The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1873-08-02
,HEAGRICULTURAL EXCURSION.

THE EAGRICULTURAL EXCURSION.
Scenes Unsurpassed I'm tue Union---
New River-Geological Faets---Wesi
yirsinia and its Salt WoFks-Hunt-
fnSten Thrivf ng Town.
Correspondents Of the Philadelphia Press,
CINCINNATI, July 20. lS73.-From
White Sulphur Springs the agricultu'
lrists started for Cincinnati, under the
care Of Messrs. Fisk. Perry, Wbitcomb
a nd Hotchkiss, Of the Chesapeake and
Chic railroad. along the line recently
o pened along the New river. 1t has
b cen my good fortune to travel over the
leading lines in the Union, but on no
one anywhere go beautiful as this. It
is not only beautiful, but the whole
route is succession of the grandest
b eauties. The road first trsverses the
IGreenbrier region, one OF the most
fertile districts in the State, answering
| 10 the blue grass region in Kentucky,
the scenery along which reminds one
of the Juniats portion OF the Pennsyl-
vania railroad. On reaching New river
we 20 some 60 miles along one OF the
MOST RAPID RIVERS IN THE COUNTRY,
Having an average fall OF 10 feet to
the mile, and in many places as much
q q 20 feet. There are numerous rapids
a nd falls, some Of them dropping over
| 20 feet OF rock. On each side OF the
river the track rises from 200 to 1900
feet in height, taking on the most
strange and grotesque forms and drsped
Nth the most luxurious vegetation.
The naked stems Of Virginia creeper,
nd Of the grape vines, hang like ropes
from rock to rock, many feet in length,
and one gifted with no very vivid im>
agination might easily see FAIRIES and
wood pympbs climbing from crag to
erag by the aid OF them. Until
THE RAILROAD SURVEY
A. year or two ago this portion Of the
country was almost unknown, and the
engineer loves TO tell OF the difficulties
attendant on the survey of this rapid
and dangerous stream. On one occa-
ion he accosted a settler VINO had
string OF fish, suppoeing he could buy
the lot for twenty-five cents, but he had
TO pay two dollars for them. He
wanted The tisher.seller to take him
and his party down stream. To this
he agreed ifhe were paid price suffi-
cient to cover the danger OF the enter
prise. Bargaining with the man, he
represented that his boat was worth
something, his life was worth some
thing, and more than all, his wife aud
children were dear, but for ''one dollar"
he would undertake the job. The value
OF fish and human life with it's accesso-
ries in comparison was thus strikingly
illustrated.
The strata through which this road
runs is Of great interest to the geologist.
Along the upper portion OF the Shen-
andoah Valley the silurian deposit
prevails. Then follows
THE pEvoNlAN ROCK,
And finally the carbonifereus. As we
reach the Kanawhs, coal crops out
along the railroad cuts. Most OF the
coal is OF the camel variety, the best
being in the lowest veins, and other
varieties in the upper. Iron abounds,
and there are numerous iron furnaces
along the accessible portions OF the
line. In some places along the, Kama
whs, which is the final receptacle Of
the waters OF the New river. iron crops
out in immeose rocky bluffs. In one
case these gigantic rocks were some
1000 feee above the level OF the eea,
and the select party who left the train
to travel up the mountain side, at q rise
of about 600 feet to the mile, and the
thermometer somewhere in the ninetles
found that they were in a decidedly hot
clim (e or b).
The road being new. the engineering
difficulties being enormous, and the
grades being sometimes very heavy,
there were, Of course, chances Of some>
thing occurring to check the passage OF
the train. In order to make everything |
safe for passengers, hands are stationed
every few hundred feet along the line,
as watchers, wherever there is the re-
motest chahce OF danger. \
WEST VIRGINIA.
In Western Virginia one oi the fret
towns Of prominent importance is
Charleston. Our party here were hos
pitably entertained at the leading hotel.
and in the evening enjoyed princely
reception at the house Of Mr.. Walker,
OF the Charleston newspaper press. On
the following morning steamer took
the party to the salt works, some miles
above the town, where the whole pro-
cess was explained TO them. The water
is taken from the 'briBy deep" some
one thousand feet beneath the surface