Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1877-12-25
KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN HORSE
SHOE.

As the years fly past, it is not uninterest-
ing to take retrospective glance at the ca
reer of our mother State towards her present
position among the great nations of the earth.
Scarcely 4th of July since 1888 has passed.
that orators from Maine to Texas have not told
us of the progress of the American Republic
in population, material resources, arts and
sciences, and more thorough comprehen>
sion of civil liberty. But with that tenden-
cy to depreoiate the individual States. and
regard as an aggregated people which
finally brought on the late war, no attention
is given to the progress of our own. State in
diyidually. OF course, we do not propose to
give history of Virginia in a newspaper
editorial But the following eztrac. from
the journal of one of the s'Knights of the
Golden Horseshoe" is net only interesting
as giving us "a insight into the character Of
our jolly ancestors, but helps us to appre-
ciate the wonderful growth of our State since
the bright morning in August, ZIG, when
Governor Spotswood, at the head of about
fifty persons, started from Germanna Chen in
Essex county, Va.) on voyage of discovery
towards the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ger
mama was then the extreme Western settle-
ment of the white man in America and Gov>
ernor SPotswood prepared for the trip as if
he expected it. to be one of difficulty and
danger. ,, 1t turned out, however, to be one of
jollisy and festiyty, as the following from
John Fontaine's Journal will show. The
party passed through what is now Swift Run
Gap, and when they had gotten we'll into
the Valley of Virginia, which until then
had never known the presence of the white
man, they concluded to retrace their steps.
But before doing so, they entertained them
selves in way eminently characteristic of
the men of that day. Fontaine says, ''The
Governor had craving irons, but could not
grave anything, the stone was so hard. l
graved my name on tree by the river side,
aud the Governor buried bottle with pa.
per enclosed, on which he writ that be
took possession of this place in the name and
for King George First, of Epglaud. We
had good dinner, and after it we got the
men together and loaded all their arms, and
We drank the Kings health in champagne
and fired volley, the Princess health in
Burgundy and fred volley, and all the
rest Of the royal family in caret and vol
ley. We drank the Governors health and
fred another volley. We had several sorts
of liquors, viz: Virginia red wine and white
wine. Irish usquebaugh, brandy, shrub, two
sorts of rum, champagne, canary, cherry
punch, water, cider, &c. x * * We called
the highest mountain Mount George, and
the one we crossed over Mount Sposswood."
Since ZIG, when Germanna in Spotsylvsnia
county was the extreme western settlement
in America, all that portion of Virginia now
embraced within the present limits of the
States of Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Mich
igan, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia,
have become alive with population. IF we
could catch glimpse of this country 16l
years from this time, perhaps VIC would be as
much dazzled by the progress we will then
have made, as the Knights of the Golden
Horseshoe would have been if some fairy
had suddenly presented to their view the
United States of 1877.