The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1886-12-16
SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA.
sarveying for a RalIroad.
Special to the Manufacturers Record.l

NONSiipCl 81 lOCO.
The party OF which your cores
/ pondent is attached is under the lead
ership of Gen. j. I. Wilder, of Chat
tanooga, yice-president Of the Char
lesion, Cincinnati & Chicago Rail-
road. He is accompanied by Col I.
E. Matson, of Johnson City, chief en-
gineer of the company, and by Mr.. F.
A. Stratton, OF Chattanooga. The
chief purpose of the expedition is to ex-
anime the geological formation of the
counties in Virginia and Kentucky
through which the road will pass, and
to ascertain approximately the extent
OF the coal, iron and marble deposits
that would furnish freight to the rail
road. The surveys made by State
and national engineers have mapped
out the broad areas in which these
abound, and the experts who follow
have but to examine the districts thus
outlined, and to determine the extent
and value of those deposits that would
when developed, Of necessity find a
market by this route.
After leaving Johnson City, Tenn,
our party passed through the rich
rolling lands Of Washington county,
famous for wheat and corn crops, ford
ed the Holston river just below the
mouth of the Watauga, and passed on
across Sullivan county to the Virgin
ia border. The farther we got north
ward the more broken the country
Mountain spurs were in sight, and Oft
en- those in front seemed to bar our
advance, but when we neared them
we found a good wagon road that
wound its way through fertile valleys
and over grassy Or forest-covered
ridges, carrying us through mountain
gaps hidden from the traveller until
he finds himself in them. After eros
sing into Virginia and fording several
small creeks and the north fork of the
Holston, we passed through low gap
in the Clinch mountains and reached
the little village of Estillville, the cap
itol of Scott county. The country we
had traversed for "a miles was all
adapted to wheat, corn and grass.
There were many farms whose houses,
fences and outbuildings gave ample
evidence of thrift and prosperity.
The country was well watered with
springs, brooks, creeks and branches.
Every main watercourse in this sec
tion flows little south of west, con-
forming in this with the mountain
spurs and ranges.
Estillville is a village of 300 inhabi-
tants. 1t is built on the side OF. a
short narrow valley through which
flows Little Moccason creek, tribu.
tary of Big Moccason, which is a
branch of the Holston. A brick court
house. two hotels, dozen stores and
fifty or more dwellings make the
place Before reaching it we passed
at several points the roadbed Of the
South Atlantic & Ohio, a railroad pro
jected some years ago, which was in
tended to run from some point ir
North Carolina where it should con
meet with the Yadkin Valley road tC
some other point in Kentucky where i
! would connect with the Louisville
Nashville system. The company wa
not able to carry out the original in
tention, They began work at Bristol
Tenn, and after grading two-thirds o
the way to Estillville they stopped op
erations. Within the last two year
= the franchise and property has beel
bought by Boston parties who owl
: the extensive coal and timber land
in Wise county, Va. The new propri
etors are doing some work in gradin
northward towards their proposed tel
II minus. Whatever plans If any, ma
have been formed beyond this hav
= not been made public.
7 The country between Estillyille an
Hunters valley, in which are Eagani
Springs, is even more broken tina
. that south of it. The course Of th
. mountain ranges and streams is tn
J same, but the elevations are highe
and the gaps are notequally depressed
y There is nothing, however, in the ma
: ural conformation to prevent the col
struction of railroad northwar
through the country, or to entail
= heavy expense upon the builders. A
: compared with the difficulties el
countered by the engineers in layin
I out the line of the Murphy extensio
u in Western North Carolina, or thos
which Col. Matson had to overcome j
constructing the Cranberry road, tn
. Charleston, Cincinnati & Chicago G
viii have an easy job to get throug
this country. Nature seems to hay
u made provision for railroad thToug
u it. In one or two places grade
: so feet to the mile may be require
but with these few exceptions Il
- changes from level will be so slig
l9 as to be imparceptible.