The Oskaloosa herald., 1903-07-09
VILLAGES.
Once Large Towns Have Almost
Vanished,

Not in the old world alone is to b,
found the silent Amycla'' ovel
which Virgfps two words have KEEP
scholars puzzling for nearly 2OOt
years. In this United States, which
we are won't to think 90 new, ther,
are scores Of "dead cities Nor ars
they prehistoric. Many Of them rose
fiourished, declined and died within
the memory of living men. AND
most OF them the spade Of the ex
cavstor will never digup They hay,
vanished completely.
In the currant Era are published
some rambling notes OF score
of these dead cities. Naturally
most OF them were minins
towns, and when the mines, pro.
ducing crop that cannot be re,
E,newed, were exhausted, they died
Some of them, such as Bannock and
Virginia City in Montana, were ever
political capitals. Now there are
fewer than fifty people in Bannock,
and fewer than 100 In Virginia city,
Then there was Bodie, CAL, which
less than fifteen years ago had 5000
people, and whose mines paid in five
years s22, oo0, 900 in dividends. The
mines failed, the town was deserted,
and few years ago fire swept the
site bare. -...
But the failure of mines does
not account for the death of all
these dead towns. Springfield, Kan.
was once large enough to build q $780,
600 school house and to put in water
works. At last accounts there were
200 houses and fewer than 100 people
In the town, and the hydrants were
hidden In the prairie grass, At
Saratoga $4,000 theater finds
none 10 tread it's boards save the
wondering tramp. At Fargo Springs
the $40, 200 school house bell rings
when the wind is strong, but no
shildren come. These dead Kansas
towns are the fading monuments of
an error of observation as to the
normal rainfall of the western part
of that state.
Ancient Troy was found to be bur.
led In It's own rubbish. That also
was the fate of Yam Hill. In the
latter SOS it was a prosperous gold
camp. The places there we're ex-
hausted, but new ones were found
farther up the stream. The impatient
gold-seekers deserted the old town
and built new one The earth and
gravel from the new places we're
washed down up on the old town
and covered its buildings. Now on.
ly the gable of large livery barn
energies from the soil to show where
Yam Hill was. Perhaps when Mac.
aulsy's New Zealander comes to
sketch the ruins of London bridge an
antiquarian colleague may dig up
Yam Hill and draw all sorts of CON
illusions as to the civilization of pre-
historic America.
Nor are these dead towns to be
found In the mining and ssmi-arid
regions only. At the junction of the
Savannah and Broad rivers in Geor-
gia are now only fields of grain and
grazing sheep. Yet there once stood
Petersburg, regularly laid out and
prosperous town of the days before
the railroads came. Now there Ia
not single house upon ths sight and
and the wheat grows where the pub
lie square was. The railroad un-
made Petersburg, as it has unmade
dozens Of other towns after first
making them.
When we speak of dead cries.
we usually think of towns overwhel.
med By some CONFUSION of nature,
such as Pompeii and st. Pierre.
Yet these are comparatively few
The vastly greater number OF these
silent Amycle, these Troys which
were, were swept away because
their builders misiudged Industrial
conditions, or because new con.
ditions arose and trade routs chang.
ed. Men made them and men dis
troysd them.
A few OF them live in the pages Of
romancer poet. The genius OF Bret
HArte preserves the memory that
on the bare brow OF White Pine
mountain there was oncea city of S..
900 people, full of human hopes and
fears, loves and hates Fortunate is
the city that Ike Troy gnds poet
to, sing her story or that like Angela
finds poet even to mention hsr.