The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1881-01-27
Especial Correspondence of the vIReINIAN.l
Chattanooga. Tennessee.


BECOME RAILRoADs-FARMs- EMIGRANTs
PEAKS
Editors VSrginian::
Your able contributor, "F. J. B." has left
nothing to be said concerning the beauty of
cenery, natural resources and grand prospec
i've future of the belt of country one must
ravel through to reach Chattanooga, Tenn,
~ way fthe line ofrairoad leading southwest |
rom Washington, Z. C. and which always seems |
10 me to be overwhelmed with names. He |
mas, 'as it We're, taken each rock and every |
handful of earth up by turns, and having test
ed its true worth, told your readers all its story
But am not SO sure that he ever saw the
Peaks of Otter gilded by just the same SUM-
light that gave them thousand changeful
hues that December afternoon when our train
was winding up the grade, and gradually ap-
preaching the mountains
Sombre people wonder sometimes how the
women of the present time can delight to adorn
themselves in the bright and beautiful colors
which are worn so much. thought of that
feeling as l looked upon those Peaks, and
I couldn't but think that If God could take
30 much pains to dress those mountain tops
in all the colors of the rainbow, just be-
cause it would delight the eyes of those who
beheld them, it must be right for His creatures
to spend just little time in making themselves
fair to look upon.
When our train first came in sight of the
mountains the sun was shining from behind
them in such a way that their tops seemed to
have been dripped in melted gold, some OF
which had rippled down the sides, hardening
as it went. As kaleidoscope gives us a new
picture at every turn, so with every shifting of
the view we saw the new beauty in the lights
and shadows on the Peaks. There were am
Der and coral tnts EMBEDDING each other for a
moment and then drifting apart, one to blush
into crimson and red, the other to fade into
shadowy gray; the deep, rich purple Of the
grape reached down to clasp hands with the
border of green, still untouched by the frosts !;
delicate shades of amethyst fried with SOM
bre brown; it was in fact, perfect carnival of
color-and over all the tender blue of the sky.
Twas very or lteful for the scene so full If
loveliness which we left just as the heavy
shadows of night were beginning to wrap
themselves about the world. Such memory
pictures help one across rough places. THU
helped me the very next morning for when
| sat down to a breakfast of muddy coffee
islands of sausage surrounded by a sea Of
grease, and hard corn bread, shut my eyes,
swallowed the coffee, mud and all, and
leaving the indigestibes for some one with II
more robust food -assimilating apparatus than
myself, turned my thoughts to the bright pic
ture | had seen and forget my hunger.
In approaching Chattanooga a person of Il
sentimental turn of mind is made to feel as
coming upon ground made almost sacred by
its past history. Surround ID by battle-felds
with remnants OF earlh-e or IS not only around
but in the very midst OF the city; with Mis-
sion Ridge stretching its length far out toward
the south; with grand Old Lookout standing
like sentinel, its face forever northward; and
over against the town, the soldiers camps camp
sOf low green tents,
Whose curtains never outward swing
But life is too short for us to dwell in the past
There is too much hard work to be done il
the present for us to waste any of our energies
fighting over battles which began and ended
years ago. Better is it to gather up the good
each day brings, and carry that and only tha
with us in our march down the sloping shore:
of Time.
Chattanooga counts herself one of the town.
foreordained to be great from the beginning
Lying in a cup formed by the mountains
about her, she believes all the region around
will contribute to her prosperity. And there
seems to be just grounds for her self-gratu
lation.
AS Chattanooga was the great distributing
point for supplies, during the war, SO is it now
the centre from which radiate iron tracks
carrying passengers and freights to the fou
points Of The compass. Nearly every hour O.
the day and night passenger train arrives OF
leaves over one of the roads. Cincinnati i.
now only few hours further away than Nash
vile. The merchant may eat his supper a
home and his breakfast IN Cincinnati. Pur
chasing his stock during the day, he can leave
the city in season to eat his breakfast at home
the following morning, thus losing but ont
day from his business. This is one of the IT
suits of the opening of the great Cincinnati
Southern, Duilt by the enc gy and generosit,
of that western city Starting in with rate,
lower than other roads, the latter have beel
compelled to loosen their grip little, and thu
result is manifest in heavy increase In travel
The arrangement made for close connections
with roads running into Florida has given t,
the Cincinnati Southern large portion of b
travel which heretofore has reached that par
of ''sun-land" by far more circuitous and eA
pensve routes The line of steamers recent,
established between Fernandina, Fla, and til,
city of Havana has shown its faith in the
success of this route to the seaboard by es
tablishing an agency for its steamers ii
Cincinnati.
Land owners along the route of the Cincn
natl Southern suddenly awoke to the fact tina
there could really be found some one foolisl
enough to buy their land. One man who has
tried in vain to sell his farm for one hundre
dollars, was suddenly electrified by the otfe
of twenty-five hundred, made by a strange
who had not taken the precaution to post hn.
self as to prices. Accepting the offer, a da
was appointed and the two men met at tn.
magistrates office to complete the papers
The purchaser counted olt the price of til
farm-one hundred and twenty five twenty
dollar COLL pieces. The conntryman eyed t.
gold curiously, moved iestlessly about III
room, looked from the gold TO the stran. er
AMI from the stranger to the gold, breaking
out finally with, Il say, you, Mister; recko.
you'll hay to jess keep that thar fur me,
never had SO much money in my whole life
why never saw so much afo', stranger
reckon the best thing can do is to let yo,
keep it, an you can jst give it to me little
at time, like, as | want it,"
So the stranger took the farm and kept tn
money. The simple-heared cOuntryman ask
ed no guarantee as to his stewardship, trustins
him with all the confidence of child.
Large numbers of those who have found
purchasers for their lands have taken theiI
families and their little fortunes and moved on
further west, Arkansas and Texas getting the
larger portion of the emigrants over sixteen
hundred of whom passed through Chattanooga
in the month of December