Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1885-07-08
THE TRIP A POEM IN ITSELF.

The Great W0nder---Natnre's Puzzle Picture.
HOW 1T IdPREssEs DIFFERENT PERSONS.
THE COMFORTABLE HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS.
Return to the Depot and Arrival at
Staunfon.
As heretofore announced, the Staunton
Artillery Company resolved to celebrate
this year our national anniversary-the 4th
of July-by getting up an excursion to the
Natural Bridge. They chartered a train
and had all in readiness to leave the depot
in this city at six o'clock in the morning.
At little after that hour the cars were fill
ed, with the members of that company, the
Stonewall Brigade Band, students of Duns-
more's Commercial College, and ladies and
gentlemen, and boys and girls, and other
citizens, old and young, of this city and vi
cinity, making joyous and happy party Of
about two hundred in number. Too much
cannot be said in commentator of the
committee Of arrangements, consisting Of
Lit. Jas. A. Shewey, 1t. Jas. w. Blackburn,
and Quarter Master G. A. NEWMAN. The
party went on the G.. & o. Railroad to
Waynesboro', and from there to the Natu-
raj Bridge depot, on the Shenandoah Val
ley Railroad. The scenery along the route
is beautiful, and was much enjoyed. Points
of special interest were pointed out, among
them the cozy home and handsome farm of
Col. J. c. Shields, at Riverside. We have not
the space to specify the points of interest and
beauty on this route, and to give descrip-
ton Of them, and must allude to them mere
ly as whole and in general terms.
The pleasant and joyous company, the
beautiful and picturesque scenery on the
hills and dales, the silver streams, the beau
tiful cascades, the fields of harvested golden
wheat, and growing, luxuriant corn, the
pleasant temperature, the sky flecked with
clouds-made the trip a poem in itself, which
reached its climax in the grandeur and sub
Unity of the Natural Bridge,-one of the
most wonderful works of the Great Archi-
tect-making its concluding stanza dwarf
the greatest ever written by inspired poet
from the blind bard of Solos Isle to the
present poet-laureate of England. This was
poem that not only pleased the fancy, but
entranced the imagination and thrilled the
soul with emotions of inexpressible wonder
and delight.
On arriving at the grounds, after ride
of several miles from the railroad depot, in
omnibuses, hacks, carriages, and vehicles
of every imaginable character, our party Of
excursionists were delighted to find that
they had been so much improved, and that
such fine buildings had been erected, and
that such ample provision had been made
for their comfortable accommodation. The
fact that the popular and genial gentleman.
]. Bernard Peyton, Esq, is the Superin-
tendent, with the experienced Capt. W il
hanson as clerk, insures to visitors the best
possible attention and accommodation.
about 200 in number-had registered their
names at the Hotel, and had the dust of
travel brushed from their clothes, they
wendell their way to witness the great won
der that had been the chief object of their
visit 1t was viewed from all points, from
above and below, and from both sides, and
it was very interesting from every position.
Many went up Cedar Creek, that rum; be-
meath the bridge, to see the Saltpeter Cave,
the Lost River, and the Lace Falls, and
other objects of interest in that wonderful
gorge. The bridge is 215 high, and 100 feet
wide, with span of 90 feet
The most frequent, and among the first
questions asked by visitors on reaching po-
sitions beneath the bridge, are:-
"Where didWashington inscribe his name,
which it is reported he did higher than any
one else? At what part was it that Jas. H.
Piper, in 1918, climbed the bridge to great
height? Where on the arch is the eagle,
and where.the lion?''
We did not see where Washington carved
his name, and we are disposed to believe
that he never performed the feat of putting
it on that wall of perpendicular stone high
er than any one else, for we think he was
too sensible to be guilty of such rash act
That Piper reformed the feat of climbing
the wall to a great height seems to be very
well authenticated, strange as it may seem.
He did not climb under the arch, however. AS
we entered from the East, we, like most
others, were anxious to see the American
Eagle and the British Lion. We looked for
them, but could not see them. We inquired
if any one present could see them, when a
colored man said, Eyes, can show them to
you" Then he commenced by pointing
out dark and light places, and said, "Don't
you see the eagle with his head looking
this way, with his wings outspread, and the
lion just under his left wing?" No, we
couldn't see them. He described them
again and again. We looked and looked,
until our neck felt like it would break, but
we could not see them. Others present said
they could see them. We wondered why
we could not. Finally, by intense looking
aided by the imagination, we saw what
they called the eagle and the lion, but we
were not satisfied with them, because we
thought it was doing the American eagle
great injustice to call such figure as that
representation of our national emblem
But believing then that we had seen what
was understood to represent the eagle and
the lion, we took pleasure in pointing them
out to others, who, like ourself, had been
unable to see them. Now the fact is, that
we were right at first in declining to accept
the figure viewed from that position as the
eagle, for we found afterwards, when look
ing at the arch from the West, that the ca
gle was the most conspicuous figure on it
from that position. The body and wings
and tail were well defined, but no head
The wings are not as long and pointed as
they should be, docking more like a NAM
IL q