The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1872-1881, 1878-08-02
n,s FISHING EXCURSION.
STANFORD. Ky,
July 20, 1878.

July ~, 1910
NJ. Editor
KNIGHTS Of the rod who are
acquainted with the lower waters Of
the Big South Fork Of Cumberland
River allIrepresent il as the best fishing
stream Of convenient access to Ken
lucky anglers.
Their seemingly extravagant des'
criptions have for years been a lump
of leaven, enlivening the curiosity Of
a dozen or more Lancaster and Stan
ford dovotees, and the recent hot wea'
ther produced in n trio, boiling ovei
of curiosity to investigate the merits
Of that celebrated river. Col. Frank
White, the veteran typo of the West,
was to have accompanied us upon the
trip of exploration, and up to a few
days before our start he fully expected
to go, but he found his employer in
an unexpected business strait which
persuaded him to cheerfully forego the
long anticipated fun-and Walton is
the beneficiary.
The morning Of the Sth inst, saw
Col. j. X. Faulkner, Of Lancaster,
Rev. Prof. j. Lotion Barnes and the
writer, of this place, of for the mouth
of Rock Creek, in Wayne county,
near the Tennessee State line,
over which, the stream is called
New River. After eating the earliest
breakfast Of the year, we started be-
fore sunrise for McKinney's Station,
which point we reached but minute
before the roar of the approaching
Express Freight train was heard, and
at $50 A. NJ, we were safely deposited
at Somerset, the present terminus of
the C. S. r. r. We were annoyed
by MOI finding a wagon in waiting as
agreed, and fretted about the depot
nearly an hour before DIR. Cox drove
up and took us aboard his Spring
wagon, bound for Monticello. Leav-
ing instructions for our wagon to bring
on the baggage, we skipped out from
Somerset, and after seven hours hot
and iatiguing travel were unloaded at
Col. Bohon's, near Monticello, where
we were cordially received, and glad
dened by assurances that he had made
all arrangements necessary to our COM
fort after arrival at our destination. A
refreshing nights rest, made an early
start Tuesday morning a matter of
course. A two horse wagon, with
spring seats, was in waiting, and with
a fresh team we hoped to complete the
remaining 80 miles of our journey
that day, but the intense heat, and
heavy road, created by Mondays rains
rendered it impracticable to impose a
longer drive upon the jaded team than
to Dobbs' deserted store-house, eight
miles from the river. After leaving
the beautiful Elk Spring Valley, whose
luxuriant crops proclaim fertility of
soil which compares favorably with
the famed blue grass farms, we were
but five miles from old Wayne's CAPT
tOl, and had almost thirty miles of sto-
ny, billy and mountainous road before
US, which the Colonel declared ''an
own blood cousin to that noted Jor-
dan thoroughfare. The scenery soon
grew monotonous. Farms are few
and small; springs of even Indifferent
water are at long intervals, and the
last twelve miles of the drive are over
a road from which not single house
is visible except the old store-house in
which We slept Tuesday night.
We crossed the Little South Fork
at 2 P. NJ, in the fercest of terrific
rain fall, that in an hour after our
passage, had swollen it to depth
which would have detained us till
morning had our misfortunes delayed
us few minutes longer.
Reference is made to the Prof. and
Col. for a description of that days
drive, as well as of the Prof. and DR..
Cox's navigation of the Waitsboro
ferry boat unaer the Coils supervis-
ion in the absence of the ferryman.
The waste of muscular tissue and the
torrents of perspiraiion which flowed
in elIecting that landing. produced an
appreciable emaciation in that brace
Of assumptions Charons which would
have been literally supplemented by
rather aspirating explosives, had the
Col. and another of the party been
acting oarsmen-so the Col. said. Our
Jehu had forgotten to put on his
watch before leaving home, and he
was easily persuaded, under a misap-
prehension of the time to feed his
team an hour before light Wednesday
morning, and our oarsmen, Dick and
Frank Burke, who had joined us the
evening before, soon had breakfast
ready. The wagon was quickly re.
loaded, and sunrise found us well for.
ward upon the completion of our
drive.
Before 9o'clock Wednesday mo IN.
ing our equipage was unl0aded ON