The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-07-25
AI. JULY 25, 1885
In the Wilds.

am quite certain of it. If it were not
that railroad affords connection with
tne outside world the few of us who
are here tonight would be literally
inhablting "a lodge in some vast
wilderness, some boundless contigu-
lty OF shade" The ak of civilization
mas but blazed the rugged face of ma
ture. Believe me, nature, grand,
glorious and untamed, is doomed
ine Jockeys of trade have taken her
IN hand and will break her in-arp
freaking her in now. What are we
going to do when there is no longer
4 -, 'a,ltSeEness to flee to-no refuge Of
tsoi9tude from the ceaseless hum and
strafn Of business, business, business,
always business! AS we were climb.
Ing the mountain by steam to-day.
comparing this with that-What |
saw with what l had left far behind
was thinking how hard man
works, how much he frets, to buy a
coffin.
AT 1925 this morning we left Deer
Park-ex'SenatOr Henry G. Davis
and his sOn-in.law, Stephen B. Elk
ins, the big Blaine chief, the Presi-
dent and Vice President of the West
Virginia, Central & Pittsburgh Rail
way Prof. l. G. White, who comes
to make a geological survey for the
government; three Messrs. Ledeau,
who are prospecting with a view to
locate large tannery in this region
of abundant bark At O'Clock we
were on board West Virginia Cen
trail train at Piedmont, bound hither.
At Piedmont we were joined by Col.
Thomas B. DAVIS, General Manager
of the road, and Superintendent w.
E. Porter, an old Baltimore & Ohio
official who is well remembered along
that line. Capt. G. w. Harrison,
agent at Piedmont, was at the train
TO shake hands all around. We caught
sight CT Auditor Woodrow and his
father, Major Simeon D. Woodrow,
who had inquiries to make of old
Wheeling friends and kindly mes
sages to send. Cashier McCandlish,
of the Piedmont National Bank (Da-
vis) was good enough to say that if
any one in the party ran short of
ready money he would be glad to
cash check-well endorsed. My
good friend Jimmy Little, who man
ages the Elk Garden mine and is
proud of it. who fought for Blaine
at Martinsburg and hOwled himself
h0arse with the rest of us, gets on to
offer us all free passes for a round trip
over his incline up the sheer noun
tain side. Tempting as such offers
always are, the angle of inclination
was greater than the temptation. 1t
was some consolation to know that
the gallant old hero of Appomat-
tox had declined a like tender from
Brother Little. Therefore we were
all able to conclude that it was not
fear, but lack of time, that controlled
our movements. Exploration of the
big fourteen-foot vein we left for an
other time, and went on with our
mountain climbing.
AS we assembled the heavy grade,
sometimes more than seventy feet to
the mile, the gorge became narrow,
the enclosing heights Ioftier, and
turned from the receding view to a
seat in the locomotive cab beside En-
gineer Doughty, where l might come
face to face with the wild grandeur OF
the wilderness as we dashed further
into its wooded depths. AS the con-
ductor called out the stations it SEEM
ed that we must be in a mixed eau
Gus of statesman, the conductor being
in fact chairman of the caucus "rec-
0gniZing" gentlemen as one after an
other they claimed the floor to speak
to 1.-The State of the Union" or some
thing of that sort. For example,
Barnum, Window. Chaffee, Blaine,
SchelI, Elkins, Bayard, Camden,
Davis. Perhaps l ought to include
Fairfax, but that takes us too far back
At ElkinS l saw the Blaine pole, the
first one raised anywhere in this re-
gion and still pointed to with pride,
Notwithstanding circumstances over
which we had no control" Elkins'
railway station and postofiice, lies on
the Maryland side in Garrett county
though much of the settlement is on
the West Virginia side. the two parts
being connected by an excellent
bridge. The friends at home will be
the better able to locate Elkins when
they are told that it lies at the foot OF
Fort PendIeton, where the Northwes-
tern Pike crosses the North Branch
of the Potomac into Maryland.
AS we stopped at Elkins for a mo-
ment recalled q conversation with
the venerable father of Mr.. S. B.
LNIIyfNa GookoL -, IL l. L.