American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1851, 1851-08-09

< 4E .-# - AAC ~ INCSIOhs afss8 rt4t
EVANSVILLE, ALLEGANY Co., Nd,
II august 8, 1851.
To the Editors of the american Ielegraph
GENTLEMEN: greet from this mountain re-
gion your delightful little sheet, the american
Telegraph. You know left the metropolis ON
the 21st Of last month. had a delightful trip
up the canal with my friend, Capt Reuben r.
Clark, of the steam tow-boat Virginia. We
were six days in coming to Cumberland, but
they were days Of pleasure to me- for / found
the captain one of the best Of men, and his
crew, seventeen in number, polite, accemmo-
dating, and clever. With such company, and
the beautiful scenery Of the Potomac, how could
be otherwise than pleased. stayed in Cum
berland two days, which gave me an opportu-
nifty of viewing all the works connected with the
Allegany coal trade, which is not yet one-tenth
developed. With the improvements recon-
mended by the talented engineer, Mr.. Fisk, the
canal will be able to accommodate o trade of a
million of tons the season "a and the advantages
to this upper region by the return cargoes will
be immense. The water was very low as we
came up, which retarded us good deal, having
five boats in tow. H,A3- .G&
could give you description of all the beau
ties of art and nature that l saw on my jour
ney, but it would occupy too much space. If
you could only take time to come up the canal
know you would be pleased; and it costs 50
little They have just started q packet line to
run between Georgetown and Cumberland ! fare
through, with good boarding, $4.10. When
compared with the high charges of the. Balti-
more g. Ohio Railroad to Washington, ($8, 90 J
the canal is by far the most desirable route. /
travelled leisurely up the National road to my
destination on the Youghiogany river, which
reached last Sabbath, and spent the day in the
pleasant village of Selbysport, where attended
large Sabbath school in the morning and
church in the afternoon. lnfI b
The Alleganians are now in the height of
their hay and oat harvest, both Of which are
pretty good, Notwithstanding the long drought
they have had. 1t has been raining nearly
week, and we begin to wish it would clear away.
We have now had a bountiful supply; indeed,
in one case, some Of our people above and below
us had little too much, in the shape Of tor
nado, such as has never been seen in this
county before, by even /" the oldest inhabitant. "
seen its effects from Frostburg to Smithheld, in
the prostration Of trees, houses, and fences.
have heard of it as far as Uniontown, Pa. Kind
Providence seems to have directed the "whirl-
wind and the storm" in this case to the preser-
vation of life and limb, for have not heard yet
of any lives being lost. 1t followed pretty much
the direction of the National road, first on the
right and then on the left, leaving out the vii
lagos of Smithfeld, Petersburg, Keyser's Ridge,
Grantsyille, Little Crossings, and Frostburg.
| crossed over portion of the tornado in com
ing from Selbysport to Keyser's Ridge the other
day, and it was truly awful to look at. Almost
every tree in width of three quarters of a
mile was PROSTATE, and had to climb over and
under them as could. In that place am sure
it would take fifty men two or three days to
clear out the road. There has been great
destruction of valuable timber. %
l win now say some little about the county l
have come to take up my residence in. The
lands are first-rate for all kinds Of produce ex-
cept corn, which does not grow 80 large or
abundantly as below the mountains; but it is
fine for wheat oats, rye, buckwheat potatoes,
and tobacco We have the finest water in the
world, and o plenty of it; you scarcely see a
house without its fine spring near it, and run
ming through fine milk-house. Here, you
may well imagine, we get the finest milk and
butter. Indeed, we have every comfort here
that the heart could wish; and the nights, oh !!
it is a luxury to sleep here. Sometimes we have
to draw blanket or two over us to make us
warm enough to be comfortable. Then we have
such beautiful mountain scenery, such fine
mountain trout and game, of all descriptions !;
and then We live so cheap: only think, with
all these advantages, that you can board here,
in any of the villages, for from one dollar and
fifty cents to two dollars o week. wonder
that our city friends, instead of going to those
costly fashionable watering-places do not come
up here and enjoy themselves. Indeed they
can have the advantage Of mineral water too,
for there is 6rst-rate mineral spring near
Selbysport, equally as good in my Judgment as
any ofthc White Sulphur Springs in the county,
and as easy of access / wish you had time to
come up and judge for yourselves; you would
be pleased, / know and then the country would
be benefited by your graphic pen. I had
almost forgotten to tell you that when ar
rived at Selbysport found q large lot of your
daily at the post Office 1t was o real treat to
me. | read them over and over with great
gusto. Yours, truly, II. A. Is.
The CRoPs.--Tbe prospect of the crops
throughout the United States is generally ex-
cellent. OF cotton there is little doubt that the
yield win be very large; the lowest estimate al
the South is now three million bales There are
complaints from some sections in regard to corr
md tobacco, and it may be that these staples
win fall somewhat short Of an average Will
these exceptions, every thing promises wsll