The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-11-20
ALONG THE LINE NORTHWEST.
Railroad from Pittsburgh TO New BrishtOn-River
scenery--Grace Greenwood The esprit Rap
pinss--CamaI Packeting esedom-Ravenna to
Cleyeland-NortheasteTnO Ohio.

CLEVELAND. NoremJer 5. Is!

pinys,-CanaI Packeting sedom-Ravenna to
CIeyeIand-Northeastern Ohio.
CLEVELAND. NoremJer 5. 1851.
Mr.. EDITOR have not seen much said. of
late. about the connection between the Ohio
river and Lake Erie. by means Of a railroad
from Pittsburgh to Cleveland Yet such con-
nection is now Just on the eve of completion.
with the exception of link of about forty-fve
miles. which will for time be supplied by
line of steamers running between Wellsville on
the Ohio and the old town OF Beaver.
A few days ago passed from Pittsburgh to
New Brighton on one of the best pieces of rail-
way in the United States--starting ut 10 o'clock
in the morning. and making the distance, about
forty miles by 10 notwithstanding numerous
stoppings This part of the connection. above
named, was the entire distance, with the ex-
ception of q couple of miles on the right hand
of the Ohio and affords some extremely beaut-
full views of Western river scenery.
Dining ut O'Clock p NJ. at 2 took the
canal packet for Warren. Chic, and for the
space of eighteen hours day and night was
"cabined, cribbed, confined in as disagreeable
a hole as it has ever been my lot to sit stand
or lie in. This passage is made endurable
while daylight lasts, by some wild and more
very quiet and beautiful scenery on the Beaver
and Mahoning rivers which were slackwatered
to make the canal. Leaving the packet be-
tween eight and nine o'clock the next morning
six hours of slow and disagreeable staging
through very fine country. brought me to
Rayenna, Ohio-a distance of twenty-five miles
FYoss, this place 81 Cleveland passed pyer an
other excellent piece OF tle raiwsy cG;;;sc, 5977
,,pvrN in,riy se,ghf iailes ar az g ~.e' ID -
me wiro,c nS,t, IRON Y ,s-sr,tyn NJ <'crrlrNru
was small fraction under hinV hours,
Hereafter let no man who is IN hurry and
values his comfort take this route unless he
wishes to have a foretaste Of purgatOry But
suppose this warning is now needless, as ten
days more. according to the statements made
here will complete the railway to within twenty
miles Of the Ohio river, and thirty DAYS after
that carry it to Wellsvile 1t is then in
tended to make the entire distance between
Pittsburgh and Cleveland in fourteen or fifteen
hours, the whole way by railroad except the link
from Wellsvlle to Beaver or. when water is
abundant in the river, from Welsville to Pitts
burgh About the same time the entire line of
the Pennsylvania railroad liz to be completed
with the exception of some twenty miles Rapid
and excellent railroad communication will then
lack but about sixty miles of being complete
| city of the West CINCINNATI. to Washington.
Philadelphia New York, Boston. &c. Drouth
| may empty the channel of the Ohio therefore
| IA thing nearly accomplished any time within
the past five or six months. and cold weather
stop the navigation of the Lakes. but still the
great tide of travel, and trade will ebb and flow
between the East and the West by means of
those wonderful iron channels which the skill
and the energy of man have made across the
plains, and over and around the mountains of
our vast country
Having a couple of hours on my hands ut
New Brighton, could not do less than hunt up
my fair friend, and the literary public's prime
iavorite, GRACE GREENWOOD. The task was n
| pleasant one and its pnrpnss accomplished
| In an old family mansion on the very bank o.
the Beaver, with what was originally broad
ing hills, crowned with aiestic trees now gor
geous in their rich and varied autumn livery
in front | found the brilliant and mpulsv,
child of genius, engaged in her accustomed avo
cations. She had recently dispatched to hei
publishers in Boston the last sheets Of q new
series not new edition. of Greenwood
Leaves and was then giving the finishing
touches to a new juvenile book for the coming
|
hood The first series Of Greenwood Leaves
had excellences which will make the second
much sought after and the History OF My
Pets, published for the Christmas holydays last
season. cannot have failed TO sharpen the appe-
tites of all the little folks in the country for the
Z" RecollectiOns that are now flowing from the
same genial and captivating source.
GRACE has a bcfitting home, and certainly
\ Il. "A tta of
literature and the fruits of affection Wash
ington circles will be glad to hear that she in
tends to spend at least "a part Of the present
winter in the National Metropolis And while
mentioning this fact it may not be improper to
allude to a rumor hear, to the effect that the
gifted ALICE CAREY Of Cincinnati, is also to be
the guest of one of your citizens during the
second month"; and perhaps the third of the
next session of Congress. commend Miss
Carey to your particular attention for regard
her rs one of the most remarkable women that
our country has yet produced.
All Along the Line Northwest 80 far in
towns and cities on board canal boats. in rail-
road cars and stages, find spirit rappngs"
forming n prominent topic of conversation.
Sensible people express surprise that tins
strange dcusion has lived NO long but when
did not delusion live and grow on newspaper
paragraphs, travellers gossip, and tea-table
wondcrmcnt! The newspapers, in especial,
gave "a tremendous impulse to Morn0nism !;
and but for them Millerism or " Second Ad-
ycntism would have died out years before it
did have heard loud stories about these
kn0ckings' in several places since ] left
home. but the loudest Of all saluted my ncred-
ulOus ears in New Brighton. Mr.. c. Chaun-
cey Burrs and some Of the Buffalo doctors pro-
fess TO have discovered in what the "impos-
ture of the spirit rappings consists and un-
dertake to produce the same sounds by work
ing the bones of their knee joints, toe; joints,
&c. But what will they do when they are
called upon to make with their joints noises as
loud as those produced by the blow OF an or
binary wooden mallct struck with half mans
might on the floor, against doors and upon
partitions If what heard ON the banks OF
the beautiful Beaver be true, the spirits of New
Brighton have in. store for them some such
herculean y a this. Nous verrons,' as your
quondam ncighbor Of the Union was in the
habit Of saying slang syne.'
This has been my first visit to l'rumbnl ana
Portage counties Warren and Rayenna are
both beautiful towns, and the latter seems to
be fast putting on city airs u -inee the iron
horse first snorted through her streets few
weeks ago. There il much very beautiful
farming land in all this part Of Ohio, and
general appearance Of thrift. Many OF the
farms are stocked with the finest neat cattle,
and large Aocks Of sheep frequently meet the
eve. These are the evidences Of the two great
siaples-cheese and wool-that have done 80
much towards enrichihg the people OF tins re-
gion. They are great people let him who
will say to the contrary
Yours, &c, CURREsrE CALAMo'
PITTsBURG, Non. 10, 1851.