Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1860-08-04

SKETCHES OF SUMNER TRAVEL.

On leaving Cameron we seem fairly to be
getting below the region of mountain spu-s,
larger expanses of titled lands being constantly
In sight, cultivated, too, evidently by people Of
much more means than their brethren adjoining
them on the east as their Improvements indicate.
the latter evidently only essaying to grow food
and provender necessary to sustain a very sparse
population. Just before reaching MoundsvilIe,
the valley of Grave creek, through which we
have been coursing for some miles, expands into
lovely country teeming with the fruits of agri.
cultural industry. A view up the valley of one
Of the three creeks that come together there is
exceedingly beautiful, there being more than
thousand acres under luxuriant cultivation in
sight, interpreted with Improvements constructed
as well as one sees east Of the Blue Ridge The
point Of most interest about Moundsvlle SITUATED
at the junction Of Valley creek with the Ohio)
Is the famous Indian or ante-American- Indian
mound-the only one have ever heard of located
In Virginia. 1t rises In circular form fifty odd
feet above the level Of the plain on which 1t
stands, and at an angle from the plain Of perhaps
forty-fve degrees, and Is truncated at the top.
On Its sides stand trees that have been growing
there more than four hundred years, as the annual
rings in their bark testify. Some years since, an
excavation into IL revealed tomb constructed of
the rough, fat, loose stone of the creeks bottom
containing huge human skeleton, the tomb
itself being surrounded by a great quantity of
human bones. The presence Of copper ornaments
inferred with the skeleton in the tomb indicates
that It's origin was before the supremacy of the
present race Of American Indians In the valley of
the Ohio, for on the discovery Of the continent
they were unacquainted with the use Of that
metal. E.sf fsFr
Soon we are at Benwood, having coursed along
-. A 49, l. Il
saw the sign of virglnia's valuable northwes-
ern manufacturing, In the smoking and glowing
tall chimney stacks stretching thence up the river
four miles, to Wheeling. Everything about Ben.
wood indicates to the uninitiated that It Is an old
village; which is not so, It's oldest house having
been built within the last eight years The ashes
of the bituminous coal, used here for every con-
ceivable burning purpose, in some form or other,
imparts this superannuated, or rather dingy ap-
pearance, to all on which II falls, even to the
persons Of the denizens of the towns and villages
where it is thus used. At Benwood we parted
from those Of our travelling companions destn ned
for Columbus and Cincinnati, who crossed the
river on ferry boat, to Belle Air; while |
wended my way up to Wheeling, to remain over
until this Tuesday, morning.
| cannot part with the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad without expressing my admiration of
the completeness of all the companys arrange
ments for the comfort and safety of the hundreds
of thousands of passengers 1t transports annually
over the long line Of its work NV trip from
Baltimore to Wheeling was made up to the very
minute of the time table at each succeeding
station Though fifty trains apparently were met
or passed, there was no confusion anywhere: and
from the conductors down to the brakemen. all
employed about the trains seemed to vie with
each other In civility and obligng courtesy to all
the passengersNpoints of more importance to the
comfort Of the traveller than one can imagine who
does not travel much, and at times on routes
where the discipline is not such as to insure
patience and civility upon all connected with the
service.
At Benwood, where we struck the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroads connections with the western
roads, we first see, as remarked above, the great
manufacturing establishments Of western Viz
GINA; commencing at that point and extending
up the river some six miles, to the northern
Of the corporation Of Wheeling, so
famous OF late years for its production of nails
and hundred other articles Of cast and mallea BILE
ron ware, paper, glass, crockery, &c The town
now contains about 10000 population, and wears
rs dingy an appearance as Pittsburg-or, indeed |
England the fuel used i'm its
multitude Of factories and workshops, as well as
N its dwellings, being almost entirely bituminous
coal. hundred years ago IL was a colonial |
frontier post. Fifty years ago II was the depot
FOR the emigration into the Ohio valley. Then
the journey from New York, Philadelphia, or
Baltimore, to Wheeling, was almost az much of
an undertaking as trip across the plains to Cali
fornia is now Subsequently II has been one of
the great centers Of the at-boat commerce of the
Ohio and Mississippi valleys still later, as i'm
portant center of the steamboat trade of those
valleys; and now II is the center of the great
travel and trade between Baltimore and the West
which, with what 1t retains Of the boating bust.
ness Of the valleys mentioned above, pays better,
apPrehend, than any trade IL has enjoyed in the
Of its existence. The superstructure of
the original Wheeling suspension bridge over the
Ohio here, that occupied so much of the time of
the federal courts Of Virginia and the Supreme
Court of the United Ststes some years since, blew
over one day, and the company have constructed
a much wider and more substantial one, opened
Tor the use of vehicles to-day (JuIy3 for the first
Time noble one Ii is-second only to the super.
structure OF the celebrated suspension bridge over
the Niagara river just below the falls
| necessarily remained all night at Wheeling
where devoted some hours to obtaining useful
information concerning the city's business and
49, VI "Sc,cih laying lHme0l-
stely around it-rich In bituminous shaIe and
coal-the means Of working up the minerals and
products Of even Missouri and Wisconsin, which
w hesling 10 now doing annually to the extent of
millions Of dollars worth. To our former fellow
citizen Of Washington, Mr.. J. B. Ford, the chief
agent Of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Com
pany here, who has become the man of enterprise.
energy, and success In this community, / am
much indebted for courtesy while here and solid
information which few know better how to appre-
ciate than myself. Before bidding Wheeling
good-ey, may mention that a company here are
extracting oil from bituminous shale by newly.
discovered process, which reduces the cost of
making the crude oil from I2K to cents per
gallon, and besides leaves residuum of pound
Of parraPhine to the gallon of oil extracted; and
also valuable white, green, brown, and blue pig
ments The works Of this company are already
decided success, and much excitement exists on
account Of that success, among the manufacturers
OF coal oil (crude) In all this valley in Pennsyl
vanis- Ohio, Virginia, and Kentucky; nearly all
OF whom are preparing to work upon the new
plan, which is the invention Of New York
chemist and refnef Of coal oils named Ad,ms