News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-12-13

In the transmontane region of North
Carolina there is O class of people en-
tirely unknown to the outside world.
The counties composing the New River
plateau, the only part of the State
drained by the waters of the Ohio River,
are exceedingly rough and mountainous.
I They are surrounded, subdivided and
separated by the Blue Ridge, the great
! Smoky, the Rice and Beech mountains.
! These mountains are covered with a
dense growth of pine, oak, chestnut, and
the finest timber in America. The
country, owing to its inaccessibility and
mountainous character, is sparsrly set
! tied along the narrow streams and
defiles which debouche from the precip-
itous mountains. Here live the "clay-
eaters"
Very few people in the Middle, North
ern or Western States have ever Sc n one
| of this class of humanity. Perhaps
| there is not one out of thousand per-
sons who, without the most conclusive
evidence, could be brought to believe
| that it was even possible for a human
| being to exist on clay or earth. But
such is the case, without n doubt. A
short time since, the NeU York. World
correspondent stopped overnight at a
small hamlet on the South Fork of New
River, at the foot of Ore Knob. 1t was
in the midst of wilderness of forest,
and most lonesome spot. On the way
thither there were frequently met a
! peculiarly cadaverous, lank, half-alIy'~
class of people. That evening, befc
generous fire of pine, after primrv.--o
meal of corn bread, milk and wild
honey, with dried venison, the cores
pondent remarked to the host that he
had never met people with such peculiar
physiognomy and such unusual appear
ance.
"rhem's clay eaters, stranger, and
there's lots NV 'em bout this neck o the
woods" said the host
"Do you mean to say that such class
of people really exist"
"Well, 1 don't know if they 'sist or
not, stranger, but them people eat dirt
same's you do ven'sen, an they live on
this crick, lots Nv 'em."
Still somewhat skeptical it was ar
ranged with the host toproceed to-mor-
row to the Settlement" referred to.
After hearty meal in the morning the
landlord saddled two horses and started
ap the "crick."
After riding about two or three miles
the road led to log cabin. In front of
the house on a stump of fallen tree, sat
O fair specimen of the lanky cadaverous
people. The landlord rode up to the
object, which sat almost immovable on
the stump, and said:
'Jim, here's a stranger from the
North, reckon, who says he doesn't
believe folks, kin eat clay"
"Hoo," said the leaden visaged speci-
men. Them fellers up Moth think they
know bout everything, but they don't.
Eat clay! Course we do when we kin
get nothin' better, and that's most NV
the time in these mountings. Comein,
stranger; you'er welkim. Jist trot into
my shakedown an see the ole woman
AN chillun. They's all Nv 'em clay eat
urs. Of course the young Uns can't eat
clay an nothin' else; they's got to git
usen to it like us ole foxes, fust."
The "shakedown," as Jim called the
house, was pr mitive log cabin through
the chinks of which the rays of the sun
in silranaer Nnd the cold winds OF winter
entered and played about at will. In
the farthest corners stood two beds built
upon crotched sticks, while upon the
wall hung the skins of coons, 'possums,
muskrats and other fur bearing animals.
In the other end was a fireplace in u
chimney built of sticks and lined with
mud. A thin, worn woman IN faded
cotton gown sat by the side of the fire.
smoking pipe, while by her side stood
three tow-headed children of perhaps
nine, eleven and thirteen years of age.
J The children were clad in nothing MOI q
headed and barefooted-
"How de, strenger? said the woman,
taking her pipe out of her mouth tenn
porarIly. The children we've too back
ward, having perhaps never before seen
a stranger from the "No'th, to make
any reply to my salutation.
'Poll, this heer stranger is from the
Moth, an be un don't b'lieve we uns kin
eet ciay. Hoo them fellers hain't
Termed it all yet, hev they, Poll2"
Poll signitied her dissent by momen-
tarily taking her pipe from her mouth
aud laconically saying 'Nary."
"Wal, Jim, hev ye eny eetin' clay III
the shanty 2" asked my landlord.
"Hevn't eny heer jess now, said Jim.
"But we kin git some nifty quick. Heer,
Jack % to the eleven year-old boy, ''you
Jess go to the bank an git sum eetin'
clay"
Jack started for the "bank," and the
correspondent followed close behind.
About one hundred yards from the
sshakedown" Jack called halt on the
bank of the small stream, where, stoop-
ing down, close to the edge of the wat
er. he drew out with his hands a hand
full of blush clay. The correspondent
took some of it and examined it. 1t was
q fatty clay, having an oily feeling, and
was, probably, substance the chemical
compound of which was water, silica and
alumina, firm and compact, slightly
tinged with the color of iron. 1t was
inodorous and rather insipid to the
taste.
Jack returned to the house with the
clay, which Jim took in his hands.
After wettiug it sufficiently to make 1T
pliable, he proceeded to roll, break and
manipulate it until he had worked it
into the consistency of soft putty, when
he separated it into boluses OF various
sizes, Three of the smaller ones, about
the size of q common marble, he handed
TO Jack. and told him to "swallow it,
an show the stronger it's gool to eet.
With little or no effort Jack gulped
down the boluses, while jim rolled ont
and swallowed three other boluses about
twice the size of those swallowed by the
boy.
"Ye see, stronger, we only eat the
'eetin' clay when we uns is hungry. Jess
now we uns hev plenty. Thar's blg
'possum a-hangin' on the wall outside
vet, an only las night we ct whole
coon. Games plenty Jes' now, an we've
no call to eat clay. When game
gifts scarce an there's no corn to git,
then we uns iis' KUN down TO clay"
Chow much clay does it take to
satisfy hungry manf"
"M al, stronger, gently eat piece
big as a hen egg, an that lasts me
couple of days"
doesn't it make you sick to eat all
that earth ?"
"Nary. wy, stronger, my dad
afore me ct clay, an I've been usen to it
all my life, an I've never been sick yet.
After presenting Jim's wife with an
almost bran new pipe, which she received
with probably the first real evidcnca of
surprise she ever felt over anything, the
party left and rode on up the creek.
The next stopping place was about half
a mile above, in front of log cabin of
similar conformation and general make
up to that of Jim's. Here were founl
three full-grown men and three women
all living in the same cabin. Every one
of the occupants bore similarity ply
sically to the people we had left below.
The long, cadaverous faces, the lacklus-
tire eyes and lank, lean figures seemed
to have been turned ont of the same half
human moulds. When the landlord ex-
plained our mission one of the men,
'Iengthy," MS he was called, invited