Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-08-25
SALINE NATTER.
Interesting History Of Mickey Kane and
His Salty Lucknow SaItVilIe
FlOurishes without any
Moral SAVIOR.
The Salt Of the Earth, Common Schools
and ~Preachers-A Salty Example
for the School Board.

~SALTNILLE, VA August %, 1872.
There is a very remarkable little vii.
lage nestled in the mountains of Vir.
ginia, of the savory name of SaItviIe,
as is well known to thousands who were
fortunate enough to have any bacon tc
save during the Disturbance and.
by-the-way, it may be parenthetically
and pathetically remarked in this con
nection, that few saved their bacon,
simply because most people went the
whole hog on the event. This village,
or hollow, or gorge, or ancient "lick !,
in the deep bosom of the hills, is the
most peculiar place 1 ever planted a
stump in. The entrance is effected
through a series of winds, turns, slides.
climbs and crawls over nine miles OF
what is eourteously called a railroad.
CThose Virginians are the mostcourteous
people in the world.) The road-bed is
the only c-ommendable thing about
the concern. 1t is solid-no fear
of sinking-it is the simple and
original, natural, u~nmitigated rock
The owner of this strip of unique road
does his W conducting, and carries
cattle and passengers in the same car at
ten cents per mile for the passengers
he Is a handsome, urbane gentleman of
considerable stature, liberal shoulders
and plentiful whiskers. He looks as if
he might be the eldest son of Tom Scott
or a ward of Vanderbilt. He COLLECTS
his unfair fare from the passengers in the
Z aQffIn COR with KfN cloud L.--l -
turveydrOp "deportmentp bewitchiugto
behold. 1t is said that this little patch
Of road is the last relic left him of n lone
line of ancestral wealth. 1t is in the
last degree touching to observe with
what dignified c-ondescension he stoops
to do his own conducting and fare COL
lecting from passengers IN the cattle ear.
True dignity, thou art a gem.
RATHER ROUGH.
Nine miles of humping. iolting, drag
ging, jogging and humping over this
gentleman's road from Glade Springs.
lands one, who can keep himself togetb-
er during the journey, in the village or
gorge OF S~altville, the most peculiar
place, l will venture to say, on the con-
tinent of America.
AN OLD SALT
ought to be queer. The p%rogenitor of
the place was a person from the county
of Cavan, in Ireland, of the name Of
Mickey Kane. He was a broken down
''tar' who, wearied, like the ancient
mariner, Of following the sea for a living.
took a spell on the land. He had
a scent for salt. You bet. 1t was the
only thing he could smell Having
landed at Newportnews, near Norfolk,
from a long whaling voyage, or a whal- /
ing long VOYAGE disrecOllect which
ami having spent all his none on the
proverbial tripod of sailors life-rum
and tobaccO-he threw up his proboscis
10 ascertain what he could learn. He
smelPd this lick, two hundred milesand
more, in q straight line, from where he
stood. That was in 1906. He reached
here a year afterward, and commenced
digging a hole in this deep valley. He
went down two hundred feet without
stopping, and found nothing but plaster
his descent. On Saturday night he
retired to a nook 10 chew bis last quid
Of tobacco, and also to do a little gum
ming on the cud Of disappointment.
he saw not the lonely form of HOPE
looming up in the distance, for there
no distance to the view, being sur
rounded on all sides by hills much taller
a the tallest mast of a three-decker.
La this dilemma be sought consolation
n his n consciousness-and foundit
the first time in life he prayed and
septi aye, wept salt tears, and in the
Nous act he went to sleep. Next morn
ng there was a hundredfeet 0 fsalt water !
Il his well. This was the origin Of the !
CELEBRATED VIRGINIA SALT WORKS, y,
where one hundred Thousand bushels of ]
alt per week were made during the :
gar-the disturbance" 1 ought to have \
aid. Every saltless State in the South ,
Iad an agent there, who had his epots
nd his pans" and his sacks and such,