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» 1MJ1JIII 1 — g'tao 



iB:i)c Jfanncr's iiIoutl)lij bisiitcr. 



25 



the Wiiters of liie IViloiiiac in lln: s;iiue ilircrlioii. 

 ]r tiiillioiis wen: wasled (ipuii llii' riiilioad, iiioie 

 iiiillidiis «cre llimwii awiiy ii 

 lo thin time, lias heeii a 



"1 



poll llii: canal, wliioli 

 !>rcal (iiiliiro. Tl 



..lidlf luilioii lias lit(;!i oliligeil to coiiiriliiile, liy 

 n |)(ilicy ill llii.s !;ovi'riiiiii;iJt wliioli foiuo lnrliovH 

 lo lie M.'ry liail, ii' not uiiljonl wr.rrniit in the coii- 

 stilntion, lo this great wa.slo liy tin; inllnciico 

 mainly \\ liicli is cxt-rciscd l>y tlio inlialiitants of 

 till' Disiiicl ol' Culiiinliia, «lio nio wiilioiit any 

 ininiodialo rc|ircscMtativc in that body. Nay, so 

 fiieat Mas lliat influence as to |.r<i(:ure the; dii'cel 

 iippropiiation of millloiis of dollars to constrnct 

 a canal along the liaiiks of a liver open to the 

 sea liy a liirhrller natural iiavi}.'atioii. Whoever 

 V, onid appreciati; llie folly of iedeial lepislatioii 

 and appropriaiions from the Ireasiay, (or local 

 nlijccis within the Slates and 'I'crriiories, need 

 only to look i.poii tlie present oondiiion of the 

 Niaj:nitic.ent ac(pie(Uiet across the Potomac aliove 

 (Jeorj;etowii, and the i;iai!d canal fed by that ac- 

 ipiediict aloii;; the hank of the Potomac (!o'.\h io 

 ihe city of Alexandria — a iiioiinment of folly 

 wliiidi ought to stand in the presence of cacli 

 suecccdinj: Coiijrress as a harrier against any 

 similar liiliire tr<asnry depredation. 



The point of junction between the Baliiinore 

 and Washington railroads is very near the Pe- 

 tapsco river, lioin i\hich ihe Washington branch- 

 rs off in n splendid viaduct laid in substantial 

 flint linien ck at iinliy feet nievalion from the 

 lied of tin' river belou, preseiitinj.', as yon a|i- 

 proacli it from lialtiinore, a beanlifnl curve of 

 stone iiiasomy which scarcely has a rival in this 

 country. The main western road h.is ils track 

 direclly up the eorgo which h.as been made 

 ■ hronih rocky ledires by the eonlini.ed pouring 

 down of the uateis. 'I'liis gorge is in so narrow 

 dimensions that it was nec^essary to cut the rail- 

 way track much of the whole distance through 

 the rocky solid ledges either of limestone, sand- 

 stone, mica slate, or the priiiiaiy granite. We 

 liud not supposed ihat so rapid a current ihrongli 

 so wild a channel existed near J?altimore. Al- 

 though it |>asses no idevalion th.-it would in New 

 Kngland be called a iiiuuntnin ; yet from the nar- 

 rowness and abruptness of the crooked valley 

 down which the waters pour, a.^ well as from the 

 bardiK'Ss of the stiibliorii rocks which ovi-rhang 

 llii; rapid Maters, no track for a railroad within 

 ni\ ob.-iervation ha<l ever seemed to be so dilKcull 

 and so expensive of construction. Up this rapid 

 stream, which must gain in the course of a few- 

 miles an elevation greater than the highest point 

 at Orange on the Mascomy, or at \Varren on the 

 Oliveriati valley, eon nediiig routes in New Hamp- 

 shire between the flierrimack and Conneelicnt, 

 there are numerons large anil snlistaniial stone 

 mills, presumed to he fill 'd with various mami- 

 fiictnres of cotton and wool or of iron. These 

 mills take np the water atier the lashion upon 

 the New iMiglaml streams, and seem lo be alive 

 with Ihe busy hum of industry. The railroad 

 pursues a southern branch ol'thc Petapseo which 

 nearly intcrlcicks with the head waters ot" the 

 Patiixelit, a river of greater extent which lias its 

 sources further in the country, and emptii-s into 

 the Chesapeake hay lower down than the loriiier 

 river. Up the Paliixent Ihe railroad in a con- 

 tinued I'.recijiitons gorge, contiiuies its course till 

 it breaks into a more open champaign country 

 embracing tin" new county of Carroll, taken li-om 

 the older couuiics of Jiahimoie and Fred(!rick. 

 'I'he railroad track passes over the manor con- 

 sisting of thirlceii tlioiisanil acres of land, lately 

 the properly of Charles Carroll, one of the sign- 

 ers of the declaration of Indi'pendenee. This 

 fine plat of land is much of it the best alluvion, 

 and all of the remainder. a rich limestone, better 

 than all other soils. U)ioii these, premises the 

 Marchioness of Wellesh-y, sisterin law of the 

 Duke of Wellington — a J!altiiiiore lady connec- 

 ted with the Carroll family — has an elegant farm 

 with houses, slahles, &c. 'I'he wife o Jerome 

 lionap'arle, linineily .Miss Paiteisoii, another I5a 



Simore lady connected will 



also has a farm from the same domain 



.Soon wo pass from l.'arroll into Frederii 

 e<iimty and across the 3Ioiiocacy, a very coiisi 

 erable stream which imiics with the Potomai 

 some Ibrty miles above Washington city. I'poi 

 this valley is the beaolilul village or city of Fred 

 cricktown, three miles norllierly from the mail 

 railroad, fmm which a branch extends to that 

 city. It ii in tills couniy of Frederick that (he 



llii; Carroll tiimilv 



sid 



traveller over the sterile grounds lower down and 

 upon the eastern shore of ftlaryland, in Dela- 

 ware, and ill New Jei-sey first begins to realize 

 the value of good and productive land. Now 

 and iheii a perpemlienlar ledge of liiiiestoiie 

 makes ils appearance through the soil, creeping 

 out from side hill — soiiietiiiies it rounds out just 

 above the surlace, at other tiui(\s it rims along a 

 considerable distance like an abutmeiit enl off 

 and laced by the saw or souii: shar|i instruiiient. 

 iSuiiieiimes iIh; isolated stones show their heads 

 ill dill'erent parts of arable and pasture grounds 

 as black as manure piles, with vegetation creep- 

 ing gradually into the disintegrated crevices. 

 iMucli of this limestone soil is so rich as not to 

 have sensibly deteriorated in the ciillivniioii of 

 many years. The whole earth seems to partake 

 of the nature of marl: it is of si conda.y forma- 

 tion, made mainly from tin; disintegration of 

 limestone. The tiiriiu rs U|kiii ihesi; lands have 

 noble fields, producing alternately Indian corn, 

 wheat .and grass for hay or pa.vliirage. The land 

 is so highly stimulated w ilh the ingredients which 

 compose the upper soil, that there is a |ierp('lual 

 greenness in the wheat (iehls through the winter, 

 when not covered with snow : in the last days of 

 .January these wheat fields appeared like the best 

 Ni.'W Englaid rye fields in an early month of 

 .April. 



'I'he Jlonocacy lands in Frederick county are 

 said to be but a specimen of the glades of land 

 embracing some of the most fertile lands in 

 Pennsylvania, Virgini.-i and ftlarylanif, running 

 along the foot of thelthie Uiilge for several linn- 

 (Irihl miles north and sniilh. 



Leaving Frederick we come fo the Point of 

 Uocks coming down clo.^e to the Potomac where 

 the railway and canal contend for the mastery, 

 the laiter having crowded tlie former in some in- 

 stimces over what was formerly the lied of the 

 river. 'I'his point of rocks is the north side of 

 the gorge cut through the Bine Ridge by the con- 

 tinence of the Shenaiiduah which runs in from 

 the south in a beautiful and rich valley of some 

 twenty or thirty miles over, exiending north and 

 south from lower Tennessee across the entire 

 width of Virginia, and dividing the ISIiie from the 

 .Mleghauy ridges. The rushing of the waters 

 through this gorge and ihe grand surrounding 

 scenery w.as well described by the pen of i\!r. 

 Jetfer.-oii, more than sixly years ago, as worthy 

 to Ihe beholder of a voyage across the Atlantic. 



At the jiinclioii .of the waters of the Shenan- 

 doah ami Potomac, the western poini upon the 

 A'irginia side, is the est.-ihlishment of the United 

 States for the inanufaciuie of arms known by 

 the name of Harper's Ferry : ihe village strikes 

 ihe traveller, as he ap|iioaches it, with an agree- 

 able surprise. Two handsome churches highi;r 

 on ihe steep sidi; hill, overlook the many hiiild- 

 iu:;s of w hicli the village is composed, some of 

 which are handsomi'. The Potomac river is 

 here cros.sed by a bridge constructed over a nar- 

 row point, and a way has heiMi made for the road 

 in the bed of the river fionling the United Stales 

 works, conliniiing on its sonlherly side. A rail- 

 road branches off here, am) has been extended 

 some forty miles to Winchester. 15y this route 

 from Winchester west through the Alleghany 

 mountains over favorable ground to ihe mouth 

 of the little Keuawlia, is thought to he, by the 

 Virginians at least, the, most eligible route to Cin- 

 cinnati and the country west. It is even sug- 

 gested lhat a road flirect to Richmond in a gorge 

 through Ihe Dine Riilge, (iir up the Shenandoah, 

 would be the better route from ihe Ohio river 

 lower down lo the Ailantic tradi; and cities. 



Above M.irper's Ferry, at the extreme north 

 line of the Plienandoah valh^-, the land is equal- 

 ly good wiih llial of Fii derick coniily. Upon a 

 farm near by, one gentleman has raised the pres- 

 ent season, nine thousand bushels of Indian corn, 

 his production averaging about sixty bushels lo 

 the acre. On much ef this land no nianure was 

 put: its prnductioii has been increased by the 

 clover and plaster cultivation. 



From Harper's Ferry llie Potomac river comes 

 down, narrowing in its limits as you rise it, in a 

 direction nearly east and west. The railroad 

 continues up on the soiilli hank, while the canal 

 keeps along, I believe, for more than a hundred 

 miles upon the north bank. Where the rocks 

 encroach close upon the river, in some (daces an 

 artificial path or cliamiel for it has lieen coii- 

 stincted at great cxpens" with rocks and gravel, 



or else the passage has been made through tlie 

 solid rock. To the Stale of Alaiyland tlie ex- 

 pense of this canal has been so great as to cause 

 her to repudiate an immense Stan: debt. Sev- 

 eral of her lowcM- and eastern shore counties, 

 counting that the debt w.is incurred without their 

 consent .and that the railroad to them has been 

 of no benefit, have refiised entirely to p.-iy their 

 taxes. The District of C^olnmbia also sub.scribed 

 its millions, anil made a Diiti h lotm, which has 

 ultimately been assumed most unjustly and the 

 most of it alre.-uly paiil by the national in-asiiry. 

 For all objects of trade ever to bo expected down 

 this valley, the railr.iad iiself will be entirely 

 sullicient. Cieorgetown, Washington and Alex- 

 andria cannot leceivn snflicic nt trade through 

 this source to pay for keeping up loll gates. In- 

 deed, near the terminns at Washington the float- 

 ing sanri wliiidi comes down the 'J'iber h.is ibr a 

 considerable distance emiiely filled up the canal. 

 The waters of Rock creek are diiiii;; iniicli the 

 same service to the canal between Washington 

 and (ii?orgeiown. 



Above Harper's Ferry, at no very considerable 

 distance, is the town of iMarlinshnrg on the Vir- 

 ginia side; but soon the comx; of the Potomac n- 

 mongllie .'\llegh;iniesis beset with rocks and steep 

 acclivities. The railroad has been cut ihrongli 

 these iit great labor ami expense: in its whole 

 distance from iSaltimore there is no railroad that 

 will compare with it for roughness and diflicully. 

 In one place the rise could not he snrnioiinted 

 short of ninety feet to the mile— a rise when tlie 

 lower part of the road w;is first constructeil, that 

 would he considered insurmoimlable. The up- 

 per and newer part of iliis road is now much the 

 best and easiest pari for trade — it has better rails 

 and is more even. 



The Potomac river is all the xvay the dividing 

 line between Maryland and Virginia: there uro 

 three counties of the former, one above the other, 

 lying to the south of Mason and Dixon's line be- 

 tween Pennsylvania and Virginia : these are Fred- 

 erick, Washington tmd Alleghany. At one point 

 near ihe division of the two latter counties tho 

 State is very nearly cutoff by the Potomac coin- 

 ing down almost to the Pennsylvania line. The 

 county of .Vlh'ghany widens at ils western ter- 

 mination, so lhat it is some twenty miles across. 

 All west of the ftlar\ land terminaliou to the Ohio 

 river is a part of Virginia ; and upon the Ohio 

 river from llii; Pennsylvania line on the north to 

 the line of Kentucky on tlie west, the shore of 

 Virginia extends more than ihree hundred miles. 

 On this river, .at the termination of the Cumber- 

 land road, is the flourishing town of Wheeling. 

 Finlher down comes in the liiile Kenahwa, run- 

 ning all the way in Virginia, and still further 

 down one hundred miles is the Great Kenahwa, 

 navigable for sleainboats many miles, and near 

 wliiidi are salt works, whose auniial products in- 

 creasing every u:ar have extended to millions of 

 bushels, sopplving much of ihe eonsum[ition of 

 the towns nnon the waters of the Ohio river he- 

 low. 



Of the county of Washingloii in iMarjIaiifl, 

 Hagerstow n, iii'.ir the Pennsylvania line, is ihi; 

 capital. Ciimbciland is tlie shire town of Alle- 

 gliaiiy countv ; and we were surprised to find 

 such a town ileep in the mountains. As the rail- 

 road ends here, there were many large and coiii- 

 modious brick blocks for stores filled with wares 

 and merchandize. The town was filled with iho 

 inonstrous wagons ready lo transport heavy goods 

 over Ihe iiKuiutain. Here we arrived at five 

 o'clock in Ihe evening, and sooner than we could 

 have a proper time to eat supper, the stages were 

 ready and the men hurrying lis off for a night's 

 ride over the mountains. 



Cumberland is a place for the extensive iiianii- 

 facture of iron. Tiie British nianulacturers un- 

 derstand, better than most men, how to evade the 

 effects of heavy duties. A company of tliem 

 have come into these western mountains for the 

 purpose of making railroad iron. They have 

 contracted lo furnish a railroad corporaliun in 

 IMassachusotl.s, and are making al CumberlaiKl 

 the improved rails at the rate of twenty tons per 

 day. ■ - 



Into the mountains beyond Cumberland, in a di- 

 reclion off of ihe National road, the Baltimore and 

 Potomac railway has been extended ten miles lo 

 IMonni Savage, in which ahimilancc of coal has 

 been discovered. This coal is already carried to 

 Buttiinorc in qnunliiies. The inbahitants of the 



