Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1888-12-06
MOUNTAIN COMMERCE.
STREAMS ARE THE PRINCIPAL HIGH
WAYS IN EASTERN KENTUCKY.

STREAMS ARE THE PRINCIPAL HIGH
WAYS IN EASTERN KENTUCKY.
How the Mountaineer Gets His Supplies
The Push Boat" and the Method O
Navigating It-Traveling Up Stream Q,
the Big Sandy.
Among the many novelties which tn,
stranger finds among the mountains o
eastern Kentucky few will interest maj
of practical turn of mind more than tht
public highways. The mountain roads
except where mountain gap is to bs
crossed, are the mountain streams. Ir
consequence there Is scarcely cross road
or four corners in this county outside OF
this. the only village in the county, but
wherever a creek forks or brook enters
q creek the road forks.
Under Kentucky law the county Judge
decides where and how new roads shall
be laid out. The ordinary mountain road
is laid out six feet wide, and the roadway
proper must be graded not less than two
feet wide. But Judge Wagner, of this
county, is an enterprising citizen, who
desires to improve the country, and in
consequence he has refused to issue any
order for year past for roads less than
nine feet wide. This may seem narrow to
northern farmers, who lay out private
lanes at least rod wide, but in country
where travelling is done on horseback, and
where the vehicles for transporting goods
of any sort, even in summer, are narrow
sleds, the pine foot road is a novelty
which has set the county to talking.
THE CREEK BED ROADS.
Of course there are necessarily wagons
wherever logging is done, but the log
wagon sticks to beds of the streams,
which are invariably wide and hollow,
while the public highway winds along the
bank of the stream and runs in the actual
bed of the stream only where the con-
Gguration of the mountain sides on each
bank of the stream makes it necessary.
When the logging is done no effort is
made to keep open the highway formed.
These creek bed roads are excellent in
warm weather and low water; in winter
and spring they are impossible for weeks.
The creek beds were originally selected
for highways because very little labor was
needed to make highway out of creek
OCh. 1HCiO 10 AOO ooCIl q tl11uS III LAO
county as big nigger head rock. The
beds of the streams are of sand or sand
stone, and there is never rapid or water
fall of such descent as to bother team.
Another very good reason for utilizing
the creeks as roads was the fact that all
the imports and exports of the mountains
have been necessarily carried in and out
on the rivers. The mountaineer's supplies
have been brought up from the Ohio river
ever since there was any one on the Ohio
to sell them. As all creeks run by the
easiest and generally the shortest route to
the rivers, it was natural for the mount
aineer to follow the creek down to it's
mouth to get his supplies at the stores
which were located along the river.
THE "PUsH BOAT"
The rivers are not very trust worthy
The steamboats, on the Big
Sandy very often get started up for Pike
vile, the head of navigation, only to get
stranded on bar, or to find themselves
eft in a pocket between bars by the sud-
len fall of the water. Out Of this uncer-
,ainty regarding the length of steam
1oat's journey to and from the headwaters
If the rivers has grown the craft, very
novel to northern eyes, called the push
boat. No better craft for the water could
,e imagined.
The push boat is a scow feet wide, 60
eet long and IS inches deep. At one end
S windowless house high enough for a
nan to stand upright In and 5!xS feet in
.rea. This is the cabin. There is sort
f quarter deck abaft the house, and
'bove this sweeps the tiller end of long
teering oar, which the pilot wields by
Walking to and fro on shelf built half
vay up on the stern.
The merchandise is piled on three wide
lanks that run, like keels, the length Of
he boat, SO as to cover large part of the
oats bottom; but a clear gangway of at
EAST fifteen inches in width is left along
n each side of the merchandise, no mat
er how great the load. These gangways
re also foored by planks laid bilge -keelson
ashton.
A boat like this will carry twelve to |
fteen tons dead weight Of goods on a
raught Of eight inches. There are over
% of them regularly employed on the |
ig Sandy, and the cargoes carried ND
onsist chiefly of the goods kept in the
ountry stores. At certain seasons. par
cularly in the fall, down cargoes can be
ad.
SHOWING BOAT.
When the boat is loaded the skipper
limbs to his shelf and grasps the tiller.
he crew of four men cast off the ropes
I'D pick up their push poles. These
oles are about ten feet long and from an
lch and half thick at the upper end
veil to two inches thick at the bottom,
here they are shod with short pike.
wo of the crew stand on the starboard
wv and two on the port, one behind the
her, and facing aft, place the lower ends
the push poles on the bottom of the
ream, the upper ends against their out
,ard shoulders, anG then, throwing their
eight against the poles, they walk aft.
5 the poles cannot slip along the bottom,
70 boat is forced forward. The push
'at is q horizontally acting treadmill.
course, the men walk aft on the bilge
anks, which are left clear of merchan-
Sc, SO that they can walk there freely.
is distressing to strAnger-it makes
m feel Gs if his own back was about to
to look at the men as they
owe the boat along; but the Big Sandy
atnen are a hardy and cheerful race,
d not only do not fret and chafe over
cir toll, but even walk away to the
ne of some rollicking love song or ditty
lich they have learned from the favorite
tist of travelling theatrical troupe at
tlettsburg.
The men get 81 day each and board.
le day runs from sunrise to sunset, and
that time four men will shove a boat
,m thirteen to fourteen miles up stream
the Big Sandy. The pilot is usually
Q owner of the boat. He gets seventy
9 cents hundred pounds for general
,rchandise brought from Catlettsburg
Pikeville. distance of 100 miles.
our he brings at 81 barrel. 1t is only
len the boat has full cargo and pros
rous passage, the boatmen say, that
q push boat owner petS any return on