The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-05-16
from tsie E'i:'e OF the chesapeake ant.
Ohio Railroad.
Correspondence III tho Richmond D,g,,tr,,
L 4

-" -'--'~ w ahN y heSstpGGke ana
Ohio Railroad.
Correspondence III tho Richmond DISPATCH.
New RIVER, May 8, 1872.
As You have had descriptions of n cv river
GENERALLY very often i'm your columns in the
last few weeks. | will give YOU few
locals. ! Will jll"t mention them, so a.
to induce >"nr oi your newspaper CORE
rp1ndcnis IL MAX" Il trip through here and
write them up. One jigii la> been left llnno-
iiced heretofore, ard which is one OF the
principal attractions 10 sight-sccrS. iS Rich
lnond's falls. They are about iifty-two miles
west of White sulphur Springs and one mile
east Of tie rnterpri-ing town OF New Rich
mond. Summers county -four ho,lScS--thrce
of them har-roolnsl The falls are pcrpcn-
dictllar, and about fifteen feet in height. New
river is loo feet wide immediately above,
but contracts rapidly until. Il few hundred
feet below the falls, it is only about 800 feet
in width. But what it seems 10 have lost In
breadth is made np by Increased depth and
velocity OF current.
As Ia Il description of ihc falls themselves,
| don't know of anything" more pertinent
than the description of 1.-THE Caiaracts hi
Lodi,' but if yuIi can imagine river of
eight hundred eet average width and rlGl
feet depth, with Il tall Of fifty feet 10 the
mile, tjl>t ut this point. but the river
through il course alon" the route Of the rail-
road has an average f:,l! nf twenty feet to the
lnllco rushing over Il very irregular pre-
cipirc fifteen feet high into Il circular basin
with al op"nin. 81 only three hundred feet
10 discharge lis contents. YOU have some iit"a
| of them; but they have to be seen to be ap-
prccialcd. 30, either come yourselves or
send II photographer. tor ii is worth seeing.
HE Watcr-pnWcr, Of course. is enormous
Ii has Teen utilized for years Oh the western
| side, but merely for driving IL small gr>.-
| mill. The other side tcistcrnl Wonld have
been. suppose. but the elm il 80 c!n>,. 10
| The river that there is not room for even the
| ID 10y IL Mills they have here but the cs-
| lcrpll>r and Ingenuity Of this age will devise
some means Of liliZim" the immense power.
! II is owned 10y Mr.. Howell Fisher, of Penn
| Sylvana. and il Is rllmorcd that he will have
| Il roling-lnill there upon completion of the
road. The western side was bought by some
| New York capitalists for $4,000 cash about
two years ago.
There are Il great many places of interest
| that would amply repay the artist for the
| lard>lrp~ of :; trip through this wild cou!l-
Try. .tS the mountains about >trctrhci' ;
| Neck tunnel: Dowdy Fails, forty feet high
and views OF the river itself, especially one
| from the western portal of the tlll!mcl-lt Is
| truly beautiful sheet Of water. We have
named it Lake Como. and think il rivals it.
namr.akt At this season every few hun.
tlrrd yards Vol, would meet cascades aud
waterfalls ~ twenty and thirty, and very
often fifty and sixty. lee; III height, that III
| themselves rtlrtN l"tl Itr your trip. Ii l.
| truly Will country. and seems only lit Tor
| HE Wild. al-riyilizrd beings That inlE,hit it.
| But it Is capable Of improvement, and some
day. when people have gotten tired OF SIGHT
seeing, we will see the slopes covered with
vineyards and orchards appleSand peaches.
For The latter especially the climate seems
| favorable; and, is ii is very dry in Summer,
wet t.a0ngh IN winter, thought should tlIinl;
| that grapes could he cultivated prOtitably
In this valley there l. IN average ot ri least
-four decree. higher during the whole ycal
than the mountains and the surrounding
country. The river bottoms, where Their,
are any, are OF loamy Sand--not rich, Il,
one would expect. being deposits OF thu
riycr--but it >cclus that New ri, cr lia-n';
time to deposit anything else than sand
and gravel. which does very we'll u Il basis
provided YOU don't have TOO much Of it, bul
doesn't produce 80 we'll. Proper cult
|
tent that they are used east of the Blu,
RIDGE would make this country more pro.
d,lctivc than land at least about llanoycr
Junction. The few hills of corn that II,
planted and left To themselves to grow are nnl
fair samples of what could be attained by sys
lematic farming They just skim over the
ground with their little one-horse plougll'
lonlv they use steer instead of horse
| with a single furrow, Just to loosen enough
dirt to cover up the corn; and great MANY
who can't even afford the steer, use nothing
but hoes, merely digging holes TO drop then
seed inta. and leaving it to grow or not, just
- ii happens.
The work OH this uhc first New River
division is progressing very tavorbly. The
contractors generally are pushing their see
tons, looking to III early completion, proln'
bIy, and it is thought quite possible, some
time in August. Most of the heavy cuts and
ills have been worked on for some time, and
are in Il fair way OF completion. The tlln
url~: $trctchcr's Neck tunnel, 900 feet
lon9-thcrc only REMAINS $40 feet OF bottom
ing 10 he taken ont and Richmond's Falls
t,mc. Il small tunnel through the cliff at the
falls OF same name, 2Gj feet long, and through
Il very hard gray sandstone, pronounced by
4 great maly To he harder tlmn the rock
through which Lewis tunnel is driven. The
heading 1T the western end was commenced
last week. 1t vii! be the last work finished
on the division, it is thought. However, the
contractors, McSsrs. ID. Shalahan Il Co.,
seem to think they will be able to keep ont
Of the locomotives way laying track. hear
there only remains 400 feet OF heading i'll
Bic Bend tunnel to be driven yet, and that
they seem to have little doubt IL to finishing
i'm time. We look forward to ride to civil
| izntimI in AlIcII,I. y,