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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 22, 1901)
An American SwitzerlandThe Most Primitive Spot In Our Country a t'orxTHY mi:i:ti.t. iioisi: Tin: vii,i(5i: op iiopkvii.u: Itlrll Mdl T1 I'OS'I'OI'IMC Hi: year that is closing has l tnls-li'i-cil certain railroad ami mining deals lit West Virginia tliat Indi cate the commencement of a com mercial ami industrial revolution In this hitherto undeveloped state. I'ntll quite recently tho greater part cif this sec tion of tilt' country wits its devoid of easy eommtinleatlnn with the outside wotld as one of the most backward of the South American republics. Its forests of valuable tlmlier, Us mineral resoiirees. Its grazing latnls w re left In the hands of a straggling poptilntlin without capital or tho ambition for conducting largo enlerprlses. Now, how ever, this primitive condition of things seems to have run Us course, ami a new West Virginia, vigorous, enterprising. Is iking the plnre of the old pioneer state with Its simple Iradltlons and customs. To day more capital Is being Invested hero for the development of natural resources than In any other state In tho union. It Is safe to say that no section of our country Is less known or loss cultivated than parts of those mountain regions. Now and then ii prospector has wandered through the wilderness, hut this forerunner of rail roads ami commercial progress rarely not away from the river courses or tho fairly level country easily adapted to cultivation. One day an enthusiastic Now York sports man pitched his camp among tho hack hills. Ills guide chuck led quietly when the young man picked up a smooth rock nnd placed It on tho lire to heat for a rousting stone. In a few minutes a hluo llame shot up through the rock and soon It was all ahlazc. OM-I''iimIi limed t'ont.lim, "Wh what's the matter?" yelled Iho young man. "Nothln'!" laughed the guide. "Ye got a hunk of conl, that's all. I guess wo hotter cook supper 'Itliout the ronstln' stone." The New York sportsman hecaine a wiser man, so fnr as a knowledge of West Vlr Klnlu roasting stones was concerned, and when Inter nn In his rainhlcs he came upon a hugo motintnlu of Iron ore nnd took notice, of tho valuable timber all about lie began to study tho situation. Now tho curious thing Is that the West Virginian ntnuntalnoer has known for longer than tho memory of the oldest Inhabitant that all ho had to do when ho wanted a lire was to tao a pickaxe- and break off a bit of the tocky ledge or hillside which lay hark of his cabin. Hvery day he saw the wealth of tlmhor ami Iron all ahoit' him. but his simple nature had Inquired no further a kind nature supplied his few wauls, why should he cale about acquiring the troubles which atlllclci the rich? The section through which the new rail road): will pass, lying In tho Now frock and North I'ork valleys between Koer and Klklns, shows the contrast between the primitive that has boon and the progressive that will bo bolter perhaps than any other. Tho distance between the two towns Is over inn miles. At present there are no rail roads any w hero In roach. A monitor popu lation of about nun straggles along the out' thoroughfare that Is honored by tho name of road, but which In many places boars more resemblance to the bod of a moun tain stream than anything else. It Is the homo of tho sand-digger nnd tho moonshiner a little prliulllvc world In Itself, distant In population, custom and occupation from the hurrying world outside, embosomed In a glorious phalanx of tuouulaltis whoso ma jestic contour Hives this region the ro mantic individuality ami aloofness of an undiscovered Switzerland. I It'll it of Imilnlioii. llopovlllo Is In the heart of this rugged, undeveloped section. Why the place wns tailed llopovlllo Is not very obvious. A kind of deprecatory modesty, perhaps, that Is not always prominent In these moun tain "towns" an appeal to the future for what Is lacking In tho present. Thcro Is certainly an elusive quality about these places to which It takes an unsuphlst lented traveler some little haid-i iirticd experience to accustom himself. For Instance, be tween the towns of Maysvllle ami llopevllle thcro in a town called Jord.inrun. Its lo cation Is clearly dollned on tho map ami with compass and pedometer there would seem to ho no reasonable possibility for the place to evade an intelligent search. After walking for miles through an un broken wilderness of mountain and forest one looks forward with keen delight to a town nlong tho road. Visions of hotels, hot dinners, rnmfortnble (Ires, luro one on to great exertions. Hut In this particular case plenBitrablo rxpootancy is futile. Thcro Is no .Innlanruu aloiu; tho road for all Its imposing proFonco on tho map. Careful Inquiry afterwards elicited tho fact that under the McKluloy administration a new postmaster was appointed In tin town of .lordatinui. This now postmaster lives somewhere two miles idf the mail, and when ho wns appointed this iieoomino.latlng town moved over to him, thus completely changing Us geographical posltlin. Thorn Jordauruu wilt stay in the woods some where, until a democratic president is elected. Then It will take up Us obi stand on tho road again ami things will no on ns before. The ubiquity of the town Is quite confusing and one can Imagine with what breathless interest the Inhabitants of Jordauruu, wherever they may he, must watch a presidential elec tion. A I 'mil 1 1, Tribe, Hut llopovlllo lum nothing to fear, no mutter who may bo president, llopovlllo consists of one family. This family bear" tho suggestive name of Ours. The tribe of Ours has a house and a store. One member of the tribe is a republican, the other n democrat. So that when it conies to mak ing a postolllcc appointment hero llopovlllo does not have to gel up ami walk olt tho map, as happened with .Inrdntirun. hut quietly stays where It him been, a model of municipal stability. Of coiiro tho tribe of Outs might tiro of this valuable monopoly and take It Into Us head lo emigrate some day, In which case an act of congress would piohahly bo needed to dttcrinllic what had become of llopovlllo. Twelve years ago Klklns, which may be the now railroad center, was a swamp nnd Hoverly was tho county scat of Itatnlolph county and Us principal city. In fact Hov erly Is among tho oldest tccttlcmcuts In West Virginia, dating twenty years back of the revolution. Its pride Is In Its antiquity. Its people, living here from father to son, view tho hustle and push of the "modern spirit" that Is now overrunning West Vir ginia with dignllled scorn. Tilling the Holds, hunting, tending their sheep are the pastoral occupations that cngrnsts them. Hoforo Klklns was built overture were made to Beverly to lay the foundation hero for a now progressive town. Hut the proposition met with no encouragement. Tho aristocratic Iloverlyltes were prosper ous and contented In their Arcadian fashion. They clung to the habits and cus toms of a century ago because they pre ferred I hem. Modern Innovations wore dis tasteful, lowering, plebeian. So the proposi tion of the ninlloycil men was I ejected and tho town of KIkins was eoujund out of the w 1 1 1 1 (! i ucss. mullet nl I'liilni I'rom the very start It has been tint struggle or the old, proud, traditional Virginian and the now, moliey-maMiig west erner between the two towns, and llevoily has siill'eiod sadly In the contest The his tory of this municipal ilvalry is uplcal of what is taking place throughout the old south today. In a very few years the popu lation of Hcvcrly was equaled by (hat of i:ikius. Then gradually the liuslm ss of the obi town was absorbed by I he newcomer, and finally, two ears ago, the county seal was openly covelid for more than u cen tury Hoverly had been the county seal of ltamlnlph ami the dominant town of this section. It hail endured the chic uggios slons of its upstait rival with silent dignity, but when a graceless hand was stretched out to lob It of this last chief municipal treasure the ire of the old lloui lions was aroused to action. A vote of the county was passed on the subject ami Klklns was designated as Hie custodian of tin- county i coords by a comfortable majoiiij So the enterprising Klklnlles declared luithwlth they would go to llevoily and take what belonged lo them without walling for any tedious "law's delays." To this tho scornful llcvoilyltes answered nothing, but all the old muskets, sabois, pikes of half a dozen geuoiatlons wore furbished up and tho littlo town, with as much earnestness ami ab sence of noise and excitement as Is shown when the same people go out to kill a bear on their native mountains, prepared to do battle. The story of the trouble sounds like some stray chapter from the middle ages. Hy turns one is reminded of opera Imulfe and of some tragic feud of classic dimensions. Hvery mile citizen of Hoverly was sworn In as a deputy sheillf, put under arms and sta tioned In front of tin art house, whore the county archives were stored. Mines wore dug under the rullioud track with tho Intention or blowing up the train hearing the predatory Hlklnltcs. As for the latter, they too were preparing, In their own way, for what they supposed might bo a slight unpleasantness. There was every Indica tion of the most serious kind of trouble. Ml night the entire male population of Hou rly, musket in band, stood In front of Iholr beloved court house Hunters, woods moll most of thoui, accustomed lo conllli I and with ton eats or accumulated lusotoiici from Iholr municipal rlwil to goad them on, these llevoiiylles meant business n Vterli'il Win1, Had tho men fllilll KIklus collie whin they wore expected tlieie would till douhlcdly have I n a pltchii! ha'th m the streets of the little (own. with r ul'o as disastrous and bloody as any thai ihir iiclcil.cd such bailies of the civil wm a-, wire rmight in tills no ghbor.. I ll.e lame and Impotent conclusion to Hi.- dt.i play of so much valor on both side- Tin i: I k I n 1 1 I'M never caino. Wiser council" for Innately prevailed among them. I 'oh slbly I be well known prowess In arms nf the men of Hoverly hail a salutary effect upon the minds of those younger Hplii s Anyway, Iholr oxpodltlnii was abandoned I ho obi muskets of Heverloy were pill away ami tho venerable midlives of It. in dolpb county wore sent to KlkiiiH. igno mlnlously, without cscott, on a f r ighi car. when tho courts, months afterward:! decided that Hoverly no longer had a tight lo keep them Thus i iidoil a war thai might have I u, ami that If It ever started would have put this stale In iho van of Kentucky for bloody feuds. Old West Virginia has never come In armed contact with new West Vliglnla, but it has mot with defeat nevertheless. The Klklns that grasped at the county seat Is already aiming at a coiumciclnl luipnr lance, and It scoius likely lo have a similar bloodless success. Tho plan tor opening up tho state Is not a desultory one. Hitherto it has been sn Short lines have been run In varloiH tin connected localities ami the problem of transportation has been lacking In sys t fin and olllcloncy. Now. however tho various railroads of West Virginia are to ho combined in one scheme, having ror Its object the throwing open of tho enllru slalo ami the lludlug fur Its product tho easiest outlet. As planned now about seventy-live miles or new road will con nect the western part or Iho stato with the (irent hakes and a similar extension will Join tho eastern section with the 1 1 in h running lo Chosnpcako hay. Christmas Cheer in Pennsylvania Backwoods N Till-: backwoods of 1'onnsylvanla there are many odd Christmas customs," says a traveling man who had visited that region a score of times. '! once S'iw ;i Christmas troo In a blacksmith shop. It was trimmed with a lot of ginger cakes cut In shapes to represent fish, horses and ch gs. The smith had also cut nut a lot of pink paper birds nnd flowers, and with threo pounds of red anil yellow clear candy his tree was well filled. Kvory farmer boy who brought a horse or mule to ho shod received a gift from tho tree. Tho waysldo Inns all have nristnias trees behind their dingy bars wnero there Is room, Their trees contain extra candles that aro not sold behind the bar usually. During PhrlRtmnH week th landlords havo raffling matches and euchre parties for anything from a half dozen cups nnd saucers to a pair of chickens or a turkey. "Hell-snlcklcs still mnko merry on tho highways for tho country children In theso districts. Grown folks In tattered gowns and clothes, wearing grotcsquo masks, go from hnuso to houso with bags of nuts on their backs and slender poles In their hands. Thn rhtlilrnn n t.n . . -........v... u, u u-miut-u io pick up me nuts thrown on tho floor beforo them, when they aro rapped gently over tho fin gers Naughty children aro punlBhcd, but as a general thing tho visit of tho hall snlckles is pleasant enough nnd nffords much fun whoro thcro Is so very littlo going on to nmuso tho people. Candy and stnnll ginger cakes also form n part of tbn stock In trndo of these mountain Imitators of Santa Claws. Some holl-snlcklcs trudge through tho snow from ten to fifteen miles to make their rounds nn Christmas ovo, blowing their horns upon nrrlvlng at each hnuso. No matter what tlmo of night they come they nre ndmltted nnd tho chil dren aro moused. Tho boll-snlcklcs aro refreshed and they then depart, sometimes not making themselves known. That la part nf tho fun, as it keeps their hosts guessing fur months as to tho Identity of tho visitors. "The oldest Christmas trco I over saw wns in tho winter camp of a gypsy party in a cedar grove. Near their enmpdro was growing a small cedar bush and this was gaily decorated with colored ribbons, pa pers and cnndles. Thoro wore flvo chil dren In tho closed wagons and thoy had a merry Christmas around tho troo, "Along tho boso of tho Hluo mountains In Pennsylvania there Is a custom on Christ mas which is somewhat biblical Fanners' sons nre sent out in wagons on tho high ways to gather In all iho stragglers, that Is, tramps, they can llnd. Peddlers or homo loss men come in this category. They aro taken to tho farmhouse, fed nnd sent on their way rejoicing. Tho first day Christ mas Is a religious holiday among many mountaineers. Tho second day Christinas Is for worldly merriment. Tho horses, tows, sheep, pigs, in fact all II vo stock, chickens and dogs ami cats, get extra feed, ami no poor family Is neglected. Apples and cider Is tho common set-out. Kor liim hoon tho hell-snlcklcs get cold pudding, cold ham, bread and butter nnd hot coffee. Applejack Is furnished, but with care. Tho charcoal burners on tho mountains on Christmas eve havo a walk-around Impelled with considerable old rye, especially If It snows. "Tho grnndest Christinas spectacle I over saw was ton miles of wide-spreading plno trees Just after a wet snow. Tho branches wore like m.orio nodding plumes of whlto. It was a Christmas scene of weird purity I shall never forget, nnd I would llko to drlvo through it again Knight Templar parade was not In It At nno log schoolhouso about Ave miles below tho Mollln Magulre country of Pennsylvania 1 found iho entire interior hung with pine branches Tho torn her a PI ho did not belli vo in utllng down trees. Ho simply . 1 1 olf branches m the forest that did not haim Die trees and the children hung them on nails, hooks and Urn blackboards. Tho branches were trimmed with colored papers, cakes, can dles, waliiuls, apples, pears and I know not what nil. One time a poor sexton of a mountain graveyard hurled his wifo. Tho man was helpless. He had a sou who wns not promising. Christmas promised to ho bleak. Ills neighbors took the son Into their coiilldeiieo and on Christmas eve a dozen wont home with the sou and prepared a surprise, on Christmas morning, when tho family cnnio down, thoro was a beautiful inlstinas lice for tho motherless children and many substantial gifts for tho old sex ion. It was nn one of my hack country trips nn a Christmas day Dial I met a middle a','od woman, with a dashing span of horses, In a sleigh She had visited thirty-threo f.irmhniihcs in us many miles and was a good Santa chins for thlrtv-llvo poor city orphans for whom she had found good homes hncli Cnrlstmas hIic vlBlts tliom. taking them gifts. Hho tails them her chll dren ns she has norm of her own "One Christmas I spent at a mountain tavern near tho Pennsylvania coal regions. The mountain was covered with snow. The dinner was served piping hot in front of u nla.lng hearth lire. Wo had liassoniifoffnr to begin with, which Is pickled rabbit toasted In brown (lorman sauce, then came part ridges broiled on hickory coals, with hot rallies, thou a fat wild turkey shot In tho clearing not a quarter of a mllo nway; In fact, it wi.s a gamo dinner, with hurhs and vegetables, pipes and tnbarco, hotnu-mado wine and a variety of food, all from tho mountain. Tho nlghl was dark and silent, but we hail a good tlmo within. Two of tho best hunters of tho forest wore with us and they aoto Interesting companions. Wo played ouchro and smoked until 3 o'clock next morning. I slept under a big Dutch feather bed in a cold room under tho raft ers nnd there wns snow on the hod when I awoke at 8 o'clock. Wo hail fried mush and Med spnrerlbs, with hot cornenkes and coffee, for breakfast, and I was In no hurry to get away, with thn snow live feet doep on the level. Oh, yes, there Is a great deal of dl!T renco In ChrlstmiiH festivities, nnd I will never regret nor forget tho many odd l lungs to bo seen lo thlH day In tho back woods miles nwav from the busy cities "