Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-06-23
STUPID AND HAPPY.
THE PEOPLE OF BEAN BLOSSOM VAL
LEY INDIANA.
A Community whore Ignorance Il Bliss and
Progress Unlonown-They Live
Out of the World.


tory known as Brown county, at once the
most interesting and distinctive portion OF
HOOsierdOm. Not only are its people
out Of the usual order Of Indianians, but
the topography of the country Is remark
able and beautiful, and here is an imposing
array of hills. among which is Weed Patch'
known as Indianas only mountain. ms
elevated country was not purchased OF the
Indians until 1918. and the lonely settlers
found the sava=cs sin there. Tho hills
were not well adapted to agriculture, and
it was 1885 before enough people had set
tied in the newlv-opened country 10 war
rant the formation of county govern
ment.
However. # ia not in the fact that this
WAS done ultimately that interest lies, but IN
the character of the inhabitants who came
here These were mostly from the CARO-
linas and from Tennessee. They brought
with them the pccularities OF their home
life. and were as primitive I'M Their ideas OF
labor as they We're lacking IN the spirit 81
progress. To-day they remain practically
rs they were upon their arrival mere. In
tie is done by them except the practice
of agriculture in fa'hson tnat -
altogether behind the times. Even -uch
crops as they arr able To raise are not made
to yield the profit they should, and ther
ignorance and cupidlty make them the
easy victims of sharpcrs. A short time ago
the agent of Chicago lumber company
visited this neighborhOOd and purchaser
valuable timber lands for what would have
been q ridiculous price for poor land WITH
ont any trees. Much tobacco IS raised mere
possibly a habit the people formed before
their immigration westward. Hundreds al
dollars worth Of it is purchased every year
bv a Columbus nan. who gets it for amy
price he chooses 30 offer.
One thing that operates against the pro-
gre-s of the section Is the lack OF transpor-
tation facilities. Brown county Is without
"a single railroad connection. All the COM
municati0n she has with the outside world
is by dirt roads, and not very good roads at
that. The use of steers as uraught ami
mails. common throughout the section,
shows the idea of the average Brown conn
tvite ON she rapid-translt question. Miss
Murfree's Tennessee mountaiueer5 are not
more painfully out of the world than
are these people. The possession Of
money is a JOY which they Will do
anything TO experience, and what
ever business dealings they nave are Ike
those of the lumberman and tobacco
trader. They are wOtully llllterate, and
in bank mt Columbus where they trans
act their small affairs the cashier ls author
itv for the statement that only about one
in ten can endorse check. \ long time
ago there was "A bank in Brown county, but
that WAS in the fftles audit fell victim 20
the wildcat banking tendencies OF tine day.
An effort has since been made 20 open
place of monetary exchange here, but IT
got no further than the filing Of articles Oh
incorporation.
Nashville did not blossom ont as n town
until 1872. u had only 400 people TO give
il dignity. F0r the first year the munich
pal expenses we're only SOB. To-day the
town sleeps along contentedly with little
Of the Jar of the outside world 10 disturb
it, Extending across the county east and
west Is p ridge Just south OF she general
course of Bean Blossom creek. rms WAS a
wall agninst which masses Of ice from the
north formed during the glacial era. They
were unable To- escape further south, eN-
copt here and there through gaps IN the
ride. The fact that vcstiges Of the drift
found i'm the valley of this creek are not
observable south of the udge coT0bo-
rates this belief. The Bean Blossom Val
tov was doubtless deeper at ono time than
now. having been filed up with washings
from the adjacent elevations. I'm tins
county. and particularly in Jackson town
shin. gold has been found ln fairly good
quantities for many years. However,
il is In pockets. and offers only the
precarious rewards of placer prospect
Ing o. the seeker. The bright metal
!, not indigenous, but came, doubt
less from the north with the qriit
OF the glaciers. Enthusiastically there
hille which reaches the outer world.
Companies have been formed leases were
al times secured. sluiccways constructed,
and all preparations made for wholesale
gold-digging but always 90 little prott.
Lazy men and boys, variety not uucOm-
mon in the hills. are able 10 stumble upon
Il GOOD strike occasionally. often enough 10
ft-t ft,f ffar
of yellow metal. Atyari0us times Christie
pher Stumps's place at Georgetown has
riycn out about 500 worth Of gold. No
nugget has ever been found worth more
than -.
In the southwestern part Of Jackson
township, on the Beau-BlOs7Om Ridge, is
the village of Necdmore, which rests upon
q shoulder of modified drift. At TINS point
the ice oyerreachcd the ridge and scraped
the native deposits Of rock, allowing the
glaciers 10 pass part way over and rest
upou the bench" which the village Oc-
cupies. IL thus happens that here there
are boulders Of quartz, granite, ana black
sand or magnetic. containing gold ana
sufficient quantity OF garnet TO make II
p0ssible 10 gather q nushcl IN q day 10y
diligent application-tha Is, such applica-
ton as the tagging energies OF the COM
muuity make possible.
Indiana has been SO progressive IN nearly
every quarter that tins county remains as
an Interesting and unique feature OF the
sisterhood Of counties. Indeed, 10 stands
apart. The people are not HoOslers. They
do not speak the dialect which IS supposed
TO be distinctiYely HOOsier, but IL l. the
patois Of the South, with few variations.
The transplanted Carolinians and Tonnes
scans are faithful TO the traditions Of their
old homes or the homes OK their fathers.
Their ignorance Is something pitltul, eX-
cent. of course. where the schoolmaster
has given them touches Of sweetness and
light" SO far as heard from, tho county
has one newspaper-the Broom county
Democrat. ElectrOplate news, transferred
by "A fast wagon for q weekly paper, Is
not particularly attrctiye. and this journal
is not especially sprightly. The people sit
among their hills and do not care great
deal about the movements OF the outside
world.
Politically Brown county is unimportant,
and she assumes an air of Indifference 10
everything beyond her hills To the peO-
pie Of her townships the selection OF con-
stable and peace justice Is of greater i'm
portance than the election of a Governor,
and how can men be interested IN the tariff
or interstate commerce legislation who have
not a railroad in their county bounds? Still
Brown county's people are contented, and
having gold IN their an-Blossom Valley
and pleasant sunsets on Indiana lonely
mountain. why should they not beI
Weed Patch may not I'll the geographical
requirements of q mountain, yet It Is "a
pretty elevation, the more to be appre-
ciated as it rises in State that is tiresome-
lv fat. Its height is about 1900 feet above
the sea level, though it appears higher.
There is an observatory and signal-seryice
Office on the summit. 1t is coming into
prominence as a summer resort and o
number of people from indianapolis and
Columbus have arranged to come into
these wilds for an outing during the sum-
mer. One thing in the way Of comfortable
al fresco pleasure Is the abundance of
snakes. They are found everywhere in
large numbers, though "rattlers" are not
common.