New-York tribune., 1871-10-10
WEST VIRGINIA.
BY CHARLES NoRDHoFF.-I.
A HORSEBACK JOURNEY THROUGH TIE WILL
DERNEES.

COLESMOUTH, West va, OepC' l0' ~ -
On the Ohio sdc Portsmouth to wyes III, ~
Vosfte Huntington, that mil Mt see WIKI Ai ~
they are on these Ohio bottom lands ,n,. 4.h
Thev are very moor farmers indeed. Tne i"nu = - -
the bottoms broad, snd the corn vs. 20 r,s Althv
but tue houses are small and mean INC w. n,oas,Sa
he harms di apidated, and altogether - - - aov
AID un,hriftv rcc1on RS l have seen !" ' -,
u :. ut so miles did not zee q single
80. - - doco,tlv.k kept farmstead ana TINS Ihouen
. =, ,ha farmers are reputed to De worm from
s1o aoo 70 $4,000 Most OF tne nou0o nv w
Io,hpnJincs placed very near tno lo'u' GU"
rounded with Hitter; and reine,n'oi 'u' os
a. cor,ep on the whole road the road iIsoI u Eo"u
sn ,,as are hulding the country roads, ana seem 70
,o,n =, very thoroughly, having cheap ana excel
lan. covering in the shngle which aoouhS on 'Ao noo
AZ the river Here and there on the miSuo' 'noo "o
ali Ukept vineyards in which the vines were usually
hut little higher than the weeds lnooeor N"e 20 1
little evidence Of thrift or cornfot On IA" 0
,I ,ood . and altogether It Is disheartening drive
Iton rbrh lies on the river, 50 miles above Ports
v,outb ia q hourishing town. devoted TO iron WORKS. Us
tt name denotes and having some welEept residences
."1 ~ a. Iarue and busy works. They complained here
~ te drouth which has indeed afflicted large tract OF
.ounry hereabouts, while In the East were suffering
ANN almost constant rains The wells dry, and the
frmers have was tod drive their stock 10 the river
n haul water for 1t.
Atthe ferry crossed to the new town Of Hunting
on which lies in Cabell County, West Virginia, and Is
Eoad &C. LOeu by the way, Is hereabous called Oaote
Huntington named suppose after the President Of the
railroad Mr. c. Huntington, stands few miles above
the mouth Of the Big Sandy and its northern limits join
the Of Guyandotte aud bounded by the Guyan
dotte River, usually called by the natives the 0uyan
promises grow rapidly into large and important
place. for 1t is at point the Ohio which steam
boats can always reach in low water. 1t Is as i
sad the Western terminus Of the Chesapeake and OHIO
Railroad and will thus be TO this section what Buffalo s to
the Eric and Central Roads tho country back Of It, both
South aud Southwest, is full Of very rich deposits OF
coal and iron through which the new Lexington and
Big Sandy Railroad is to run eastward 1t is con-
neoed with the enormously rich coal fields Of the great
KAaawha Valley; and the Chesapeake ami Ohio Com
parry now arranging, 20 heard for westward con-
nectons for their road through Ohio.
The town site was purchased by Railroad Company,
who building here, reservation OF so acres very
large and important shops They purchased Tor town
purposes 5000 acres which give about four miles OF river
front and two miles depth Of level bottom land lying
fortunately high enough to escape nundation, even in
the greatest rise of the Ohio and having perfect drain
age only to the Ohio, but to creek which skirts the
back of the town. On this plateau the Company have
laid broad streets and which they are
about TO pave with the gravel or shnge which
lines the river bank and makes excellent roadbed ss
saw on the other side They have already ive miles Of
streets graded, most Of which 80 feet wide they
have graded down the river bank and 1900 feet of nd
will be paved with stone this FAN aud they have
email army Of at work upon the machReshops,
winch are needed this eud OF their 100 miles OF road
Among the buildings which are now going mp is
round house. rOOmy enough to cOnaia 40 locomotives
brass and iron fOun ery, with the necessary pattern
shops; a largo blacksmith and boiler shop; shop to
build passenger one for painting and upholstery
large building for lfacturing freight cars and one
for repairs drying house for lumber &c. The car
shops are each feet long by feet span
three transfer tables, which more than half COM
pleted occupy 25J feet by 50 and the building for the
manufacture Of freight will hold 40 cars at one
time The lumber yard Is TO have space for 100000 feet
OF lumber conveniently piled aud water is to be led
nom springs in the adjoining hills to large reservoirs
There will for 400 and about 26 miles
Of iron in the town nits of which six are already
kaid, and in operation.
confess had no idoa until I these large works,
how great are the necessities OF one OF our great trunk
lines OF railroad for tho mlterai-the rolling stock
anno Of their business We travel, easily or uncom
fortaly as the case may be, by rail- without In either
case stopping tluk what nrnenee machine we are
HnR or how where is kept up the constant supply OF
locomotives and OF which avail ourselves at any
moment for vii It perhaps high price, until we
try, a I Jill from Portsmouth, ajourney in buggy
and fnd how III c more that costs and how much less
comfortable 1t is.
The work on the company's shops IN Huntington h"s
drawn thithcr largo number Of mechanics masohs car
penters brkmakcrs, blacksmiths, - well a. eamsters
and Qiarrymen. Most IL not all OF these, came rom
the ether side Of the Ohio. The West vlrginan is 80 far
have been able to thus far my jOurney-un-
Iss he he baek-a cumberer OF the earth He neither
tolls nor SPINS aud IL any lily were arrayed as he is II
would not lie u very popular flower.
Fortunately for the company aud for the future OF tne
low the n Il by yield great abundance OF nne
sandstone: clay for brick also found within the town
limits and the bricks used In the cOmpanys buildings
burned upon the reservation Of admirable hardness
and color With considerable population OF working
neu-therc must he nearly thousand men employed
now in different ways In the town-buildng is gong Oh
xapidly There is already hotel, and second and
larger one nearly done there are stores OF various
knds and there appears TO be busy commerce In town
ts All arc sold by the Company, with the stipulation
that they shall be built within year, and that no
nusance shall erected But houses still too few
for tRe popuatiOn and If any would put up one or
two hundred small neat cottages for mechanics, 1t
seemed to me no would make good speculation.
when the western division OF the Chesapeake and Ohio
Railroad IL completed it win be by next year, Hunt
in ton Il likely to become, among other things, the
great coal depot for the lower Ohio Pittsburgh now
aends 6OOOOOOo bushels Of cord down river, past the
mouth OF the KaDawha year, but as THIS coal goes
nv river and Is delayed by low water In SIMMER ana Dy
t n Winter there has been no STEADY supply TOT the
es and towns on tue Ohio; and coal often huc-
tuates enormously price, in Cincinnati Ishould say
that when the railroad can bring the coal Of the great
Kanawha Valley Huntington, there TO be stored ana
drawn from as wanted, this traffic will b"c"Te more reg
and the supply should be abundant at all times OF
the year. am amazed, when see the mlneHA1 "ealth
Of this region that II has been so long left undeVeopeu
Cark and south Of huntington gentleman, an expert
4, coal who had Just come up from there, told me
there are what he thought inexhaustible stores
of camel and spint cOal-the latter OF such laml
mated structIre that IL be used without cohIng
in the working Of iron Boyd Carter, aud Rowan
Counties in Kentucky, have large supplies o excellent