The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1881-06-16
( TWO DOLLARS PER ANNUM.
'NO...lO

$ mouth of the mine, which was explored for
i mile or two by the aid of miners lamps and
b attentive guides, Coal mines of this sort. are
not.difficult of exploration. The, coal extends
horizontally to an indefinite extent, dipping
occasionally insone direction Or another, But
} the vein tor the most part runs horizontally
/ all the way of uniform thickness, Entering
by straight tunnel, the deposit is taken out
AS desired, the excavations leaving on each
SIDE spacious galleries and a. long succession of
silent chambers, dark and aWe-inspirng as the
catacombs. To the ladies it was new expe-
I rience to visit such scenes; to the mining en-
,gneers it was no novelty, but nevertheless b
pleasure to see rich reward for toll nOneof
the guides was asked if any black men were
! employed as laborers, and he answered
promptly that this was d white mans mine
Soiio SENSATIONS ON THE TRACK ,., ~, 81,
H The decent was accomplished by gravity.
|. When all parties were ready the little train
4 was putin motion and the speed descending
4 was regulated only by the brakes 1t was
thrilling descent, The train rushed down the
windngs of the mountain track with the
swiftness of an avalanche, but completely I'M
der control Ofthe brakes. To some of the in
experienced travellers it was q positive sensa-
ton, as they betrayed by the nervous way in
which they clutched the sides of the cars and
held their breath in what appeared to be par
tlcularly perilous situations But the descent
was accomplished in safety, and all were clad
OF the opportunity which they had enjoyed
fer so exhileratinga ride between showers, even
under the discomfort Of standing herled to-
gether in close quarters during the whole of
the trip. Hawks Nest and the memorable,
ride to and from the mine will never be for
gotten by the ladies who participated in the
excursion and it VIII long remain pleasing
recollection by everyone present. a9ld ~
/ n r. I CONCLUSION OF THE TRIP. hili0aIf
| Up to this point the railroad route lay along
the right bank of the river. At Hawks Nest
the stream is spanned by an iron bridge and
the rest OF the journey was prosecuted, along,
the left bank OF the water course Just below
Hawks Nest the Gauley river pours its fioed
into the New river, and the stream then be-
comes the Great Kanawha, at the falls of
which it broadens and deepens, and furtheron
the government is prosecuting extensive i'm
QroVements to insure slack-water navigation
was intended to stop, at Cannelton, which
1ss large and prosperous village, and the
iseas OF the celebrated Camel coal mine,
and also at CoalburgdI the end OF the
Journey, but there was no tune iforsithe diver
sion, aud the excursiOnists returned with but
necessary delays for fuel and water direct to
the White Sulphur Springs arriving at yoclock
IN the evening" remaining all night. tiss sl@
sd. sg..t8 81 SATURDAY. 10 @eein 'a3AS
the last of the excursion days of the Mining
Engineers in the mineral regions OF the SVir-is
ginias, may be styled the geological day of the y
tour. Iron and coal having claimed attention
On Thursday and Friday, Saturday was given
to the Testimony ofi,the rocks.'' The card ~
called for trip from the White Sulphur "a
and Ohio road, and thence over the Richmond.
and Allegheny road to the Natural Bridge of y
Virginia and the passage of the, James river II
through The Blue Ridge at Balcony Falls, all 4
OF which was satisfactorily accomplished except
the Balcony Falls visit. This was omitted
because the workmen were still on the track 3
completing the link in the line at this point d
GREAT GEOLOGICAL ARCH 5i9ss1 sie
The first stoppage was at Clifton Forge, 70
where the jackson river joins the mobile zen
Jeems," in order 70 afford an opportunity to .
the biologists tue party, under the guild
ance OF the learned Prof John s. Campbell, Of
Washington and Lee University to inspect
the great geological arch hich is perfectly de-
Yeleped on the face of the mountain side. This i
formation OF alternate strata of iron ore and
limestone, bent by the upheavel into per
fect semlclrcle, excited the greatest .enthusi-
asm among the scientific Observers. The span
OF the arch is 5000 feet The mountain chain
to which this formation belongs is known as
uAo i w. s.'oI ioSion. froI CampDell says,
"as Virginia is destined soon to become the 3
great central iron-producing State of
the. Union, so this Rich Patch chain
is to be one of the several great iron centres in
Virginia" The mountain chain lies partly in
Allegheny and partly in Botetourt county, Va.
1t is sklrted by jackson river and the Chesa-
peake and Ohio Railroad on the northwestern
border, and by James River and the Richmond
and Allegheny Railroad for eight miles on its
southeastern border. The point of OBSERVE
ton is known as Wilson Hill on a single ridge
cut by jackson river about mile in length.
The arch, which is considered a sacred thing
by geologists, has been somewhat defaced BY
irencastic line burners, but it remains still d y
most magnificent and perfect work of nature. %
Only one other formation claimed the same de- $50
gree OF attention from scientists, and that was
the folds of the iron ore beds, rolling back on
each other In succession OfWaVe lines at Low #
Moor 7f.,,I1. II H,
JAMES RIVER SCENERY. b4a.a. fsl
der observation for two days previous that the .d
beautiful charms of the Valley of the James .
We're rather sighted. Those, however, who
knew the old canal route and the picturesque az
ness OF Its course along the stream will be glad si
TO learn that the steam engine has displaced "a
the mule team on the route, and that the tow.
path has beenlaid down in steel tracks along
which trains will soon he whirled at rapid Cd
speed from Richmond to Williamson, and a1eV.
branch to Lexington. The State of Virginia a.,
practically gave the canal away to secure the
advantages OF allow gradeiIoute to the West '''
The main Line of the canal was not built further ala
west than Buchanan. From Balcony Falls there go
IS T. ora aoa to Lexington From Balcony Falls d
west sou, O00 was spent il locks, abutments
Tor aqueducts, Sc, but the canal was not dug, :.
ana this part OF the line never foated "a boat q
out tne railroad finds, in the dry locks fine All
4uarrles OF dressed stone, and the abutments
are used tor its bridges. 1t is estimated that, ~
exclusive OF the rails, the cost of the embank- "a
nent and ties will not be more than 81 900 per as
nile. In building, too, the canal was used for
transportation as far as it extended SO that in
it was like building enc railroad os
beside another already built. The canal will
oe oollterated, except where there are milling
rights and for these the power will continue
20 be supplied. sil a5iffilA 1fH' ip-
II dnJ & A RAILROAD SPEECH fli PFC ht7
On arriving at the Natural Bridge Mr.. H.
Y. Parsons, e-presdent of the Richmond ~
md Allegheny Railroad Company, was invi-'
ied to speak after the company had been ~,
most hospitality entertained by him and the,
of his road. THE substance Of Mr..
Parsons speech was published in the VIRGIN q
Ian stweek, s,.,le Ia s...,sy45. vf }as
,...t THE FINALE. bsA nss tae y ~
After spending three or four hours at the u.
bridge, the eXcursionists were conveyed back
% the train and enjoyed delightful afternoons
'ide westward along the course of the James ~
10 Williamson, where the party, which had 81
neld together for week. broke up. About a.
hundred Of the number returned to the White
sulphur Springs to spent Sunday, and the rest
dispersed ON the east and west-bound trains
or their homes, delighted with what thew had
seen in the Virginias, and charmed with the
hospitality which they had experienced.
53 aea a5sy asA N. E. F.
- ------ - 1-o7 Ao
Wilmington, (Del.) Daily Republican. i5 IA.
Mrs. Adam. Grubb, 231 Walnut street. has
been great sufferer for number of years from :
extreme pain in the feet, something like rheu-
natism. She was also very much troubled with q
;orn On and bqnions: Itwas with great difficulty