Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-10-20
ROUND ABOUT MANASSAS GAP.
The Many Points of Interest in that
Vicinity.

4
| BEAUTIES OF THE SCENERY ABOUT THE Blue
/ RIDGE MousTAISs-TRAcEs WHICH TIE WAR
Has LEFT IN THE NOW PEACEFUL vILLAoEs-A
TRIP TO TIE BULL RUN BArrLEFrELps
| FAUoUIRR COUNTY, Va, Oct -, 1890
II is . wonder that more washingtonians do
not make . tour in and about the Blue Ridge
the Blue Ridge down here next door to Washing
| ton. 1t cannot be said that it has the grandeur
! OF our own White mountains, the largeness and
grand simplicity of them, but there is that in
finite variety Of height and valley, warmth Of
| color, visions of stream and high-road and
hundred-year-old high-porched homesteads,
which altogether make up an indescribably
| charming country, full Of continual changing
| interest And, above all, the hospitality Of the
Virginia people! That certainly Is beyond
praise.
THE VILLAGE OF MARKHAM
Markham is the name Of the particular vii
lase happened upon, such happening all
founded upon one faint recollection of a ram
bling double-porched building set close beside
the railroad in the narrow gap" through
which / once came down from Front Royal.
That Is the way CHANGED to come here. The
Markham folk themselves say that they are not
in the real Manassas gap, but that Linden, five
miles above, has that honor. But if there be
anything gappier than the site of Markham
don't know where il is-certainly beyond my
journeyings. Imagine the very smallest
vailey-just big enough for the town road and
the railroad and Goose creek to squeeze
through, while half a dozen houses sit
gather up their skirts. as it were,
about them. We are but Q stones throw
down from the post office, and yet when there
Is a freshet, and there has been one, it is i'm
possible to get to the Office except by swim-
ming or by fording on wheels. for Goose creek
at one point spreads out into a pond in which
the road and the ducks may be said to disport
themselves with equal disregard OF bounds
The view down the road at this place is the
prettiest imaginable, and when the sunset
touches the clear water with glints Of golden
red, and the cattle come down and drink at
the ford, ii is, indeed, picture never to be
forgotten. Nature does not always compose"
artistically, but in this case she has done WELL
even to throwing in a stone fence" at one
side with great arching trees to balance the
cattle.
THE POINTS OF INTEREST
about are many. OF the mountains themselves
and the views therefrom, can say but little,
but not because there is not much to be said
From naked mountain behind US, which we
distinguish as 'our" mountain the view is ex-
ceptonally fine and far-reaching Climbing il
as did, in the saddle, through bush and briar
and thick woods, we reached an open height
from whence we looked down on the small fer
tile valley Of Ord Manor, warm and rich in
coloring, and, beyond that, valley and noun
tain more and more family outlined, stretching
toward the Chesapeake. Still higher We
reached point from which We saw distinctly
Sugar Loaf mountain IN Maryland, the hills
along the Potomac, the near Bull Run noun
tains and the various spurs and outlying ridges
OF the Blue mountains to the eastward and
including the Snickersville
ridge and gap. From the top we descended SO
appeared to me we should simply have to fall
down, and even now, / don't know how
anything but q goat or q mule could have
come down the gully we did. But our horses
were sure footed and picked their way from
stone to stono, sliding and slipping here and
there, but all with safety. On the way my
guide and escort had to take down a part of q
fence for me, and as he did so . yard-long
moccasin, diamonded in browns and tans,
slipped under his hands. In my Utmost femi-
nine soul was delighted to see Mr.. start
back with the exclamation, "a snake!" when
he first saw the handsome thing. Having
killed 1t, he said they generally went in couples
and fastened our horses away.
ORD MANOR,
through which we came, 10 the old Ord home
stead, now the residence of brother of the
late Gen. Ord and q frequent summering place
Of Mrs. Ord. 1t is delightfully."- situated in the |
small valley have mentioned. On our side of |
Naked mountain ia q small story and half |
house, containing apparently, four rooms at
the most, which, am told, was once the resi- |
dence Of Chief Justice Marshall. All the land |
about here was once the property of the Mar |
shall family, but has now passed out of their
hands with some small exceptions. Two de- |
scendents, at least, Of the family, both Of the |
name, live near. All this country was included |
in Leeds Manor, an old-time grant, assume, |
though cannot learn much about it. Sunday |
rode i've miles to Leeds Church, little |
Episcopal church on the road to Orlean (called |
O-leen) and finally to Warrenton In this |
church is the tablet erected by his fellow
officers to Surgeon Amber, who died with |
De Long in Siberia on the retreat from the ILL |
lated Jeanette. In the churchyard is his |
grave, marked by a broken column. The |
church itself is small modern building, brick
and plaster. Not far from it is the old Amber |
house, the residence of Surgeon Ambler's |
uncle. 1t is q quaint and ancient looking |
homestead, but not very old in fact 1t was re-
marked to me as strange that the poor young |
officer should have starved to death when his |
home was noted for its generous table among
all the comfortable livers about
At church fully half the congregation was |
including myself, a most novel ex-
perience. know have the sympathy of all |
persons Of absent-minded ways when confess
that. having pinned up my habit when dis |
mounted and went in, forgot all about the |
Aforesaid pin and feeling an unfamiliar flip |
tapping about M ankles, recalled my habit |
and proceeded to gather it up anew regardless |
Of previous loopings. How far up l succeeded |
in getting that miserable skirt my agonized |
consciousness refuses to reveal. I can but |
hope the congregation did not lay it to any
WILD, USTRAMELLED, YANKEE WAYS.
Speaking Of Yankees, my good host was an |
innocent victim of the severity of war At |
that time he was but boy and was barely four |
teen when one December he was arrested by |
the Union authorities, compelled to spend O |
night in the snow at Fairfax Court House with |
put even the protection of an overcoat, and |
from there was taken to the old Capitol prison.
where he was until April following. That was |
pretty hard on a fourteen-year -old boy He |
has told me story of the war that touched nv |
II seems that to prevent the AT. |
tacks OF Mosby's men on the railroad the older |
inhabitants (men) who had been left at
home were ridden up and down the road
Tor six ive-long weeks. To one who has
been hustled along that road, even at
TINS late day, victim Of the cannon |
ball freight (Which takes passenger car in |
tow to him only can full understanding come
Of the miseries of existence to that foriorn
home guard during those six weeks. Finally, |
1t seems, one Of them was taken to Washing
ton and that was the last ever heard OF him |
He was an old gentleman, one OF the Marshalls, |
and he left behind him two daughters. They
went to Washington and searched for him, but
DO prison held him. no hospital or crowded
burying ground showed his name upon its list
and SO they never found him nor heard of him
again, and to this day the mystery has remained
q mystery.
WAR IN THIS LITTLE GAP