The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-08-12
:. p.,e,ours" at 0id Point.

sR0fetOurk' HS VtsA E" r
Actions THERE FISHING sA1LlSa-
n.rHrSG IN THE sURF-FoRT MONROE The :
RIO Gun GATLIN NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. {
FORT MOBILIZATION. sc.
rCorrcspondence of the Richmond DispatchI
OLD PolNT CoMFoHr. VA
August 10, 1875.
hardly know where TO begin in relating
the pleasures and attractions OF TINS h'stonf {
"a, place unless with the beginning ., ~.
attractions to me. The landing at the WAR
S.,n;nr the heavy storm Of last Saturday
,;nn, when. midst the grand sautes OF hea-
yen,s sr,ilers, the CLEANS of lightning nt up
the foam.capped waves, rvea''ng oI'sne
.ri;rnsos of grim Fortress Monroe iro"niue
Slact with guns, and lighting us across .ht
brnad n,er- trembling With shocks trom tne
ohar,.es of Nepiupc, to the hospfsble by
as;a Hold where the genial face OF mine
hos, PInbus mot Anpollo) greets us with q
Indy welcome Classical TO begin WIN,
Mesn;t II, Jup,er's artillery, Neptene's
charges. and I'hGl&s In The Temple OF Hy.
geia. 49,. e,,,,,uos
and continues 10 follow every night stay.
Ye denizsus Of the metropolis, wesTfug the
night away with your restless tossings on
your heated couches, your slumber broken
engine. or the rattle Of wheels under your
windows. cut loose xw4lae from yoar caresapd
labors and try berth by the sea. Rest yG5r
wearicd head on one Of phHbus's pat
lows Of softest down, spd with your fevered
brow famed By the gentle breeZes from the
canes, and lulled by the musical fla>h Of the
waves on the beach the night long, you will
saeep the sweet sscep Of the child, and rise
with the freshness and vigoT OF the azoun.
tain roc. Aud the fishing, and sailing, and
shooting. On. such fishing, and sailing, and
shooting! lam afraid to tell you what quok
we had Yesterday and to-day in ttsat little
Yacht as v e lay over there by the Rp Raps :;
how we, friend Crew, from the capital,
and Baltimore man, pulled in the trout,
the croakcrs, and the spots, bsnd over
hand, faster than one snan could bait our
hooks and another take OFT the 9sh-soaRe-
times two on one hook-till the bottom Of the
boat was covered with the bouncing, pout-
ing wealth of the sea, and when wearied
with the sport, we "upped" with the anchor
and scudde cd before the stiff breeze, our little
Emma Lee riding the pillows like swan,
and with the speed Of tue sea:gull bore us
quickly back over the three miles Of blue
water TO the friends who lc unged the morning
lazlly away on the piaZZa-w wouldn't 60
along, because, as they said, "you can't
catch anything" Guess there won't be boat.
room for the fishermen Tomorrow.
Now for bath in the surf before dinner
To-day it is splendid-e to Cobb's Is.
land. How we roll, and dive, and float, and
make the girls scream, ard get up such an
appetite for dinner that we verify believe the
lamb, ducks, chickens, crabs, &c. III won't give
the bill of fare,) would have hardly held out il
we hadn't brought in our fish as reserve.
Such place this is, too, for vegetables, frui!
and melons. Don't know where they come
from, but here they are. WatermeIons at
three and FIVE cents. What will they think
Of that at home, where they are not halt.
grown! | even saw very good ones the
other day in Suffolk at one cent apiece.
But must not quit Old Point, tired as
am with my days play.work, till tell your
readers little which they do not, perhaps.
know about this stronghold Fort Monroe).
whose cmbattlcd walls overlook our back pi-
azza. What great strength lies sleeping
there-such that her enemies dread to arou.e
it, This is The largest and most thoroughly
equipped fort in the United States, and is
manned with some Of the heaviest ordnance
in the world One huge piece. lately cast at
Pittsburgh, and not yet mounted, lies on the
sand of rhe beach, lookinSat distance like Il
huge black sta monster summing himself. 1t
weighs twenty tons, and carries 1200-pound
ball "ten miles, We are told. It's hard
tale to swallow: but from the looks Of that
gums throat | believe it can swallow the
12O0-pound ball and not move q muscle
There are the Gatin guns, too, which are
nothing more than Colts revolyerS on
large scale, mounted Oh artillery carriages,
and firing one hundred and twenty times in
q minute. .Lives there man with soul so
dead" as to face that battery! The ordnance
Fart rth Il
the courteous, weIl.intormed librarian will
ntcl you more about guns, pistols, powder.
nilro-gly ccrine, SHOT, shell, rams, and torpe-
does in an hour than you would bear al
home in lifetime, illustrating and explain
ing everything aS he gees, with his neat and
pretty models and specimens. The United
States Artillery School is located here, and
there are number OF young artillery Off
GERS being instructed in their murderous
calling. General Barry is the commandment
at present, though now absent temporarily
from the post. The place is garrisoned by
five companies of IeguIars-a good looking,
well.drillCd body of men-who make fine
appearance on drcss-parade. The visitor at
Fortress Monroe will notice large, un.
finished work mile or two out in the chan
mel having very formidable appearance.
This is old Fort Wool, now generally called
the Rip-Raps, and was commenced before
the war, the earth upon which it is built an
the immense masses OF granite used in its
construction having all been brought 10 the
place in ships at the cost Of many millions OF
dollars. / hesitate to name the sum, for 1t Is
all waste.
The severe experiences With heavy ord.
nance and steel projectiles during the late war
established the fact that brick snd stone offer
no successful resistance to such modes of at
tack, aud the great work has been abandoned.
AS / lay under its shadow to day and fished
among the huge granite bouIders brought
there al such expense, how sad seemed the
useless outlay in view OF the existing power
ty of the old State; and had / magician'S
wand TO have restored those granite blocks
to their native beds aud the money which
placed them there into our exhausted trea-
sury, where would be the State debt :.
"Echo answers, WHEREOF
had intended saying something about the
new old town OF Hampton. which, it will be
recollected. was fired aud destroy ed in 1861
by its own citizens TO convince the North
that they were ia dead earnest ia their 10y.
atty to the Conlederacy; and OF such was the
whole South.
had intended giving you some dots also
on the "niggef's pride lthe Hampton Nor.
NAL Institute, a good thing after its fashion,
and the Invalid Soldiers Home with its
corps-l might almost say corpse. they are so
shaky-of manned ard deerepit veterans, but
my drOopiDg lids warn me Of the midnight
hour, and these numcered sheets Of the value
OF space in the Dispatch. So au neoasr.
BoTEToERT.