Obrázky stránek
PDF
ePub
[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

25, by ormer, were roads like

e seen

ks are cs into n, the

ole its re four acade

.ce, a . The hough

st one, ́s, calJones,

wero

e head hem to ney at

They looked iw, let ablish

of the a bond

: satin Some

-iver. It belonged

suits were disposed of, before M.'s suit was called. At length the suit was called, and one of the magistrates came down, or rather got up, went out behind the house, and awaked a brother chip, who was lying on the ground drunk, saying "get up! M.'s suit is coming on." Another magistrate was lying drunk on the floor; he was roused by the sheriff; at length they have a court, and proceed to business. The case was argued on both sides by their respective attornies, and the jury was sent out to a blacksmith's shop. You have seen these shops; they generally have a log cut out of some length, on the opposite side from the door; at least they have in the western country, but what the use of it is, I never learned, unless it be to hang their work on; or, perhaps, let in the air in warm weather; but to the purpose. After the Jury were fastened in, M. gets a three gallon keg full of whisky, and thrusts it in through this win

[ocr errors]

dow, saying to the Jury, now do your best." They

were not long, we may suppose, in agreeing; when they came into the court, their verdict was, "we, the jury, find for the defendant!!" The lawyer for the plaintiff was thunderstruck; nothing was clearer, a plain bond! He grated his teeth, and cursed them all to himself; returned the plaintiff (which was equally extraordinary,) his fee, jumped on his horse, and was never seen there afterwards. Thus was Kenhawa settled, and thus was justice administered, and with little variation continues the same. Many suits have been eight, ten, and some fifteen years on the docket. The new modelling of the judiciary, has, however, of late, measureably relieved the people.

Climate. The climate on Kenbawa river is very hot in summer; the thermometer rising from ninety to a hundred; not a breeze relieves you from suffocating heat; when it does, it uniformly brows up the river from the north west; these breezes, however, seldom prevail except in the fall and winter months. This great difference between the climate and that of Greenbriar and Monroe, of which it is several miles north, must be attributed to that of its being much lower, and hemmed in

on each side by perpendicular mountains. This climate ceases at the Ohio river. To the nature of the climate, and the richness of the soil, may be ascribed that surprising exuberance of vegetable productions, which is not exceeded by any country. Tobacco overgrows itself; wheat and rye grow to such bulk, that its weight brings it to the ground before it comes to perfection; Irish potatoes are cultivated, but are not good; all garden vegetables succeed beyond description; and in no part of the United States are to be found better peaches; apples are not much attended to; indeed, little attention is paid to agriculture, in this county; the salt business engrosses the principal part of the force. Kenhawa is said to be unhealthy; at some seasons of the year (but this does not happen every year,) it is subject to intermittent fevers.

Here are three great high ways, contiguous to each other, viz one on the north side of the river, leading from Ohio, Indiana and Missouri, to the eastern states. Another on the south bank, leading from Kentucky and Illinois, likewise to the eastern states; and the river itself. The river is covered with boats, some going up, and some going down. The roads are likewise much travelled, particularly in the fall of the year; that on the south side of the river, is alive from morning till night, with people, horses, cattle, but principally hogs; myriads of hogs are driven by this way annually, to the east. They commence driving in September, and from that till Christmas, you can look out no time in the day without seeing a line of hogs. This road is one of the most unpleasant in the world to travel at that time; the river on one side, the mountain on the other, and both so near, that it confines the traveller to one narrow space; which, from the yielding quality of the soil, added to the absence of the sun, the rays of which are totally interrupted by the mountain, is a perfect quagmire. This circumstance has given rise to many ludicrous stories, of people being buried alive; and others travelling on the backs of cattle, hogs, &c. that have sunk into it. From what I have seen myself of this road, even at this scason of the year, I am inclined to credit its ill fame.

wh or

we

ho

he

tha

ha

wh

and not

but

At

wh

ty,

dee

was

war

asi

had

blin

said

A

east

hon

L

legh hous

pres

your

reta

dwe

four

rior

Cou

year

COUL

imate

mate,

sur

ich is

TOWS

veight

ction;

Igar

no

each

le at

salt

Ken

f the bject

> each

ading

states. y and

ver it

g up; much

at on

ng till hogs; to the

1 from e day

of the

time;

г, and arrow

il, adtotalmire.

Is sto

velling

into it.

at this

fame.

On our way from Ohio, we travelled on that side of the river. When we drew near to Charleston, it being very dark, we could just perceive something before us, which appeared not to move; but whether it was man or beast, or what, we could not discover. At length, as we approached nearer, we found it to be a man, whose horse had stuck fast in the mud. It was laughable to hear him cursing the horse. "Blast you," said he, "can't you go neither back nor forward." It appeared that he was a citizen of the town, and, like ourselves, had been delayed till dark, by the badness of the road, when his horse plunged into a mud-hole up to the girth, and was unable either to advance or retreat. We could not think of leaving him in such a piteous condition but how to relieve him was a question of some difficulty. At length, he was compelled to dismount in the mud, which took him up to his knees; and with some difficulty, he extricated his horse. They tell an anecdote (indeed, they tell hundreds,) of a Scotch gentleman, who was travelling this road, and who, it seems, was not aware of those fallacious mud-holes, cried out to his horse, as he was sinking into one of them, "ho'd! ho'd! gin I had aff my close, we'll swum, I'm thinkin; dom ye for a blind bast, gin ye could'nt see the quick sand." It was said that the horse was really blind.

;

After spending two weeks at Kenhawa, I returned easterly, taking a circuit through Nicholas and Pocahontas. At length I find myself in Lewisburg.

Lewisburg-Lewisburg is four miles west of the Alleghany Mountain; contains a handsome stone courthouse and jail, two clerks offices, two churches, one for presbyterians and one for methodists, one academy for young men, and one for young ladies, two taverns, four retail stores, a post-office, a printing office, and forty dwelling-houses, chiefly of wood. In this small town four different courts hold their sessions, to wit: a Superior Court of Chancery twice a year, the Superior Court twice a year, the United States Court twice a year, and the inferior courts for the county. These courts, and the number of travellers who pass through

this place, from the west to the east, and from east to west, and the vast numbers of hogs, horses, and cattle, that are drove through it from all parts of the western country, gives it an air of liveliness, for about ten months in the year.

The state of Virginia is now engaged in making a road from the head of navigation, that is, the nearest point of intersection with James river. It is, when completed, to come in at the falls of Kenhawa. This road passes through Lewisburg. The intention of this undertaking, I am told, is to draw the trade of the western states. It appears to be the design of Virginia, to come in for a share of that commercial interest, hitherto engrossed by the states north of her. She contemplates transporting merchandise by water to Covington, a small town on Jackson's river, at the point of intersection with this road, and from thence by waggons, to the falls of Kenhawa, where a line of steam boats is to convey it to different parts of the western country. The merchandize is to be exchanged for the produce of the west. I have not been able to trace the scheme further than this. But in my humble opinion, it will be long ere Virginia will be able to furnish the western states, upon this or any other plan, as low as they will be furnished by the northern. She has clear evidence of this, in the universal practice of the merchants of West Virginia, and Tennessec, who lay in their goods at Philadelphia, which is nearly double the distance to Richmond; and besides, Virginia commands navigation for nearly two hundred miles in that direction by James' river. Why she has not realized this advantage I am not able to say. It appears, that from the little I have been able to learn of Virginia, though she by no means wants genius or public spirit, yet, she wants that genius necessary to promote commerce. They say here that it is designed to connect the waters of James river and Kenhawa, by cutting a canal through the Alleghany mountain, from Dunlap's Creek, on the east, to Howard's Creek, on the west of it. As the Alleghany presents. but a slight elevation at this place, and these streams are but a few miles asunder, this might easily be done

But t are n

aver their gree hours

moun

few d the n impe runni thing

to pro all thi Th

low t site d

thoug

thing river. ridges river

runs a

the va itselfi

that r

of mo

the na

Giles.

each

is the ing th

the a

manne

legha These the we

betwe

there

inhab

system

1 10 tile,

tern

nths

ga

rest

then

This

this

rest

1. to

erto. ates

1, a sec

> the con

The

the

ther

long

ates,

fur

this,

VirhilaRich1 for

› ri1 not been

ants. -neat it : and hany ard's sents 23ms lone

But then another obstacle presents itself; these streams are nearly dry seven months in the year; and, upon an average, frozen two months in every year, and from their great fall, although they swell to a prodigious degree very often, yet they swell and subside in a few hours. I have seen enough of this, having lived among mountains nearly all my life. A boat would get but a few miles, before she would find herself stationary till the next swell; and whether a boat could stem those impetuous torrents at all, is a great question with me ; running down the sides of the mountains as they do, nothing less than a double portion of steam would be able to propel them; experience, however, is the only test of all things.

The Alleghany mountain, as already observed, is so low that if it were not for the streams flowing in opposite directions it would not be perceivable. But although low, it spreads out to an immense width; it is nothing less than this mountain that extends to Kenhawa river, 90 miles, although called by other names. Those ridges are much higher than the Alleghany; Greenbriar river rises near the main ridge, on the west of which it runs at a hurrying rate for 200 miles, being hemmed in by the vast bed of mountains just mentioned. It discharges itself into New river, several miles above the junction of that river, with Gauly. On the bosom of this vast mass of mountains are the six counties of Virginia, known by the names of Greenbriar, Monroe, Nicolas, Pocahontas, Giles, and Tazewell, elevated to the clouds, resembling each other in every thing: Greenbrier, however, as she is the mother of the whole, commands most wealth, having the advantage in good land. But with respect to the appearance of the inhabitants, their pursuits and manners, they are alike, and to these we may add Alleghany, also clipped from the wings of Greenbriar. These counties have been erroneously confounded with the western country, whereas there is as much difference between the people of the western states and those, as there are between any two people in the union. The inhabitants of the western states are an enterprising, systematical, industrious people, to which they are stim

« PředchozíPokračovat »