The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-03-23
Barbarism in Lumber Camps Of.
West Virginia.
CLAY C0UNTY'S LONG RECORD
Even Children Join in Vendettas--No Con-
vlction for n.urder Ever Obtained ug-
tiyes From Justice as Thick
Is BIacsberrles.

the lumber camp whence the boy had
come, the writer and the superintendent
of the camp, one OF the biggest camps
IN Clay county, W. Va. which is noted
for its vast timber cuttings and its mur-
der record
"lIclio. Billy Judd, the superintendent
hailed the lad in friendly greeting.
..Howdy, NIistah Blair, said the urchin,
in the soft mountain drawl.
where are you off to, Billy, this busy
time of day.
Jus down the road a piece"
whats the matter with your head!
A neat white bandage circled Billy's
head in the place where his nat should
have rested.
"Sib Turley," said Billy laccnically.
you and Sib been fighting?"
WANT no fghtin' to it, Mistah Blair.
Sib shook past tense of snealO up he
him me an beat me up right peart with
n blackjack. Bsn abed fob nigh onto a
weeks
you're up now, why aren't you at
work?"
Jus heard that sib was down to the
river" explained the boy. I'm soin' to
git him if he is.
what would your father say to your
knocking off work like tllis?"
Paw? Oh, he give me his gun Chere
Billy produced a revolver half as long as
his ARM an he says: If You don GIT
sib Turley Eli bust the other side of you
head in he says"
That boy was a legitimate product of
the West Virginia lumber camps. Along
the hills Of the Alleghanies' western slope
there lives tand works a barbarian race,
TO whom murder is an ordinary occur
renee and vendetta the only law worth
considering.
Men who have been in all parts of the
c1, of the
great cities and the wild frontier towns
Of red-eye liquor fame, say that for sheer
brutality and ferocity the lumbermen
C.. the little mountainous State are pre-
eminent. It is a fact that Clay county.
the great lumber centre, has a RECORD OIL
1nore brutal murders mile for mile tnan
any other locality III the United States.
1t is also a. fact that up to the present
winter no conviction for murder was
ever obtained in that country.
The lumberman of that district is I'M
Ike his brother Of the Great Northern
" Gods. He has no taste for the craft.
He is an indifferent workman and draws
Indifferent wages.
Generally his apprenticeship is due to
one of two things: Either he is a fugi-
tive from justice on account of some Kill
ing in which he has participated IN
reighborinS State or county, or the lunl-
Der camp has established itself so near
to, his home that he has been drawn INTO
it by a natural tendency to do what every
che else about him is doing. -
His one idea is to get through the week
With the minimum amount of work ana
blow in his accumulated wages on a
grand spree When he is drunk ne
wants to kill somebody; mostly ne sue
cceds, sooner or later.
In the summer the mountain lumber
camp is beautiful, because lavish nature
{I,;,,
slopes with her lovely fancies Of climb
ing vine and blowing flower. But in
trnsically the camp is as hideous ana
/ Cpeless and bare spot as magma
ton can picture, the true outward eA-
rression of its inhabitants.
To see it in its true aspect one mus!
90 there in winter Picture to yourself
\ narrov-gauge railway, the. private
TRANSFORMATION plant of the outfit, twist
irc and turning through: a hilltop clear
irS.
1t one point in Its course there is a
little cluster of bare, one-story buildings
surrounding a larger shack. This large
building is the centre OF the town, the.
company's store, the focal point in the
life Of the place.
From it, as far as the eye can see along
the track in either direction. stretch the
wretched little houses. sometimes only
few rods apart sometimes divided by
quarter Of a mile Of vacant space. ENTER
one of them and you will find two small
rooms, in one a huddle Of rags Tor. a
bed, in the other a tumbledow1l stove. a
table. and a few battered and greasy
utensils.
From the platform of the store you
would guess the population Of the set
Element to be perhaps 12O or 125 souls;
in reality, it is from 500 to 1,2oO. Those
4 e.. Fs..o mil y
both directions, and some Of them harbor
incredible families The writer has seen
one house of two rooms inhabited by
father, mother and eleven children Of all
sizes and both sexes; not to, mention
several dogs.
Their mode OF life is absolutely without
amusement or change except on Sundays,
when they get together for drunk
or church service, the chances being in
favor of the former, as liquor seems to
be always attainable, though the country
is non-license, whereas it is not once
a month that a wandering preacher
comes within walking distance of the
camp.
In all that settlement you will hardly
find half a dozen persons who would
not be considered barbarous by the dwell
lers in Cherry Streets toughest tene-
ment. The half dozen would be made
up of superintendent the head foreman
the lumber inspector and the store men.
These are always in peril of their lives
from the jealous hatred of the lumber:
men who recognize their superiority. But
they are a fearless lot and, on the whole.
if trouble ensues they are rather more
likely to kill than to be killed.
Where the enemity is openly avoWed
they can take care Of themselves, put
the lumberman has a puerile habit OF
fancying himself offended at some trivial
thing and of treacherously planning the
death Of the offender. Two years ago a.
mountain store-keeper told one of his
customers that he was all out Of GER
tain brand of toba Geo.
Later in the evening he found. on
back shelf. some of the brand and sold it
to another man. The first customer.
finding this out, conceived the theory.
that he had been insulted and that night
when the storekeeper went out to put up
his dog he was mortally shot. This IS
typical case
.rrte owner of a large tract of timber
land in that region told the writer that
me of his minor settlements was entirely
madc.sup Of fugitives from justice. The
IF that entertained the