Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1865-11-09

CHARLEsToy, October 18th.
Let no man come into the Carolinas for
t pleasure trip, as he would go into Canada
/ or New England for the summer season.
Enjoyment he may find, but it will be OF an
entirely different sort-as can testify from
an experience of six weeks, and about fifteen
hundred miles travel
FROM RALEIGH 10 CHARLESTON.
The journey from Raleigh to Charleston
furnishes the two extremes Of Carolina rail-
+ road trayel-the best and the worst 1t is
ma lie over four different roads at an average
rate Of nine and three f0urths miles per
! hour, and an average cost of six and one
third cents per mile, exclusive of meals.
From Raleigh TO Goldsboro, distance of
forty-fve miles. over the North Carolina
road, the time IS three hours, and the fare
two dollars and a half This is the fastest
running, and the lowest fare in the two
states. The cars are barely comfortable
measured even by the Carolina standard.
From Goldsboro to Wilmington, over the
Wilmington and Weldon road, the distance
is eighty-three miles, the lime nine hours
and quarter, and the fare five dollars and
a half. The. is one train per day each way
and the one train from Goldsboro for the
South, leaves at the unfavorable hour Of %
p IN. II was made up Of half dozen freight
cars and one passenger car, and that nights
ride brought the maximum Of discomfort.
The one car was crowded. Six persons Of
some special quality Of blood, | suppose,
were allowed 70 occupy one seat each, III
spite Of the remOnstrances Of several other
persons Of gentlemanly bearing, and they
kept them in spite Of the curses loud and
deep Of various other persons, who had, at
least, paid full fare. / had q seat for about
twenty miles, and then gave it up to one
legged man--an ex-rebel soldier, presume,
and then sat and stood alternately, sharing
the end Of my yalise hour after hour with q
returning delegate to the State Convention.
Much Of our routeJ lay through low pine
barren. The night was cool, the air was
damp and penetrating, there was no fire in
The cars, and two Of the windows were miss
ing. We had been out but an hour or so,
when the water tank collapsed, and some
ten gallons of water thereafter coursed
up and down the floor, until it gradually
leaked through Sometime about midnight,
the brake Of one Of the freight ears dropped
down Fortunately none Of the cars were
4 thrown from the track.
The box of one wheel of our car was on
fire two or three times and kept hot most of
the night, so that the atmosphere of the car
was further mixed with the smell of burn
ing grease and packing. One box Of the So
called niger car" was also on fire several
times aud once the bottom of the car caught
FIRE, TO the alarm Of such Of the passengers
as had not fallen into worn ont sleep. FL
nally q couple Of hours before daylight, we
had 10 run the gauntlet of a mile of burning
pine woods There was no serious danger
Of fire to the train, but the black, pitchy
smoke is something do not care to encoun-
Ter again. And all the delights Of this nights
travel were furnished for FIVE dollars and
half each, payable in advance
From Wilmington TO Florence, by the Man
4 chester & Wilmington road, the distance ia
l07 miles, the schedule time is twelve hours
and the fare seven dollars and hall. Some
body by Bragg's order, having burned all
the bridges near Wilmington, the cars are
reached by a steamboat ride of eight miles
that is. If the steamboat is in working or
der, as il sometimes is. The morning when
about thirty of us tumbled out of bed at
FIVE O'clock, in a furious northeast rain
/ storm, and were hacked off TO the wharf at
an expense of two dollars per mile was one
/ Of its 'Fout of order" mornings, as we found
after shiveTing in the open warehouse for
an hour At the end Of that time, the Con-
ductor, alike ignorant and unmindful Of the
intentions Of the Superintendent, went off
to hreakfaat--followed by about a dozen of
his passengers. IN the course Of the morn
ing, there was great deal Of 't5vaiting on
the superintendent on the part of several
i Of the passengers. I believe he received
them courteously and took the matter coolly
II The assistant Superintendent on whom l
called, is a pleasant fellow, and carries ex-
celent cigars. | merely asked him if the
road was paying well, and being answered,
''so-so, went INTO to talk with him about
the price Of cotton and the value of negro
labor-cOncerning which he gave he gave
me great deal Of valuable information I
ppose-though unfortunately | don't re-
member what il was. However, the result
Of the united fretting of half dozed per-
sons was that the conductor and such of his
passengers as had an extra three dollars,
took hacks, crossed two ferries in two mis-
cradle old hatboats, drove two miles over
half submerged causeway, thro gil rice
swamp, another mile through pine barren,
and so found the engineer and the fireman
ready with the train. Instead Of starting at
six o'clock, we got off at half-pasi nine. By
one O'Clock we had made thirty-four miles
and there we stopped for dinner--that is
such Of US as took things philcsophieally
and had dollar in change We had clean
table-cloth--it was Monday--a cup Of rye
coffee and as much as twenty-five cents
worth OF rice, mutton and corn bread. We
ha no supper that day The company had
failed TO meet the last payday, and conse-
quently the negroes were off work for the
time being. There was much trouble at
every station for water. AT one place the
train negroes were two hours pumping wa
ter enough for a twelve miles run Finally
we stopped in a swamp and the hands and
] some Of The passengers formed bucket-line
4 and filled the old tender-box to the top.
That brought us below the line Of the strike,
and we reached Florence eight hours and a
half behind time. This was an exceptional
/ day. The train isn't usually more than
three or four hours late, and occasionally
not more that one. There are but two trains
on the road, and Of oeur = but one train per
day, Hardee paid his respects to the bridge
4 oven. the Great Pedee, and the crossing IS
effected by means Of great fat-boat, at a
point where the river is not more that fifty
or sixty yards wide The bridge is likely to
be rebuilt some time next year.
From Florence to Charleston by the North
i Eastern road thedistance is l03 miles, the
time nine and half hours, and the fare six
dollars. The road runs one freight train
and one passenger train per day each way,
and appears 10 be doing good business Its
bridge al the SaRtae river was burned by
panic stricken rebels, and the crossing is
made with the usual fat-boat- The rolling
stock appears to be in better condition than
on the road above.