The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1874-08-13
Correspondence.
For the Stark County Democratl
NOTES OF AN EXCURSION ACROSS IHH
STATE OF KENTUCKY

Mr. / G. Lester and myself started irOnl Ouh'oi
ON the early train on Saturday morning, June zOln
with tickets via the Dayton Short Line ana at
r,ved nj Cincinnati about 6 P. N. Soon aiter pass
inc, snringfeld we noticed few fields OF whea'
harvested and the number Of harvested helus
rapidly increased as we approached CINCINNATI
Remaining over Sunday in Cincinnati, we oo-
sarvad that the numerous saloons oil thaI CIV!
were conspicuously open on that day ana III
many of them we could see their customers I'M
bibing beverages" This we understood 70 DC 'ne
consequence of the repeal Of the SaHday oFn''
nance 50 called, by which repeal the saloons were
exempted from the scrutiny of the police
One principal object of our excursion was to
examine certain lands in Kentucky along the
line of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, now IN
process of construction. remark here, once ior
all that we made no selection, and that in this re-
spect, our trip was failure
we did not leave Cincinnati on our exploring
exnedition until Tuesday night, June I'D wei
had bought tickets to Stanford, via Louisville
yerv cIreuitous route, making the distance to
stanford 2iO miles instead of l43 by the most di-
rect route. namely, the Kentucky Central Rail
road I1s miles and 80 miles by stage. This longer
route was not only more comfortable than lne
other. but was also little cheaper, and equauy
expeditions; but by taking it we missed seeing tue
most fertile and to the farmer, perhaps, interest
inc rhgion IN Kentucky, which Is the blue Grass
DIstrictp about Lexington and Paris Along the
rood from IouisyiTle to stanford we noticed the
virginia creeper to be very abundant It's snowy
red flowers adorning the fences and small ueeS
almost everywhere. III,
We stopped wednesday night at Stanford, which
s the county seat of Lincoln county, and one oil
tbe oldest towns in Kentucky, containing about
coo inhabitants. The next morning we took
hack for Somerset, the county seat ~ fulVSAl
county, distant nom Stanford 81 miles, arriVnls
at Somerset at about5 p NJ. Our route lay oVer
the military road made or rather Fdngormea, ouir'
ing the war of the rebellion by General Burn
side The first seven miles of this road are NC
,damized and good; but the rest of the way IL Is
largely made of cross pieces or ties made OF spht
logs horrible to ride over, or OF coarsely broken
stone. scarcely less ugly General BIS military
road continues beyond, Somerset miles to Point
burnside on the Cumberland FLYER, pdeyen iur-
tber we took no note of its Southern terminus.
somerset like Stanford, is an old townIand
contains 7OO or sOOi1ihabltants., Alter spyinghere
over night we hlreda mule and open buggy 70
take MS over the rest of our way, for pubic con-
vevanees now failed us. We were forewarned Oh
the badness Of the road we were to travel, ana Oh
the difficulties and dangers we had TO encounter
all of which we found on trial not TO be over
stated 1t would be tedious to describe, II de-
scrintion were easy as it is not-the rperils and
hairbreadth escapes of the residue OF our journey
of Omiles from Somerset into the edge OF Ten
ressee and back. Suffice it to say that our sure
footed mule never failed us in any of our mani
eold emergencies and that we escaped broken
bones and even dislocated joints, but not entirely
superficial scratches.
Arriving at the Cumberland river we were FER
ried over it to Point Burnside on its southern
hank a place of perhaps half score OF fbuildingS
counting as such every sort of structure 10 TINS
noint the Cumberland Is navigable for from four
or five to eight months in the year. This was the
last place having a name, and here was the last
frame building we saw until our return Oil houses
and out-buildings farther south being made OF
logs. Although the road is an old one, ana ior'
uerlv tbeleading road from Somerset to Knox
Vile, and although the country began 10 DC seE
tied fully three-quarters Of century ago. YET eA'
ceptlng the new shantes of railroad eonlrac'oIs'
there are few houses along it-not more, on ah
average than one in four or five miles. The scat
tered clearings in which the houses are located
scarcely preyent the country from presenting the
annearanee of an unbroken forest. Not more
nrobablv than five acres in hundred have ever
been cleared perhaps not more than TWO acres
The people, so far as we came In contact win
them. appeared to be remarkably unsophisticated
and innocent They were always good-natured,
afable and obliging eager to answer all inquiries
and generally giving information very minutey
and intelugibly, Ignorant 1t would seem lhey
must be- for we saw no signs Of any opportunities
To obtain any education. After passing the Cum
berland river we saw no building which could
posslbly be either a school-house OF a church. Al
the house where we stayed over Sunday, June
18th. we fell in with a remarkably bright girl
about ten years old. On being asked If she could
read. she answered no. Do you know your let
ters? No; but there will be school after awhile,
when 1 shall 20 and learn to read. How fur viii
Won have to 20? A mile and half. A house
where we stayed over night June 26th, called
acofev,sp from the name of its occupant, and
which he and his parents had occupied for more
than half century, was 30 miles from Somerset
the nearest postofIice in one direction, and II
miles from Marsh Creek, the nearest postotiice In
the other.
A noteworthy feature Of the country is that
everv house has around or near 1t an apple Or
cbard Many of the apples trees are very old, and
some are fnr gone In their decline; in most cases
they gave promise of an abundant crop OF ruit
this YEAR At nearly every meal we took south OF
the cumberland we had either apple sauce or ap-
nile pies made of fruit Of thisy years growth. Other
fruits seem to be little cultivated, probably be-
canse thew require more labor than is consistent
with Kentucky habits We saw indeed, good
many peach trees, few Of which looked wen
and were laden with young fruit but the Larger
mart appeared sickly fact due, doubtless, to ne
,leet It was universally testified that this part Of
Kentucky is we'll adapted to fruits if only they
were properly cared for; butapples only are abun-
dant because they grow almost without care.
The region through which we passed, and on
each side Of us as far as the eye could reach, Is
hilly, being the Cumberland mountain region
butit would not be difficult to select large tracts
ofwhieh the greater part might be cultivated with
the plow. The soil is no doubt inferior to that Of
stark county, but large portion of the forests are
heavily timbered, and the large, tall and stately
trees of which they generally consist prove that
the soil cannot naturally be barren. The clear
ings did, indeed appear unproduetiye; but be
sides that severe drouth which we found prevail
ing everywhere in Kentucky, had already ruined
the oats crop, and had stained and stinted the
corn and all the later crops, 1t was evident tha
the cleared land had been worn out by long and
sloyenly farming without any use Of fertilizers
or a judicous rotation Of crops Scarcely any
fodder Is attempted to be raised, though one O
the products of this country is cattle, which mus
indeed be the principal resource for procuring
what the people have to buy from abroad bu
they are LEFT, for the most part to SHIFT for them
selves in the woods, even in winter.
Coal Is found in workable veins almost every