The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1891-02-20
DAVIS AND VICINITY.


own Entertainingly Described
feat Variety of Useful Woods.
0&Nis, Jan. 2i.-RIch in coal. iron
aId Rther valuable minerals, West
NrgNlIa could easily take high rank
ol aaeount of her forests alone.
fptning shows this more clearly
tanner successful competition with
tge New England lumbermen in
tffIr markets, in spite of her lack
Of sqNports and the prohibitive
ffighi rates hitherto imposed by the
pfnclpal railroads. Along the Ohio,
fh Mpnongahela and some of her
oqer@rlyers the hills are already
bfed of trees. and stand out like
dlgy md unsightly monuments to
ttf devastating energy of her pee-
OH Even in this new territory the
wkde kgxe beeD thlnned out upon.
sthd idStieafate margin Of the rail.
road. and rows of giant pines and
oaks, lying prostrate in all stages of
decay, make you lament the fashion
that overlo(ks the advantages of
stone as a bailding material. The
forests are sacrificed for the same
reason that natural gas has been al
lowed to become scarce in Pennsyl
vania-becaue the present abundance
blinds the co Isumers to future neces-
sity. Over vast stretches of valley
and hillside the trees are as thick as
the hair on your head. Their crowns
form a roof inpenetrable to light
and heat, ami the thick tangled
laurel that in some places twines
about their stems interpose5 a solid
barrier that only knife and axe can
pierce.
Set in the middle ofa giant thicket,
that reminds you of Stanley's equa.
torial Jungle. Davis aptly illustrates
the achievements of the new pion-
ee s. Five years ago this high table
land lit has the altitude of the Cat.
skllis) Was OYerrun with rabbits,
deer and wolves. Here and there,
along the streams, IA solitary squatter
set his traps and fshed and hunted
when he got tired of staring into
the fire. l was prepared to find a
rude hamlet among the stumps and
ascribed measure of truth to the
stories told in Cumberland about the
hardships of life at Davis. After
stepping off the train last night |
inquired for a ''leadlng citizen" tt
whom l had been accredited.
,...Xau,G probably find hina, at the
Town E1sis.ss was the reply ..If ne
isn't there he's at the iuwelry store.'i
And where may that be 2"
"Up there past the police station
alongside Of the hotel and in front o
the Public Library"
A public library in frontier set
tltment five years old and los
among the clouds The leading citi
Zen wasn't at library. He had gone
to the Methodist revival I: but whet
| met him heseemed piqued to think
the reputation of his community hat
been questioned. "We're pretty sassy
little town, if we are young" Wal
his comment, and there was no dis
putting its force. The streams arr
now nearly all frozen. and Davis ha
had five weeks sleighing, although
the thermometer has gone little be
low zero. But the preparations fo
spring rafting are all moving apace
Within a radius of several miles tn,
woods are full of lumbermen tearing
down acres of big trees and hauling
them on skids end slides to the water
ways and the railroad sidings. Dam
haye been built across the principa
streams TO hold the water and create
an artificial splash" or curren
when the ice melts. The "logginl
roads," small railways that increas,
their length as the cleared spaces il
the woods extend. are noisy witt
locomotives aud cars that supply tn
Unsuitable maW of the Dtyis saw
mills. and new companies are max
ing surveys and putting down track
to denude districts still untouched
II is no wonder the town flourishes
Everybody is making money ant
has little chance to spend ii. and tn
laborers rejoice over the receipt Q
wages nearly three times as large a
those current in Canada tor the sam
service,
West Virginia is fortunately on
of the best watered states of tn
Union, so that there need meyer b
any difficulty about moving timbe
to the railroads. On the ridge mort
of this place the north branch of tn