New-York tribune., 1872-07-17
TIE VIRGINIA SPRINGS.

NUMBERS AND VARIETY OF THE MlNLhAL sIhiNUo
MOUNTAIN CENERY-BATrLE-FILLDS AND
HISTORIC GROUND.
uRoM AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE.l
RAwLEl's SPRINGS, Rockingham Co., July
lit is singular how little is known of the Spas OF
Virginia ousde of the limits Of the State, especially at
the North Some OF ihem indeed, have been Vsteu Dy
citizens OF the Southern States for number OF years.
The "White Sulphur" of Groenbner County, the
Sweet" " Hot" Bookbridge Alum, ana Alie
gheny have each reputation not limited by state mes
and of late there an increasing number of Northern
tourists who run down TO Virginia in Summer ana
while there discover that though the famous ""mto
Sulphur may merit all that is said OF Its ecacy IL Is
far from being the only fount of value in the STATE OF
even its neighborhood But the mineral springs OF
Virginia are remarkable not only for their power ana
adaptation to a variety Of chronic ailments, but also
for the number of each kind You have sulphur springs
almost adj infnitim alum springs in different counties
thermal springs here and there, and any quantity Oh
chalybeae waters The most famous OF these last ana
much the frequented the "Sweet Springs ana
"sweet Chaybeate" distant few niles only from inc
White Sulphur. These very accessible, and are a
otnral easy seouenee TO the white Sulphur the val
ley i'm which they located tempting you by beauty
which even in West Virginia. may be called extraordi-
arv But while fashion very apt to have her way ABOUT
those matters and leads her votaTes every year 10 the
"White Sulphur and the Sweet science mas also hf
verdict to pronounce and medical science has long since
declared that of all the tonic and chaybeate waters
of the Old Dominion, the Rawley Spring OF KockhSha
County stands at the head 1t Is not only the most po"
erful ehalybeate OF all, but the mineral being helu III
solution in the form of carbonate ia SAID 10
be least Irritating aud the most ehclent form III
which iron can be administered But "me al
this was known long ago. still very few people ever went
TO Rawley's Spring. Jordan was hard ROAD 10 uaVe
in this case Even after the Chesapeake ana ONO ran
road had pierced the Blue Ridge and reached the Vaey
Of virginia the invalid had still to travel % miles from
I t,1arfy an
moro by the conveyance in order to reaeh MS ues
tination But in the last year so all this has Deen
changed The Manassas Gap Railroad, which connects
al Manassas Station near Ball Run, with the orange anu
Alexandria Railroad has not only been cOmpieeu up W
| the valley but has been pushed as far as harIison
| buro and YOU can now leave Washington or Bal
| timore early in the morning and get 10 ha"ley
in time for supper at s. With little more enort 10
make time the distance might be accomplished Dy OF
n M but it seemed to me as If our iron morse hau
drank in something Of the indolent, sleepy tone WIN
which our soft Summer sunshine had seemed 10 n'cst
all nature until we toO caught the Infection anu let
as if the train was going fast enough after all we
were however impatient as the cool DfeezeS Vi
the evening coming down from the Aeghenies began 10
quicken our tranquil pulses Il was glorious morning
on the day we quilted Washington and long before We
had entered upon the picturesque part OF
our tourney, the country, revived by recent rams
looked so smiling and so lovely in its fresh
1
how few and mean the dwellings, how seant were
the fences how very little land was in cultivation What
else could you expect The ruins Of chimney LETT standg
here and there told the story Here over TINS spot huhu
reds Of thousands Of fierce and angry men had Wresed
for be mastery in that death struggle which takes little
account of the fruits Of mans toll and the aceunuaohs
of industry. Here had camped in turn Beauregard'
Mcdowell Johnston, Mcclellan, Pope, Lee and Grant
here Stuart Mosby PeasOntOn had rOamed and ralded
| and here had been the camp fire, the rude,
good humored jest of the mess, here the fun loty'
! and recklessness which makes up the soldlei
e here read over with throbbing heart tho news from
home wife, and little ones and here after time shall
have softened down all the harsher nts OF the picture
tbe en OF poet and romancer shall take up the strange
moving story which near TO the actual event can
| now hardly realize.
The country up the Rapdan lay at the close OF the
war mere wreck, but here and there man is beginning
10 repair the rayages of war. Manassas Statoh or
Junction has actually prohted by what made so many
Others suffer; where stood one or two mean frames
10 mark the railway station, you now nave quite
village with air Of thrift and prosperity The battle
fields lie some miles away the northward but right here
was the intrenehed camp planned by Lee Whch Beau
regard laid out and all around were pitched the camps
OF secessia Here we changed and took the Ma
nassas Gan Railroad. The Orange Railroad from TINS
point runs Southwest TO Lynchburg; our course lay
something north OF west and this took us at each mile
more and more of the path Of war and ruin In
cavalry conflict and next the famous 'Ihoroughfare
Gan" through which Longstreet slowly struggled, when,
I'm se2 he went 10 JacsOn's relief must explain here
that this Gap is not opening in the Glue Ridge but in
what are here called the Bull Run Mountains. This
ia a ridge by no devoid Of beauty, but
far inferior TO the celebrated Blue Ridge, both in
grandeur and in picturesque outline 1t is the same
ridge as the Cotockton LOudon County and the south
west range OF mountains at Orange Court House, and
between these two ridges Of the Blue Ridge and Bull
Run Mountains you have breadth OF say 25 to 80 miles
wonderful in beauty and remarkable for health and
salubry the Piedmont section proper OF Virginia IL
s not equal in fertility 10 celebrated Valley of Ylr
na but is superior TO it in beauty Of scenery and per
hans also in climate The soil is red land the best
Mr. Jefferson declared, for wheat and Presidents" 1t
has produced four those officers each OF them better
than the present stock.
Our route as far Manassas Gap lay through the
upper part Of Fauduier County. We passed the
Blue Ridge at distance OF 43 miles from
Manassa station Dy grade so easy that
a traveller would hardly know he was crossing the
mountain. Here the red land was exchanged for rich
black loarn aud in the famous valley ef which
every one has heard so much Here despite a severe
dronth, all plenty and prosperity The valley
tion sprung largely from a German and scOch-lrieh
stock which, blending with the cavalier blood possesses
the qualities for success whether In In peace
Here very few slaves owned before the war; and
emancipation wrought but little change in the condition
of the people. As the war was over the young
men went resOlutely 10 work. the barns Sheridan
lad burned were rebuilt, the fences replaced, the
lands nut i'm grain, the stock replenished, until
now no tourist travelling through that valley could de-
Lect marks OF conflict almost Itanle In It's pro,
portions. The country is populous prosperous and
smlng There is enough and just enough OF hill and
SwoodIand mixed with field OF grain ana meadow 10
fIloase the eye and Ill the purse farmer living here
Ias his oins cast in pleasant places and though lands
much deafer here than In other portions OF the State,
db moi wonder so much that Immigration seems to
select the valley as its first point
Tere are plenty OF historic points, for here every
viifa I'd and town was the of conflict. And yet
\ now n0thing could be prettier than these country
yflages 9naif hidden ia the trees our lOcOnfUtye
seIwgf' Almost like an intruder amid these
| ,slsdesh 81 sylvan beauty The Shenandoah flowed