The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-11-12
End Of a Rough but Pleasant Trip.
Correspondence BALTIC. American. |

The party which consisted Ex-senator
Henry G. Davis, of West Virginia,
John HI. Hambleton, of Baltimore,
R. G. Kerns, of st. Louis, and two
newspaper correspondence. which
left Elk Garden coal fields, in West
Virginia on Thursday morning for a
tour of inspection through the lower
end of the great Cumberland coal
basin, which extends southwark, has
completed it's trip and arrived safely
at Deer Park, the villa of Senator
Davis. We had quite rough eXper-
fence, but in many respects not an
unpleasant one. Elk Garden is the
new coal mine which is just begin
ming to be operated by the West Vir-
ginia Central Company. The new
road is completed from Piedmont to
this point, distance of thirteen
miles, and is designed to follow the
valley of the North Branch of the
Potomac into regions farther south
where richer coal fields are as yet un-
explored. The object of the party,
] therefore, that left Elk Garden was
to go to point called Fairfax's
Stone, which is the boundry of West
Virginia ard Maryland. Rich coal
| fields in the heart of the Piedmont
coal basin here are owned by Senator
Davis and the West Virginia Central
Company.
We started from Elk Garden early
Thursday morning, leaving the other
guests. of whom my last letter treat
ed, on the porch, in a banteringIy
cheerful mood. 1t was raining, and
a heavy mist hung over the tops of
the Alleghanies, and the start was
anything but prOpitious. Four of
US were in light mountain wagon
and one was on horseback, while
John, gloomy youth. bestrode the
extra charger. Senator Davis had
been over the road before, and knew
it well as far as Fairfax Stone, but
beyond that toward the BlackWater
region he was unfamiliar with the
trails. We went as far as Fort PEN
dleton by 3 o'clock, and stopped at
Deakins' for dinner. This is over
the line. in Garrett county. Then
we struck off from the main road and
aimed for the cottage of a mountain
teer named Ki:zmiller, near the
Laurel fork of the North Branch.
This was about fifteen miles south
westerly from Fort Pendleton, and
over road that was bad in as many
ways that it is possible for road to
be bad. Up and down high noun
tains, through laurel swamps, over
boulders, around gigantic trees and so
on. We got to the house of another
mountaineer named Conway, three
miles from Kitzmiller's, and then
were obliged to leave the wagon and
finish for the night en- horseback and
on foot. When we arrived at Kitz-
miller's however, all cares vanished
before blazing beechwood fire, and
amid the pleasant odors of a bounte-
Gus repaSt.
The next morning friday we
started at $50 o'clock with snow on
the ground and the wind Whstling
over the mountains ''like wild"
across the North Branch and back
into West Virginia, under the guild
ance of Mr.. Arnold, who bestrode
merely little mule. Our objective
point was tract of land belonging
to Senator Davis. living between the
North Branch of the Potomac and
the Beaver fork of the Blackwater
river. This tract of land is about
nine miles long and seven miles
broad, and is one of the richest coal
beds in the state. Mr.. Davis had had
Owen Rierdan, mining expert, with
a small force of hands, at work on
this tract all the summer opening up
the veins of coal around its different
points, so as to determine the drift
and extent of the body. Arnold was
to guide US to where Rerdan was
then at work, which was near the
Dobbin House, a shanty built by
Judge George w. Dobbin, oil Balti-
more, in 1859, and used as sort of
hunting and fishing lodge by timer.
ant parties ever since.
This house stands in spot of about
100 acres, which is cleared of the
heavy timber. but has grown up since
with small cherry and blackjack
brush, maging an almost impene-
trable thlcket, through which the trail
leads up to the house. The mansion
itself is modern structure, built on
the same pattern that houses usually
are In this section. 1t was bare of
furniture, but the main room bore
many relics of long passed hunting
and fishing parties, in the shape of
inscriptions on the walls and mantel-
piece. 1t may be mentioned here
that this is in the heart of the famous