Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1881-02-12
OYER THE s. I. r. n.
4 Trip Orer the Entire Line. Grand
Scenery. Beautiful Country. Fine
ITos,I, Personals

II
of which 10 miles is completed land the other
being rapidly pushed forward. Thirty miles,
between Milford Station and Shenandoah Iron
Works is in course Of construction. Along the
line ofthis unfinished portion we Travelled in q
sleigh Arriving at Luray, which has been 80
extensively advertised since the discovery Of
the now famous caverns. and Of which the half
has not been told Of its wondrous grandeur and
beauty, we were conducted to that popular hotel
known as the " Rust House, where the genial
proprietor's courtesieS may wear out but never
rust ont Mr.. Rust gave Us warm supper, al
ter which we were snugly ensconSed in a fine
bed, with an old-fashioned wood fire making
our room ablaze with comfort. On Tuesday we
made the drive for Shenandoah Iron Works,
and there were entertained for the night by the
Hon. VIM Mines, Jr, President of the ;. Y. X.
r. and the great Iron worker of that section OF
the famed Shenandoah Valley. Mr.. Mines IS
an ex-member of Congress from that district
and the people would do well in persuading
him to occupy the seat again, because he Is an
honest practical, far-seeing and energetic man.
There being no hotel at this point, the house Of
Mr. MilneS seems 10 be a popular resort FOR the
r. r. oflicials-and / rather believe they think
as did. that they have struck good quarters.
lie dispenses the Inequalities Of his elegant
home most delightfully."-. There we had the
pleasure. also. of meeting Maj. J. c. Walker a
gentleman of the old Virginia school and fine
conversationalist and brother-in-law of our
countyman, Charles Aglionby, Esq We We're
highly entertained and edited by the converse
ton OF Mi. Walker and Mr.. Mines both of
whom are we'll posted in National and State al
fairs. At this point We also had the pleasure Of
taking meal AZ Mr. Pulliam's q brother in
law Of solomon Fleming Esq, Of this county.
was gratiicd in recognizing in Mrs. j. an ac-
quaiutance of ante beli,na days. | had not seen
this e5timablc lady for twenty-five years-she
then young woman and 1 a store-boy in my
teens. We next went to Elkton, and had the
qualification of q visit to nr Jennings who is
surrounded by an interesting family and whose
home is the seat Of old-Etshioned Virginia hos
pitalitv. l also had the felicity of shake of
the ha9l Of D. : =. IT. Millcr-the boss lum-
Der man of that section of the Valley. From
this point We went to Port Republic, passing
through the noted battlefield, upon which
your correspondent fell wounded Oh the 9th of
June. 1862 We brcakiusted at Lees hotel, and
much 10 M surprise found upon the wall a
photograph ofthe entire family ofmy old friend
NOW dcceascd) " X. Trout of Staunton-and
seldom is hanlsomcr group taken. Mr Lee
is a bro;hcr-in-law of the late Mayor Trout of
Staunton From there we went 10 The present
terminus Of the road, the good old town of
Wa ne.blro'. where laid wounded forscycral
months. Here my old friend II l.. Gallaher,
Esq. resides. His popularity is world vide, -
and his hospitality a proycrb among the 81
diers who passed through that town. scarce
ly know how 10 speak of him without giving
expression 70 the sincere w.,h nat peace and
prosperity may ever Sc v.,hin his habitations
and thousand ye'-. be added to the sum OF
his existence h-.e below. We visited the ex-
tcDsive .Ore-hou,e OF T. II. Antrim-doublc
'r.hts and equal TO any in the Nal!cy of Vir-
ginia also met my friend DR.. Myers, Of the
drug firm of Myers 4 Fshbun, and was glad
To find they were doing u thriving business (;
and saw many other friends of whom ! would
like toSpeak IFS space admitted. At Wayncsbo-
TO / met Foster Mor>s and his wife Mr. NJ. is
Chief En-. of the :. Y. X. Il. So, at this time
the old boro has the distinction OF having as a
guest grcat-grand-nicce of the. First President.
At this end of the line the management of
the road is in the hands of Mr.. J. II Cook-a
clever and popular gentleman, whose praises
are on the hpsofal Thetrain ON the Waynes-
boro end is conducted by Capt. Smith, well
known at the Eastern division of the road and
the throttle OF engine No. p i. controlled by
that experienced cnsincman Mr.. Pcnt Zilcr.-
On my return, at LurIy saw the Hilbert Bro
thcrs-sluS of our townsman John Z. Hilbert.
They have established q Coach Factory and
have laidagood foundation for a prosperous flu
turc Imcta this pointa number ofold friends,
amongst them Capt. Jordan, the proprietor of
thc paper recently started there 10 promote the
prosperity of the town and county-The I'll
rance. 1t is alive to the Importance of the COM
plccion of the : Y. Z. r. as a means to the de
velopmcnt of the resources OF that rich and
fruitful section. At Milford had the pleasure
of dining with the family of my old friend Capt.
W G.. Overall With his accomplished daugh-
ters l enjoyed coa,ting my first experience
in the exhilerdting spor; for number Of years.
At Capt OycralIs | met Mr. H. H. Penny, of
Sattcrec & Co. That firm has large force en-
pioycdrcmoying the snow, which IS fifteen inch
Is deep, from the road bed that they might I'M
mediatciy resume track-laying. In every de
partment OF thcroad in its construction and the
management off completed portions energy
and efficiency are manifest among officials and
suboriiuatcs nearly all of whom are young
men. From Col. Sands down 70 the occupant
oft the most obscure position ! think you can
scarcely find man who is not in the prime of
manhood. The road too, j. equipped with the
very best and most improved machinery, cars,
dc al the employees are courteous and kind
to travellers upon and customers of the road
Being I'm company with Gen. Holmes. the pop
uloryoung Depot contractor, l halan opportu-
nifty to inspect the work along the line and
found il an frs,-cla>s Mcs,rs Duke & Gala
hers timers are pressing their work with yigor
and seem To give perfect satisfaction they
having put ON twenty acres, more or less. for
this company, and al without a fault-Nlr.
Thomas Elrnshaw at the head of this depart
ment. think the next visit Hon F. J Kim
ball, the President of the Construction Compa-
ny, and his energetic business manager, VIM
C Mcdowell, make, they Will be more than
pleased with what has been accomplished Be
fore closing would not fail TO mention Capt
Hutchins. the Conductor of the Express. and