Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1878-04-23
Spirit Of yefferselr,
TUESDAY MORNIaG,A ,APRILqs. 1878.
RAMBsL[,ER,s LETTER.

hhmDLhh % Id Lib
Keyser's Dog The foot Of the, Aonntain-
Black Diamoads-P Perpendicular Rail>
rouds-Niaes and Aiaers-4 Mountains
and 4nonntdineers- hdmont- Very Dear
P;uk- Oaklaad- Murphyitsnr, dc. -. ~
From Keyser to Piedmont is a pleasant
ride of FIVE miles, and in leaving Keyser, We
have one more word to say for the place and
its people As place to invest money in
real estate, it offers great inducements, as
property can be purchased there at very low
figures, owing to the depression in busi>
ness, caused by the removal of the division.
Its people. judging from those We met, are
genial, social, careful to entertain strangers"
and there is only one thing to object to in
| the whole town-that is the dogs. Keyser
don't want to buy dog" but has some for
sale. It might, however, purchase canine,
if it had a good railroad repair shop, guarau-
teed to run for at least five years, attached.
Dogs Of high aud low degree now crowd its
streets, and make night awfully hideous with
their baying of the moon. 49,
Piedmont, "the foot of the mountaiD,"
needs washing it is decidedly dirty, dusty
and dingy. 1t is a town of about 1000 poo
pie. Is bounded on four sides by the noun.
tains, and cut in two by the railroad. Across
the river is Westernport, connected by
bridges, town of the same size and cleauli-
ness. Every house in both towns has coal
mine attached, without extra charge, and the
white people here are all coored. Coal and
lumber are the principal products here. So
"after harvest" comes around every thirty
days, and the merchants heart is made glad
every payday. The firm of j. s. Jamison
| z, ~ ~ -
thousand dollars the other night in Westerns
port it strikes US, it would be rather hard
work to do that in any of our Valley towns.
The miners are all Welsh, Scotch or Irish,
they are study, muscular, upright, and swift
walkers and hard strikers. During the day
they wear a complete suit of blue jeans, and
arc topped off with skull caps with little tin
lamps attached. As these caps arc black. it
i, hard to tell where the cap ends and the
face begins. In the evening these same
miners appear with shining faces, plug hats,
white linen, "ssore clothes" and diamond
Plus They make good wages and spend
money very freely. We were invited to go
into several coal mines, but firmly declined.
No mine in mine, if you please. Occasion
ally they build little railroad here, right
straight up in the air, then push it over
against the mountain, and call it an elm
cine. i ncV nave OOuOIc track, aOu the
working Of the trains is very much like
the workings of business to-dny-the loaded
cars as they come down pull the empty cars
up, illustrating Gin crayou) the ups and
downs of life. We were also invited by
sturdy miner to take ride up and down tho
"incine," but not being inclined that way
We declined. Our incinations are not that
steep, but these miners will balance Them
selves in coal shovel on one rail and slide
down this perpendicular road to supper every
evening, and call it fun.
From Piedmont to Oakland, on a bright,
beautiful, suushiny day, was one of our
most delightful experiences on the rail.
Leaving Piedmont on the way train at 10
o'clock, We commenced the ascent of the
seventeen mile grade, going up grade III
feet to the mile. Ittook US just one hour to
mako the seventeen miles. 1t is a grand
ride alL around = and about US the "eve, last
ing hills" beneath US, Wild and rugged VAL
ley-ways, and deep ravines with silver
threads winding through them and tumbHng
headlong over the rocky hill sides. Occa>
sionaHy train shoots by US going down the
biz, az the brakes down, yet flying around
the curves like Wild fire. Now and then we
pass mountain home-the Traditional log
cabin with one small window-and in the mar
row doorway the long>lcgged mountaineer
stares at the cars aud kicks at the seventeen
yoIng hes that, unkempt and unwashed are
hard at work doing their part of the staring.
We notice good many small farms hung
up on the mountain side on the line of the
road, as if hung out to dry. Altamont, the
top of the mountain. From this point we cease
to creep along the steep mountain side, and
commence our descent The air here is keen
and braciDg, the views not SO grand as on
the other side Deer Park Hero the B. &
o. r. r. Co. have fine hotel, and tho peo>
pie who spend their summers there all spell
l., Gear Park, and somtimes cali it
every dear park" Tho people there all
move in tho ''higher walks of life" are "get-
ting up in the world" and are ''high>toned"
generally.
Wereached Oakland in time for dinner, nlso
with good appetites for the same ; and here
in the comfortable home of Mrs. Davis we
propose to stop awhile in our ramblings to-
wards the sunset. No newspaper published
at Piedmont, and only three here. We learn,
however, daily and an illustrated weekly
combined, with q comic monthly; are soon TO
be started here. The rumor that the Daily
Graphic was about to open branch Office at
this point is not correct.
We find the Murpbys doing good work all
along the line. 1t was our privilege to at
tend hearty, whole-souled meeting at Pied
mont, on Monday evening, and to listen to
some very good Temperance talk" from men
who for years had labored day after day, and
week after week, aud whose hard earnings
had gone, drop by drop, over the bar into
the bar-keepers pockets, but who had at las;
resolved, "God helping them," to not only
be temperance men. but temperance '0orkers,
realizing that Goods work pays sure wages" !"
RAMBLER.