Smyrna times., 1886-03-03
For the Smyrna Times.
Three-FOurths Of the Way
Across the Continent.

Sitting in the depot at Wilmington,
Del, one chilly night in the middle of
October, 1888, were what was appar-
emily a gay party. They had gathered
there to take a last farewell of three
young people bound for the great West
the great unknown. Jests went
round till the train came in and were
lost in the rush for the cars. At the
platform gOod-byes were hastily
spoken and handshakings rapidly gone
through with and then we seated our
selves with the window glass between
us and our friends outside, to listen to
what they were trying to make us
understand by word of mouth and
beckonings. A few minutes sufliced
for all for the train began slowly to
move off. Handkerchiefs were waved
and the last goodbye said, all appar-
emily emOtiOnless, but the writer with
a smile without and a sigh within.
The train was behind time so it was
midnight before the last city light dis
appeared behind us. Three stops and
at two o'clock Baltimore was reached.
Soon our car was ferried over the river
and after a great deal of shifting and
hammering at the wheels we were at
tached to the Baltimore & Ohio train
and left Baltimore in its slumbers on
our way to Washington, which we
reached at 80. The bell echoed and
re-echoed in the depot. Every
thing seemed hushed as if death
had again grappled the life of her hero
and the clouds of night were the drap-
ings of mourning. We could see the
broad outlying avenues by the city
lights, but could not distinguish
a building in the city, not even the
Capitol. Here four passengers boarded
IA gentleman, two ladies and a little
girl, whom, we afterward learned
lived in the adjoining county in Kan
sas, whittier two of our party were
bound, and had been spending the Fal
months in Washington. They left us
that noon at Grafton, w. Va, taking
the short line to St. Louis. Our stOI
was not long and we were soon under
way again, when sleep crept in ovei
our senses, but the .jarring train would
not permit continued rest, 50 we were
up before the sun and could see dimly
through the gray of dawn the greer
hills Of Maryland, smoking with dew
Near 3 o'clock we crossed into Vir
ginia, where, as the legend goes, the
worm fences are so crooked that {
wOOdchuck crawling through invar
iably comes out on the same side. Ou
crossing was at Harper's Ferry and W.
could not help but think of JOhI
Brown and the scenes this plac,
looked upon in the last war. The
Potomac, here a shallow, pebbly
stream, sweeps under the railroad
bridge which joins Maryland and Vir
ginia, and great granite walls rise higl
on either side.
Crossing again into Marylaud a
Cumberland, the centre of Maryland
coal trade, thirty minutes for break
fast were given, which time W
spent in stretching ourselves il
viewing the city. Time flies, and sool
we were again under way, and till tn
middle of the afternoon we tOiled Of
with two locomotives through tn
mountains of West Virginia, thrOugl
frost-tinted forests, over deep gullies
up steep grades, through innumerabl
little tunnels and threading along tn
shallow Potomac, dreaming that some
where its waters brOadened and deer
ened to meet the sea, that some
where its banks stretched ava
into rolling plains dotted with farm,
where its bosom is whitened with tn
sails of commerce aud where a fey
short years ago it bore above tn
waters the national sentinels of 1Ud
guarding her capital. At the station
by the way, we saw the West Vii
| ginians making great splurges in thei
Southern Vernacular: we could Sc
men and women riding hOrsebac
along the mountain roads, apparent
the common mode of travel. No,
and then a great mansion would az
| pear but mostly we saw only sma
! frame and log houses, lacking pain
! sometimes with a coat of whiteWasl
the great stone chimneys built out
/ side.
At one station a tall, unshaven Yves
/ Virginian, with brOad-brim hat an
pants tucked in his boot tops, entere
the car with a woman whom he seate
beside another lady, and, there bein
no other seat vacant he sat down bt
side me. He eyed her suspiciousl
and l ventured to ask who it might b,
wheieupun he replied
" Its my wife she never have rid o
the keers before"
He asked her if it made her sick an
receiving a negative reply he resigne
himself to quietness and his quid
Nothing occurred to excite us fror
the reveries of our past lives into whic
we had fallen except the probable xii
ling of a man unfortunate enough t
be in the way of railroad train, unit
we reached Bellaire. Here we crosses
the Ohio, on great bridge whic
spans it, to BenwoOd. These name
have since become familiar with tn
late floods and both looked snugly Sc
/ cure.
BEYOND THE OHIO RIVER.