Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-11-23
LETTERS 10 THE EDITOR.
4nAr SOUTHWEST $500 URaeA..


ono Mr. Preston Abbott, "who has ius,
returned 10 TIL, city (Parkersburg) from
a trip through the eounilcs on Mercer and
Mcdowell. West Virginia; Lee, Russell.
Wise, and Buchanan, Virginia: and
scott, Harlan, and Floyd, Ky.,D in which
he CLAIMS TO have witnessed scenes be-
vond description" Now. don't Know
what Mr. Abbott saw In West Virginia and
kentucky. and have nothing to say about
that further than 10 rcmsrS that IL he missed
The truth there a. Tar as lac does In regard 10
the Virginia counties he mentions he must
ie senssiionslist,o who should nj once
seek coDgcnisl employment in the Office OF
che New York 7r,5rne. or rs reporter OF
Mr.. Blainc's post-clection speeches on the
SOLID South.
n is true tba, there has been an unusual
drought Ia oil that region, and that Il has
caused short crops. But that they are "a
total failure" In the Virginia counties
named IN untrue. lie says "nearly every
creek. spring, and well was dry. There
was scarcely any water in the north and
middle forks OF Holston river" Now.
neither OF these streams flows In or through
my oi the counties named. | have been
On both within the last four weeks. They
are low. but not 80 low as TO stop the mills
or iniure the bass.fshing with hook and
Tine.
file says "the cilzens Of Saltyille carry
water for nearly two miles" Nv mother
aud sitter tive there, and know this TO be
untrue. And ex-senator &. 4. Smith.
whom ! have seen this morning, snd who
!, Just from Saitviile. authorizes me 20 use
hi, name with my own In branding this as
false, and TO say there l.. and has been all
This season, an abundance Of water there
Tor all purposes, including the operation OF
the sah.w0rks and grisf snd Touring mills,
thee in number. near by.
Mr.. Abbott il apparently the authority
in the especial" for the statement that
-. for the past Xix weeks deadly plague
ia, swept this whole section, and ut
least one thousand persons in population
not exceeding fifteen thousand have died.
,sftlc and livestock by hundreds have died.
The disease is similsr In mar and beast"
ard "The devastation on Moccasin creek
- particularly awful. About thirty fami-
lie> reside distance OF eight miles on its
tanks. OF The one hundred and eighty per-
IONS In them over one hundred have died"
Now, MOCcasn creek rises in Russell and
flows INTO scott county. and Russell is one
oi the counties named by Abbott in Vir-
eina. | I've within twenty-five miles OF
This creek and have been within six miles
of il in the last four weeks, and have heard Of
no sncb horrors. The Legislature beimgnow
in session. and all the members fresh from
their homes. have this morning seen and
shown this especial - TO Senator Flanary,
who represents in the Senate Buchanan,
Wise, and Lee Oi the counties named by
Abbott. He i just within & few DAYS
nat from his home ri GiadeyilIe, Va, and
L.. til hat laN haxf. fttx tt.f l,af
region that has leen unusually severe and
fatal and has carried of perhaps two hun
drcd people during the season In his home
county Of Wise. GladosiIle, his home. and
the county-Scat Of Wise. has lost but three
pei sons. Two children and an old man
harles W. kilgOre. whom knew. There
has been no " depopulatiOn OF the town.
The prevalence OF the disease is no doubt
iraceabe Ia the hot, dry weather Of Au-
ul. September, and October. and the low
.tagc 81 the waters in region entirely uu-
deIaid with coal. and in which tine sui
ph,;r and pyritts have doubtless in
jurcd the purity OF some OF the
springs and wcils. The unusual epidemic
has been bad enough. and has caused much
suffering and distress in families. and
should Justly excite the deepest sympathy
~ every one; but il " an outrage on that
entire region to hold il up to the world as
more deadly 10 "man and beast than are
the marshes Of the Central American coast
or the jungles OF Africa and Madagascar.
A. 10 the statement that seattle and live
Stock by hundreds have died." senator
tlsnaTy says NOT one single animal has had
the disease or died, so far as he knows and
believes. The distinguished Senator New
berry, representing the county drained by
the headwaicrs OF the North Fork OF Hoi-
Ston aud the Clinch rivers, and who has rs
vide an acqV alntancc in all Southwest Nir- |
ginia a. any man in the State, knows OF no /
such mortality Of "msn or beast, /" as Mr.. I
Abbott represents 30 exist there. Mr.. /.
Trigg, Of Washington county, in the House I
Of Delegates, whose brother has Just been /
elected TO Congress from the Ninth /
district. OF which the counties mentioned I
by Abbott are a part, knoHS OF the /
unusual amount of sickness referred I
TO 10y senator Flanary. and concur, with /
him in the statements have quoted, Mr. 7
Abbott says "a graveyard is about all that /
rcmains Of LchauOn." This is the county /
-eat of Russell. and four weeks ago Mr.. |
Elli,. VI. &. from Louisiana. had an audi !
once Of fully 1000 10 bear his splendid !
speech there. and on the 4th instant that I
line county gave handsome majority n J
Cif, Gland, Hendricks. and Trigs OF nearly ;
&oO. aud 80 far II | know, all the people /
there are still "alive and kicking" \ few I
dals before left home saw large and /
happy wedding party come from Lebanon. /
and heard no tales OF q wholesale transfer |
al the population 10 the graveyard.
Hut MI. Abbott saws: GOOD is about |
exhausted, and the people are living on
banks and herbs. Flour Is unknown, aud
c0In.incal sells for - barrel. The mills
cannot grind and il they could. there is
40 com" "In five counties there -
not ore thousand bushels OF corn nor one
hundred head Of live stock, and the To-
haccO crop is absolutely nothing. There
= no game in the mountains" 81.
III : j. a picture OF a God-fOTsaken county.
IL true hut it j. utterly false. one fmiy
in Russell county William 4. Stuart and
! j. ons-hayc probably over 1000 head
Of tine cattle: Others. not 50 many. but
fine " lunches" on their farms. / have
seen hundreds arrive at Bristol in the last
two months to take the ears Their, for mar.
kd-many from the counties named by
Abbott. The wheat crop was unusually
line. and Lee county (adioining Kentucky
will probably have q surplus 0i from 20O.-
600 TO 10000 bushels 10 sell, and great
numbers Of cattle and hogs, and Russell
large surplus OF both. The corn crop Is
short, but not "tOtil failure" Nobody
1--we, on ozark and herbs" Nobody
will >tarye. As 10 the tobacco crop. can
Cnly Sav that. the week before election, |
-pcnt two nights at the house OF Mr.. joel
hay Tor. on the north fork OF Holston river,
only six miles from the doodiY Moccasin
Greek. lie was curing his tobacco aud
told me he would have about ~, 900 pound,
Ia sell from his land, and the crops Of all
a., neigbborS were good. The quality in
some localities only was deteriorated by
he drought, but upOn the whole. the crop
" would bring The farmers q great deal oi
80 much of II being bish-priced
bright yellow "wrappers.'
con hardly imagine a motive FOR .uch
oXaggerations rs ! have noticed.
The region Abbott processes 10 have tra-
veIsed j. on the point OF being developed
on account OF lis vast mineral aud iorestcd
wealth. TO say nothing Of its splendid aGri-
cultural resources. Large investments
have been made there by northern capital
ISIS \ railroad is building and others are
proiee;ed 10 open all this up. such things
may conflict with schemes in less favored !
regions. aud the picture Of horror, we have
been ,WIted 20 might be supposed a good
eaid 10 play against this region. do not
assert this 10 BIZ the motive, for ! do not
know il but II the statements 80 u0con-
lrsdicted great damage might cn~ur from