Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1912-05-31
HORSEPEN COVE
And Her PEOPLE
A Brief Visit to One of the
Best Sectlonsof the County.
Sunday School Address.

'N'''''' ne rl"c on norseDuck from
raZewell across big Stony Ridge"
is trying to one not accustomed 10
horshcack riding, but made the trim
in 2 Id hours, returning in tho
afternoon in about the same time
and felt none the worse on Monday
morning--rather better than other
wise, thanks to an easy going horse.
HNrsepen Cove lies between rugged
hills, narrow valley, rich in blue
grass and in coal. The place gets its
name, it is said, from the custom of
Indians first and settlers later, drlv-
ing their horses and other stock there
for pasturage, the cliffs and mountains
forming an almost impossible fence.
! Horsepen' it has been from the
first. and likely to remain, until some
day perhaps, railroads may come, n
town be built. and other peoples of
perhaps other nationalities, take
charge, and the present inhabitants.
and their descendants. like their pre-
decessors, the Indians, move out and
on.
The object of my visit chiefly, was
to help out in tho Sunday School
work There is good school in Hor-
sepen church, the only churcn i'm the
valley. ID. B. Daniels, Chairman of
the Board of Supervisors, ia the
superintendent, the pastor is Rev. j.
Il. Meadows, sensible. plain. sim
cerc man, whose chief book of study
is the Bible. He ministers TO five
chrches, and hence his visits, like the
angels, arc few and far between.
The Sunday School at Horsepen, like
so many others, will be greatly i'm
proved when thoroughly and perma-
nently organized. and manned by
corps of teachers who will take hold
and hold on with an unbreakable
grip. The church, OH this occasion.
was filled with well-dressed. we'll
behaved, bright looking crowd, chiefly
of young people, and n number, if not
quite all, of the principal citizens of
the neighhorhood. They listened with
wonderful patience and inspiring at
tention. to poor address, which
undertook to state briefly some things
the Sunday School movement has
done for the world. The singing, led
by Mr.. Meadows, who has the gift of
song, was good. Some one has OBJ
served, that the charactre of the
singing in Sunday School and church
is sort of meter by which spir-
tual power may be judged. Poor
singng, nearly always indicates poor
religion. and there in something in
the statement. heard man saw
once that Jesus never sang. Yes he
did, once at least, that we know of.
On the most eventful and momentous
night of his life, when that farewell
supper was eaten it is stated, that
"When they bad sung an hymn they
went out into the Mount of Olives. "
The disciples were not, perhaps,
trained singers, all of them, and |
believe the Master led that hymn.
There must have been infinite pathos
and tenderness in his quivering voice,
Is he sung this "song in the night. "
Don't you wish you could have heard
Him? E"ery Sunday School should
make singing chief feature. 1t is
always so in the best schools.
"broke bread" with d. b. Dan
iels. and good bread it was, too, and
roast chicken, with OIL. fashioned
dumplins', vegetables, preserves,
fruits, cake, etc.. just such Sunday
dinner as one would expect from a
cookroom presided over by Mrs. Dam
iels, who did it all herself and didn't
stay from church either. Mr.. and Mrs.
Daniel have a family of seven chill
dren, if | mistake not the number,
most Of whom are away. ] had the
pleasure of meeting a number of peo-
pie whom have known only as sub
scrbers to this paper-the Bowmans,
Jennings, Pressleys, Yates, Murrays
and others w. j. Harris, brother to
Mrs. Daniels, is the popular, pro-
gressive merchant of the neighbor-
hood--a man who "gets there" and
stays there, too. No doubt but that
much of his success is due to his
East Virginia wife, who is native
of Harissonburg.
On my way home had a pleasant
hour in the nice home of Major James
p. Whitman. He owns a fine farm,
and has nice home in the head of
the valley-a pleasant, quiet retreat.
Mr.. and Mrs. Whitman moved to
Horsepen in 1882 They have had
;, twelve children born to them, ten OF
whom are living. John Whitman,
father of James P. came to Tazewell
q young man. halter by trade. He
La. a.