Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1899-08-10

JOurn III the NIluS Oh the west fIr.
ginia Mountains Remarkable Geo.
logical -Reminiscence
of former Days--Will be Home Soon.
! CowEN, Aug. addison is stu
ated at the junction of the Black
Fork of Elk river with the main
/ branch.
1t is not town, or at least you can
not see the town for the houses.
There are no streets, but series of
i roads, or lanes run in various direc-
lions among the houses, which seem
j to have been located according to the
! fancy Of the owners without regard to
! the relation that they might sustain
to other houses, in building town.
The court house, which is a sub
stantial stone building stands in the
center, and the other houses are clus-
/ tered around, at various distances
and at different angles.
Imagine a barren hillside covered
with loose stones, varying in size from
a marble to half bushel measure,
with dog fennel and poke stalks grow
ing up among the stones, and you
have a picture of the court house
yard.
| offered to cut the dog fennel and
poke from around the court house
door, II any one would furnish me
with seythe, but it was not provid-
ed, and the weeds still grow.
On the north side of the river, Mil
Ter mountain rises 1910 feet high, and
on the south, Gauley mountain |, 300
feet from the river to the SUBMITS.
1t is up this mountain that you climb
to get back into the world.
Think of wagon road one mile in
length and the ascent 300 feet, or
think of right angled tragic, whose
perpendicular height is |, 800 feet and
the hypothenuse one miles, $50 feet
and you have some idea Of what
going up hill means.
The original spring bubbles up in
the bed of the river, and can be used
only when the water in the river is
very low. 1t was discovered by hunt
ers, following the paths of the deer
that went there 20 drink of which
they were very fond.
The spring from which tine water
is now obtained, is an artesian well.
1t was drilled to obtain salt water,
and for many years the people 'sboiled
the water down. in the same man
ner that sap from maple trees is boil
ed down, and thus learned their
salt.
An old soldier, who was in Captain
Halls company, now DR.. M. S. Hall
of Huntsville, told me that during
the war his company was sent from
Beverley to capture some outlaws who
had been rcbbing and illuminating
the farmers of French creek in Up
shur Co.
They had followed them through
the mountains, and one morning came
upon three of them, with six horses
loaded with plumber, on the spot
where Addison is located.
Capt. Hall told the leader, whose
name was Kool, and who was known
as desperate fellow, that he might
prepare to die, as they would not go
to the trouble of taking him to camp.
In the mean time some of the SOL
diers had been unpacking the plumber
and had found some cakes of maple
sugar, which they had broken up, and
were eating.
Kool looked at the captain mo-
ment and asked if he would not give
him lump of that sugar. He said
that if he had to be shot he wanted
to die with full belly
This bit of humor appealed to the
captains appreciation of the ludicrous
and he spared the fellows life.
Rev. Thos. Coulter, a pioneer
preacher in these mountains, told me
that the first time that he visited Adj
Olson there was only one house there,
and it was built of logs. 1t was used
for court house, clerks Office, a hotel
and church.
On the river bluff opposite Addison,
is a rich fossil bed containing the fos-
sill remain of very ancient forms Of
sea life. ! have secured some beauti-
full specimens. Some shells as perfect
as when they were inhabited. These
fossils are 1000 feet below the coal
seam, which means, that they must
have lived in sea that existed, per-
haps, millions of years before the car
boniferous swamps were drained and
filed
Here, among these lofty, rugged
peaks, one may get s'near to natures
heart, y and she will whisper her Sc
crets in the ear of her lover.
I ano cpopdinn u faxv davc ri this