The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1884-02-23


Patience, o soul From little field
There cometh often gracious yield;
Who touched His garments hem is healed.
-Carloha PER-.
5--4Ass- x.zZx Ia
Hartford Courant.
When we reached the gap through
which the James river comes, and the
Richmond and Alleganey roads follow
ing along the unused canal, the valley
narrowed and the scenery along the upper
James became wilder and more pictur-
esque. At Roanoke and Salem the
Blue Ridge and the Alleganey became
confused both villages liein valleys or
basins, with the high hills, some of
them with the dignity of mountains,
standing round in goodly array. The
Richmond and Alleganey roads comes
in at Roanoke and when we clattered
into town we found ourselves in radl-
ating network of tracks, as if we were
coming into large city. This railroad
which pokes its way West through a
mineral region to an Ohio connection,
is to destined to a considerable future.
If anyone will take the trouble to look
on the map he will see that its line is
the shortest between the central great
West and Northwest and the sea-board
its grades are exceedingly easy all the
way, in fact not to be reckoned as any
obstacle to the moving of the heaviest
trains, and thus its facilities for the
transport of freight are unequaled.
We had not been in Roanoke five
minutes before it was evident that we
were in the midst of vast real estate,
railroad and mineral speculation, or
shall say enterprise? The long, low
station, a handsome building, with broad
platforms and projecting roofs, was
thronged with restless, moving crowd,
either just arrived or departing, or how
ering with aview to settling like aswarm
of bees. Where this pretty station stands
was swamp eighteen months ago. We
ate our dinner and good one, in low
ceiled, dainty dining-room in the So
called Queen Ann style-though that
Queen probably never sat so tasteful a
dining-room or had so good dinner, and
when we had finished, having an hour
to wait before the car went on to Salem,
seven miles further, we strolled out to
look on ninoM xoIuidsIn Near the station
were going up large, solid and hand
some brick buildings, extended for the
offices ofthe company. On hill above
it stands the charming hotel, also Queen
Ann, handsome inside and out and COM
handing lovely prospect of the I'M
even valley and the circumventingmoun
tians. The grounds of the hotel are
new, but about to be pretty with walks
and flower beds, and already attractive
by reasons of the fountains, which play
in prodigality. The pure and cold
water for them comes from the same
source that supplies the town, a great
natural spring which bursts out of the
mountain to the east some three miles
distant, in volumn enough to form agood
stream, always cold and delicious, and
in quantity sufficient to supply town of
100, 900 people. Its source being higher
than any of the hillocks of the town, it is
brought in without the aid of machi-
merry. From this mountain we saw the
town rising, literally rising before our
eyes in every direction-the noise OF
of hammering and hauling filled the air /;
streets of temporary wooden shops and
dwellings, drinking shops and ''hotels'
with false board fronts hiding the upper
half stories and big lettered signs, after
the manner of the West, isolated dwell
lings on every hill and knoll, every
where the debris of building and ditch
ing and road making. The company
i think it is called the Virginia Land
improvement Company-which is re-
sponsible for this activity, and which
own the Luray Cave and the splendid
hotel there, has bought up all the land
in sight in the valley, and is pushing
things. Eighteen months ago there
was nothing here but an Insignificant
settlement of four or five hundred peo-
pie. Now there is a lath and plaster
city with nobody knows how many in
habitants, estimated at from six to sew
en- thousand. At little distance from
the station are the extensive car and
repair shops of the Shenandoah COM
pany, large and imposing buildings
covering a good deal of ground and to
employ this month 1000 workmen.
The basis of the city, of course, aside
from its position as railway center, is
the iron furnace, the smoke of which
we saw in a near valley. The iron ore,
which is said to be of a superior quality,
comes by rail from mountain to the
south. The pig iron which we saw
turned out at these new works is pro-
nounced to be very fine. The superin-
tendent, or managing owner, who we
saw at the station, told US that he was
turning out 100 tons daily, and that he
was under contract-the forfeit ofwhich
was the iron mines-to furnish 100 tons
a day for five years at $40 ton. l
believe that iron of this quality is pro-
duced nowhere else so cheap in the
world-in England / was told that the
lowest cost is about 5000 ton. If
this sort of iron can be sold here for
SO a ton-and l was informed that it
cost only So to produce it-what is to
become of the Pennsylvania furnaces !?
And has not Roanoke and Virginia
promising future?
Salem, a beautiful pleasant, old
fashioned village of some four or five
thousand people-with large negro
population large enough to turn its vote
into the disreputable readjusters side
has more natural advantages asto health,
sightliness, fertility and picturesque
ness perhaps, than Roanoke, and equal
advantages for iron manufacture and
railway operations, and it was perhaps