Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-03-20
LIFE ON THE BIG SANDY.
THE WILD ONES WHO HELD FORTH
THERE FIFTY YEARS AGO.


THERE FIFTY YEARS AGO.
! Things LOose-The big Sandy DolIar''
and the Ethics which Protected the
COunterfeiters.
The mountaineers who live along the Big
Sandy river, which forms the dividing line
between West Virginia and Kentucky, and
their neighbors of northeastern Kentucky,
who have been so prominent for many years
in feuds yendettas and bloody battles, are
most peculiar people, with a history running
back into the '3Os, '40s and sos and genera
tions preceding, which, if published, would
throw into the shade the best efforts of the
Texas frontier in the days of its greatest no
toriety. The Big Sandians proper, the men
who compose the CORPS of the Hatfelds and
McCoys, owe their peculiar characteristics.
their vengeful disposition and their I'M
daunted bravery to an ancestry dating back
| to the time when the foothills of the Cum
berland mountains and streams and valleys
! tributary TO the Sandy were first settled by
a race of intrepid Indian hunters and trap
pers, followers of Boone, Kenton, Arbuckle
and other leading spirits
Many of these men married Indian squaws
captured in raids, or purchased from the diff
ferent warlike tribes which then inhabited
this region, and the blood Of these feminine
branches of the kingliest Indians for tradi-
ton and documents still in existence show
that the white hunter of that day was still
something of an aristocrat, and seldom con-
descended to mate with commoner members
Of the tribes is at this late day plainly APP
parent in the tall, straight forms, the keen |
eyes and long, black hair of many of the |
older families. To this fact is also attributed
many OF the peculiarities of temperament
and disposition so anomalous in this age of /
intelligence. Around these people, as a nu-
cleus, back in the 30s and '40s of the present
generation, all the wild spirits of this part Of |
the country, who were either driven from
the large centers of the population by vio-
lence of some statute or by choice, seem to
have been attracted by some occult magnet
ism until the Big Sandy country became
known throughout the country as the home
and hiding place of hundreds of the widest
characters.
RUNNING THE BOAT.
The Big Sandy raftsmen became known
throughout the country as the widest, most
dangerous class of men on the Ohio river.
Their carouses, their love Of fighting or any
thing which partook of desperation and devil
try is still familiar theme from Pittsburg
to Cincinnati. Hundreds Of stories of their
dare devil scrapes are still told along the
river, and it was not an uncommon thing
when several hundred of them had sold their
timber, which they had floated down to Gin
cinnati in immense RATS and fleets, for them
30 get on board one of the largest boats which
af hot Inry III h.
and take the captain pilots, engineers and
other officers prisoners and run the boat to
suit themselves. On such occasions a steam
boat would become a pandemonium, with !
several hundred gigantic devils whooping,
yelling, splitting tobacco juice against the {
bulkheads, mirrors or furniture, while others {
iisported themselves with cards and played T
'old sledge" or "stud horse poker" until one
Or other participant got up dead broke or the =
affair ended in general fight ,
Upon the hurricane deck some leading
pirit would stand in command of the vessel
while another covered the pilot with a pistol .
n rifle and compelled him to steer the craft -
ubject to the within Of the biggest devil, who
vas in command. Below one or two sat y
round in the engine room and "persuaded" II
he engineer and stokers into submission. On n
hese occasions the amount of steam was most -
controlled only by the capacity of o.
he boilers, as the boat fairly few through d.
he water. Every other craft in the legiti- a.
nate trade gave the pirate" as wide berth
S possible, running into the bank if neces-
airy to get out of the way. When town or
lnding was approached the bell was kept
langing as fast as stawart arms could pull
be rope, while the whistle was blown loud
nd long enough to awaken the seven Sleep
RS.
The citizens of the towns seemed to know
y intuition that the raftsmen had taken pos 4
9sson of boat long before she came in
ght and crowds of them would congregate
long the bank to witness the strange scene.
here was no use to resist, as steamboatmen
ION learned, and the only way to save the -
oat and property was to effect some sort of r
ompromise, which generally ended in the IA
aredevils running the steamer half day or liz
lch matter, when they turned her over to XII
le Proper owners liz
Although these men were known to be dare liz
evils and fond Of fight or anything which liz
lrtook Of excitement, they were not all bad =
= any means. Still as the Big Sandy coun-
y was known to be the hiding place of hun
reds of desperadoes, it got a widespread no
riety.
THE "BIG SANDY DOLLAR"
Along in the 40s and sos the country for
lndreds Of miles above and below was filed
it'll counterfeits principally silver dollars VI
ne government of the United States sent
1t number of its best detectives, and after
long time they located their manufacture
Sandy, but the manufacture was not sup -.
essed until a long time after everybody
lew as well as the officers themselves that
Q counterfeit was manufactured somewhere
} the stream. The "Big Sandy dollar" as
Q counterfeit was denominated, was as r
mmon as its more legitimate brother from Biz
e mint at Washington or New Orleans -
ong the Ohio valley, and it was claimed
emily, and, I believe, frequently admitted
this day by the older people, that the "Big
indy dollar" contained as much silver and
d was as handsome piece of money as the
nuine.
Even long after the discovery Of the conf
kers' den in the mountain the bogus dollar
NAMED in circulation. To account for this
> writer has been often told that the coun-
'feiters had discovered vein or mine Of
YER in the mountain and that they were
sing pure silver and more of it" than was
1tained in the genuine Be that as it may,
} tradition still exists that silver mine
sted and was long worked at some point