The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1861-05-07
THE PERILS OF THE MIDDLE PASSAGE.
SOME ACCOUNT or JOURNEY ON FOOT TER0UeR

THE PERIIs OF THE MIDDLE PASSAGE.
SOME ACCOUNT or JOURNEY ON FOOT TERoueR
THE INTERIOR or VIRGINIA.
From the Wheeling Intellgencer, May FL
Mr. Coleman, foreman in the Touring mill Of Detwner
q Co., Of this city, has just returned from Abemars
tves reside, and As there many incidents connected
with the peculiar circumstances OF journey home over
OF feeling in the country through which he pased wa
have obtained from him come nj Of the pers anf
psrplexties along the route torn with other mssters
Mr. @. left here some Il zee with his family. q, .
visit TO Albemare and Y. sgo counties Re went
corruption, evervth oeug quiet then He stopped hr
Albenarle coul.. few days, when he went
stanton si'ss on the way. While At ssaunson '
despatch there from Ietcher TO stop tha
rnse Me sas. to hack to ss
He stayed there several days and the excitement go
higher every hour he concluded to leave ana try TO ges
back to Wheeling with his wife and children But this
easier thought Of than DONE he went 10 StAuntoT
and told that be could not got through Aexandra
and went back to Rockbridge county and conslted his
friends as to the proprety Of gong 70 Richmond and
nadvisabe as he would not be likely to obtain one, and
his friends advised him 10 stay there. he ccncudeda
oaVe ms a .nere Win aus s ana
eight days Of travel and peril he arrived safely here r
Wheeling He describes the country through which ha
passed as in state Of wild excitement crowds cole
ected and companies organizing at all the towing
through which nc passed. Everything along the ROUTE
secession, at least If there were any Union mem
they afraid to say anything He stopped
everywhere wherever he across half dozen mens
ami rybody catecbsed him 10 all nterrogators he
told the same story Of his travels-where Was from
and where he was going He passed through portions Of
Rockbridge, Bath, Highland Pendeton, Randolph, Bar
bour and Tay counties, VIII CHI brought him GrafoH
and the railroad, which enabled him to speedily termi.
nate his Journey The first place he was interrupted was
at Wi)amsve the first town he came TO after starting
from Lexington. Here he found crowd Of men drink
ing whiskey and trying to make up military company
Tho appearance OF stranger in their midst tho sig
nal for the crowd to gather around him. which they did,
and began to question him. every man acting the part
before Justice Of the Peace, and sort Of rand in
qusitoral powwow held to decide upon his Gate.
able and had told very straight story, and there waa
nothing suspicious about him. he should be allowed tu
proceed One rnfan standing by said that lie ought ta
be stopped-that he was a odd Yankee and Northern
spy" Mr.. c. assured them he was no Yankee, but
born in Virginia. and had lived in the State ali his life
that he lived in Wheeling, and they knew well he's
did the politics Of that city. The ruans then proceeded
to search him. but "a he had left all all his baggage and
clothes behind they nothing but one shirt be had
brought with him, and which they ma unanimously
stored Several proposed that he should be lodged i'm
jail Ider counsels finally prevailed, and he was per-
mitted TO proceed. After leaving Wiamsvle the next
morning he left the main road, and taking by road
through the mountains got lost and wandered about tg
ing a river he finally came into the road again,
not than three miles from where he had
delay he walked til about ten O'Clock that night when
he came upon lonely cabin in the mountains He called
out, and an old man with rifle in his hand came 70 tina
door and asked who there He answered, friend.
The old then out to the fense by the roadside
and asked what he wanted Mr. G. told him who he was,
and that he was weary and hungry and asked for nights
lodging. The old took him into the cabin, romsrk-
ing 'oris well for you that you told me who you was
when asked you WHO'S there, for don't allow any
10 pass by night by day without giving
count Of themselves. If you had not told me you was
friend Just you did should have shot you with
that rifle" The old fellow saId he had no arnin' he
couldn't read nor write, and he didn't know what
going on in the country. but he knew there was war;
and That htC HIS rnIn md mob Gu AQcnA
his cabin without submitting to it. The host,
though he a rough old specimen Of mauntaineer
breakfast would take but quarter his pay. lu
parting from his host in the morning he warned tn
oe cautious that 1t was dangerous travelling in that
country.
The next place Mr. c met with any serious interruption
was at Randolph county situated at the head Of
the Tygars Valley river Beverly is the county seat or
Randolph, and quite noted for its ruhianism. At thz
place Mr. G found crowd drunk and noisy, engaged in
getting up company They At once collected around
rogaores he told them straight tale q his travels VIVA
where else, without hesitation BE was much inter
ruped during the evening" except that he was quizzed
young man, who had arrived during the night from
6reenbrer and other counties TO the SOUTH ct the
them that they were ali in that ,Uo
that Virginia had formed alliance with the Southern
S%9nnfederacy and that Virginia was all rign. except
hoe, where there were nothing but ..black repubA-
cans" This was moro than Mr.. Coleman Wheeling
he accordingly looked tie stranger in the eye serny
Replica "Iha is not 50, SIR g You had better call
lar SAID the stranger who daguerrean artist
named misunderstanding iir O., who took up the
sugar bowl and prepared in Of emergency smash
sitting at the table, brought his DIST On the table with
ouch force as 10 make nng rattle and sung out to
Mr. e. "Nou stick to that, and Il stand by you.o Tha
andady nterercd AMI tho prospective quietod
Mr. G. not further troubled Beverly the drunken
roughs having sobered or and many of them dispersed
by morning The next day he walkei TO Phlpp the
miles and there, as at beverly, he found crowd of peo
pie half drunk and wild with exc tement over the war
Here again he obliged run the gauntlet Of
their nterrogatores. He stopped at of the hotels
and says the proprietor did all in his power protect him
from insult But the people here, all along the route,
were suspicious Of all Strangers and they here resored
to very Ingenious strasgcm TO entrap him. One set Of
OF himself, with all the particulars, and then 90
away and leave him. After a while another lot
HIS safety here undoubtedly owing the straight
forward uniformity with which he answered them
Payne the Cashier Of the there, who was acting an
chief nqustor-he and Mr. Payne having been raised
together in Albemaile county. When tbs discovery
was made having grown out Of series of nterroga-
ores Mr. Payne turned and said to the crowd Of lockers
on, "Boys, this man Is all right which was like
open sesame and enabled Mr. G. TO remain over night and
continue his journey uninterrupted.
Phipp was the last outpost Of the barbarans, and ON
alton he arrived at Grafton 10 safety aud was soon At
his jorrneys end, with vivid appreciation though, Of
what he had passed through He says that everywhere
qualified hatred contempt and the feeling uaiver-
sally was that they didn't care how soon the Panhandle
disso oil It's connection with the STATE bot the adjoining
counties Of the northwest they said shall do nothing OF
the kind
Mr.. G. says that in Albemarle and the surrounding
counties the general impression that there win DO
difficulty at all in capturing Washington. All they have
10 do they think % wait for JEFF Davis and his army,
which were expected In about ten days from the time he
left there Ne says there Is strong Union feeling in
that section, but they do not dare give IL v,cemost
Of them being poor terrorized by the planters
Many Union men are being driven out Prof Junkins, OF
the College a. Lexinston Rockbridge county, having
given expression 70 Union sentin had received
ng leave but had not done SO at the time NJ G. came
through there, although he had epdeavored So and
had had got as far as Alexandra. from which place be
had been compelled TO return with his family TO Lexng
ton. He will probably be imprisoned. He also states
that throughout hbemarle, Rockbridge and the sur
rounding counties, fsthere terrible apprehen-
sions OF revolt amorg the slaves. Two
had been arrested and lodged in Lexington jail who