Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1878-02-23
COL. DANIEL DECHERT.

Harrisonbury, Va, Register, couple
weeks since, paid dying visit down
the Valley, and TO this section of the
country. He gave an account OF his
travels, from which we extract the fol-
lowing =
From Woodstock we sped on to Har-
per's Ferry, which we reached on Fri
day evening. Here we remained over
mig ht the guest of our friend VIM. l..
Cochrane, OF Middlings Purifier fame,
and who beyond doubt Will be richly
rewarded in the end after his hard fight
to assert his rights under the Patent
Laws as 10 the originality of his patent
in the great American Middling Purl-
fer case that was twice decided i'll bis
favor in the Supreme Court of the Uni
ted States, aud over which there seems
TO be still contest. When the victory
is finally won it will be all the more
overwhelming.
While at the Ferry we accompanied
Mr.. Cochrane around to note the devas-
tatIng ravages of the late food which
brought ruin upon so many of her cltl-
zens. Goldstnith's deserted village is
here more than realized, and it did not
take years of time to bring the ruin
about, but single night was sufficient.
Many OF the citizens We found very
much disheartened, and those who pur-
chased property from the U. S. Govern
ment at high figure with payments
still TO make, dispirited and dishearten-
ed-many indeed utterly ruined if
pressed for their payments. The Gov
eminent ought, therefore, to pass law
looking TO the relief of these unfortu-
nate people, and we hope that she will
lose no time in doing so.
While on our round, we had the
pleasure of a visit to the Harpers Fer
ny FIGURING Mills, (what was once the
old Cotton Factory,) Of Messrs. Child,
McCreight & Co., situated on the island,
and whose capacity are 800 barrels per
day. 1t is noble structure, its ma
chinery having been put into it by Mr..
Cochrane, our guide, under very re-
lnarkable circumstances the whole I'M
dertaking having been carried to a sue
cessful completion with the superintend-
ence of Mr.. &. in person, over one car
penter and body of common laborers,
fact worthy of mention. The DANA
ges TO the mill by the late flood was
not serious, but the private property in
its immediate vicinity suffered very
much. The residences Of Mr.. Child
aud Mr.. McCreight were greatly dam
aged. At the business office of the
milling firm we were delighted to meet
with Mr. Solomon V. Yantis who we
had known ain the days of auld lang
syne," and who is member of the firm.
Through good and through evil report
through prosperity and adversely
whether raided upoL by old John
Brown, sacked by cruel war, or devas-
,ated by ruinous foods,-Mr. Y. has
stuck by Harpers Ferry. And now no
man is more devoted in seeing her
emerge from her late catastrophe and
getting on the high road to prosperity
again.
II would take more space than could
be spared TO detail in full the incidents
that We carssed while az the Ferry and
the many friendly hand,shakes expert
enced, their natures still warming to-
wards an old friend who rejoiced with
them when they prospered. and grieved
with them when disaster overlook their
romantic village, and who now to show
their appreciation of a lifetime friend
ship gave the most substantial evidence
of the same. Hereafter the Register
will pay number of them weekly Wis
its.
We cannot close this letter without
referring in terms of pleasing reminis-
cence of our old friend NJ. Walsh,
(bro,her to Hon. Vim. Walsh, the pres
ent member of Congress from the Cum
berland, Md, DistricO, who always had
leaning towards US being for many
years one of our warm supporters in an
other field of labor. An Irishmaus
friendship is rot to be despised and
when a man like our friend NJ. Walsh
says he is your friend, stick pin right
there, for no misfortune that you may
meet with will ever change his nature.
We were much pleased to see, despite
many adverse surroundings that Mr..
w. was compelled 20 endure, that he
had prospered and is now in independ-
ent circumstances.
Here, too, we found Gilbert Bros,
live druggists, and with drug store
that We'd with those of larger towns
They are sons of gentleman who kept
hotel in Winchester years ago,
Pennsylvania we believe by birth The
Gilbert Bros, not on y do fine retail
business, but they enjoy large whole
sale trade, and have customers in Rock
ingham county. Within easy reach of
our country merchants, they ought to
know this firm better in business way,
for in doing business on the line OF rail
road they could order one day whatever
their trade demanded and secure it by
train the next day. Besides the main
store at the Ferry they have branch
store at Waterford, Loudoun county,
which is also prosperous.
From Harper's Ferry we next visited
good old Shepherdstown, the town no.
ted for its pretty girls, old style hospi-
tally and Hundred Year Almanac Man.
From Kearneysville, on the b. and o.
r. r. point 5 miles distant we were
spirited there by young man named