Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1849-12-22
Geleetion
A Visit to Virginia.

A Visit to Virginia.
FROM JOS. ~BARKER's JouRNALIN THE PEOPLE
September 20. Thursday. We are now
at William's-Port, Virginia, just opposite
Marietta, Ohio. We arrived here last night,
about half past six. Our journey from Mac
Connelfs Vile hither, resembled very much
our Tuesdays journey from GAINESVILLE to
Mac'Connel's Vile, except that from
Mac'Connel's Vile to Beverley, about six
teen miles, the road left the river side, aud
took us through the interior OF the country.
The land was still rolling, and still rich.-
The crops were equal to what we had seen
in any other part of the State. Beverley is
a nice small place, with stores, saw-mills,
&C., ;situSRd on the Eastern Bank of the
Muskinghum. The Muskinghum is dam
med up at different points, to render it nav
igable for large vessels. At the termination
Of every dam are corn-mills, &C., driven by
the waters of the river, as they fall from the
higher into the lower dam. AT these points
the towns and villages naturally rise and
grow. Beverley is one of those points,
Lowell, ten miles lower down, is at another
such a point. At Lowell another river falls
into the Muskinghum, thus giving extra wa
ter power.
We reached Marietta just before dark, and
as we found there was a ferry boat across
the Ohio, we crossed, and spent the night in
VIRGINIA. We wanted to see what Virginia
was like. We wanted to see what compare
son the towns, the buildings, the %taverns, &c,
bore to the towns, the buildings, the %taverns,
&C., in Ohio. We had heard and read that
the difference between a slave State and q
free State was visible at once,-that on the
free side of the water every thing was thri-
wing and prosperous, and that oh the slave
side every thing was stagnant or declining.
And SO it seemed. William's-Port, on the
Virginia side of the water, contained about n
dozen houses; while Marietta, on the Ohio
side, contained about as many hundreds
We never found any difficulty in obtaining
accommodations in Ohio; whereas the first
night we spent in Virginia, we were obliged
to get our horse accommodated at one house,
and ourselves at another. One tavern had a
stable, but no bed while the other had a
bed, but no stable. The situation OH the
Virginia side seemed as good for n town, as
the situation on the Ohio aide. Virginia
too was the oldest State. 1t was settled
nearly two hundred years before Ohio. Yet
Ohio was alive and thriving; while Virginia
seemed asleep or dying.
We found provisions also much scarcer OH
the Virginia side, than on the Ohio side
In Ohio the people had their tables spread
with abundance. In Virginia our hostess
had to make apologies, and complain that
they had no market in Williams Port.
AS soon as it was known that we were
going to look at some lands in Virginia, q
gentleman came and urged us to spend a
few days in looking at some lands which he
had on sale. He assured us that he could
sell us lands q few miles back, for three dol
lars an acre, far better than the lands in the
district we were going to visit. He offered
to GIVE me u lot for the erection of a CLOTH
ACTOR on the river side. He said that
coal could be had for five cents a bushel. ]
told him l had pledged myself to visit Mr.
, O'Connor's lands, aud that rs my time wal
short, l must visit them first. He said he
would send inc a plan of his lands, and 4
> statement of his offers, by post; and thus
the matter rests. l expect to find a letteI
!, from him waiting for me at my brother
Samuel's on my return.
, We left Williams-Port about eight in tn
morning, for Sisterville. The road was tol
cradle for a short distance but was terrible
afterwards. You can form no idea either O
8 the r%oughness of the road, or the terriblenes
! Of the dangers which continually meet you
n Here the ground has given way, in conse
quence of the washing of the river below
and you must drive within an inch or w,
ofa precipice fifty or a hundred feet Deep
We did this some scores of times. At 9th
or times we had TO drive along the steel
a and, at times, almost perpendicular side of
a rocky hill, without a particle of fence L
y guard us from destruction. Every now all,
I then we had to cross bridges made of loos
s timbers, some of them rotten, without an,
protection of any kind M either side. w
were almost always ascending or descending
d steep hills; such hills as / never assembled o
descended before in any kind of conveyance
9 And tho sleeper the hill, the rougher tn
d road undertook. Here lay in our way n mas
of huge stones, through which it was impos
able To wind Dur way without jolting owe
them; so We went up, up, up; and thel
d down, down, down. You never saw sucl
y jumping and jolting since you were born.-
What in the world would Benjamin Stea,
have said if he had to ride 5 miles in Virgin
ia? We rode about five and thirty mile
: in this way, though occasionally tie roa
d was tolerable for a mile or two. We though
the roads in Ohio were bad enough; but W
: found them a great deal worse in Virginia.
! say at times w had huge blocks of stou
in the way. At other times we had oil
10 stumps of trees. The old part of tho roa,
:: in certain places, had fallen into the rive
d and we We're obliged to take bye|roads, ney