Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1874-04-30

LETTER FROM RALEIGH, N G
Especial to the Chronicle.)


Mr. Editor Thinking that a few
lines about this country and the people
would be interesting to the rural read
ers of your pap n, sit down to give Il
short description of a few things have
seen in this place and country. Raleigh
the capital of the sold North State" is
situated about seven miles from the
Neuse river; the country round about
is rather hilly, and when viewed from
a high point, has the appearance of a
large sort of brick yard, on the account
of the upturning of the red clay soil for
the planting of cotton. 1t is a well
known fact that where pine trees g, ,ow
readily, the soil must be very poor,
and generally it is'clay soil; and when
great forests of pine, and nothing else
but pine grow here, that fact ought to
be enough to show how very poor the
country is. Raleigh is beautiful old
city or town (being about half way be-
tween.) Persons who have seen old
fashioned New England towns can
have very good idea of what Raleigh
is; it is in its whole appearance differ
ent from cities in Ohio; but lately it is
beginning to improve, new buildings
are going up-altogether it is getting
more like Northern city. There are
several qnite fine old public buildings
here; the capitol building is very
handsome affair, it is built entirely OF
granite. The traveller as he approaches
the region of the "Sunny South" no.
tices things which he does not see in
the North; for instance, the train
which he is travelling on will stop
along the track and take in a passan-
ger, or if it goes by his house will stop
and let him out. You do not see such
accommodations as that on the Balti-
more & Ohio Railroad. Marks of the
war are still to be seen here on every
side, not only by the many tomb
stones which rise out of both the Rebel
and Union cemeteries, but also by the
rifle pits, trenches, &c. Not more than
a quarter of mile from where | am
writing is the road on which General
Sherman's army came up on, when he
took Raleigh the time of his march;
the old rifle pits which were made to
protect the city during the war are
just as bare of grass and look as fresh
as if they were made but a month ago.
Gibson Station the place of Johnson's
is about fourteen miles from
Raleigh. 1t is a fact that there are
more black people living here than
white. l went into the Senate cham
Der one day while the Senate was in
session and was very much surprised to
see that about one-third of the Senators
were of the Ethiopian race. In the
city, some few negro families live quite
styiishlv with their nice houses, par
lors, etc.; but the general lot of them
throughout the country still live in
their little cabins and subsist on sde
hoe cake" On Saturday Raleigh pre-
sents very busy scene, and to a.
stranger very amusing one; the
streets will be crowded with all kinds
Of curious vehicles, and people, black
and white-(mostly black Some
times you will see IN old negro wo-
man up on top of a large bale of
cotton, which rides on top of kind of
cart, and the whole drawn
by single little scrawny steer not
much larger than an old ram. The
arts are made of poles tied together or