The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1865-12-21
Richmond and the surrounding
Country,

Richmond and the Surrounding
Country.
A correspondent, writing frcm. Rich
mond to The Baltimore Gazette, gives the.
following interesting. description of.that.
famous locality The picture will be
recognized by thousands whose weary
feet lave trodden every foot ofthe conn-
try described:
Richmond itsclfis now fast being re-
built, and thoro seems every prospect
that in few years the new town will
equal or surpass the old. But while this.
is true Of the city, the surrounding coun-
try presents far different. aspect: The
section lying below tho city must figure
SO largely in all future history, that q few
words about its present appearance may
not be unacceptable. Once out of Rich
mond and the change is apparent. It is /
a change from the hum ofbusiness tothe
silence ofadcserted country. The houses
stand out solitary and silent; no fences,
no gardens, few or no outhouses, no cat
tic, no fowls, and many wanting even the
thin streak of smoke from the chimney
that still proclaims them to be the habita-
tions ofmen. Almost as soon as you pass.
the outside limits of the city you uefnd a,
line Of fortifcations, and Tor many miles
you will rarely be out Of sight of some
kind.of work, from the strong battery
that frowns from tho crest OF the hill to-
thesmall pit fthegl;irmishorintho hollow
beneath. There seems to be somo efortto
rcoccupy the country, but only by the
poorer class OF people, who come from the
old battlefclds of war to begin a now
struggle with want, and famine.
The lands lying along the banks of the
james, SO celebrated for their richness,
are now but waste fields. There are but
few cases where the owners of the land
are found on them; few OF them have the
capital necessary to work their FARMS and
of those who have, very many have had
their houses destroyed, and will not con-
sent to inh;tbit the small and ill-built.
cabins the5aro able to put up. Thus the
land is smostly occupiedssby men paying
shares of the profits for tie use Of the
Hand, and they are unable to work any
large part Of the estate, but simply try
to earn a support for themselves. These
lands present, if possible, oven more
melancholy appearance than the back
country; there, 80 much of the countryfs
covered by pines, that but a small por-
ton can be seen, but on the river we sec
at once vast tracts ofopen land over
grown with the tall weeds and grass,
showing the richness oftho soil, which is
left untouched by the plowsharo. Ofyery
many of the old houses, the chimneys
are the only marks visible at any distance,
and thorc are very few cattle to mark the
presence OF thriving farmyards. This is.
not true Of this section alone, but of al
most all of Eastern Virginia. It is in sub
stance the picture of {; whole country.
and by no means an overdrawn one. It
is to be hoped that it will not long con
tinue SO. Tho people are trying, and if
aided or if notimpeded by the Govern
ment, will soon restore the country to a
better state Politically, they feel their
state to be that Of a defeated party; and,
. as they must live under the existing Gov
ornmcnt, they would do SO in good faith,
and in obedience to its laws. But ifthey
are to be again prosperous and contented,
they must have the countenance of the
Government, and not be interfercd with
Iby Radicals and Demagogues. a.
Josh. Billings says that eff Q man pro-
fesses to serve tho Lord, Ae likes to see
him do it when he measures onions as
well as when he shollers glory halleluycr.
Josh. Billings says: When q mans
dog deserts him on account of his power
4 ty, he can't go any lower down in this
world-not by land"
TenASson speaks of the angel of the
rainbow. That angel must bean arch