The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-10-06

ALAND or CONTRASTS

4
which miners wives use electric
irons and coasters, and the smooss
streets appear strangely exotic N
this part OF the world. 1t 4 :,
miles across the mountain To nj.
Stone Gap, Va. the home 81 IL
late John Fox, Jr. writer Of Ken.
lucky mountain storiesLonly u
miles across the wilderness :,
Pine Mountain, yet about two d.vs
by rail via Middlesboro A.
through Cumberland Gap and h,ct
up the Virginia side of the ranSa
Lynch is a new camp spic ana
span, the highest town in Ken.
lucky, at the end Of a branch Of
the Louisville & Nashville I'M Chm.
berland river and the tiny afflncnl
Ct the Cumberland, Looney creek
which rises on Black Mountain
McRoberts, at the terminus ~
another branch, running up ops ~
the forks Of Kentucky river and
jenkins, across the divide finn
McRoberts, at the head Of the val
ley Of Elkhorn, a tributary Of Rir
Sandy river, are older camps. less
up to date, less conspicuous as
models, less interesting TO stu.
dents of welfare work as it is done
by mining companies. But In
some respects these camps have
been improved by time.
4 Jenkins lies in a narrow valley
Of Alpine appearance, not with
out it's blue lake to carry out the
resemblance of Swiss scenery, aud
plentifully supplied with vine GUY
cred cottages and flower gardens
bespeaking long occupancy. The
lake, some 20 acres of the water Of
a mountain stream impounded BY a
dam which provides power, is sur
rounded by homes of company Of
ficers, and upon one side of it is
the company club house which
serves as a home for unmarried
miners and office employees. Cana
dian canoes and a sail boat, cat
rugged, give the lake the appear
ance of a similar body Of water
flanked by cottages occupied BY q
summer colony for pleasure.
The Famous Trail.
Above it where blue sky and
dark pine tops meet, runs the
Trail of the Lonesome Pine" d.
scribed by John Fox, Jr., in novel
of that title which has been seen in
dramatized form on both the stage
and the screen. If Mr.. Fox drew
upon his imagination for the lowell
ness of his heroine he did not have
to depart from reality in describing
the rare beauty of the scenery.
And almost within sight OF the
club house and the lake the prim-
tive life of the mountains which
Fox predicts still survives. A June
Tolliver of the heights might stand
at the Lonesome Pine at nightfall
looking down upon a dark valley
starred with electric lights, and re-
turn home to a nearby log cabin
lighted only by log fire in the
evening.
Czechs, Lithuanians, GreekI
Magyars, Italians, men of many
races, occupy the cottages Of Jen-
kins empowered in vines and fov-
ers, which cling to precipitous
mountainsides, resembling in their
surroundings, not in architecture,
chalets in Switzerland.
When Jenkins was founded by
men some Of whom remain In
charge as company officers, TIE
machinery and building material
were brought in by OK teams to
transform a forested gorge into a
miniature city with wide lawns OF
bluegrass and streets as smooth as
those of Washington.
Communication between McROb-
erts and Lynch is maintained tof
the purpose Of the coal mine opsr-
ators by means of tunnel under
the divide through which mine
cars alone are run. Passengers
cross the divide in light automU-
biles when the weather is dry. II
is rougher work than riding mule
but somewhat faster going.
Such coal camps as Lynch and
Jenkins. and many smaller cnss
less handsomely equipped, sur
rounded by the old mountain life
draw as laborers, by the lure oil
high wages, some of the native
mountaineers. Others more con-
sentative remain steadfastly BY
their cabins, cultivating crops II
/ fields so slanting that corn cal
not be gathered in wagon, bC'
only in a slide.
mo wages would tempt the lei
low who lives up there" said
mining man pointing upward =
mountaineer' home perched where
an eagle might have made its nest
"The foreigners" indicating
group of miners-"ean earn mort
in a week than the native ever hat
at one time. but his type prefers
poverty and the freedom OF I'M
hills"