The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1904-09-13
VISIT
In Virginia of
Mr.. Swank,
Described In an In
teresting Letter.
TRIP TAKEN
rtheHieh Noun
tain Range.
In Company With a Minist on
His Way to Fiji His
Pulpit.

To the Editor of The Index.
Sir:-I thought probably a descrip-
tion of my trip through this country
would be of interest to your readers.
so take the liberty of sending you
this. presenting matters as l viewed
them My wife and 1 came on the
Gsuley Bridge excursion, August 3.
and arrived at Charleston, W. Va,
about IL 80 O'Clock. where we crossed
the Ksnawha river to the Chesapeake
& Ohio depot. Here we took the q.
& o. route for Covington. Va. The T.
& o. &. is on one side the river and
{. 81 .. on the other. l Will not at
tempt to describe the scenery west of
Gauley, but viii leave that for some
other excuIsionist TO relate. For about
one hundred miles east of Gsuley the
scenery increases in grandeur just as it
increased in grandeur from the Ohio
river to Gauley.
The gorge between two high noun
tains gradually grows narrower and
deeper until you are in cannon not
more than a stones throw across with
almost perpendicular walls thous-
and or more feet high. Onward we
sped to a place where the railroad
crosses the Allegheny range. where
was told there were fourteen tunnels
in a distance of sixteen miles, one OF
which is one and one-fourth miles in
length. This road has twenty-six
tunnels between Cincinnati and Chesa-
Deake Bay.
We arrived at Covington at 10 80 p.
m This is small town on the Jack
SON River right in the mountains, and
has the largest paper mills in the
state. The plant consumes one hun.
dred cords Of wood each day. The log:
are fioated down in the river from the
mountains many miles up the river
besides many are shipped there by
train loads. and those from the cars are
all thrown into the river and taken nj
a chute to the third story of the mill.
There the logs are sawed into block:
| three feet long by a sixty-inch circu
lar saw after being peeled by macnin.
cry. In this town are located also tvs
large -four mills. One is operated bj
water power and the other by q gaso
line engine.
From here we boarded the train fol
Rockingham and Agusta counties il
the Shenendoah Valley and arrived
there at the home of }. w. Miller
Monday evening August Sth. Mr.. j
W. Miller is a first cousin to Mrs
Amos Miller of Bellefontsiue This ii
a beautiful valley. and is called tn,
garden spot of Virginia; but do no
imagine it to be level like our Obi,
valleys, for it is not, but is about a
billy as is the country between Belle
fontsine and Zsnesfeld. Most of it il
very productive. / saw here SOM
corn as large as any I ever saw else
where. The buildings are large, bot
the barns and the houses, though no
grand as a rule. Some of the houses
however, will compare fsvorsbly witt
our modern homes in Logan county.
When we arrived at III. G. Miller s
also cousin of Mrs. Amos Miller o
Bellefontaine. he was planning to tax
a trip across the mountains by privat
conveyance to Hiner church, where b
had an appointment to preach ON Sun
day, August 14th, distance of fort
miles. Bro. Miller invited me to &C
company him on this trip and / gladl
laccepted. We started on August 13t
land soon reached the mountain an
began our ascent up, up. up the noun
tain side. The road most of the wa
was smooth but very steep. so much s
THAT Brother Miller and / would gs
ont of the buggy and walk up. restin
Yourselves and horse now and then i
the shade of tree. When dinnt
time came we stopped in the shade {
a sycamore tree and ate our Dime
and fed our horse. When we reache
the top of the mountain ii was 5
narrow that if you did not stop mt ju,
the right point, the buggy would 9
forward down one side or backwar
down the other. At this place 1 sa
the trench and bresst-works built b
the Confederate Army. Here we hs
a fine vision of the narrow valley u
and down for miles
Now began our descent of I'll
mountain, sometimes so steep tnat
thought the horse would not be ab
to hold us back. On one side of Il
road it was so steep and high thi
you could not see to the top. and G
the other side you could look down :
far that large trees would look Lib
bushes. These mountain sides are
steep that it looks as though the di
would all slide off if it were not fl
the brush and bushes. We resche
our destination at D p. IN. We Wei
in a narrow valley and a Buckley