The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-02-07
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ss3 IA a i{ IA " it55i MI I, is34 3.J3s Iii
OF TRAVEL | ] },
THE Great Highways Of Traffic
Were Laid Out by the
5s Indians OH Their Marches.
HORSE SURVEYED A ROAD
The Seaboard Air Line Follows
N Almost the. Same Route as the
Early Traders to the Indians.
fsnec;.l IL The Times Dispatch

~ Especial to The Times Dspatch.)
..s85 BASKERVILLE, VA, Fob. 6.-The
u subject Of better transportation facill-
tiles and internal improvement OF high
/ ways has been one Of vital interest to
\ the citizens Of MeckenburE county since
the days OF her earliest white settlers.
#s Meckenburg borders 'on the North
NJ Carolina line. being situated on both SIDES
I OF the Roanoke river 1870 miles west or the
\ ocean and so miles south Of Richmond.
# Few people had more to be thankful
S for, were moro independent and alto
rether better fixed than the olden- times
ii proprietor Of Roanoke river planta-
don The greatest trouble to mar his
Il pleasure was tho transportation OF his
! produce to market and travelling thther
I himself
" Virginia Legislature granted a charter TO
( the "Roanoke River Transportation Com :
III pany'' to conduct 1.-THE Roanoke River
y Lottery Company for the purpose or
IL making money to spend towards making
y the Roanoke river navlgable The Lot
terry Company proved q failure, 50 did
II the Navigation Company, and to this day
Il the Roanoke remains unnavigable west
u Of Weldon.
.B8E5 In oden times many a candidate for
IL Congress from this district has helped
,8E11is chances with the people Of Meclslen-
/. burg By, promising If elected he would do
III som ething to have the national govern
H ment take an interest in making appro-
4 priations towards making the Roanoke
a navigabe. AZ
COL BYRD's DIARY.
sS3$I have seen a printed copy Of a diary
a kept by Col VIM. Byrd copied from the
5FEIVestover manuscripts, In which he gives
a a. minute description Of the route taken by
En- him and some friends up the Roanoke
4 and Dan rivers in the fall of 1888. The
route taken was evidently first an old
Il INDIAN TRAIL in fact used by the Indians
8sthen, and is undoubtedly practically the
n same as is the present public road para
u Telling the Roanoke from the Brunswick
4 line to opposite the present site OF
IN Clarksvile.
sS5533 Perhaps one Of the longest straight old
n thoroughfares in Virginia is what Is COM
rs m only known as "Cox Road, which was
fused for many years by not only the
early settlers of this and intermediate
sections. but many settlers of northern
q North Carolina as well. as q thorough
y fare for rolling and hauling their produce
Ito Petersburg.
1T is believed that this thorougnfare
q was originally surveyed in the following
Y mann er: A Mr.. Cox, father Of John Cox,
IL ESQ., one OF the first magistrates appoint
I'M ed when AIccklenburg was formed as
new county in 1854 one OF the first white
q settlers Of the western section OF the
MI county. purchased fine horse bred BY q
gentleman living on the APPROPRIATION
"A river near the present site OF Petersburg
Y; "a short time after getting tho horse nome
1t got out the stable one night and left.
There had recently fallen heavy snow
M through which the missing horse could
easily be tracked. Fearful that 1t might
{ stray out of all habitation and that the
snow might melt In the meantime. so he
III would have difficulty in finding his way
III back, Mr.. Cox provided himself with a
III Ratchet, and whilst following the run
away horses track would occasionally
& blaze a tree as he rode past The pur
sued horse having a good start, was not
overtaken until its original home on the
Appomattox was reached. Mr. Cox re-
turned home the same route Ihe went.
Afterwards other settlers guided by the
blazed trees rode this route until trail
was made and finally road It Is
u thought that the natural instinct OF this
horse enabled 1t to return to Its former
a home BY this direct route which NAG
II never been Travelled before.
There are citizens now living in Neck
4 lenburg who have hld their tobacco roll
ed all the way to Petersburg over Cox
road in hogsheads The -hogshead slaves
y. being made OF oak timber generally three
fourtns OF an inch thick, confined with
IN good white oak hoops, and oVerrun WIN
Fellies at each end, the shafts being con-
# fined by Pivots IN the centre OF each
head which was the centre Of the Fellies
Ion which the hogshead rolled. IN TINS
Way one horse would some time carry a
8 500 or 1900 pound hogshead all the way
to Petersburg. But generally two OF
more teams were sent together. so al
/ steep hills they would be able to double
L up,' /. G. hitch one horse In front OF the
n other-tandcm team fashion-until the tor
of the hill was reached.
A FAMOUS ROAD.
4 The oldest thoroughfare known to havs
u passed through this section OF the STAG
was the famous old Trading Path. whlct
was originally the great Indian trai
over which the Northern and Southern
Indians traded when they wished to com
munlcate with one another or wage pat
tie In their most everlasting wars on eacl
other. 1t was on this thoroughfare u
L the county Of Brunswick that Governor
spotswood established forte Chrlstlana'
In 1914,
In Byrds history OF the dividing lin'
betWixt Virginia and North Carolina, u
172S, the following description Is giver
OF this thoroughfare Five miles east O
S Great (now SMITH Creek We crossed tn
4 Trading Path, which received It's name
from being the route the traders take
with their caravans when they go t
traffic with the Catawbas and othe
Southern Indians. The Catawbas lly'
n ~ -