The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-08-13
plPARTURl OF TRAM
Ghe91teIliqetrrer
How l Wandered In the Greepbrier.

How Wandered in the Greenbrier
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, Aug. 10.
Editors OF the IntelllReneer:
From Gauley Mountain, whence
wrote 10 you last, 10 the heart 81 the
Grecnbrier, Is not far In distance, but In
tact II is very great change. It is q
total change Of ideas; from coal, iron, call
and lumber, 10 beef. II Is q change Of
scene too; from great views, butting hills
close ravines, dense forests; 10 broad ex'
p4nse 1880 miles Of undulatlng hills set
round by background Of blue moun-
lains. a change OF costume too; from
bare feet or brogans to boots, from home.
spun TO broadclOth, from meal bags 10
piniers, from iute switches to the real
thing. In fact, from q country which
has always been utterly poor, but will b
hugely rich, TO one which has been well.
W'do, and hopes soon to be 80 again.
THE SOCIETY
here is charming. After good deal Of
travel may safely say that | don't know
any farming country In the old or new
world which Is SO lovely. There is a
breadth, richness Of texture, a change
fitness, and joYousness about these
landscapes which l never saw equalled
IN any country Of productive capacity.
THE CLIMATE
Is fine and braciDg; a little too harsh fol
some people, owing to the stiff clay o.
which great part Of the subsoil consists,
and damp at certain seasons Of the year;
but for healthy and seusibly-living peo-
pie 1t Is admirable-hence, the lovely
children one sees.
GEoLo0ICALLY
speaking, the district may DO said 10 be
subcarbonilerouS and not much else; for
though the western part OF the section
does trench upon the lower seams Of coal
and the eastern part Is comprised In the
Devonisn strata, yet the.grest mass, and
famous part OF those counties (Pocahon-
tas, Greenbrier, Monroe, Summers) which
compose what Is called "the Greenbrler,'
Is subcarboniferous The limestones and
Clsys Of that epoch cover a very long and
wide section, although not very thick, as
they seem to have but a slight dip; and
these are the strata, the strength, fertility
and capacity for enduring bad farming
OF which, have made the Greenbrler so
famous. AS for mineral wealth, there
are, as l have intimated, some nice seams
Of soft bituminous coal in the western
part, most probably the same excellen
cooking and blscksmiths coal which the
New River Iron and Car Company /!
shipping with such acceptability under
the name Of Quimrimont Red Ash. There
are some Developments Of nodular and
bay iron ores in the center Of the district,
which have not at present been found
rich enough to encourage working; there
is q show Of manganese, and some lead
en looking sulphurets in the eastern
mountains or Allegheny watershed;
there are the usual West Virginia cock
and bull stories about silver, lead, Sc.
and there are tho great hemAtite and por
siliferous ore beds oil Anttoony's Greek
which.will probably ere long:be supple
mented by other discoveries Of simia
nature.
THE GREENDRGER SPIRIT
reminds me good deal of school. fellow
who used TO sleep like q dormouse, ant
when swaked by the bell dining in BIZ
ears would roll and twist, and with BIZ
eyes still closely shut, grunt out, "Ortdt
CrEde, come - dnd-pul-m 6-o QUITO
bed" They have superb land, fine eli
mate, physical strength, market for ever,
useful product they raise, plenty Of brain
and yet their incesssnt cry is Tor some
body TO come in and make them rich
English, Northern capital and knowledge
IS their cry-forgettiDg in this lovely ig
uOrance Of human nature that II thu
stranger does come In, 1t will be 10 max
himself rich, not them; and that It MAJ
be with them as Stribner'S Magazine say
il is with Missouri: The influence an
mark Of Southern names have vanished
from the northwestern sections OF Miss
Ouri. A new type has arisen and swep
out Of sight those who prevailed 'befo' tn
waE." This spirit Is all !the iunniel
because In the occasional cases where th
Gteenbrier man has given himself 10 hi
work, no has been
ABUNDANTLY RRCoMPENsRD
by the grateful soil, as let this clippin
from pamphlet on the county testify:
MIR. Il. has the reputation OF being Ii
most thorough farmer in Greenbrier. u
has a $50 acre pasture farm, IRON whic
he obtained this year, 90 bushels oiwhea
this crop was q lailure,) 90 Of clover see
1000 Of oats, and 80 tons Of timothy an
clover. He summer.pastured 10 horse
10 COWS, 20 sheep, 2 calves, and 20 hog
lie will winter upon this land and Pre-
duce, with 525 bushels Of corn from or
other farm, so calves, 90 sheep, and
horses. One winter he fed 40 sheep iroI
December LIST TO March 18th, on 400 ga
Ions Of oats; they cost 90 80 each, an
we're sold April 10Th, for 81. he does bl
little work on his farm himself, and keel
only one hired man, who requires heI
only inpressing times, harvest, SC. Som
times Ia winter he has no hand at all.
The only experienced Englishman
the Greenbrler, tells me that he bought
lot Of cattle last December, stall fed the
on hay and Indian corn till early In Apr
and, whereas, he gave from $25 10 &
for them, he sold them for $50 10 $lC
His opinion is, that the COWS Of the Gree
brier would often be no disgrace to
English dairy farm, and butter can
transported for cents per ID, and
really well made, can DO sold In Washin
ton at 90 cents.
In one or two important respects, no
ever, the people are trying to get out
bed by themselves,
TWO YEARS AGO,
when ! passed through Lewisburr, q
doggeries made II the most hateful IN
plSce ever saw, but q year after the 7,
pectSble arm Of the community awol
and with one blow Of iu hst closed eve