The Osceola times., 1882-06-17


Cleveland, delightful town, with
more good people ia it than any place
of It's size on the globe, comes next
on the journey. Then Knoxville,
the headquarters Of the road, is ar
rived at, and no city in Tennessee is
more prosperous or more pleasantly
( located. Large Numbers Of people
from all over the South spend their
summers here among as hospitablc a
! people as are to be found any where
on earth. Grccnville. once th. home
of Andrew johnson, and Johnson
Vile. and other points Of lesser CO.
sequence, are passed ~ rapid s,.-
ccssion until we reach Bristol -Gof +.
son. a neat little city which lies par,
/ ly in Virginia and partly in Tennes-
see, aud has dual government. Ii
il the eastern terminus of the East
Tennessee & Georgia railroad, and
also the western terminus of the Nor
folk a. Western railroad. Onward
we go, having crossed into the old
commonwealth Of Virginia. a State
that has been so often described
needs no mention from us until we
reach the far famed and beautiful
Shenandoah Valley. Suffice it to
say that the farms are as well culti-
waited and as yielding as ever, and
the rivers are as clear and the water
as pure as in the days of yore.
Roanoke, the point of junction Of
the Norfolk x Western, with the
Shenandoah Valley road Is reached
aud we enter upon an area Of coun-
| try, which. while every one las
heard Of it, very few people, com
paratively speaking, have seen il per
sonalIy. Tho road itself takes its
name from the famous valley which
Washington, even in his day, termed
the "Garden of Virginia" With
allied roads in the southwest it to-
day forms part of continuous line
or system which practically reaches
from Boston to Memphis, and it is
cmphatically the grand trunk route
between the northeast and southwest.
The places Of interest on this line
are So numerous and our space for
noticing them in detail is so limited
that we must content ourselves with
the mention Of only the most prom
inent. Luray, place now SO wide
" known, is romantically and beau
tifully situated In the center of the
valley, the oavcrns of which attract
the first and chief attention Of the
visitors, These paYcrns are withoi
rival, peerless and alone. OF their
kind they rank coniessedly as first
as the diamond ranks first among
gems, owing TO It's superior beauty
as well as rarity. Other caves there
are, some more extensive, perhaps,
in area and extent. Some NAV be
partially and similarly adorned, but
it is conceded by those competent to
Judge, and who have visited the o,he,
well known caves of the world, that
The caverns ofLuray surpass all 9th
crs in the known world in their mag
niicencc and facinating beauty OF
the stalactitic and stalagmitic orna-
mcntations. The cavrr', 90 lia'
ID throughout IL J tic '~l.,
Enroute We 20 'he Nah',a'
two and bal. miles dieir
Lexing,on at distance of Il t'
where lie buried the two great
fedcrate chiefs, Lee and JacksoH
We hurry on and arrive at llag,
town, the northcn terminus Of IT,
Shenandoah Valley railroad. From
his point we 20 to Baltimore ovel
he Western Maryland railroad.
From Baltimore We 90 TO Washing
ton, returning to Baltimore we tax,
the Bay Line of Steamers, the finest
hat float the waters. and steam ou
way down the Chesapeake bay to
Norfolk. From this point we depart
for our respective homes via Lynch
burg to Roanoke, from which point
we traverse the same rdfitp we came