Star of the Kanawha Valley. [volume] (Buffalo, Va. [W. Va.]) 1855-1856, 1856-06-11
Western VIssiiis'

WthttTh UfBlWUL
n. FEl @'3h.@ at ~ 49,
Every few years new direction Il
given to the flow Of efntgfation 90
Young America mint move some
where. To live and die q, he acres
of his ancestors, is no part Of hts ed.
ucatien or disposition. Ohio once
had her attraction for the bold adyen.
turer, but she gave plaeS b Indiana.
Michigan aud Illinois, shd4hen Iowa.
Wisconsin and Mine5otS followed.
till distance painted Orkeon and CAL
A1rnia in glowing coltfs; sand these
finally are most forgotten IN the ex.
citement Of Kansas md the sunny
prairies of Nebraska. Kht he stra,i.
gest phase Of I'll e. IA ,a1li0T,itiori
mania, is now developing itself. w
Hardships, le5ations and disappoint-
rnents having met emiktsti6n on its
entrance into all,thc III paradises,
that viewed from d distanee looked
sosinvitihg, Che i'm, ant multitude
sat down to sober refcctioig reviewed
the whole question, and the conclu-
sion come to is as true and natural,
as it is surprising that IL was 50 long
overlooked: that every thing consid.
cred, they had passed over those sec.
tons Of country aboundingI in good
soil, good timber, and good health, to
seek the low, timberless. rich, but un.
healthy prairies of the Western States.
And when we reflect fully upon the
subject it is no longer amatter of Won
der that the attention Of those seeking
out locations of future homes should
be- directed to the highlands Of West.
ern Virginia, where the cheapness Of
land, prodnctiveness OF soil, purity Of
air and water, mildness of climate,
hold out inducements TO the poor, but
industrious man, not Inowto be found
in any other part of the country. -
These lands can be purchased at about
two dollars per acre, and the only
obstacle to be overcome in converting
them into good farms is the heavy
growth of timber with which they
are covered. 3. The timber is oak,
hickory, chestnut, beech, maple, and
ON the higher ridges pine, but the
well applied strokes ,of the axeman,
soon remove these, aud the timber
finds ready and excellent market in
the, cities of the Ohio valley, or it can
be burnt and converted into potash,
and the profit therefrom will more
than pay for the original cost Of the
land and the cost of clearing. Corn
grows as luxuriantly on these high
lands as in the valleys; and for wheat,
oats, rye and barley they are unsur.
passed. For. fruit trees and grapes
no soil or climate. can be better, all
manner of Northern fruits being pro.
dpced in great abundance wherever
tried, and the grapes surprising those
of the low-lands in size and richness,
and are free from the diseases so de.
structiye to them in our river bot
toms. Clover and the various gras-
ses take ready hold in. the soil, and
afford hay and pastrrage equal to
land anywhere.
All in all, the highlands Of West
ern Virginia hold ont stronger in
ducements to the hardy settler than
any lands we know in any section of
country. Free fromIthe fevers of II
linois, the savages ofIKansas, and the
uncertainties Of California, they ex-
tend their rich soil to the industrious
laboring man, and promise a rich re-
turn in wine, and cora and wheat,
and cattle. No wonder that emigra-
ton is now rolling in to take posses
sion Of them. = Wheeling INT.