The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-03-20
Tho New River Diyfston or she CHEESE.
peRko and Ohio Railroad.

tn0 New River Division or the Chess.
peRko and Ohio Railroad.
MARCH IL, 1873.
1 In September last Che Dispatch published
letters descriptive Of the Greentrfer divi.
sion Of this road--that division commencing
| at the White Sulphur and ending at Hinton
TWO miles below the junction Of the Green.
orier with the New river. Then
"pleased, We had listened as the breeze
HeaSed Its Wild Sigh through autumn trees -;
and yet each season has It's own peculiar
beauty, though
| The scenes are desert now mud bare
Where hourished then the forest fair"
Linton, a pet child of the company, may
Decome place of considerable importance.
Near TO 1t will be the connection of the New
hiscr railroad, and it IL even now receiving
valuable accessions of trade. We are now
on the banks of the New river, in close sight
OF itS ripping miniature waves dashing over
Lhe shoais, with its precipitous banks rising
perpendicular, and often. like the tower OF
lisa, o'erbanglng the passing traveller As
we speed on, looking up we see the noun
tam torrents dashing over the heights and
iallioS IN oeauteous spray, except when, held
IN the icy grasp of winter, they form the sta
iactltcs ana stalagtnites Of this mountain re-
1 u.
over Laurel creek, and on the right is can
yon with abrupt, lofty sides, excluding all
air, light, or heat except such as may
come directly from above aid from the
narrow gorge through which tue stream
has VIGOROUSLY fought its way. Then
we come to scene of romantic beauty,
the music of whose waterfall has prepared
us to enjoy, and Richmond falls is before US.
The clear, blue waters of New river here
| leap over one Of Natures own irregular
dams of masonry with a perpendicular fall
of twenty-four feet, and, rejoicing at their
successful leap, send forth a cry of relief, a
song of thanksgiving, and their spray rises
TO heaven in gratitude like frankincense be-
fore the altar. Since we |, # Fl nton we have
been on the first New River division, located
by Major Mckendre under the supervision
Of Colonel Whitcomb. Prepared as we
were to admire the location of the road, our
expectations were far exceeded when we
saw its admirable grades and alignments.
| This division is grand triumph of engineer:
ing skill-a type of mans conquest over Nh.
! ture. Stopping a while at station that
derives its name from Meadow creek, that
here falls into the river, an old resident
Joined us and said 81 am still full Of won
der. Left Richmond, you say? Why, know.
ing this country as / have, man and boy, for
over sixty years-why, when two years ago
| heard it was proposed 10 build a railroad
through those regions, I would have bet
| twenty thousand dollars. if | had it.
against ten thousand that if built at all il
would certainly take ten years to
reach this spot, and now the whole road to
the Ohio is finished; and there is nothing
now think that men and money cannot do ~
Our friend said he lived in Fayette county,
whose dividing line was about mile from
this depot, and reminded us that we were
approaching the famous coal region. Even
as he spoke train of twenty cars ap.
preached and passed us then a second, then
a third, and then fourth; and the glittering
black carbon, the diamonds of West Vir.
ginia, have already passed us. On these
various trains arc consignments Of corn,
wheat, oats, bacon, and other products of the
fertile valley of the Ohio consigned to and
| through Richmond. When we saw the train
bearing the passengers from the West, with
Il silent impulse we raised our hats in salute,
| and then gave vent to our pent-up feelings
in one wild shout Of welcome, to which the
| towering mountains around gave reply in
Sympathizins echoes.
Once more we speed on, passing at the base
Of mountain cliffs rising higher and higher.
This might be called the Fortress or Quebec
division, for high above, huge perpendicular
rocks rise up like the turrets of a tortilica-
ton, while just below the crest, the regular
jutting rocks appear like bastions or re-
doubts. Midway upthe mountain side two
eagles are seen like mites in the sunbeam,
and, as If startled by the unexpected noise
and sight Of the engine and train, are circing
up in higher and loitier flights. Six miles be-
Flow, the river forms curve like 4 horseshoe,
| giving closer view Of the railroad. What
adds to the beauty Of the whole scene of en-
cllantment are the shoals which The road
here, in circling, seems ionhy to embrace.
The natives call these shoals "Gidd's De
feat ia name given in memory of one Gid
con. who Yainly cSsaycd TO stem the torrent,
and whose life paid the forfeit for his unSllc-
ccSslul daring. And then. as we speed on,
almost i'll IL moment, as il to show that the
beautiful and useful are closely allied, we
come to the first working coal seam. The
proprietors, the New River Coal Company,
are constructing connection road Of about
a mile in length, and will he ready upon its
completion to deliver one hundred tons OF
coal daily. A little further the train stops
at water-station, and there beside lis
is mountain cataract that, by successive
leaps OF forty feet, finds access from the
mountain summit to the river below. The
iciclcS are still hanging like glitteriug pend
ants on the sides of lis rocky descent, and at
its base appears what seems q snow-drift, but
what is really Il mound Of frozen spray. A
: mile furth on we pass Slrtt hers Neck tuE.
; mel, enc of the most difficult works on the
road. Near this we come to the second New
River division. of which Major Conway
Howard is division engineer. Passing
through the wild and beautiful scenery to
this point on the road, we had listened with
incredulity to the statement that we had
seen nothing as yet comparable with that
Which was still before us. Now that it is
paSd, the pen declines to give any descrip-
lion, which, from the poverty of language,
must fall so short of reality.
We were told Of an exciting hunting Incl
dent that had occurred 4 few days before.
One of the railroad employees from his shanty
saw deer on the opposite side Of the noun.
tain. lie crossed over the river with his dog
in IA boat, and setting chase to the deer, the
atfrighted animal ran down the mountain
and plunged into the river; but opposite the
wife Of the hunter stood and prevented its
direct passage. The deer tried in vain to
stem the torrent, and was soon shot, and
foated in an eddy to the shore.
This narrative illustrates both the present
wintry nakedness OF the mountains and the
impetuolls current Of the river. 1t recalled
the description Of the mountain scenery OF
Scotland given by Sir Walter Scott:
| Yet even this nakeslness has power,
Aud aids the feeling Of the hour;
Nor tbieket, dell, nor copse You spy go
| Nor point retiring hides dell
| Where swain or woodman low might DWELL"