gold dragon head. The Firth Wheel, named after its designer and first referred to as the vertical merry-go-round, was a replication of the first ferris wheel built for the Chicago World Fair. The Firth wheel, standing at 120 feet above the ground and able to carry ten people per carriage, took up to twenty minutes to complete a full rotation. The scenic railway, another ride of the midwinter fair, was "an early wooden roller-coaster with a dozen undulating rises and dips". The passengers could "get a view of the entire Fair and a roller coaster ride at the same time". The Haunted Swing The Haunted Swing was a notable ride during 1894 in the San Francisco Chronicle. It was said to have caused riders to pray to the biblical saint of their choosing, as most were baffled by how the ride managed to appear to make the room spin 360-degrees vertically. Although the room surrounding the riders caused the riders to feel as though they were spinning, they actually never left a stationary position; the room in which the riders sat spun on an axis, creating the illusion. Mining Camp The Mining Camp was one of the most unique and popular exhibits in the fair. It was located on the North slope of Strawberry Hill and cost around $2,500 to construct. The Mining Camp provided food, games, and an interpretation of what life was like for California miners in 1849. Complete with a painted backdrop of Mount Shasta, the camp and many attractions such as a stagecoach which was held up daily by bandits, gambling tables, a dance hall, saloon, and gold-panning sluices. A man with a banjo sat on top of the stagecoach top. When the coach would stop, he would start to play "The Days of '49" and workers in the Mining Camp would join in during the chorus of "the days of old, the days of gold, the days of '49." The Mining Camp also housed replica cabins of famous California figures, such as American industrialist John W. Mackay, California senator George C. Perkins, and writer Mark Twain. The exhibit cost visitors an extra 25 cents to see, almost half of the 55-cent entry fee to the fair. The '49 Dance Hall and the '49 Theatre were extensions of the exhibit. Each cost an additional 25 cents to enter. The Camp even had its own newspaper called