Mexico weekly ledger., 1896-07-09
AT OLD POINT COMFORT.
The Most Noted Pleasure Resort on
the Atlantic Cosst-Sea Voyage
to New York City.
Correspondence of the Ledger.

L POINT CONFRONT, VA, JUL O.
From Richmond to the seashore, q
distance of eighty-five miles, the rail-
road runs between the James and
York rivers. At Yorktown the rivers
are ten miles apart. We were never
more disappointed in a country. Our
impressions have always been that
this James river land was rich tobacco
lands and that negroes were first
brought in here for tobacco raising;
that the earliest settlers particular
traffic with England was In tobacco
raised here. These lands do not look
as though they could have produced
tobacco. 1t is the poorest sandy soil,
which, by fertilization, produces pea
nuts, sweet potatoes, melons and Irish
potatoes. There Is some growing corn
but it does not look as though it will
ever mature. Three-fourths of this
land has been abandoned and is grow
ing up in pin and scrub oak. The
are little, old and dilapidated.
At Williamsburg a man told me that
they had not painted a house in forty
years and painting the houses had
been forbidden. There is an album
dance of fish which, with the use of
potatoes and peanuts, supply all that
is wanted. We we're surprised at the
absence of both cotton and tobacco in
Virginia.
Old Point Comfort is one of the
most noted pleasure resorts on the
Atlantic coast. 1t is a little town OF
about 1000 inhabitants and has two
large hotels, the Hygeia and Cham
berlain, each having 500 to 900 rooms.
1t is on a point of land at the meeting
of the waters of the Chesapeake Bay
and Hampton Roads and where the
Bay opens into the sea-. Fortress
Monroe is here within 500 yards of
the hotel on the beach. This is the
most formidable fort on the coast.
The yard of this fort contains about
twenty acres of ground surrounded by
an embankment of stone and dirt
twenty five feet high and twenty feet
thick with port holes at every side
from which the largest cannon stand
ready for instant use. Around the en-
tire fort wall is q moat thirty feet
wide and some fifteen feet deep, full
of water. There are two entrances to
the fort proper over draw bridges
across the moat; and outside of the
moat, on the east side, next to the
Bay, is a second stone embankment
which we counted forty-tnree
of the largest sized cannOns pointing
to the sea. This would have to be
overcome before the fort proper is
reached. Cannon were everywhere
the walls and within the walls.
There are eight battalions of troops
in this fort with most pleasant quar-
tiers and everything seemed to be in
shape. The government has
another fort on a made island
amid stream where the waters of the
bay and Hampton Roads meet, just
opposite Fort Monroe. This is Fort
Wood.
Hampton Roads Is a beautiful body
of water about eighteen miles across
north and south and thirty or forty
miles east and west. Into this the
James river empties from the west,
the Elizabeth river from the southeast
and Chesapeake Bay from the north.
The beautiful and famous Hampton
Roads is a stirring place. 1t is cover
ed with all kinds of craft from the
tiny skiff to the largest ships and war
vessels. Down the coast west from
Old Point Comfort about two miles is
the town of Hampton and three miles
further, all connected by electric cars,
is New Port News with its $4,000 peo-
pie. Here are built and launched the
largest war vessels because of the
depth of the water.
Across the Roads southeast at the
coming in of the Elizabeth river is
Norfolk with 40, 900 people n dinclud-
ing her adjoining towns 100, 900 people.
Here we have the largest navy yards
in the United States. During the
greater part of the late war Norfolk
and Fit. Monroe were under the con-
troll of the Confederate troops. 1t was
here in the Hampton Roads where the
celebrated battle occurred between
the Merrimac and the Monitor. We
sailed over the very spot where q
meeting was arranged for Abraham
Lincoln and jefferson Davis to arbi-
trate peace and endeavor to close the
war.
There are fine oyster beds here ant
the little white sails dotted the water
in every direction by parties taking
oysters or fishing. Want of time wa
all that interfered with my going, al
we had pressing invitations. Hon
Grover Cleveland was down here las
week fishing and hunting.
We took the steamship Roanoke, Q
the Old Dominion line, for New Yorl
City. The distance is 29O miles. Leav
ing Norfolk at 1880 p. m. you arrive q
New York at 6 p. m. the next day,
not delayed by storms. This sea voy
age ON the Atlantic was pleasant an
novel to Us, whose life has been o.
Missouri's prairies. After leavin
Cape Charles we were out of sight G
land until we sighted Atlantic Git
about noon on the second day. Fror
this point to the city we pass in flu
view of Ocean Grove, Asbury Pari
Long Branch and around Sandy Hoo
into the harbor of New York. TIL
dangerous part of this route is O
Hatteras, opposite Delaware Bay,
point where many storms occur an
many vessels have been wrecked
The government has done everything
10 protect vessels in the way of mum
erous light houses, etc. At man
points there are light houses anchore
and remain night and day to war
against the banks. Our voyage was a
exceedingly quiet one. Not a whit
cap was in sight and the waters wer
as quiet, comparatively, as a river, nc
even the tide swells being high. W
had no unpleasant sea sickness, di
not miss a meal and slept like q chilt
The axfrauaa fotr Na~ Vork harhr