Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1915-04-01

pOpOfuOn is over loo to j. The fact
is that along the James route. across
the whole State of Tennessee, a dis
lance Of more than one hundred miles,
there is not a single town whose pop
ulation reaches 500 souls, with the
exception of Crossville, in Cumberland
County which has population of 1853.
Byrdstown, the county seat of Pickett
County, through which ''the crow is to
fly" has population of only 100. The
distance across the State via way the
original and logical route" is about
l75 miles from the Kentucky line to
Chattanooga, and was traversed in
1914 by about 600 to 500 automobiles.
The distance as outlined in the James
route, as the crow flies" is about
125 miles, but if road survey was
made over this route we would find it
to be at least one-third greater dis
lance, or about 1856 miles. The crow
does not fly around the deep gorges,
the coves, the gaps, the creeks and
the mountain torrents; he flies across
them, but we do not build roads across
them.
The western edge of Walden's Ridge
as well as most parts of the Cumber-
land plateau is extremely irregular.
The mountain streams on their way
to the lower land, 1000 feet below,
have cut deep channels backward u
as to form many narrow coves be-
tween the irregular remnants of the
plateau. The slopes from the lower
plain up to the plateau are very abrupt
and in many places are in part verti-
cal cliffs.
(See Government report, Geological
Survey, Pikeville folio)
In Bledsoe County alone there are
more than dozen of these coves,
which cut back into Walden's Ridge
from the Sequatchie Valley from two
to five miles from the west brow of
the mountain along which it is pro-
posed to locate the James route.
Among these coves may be mentioned
the following: Low Gap, Beatty Gap,
Fraley Gap, Skillern's Cove, Rigsby
Gap, Lloyd's Gap and Crystal Creek.
(See map of Government Geological
Survey of Pikeville, special quadran.
gle.)
What wonderful idea is this: To
build a great national highway, more
than 1000 miles long, through the al
most inaccessible section of Tennes
see, as the crow flies. There would
be at least 100 miles of this route on
the Cumberland plateau and Waldens
Ridge, where for the whole distance
there is not single bed of ebert OF
gravel or a cubic yard of limestone,
nor are there any roads over which to
transport road material Where are
the towns and cities along this route
and where are the hotels and garages
at which tourists could be accommo-
dated and entertained. How many
people would be benefited by high.
way running this way? How could
such highway be a main artery? To
be main artery it must traverse that
section that is richest in farming
lands and which has the largest popu.
lation, the most beautiful and pro-
gressive towns and cities, the best
hotel accommodations, and SO built
that it can be tapped from all direc-
lions by intersecting roads, and whose
populations are both willing and able
to build road and maintain it after
It's construction. Why should we pass
around Nashville, that thriving, beau
tiful capital city, SO rich in historical
points of interest? Why should we
cave out Murfreesboro, so famous in
war and story? Why should we not
BASS through the richest and most fer
lie sections of Tennessee, viewing
he historical points along the route,
through which passed and repassed
he army of the Cumberland and the
gallant hosts that followed Polk and
Bragg, Hood and Hardee, Wheeler and
1.-THE logical route, via Nashville,
vas first laid out by the buffaloes in
heir migration across the Cumberland
fountain, before any white man ever
tut foot upon the territory now en-
raced by the great State of Tonnes
ee. 1t was next naturally followed by
he Cherokee and Chickamauga In
ians, whose homes were in the terri
Dry where is now the hustling and
istoric city of Chattanooga, on their
rips to the common hunting grounds
d the great basin of Tennessee. 1t
ras over this route, also, that the tens A
thousands of livestock were driven
rom Kentucky and Tennessee to sup ,
ly the needs of the South before the
avs of railroads. 1t was along this
quite, also, that the old stage road
as located, over which the tens of {
of travellers before the
uilding of the Nashville. Chattanooga
4