The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1886-12-16

llle pest QUALITIES KNOWN hIS 10 DO nau
in quantities too great for COM
putation in all the country over which
the three C's railroad will run from
the center Of Scott county, Va, to
Russell's fork Of the Big Sandy river
at Piketon. What there may be be-
tween here and Ashland, and the Ohio,
we know only by reports, which we
shall make it our business to verify.
Travelling through this section late
in the fall is anything but pleasure.
We had one day of rain and snow, a
second Of ice and mud, and in both
the endurance Of men and animals
was severely tested. Very few of the
roads are well worked some OF them
not at all. None are wide enough,
except at occasional turnouts, for
teams to pass each other. Most of the
travelling is done in the saddle, and
all packages too heavy for the ridden
beast to carry are drawn on rude sleds
by yokes of young steers of Lillipu-
tian stature. Several times we met
on the road carts mounted on wooden
rollers made by saving off Sec
tions of small tree trunks and cut
ting holes through the center of the
disks for the axle. These carts would
hold no more than an ordinary dump
wheelbarrow, but they served the pur-
pose of the natives in carrying corn to
the neighborhood tub mill and bring
ing back the meal, to be made into
bread during the following weeks.
We have been in region for three
days were primitive simplicity rules
in all llhousehold affairs where the coun-
try stores have little to sell, because
the good housewives make nearly
everything that is worn, and the men
and boys get from the land, or with
shotguns and traps, all the table sup,
plies. 1t is country where calico is
a luxury, and where the people have
little need of other store goods than
coffee, snuff, sole leather, patent medi-
cines. pillow points and crockery. In
TACT it is a wilderness sparsely settled,
where stands "the forest primeval,"
underneath which are treasures Of coal
of various kinds so vast that the guam
tity cannot be expressed in figures un-
til scientific explorers have made their
accurate measurements. Not until
we had crossed the Lovisa, miles
from this town, did we begin to see
signs of modern civilization. We
stopped at a log cabin over night IA
miles southeast of that ford which en-
bodied in itself all the primitiveness
of the country we had been traversing.
| The good wife told us they had lived
there IL years. We rode up the bed
Of a shallow brook to the place. A
large flock of geese greeted US with
outstretched necks and with snake
like hiss. Our guide, who rode a
mountain horse used to such a recep-
ton, jumped off and let his steed wan
der around while he gathered fiat
stones from the brook and with them
laid pathway through the noisome
mud of the geese waddle in front oi
the cabin. We carried our luggage
in and warmed ourselves in front oi
the ample fireplace. Geese and
hounds disputed our occupancy, and
the former kept UP racket all night
that sadly interfered with our sleep.
We supped and breakfasted there and
came away from the "hotel d geese
with a new idea of how people could
live. Yet these good folks are striving
for something better. Four miles
away is a school which the children
attend. Those rosy-cheeked girls anC
boys walk miles daily from Monday
to Friday, inclusive, to get such an ed
ucation as they can, for FIVE months
That is walking at the rate of 40 miles
week, 160 miles a month, and 80(
! miles year to learn "the three RS,
, which constitute the whole of the cur
, riculum of these mountain schools
, This indicates the same thirst fo
+ learning in the rising generation tina
> made Lincoln, johnson and CARTEL,
the men they afterwards became, an,
: is one OF the hopeful signs OF the FL
: ture OF this country.
] am worn out with travel and can
o not write more to-day. Our part
takes steamer tomorrow for Catletts
. burg, KY, and thence goes to AshlanG
: the center of the famous Hangin
Rock iron district, and the terminus {
I of the three C's railroad, from whic
place / will write my next letter.
d B. S. P.
n The introduction OF amateur phott