Morning journal and courier., 1882-03-18
HAYWOOD, Fayette Co.,, VI. Va,
 ATorob n 1880

Just four years ago today we took pos Session of Haywood, and it seems hardly four months ago. Toward the end of the summer of 1877 I was one day coming out of one of the great New York business build l ings, when through 8 glass door I saw the face of an acquaintance whom I had lost sight of for years. I went in and shook hands. He asked me what I WAS doing, and what was going to do. I told him how I had just returned from New Zealand, and how was going to do this, that and the other. Look here" he said ''you had better join me in the stock farming business in West Virginia Done" said I and the bargain was closed on the spot. Ny friend furnished me with a letter to Q north erner who had been engaged for two years or more in stock farming in West Virginia, and four days after l started to prospect in the new Arcadie. Those who may wish to follow my example will, if they are in hurry reach West Virginia by the all rail route, by way of Washington and GordonsviIle, care fully avoiding the Baltimore and Ohio route by way of Harper's Ferry. Twenty-six hours by rail and stage will bring them from New York to the quaintest old hotel in Lewis burg. Those who have a fancy for sea trip, and who have the leisure, may go by way of Richmond by the old Dominion steamers. This trip is 8 very pleasant one, in summer at least, far es the water part is concerned but it has the drawback of possible vexatious delay in Richmond. and the consequent obligation to put up at bad hotel.
 left the train at the little station Of Cald- we'll and along toward the wee small hours of the morning 8 decrepit hack carried me slow ly and painfully down the steep hill into the jnt Ola-faShioDe6 Srne7lv and brick and boxwood town of Lewisburg We stopped at the large brick hotel with an enormous portico, whose brick pavement was well worn by the heels of 8 large population of loafers. The driver; without getting from his seat, seized wire and forthwith wild fire alarm began to peal somewhere in the mysterious distance of back alley. A long silence and the sound of a heavy barefoot tread through furniture less and echoing corridor. 4 very sleepy dar- key admitted me and without even asking me what I wanted lit @ lamp with a smoky and broken chimney and led me up stairs to room, and before could take a look at my new quarters he had vanished. The door was without lock, bolt, or fastening of any kind put chair against it. The room was small and stuffy and the window refused to open. The bed WAS not feather, for which I would have been thankful had ever been in West Virginia before. The paper was pseling in strips of of the damp walls; there was neither chair nor table, nor vashstand, nor water. nor towels.
 The next morning the fire alarm landed me on the floor at half-past six played willy game. I went to bed again. Another alarm few minutes later; but I still hugged the pillow. Presently vigorous push on the door the chair went into the fireplace and woolly headed figure stood beside me. II say, boss breakfuss ready :" Well, said EaNrz g.@ro all right sah. You'll find water and comb down in de office, quite convenient, sah!" The convenience consisted in ladling the wa ter witq dipper out of a wooden bucket in- to a tin basin and in completing the cere- mony without the aid of soap. Breakfast made up for everything. Southern cooking is not conducive to a well ordered liver, but when it is good of it's kind it is prime! This was prime There was perhaps a good deal of the 2pt5Blu1a oOEdiUlel- tuBl but I was too old frequenter of hotels and country taverns not to be able to tell
 when a morsel was fried poorly even if u went to the right place The fare at he Lewisburg hotel in those days was inyaria- ply satisfactory and the waiter was as lite as any darkey in his shirt sleeves could be.
 twenty mile ride through the rolling Jewels, " over picturesque Brushy Ridge and through the swampy meadows, brought me to beautiful Glencoe whose praise sang once before in accents short. The northern gentleman to whom my friend had given me letter had rented this great farm of four thousand acres for stock enterprise In the mansion, he and hIs wife dispensed southern hospitality tempered somewhat by northern S1cOiT Tdire.
 Mir. R., the lessee of Glencoe. belonged to the unfortunate class of enthusiastic vision aries who have the gift of gab." With ex- traordinary talents for business of mechgn- -,l.A.z .f. direction of any enterprise involving outlay.
 He always wanted to go in little deeper than the funds in hand warranted At any particular time, when closely questioned. he would freely confess that he had heretofore invariably lost money for himself and oth- CTS but he would say, "I have bought my experience and now I am ready to go ahead and make money" AS to the character of himself and his wife l must say that they were open hearted and generous to a fault, and that to their natural kindliness they joined the tact and the art of pleasing quired only by great social experience The months that I spent iu their house were among the pleasantest of my life. Here l found two young men who were serving their novitiate at stock raising. Ore was C. A. Church of New Bedford. The other shall be unnamed, as he enjoys the distinction or having cruelty ridden and temporarily rained a very valuable horse which l once entrusted to his care while l went north The former has since settled with his friend and partner, Metcalf brother of the Roman Catholic clergyman of that name in Boston. on 8 very desirable property in the blue grass region near Frankford They are engaged ID sheep raisings, and, by the way, propose to expsri-
 meut in ensilage on an extensive scale.
 1 remained twenty-four hours at Glencoe, and during this time talked sheep with Mir. R. until I actually came to believe that the nF ha Rnf1rs~f,i13s r1nfafwr ta l that which could be found in a sheep's fleece. | The result was that I signed contract agree | ing to place in Mr F $ hands Sl 600 to be | invested in sheep for one year, I being guar | anteed 9 per cent. profit, and he to have all | the rest that was to be made l also mhde | arrangements to return in a months time
 and board at Glencoe during the winter for l the purpose of learning the business by see l ing how things were managed.
 | On the ride back to Lewisburg I was &C., ! companied by Church and ''the other fel- ] low" Then l learned the true inwardness of ! R s enterprise at Glencoe. He had two | years before raised joint stock concern of ! three persons-he being One-with capital ! of SlO,0O0. The other two furnished the
 money and he the business experience. He
 was the acting partner and the head of the ! concern. From the start mismanagement
 prevailed. The house was full of servants on
 high wages. Riding horses were kept in the l stable. Side show schemes were started with | great promises and wound up with great | losses. Two thousand dollars were invested
 in hogs which were to be fattened at Glencoe. The few skinny specimens that arrived were immediately butehered to save them from the cholera which had killed the rest in the cars. One hundred dozen eggs were bought
 to be artifeially incubated on a new plan. They were neatly buried in pile of stable manure, the heat from which was to bring out twelve hundred chicks. The eggs never
 matched, but something else did. Other operations had been scarcely so successful,
 and the stock company wound up in ! great financial disaster. l.. now had the
 farm on his own account and was doing bus ! mess in a very small way.
 My eyes began to open and I no longer
 thought that black was white. In conse-
 auence I wrote to R. from New Raven ask
 ing him to cancel the agreement This he
 very generously did. However, when, a
 month later, 1 returned to West Virginia, l
 did invest much smaller sum upon the
 terms I had before made. For many good
 reasons the sheep were not a success, al
 though got back my money with interest.
 I was soon joined st Glencoe by one of my
 prospective partners All that winter we
 rode over three eountiss in search of g loca
 ton for our new business. At last we struck
 upon Haywood and bought it. l think il
 was the picturesque situation of the house
 rather than sound opinion of the worth of