The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-04-30

thonsard and nine huhufea test lohe, sas sis
sn,,r miles. There are four or five other tln
neJs smaller than these, and at one or tMo
noi,,ts where it was proposed to make t.n.
,,els it has been found cheaper to THROW Ihe
face of the bluff into the river, nlakhs Z"
!" shelf" for the road-red.
LABOR, &c.
4 majority of the laborers arc negroes ironi
Easf Virginia. They are preferred 10 Wits,
hat work "a piyen to MI who apply: Latoteis
orc now mid one dollar and half ua!, puS
no the sprinp advances, wages VIII pe pu. "
IN = dollar and seventy-tive cents. J. MS -
,,c,, better than ever before fell TO the lou VI
VIRGINIA darkeys, and there is qnlte Iusn
8 n,n the other side of the mountain 10 @he
advantage Oh IT, nor;or RI the
r,ish as railroad laborers for several reasons.
'rbev do as much work, are more obealeh.'
d,;nt LOGS wbiskey, and have fewer rows. IL
i,r~c rang of Irish hborers never got aiohe
comfortably with less than two rows per PER
week. while among the negroes general ofoilS
and fights are unknown.
me contractors and bosses say that ties
nrcfcr negroes, "because you can cuss h'e
Ger" but whenever the attempt Is nlaae u
ab,,se white man, there is row..
The negroes are doing most OF the rough
heavy work. and many of them are shlIiea III
the Use of the hammer and trowel.
The p,asonry on the line OF the ROAD re-
fleet, credit upon all who engaged I'D us con,
str,,ction. 1t is the best ever saw, nu1 as e.!
do not claim to be an expert, VIII aao that
the testimony of experts Is Ill the s'ihe
direction. Cor q
An the culvertS and arches are maze lot d
double truck. The arch at Laurel creek,
which I believe, was built from plans draWrl
Nm Inv Engineer Cabell Breckenridge, Is IL
maquifcent piece Of Workmanship, me
arch i, sixty feet span, and cost over S2o,ooo.
The New.River bridge, at Miltons Ferry,
is nearly completed 1t is of iron, the mate
rial having been hauled from toalDuTg Oh
wagons. 1t rests on three piers ana TWO
,.h,itments, the cost of masonry alone Dellls
Sos. 0G0. The natives did not believe brlose
could Is built there, and awaited the mrs,
rise TO see i; 90 away; but the solid. rounded
nicrs are proof zen against the MAD current
Of New river. The sdtal cost OF the hrldsc
will be about 81 10000. ,...,,,s r.,
anplied to Assistant snH1r +. A. Ha-
ven tor some information about shs cilillate
Of New River Valley. which valley Is some
two hundred feet wide. and all taken UP bl
tho river. which information here transcrlUe
in his own language: ,,,
"Jljmate, Thirty-four snow storms last
winter. and plenty of rain. In summer arl
and hot rs hill: can cook an egg on the
rocks Pretty scenery in summer. spring,
and fall, but very desolate in winter,
There is an abundance of coal all through
here. Not only have common rtllnor-;ha
n good deal of ito substantHte, tiilS, p,i.
the evidence of the eyes rs well. But IL
.,yalens no attention. TO the natives IL Is
os common as rocks, and to all it has hereto
fore bcen as useless as rocks. The man WIN
a thousand acres of coal land was worse OH
than the man without any. for he haa tAes
TO nav. Coal is not of more value than ROCKS,
for there is no way of getting it OUT. ltcouio
no more be boatcd down the river than IL
could over the Falls of Niagara. NotnlnS-,
not even the most skitully constructed
fraess-can float upon the waters OF river
which, descend twenty feet to the mile ana IS
full of tnuklers. Nothing less than Jock
and dam every three thousand feet will ever
render New river navigable, and locks so
near together would amount to MI obstruc-
ton to navigation themselves: So no coaf
has ever gone out from here, and It IS, conse-
of no value. The railroad may take
It, but rs there is All abundance OH the fpe OF
the road along the kanawha nearer Hunting
ton, it is not likely the deposits here will be
disturbed in the near future.
There is good deal of pine, oak, poplar,
and other timber through here, but, like the
coal, it has been Of little value, owing to the
OF getting it away. A raft OF
saw-logs would be dashed to pieces in fifteen
on New river. Attempts have been
made to float them out sinsly, butneyer with
success. Altogether, New river is the most
useless stream of its size in the country. In
less the splendid water power which it at
fords can be utilized, New river will ever he
a roaring, dashing, foaming, picturesque
waste &C woter. H. r.