Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1861-03-13
From the Baltimore American.
A BOND OF UNION.

l. The historian Bancroft calls Baltimore
er Cincinnati, and st. Louis ''the triad of Gil
l. les which are the fortresses of the Union
D. the breakwaters against which the wave
d of sedition shall dash, only to be drive
a back" If this be 50, how important
D. their position among the cities of the earth
h how cherished place should they hold il
IT the hearts of those who love the Union ou
IS fathers formed. and how useful and neces
= sary must be the great modern Highways
# that bind them together in commerce, art
o and friendship. OF these highways, tht
c chief, the pioneer and the great original
:, from the necessities of trade created BY
!, which others have sp-rng, is the Baltimor'
!, and Ohio Railway. One Gho intends pass
: ing over it, from east to west, should first
: read IIving's account of Washingtcn's last
e journey to the West through the witter-
4 ness; how he crossed the Alleghanies then
seemingly almost impossible, by fatigue
1 marches, how he bivouacked in the wilder
ness, and how, after painful and tedio US
journey which none but a sturdy woods
J man could have accomplished, he at last
reached the waters of La Belle Riciere.
After reading this, the traveller can bet
, ter appreciate the greatness of the line of
railroad that now connects the waters of
the Chesapeake and the Ohio, and with IN
surpassed regularity, speed and safety,
transports passengers and freight to the ex-
tent of over s., 900, 900 of annual revenue,
between those distant points, over stipend
Gus obstacles of mountain and river that
have required for their conquest the high
est and most unusual scientific genius
Our estimate of this work will be increas-
ed when We consider that it was begun by
the city of Baltimore when her entire real
and personal property was worth but S29,-
100000, and with long deferred and In
adequate aid from the small State of Ma
ryland, was finished at cost of over S}I,-
100000. The traveller who observes the
careful attention of the conductors, engine
men and roadnen on the line, the system
of night and day watching the regular
movement of the trains, and the operation
of the telegraph line co-extensive with the
road, and built and used only by the rail
road company; can understand how it is
that since the opening of the road to the
Ohio in 1853, no accident to the trains has
occurred by which a passenger has been
killel or seriously injured. Passing over
or near the route of the old national road,
begun by Jefferson and finished chiefly by
the efforts of Clay, it connects at the Ohio
by ferry, with the Ohio Central railroad,
which also runs nearly on the line of the
national road beyond the Ohio, and thus
unites Wheeling with the West. 1t forms
another connection with Cincinnati by ;
means of the Northwestern Virginia road, {
which, leavin5 the main stem at Grafton,
connects at Parkersburg with the Marietta
and Cincinnati road. {
Apart from the great usefulness, and in
deed the necessity of the Baltimore and
Ohio road, as a means Of communication
with the Ohio, and with the rich country &
beyond, it presents unequalled attractions s
to the tourist in the remarkable beauty
and sublimity Of the scenery along its
route. Engaging first, as some one has
facetiously said, in a sort of scientific chase
after the headwaters of the Potomac, it
passes through the historically interesting
country bordering on that river, glides be- t
tween the towering cliffs at Harper's Fer
ry, where spreads out before the admiring {
eye view that Jefferson thought it worth
a voyage across the Atlantic to see, and {
hurries onward past Cumberland, to en- |
counter the difficulties presented by the ri
sing country that lies beyond. At Savage
river the road is carried more than four t
teen miles up a continuous grade of one I
hundred and sixteen feet to the mile. A C
few miles further, between Altamout and !
Oakland, is the spot where the mountain d
streams divide, flowing on one side to the t
Atlantic, and on the other to the Gulf of C
Mexico. The solitude of this region, beau b
tiful as it is with rich hemlocks and frs
and thick -lcaved laurel, and grand with its '
roar of torrents, rushing over rocky beds, d
and with the sOmbre, gloomy mountain t
wall. is most impressive. I
At Rowlesburg begins the celebrated v
Cheat River region, which rivals the noun v
tains, lakes and glens of Scotland and I
Switzerland. For miles the train runs a. |
long the steep mountain side, gliding over
and under projecting cliffs-now hemmed a
in on all sides, with no visible or appar. Ii
emily possible outlet; and now. at a turn
of the road, presenting a view of an ex- i
tended valley, lying hundreds of feet be- t
low, traversed by dark river beside which a
slopes rise from the waters
edge to the high, precipitOus peaks above l
And thus for many miles, the eye is de- t
lighted with glorious scenes that are rem c
dered the more attractive by the vast eff i
forts of human energy and skill by which e
they arc reached. Gliding swiftly over
the bridges and viaducts, crossing streams t
and ravines at a fearful height, the travel f
ler's enjoyment is heightened by the pleas v
urable excitement springing from a con- o
sciousness of security even amid terrific n
dangers, amid which he would seem to be o
wholly ''Out of humanity's reach" The t
beauty and magni6cence of the road seem C
to be in proportion to its difficulties, which i
are the greatest between Piedmont and the
KiDgwood Tunnel, where, through SUBJ n
terranean pass of four thousand one hun Ii
ired feet, the road finally leaves the noun n
-ains. Fl
The Baltimore and Ohio road stands as Il
l noble monument of the enterprise of Bal Ii
.imore, and the skill of the great engineer, "
Latrobe. May it long remain as a firm o.
bond of commercial, social and political S
Union h
A beautiful thought is suggested in the = I
in the grave, will not =