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 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 
 

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 Copyright, ii 
 
 By C. K. LORD. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
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 | KIIISHT St. LECIIARD • I 
 
JTJ* HILE a few introductory sentences are deemed 
 (j^2 re quisite for the proper presentation of any pub- 
 lication in book form, in this instance there is 
 really no call for such. A t the risk of appearing driven 
 for the want of something more original to say, it can well 
 be stated that this little book speaks for itself A glance 
 over its pages will quickly disclose an answer to the 
 question whether or not its utterance has been to such 
 point as to i7itcrest those designed to be interested; and 
 if the answer be in the negative, then all the prefaces 
 ever written would not avail. 
 

 
J* 
 
 V 
 
¥^°^^ Wa^ircfterc W^t 
 
 sri 
 
 HROUGH Washington west 
 
 means much to the average trav- 
 eler, for, if it be that he has not hitherto 
 set foot in the beautiful capital city, or that 
 he has enjoyed that pleasure in the past, 
 the zest is in one case, as in the other, 
 keen, and the anticipation enlarged to no 
 ordinary extent. Through Washington 
 >j east has equal significance, as in cither 
 direction the trip is via the National 
 JrT/ Capital, all express trains on Picturesque B. & (). 
 *- passing directly through the city, and, in fact, 
 within the very shadow of the majestic structure in which is 
 centered the government of the country. The exact line of 
 the Baltimore & Ohio appears to still remain something of a 
 conundrum to not a few people, and this, too, despite the 
 extensive dissemination of printed matter intended to fully 
 advise on this particular point. One would think that the 
 frequency with which the words "Picturesque B. & O. Only 
 line via Washington," meet the eye, here, there ami every- 
 where throughout the land, that every man, woman ami child 
 understood it "like a hook." However, a good man}- people 
 know a route best by actual passage over it, and thus the 
 memorv of the- olden time, or the more immediate remem- 
 
brance of a trip to Washington by other, and thus necessarily 
 
 roundabout lines, leads to an impression that is difficult 
 to erase. This is, that to get to the National Capital one 
 must leave the main line and journey southward, whether from 
 the Last or the West; or, in any event, if from the West, 
 reach Baltimore first, and thence to Washington. This is 
 true of all lines other than the B. & O.; and by this the 
 position is exactly reversed as regards the trip from the 
 West, as the train passes through Washington to reach Balti- 
 more and the East. Thus the passenger, if from the West, 
 departs via the B. & O. from St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati, 
 Indianapolis, Toledo, Columbus, Chicago and intermediate 
 points, and enjoys the advantages of through cars to Balti- 
 more, Philadelphia and New York, which; pass directly through 
 Washington, where, as a matter of course, stop ma}- be made 
 and the journey resumed at pleasure. Equally attractive 
 advantages are enjoyed on the through trains from New York, 
 Philadelphia and Baltimore to the western cities named. 
 From Pittsburgh the run to Washington is made without the 
 change of cars of any class whatever, the direct line of the 
 B. & O. from city to city being by no less than seventy-two 
 miles the shortest route. From Cleveland and Detroit the 
 B. & O. is eighty-nine miles the shortest, and incomparably 
 the best in every respect. Certainly any one reading this 
 plain and unequivocal statement as to the exact bearing of 
 the B. & ( ). line from the Atlantic to the great lakes and 
 rivers of the West, without change of cars, can no longer 
 question as to the direct line to the National Capital, or 
 labor under confusion of comprehension, as the term "Only 
 line via Washington," means, to the fullest extent, just as it 
 reads. 
 
In many respects the Capital City is the most attractive 
 center of interest in all the country, and the opportunity 
 afforded by the trip over the B. & 0. to spend hours, days or 
 more, as the sojourn may be extended, without increasing 
 travel or losing time en route, is certainly a point well worthy 
 of careful consideration. Washington is pre-eminently the 
 tourist city of the country, that is to say, it is perfectly 
 appointed in all its facilities for the accommodation of such 
 travel. The hotels are very commodious, and of such num- 
 ber and range of grades as to meet every possible require- 
 ment. One can pay almost any price, from the figures for 
 entertainment of the "swellest" description, to those for guests 
 who care not so much for style, or whose means will not jus- 
 tify large expenditure. It is the old "pa}- your money and 
 take your choice." One thing may be relied upon, and that 
 is the absence of any trouble in securing accommodations, as 
 it takes an enormous crowd to fill all the hotels. As a rule, 
 though there are always very main' visitors, like the traditional 
 "bus," there is always room for one more. Sight seeing about 
 town is exceedingly inexpensive, as street cars and cab lines 
 reach ewer}' point of interest, and admissions are free every- 
 where. The excursion to Mount Vernon is a delightful means 
 of putting in a day's time, and costs very little. The ride down 
 the Potomac is a charming one, while the inspection of the 
 tomb of the Father of his Country is replete with interest. The 
 run over to Baltimore from Washington is little more than an 
 average street-car ride as to time, but decidedly different as 
 regards speed. The B. & O. makes the fastest regular time 
 of any road on the continent between the two cities, doing 
 the fort} - miles in forty-five minutes with ease. 
 
 14 
 
s>'\6 
 
 © 
 
 3 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
¥1^6 e p°h°ma c . 
 
 HUNDRED years hence the two words. 
 "The Potomac!" will have still the magic 
 in their utterance which now, at the mere 
 sound, as the lips meet and part, dis- 
 pels the mist of nearly a quarter of a 
 century, and brings the shadowy 
 past to what appeal's almost a vivid 
 present. Men there are, and many 
 of them yet in the full and rich 
 development of perfect manhood, who, with no thought of 
 gray hairs or bending shoulders, talk of the days when the 
 Potomac was verily a river of life, as if 'twere but yesterday 
 that their young legs measured the miles of its bayonet- 
 bristling shore, and their keen, bright eyes watched every 
 hush, every tree, for the flash which would tell of a presence, 
 none the more welcome, even if expected. And there are 
 men upon whose once bronzed faces age has left its indeli- 
 ble marks, and whose steps have lost their elasticity, but 
 w hi >se memories have dimmed not ; and their children and chil- 
 dren's children know the Potomac as if the realization of what 
 it once was came to them by actual experience rather than 
 through the tales of veterans. I low then, to the soldier, 
 now the citizen in the prime of life, the old man with memory 
 brightened by living o'er again the past in the stirring rem- 
 
 »7 
 

 
 ces which find place in the soul of the young, can the 
 
 ac lose its hallowed seat in the great public heart? 
 es go by will not the beautiful river gain new charms 
 will ever make it consecrated? Few indeed <»f the 
 ocs of old letters dated in "the sixties," which have 
 e household treasures in homes from Florida to Da- 
 from Maine to Oregon, but contain the words, "The 
 ac." As they are handed down from generation to 
 tion, and memory -rows sacred as it links names with 
 ;, who can say that, as one river ever remains most hal- 
 lowed in religious history, the other will not in its sphere 
 always compel reverence? Not only reverently is recalled 
 the by-gone years upon the historic waters, but ofttimes 
 among "the boys." as old soldiers love to class themselves 
 when speakin- of the tented past, are recollections called up 
 of the rollicking days which formed such strong contrast with 
 the more serious aspect of the stern business in hand. How 
 many staid and dignified merchants and professional men of 
 the present would now hold up their hands in holy horror if 
 some phonograph could be mysteriously brought out to repro- 
 duce some of the sentiments expounded twenty odd years 
 ago! For instance, as to the entire absence of any ill effect 
 upon the moral nature by the midnight appropriation of the 
 inhabitants of a hen roost. The surreptitious making away 
 with a fine, fat gobbler, or the quiet absorption of any number 
 of nice, fresh eggs, was then considered the highest round of 
 the ladder of rectitude. The closer the vicinity of a wholly 
 unsuspecting possessor of "shoulder straps," the greater 
 would be the -lory of the capture. "All's fair in war" was 
 up to with the closest observation of its true 
 letter the inner man the outer man had to suf- 
 
 / m '**» •win 
 
I 
 
fer, so much more the /-est of the actual realization; as when 
 from the pot the steam of the luckless confiscation emerged 
 to sharpen the appetite and rentier the more imperative the 
 necessity of a speedy getting on the outside of the delicacy, 
 on the principle that dead and masticated fowl tell no tales. 
 Ah ! those were days which, despite their hardships, their 
 toils and dangers, had their red marks; the very contrasts, 
 so strong and glowing, adding a spice and buoyancy to the 
 enjoyment of the bright side, which man}- a man of satiated 
 ambition to-day would give half his fortune to live over again. 
 What wonder that so many journey over the B. & ( ). by the 
 side of the memorable river, lost in meditation, realization 
 of the present effaced in the absorption of the past! Mile 
 after mile the road follows the windings of the white-capped 
 ripples, and from the car window one can almost witness the 
 scenes of a quarter of a century ago in the pellucid depths of 
 the pure ami uncontaminated stream. Indeed, there are few 
 more attractive railway journeys in this or any other coun- 
 try than that by the banks of the Potomac, aside from the 
 associations so near and dear to every American heart. The 
 current winds in and about a valley really exquisite in pic- 
 turesque beaut)', the hills now sloping off in long stretches of 
 cultivated land, and then, by a quick turn, the river shutting 
 itself in among such masses of rich and luxuriant foliage as to 
 frame the bright, sparkling face so perfectly in contrasts of 
 color and in shades as to briim - the artistic soul in closest 
 
rapport. Hour follows hour in the formation of views which 
 appear to vie, one with another, in calling forth the most 
 enthusiastic terms of admiration. Even the most unsenti- 
 mental of passengers cannot but feel what a perfect absurdity 
 it would be to deplore the long and graceful sweep of the 
 train as it turns hither and thither to keep by the emerald- 
 set shores of the witching' waters. One curve less would 
 destroy the wonderful symmetry of this matchless gallery of 
 Nature's own handiwork. Were the physical conformation of 
 the section such as would permit, the attempt to make the 
 B. <S: (). a straight line would be almost sacrilegious. 
 
 From Weverton the three miles to Harper's Ferry is 
 through the very seat of mountain fastnesses, precipitous piles 
 f granite rising up to a tremendous height and dwarfing the 
 train until it appears by comparison but as a puny antagonist 
 flying in the grizzly face of rock-ribbed power. The volume 
 of water in the Potomac, increased by the flow of the Shenan- 
 doah just above, becomes a torrent in impetuosity, and seems 
 so eager to find its way to the sea that it froths and writhes 
 k\to a whiteness really beyond portraiture in beauty. The ruins 
 of houses long since passed into decay, with tall chimneys 
 attempting in their scrawny dimensions to rival the towering 
 masses of rock beside them, add to the general effect, while 
 the climbing ivy vines, the willows, the twisted, weather-beaten 
 pines, all help to form pictures which follow in such rapid 
 succession as almost to bewilder the eye, and cause one to 
 wish that the train might stop, so as to permit of a single view 
 out of all these witching scenes. 
 
 vi 
 
 
V 
 
 
 
 ft 
 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ♦^" 
 
 
'flapper 3 '^ F^eppy. 
 
 HEN our. awed by the rare com- 
 bination of the grandeur in nature 
 at Harper's Ferry, declares it the 
 glorious culmination of the perfect 
 consonance of the Potomac 
 scenery, he speaks that which 
 none can gainsay. Nevertheless, the justice is not full 
 and complete, for here is the Shenandoah hastening to 
 a rapid and rapturous union with tin- Potomac, while 
 over them historic memories throw the wedding veil, 
 as it were, and render the marriage of the waters most 
 memorable. It is difficult to commence anything like 
 a calm and dispassionate description of Harper's Ferry. 
 The glory of the trio of towering heights, which stand 
 sturdy sentinels upon the borders of three states, so 
 impresses and fascinates as to cause all that is respon- 
 sive in one's nature to pay tribute. The enthusiast 
 cannot find adequate terms to express the effect tin 
 faultless consummation of scenic loveliness has upon 
 him, and under the w itchery of Nature's triumph breaks 
 forth in rhapsodies which, in after shape, embodied in 
 cold lines of plain, black type, may appear overdrawn. 
 The fact of it h, human nature is prone to a sell 
 dissection, by which the knife is believed to be applied, 
 
when, in reality, it is not. So many think it weak 
 to give way in the slightest degree to the purest and best 
 feelings which assert themselves. Determined to be ashamed 
 of them, whether or no, they straightway essay to stifle senti- 
 ments which are as far above the impulses what is termed 
 second thought, .is the sky is above the earthiest of earth. 
 Sentiment, other than fashionable gush, is deemed off color-, 
 not the proper form, you know. It would be made to appear 
 that human nature, when correctly trained, is oi the consis- 
 tency of marble. Thus it is the correct thing to exhibit no 
 feeling whatever at the last rites of those presumably dear, 
 ami to look upon scenes of the saddest character with the 
 stoicism of the traditional Roman. To lie human, with a big 
 heart overflowing with unrestrained thankfulness to Him who 
 has made the world so beautiful to look upon, is to be vul- 
 gar; but, thank kind Providence, only to a comparative few. 
 Were it not for strong contrasts the half of life would be 
 wasted in wondering what the other half was going to be good 
 for. So with creation, and the lusty-lunged, brain)-, bright- 
 eyed and warm-souled can indeed afford to tower head and 
 shoulders above pigmies, even at the risk of being as God 
 intended — natural. And the natural man, in the presence 
 of royally beneficent nature at Harper's Ferry, fairly revels 
 in the atmosphere of a perfect unison of that which is dearest 
 to the eye and the heart. Loudon Heights, on Virginia 
 shores, which lose their confines in the waters of the Shen- 
 andoah, soar upward, the tangled masses of foliage, the 
 scarred and crumbling rocks, the gaunt-armed pines and sym- 
 metrical evergreens forming pictures unto themselves, upon 
 which the artist eye can linger long. Yet, even within the spell 
 
 -•6 
 
of the picturesque there steal in memories of the sacred 
 past which fall like a halo about the leafy crest. Stalwart 
 boys in blue and in gray struggled through those thickly 
 growing trees and brush, and one and then the other signaled 
 from the highest peak to answering forces, like themselves, 
 cloudward. Nestling under the kindly protection of the 
 billow)- masses of Bolivar Heights, quaint and crumbling 
 Harper's Ferry lies. A white steeple here lifts its glittering 
 finger, indexing the final ambition of man, while there the 
 weather-beaten side of an old-time warehouse dwarfs sur- 
 rounding buildings by its larger dimensions, throwing them 
 into such deep shade as to cause an involuntary feeling that 
 the shadows of the past and of the present are in keeping. 
 Ever will Harper's Ferry be visited in the reflective, so to 
 speak. One cannot climb the rugged and wind-testing 
 streets without wondering at every step if John Brown 
 went that way to his death; or, perchance, if Stonewall 
 marched his men down from Bolivar Heights by this very 
 route as he sped on to Antietam. Thought, too, comes oi 
 General Lee, when, as the humble officer of the United 
 States army, he here tramped at the head of the few where 
 afterward he commanded armies. And Burnside, too, now 
 numbered with the dead. Yes, through memory's halls tread 
 chieftain after chieftain, brave, gallant and patriotic men ; 
 whatever their sentiments, their deeds, and their ends, the 
 turf above their graves grows over all alike. The old 
 engine house where Brown made his stand still exists, 
 used now for the storage of the hearse belonging to the 
 town undertaker. Fitting receptacle ! The building is within 
 easy range of vision from the car windows as the B. & (). 
 trains pull in and out, and the notification of an extra 
 
time at the Ferry is always followed by a general rush of the 
 passengers over for a closer inspection of the whilom fort. 
 It is a wonder that any of it is left, as curiosity hunters chip 
 off a relic wherever it is possible. Formerly the proprietor 
 of the hearse left the doors unlocked, in order to permit of 
 an examination of the interior of the building, but when 
 visitors commenced chipping off pieces of the hearse body 
 and of the spokes in the wheels, he concluded that this was 
 going a little too far. The popular beliei appeared to be 
 that the hearse had once contained John Brown's body 
 before his soul went marching on. Hence the rage to secure 
 a memento. From the top of Bolivar Heights the view is 
 grand beyond description, and the wide expanse oi country 
 laid so temptingly before the eye is historic ground, almost 
 every foot of it. To the right is North Mountain, where the 
 battle had been fought prior to Antietam, and where McClel- 
 lan pressed Lee so strongly that he fell back through Boons- 
 boro and Keedysville, seven and a half miles to Antietam, 
 fighting all the way. Fully as distinct is South Mountain 
 itself, where ex-president Hayes was wounded, and whence 
 he was taken down a few miles to a farm house for treatment 
 and attention. Meantime, and on the day of the battle of 
 South Mountain, Stonewall Jackson fought here on Bolivar 
 Heights, and captured a large number of Union soldiers, 
 kiom this elevated position Jackson saw the smoke of Antie- 
 tam, and hurrying his troops down, following the river to 
 Shepherdstown, and thence to Antietam, he arrived there 
 and saved Lee from annihilation. 
 
 From the Heights is also seen the stretch of country Gen- 
 eral Lee traversed with his army on the march to Gettysburg. 
 At this time Maryland Heights,'-just opposite, was occupied 
 

 x ^ 
 
 5S 
 
 which ^S^ 
 
 by h - : \- nion men un command o( General 
 
 French. Lee's :ross 5 oherdstown. and rec ss 
 
 - etreat from Gettysburg at Falling Waters. 
 
 scernible. 
 eed. a book could be ins g . - of the 
 
 eve -:enes which ha -pired within the scope 
 
 beautiful country command this sition. And Boli- 
 
 var is but one of the trinity of heights which played so impor- 
 it a part in the occupation am it >f Harp^ - 
 
 And Heights st er the Potomac, are in the 
 :he name v - ed. Loudon Heigfc - 
 
 are in Virginia and Bolivar Heights st Virginia. All 
 
 trains over the h :: come t st p by the ruins 
 
 the govern -rial, in sight s hil 
 
 the the very center :" the 
 
 - - s, speal g "om a picturesque standpoint, I 
 
 be found in any portion of the country. Hig 
 
 which has eve - retained the name of the illustrious 
 
 sman, Th s Jeffersoi -:ood, and warmly declared the 
 
 view worth a ver the Atlantic to behold. "Stand- 
 
 g" says i a very high p nt . I, on the right 
 
 - - ih, having ranged the I f :he moun- 
 ts a hundre - : ~eek a vent ; on the left approach - 
 
 ic. in quest iss ig - In the moment of 
 
 jel igains .tain, rcftd> 
 
 as During the years whic 
 
 
s 
 
have passed since, the rock has been preserved as carefully 
 as though its material were precious. 
 
 The through train leaving St. Louis in the morning, Cin- 
 cinnati in the evening, passes Harper's Ferry in daylight, as 
 also the train leaving Chicago in the morning; while the train 
 leaving the latter-named city at five o'clock in the afternoon 
 reaches the Ferry early in the evening — and on moonlight 
 nights the sight is most impressive. The day train from 
 Pittsburgh passes in the earl}- twilight, while those who are 
 willing to turn out of their sleeping-car berths betimes in the 
 morning will, if on the late evening train from Chicago, or the 
 evening train from St. Louis, and morning train from Cincin- 
 nati, behold a sunrise at Harper's Ferry never to be forgotten. 
 
 During the summer not a few old soldiers and others, im- 
 pelled by the recollections of the past, stop off a train, a day. 
 or more and spend the time rambling over the historic ground. 
 Up the Valley Division of the K. & O. but a short jaunt carries 
 one to the very scene of Sheridan's famous ride, the railroad 
 bridging Cedar Creek at about the identical spot where the 
 matchless hero, by the magic of his presence, converted rout 
 into victory. Then there is Winchester, Kernstown, New 
 Market, Strasburg, Port Republic, Front Royal. Cross Keys 
 and almost a score of other points made memorable during 
 the days that tried men's souls. No line o\ road passes 
 through sections so historic, so replete with memories which 
 can never die. Time has extracted all the bitterness; fraternal 
 kindliness has taken the place o\ vengeful feeling, and arms 
 that once were raised against each other now couple in hearty 
 communion, and together the blue and the gray wander 
 over fields, once everything but the green which now mantles 
 soil and memory alike. 
 
 34 
 

j@\i e y°ufy. 
 
 &J"^j7i\ ROM a point on the main line just west 
 ^^ of Cumberland and almost within the 
 great gap which here, by a strange freak of na- 
 :ure, severs the mountain chain, as if gigantic 
 power had cleaved with might)- ax, the Pitts- 
 burgh Division diverges and penetrates a country 
 of wondrous picturesque beauty. And again a 
 section falls under the eye of the traveler, which 
 is replete with historic memories, not of the days 
 of armed strife, within the personal remembrance 
 of so many now living, but of a hundred or more 
 years before. No less a personage than George Washington 
 himself suggested that portion of the line which follows Wills 
 Creek down to the Youghiogheny and thence westward, as 
 the best avenue for commerce ; and, singular to say, the termi- 
 nus, Pittsburgh, is the only city which the Father of his Coun- 
 try may be said to have founded. He selected the "Forks of 
 the Ohio" as the proper site for a fort in the fall of 1753. 
 In April subsequently a series of skirmishes and engagements 
 began in which he was personally engaged, and which inau- 
 gurated the great seven years' war, that raged in all quar- 
 ters of the globe,. Tin- journal Washington kept >>\ his 
 
 37 
 
 
 
 
t Le Bceuf was i t 
 
 bei: _ ter of war 
 
 took J ; at Fort - t 
 
 - - 
 
 to S " : - 
 
 'jara- 
 I - '. _ the g sent 
 
 th a the following 
 
 S Sir - 5 his quarl 
 
 I Fra - tal 
 
 it great t the 
 
 ts details 
 t as presenting 
 
 I ihingt 
 
 staff ofl th 1 
 
 tool it S 5 tO 
 
 f his ambit 
 
 rail in s - 
 
 - ; 
 
 _ i 
 
 be: 
 s Bra > g - spot, close to t 
 
 ts ment 
 
 > of his earliest 
 • 
 the tion for the 
 
 - 
 - 
 1 - ttle g 
 
 Liter of a cen- 
 
tury before the United States became known of the world, 
 was also the center of other conflicts no less momentous in 
 their consequences. A few miles up Wills Creek is crossed 
 by Mason and Dixon's lane, so familiar in political annals as 
 dividing the northern from the southern states. The line was 
 run in 1763-67 by the surveyors from which it derived its 
 name, and who were sent over from England to end a con- 
 troversy of fourscore years' duration. The western end was 
 not settled until years afterward, causing, meanwhile, another 
 controversy, this time between Virginia and Pennsylvania. 
 
 Well, indeed, might the great railway be termed " Historic 
 B. & ().," embracing, as it does, territory made memorable by 
 three wars, and so replete with reminiscences as to supply 
 the thoughtful with food for long and absorbing study! 
 
 Not many roads, rail or turnpike, equal the Pittsburgh 
 Division in the picturesque, and there are not a few of 
 genuine artistic cultivation who pronounce its course more 
 attractive in scenic grandeur than any other in the coun- 
 try. The combination of water, rock and foliage is char- 
 acteristic of the entire route, and the effects at times are 
 simply indescribable. Following the Casselman to the 
 Youghiogheriy, and the Youghiogheny to the Monongahela, 
 the road rarely leaves the water line, and as the mountains 
 close in and rise high on either hand the panorama is glorious 
 in the extreme. The track, based as it is almost literally upon 
 solid rock, is smooth and firm, and as the train flies around 
 the curves, and dashes in sharp competition to the surging 
 waters, the sense of safety is absolute and the enjoyment 
 perfect. Before long the Pittsburgh Division will play a 
 much more important part in the B. & O. system, as, with 
 the line completed from Connellsville to Wheeling, fully 
 
four hours will be saved in the time to Chicago, and a new 
 
 and remarkably attractive section opened up to the view 
 from the rail. Pittsburgh, too, is going to profit greatly by 
 the important acquisitions in railroad facilities. The B. & 
 O. is already by seventy odd miles the shortest line thence to 
 Washington, and with the rapid pushing now characteristic 
 of the way of doing things at Pittsburgh, that city will 
 speedily become one of the most important centers of the 
 company's system. The control of the Pittsburgh & Western 
 having passed into the hands of the B. «Sc ()., its lines, to- 
 gether with others similarly managed, give a new and ad- 
 vantageous route to Cleveland ; and the day is not far dis- 
 tant when the through trains of the B. & 0. will not only run 
 from New York over its own line to Pittsburgh direct, but to 
 Cleveland as well, and not unlikely to Detroit. But a com- 
 paratively limited extent of additional construction will give 
 the B. & O. an entirely new route from Pittsburgh direct to 
 Chicago, striking the present line at Chicago Junction. The 
 purchase of the Pittsburgh Southern and the completion of 
 the change from narrow to standard gauge, accomplished 
 some time since, gives the B. & (). already a line from Pitts- 
 burgh via Wheeling to Chicago, while the early completion 
 of the cut-off from Columbus to New Vienna, on the old 
 M. & C, now the C, W. & H.. means a new and superior 
 through line from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, Louisville and 
 Saint Louis. With a system embracing through trains from 
 Pittsburgh east to Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and 
 New York, west to Columbus, Indianapolis and Chicago, 
 southwest to Cincinnati, Louisville and St. Louis, and north- 
 west to Cleveland and Detroit, "Old Smoky" will most em- 
 phatically become a B. & ( ). center. 
 
lu 
 
 ri- 1 k 
 
 tefe 
 
 it 
 
 &s 
 
^\]_e Cill^ame^. 
 
 EAVING Wills Gap, from which, as hitherto stated, 
 the Pittsburgh Division diverges in a northwesterly 
 
 direction, the main line continues almost due 
 west. The Potomac to the left, the Blue Ridge to 
 the right and the Alleghanies in front, no matter 
 where the eye may roam it must fall upon a 
 picture which cannot but stir the senses and 
 compel a response' within one's heart of hearts. 
 , The river, broadened out. loses 
 ^M^^mli* some of its foamy turbulence, but 
 the absence of white-crested cas- 
 cades and restless whirlpools is atoned for in the calm-sur- 
 faced pools and in the sheen of miniature lakes, which mirror 
 to entrancing perfection tree, bush, hillside and sky. Soon 
 the hills beyond the Potomac grow more sharp in height, and 
 rock_\- masses loom up bold and rugged in their conformation. 
 To the left also the elevated ground gains new prominence, ami 
 the distant hills grow more distinct in their tree-padded forms. 
 The river, again feeling tin.- restraint of the more closely skirt- 
 ing banks, frets and fumes until cataracts give vent to its angry 
 ebullitions. The effect is inspiriting, and as the well named 
 Palisades come within view, the beholder involuntarily con- 
 fesses that Picturesque B. & (). is no misnomer. The abrupt 
 and age-worn rocks expose their deeply scarred faces lull and 
 
clear, standing out in such bold relief that the pure and crys- 
 tal-watered stream catches every rough and jagged feature, 
 photographing the picturesque whole with a fidelity which 
 must make an artist drop his pencil in dismay at the very 
 thought of competition. Over the crest of the rock}- wall falls 
 luxuriant foliage, while here and there shrubs, with a hardi- 
 hood characteristic of their nature, not only gain a hold, but 
 send forth their bright, green arms in the exultation of triumph. 
 Hut no persistent vegetation can stay the reach of the rocks to 
 the very waters, and they rise from the Potomac so clean and 
 clear that to lose footing on the summit would inevitably 
 result in a bath. Were it so that the ardent lover of nature 
 could take a seat upon the pilot of the locomotive, he would, 
 for the next hour, be transported to a very heaven of artistic 
 delight. Rather extravagant this may sound, and the first 
 impulse may be to set the expression down as to be expected 
 in a railroad descriptive book, and therefore to be taken 
 accordingly. Hut nevertheless in effect the statement is 
 meant as it is put ; for one may have done Europe thoroughly, 
 have visited the most noted places, and returned to his native 
 land full}- impressed with the belief that there was nothing 
 left unseen, and still not have witnessed a view to be com- 
 pared with that in question. To behold it is one thing; to 
 describe it, another. On the left, the Potomac winds its 
 circuitous way in and about the pebbly banks of main land 
 and tin}' islands, which are fairly embowered in a luxuriance 
 of leafy growth that is doubled in effect by the sparkling 
 reflection of the waters. Back of the river are long, sweeping 
 hillsides, rising to a height which renders all the more im- 
 pressive the mountain outlines farther away. On the left is 
 the narrow strip of table land, losing itself in the gentle un- 
 
 46 
 
duJation of the higher ground, and then the eye, still reaching 
 away, descries the clear, graceful form of the Blue Ridge, 
 most appropriately named, for nothing in color can exceed 
 the exquisite halo which surmounts the chain. Its effect 
 upon the senses is peculiarly impressive, and the longer and 
 more fixed the gaze the stronger the influence, partaking 
 almost of sublimit}-. The blue is absolutely ethereal, and of 
 a loveliness of tone not to be found in any other mountain 
 section of the continent. Finally, anxious to fathom the full 
 and perfect beaut\ r of the view in its entirety, the eye reluc- 
 tantly forces itself from the fascination of the Blue Ridge, 
 and the vision is direct ahead. An instant, and the conviction 
 is realized that to attempt pen or pencil reproduction would 
 be a conceit that nature itself would most effectually elimi- 
 nate at the first stroke. Low and sinuously billowy hills form 
 winsome footstools, as it were, to the chain of the Blue Ridge 
 intervening between the grand old Alleghanies themselves. 
 The gray haze over the one, the blue over the other, and the 
 indescribable blending of the two over the final heights, form 
 an atmospheric influence actually absorbing. 
 
 As the way to the mountains is fleetly followed the dual 
 ranges gain in majestic proportions, the Blue Ridge gradually 
 disclosing its lower series of summits by the strong contrasts 
 with the overtopping Alleghanies. The little town of Key- 
 ser, the western terminus of the second division, lies level 
 upon something of a plateau, which extends to the foot of the 
 rock}' gateway, and there, nestled within the shadow of the 
 precipitous heights, is the most appropriated}- named busy 
 center. Piedmont. Seventeen miles up the sides of the moun- 
 tains is Altamont. for a short distance the steel-clad path is 
 
 by the stony banks of the Potomac, now converted into a tem- 
 
 48 
 
pestuous flood, which boils and seethes with a pent-up fury it 
 strives seemingly in vain to vent upon the enormous boulders, 
 which year by year yield little by little to the incessant warfare. 
 If not, in the one particular of wild grandeur, equal to the 
 Rockies, the Alleghanies are more picturesque, presenting, 
 as they do, greater contrasts of nature in leafy beauty and 
 in shades of color, both of rock and foliage. 
 
 The writer may be termed an enthusiast, and when it 
 comes to the Valley of the Potomac, the Blue Ridge and 
 the Alleghanies, he is. Year after year, time and again 
 has the line of the B. & ( .). been traversed, and the result 
 may fairly be said to reach volumes of publication. Yet the 
 subject is hardly commenced upon when one, under the full in- 
 spiration of the journey, realizes how weak and unsatisfactory 
 have been the efforts to draw with pencil where so many have 
 failed with the brush. As a matter of course there are many 
 men of business, gruff, trade-bound and trade-ridden, who will 
 impatiently declare this all the veriest of rubbish, that non- 
 sense which is ever deemed the most emphatically condemned 
 by a prefix which will not be mentioned here. Possibly it is, 
 but perchance the same sort of excuse may be made for it as 
 for other forms of nonsense, which is said now and then to 
 be relished by the best of men. A keen and whole-souled 
 enthusiasm for nature in her loveliest garb — unadorned that 
 she may be most adorned — may not pile up many silver, gold 
 or even paper dollars, but it feeds another attribute of human 
 existence which is manifestly none the worse for it. So the 
 merchant, the professional man or the manufacturer, who, in a 
 trip over the B. & C, forgets his daily self, loses for the 
 otherwise unoccupied hours all thoughts of business, has 
 rested the sense of self preservation from one view of life, 
 
 5° 
 
and in giving the sentimental, if it may be the pleasure so to 
 term it, full play, the healthfulness of the Change cannot be 
 questioned. 
 
 Running through the Glades at an elevation of nearly three 
 thousand feet above the sea, the physical man experiences a 
 recuperation as delightful as it may be unexpected. It is the 
 exceeding clearness and purity of the highly rarefied atmos- 
 phere, and every expansion of the lungs fills them with a 
 power invigorating and most healthful. Crowning the Glades 
 with a beauty that for once at least does not outrage the sur- 
 roundings, is the B. & (). Company's noted summer resort, 
 Deer Park. During the warmer months of the year the spa- 
 cious buildings are thronged with the elite of Washington, 
 Baltimore and Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, as well 
 as with prominent representatives of Chicago and St. Louis. 
 Deer Park is a lovely spot, and contrary, possibly, to the 
 average run of summer resorts, the realization of a sojourn 
 there is in every way in keeping with the anticipation natu- 
 rally the result of first sight. 
 
 Speeding over the Glades, the train is soon back in the 
 heart of the mountains again. The summit of Cranberry Grade 
 opens up to the view a matchless panorama, combining lofty 
 peaks, wavy lines of cloud-capped crests ami bewitching 
 glimpses of valley, which, in any direction, appear almost 
 without end. Down the grade, ami a quick turn discloses the 
 picturesque village of Rowlesburg, on the banks of Cheat River. 
 Then the climb up Cheat River grade, with its varying and 
 
Constantly more impressive realization of mountain grandeur. 
 At Buckhorn Wall it culminates in one of the most glorious of 
 views. Mountain top verily, yet peaks rising still higher, and 
 peak after peak in the distance, which appear to hide their 
 hoary heads in the clouds themselves. Straight down, a thou- 
 sand feet or more, is the glistening ribbon marking where the 
 waters of the Cheat beat their tumultuous way through gorge 
 and canon. Buckhorn Wall, so named from the shape which 
 suggests it, is a mighty piece of engineering and masonry, and 
 its even face forms strong contrast with the unhewn masses 
 on either side. At the eastern extremity a cataract goes 
 plunging down, forming a royal bit of the picturesque, while 
 striking is the effect of the beautiful little garden on the 
 very verge of the precipice. In fact the whole journey 
 is replete with most pleasant surprises, and the da) - is gone 
 almost before one realizes it is past noon time. At Grafton 
 divisions and branches diverge, that to the Southwest extend- 
 ing to Parkersburg, Cincinnati, Louisville and St. Louis, while 
 that to the West and Northwest crosses the Ohio at Wheeling 
 and runs direct to Columbus and Chicago. Of the trains, time 
 and other information so necessary to a full understanding, 
 the attractive folders and advertising matter generally which 
 is issued by the B. & O. tells in full and practical detail. The 
 energetic and attentive agents of the company are to be met 
 with almost everywhere, and in all the leading cities are offices 
 in which politeness and studious courtesy are the governing 
 principles. No matter where the traveler desires to go, 
 whether over the B. & O. or any other line, inquiry at the 
 B. & O. offices will always result in a thorough understanding 
 of the situation, and careful guidance as to the proper avenues 
 bv which to reach destination. 
 
 54 
 
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