Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1912-02-02

recently purchased by Jos. S. and A.
p. Gillespie, and far up the rich
mountain valley, and stretching across
to the Buckhorn, was owned by the
Hedricks, on part of which Sam
still lives, an inheritance from his
ancestors.
Sans father, Adam Hedrick, was
born on the old home site, where the
Kelly house now stands. He after
wards moved up the road half mile
to the place where John Yost lives,
and whree Alfred Tiller lived when
first knew the place, more than tweE-
ty years ago. Here Sam was born,
and lived for number of years. This
all took place many years ago, but
Sam Hedrick is still a young man.
He is rs tough as u knot. He inner
tied strong constitution, as well as
intellect, from his German ancestors,
and still retains these desirable in
heritances. 1t is said, "a lean dog
for long chase but Sam is not
lean.' He is inclined to stoutness,
built near to the earth. His legs are
"long enough to reach the ground, 1"
rs Abe Lincoln said a mans legs
ought to be, but that is about all.
When he mounts big, fat horse, he
has hard work to keep his feet in the
stirrups They stand out nearly at
right angles. But, this little bit of
gossip was intended, at the start, to
take a different turn. Our good friend,
Sam Hedrick, and his father before
him, has had hard time with all
sorts of accidents and mishaps, more
than the average. When it is report
de that Sam Hedrick is dead, which
we hope will be many long year
yet, it can be safely concluded that
he died natural death, of typhoid
fever, pneumonia, smallpox, or some
other dire disease. He was not born
to be killed by accident. This has
been proven number of times, and
he has had a number of narrow es-
capes, but always came out ahead of
the game n little disigurcd, perhaps,
but still in the ring. The spiteful
Fates began with Sans father.
Uncle Adam had narrow escape
years ago while crossing the Burke's
Garden mountain. 1t cannot be accu-
rately recorded here just how or what
but Uncle Adam was terri
bly, hurt and bruised by his team run
ming away or sliding over ledge, or
something of the kind. He quickly re-
covered, however, and years after
wards came near losing his life in his
mill, by the bursting of the milestone
Uncle Adam and Gus. Cox, kindly
remembered in Tazewell, went into
cahoot and put up n small mill near
his house, on the branch. The mill
was built of logs, about 15X1S feet
perhaps, and the corn meal for the
neighborhood was chopped up there.
The mill was driven by steam en-
CINE, owned by Tom Groseclose, and
used for threshng machine purposes
during the summer. Toms engine
and boiler was on the job at Uncle
Adams mill 1t is told that the pro-
jectors of the mill scheme, being
wholly without experience in the
business, had trouble in the start.
When they hitched up and opened the
throttle, Toms engine went at it,
out the people in the mill found that
the stone was running backwards, anc
throwing the meal out through the
eye Of the stone. They forgot t.
cross the band. One day, something
happened. Whether the engine was
running too fast, or the stone got toe
hot, nobody seems to know. Anyhow
the stone burst, flew all to pieces.
Some of the flying fragments struck
Uncle Adam, almost killing him. He
was bedridden for years, and never
recovered from the effects of the ac-
cident. Tom Groseclose, who visited
the scene of destruction about two
hours after it occurred said that
pieces of the exploded. mill rock were
still hot enough to heat water hot
enough to scald hogs.
| This uac flo Loot 81 tho ol,l