An American SwitzerlandThe Most Primitive Spot
In Our Country
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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 "
