The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1856-11-28
'oRREsPoKDEscr OF THE prspArcH
WEST UNION, Doddridgs co Va.

wrote you on the 14th inst, from Ritchie this
sd)oining county, aud being detained here bv some
sccldent to the train, propose to give yori some
adanions items of travel In this Western region.
When parted with you, was In great troubIe
'or some conveyance farther West. made every
enort, by sending to neighbors and went TO Har.
risvilIe to hire horses, but without suceesa On
me Ioth, my travelling companion and myself re.
aewea our efforts, and as the result we bought 4
morse and concluded to ride and tie "a desperate
resolved for the remaining sixty miles of our iour
ney To increase the gloominess of our prospects.
the snow and rain began to fall quite briskly. and
tue wind was cold and piercing But our motto
vas onward, +" and with nv friend mounted ana
yeur humble servant on foot, we set ont with
cheerful hearts. My friend first proposed to let
me take the purchased horse and 20 on while he
returned to Richmond, but his presence was,neces.
cary 70 the objects of our voyage, and after some
ment to ride and tie, promising to do most of the
walking Icould but think as plodded along the
shppery road. pelted by the snow and rain. re-
nectlng that there must be in the neighborhood
wnere we chauced to find ourself either great i'm
PROVIDENCE, or what is worse, little hospitality
The idea that rather wealthy neighborhood, in
oorse raising country, could not or would not fur.
nish even one horse to two unfortunate strangers
IS rather remarkable. If this letter should not
turn out to be too long, may say something more
Of the tmproridence of this country
For SIX miles followed at the heels Of our new.
~ purchased mare, leaving most of our baggage
behind. The little that remained we had stored
away in a carpet bag and hand trunk which,
attached by means. of q handkerchief swung
across the animals back.
Arriving at house which had been pointed out
to US as that of a former representative of the
county, we thought we could make one more at
t-mpt to get another horse. We rode q walked)
up the lane leading to the house, and giving the
accustomed halloo, soon brought the occupant to
the door, and at our request to the fence. We
stated our condition in as forcible manner as we
could; tried to claim acquaintance; showed our
baggage with our names painted thereon, 80 that
we might not be taken for horse thieves, and
waited anxiously the result. The gentleman, Mr.
NJ, said he had three three-year old colts and
perhaps might have one if / was not afraid to
ride it. / soon satisfied him this point, and he
ordered his little boy to go to the field and drive
mp the beasts, as they call them here. was soon
mounted, and with some considerable Jerking of the
bride and kicking the sides of the little animal,
who cast several lingering looks behind" 1 got
under way as a sailor would have it. At Harris.
ville two miles distant, we got our dinner and had
the colt shod for her journey. Unless you are ex-
plicit in telling the blacksmith to be sure to shoe
your horse 'all around he will only put on the
two front shoes. This is the result ina CINE of
the economical practice of the people in this quar-
ter Our object was TO reach California, g" town
on the Staunton and Parkersburg turnpike that
night. Our road lay over a very rough and thin.
ly settled country and being but little travelled,
we got lost twice after dark Once, " 9 got into Z
dense swamp, and but for the fact of finding some
half mile up it, . cabin, we might have found it
impossible to proceed further Between and
o'clock we got down at California and soon were
in comfortable quarters. This, by the way, il one
of the most, if not the most comfortable country
inn l have seen out here. Indeed, it is vastly
better than majority of the hotels, as they are
called, at the country seats The exposure and
fatigue of the journey came near making my friend
sick; and but for some timely medical treatment,
he, most probably, would not have escaped. Twas
greatly relieved next morning on finding him bet
ter. But to go back \ little.
have travelled good deal on horseback, and
early learned to go to the stable and my horse
curried, fed and bedded. While at the stable at
the California inn, overheard the following con-
versation between two peddling wagoners, who
were attending to their horses
well John 1 stopped at Uncle Billy's as
come up. 1 gin the old man plug of tobacco"
That is right"
81 always give him plug as I pass. never
expects him to pay me, in course"
''Oh! no. certainly not The old man will give
you somethin some O. these times"
Yes reckon. gin him not long ago q new
Methodist hymn book. 1 tell you twas busting
big one. But L never sees him read it. May be
the prints too fine" (Not very probable, if it
was busting big one."D
John replied: "Oh! reckon he will give You
three hundred dollars, certain and sure. Then
thar is that piece of land on the pike
THAT is nice piece of land, John tell you
what, that ia good bit of gronnd We could
have good times thar"
This was said with sort of smack of the lips
and with much emphasis He had doubtless 4
realsing view of his new cabin and improved con
dition, and applying his curry comb with new vim,
continued
How horses what is sheddn does love currin'.
Jist like you know men who's losn thar har feels
when it come out wild de comb"
l could but think, as l walked back to the inn, of
some of the effects of what is called refinement,
upon human nature This hopeful nephew. acted
INN puts oh hu
but he was not refined enough to conceal them.
Many man who would denounce in strong words
the language of this uneducated WAGNER, might,
if occasion presented, be guilty of similar conduct
Perhaps you are not aware that there is upon
this farm what is called an Oil Spring The tract
embraces l60 acres, for which $4,000 were refus.
ed last summer-I visited this spring and found it
to be large swampy piece OF ground situated
on the dse of creek. Vats of 10 feet square
are sunk into the soil and water thrown into them,
through which the oil rises and swims upon the
surface. From one of these watts or barrels of
oil are obtained. A sort of paddle is used to stir
up the mud and water and separate the OIL Some
of it l examined. 1t is dark and viscid, and has
no very decided taste. 1t is taken to Parkers.
burg, 20 miles distant, where it is boiled, ina
gine, and purified 1t evidently is separated frsm
the bituminous coal beds in the neghboring hills
Mr. B. w. Cree, Of Parkersburg, is think, the
ow ner of this "Oil Spring"
learned also, that there is a "Blue Sulphur
Sprir g in the same neghborhood, which was much
resorted to last summer.
On the 10th, we set out after q sunrise break
fast, for Ripley, the county seat of Jackson dis
tance of 40 miles Going still across the country,
our road led us along the beds of creeks and over
steep ridges, along what are called "bride paths,
emphatically, "a hard road to travel" We ar
rived at Ripley without any adventure, about two
hours after dark. When we entered the recep-
tion room of the Hotel, there was no fire, except
that which shona through too large apertures, in
the back of the fire place. and we were glad to be
invited into the landlords chamber where the fre
we saw, really was, Besides good fire, we here
found two children, who were left ON the bed,
while the mother set to work to cook US some sup
per. Presently one of the babies began to squa
aud having some experience In nursing, / attempt
ed to qnie, it, but to very little purpose One /
could keep quiet but the other would cry in spite
of my best efforts in shaking, whistling clucking
&C., &c. When in this dilemma, saw through
tue openings above mentioned, in the back of the
fire place, that the reception in readiness
and mine host invited us into more agreeable
quarters.
would say word of Ripley. Having to spend
the Sabbath there became better acquainted with
1t than with the other Court Houses l visited -
Ripley is rather an old town in Western chronol'
ogy; but is by no means pretty one. 1t contains
about two or three hundred Inhabitants all white.
The houses are mean, and many of them dilapi-
dated and +" out of DOORS i. g., they have no en-
closure There Is nuch dissipation, such as drink.
- .,d ,a mhIipc carried m II has church OF