The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-09-15
KN0CK.ABOUT NOTES.

Tho traveller who dashcs through
West Virginia by rail wonders what
there Is In thu state beside conl mines
and lumber camps to sustain n populn-
ton. For the most part the railroads
run through nNrough region. often along
nlunSlng torrents that hive cleft their
way through Wild gorges whose fruwn.
Ing walls seem like buttlemcnts built
In y war OF giants The fair valleys
and the fertile platcnuS are shut out
from view, To ste them and To apprc-
Clate their value one must 20 ncrOss
country, leaving the railroads behind.
The turnpike and the country rond
show where the valleys and the plat
eauS are. where the grain r,pcns for
tho harvester and the live stock crops
the blue grass TO the mountain tons,
An eastern friend asked Inc recently
II 1t were not unsafe To make such
trip except In large parties well armed,
Two OF US have Just made such a trip
and neither wag armed with more than
pcnknife. Human lie and property
are safer In the West Virginia noun.
talns than In any great city. The peo-
pie are gentle and kind and welcome
visitors. The moral atmosphere Is
against lawlessness. Robbery and MUIR
der are very rare.
Extremes OF transportation prices
meet in the Vicinity OF Gauley Bridge,
so named for bridge which has not
been there since the war time, when 1t
was destroyed paid seventy cents
I.N fARr MI uat \, Al.
mouth of Gauley river, distance OF
$40 feet. Just over on the. other side
OF the Kanawha the Chesapeake K
Ohio railroad carried coal for nine
months of last year ut the rate OF n
quarter OF n cent per ton per mile. It
should be explained that / had two
horse team. for which | paid the re-
turn fare. 1t was that or nothing, and
had to move 10 keep IN appointment
at Anstead. The ierrymun at GauIey
Bridge does not do n rushing business
and probably he does not charge more
than enough to Keep him going. The
stone piers of the bridge seem as good
Today as they We're generation ago.
II would not cost great deal 10 put on
Il superstructure and have u bridge, hut
THE travel Is not enough 20 Justify the
outlay. Gauley Bridge used to be an
Important distributing point for
large back country, but when the ex-
tension OF the railroad was run up the
Gauley rlverthough not much OF auex-
tension. II was enough 10 write Icha-
bod on the door OF Gauley Bridge.
Maiden, in -Kanawha county, Is an
other place that has been left behind
In the march OF progress. a pretty
spot to which its people are naturally
much attached, well located on the Ka-
nawha. II has only n past. Once NAL
den was the centre OF all the business
and life OF Its region. More than sixty
salt furnaces clustered about 1t, belch-
Ing their black smoke into the ali. and
hurryitg off their Snow-white product
by boat TO market. To-day single
salt furnace remains to pay tribute to
Maiden and TO commemorate the old
days when kanawha salt was a factor
in the life of the people OF that line
valley. The Dickinson furnace still
finds market, principally In Ken
lucky, where the value OF It's product
Is appreciated. The system or dea1-
renting and the more chcanly produc-
ed salt OF New York and Michigan
have almost written the last chapter In
the history OF Kanawha salt under
stand that by utilizing the bitter wat
or" that Is thu water remaining after
the salt has been extracted from the
brine. 10 make bromlnc, and by hav-
Ing the best appliances and Its own
coal, the Dickinson furhace makes
fair return on the investment. This h
more than can be said for the salt
works on tlrs Ohio river where, am
told salt Is being sold at loss OF ten
cents on every barrel Maiden was
busy town when Charleston was cut
ting no figure. People who lived down
Charleston way used TO 20 up 10 Nal
den to do their trading. Long strings
Of teams from the back counties came
to Maiden to bring produce and carry
back store goods. All OF this ~ as
tale that Is told, and Maiden Is little
more. than a distant suburb OF pros
peruus Charleston. In these days
guests are rare ut Muldcn'S hotel, but
there Is kindly attention To the
wants Of those who do drop in. \ rail-
road runs by Maiden. but the railroad
company does not think the quaint and
quiet old place OF enough importance
10 put M 10 much as a shed for a sta
ton. and no tickets are sold there.
Thousands OF persons have seen
Hawks Nest, as they dashed by on the
railroad. and It is worth special Jour-
ney to see, 50 great natural curiosity
IS this over jutting cliff. After seeing
il from below 1t Is worth the long pull
up the mountain to stand Oh the cllfi
and See the picturesque canyon below.
ii Is said that Chief Justice Marshall