The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-01-03
L O CTBA.
Mr. J. A. Crews. OF The M~<.enEer.
the -Fir~t stage of Hi.
~Journey-Iie IL Now sereing the
Exposition Mt Charleston.
Special Correpondsnee.l

Charleston & C Der -
The frs; s,1se Of nay journey 10 The
West Indies u4E completed when +:
reacfrd Charleston today at about I-Fa
O'Clock p IN am noa comfortably 10.
Gated At tn r a Aryxle hotel or. 81
the most complete and Up to date no
tells in all % IL appointments TO :.
found IL the Ca-ollnas- Mr. ). II Hin
ton. OF Wilmington. oae Of the hes; and
most popular hotel men in the south. j.
It's MANAGE. ! have just aalxhed dlu
ner- been OF every hoor p partly
Through tn bnl!ding. find every
thing new n arst-Class from bottom
TO top l am sure tina, hundreds %
North C~arohnioT5 ALL max the Arygls
their home during the exposition. ana
liter 1t Is over when thew visit Charles
ton.
! hope TO v;at the exposition grounds
tomorrow and chen give the many read
@rs OF The Messenger some OF my i'm
pressslons in regard 10 them. Then }
expect 10 move on into the lower lati
tudes towards The beautifuf southern
'~islar.is which , hope soon to see anT
get out OF The reach OF the cold wInds
and frosts which ave been pInChiu-
me- UP in North Carolina OF late.
Leaving Wilmington yesterday at ; &
O'Clock the run 10 Florence was mad
by 7:25, 10 miles. In three hours n
forty minutes. Captain J. VI. Walker
lone OF the Coast Lines most popular
and experienced conductors. was IL
charge. l spent the night in Florence
at the Central hotel. OF which MI. VIII
l.. Barrringer is manager. and which 4
Ione OF the best houses in South Carroll
ma. 1t is At this hotel that | max
headquarters while at work in that sec
tion OF the state for The Messenger.
After spending the night with min,
host B~arringer,I boarded that now pop
ular train which leaves Wilmington at
500 a. m, and reached Charleston at
l:10 p. m. Captain Gasque. another one
of the Coast Lines energetic young
conductors. was in charge OF this train.
and the run Of IO2 miles was made ir
about three hour and twenty-five
minutes.
During the run from Wilmington to
Charleston some forty-five stations
were passed, nine counties were ira
versed. or partly so. six rivers wer"
crossed and one of the prettiest lakes in
the south was in sight as We sped by.
While flying along at the rate OF some
fifty miles on hour near Cerro GordO,
and while my mind was wandering in
the past. il occurred to me that the
great Atlantic Coast Line system OF
the present is o what il was in 1876
when | was riding on this same road TO
make my home in North Carolina. IA
| now remember it, there was no Scot
land Neck and kinston branch, no Nor
folk and Carolina, no Spring Hope and.
Plymouth branches, no short cut from
Wilson to Florence, no Clinton or New
Bern branches. From Rocky Mount to
lTarboro was the only branch in North
ICarolina then, If am not mistaken.
THEN ~ gauges of the w. and w. and
w. G. and A. were not the same and
the trucks of the through trains had to
be changed at Wilmington. The con-
Iductor of the train on which l rod from
Wilmington to Wilson away back
there was the largest conductor that 1
have ever seen. His name was either
Brownley and Browning. l do not re-
member which.
OF the rivers mentioned above as
crossing, the Cape Fear in, North Car
olina and the great Pee Dee and the
ISantee in South Carolina are the larg-
est, and all have their beginning away
up in the pretty hills and mountains OF
North Carolina. The mention Of these
rivers TO most North and South CAROLYN
Iians is nothing new, but II the names
of the Great Pee Dee, the Santee and
Cane Fear Rivers were discussed in the
hearing of people in some far away
~country interest in them would at once
be aroused. The lake passed is the
beautiful Lake WaccamaW, out on the
Wilmington. Columbia and Augusta
railroad, and il is said to be one of the
largest and prettiest lakes in the south.
The counties passed through were Il
part of New Hanover. all OF Columbus.
lin North Carolina, a part OF Horny. all
OF Marion, all of Florence, all OF Will
lliamsburg, ALL OF Berkeley and a small
part OF Charleston, in South Carolina.
j. a. CREWS.