The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-01-27


the fall for as much as 500 a front foot,
SO wild had the excitement grown
the promises made for the future OF the
new metropolis. Of course, not a great
deal Of land sold at srch figures, but
500 or $500 q front foot was common
price. The booEl continued for three
years and in that time Colson cleared up
probably S100,C00. and when the oottoHi
dropped oct, It was estimated Etnats ne
j had real estate in the tewn worth o,oeo.
IL there was ever atsrevival Inc freVisal
hasn't come yet. but Colson wash . 4
poor man by good DEAL and III e ".
course of time he developed into q cuil 1Al.
date for Congress and was elecied.5
..He was not mountaineer IN sae
sense of the average Yalier Csicker,
though he was not of the type OF zh etiE-
tuckian from the Blue Glass which mas
given the State such reputation
Should say he was about fortS-ilV'e ca ca ?
OF age looking ten years younger. si lI
is as mild hammered and soft taking
man as you would find in day travel
Although the region IN Wnlcn ne iNeS
was notorious for its killing OIL the ieuu
sort Colson hadn't that KIND Oh FePu-
tation. and was way above the average
of his feIlow-citizens, not only in looks
and family, but i'll general intelligence
and ability. He may have had an occa-
sional scrap, around home, but never
heard of his shooting gun at ANYBODY
until he had his trouble with Scott at
Admission, Ala, last year. where they
were in camp. he as co!onei OF tne
Fourth Kentucky and Scott as lieu>
tenant in the same regiment lie mad
courage though, which showed IN the
firm set of his jaws and in the lines
around his mouth aid eyes. and 1t was
y -,,IJ .,.,t no "a n
min to fool with when il came right down
to cases He made no especial record in
Congress on the floor. but was alive to
the best interests of his district. and
was an uncompromisnS Republican, as
most OF the mountaineer element is. He
is not a handsome man, but his lace Is
of the attractive, magnetic kind. and ten
years ago his sisters were the handsomest
women in Bell county, ana, I suppose.
the richest, as all of them were bench
Charles of the Midd!esboro boom.
This boom, 1 may add, was one Of the
richest that ever struck the South in
boom times. and as much as S2oto3,eor
were expended within radius of five or
six miles Of Cumberland Gap in three
or four years on towns and mines and
mills and hotels and improvements of all
kinds MiddleSbor0 for instance. had
a s6Oo.0CO water works. 4 $l65,ec0 hotel, a
s1Sc,oo1 electric light plant. ss50,Cl0 i'm
fprovement Strengthening Yellow creek
flowing through the city, a s5Ge.G9 street.
car line and bele railroad. ana so on and
SO on, till all the money was gone and
the end came. There are mills and fur
naces and 5000 people there now. but the
vast city of promise is not. Over the
gap on the Tennessee side was the big
Four Seasons Hotel, costing a million
dollars or more, which Gid no business.
and after standing idle several years
was sold for S2S.0o0 and carried away
piecemeal to some point near Chicago as
q summer hotel
THE Yellow Creek country is about
125 miles from the Blue Grass in distance,
and a million in most other particulars,
and until ten years ago there was no
communication with the outside world
except over dirt roads for fifty or sixty
miles to the nearest railroad. Mindless
boro is entirely un-kentuchy, even It's
name being English. and it seems that
it should have had its effect upon Colson,
but reckon it did not get hold of him
quick enough. I am sorry that Co!son
has got into this trouble. for he is an en-
terprising fellow. and his section of Ken
lucky is very shy on that kind of mate
rial. and needs it more than anything
else New York Sun.