The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1875-07-15

natl Is IN the hAnAWHA NalleI' IL 10 w.
much nearer than the Pittsburgh fields,
and the quantity is possibly inexhaustible.
THE RAILROAD.
The Chesapeake and Ohio road Is one
of the great works Of the century. 1t Is
the fourth line which crosses the noun
tains and unites the Atlantic with the
Mississippi Valley. The distance from
Richmond to Huntington is four hundred
and twenty miles, and the cost of this
great work, from first to last. has been
over forty millions of dollars. The State
of Virginia before the war spent mliilohS
upon it, but could carry it no further to-
ward the Ohio than the eastern base OF
the Allegheny Mountains. She donated
her interest to get the work completed,
and the Chesapeake and OHIO was
formed and took hold. They built the
road from where Virginia left 1t, to the
/ Ohio. through rs wild and diff
cult II country as y railroad ever went
before. The cost was enormous, much
beyond the engineers estimates. EhSi-
urrrs estimates through the New
/ River country will not do 10 de-
pend upon-a fact which the James lsiv-
cr Canal agitators should take into con-
sideratiou.
The road has not been able to pay the
interest on its bonded debt. OF first
mortgage bonds there are abont Sl5,OOO,-
/ 600, and of the second mortgage bonds
about s. 1000, 900. Add the floating IN
debtedness, the bonds hypothecated and
/ the accrued interest, and the debt OF the
! road is over twenty five millions OF dol
lars. To pay interest upon this would
require about two millions yearly. This
must be raised, if the credit of the road
is maintained, clear of the operating eN-
penses. In other words, to pay the IN
terest alone will require, for each work
ing day in the year about $1,000.
With the uncertain Western connec-
tions of the road and the general busl-
ness depressions, it is plain that no such
sum can be raised, and the default OF the
road in the payment of interest Is not
surprising. The road can not perform an
impossibllity.
What will be the result? The iirst
mortgage bondholders are il a fair way
to yet the road; that is, if they choose to
forcclose, and they likely will. Strange
as il may seem, these bonds are now
worth between eighty and ninety
cents. 1t shows the faith of the
moneyed public in the ultimate
recovery of this thoroughfare from II
embarrassnents. The road has great
future before it, although temporarily
under cloud. 1t is, indeed, splendid
piece Of property, and the time Is coming
when it will be Us prosperous and valua-
bic as the Baltimore and Ohio is now.
The man who is disposed to be doubtful
about the future of this road needs but
+ TO travel over il, with a map for COM
/ panion, study the line and the country
wei and he will land at the other end
/ buoyant in hope and strong in faith.
The people of Southern Ohio need the
road badly. They are not well off for
railroads Besides, the shortest route
from Huntington to Cincinnati is through
, Southern Ohio, the extreme southern
part Ia that section there are a num-
/ bcr of fine young cities and towns, and
/ fat counties that could make commo-
| tion IN railroad circles if they would all
/ stir at once. Get out the cross'tle orator
and the subscription books, and the men
: who can demonstrate with u bit of paper
and stub Of lead pencil that the road Will
pay from the jump, and STIR up the peo.
ple. am not an advocate OF new rail
roads as general thing, as many have
been built which do violence 10 ones
knowledge of geography and resources
OF given sections, but this link Is one OF
the few remaining that Is really needed,
KANAwHA FALLS.
spent day at kanawha Falls, adj
mirinrthc beauties of nature and holding
sweet converse with the natives. The
falls are thirty.fve miles above Charles
ton, and the "sure enough head oi navl-
cation Of the Kanawha river. No boat
has ever been above the falls for obvious
reasons, and, indeed, l never heard of
but one tnat came up to them. There Is
/ only about II mile of kanawha river left
above the falls. The confluence of Gauly
and New rivers form the kanawha, and
this takes place Immediately above the
falls 50 that the river may be said to make
| its start in life with biz Jump
| When | passed eastward through here
three years ago last spring, the railroad
wa, not yet built to the falls, and there
were no houses-nothing but water and
wilderness. | speak of the south side.
Across the river there We're an old red
house, stable, and cornfeld set up
cdgeways against the side of the noun
tain, but upon this side there was abso-
lutely nothing. No sound broke in upon
the eternal roar of the waters, save the
play OF the wind among the trees. 1t
WAS picture of solitude.
Now there are Il railroad, depot, two
side tracks, Il good hotel, IA dozen or more
houses, two stores, two saloons, several
gardens stuck around in spots, II band Of
music. II pet bear, and several dozen
dos. The hotel is the regular railroad
rrfrrshmrnt stand and u lay-ovcr point
Tor tourists who want to see the falls and
things. or who wish toavold night travel
which was the cause with the under
S.gurd.
Being there, went to see the bear
She was caught in the mountains near
by. and has been tanned on diet of corn
bread and crackers. She got loose the
other night, put did not leave, probably
not seeing ANYTHING about the falls IN
compatible with her tastes She fights
dogs. but the dogs rarely afford an op-
portunity for this species of amusement
If the bears would descend from the
mountains and destroy all the pestiferous
curs that infpSt the kanawha Valley aS
frogs inicst Egypt, they would rise to the
dignity of benefactors. The miserable
dogs with which the valley a6oundS kill
all the sheep, aud Chase cattle and hogs
until they run all the flesh of them. West
Virginia needs dog tax Of about ten
dollars per head, and law making the
owners of dogs responsible for the sheep
they kill. Pecuniary responsibility in
such cases, however, would not amount
to much, for when you find man with
halfa dozen worthless dogs about him,
.... - 49,, ,,,alI h,rn 4, iud,rnept avuinSt