Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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BW TBE CLINCBFIELD RAILROAD I CROSSES FOUR MOUNTAIN RANGES Dr. H. K. Alken of this city who re cently made the trip over the Clinch field railroad with the South Can linn Chambers of Commerce excursion party, prepared the following story which npeured In Sunday's Columbia State: The. globe on which we now live w-as once a red-hot ball of molten material. It has cooled off consid erably, but the cooling process is not yet completed for down towards its centre our planet is still hot beyond conception. The increasing tempera ture of deep mines, the geysers and volcanoes and the records writ in the rocks tell us this. However, ;is a result of the gradual cooling of its outer crust contraction took place and the portions that sank became the bottows of the seas and lakes of our age while the protruding portions are the hills and mountains of today. Two of these primary ridges have been named by geographers the Blue Ridge and the Cumberland mountains of the Appalachian (system or group of mountains. They extend from notheast to southwest und as ;i con. sequence the general trend of the streams in this section of the world Is through the valleys lying between the ridges. Heretofore all railroad construction lias followed the line of lest obstruction and paralleled the direction, or course, of these moun tains. To shorten the distance for tratlic between the costal plains of the Southwest and the Irnnsmontanc Ohio river \alley was a dream ol many statesmen. Calhoun had the vision; so had Ilayne, bill his hopes lie burled in nn Incomplete rock tun nel above Walhalla. It remained for the organizers and engineers of the Clinch Held route to successfully complete the mighty task of crossing four ranges of mountain* in their widest, part, going over and through them at right angles :111 ? I thus build an enduring highway for commerce, of uniformly low grade, 2-10 miles in length, completed nl present from Dante. Va., to Spartan burg. This result was brought about by a combination of engineer lug talent, stupendous monetary out lay and faith in the future, lint given those requisites there yet rnmaluei! tin1 need of another and (hat was the need of a Moses to guide the Wil> l< the promised land. Ceo. I.. Carl of Tennessee essayed the role and right well has he filled it. The prime requisite In an Industrial leader of today is initiative Carter lias ll to spare. Next to it c<.s ability to wisely choose your lieutenants und to know M. .1. Caplcs, general man ager; .1. .1. Campion, Ira Ilk: man It. K. Ul'OWer, industrial agent, and Theo. Dehon, Jr., division passenger agent, of the present Carolina, Cllnchfleld & Ohio organization is lo he aware that he has (his gill also. Keeping his eye on both goals lie led bis surveyors over the trail that Daniel Boone and Sevier blazed when they camo to help our own Williams annihilate Ferguson and the British :it King's Mountain. Where the Ten nessee pathfinder crossed the Toe river Is now "Hoonsford" station on a modern and model railroad. The Daughters of the Revolution have also marked the trail with artistic monuments to he seen at intervals from your Pullman win-low. \ lei Boone's day travel over the trail was very light and the way became over grown and closed until the Carolina, Cllnchfleld & Ohio people reopened it. This they have done in a way that would warrant the assumption of well their belief in the adage "what's Worth doing at all is worth doing well." Through River ("Jorges. As the construction of this road proceeded from north towards the south, most of the descriptive litern lure so far put out supposes that the traveler is making his way in the same direction, hut as most of US would approach this modern marvel from Its southern end. we will |r. this account travel up from tii" compar ative lowlands of South Carolin;- go over the summit of the Blue Ridge at Alta Pass, X. C, journey down the hanks of the Toe river of that State; through the gorge of the Nollchucky (as the same stream is called after crossing the state Iii.f Tennessee)1 on down to Johnson City in the valley of East Tennessee, then down the Holstoi) river valley past Kingstport. tunnel Clinch mountain to gel into the valley of Clinch river ami up the valley of Lick Creek to Dante, Va., hid among tho coves of the Cum berland mountains. From Spartanburg, whoso altitude is 75S above sea level, up to Hostie. X. C, the landscape is too familiar to hold attention and one is Impressed with the excellent character of the rock-ballasted road-bod, the absence of tho clang and clatter of losoly jollied, light rail, the wide sloped outs and the increasing height of the stone faced lills as you cross the Pacolei and Hroad rivers. There is u feel of permanence beneath you on 100-pound rails like the sensation imparted when walking over a heavy velvet carpet on the lloor of a well built mansion. The altitude of Ho. tie is 020 foot, and you are leaving tho cotton bolt behind. Here the Cllnehfleld crosses the Seaboard Air Line running from Charlotte to Hutborfordton. The C. c. & o. uses the telephone in trans mitting train orders. Hvery baggage ear and freight cab 01) the line is equipped with a trolley pole device for instant connection with (ho wires so that if a train of any class is de tained between telephone stations a report of conditions can at once be sent in to headquarters. Leaving Hostie, the valley of the second Hroad river is ascended, the first tun nel is passed and you are at Marion. \. ('.. altitude 1,320 feet. Hero, at the foot of the southern slope of tho I Hluo Ridge mountains, the Southern's lino from Salisbury to Ashovillo is crossed. The stations of tho two sys tems are about two miles apart and transfers are made by hack. Marion is 't county sea: in the Catawba valley. Aii11 a cotton and two hosiery mills, furniture factories and the largest population to he found between Spar tanburg and Johnson City. An Has) (trade. The Throo-C's road id' some years ago had Johnson City as its destina tion but was never carried beyond Marion for at this point the problem of scaling a vertical helghl of 1,300 ft. j looms large before tho would-be-rall road builder. What ii meaiis'lo do (his '>n a grade that is practicable is difll -till to convey to the average mind. To come ami sec "(he lay of the land" is about the only way most of us could be made to comprehend Ibo illlllcull character of Hie undertaking. Tin* diagram j rude map mid the Hat draw ing of the surface windings, p'.int? J herewith, will assist somewhat. The 'title bos like tilings climbing the hill represent Iho tunnels. Disregarding whatever was In the way whether (his was a mountain or a chasm, the C, C. & O. climbed to the lop at a uniform grade of C3 feel to the mile. The work is some of Ihe best construction to 1)0 soon east of the Mississippi river reminding one of the Moffatl road out of Denver or the "Short Lino" up tho Cripple Creek, Colo. The loops, passes or zigzags are taken lo i avoid (he lesser peaks (hill buttress the main ridges of Ihe mountains. Where lliei'0 wns.no way around these Iben a tunnel was called for. Most of ti e I- are through the hardest kind of granite. At one point on the way down, you stand on the rear plat form ami look back through (hroo tunnels at the same time. At an other point on the way up. the train emerges from one tUDUOll, liuikes a loop on an embankment over Inn feet high and goes hack through the same bulle by another lunnel a few feel higher up. In the stock shaped loop shown on the map. to gain loo feet ver tically, there nre six miles of track having nine tunnels in this distance. Tlrod ill last of doubling, Iho Oordlan knot is cm and the summit of (he 111 110 Ridge is pierced by a Straight tUllhel one third of a mile long and perhaps IfiO below Ihe crest of the ridge. ,\t the northerly end of It Is Alia Hash. no miles from Spar tanburg and 2, (521* feet above the, level of the .a. Hefore starting down from Ibis point, let's stand for a mo ment. Here is one of the finest views (O lie had in all this region. To your rigid Is Mount Mitchell, the tallest peak tl?lo side of the Rockies, (hen Cllgman'S dome and a little more (o the left the massive, square outlines of Table Kock. On your left hand Linville mountain faces yon while In front of ami below is spread out tho Cntawbn valley as a Cyslornmn paint ed by the Father and Preceptor of all art-nature. To linger over a scene like this is to forget the transient, trivial things o'er which we groan and sweat and to realize in some de gree that this world is a beautiful garden made for man to wander in. If we lind it otherwise, the fault lies in the creature and not with its Creator. The Cllnchfleld has an open ob servation car from which an unob structed view can he had. preferably on the return trip. doing up, the cinders from the engine are best guarded against by carrying with yon a pair of automobile goggles. Winds With River. Starting down the northern face of tltcBlue Ridge at Alia Pass, the route soon strikes the right hank of the Toe liver and winds and curves with it for 17 miles. The grade in this dis lance, following the bed of a stream, is much less. 28 feet to the mile. All of this distance is virgin forest, mountain and Cove, with a cabin or a small sawmill to he seen now and then. Communication with the rest of the world was Infrequent and diffi cult before the coming of this road Stations have been located and named, so far. He fore the State line of Ten nessee is reached the Toe has gath ered volume and becomes a river of some size, passing out through nnr rows, eight miles in length, whose walls, green and well-wooded, rise I..200 feet. At the mouth of this gorge and accessible from tho valley of east Tennessee is a summer resort, I'naka Springs, where the road (-loss es the river. It is a little higher than Johnson City. The scenery all along here is fine. At hlrwln, Tonn., 10 miles this side of Johnson City, are located the Carolina. Cllnchfleld & Ohio shops, plans arc forming to de velop a large water power on the Nol ichucky river, near by and this point will likely become of Importance In the near future. Johnson City is the largest town in Washington county. Tenn., and is wi ll situated in a broad and fertile val ley. Population ahout 10,000, ex clusive of same 1,500 Inmates of the mountain branch of tlte national sol diers' home. The late Senator Brown low secured ibis home for Iiis native town some two or three years ago. The government purchased a tract of some I"i0 acres on the outskirts of the city and has spent two or three millions for Buildings and equipment. These are of the liest, as to quality am! of liberal proportions. Thirty miles of graded and macadam road, parks, conservatories, a beautiful little thea tre, hall park and other attractions make it a valuable asset to the people of Johnson City. The annual appro priation for tin- maintenance of the hoim is over $l.uon a day, and most of tili? I? spent there The inmate- all draw federal pensions hosldos. This' section of Tenn088 ? lias always bcon Republican In politics as few slaves were owned hero before the war. From Johnson City to Dante is s.". miles of valley, hill or mountain, among which will he found some splendid fanning country, sol.f it in blue grass with beef cattle and sheep, orchards ami corn Heids. Senilis uf Coal. At Dante, the Cllnchfleld Coal cor poration (allied with the railroad cor poration) owns over 300,000 acres of coal lands. The coal outcrops in seams or drifts, varying in thickness from four to ten feet. These layers lie in the mountains at different heights and ex tend throughout the area, in a solid seam that neither gets thicker nor thinner. Sometimes the seam of coal is overlain by a seam of limoslono rock and when this is the case, no roofing is necessary to the tunnels which the miners make in going Into the side of the hill for the coal. There is no shart mining hero. Tho coal seems extending In a horizontal plane of uniform thickness through out so many acres, it is an oasy mat tor to calculate the number Of tons that any particular hill or mountain will yield. We were told that a seam of coal one fool thick over an acre of land would yield 1,000 tons. The Cllnchfleld Coni company Is at present working three strata, at different levels, the combined thickness of the three being Id feet. This would yield 10,000 tons to the acre and as they have ::iT.<io acres you can figure out for yourself ahout how much coal Is in sight of Dante. To describe the process of mining coal might bo Interesting, btit would make nuothor story. These 'nines are I comparatively new ami their output, at present, is only n marker to what this could ami will he made, Inter on. When the home trade, Iho inland de mand h- supplied and the mines are dally yielding more than enough for this, what is to be done with (lie sur plus? Tho steamships and the battle ships of the world will take it ami that rondeau deliver it cheap st whose rails run from the "tipple" at the mines to the ?? hunkers" beside deep water. Hogers' groat road, the Virginian, can do this and is doing it every day. The Chesapeake & Ohio and the Nor. folk ?<? Western extend from these BiimeVirginla ami West Virginia coal holds to maritime coaling stations and it is Certain that other systems will | go through the wall that separates the coal from the sea. 'i ho shortest line, iho lowest maintenance costs, the road whoso rails ramify the most populous, tonnage producing territory where lo cal trtllllC will help to care for Uxod charges and where a return load lor the emptied coal cars can he secured, this is the road that will come off \ io lor in a battle of giants, whose out posts are oven now manoeuvring for posit ion. .1. HOSS D0RU01I Vl'POINTi:?, N'aiuer hj the Governor as Successor to His l ather. on the recommendation of the leg islative delegation, as noted in The Advertiser last wonk, Governor M. I'. Ansel has appointed Mr. .1. Hosh Dor ro'i of Cray Court as auditor lor I.an lens county to till out (he iinexplrod term of his father, (he late Mr. Wil liam T. Dot roh. Heads Walling List. The subjoined letter explains itself. Mr. Phil Huff, to whom the letter Is addressed, is the son of Mr. ami Mrs. Augustus Hull' of (his City ami Is an exceedingly bright young man. li will he recalled that he completed two scholarship examinations in one day last summer and secured both appoint ments as tho rosult. As he had not completed the graded school course he did not accept either. Nor will lie accept the scholarship at the I'nlversl ty of South Carolina as he has anting od to allem! Wofford. Of course lie appreciates the appointment to tho State University, hut he had ill read > decided upon Wofford. lie Is a men) her of (ho Laurens city schools' lain graduating class ami is well equipped for college work. The letter follow Mr. I'hi I Huff. Liiurcus, s. c. Dear Sir: A vacancy has occurred in the Nor mal scholarship, As yqur name now stamp; at the lop ol Ihe wailing !: '. I lake pleasure in offering yo.u (lie |ip poinlment from the State at large These "at large" appointments are for a single year. Inn sometimes we are aide io reappoinl good im n. Please let me lillOW III oin'(? WllCtilOl you accept or not, Very truly Patterson Wnrdlnw, See. of School i 'inn, Sept. I I, HMO. TllO Milte l'nir. Tho lOdgeflold Chronicle in :i lending editoi'lnl say.-; "The lime for Iho Fairs is approaching. These fairs ought to In- educational in their nature. Of course many go for pleasure alone, and it is well to have this feature to our fairs, l>ut every person who at londs iiuhlhes more or less valuable Information from such a visit. Make your arrangements to attend fairs, both county ami Statt1. You will be the gainer by doing so. Those who have exhibits tit the KdgOflOld county fair, will nodoilbt, In many cases, wish to lake the same exhibit to I he Stale Fair. This can easily be ? loin- for the county fair just precedes the State Knir by a few days." What the Kdgcllold Chronicle says applies to all the fails to he given during Hie year. None need conflict and the people can attend all fairs and come to the State Fair. The State Fair will he held in Columbia, October III, November I. ". and I. It i.. never loo early to make ar rangements to attend the State Fair as the attendance promises to be larg er than ever. Philosoph) of Defeat. I have lain in tho dual with tho van quished Whon iny banner went down in des pait'i And l thought In my woe that l never might know Tho day of buoouhh, oh, how fair! And yot, when Iho ^.1111 mi tin- morrow Bhouo forth with its comforting light. Witli a new kindled /eal and a heart brtlVO and leal I went forth again to the light! The world cannot judge me by motive. Nor Iovo me if thus I have failed; Hut behold! there's an lOyo that can see bow 1 try, Ami knows that 1 never quailed! And I think of that glorious heaven, Ami of Mini who sits on its throne. Who will chide not at all If WO rise or j we fall. So long as right purpose Is shown! Not for aye shall I pine in Ihe shallow, Nor sulk in the gloom id' defeat; For the promise is sure to the hearts that endure ? All Ihe more is the victory sweet! Douglas Dobbins, in IMtlsblirg Qtl /.Otto Times. FOR SALE AT ONCE The condition of my health makes it necessary for me t<> leave the state- in quest of a more suitable climate. Therefore, 1 wish to sell immediately the property here s listed. One two-story i2 room dwelling;, corner of Hampton and Laurel streets, electric lights, sewerage and bath. One one-story 8 room dwelling on Laurel street, elec tric lights, sewerage and bath. Moth <>i" these residences are on very desirable lots, close in, and convenient, and in the best neighborhood of city. Three brick store rooms, with story above, now occu pied by the Harber Shop, Mahafiey & Ilahh and one being remodeled. This is quite likely lite onh propcrt) on the square that can be had at any price, so grasp this oppor tunity. Will sell as a whole or separately. One-half interest in Knterprise bank building. It is not necessary to describe this modern properly. Ask the 5 ^t i price il yon mean business. Now occupied by Switzet Co. One one-horse farm of 28 acres, jnsl one-eighth of mile out side of city limits, very desirable, I can make satisfactory terms on an\ of above des e.ribed properly. Send in your bids at once as I mean business. \ Laurens, S. C. e Different! < ?I' |< SI K ?1.S arc just a little rliffcrctil from those found el.se tt here. You . re n<?t following im crowd when you wear our Shoes as ihcy lutve ;i character .nitl si) It of their own. YVc give \<?u collect style nitd lit. Wc have different shoes foi different feel. < 'in Si iocs <i<? not cave in at the Iocs, nor run down ;it the counter. \ es, WC will pi'oU ct you as to si vie, utialily and lit. Switzer Company ? Next door to Enterprise Bank. Laurens, S. C.