Mohave County miner., 1889-05-18
MOUNTAIN COMMERCE.
erREAMs ARE THE PRINCIPAL HIGH
WAYS I'M EASTERN KENTUCKY.

Mew the Maantaineos Css4s HIS Supplies.
The "Pssh Beass aud the Method al
kavigztlns It--Trsvsiing Up Stream On
the mig sandy.
Among the many novelties which the
stranger finds among the mountains Of
eastern Kentucky few will insercst a man
of practical turn Of mind more than the
public highways. Tho mountain roads,
except where mountain gap Ii 20 be
crossed. are tho mountain streams In
consequence there Is scarcely Il cross road
or four corners In this county outside OF
this, tho only village in the county, but
wherever creek forks or brook cutters
creek the -uad forks.
Under Kentucky law the county Judge
decides where and how rev roads shall
bs laid cut The ordinary mountain road
Is laid oHt six feet wide. and the roadway
proper must be graded not less than two
feet wide Bnt Judge Wagner, Of this
county. Is an cnterprising citizen. who
desires 10 improve tho country. and In
consequence he has refused u, issue any
order for u year past for roads less than
nine feet wide. This may seen narrow 10
northern farmers. who lay out private
lanes at least a rod wide. but I'm country
where travelling Is done on horseback, and
where the vehicles for Transporting goods
Of any sort, even la summer, are narrow
sleds, the pine foot road Is novelty
which bas set the county to talking
THE CREEK BID ROADS.
OF course there are necessarily wagons
wherever logging is done. but the log
wagon sticks 10 beds Of the streams,
which arc 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.
fguration Of the mountain sidas on each
bank Of the stream makes II necessary,
When the logging La done no effort is
made to keep open the highway formed.
These creek bed roads ore excellent in
warm weather and low water; In winter
and spring they are impassabie for weeks.
The creek beds were originally selected
for highways because very little labor was
needed TO make q highway out of q creek
bed. There In not such thing In Pike
county as big nigger head rock, Tho
beds OF the streams are Of sarId or sand
stone. and there is never o rapid or water
iAsA va BdCi hCoCcut I'D W DOLuef " teHJfk-
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 oat
on the rivers. The mouEtaineer'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, 1t was natural for the mount.
aineer TO follow the creek down TO its
mouth to get his supplies at the stores
which were located along the river.
THE "PCsH BOAT" e
The rivers are not very Trustworthy
highways The steam boats 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
left In a pocket between bars by the sud.
den fall Of the water. Out of this uncer.
tainty regarding the length Of steam.
boats journey to and from the headwaters
OF the rivers has grown the craft, very
novel to northern eyes, called the push
boat. No better craft for the water could
be imagined.
The push boat is scow 2 feet vide, 90
feet long and fS inches deep. At one end
is a windowiess house high enough for
man TO stand upright in and 5}x8 feet In
area. This Is the cabin. There Is sort
of quarter deck abaft the house, and
above this sweeps the tiller end OF long
steering oar, which the pilot wields by
walking to and fro on shelf built half
way up on the stern.
The merchandise is piled on three wide
planks that run, Like keels, the length OF
the boat, SO as TO cover o large part of the
boats bottom; but clear ganI.way Of at
least fifteen inches In width is left along
on each side of the merchandise, NO mat.
ter how great the load. These gangways
are also Aoored by planks laid bilge-keelson
fashion.
{ A boat like this will carry twelve TO
fifteen tons dead weight OF goods on q
draught of eight inches. There are over
100 Of them regularly employed on the
Big Sandy, and tho cargoes carried up
consist chiefly of the goods kept In the
country stores. At certain seasons, par
ticularly Ia the fall, down cargoes can be
had. = % #
SHOWING A BOAT.
When the boat is loaded the skipper
climbs to his shelf and grasps the tfller.
u ho SIC~ va AouT Cslot OlI EEc IDDc5
and pick up their push poles. These
poles are about ten feet long and from an
inch and a half thick at the upper end
swell to two inches thick at the bottom,
where they are shod with o short pike.
Two Of the crew stand ON the starboard
bow and two on the port, one behind the
ether, and facing aft, place the lower ends
Of the push poles on the bottom Of the
stream, the upper ends against their out.
board shoulders, and then, throwing their
weight against the poles, they walk aft
As the poles cannot slip along the bottom,
the boat is forced forward. The push
boat Is . horizontally acting treadmill
Of course, the men walk aft on the bilge
planks, which aresleft clear Of merchan-
disc. 80 that they can walk there freely.
II is distressing to o stranger--it makes
him feel as IL his own back was about to
break--mereiy to look at the men as they
shove the boat along; but the Big Sandy
boatmen are hardy and cheerful race.
md not only do not fret and chafo over
their toll, but even walk away to the
tune Of some rollicking love song or ditty
which they have learned from tine favorite
.rtist Of travelling theatrical troupe at
Catlettsburg. - 4. -. -.
The men get 81 day each aud board.
The DAY runs from sunrise to sunset, and |
n that time four men will shove q boat |
rom thirteen To fourteen miles up stream |
IN the Big Sandy. The pilot Is usually |
,he owner of the boat. He gets seventy |
I've cents hundred pounds fer general |
merchandise brought from CaGlettsburg |
20 Pikeville. distance of 100 miles. |
Flour he brings Mt OIL barrel II Is only |
when the boat has full cargo and pros. |