The Colorado statesman., 1907-10-12
Copyright. by Joseph B. Bowles)


(Mrs. Frederick Mcclure is the wife of
the president of the board of directors of
the Corcoran art gallery. of Washington,
d. c., and is conspicuous in society ana
art circles of the national capital)
On the top of the Allegheny noun
tains, in the very heart of the "Old
Dominion" lies the most perfect mod
ern reproduction of that real old Ar
cadia so beloved by the poets. Nor
is it such a very modern reproduc-
ton, either, because the happy val
ley" of which l am speaking has been
visited by succeeding generations OF
devoted pilgrims since the early days
of our young republic, and among the
many names found on the register OF
the quaint little hotel there can be
seen those of Washington and Jeffer-
son and many others which are also
inscribed upon the roll Of fame.
In this Warm Springs valley of
which / am speaking not only does
the sunshine seem of different char
acter, its rays coming to earth soft
ened and yelled by mist, which,
though golden during the day, turns
to purple toward evening, but the
song of the bird becomes more melo-
dious, the bee huns more drowEily,
the streams ripple more musically,
the leaves rustic more soothingly; but
our fellow beings whom we meet
there are of different order from any
whom l have met elsewhere, and are
possessed of a quaint and humorous
turn of mind and have an originality
exclusively their own.
OF course it must be explained that
l am speaking now only of the col
ored race. The first time / entered
this happy valley" more than 20
years ago, / said to an old negro, who
looked as If he had grown old with
the mountains: rs the train on time
this morning?" and he responded:
"Oh, no. indeed, honey, dat train
amt on time" Then l asked: How
much is it behind timer" and he said:
"Fo' hours" l was appalled,, and
asked: Has it ever been as much as
four hours late before?" and he an
swered: Yes, indeed, honey; one day
las week de train never come at ALL"
But little circumstance like that did
not seem to have the power to over
throw the equipoise of that calm COM
munity.
They also have a phraseology and
a vocabulary all their own, but what
they say never for a moment leaves
any doubt in your mind as to what
they mean.
once went into the cabin of poor
woman where death had entered, and,
not seeing any means or methods of
burial, / asked: What will be done?"
and the woman replied: "Why, Mr..
Crizer has always undertook in our
family, and always done it WELL"
Old Uncle Billie, who was always
regarded as last court of appeal"
in matters meteorological, was once
asked what he supposed was the cause
of some peculiarly disagreeable
weather, and his explanation was:
THE heavy respections of the at
Which really sounded so exactly as
If it had been promulgated by the
weather bureau that we almost hoped
to secure "Old Billie" a position in
the signal service on the strength
of it.
In the "Cowardin Cap of the ALE
phany mountains, at a little settle
ment bearing the classic name of
Shake-Rag stands a colored church,
of what denomination l never have
been able to discover, and to be there
when there is either a wedding in the
church or baptizing in the Jackson
river near by, to see the bucolic trav-
estes upon the prevailing modes, es-
pecially in the matter of chignons and
pompadours, is liberal education. A
windows mourning. if one happens to
be there is something fearful and
wonderful to behold.
At baptizing in the Jackson river
on one occasion l saw and heard
hundreds of the faithful singing and
shouting:
Now every one of you that thirst.
Step down into the water,
And freely drink and squeiich that
thirst
Like Zon's son and daughter"
At recent wedding in the church
at Shake-Rag the preacher, who
seemed to have heard rumors of the
matrimonial snares and pitfalls of the
outer world, made a charge to the
contracting parties-a laundress and
waiter from the Warm Springs ho-
tel-Aand concluded by saying: "And
may you live together forever in un-
avoidable infidelity and may you
never suppurate.'
1t is amusing, also, to see what rare
combinations of Christian humanity
and worldly pride one frequently en-
counters in that peaceful valley.