Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-03-02
| ETTERS OF Az
- LOOKER-ON.
CHARLES Town, w. VA.
Feb. 26, 1895.
To the Editor of the Herald.

FEB. 20, 1895
To the Editor of the Herald.
1t may be thought an odd and fanci-
full association of ideas, but really the
eastern boundary of West Virginia al
ways looks to me like photographed
streak Of zigzag lightning. 1t seems
to run everywhere at once in its de-
vious course along the mountain
ranges, and as the bewildered eye at
temps to trace its wild and perplexed
meandeing, Byron's description of
night-storm in the Alps comes to
mind
Far along,
From peak to peak the rafting crass
among
Leaps the live thunder.
The survey no doubt followed the
county lines as we'll as the main choro-
graphic features ofthe country; the re-
suit as delineated on the maps is a
stupendous marvel and standing evil
dence of what competent knowledge
OF trigonometry, altimetry, Longtime
try, obliquimetry, and profundimetry
can accomplish when put to the test
Any country surveyor can run a
straight line if it isn't too long; but it
requires scientific skill of no common
order, to lay off an infinite succession
of zigzags such as compose the boun-
dairy between West and East Virginia
Where are you going to, Pat'' said
one to an Irishman who was stagger-
ing along under topheavy load of
material tanglefoot IAN faith,
and whar should l be goin' but goin
homer" he answered. Then you bet
ter be in hurry for your home is long
way off, said the other. "Yis, you re
right, bedad," replied the Irishman;
but, by howly Saint Peter, it's not
the lingth ov the road but the bridth
ov it m "a mindin', you see.
And really it does seem as if the
surveyors of our eastern boundary had
grown tired of the "bridth' of their
work, and, on reaching the borders of
Berkeley, had thrown up their job in
despair, saying, let the rest be called
|e6erSon. Thus it is said did the
worlds progenitor, father Adam, when
sitting on a stump (sic) at the front
gate of Paradise he gave names to his
posterlty. The day was waning; the
sun was down, and twilight had lin
its sober livery all things clad. The
old man was tired and sleepy; his
stock Of names was running low; so
he suddenly arose and dismissed the
congregation by saying, LET all the
rest be called Smith. You need not
look for this account in Milton Para.
disc Lost; it isn't there; and yet it
may be just as true as some other
matters therein related. At any rate
it may serve to illustrate how Jefferson
County and some of her neighbors got
into West Virginia.
Have you ever seen a drawing OF
the original gerrymander2 If you
have net seen an outline of this famous
nondescript, just cast your eyes on
any goodsized map of West Virginia
and you will get as true an idea Of
( what ID gerrymander is as if you had
seen the original Gagged and on exhi-
( bition. See, how on the northwest
corner of the State the Panhandle
stands stiffly up like an image of the
Unicorn exalting his horn; then on
the opposite side behold how gentle
hearted Jefferson County stretches
forth her arms toward the mother
State as if 10th to leave her loving EN-
brace. To the South-well, let us
come down to plain prose-say, did
you ever see anything in the world
more like a pieced and patched pud-
ding bag States have their physiog-
Monies, and who knows but there NAV
be hereafter such a science as univers-
al physiognomics
But all this has little relation to
what should be here discussed The
object of this letter is to draw atten-
ton to the fact that whenever we have
left our natural mountain borders and
gone down into the lower country, we
have annexed a population more Vir-
gilman than West Virginian in its
general character-a people differing
from the rest of the State in many of
their manners, customs, social habits,
and markedly alien in their political
creed and inherited prejudices. Take,
/ for instance, Jefferson County, and
where will you find a population more
thoroughly Virginian, or less West
Virginian in its affiliations and 81 M
pathies? This is by no means said as
derogatory to the good people of Jeffer-
son; it is simply stated as fact which
no man of common fairness can or
will deny. Nay more, there are not a
few Jeffersonians who. were it said in
their presence, would take it as a com
pliment rather than otherwise. They
are proud of their Virginian ties and
principles as distinguished from West
Virginian association. Nor is Jeffer-
son-lapping over as it does into Vir.