The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1904-02-20
Letter From Virginia.
RICHMOND, VA, Feb. s, 1904.

have been in several counties Of |
what is called "Southside Virginia,
stopping sometimes at the small
villages where the court houses are,
sometimes at smaller railroad stations
and sometimes at farm houses. 1t
has been something OF disillusion-
ment to me as to the Old Dominion.
II IS an old, worn-out country that
looks like a Lew one in some ways.
The land never was very good aud
now it is badly washed and most of it
almost worthless for anything. AS a
rule the frame tarmhouses are not
painted and look diuGy aHd desolate
from the outside The court house
villages look "run down at the heel,
many old ramshackle buildings with
an occasional new one. On acquaint-
ance the people are generally polite
and courteous to a stranger. The
roads are bad usually. The prevailing
timber is pine and a good lumber
trade is doing. / do not think the
clma' e has any advantage over ours;
it is worse if anything II gets 50
warm as to be enervating and sudden
lY changes to about ten or fifteen
above zero; the cold is very peuetra-
ting and there is much pneumonia
here
l was in church in Petersburg
one Sunday night and never have |
heard as much coughing in church
Sometimes it made the sermon unin-
telligible.
The people do not keep up fires in
their houses regularly and much of the
time are without them when they
ought to have th.m. Some CRATES In
small rooms look as II they would
hold about two gallons Of coal each.
III the mild weather, one night
left a window sash down a foot or
more right over my bed, by morning
it had changed to cold, and by the
next night l was in fight against
symptoms of pneumonia, which |
won after a night of wild fever
dreams 1t is said to be a more equ-
able, though colder climate 10 the
Western and mountainous part OF the
state
An equally pessimistic view Of the
people here forces itself on me, ]
cannot say that they are a disilusion'
ment, for had no idea that there
remained 80 much of the old stock as
there is. Personally have no reason
to complain, for all l have met have
treated me with politeness and ]
have met some very kind and clan
nish kin here of my mothers family
What impresses me most is the ter
rible extent to which tobacco is use(
In a court house village / went L
a Presbyterian church and saw {
spittoon. in each end Of every pew Ii
the house. There were more of then
than of people, but many .wert
needed
The Virginians are the most hope
lesly under the maglin infuence o
this vile drug of any white people il
the world and in this respect ar
right on the plane of the Mexica
"greasers" and Fillipinos.
say with the utmost contidenc
that Lee could never have made tn
wonderful military moves he did ha
his brain and body been soaked wit
nicotine as the average Virginlan
is. Grants was most thorough
soaked in it aud he stood hopeles
and stupid before Lee and confesse
+ that he could not watch him and hi
I only chance was like the plan Of rut
J bing big rock and smaller one tC
> gether until the little one Is entirel
4 gone.
If they had a revelation from Hea'
9 en commanding them at the first, an
j above all things to chew, spit an
smoke they could not be more III
4 staut in season and out Of season" a
! it than they are. Nothing outside {
Richmond that 1 have ever seen con
! pares with it. l have met two me
Y on this trip who do not use tobacC
: and one Of them told me that he b
7 lieved the plant as the Indians raise
i it, 10 a natural way was never |
q strong as artificial cultivation hI