Various subjects discussed include Indian attacks, turnpikes and taverns, the first telegraph system, natural gas illumination, Civil War manufacture of saltpeter, schools and economy in post-Civil War Charleston, salt and chemical industries, carrier pigeons, steamboats on the Kanawha River, and the coming of the railroad to Charleston. Persons mentioned include M.F. Maury, Jr., J.P. Hale, and J.Q. Dickinson.