Atlanta - Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow. John R. Hornady
from Macon. The telegraph office, with its single wire and one instrument, was located in a building at the corner of Pryor and Alabama Streets, the operator being C. E. Hanleiter.
The coming of the telegraph was an incident of widespread interest and the instrument, being of that type which printed the message upon a long ribbon of paper, was an object of much curiosity. The first commercial message to pass over this wire was sent by Dr. E. K. Kane, a celebrated artic explorer of that period, who was passing through Atlanta about the time the office opened. The message went to his father at Philadelphia and related to the purchase of materials for an expedition for which he was then preparing.
Later, in 1850, another telegraph operator was sent to Atlanta in the person of Col. N. D. Sloan, and in a speech made at a banquet given to the old settlers at the National Hotel in 1884, he told some interesting experiences connected with those early days. Among other famous men who visited the little telegraph office was Col. Sam Houston, of Texas, then a member of Congress. He had never seen a telegraph instrument before and was greatly interested in it. Another famous visitor was the Hungarian patriot, General Kossuth, who passed through Atlanta en route to Savannah with a large body of followers. He sent a telegram here and displayed considerable indignation when asked to pay for it, but finally did so.
On another occasion, a group of young fellows encountered a farmer who had come to town for the purpose of sending a negro to Macon. They told him that it would be much cheaper to send the darky by telegraph, and so the farmer, the negro and the practical jokers all repaired to the office. Here the farmer and the negro were lined up and told to hold to a wire which connected with the battery, and both did an impromptu dance as they felt the force of the current. When the farmer found that he was the victim of a joke, he was furious and Col. Sloan had to vacate the office for a time in order to avoid a personal difficulty.
Practical jokes of this character were common enough in those rollicking days, and one which attracted no little attention was perpetrated when a group of boys one night took the bell from the Methodist Church and dropped it into the well at the home of the Baptist minister.
Illustrating the tendency of the youth of this period toward mischief, a writer in the Pioneers' History of Atlanta, said:
"It was not an easy job to police Atlanta in those days, for the old inhabitants will agree that there never was a town of like size that had as many wild and mischievous boys in it. One little harmless amusement that the boys about town were wont to indulge in at that time, consisted in rolling a hogs-head full of hogs down the Alabama Street hill. They would get a big sugar hogshead and, putting four or five 'grunters' securely inside, start it rolling at the top of the Alabama Street hill, where Whitehall now crosses. The hogshead would roll until it hit the big embankment on which the calaboose stood, and the racket made by the imprisoned porkers would bring everybody in the village running to the place of the terrific noise. This was one of the mild jokes the town marshal of those days had to put up with."
Many curious and interesting events occurred in those old days, as one may learn by browsing among ancient tomes and musty newspaper files. For instance, it is recorded that in 1859 Jefferson Davis, then a member of the United States Senate, was arrested in this City. He was passing through, and when the train stopped at the" shed " he got off and was taking a bit of exercise by the side of the track, when two local officers walked up to him and told him he was under arrest.
Accosted thus. Senator Davis told the officers that they were mistaken in their man, but nothing he said had any weight with them, and he was only saved from going to jail by an earnest request to be carried before Mayor James M. Calhoun, whom he knew well. When the mayor saw this old friend and distinguished citizen under arrest he was filled with indignation and mortification, and he read the officers a severe lecture. The latter, who were on the lookout for a train robber and who had thought that they had captured the fugitive, were profuse in their apologies, and the incident ended there. At a later period, when he had become President of the Confederate States of America, the citizens of Atlanta had an opportunity to honor Mr. Davis and his visit on this occasion was noted for its fervent enthusiasm. Again, when in 1893, the body of Jefferson Davis passed through Atlanta en route to Richmond, where it was consigned to the earth, the people of this City assembled in great numbers to pay tribute to the fallen leader.
In the early fifties. President Fillmore, who had succeeded President Taylor upon the death of the latter, visited Atlanta and the event was celebrated in notable fashion, though a tragedy which marked the occasion added a somber touch. A feature of the celebration was to be a flag raising, and in anticipation of this event two tall trees had been felled and a very high pole had been erected by fastening the two trees together. When it was sought to raise the flag, the ropes became entangled, and the ceremony was halted, much to the embarrassment of the committee and the assembled citizens.
The committee promptly offered a reward of $100 to any person who would climb the pole and untangle the rope, and thereupon a stranger who said that he had been a sailor, came forward and volunteered. He climbed to the point where the ropes had become entangled, and cutting one of the ropes with his knife, was instantly killed by falling to the earth. He evidently was holding to the rope that he cut. Investigation showed that he had left a family, and when this fact was made known to the crowd, a fund of $2,000 was raised and presented to the widow.
"Whig" sentiment was strong in the community at this time, and there had been great rejoicing over the election of the "Whig" ticket. Prior to this election, one of the greatest political meetings ever witnessed in Georgia was held at Walton Spring, the crowd being estimated at ten thousand. This was in 1848, and one of the striking features was a highly emotional demonstration upon the appearance of Alexander H. Stephens, destined to become the Vice-President of the Confederate States of America.
Mr. Stephens was on the program as one of the speakers, but a few days before the meeting, while upon the veranda of the then famous ''Atlanta Hotel," he was attacked by Judge Francis H. Cone, who was armed both with a cane and a knife. Mr. Stephens was stabbed several times before his assailant was overpowered, and while the wounds were not serious, they were severe enough to incapacitate him for some days.
Confined to his room at the hotel, Mr. Stephens did not intend to appear at the meeting, but when that vast throng had assembled, a large crowd of his admirers came to the hotel with a buggy and carried him to Walton Spring. No horses were used, the vehicle being drawn through the streets by the cheering crowd of enthusiasts. When the time came for him to speak, Mr. Stephens was unable to do so, but his valiant friends lifted him up so that the great company could see him, and thereupon was witnessed such a demonstration as this community had never before beheld.
Following the election of Taylor and Fillmore as President and Vice-President of the United States, there was another tremendous demonstration in Atlanta, the central feature of which was a torch-light parade. The marchers, representing communities scattered for many miles about Atlanta, carried burning pine faggots, and the enthusiasm was unparalleled. Years later one who witnessed this demonstration said ''Atlanta never saw another that approached it until the great torch-light parade held in honor of Grover Cleveland when, as President, he visited the City in 1887."
These early days developed in Atlanta an invention of a crude sort that was the forerunner of others that, years later, attracted world-wide attention. This was a rotary wheel, grandfather of the Ferris wheel, and was the invention of a local Frenchman, Antonio Marquino, by name. He operated a refreshment stand near Walton Spring, which at that time constituted the amusement resort of Atlanta, and in order to attract more trade and, at the same time, turn a little profit on the side, he erected a giant wheel, about forty feet in diameter, and attached thereto a number of boxes in which were board seats for the passengers to ride upon. It operated exactly as the now familiar Ferris wheels operate, and attracted much attention at the time. The only difficulty was that, because it was made of wood and crudely constructed, wet weather caused the bearings to swell and made it difficult, and sometimes impossible to operate. Motive power was supplied by two darkies.
While Walton Spring was the chief "resort" of Atlanta, the favorite "breathing spot" was located in the very heart of town — a little park that was bounded by Pryor, Decatur and Loyd Streets and the Western &