'s Exhibit. 



This exhibit is in the eastern gallery, near column 43. 

 It is roomy and contains a most elaborate display of diffe- 

 rent varieties and designs of blocks, oars, binnacles, com- 

 passes, cordage, sail cloth, lanterns, yacht anchors, 

 steerers and fm-nishings. In short, the display covered 

 the larger part of a vessel's rigging, besides a A'ariety of 

 marine goods, A colored canopy over the exhibit added 

 much to its attractiveness. The firm makes a specialty of 

 making sails and flags. 



The exhibitors who have space in the galleries are 

 most unfortunate in not being on the main floor, simply 

 because the galleries are sadly neglected by the sight- 

 seeing public. In fact, the galleries are compar.atively 

 deserted, Tliat is not strange. The Exposition is so vast 

 and the sightseer soon becomes so fatigued that he or she 

 does not care to climb stairs, easy though they be. More- 

 over, there are endless wonders at every hand to distract 

 or engage the attention of visitors. But a small percent- 

 age of visitors know that there are galleries, altbough 

 there are notices stuck up here and there informing the 

 public of the fact. While the main floors are thronged 

 with thousands, the galleries thiLS receive little attention. 



Gas Engine and Power Co.'s Exhibit. 



This company was fortunate in being on the main floor 

 of the building, which undoubtedly was due to the fact 

 that it manufactures heavy craft. The light boats were 

 placed in the gallery. The company had six boats on 

 exhibition, elegant specimens of their workmanship. 

 They were placed to show to good advantage. They were 

 Pinta, 30ft., six-horse power; Nina, 25ft., four-horse 

 power; Santa Maria, ten-horse power; Isa.beUa, 18ft., two- 

 horse power; FercUnand, 21ft., two-horse power, and a 

 smaU boat named Me Too. The display is most artistic 

 and elegant. 



Thomas Kane & Co.'s Exhibit. 



This exhibit was in charge of Mr. J. W. Shaw, who 

 informed me that the company had eight boats in the 

 Fisheries Department besides those in the Transportation 

 Department, which were one 25ft. steam launch, three- 

 horse power, burning either coal or wood, three steam 

 yachts, one cruising canoe, one cutter model of 1893, one 

 catboat, skimming dish model, and three mahogany row- 

 boats. This company furnished twenty-five of the elec- 

 tric launches used on the lagoon. The boats were nicely 

 finished and fitted. 



The Detroit Boat Works' Exhibit. 



The exhibit of this company is on the main floor, near 

 cohunn 22. Mr. W. J. Partridge, a practical boat builder 

 himself, has charge. Nine boats comprise the exhibit. 

 The largest and most conspicuous is a finely finished elec- 

 tric laimch, similar to ones fiu-nished the officials of the 

 fair by tliis comi)any for couvey;uice on the lagoon. One 

 double catboat, two canoes, and five row and sail boats all 

 elegantly modeled and finislied, make an interesting ex- 

 hibit, though representing l^ut a fraction of the scope of 

 the company's business. A life raft was shown as part of 

 this company's manufactures. 



B. N. Morris's Exhibit. 

 In the eastern gaUery, near colmnn 45, is the exhibit of 

 Mr. B. N. Morris. There were only six boats, but they 



