USA > Virginia > Tazewell County > Tazewell County > Annals of Tazewell County, Virginia from 1800 to 1922 > Part 30
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In connection with this subject, it may be remarked, that a trial for murder has never taken place in this county, and fewer lawsuits, according to the population, occur in our courts than any county in the state.
CHAPTER XIV.
LITERARY AND BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS-NEWSPAPERS.
The Jeffersonville Historical Society, is the only literary institution in the county. It was founded August 14th, 1851, through the exertions of H. F. Peery, M. D., and the author. The movement was warmly supported by John Wynn, Thos. Peery, Rees T. Bowen, William Cox, H. R. Bogle, William Barnes, William Henry Maxwell, and other leading gentlemen in the county, who seem to be fully awakened to the necessity of exciting in the community a spirit of literary culture. The following remarks are taken from the Richmond Examiner of 16th January, 1852:
"The recent excitement of railroad subjects in southwestern Virginia, seems to have been the means of calling public attention to the subject of liter- ary culture in this section of the state. The citizens of Tazewell, one of the most isolated counties of the commonwealth, are taking a prominent stand in this cause. The establishment of the Jeffersonville Historical Society, in a wild, mountainous country, would seem to indicate something more of its citizens, as patrons of literature, than has heretofore been supposed to exist. The society numbers already about seventy members, many of whom oc- cupy positions not only of high civil trust, but prominent situations in the literary world.
"One principal object of this society seems to be, to preserve the history of the settlement and Indian wars of the southwestern part of Virginia-to develop its resources, and scatter knowledge among the people. A cabinet, in which will be found specimens from the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, is attached to the institution. Also, a library containing the principal works which could assist in researches either upon the Indians, who at a former period inhabited this section, their manners and customs, or upon the natural history of the county. The society receives papers upon most subjects which throw light upon the best means of promoting the in- terests of this section of the state. * *
"Whether this society may be able to effect any good, cannot be an- swered till more time has been allowed for the development of its labors. Certain it is, however, that if the society publish their reports, as they most likely will, and they are read by the people of south-western Virginia, some good must be done." * * * * *
There is a moral influence attending the existence of such associations, which cannot be otherwise than sanitary. The very fact of the existence of such an institution, will incite the surrounding community to prepare themselves to share in its labors. This society embraces most of the prom inent farmers in the county, and is likely to stretch its arms out over the respectable of all classes, and indirectly, if not directly, they will become laborers in the association, and thus interested in its prosperity.
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Say ten gentlemen are asked to furnish a report upon the natural history of the black perch; ten more upon the culture of the grape-vine; ten more upon the amount of iron ore, and extent of coal-fields; ten more upon the kinds of roads best adapted to our hill country; ten more upon some subject in geology, or mechanices, or agriculture, or botany, or any other subject coming within the range of the institution. What will be the effect? why this-the gentlemen will procure the works which treat of the respective subjects on which they are required to report, and study them. It is readily seen that in a few years, they will become, more or less, familiar with the principal sciences; and as the acquisition of knowledge engenders a want of more, in a few years we shall have a reading population, who will begin to act upon some efficient means of educating the rising generation. Nor is this all, the annual exhibitions or fairs will incite a more lively interest in excelling in agriculture, mechanics, etc. This is too apparent to need elucidation.
A desire to excite this society to a sense of the important work before them and to furnish an index to Tazewell has resulted in this history.
The most important benevolent institution is that of the Independent Order of Oddfellows, a lodge of whom, was established at Jeffersonville, by G. M., Jas. McCabe, 6th December, 1850. The lodge numbers about forty-five members, and is designated as Floyd Lodge No. 84.
The Sons of Temperance have a division, being the one hundred and fifth in the state, which numbers some eighty or ninety members. There is also a division of the "Sons" at Bluestone, and another at Liberty Hill. The former of the three, was established at Jeffersonville in 1848; the second at Bluestone, was established in the summer of 1850; that at Liberty Hill, in 1851. These three divisions have done much good in reforming tlie people.
A Circle of the Brotherhood of the Union, encircled in the H. F., was established at Jeffersonville 4th July, 1850, and is known as Independence Circle, B. U. (H. F.) C. A. 131-4. This institution numbers about twenty members, and is calculated to do much good in the cause of reform. In the summer of 1850, a lodge of Masons was also established at this place. So there are four secret societies existing in this town, and if their designs be carried out, much good may be expected in the way of social progress.
Their influence is plainly perceivable at Jeffersonville. Few villages or places in the United States present so much good feeling and brotherly love-so much sound morality, and so extensively diffused, or so little suf- fering. There is less backbiting, wrangling, and ill-will among the people of Jeffersonville, than any village to be found in the state; nor is it a bad feature in the character of our people.
NEWSPAPERS.
At the opening of the presidential campaign in 1847, there was not a single democratic press in south-western Virginia. The citizens of Tazewell being mostly democratic, felt the necessity of some organ through which to utter their sentiments, and called loudly for a press. Finally, Dr. H. F. Peery was prevailed on to purchase a second-hand press, then laying idle at
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Abingdon. He commenced the publication of the "Jeffersonville Democrat" in August, 1847, and with so much ability and zeal did the worthy editor handle his pen, that the influence of the "Democrat" was felt, to a greater or less degree, throughout south-western Virginia. A new field of labor seemed opened, and the citizens of the county seem to fully appreciate the advantages of a press, and fostered its existence with great care. A spirit of inquiry was stirred up among the people. Education received an impetus; morality and religion began to look up, and when professional duties com- pelled the editor to relinquish his task, in August, 1850, there was a general murmur of complaint at the fall of the press. So urgent were the appeals of the community to the editor to again divide his labors, that he was com- pelled to make preparations to start the paper again. While engaged at this, he had an offer from the present editor, which was accepted, and Mr. George F. Holmes, a gentleman of ability, and formerly professor in one of the Virginia institutions of learning, became the proprietor, and in August, 1851, commenced editing the "South-Western Advocate." The paper has a circulation of about three hundred and fifty copies, and with proper caution, might be placed on a firm basis. Among the pioneer editors of south-western Virginia, few will be found to possess the tact which so eminently characte- rized the editor of the old "Democrat."
CHAPTER XV.
MINERALS AND NATURAL CURIOSITIES.
The minerals of this county are both numerous and important. Silver, iron, lead, arsenic, sulphur, salt, niter, gypsum, and large quantities of coal being found. I have several times been asked to examine what was thought to be gold; but have generally found it to be pyrites of iron, and sometimes sulphur.
Some attempt has been made to work a silver mine in Poor valley, about seven miles from Jeffersonville, but it was undertaken by persons unac- quainted with mining, and, of course, under such circumstances, we could look for no important results.
There is also silver, but to what extent I cannot say, on a string of ridges north of Clinch river.
Iron is so abundant that it is hard to find a section destitute of it. The best specimen I ever saw, was lately placed in the cabinet of the Jefferson- ville Historical Society, by Mr. Rufus Brittain. Ore, of this county, was worked at an early day, by a man named Johnson, which was pronounced to be of a good quality. The ore is, generally, specular and magnetic oxides, and would admit of being worked to advantage.
The mineral wealth of the county, will likely not be known, till there is a greater demand for it. As soon as our lands are impoverished, gypsum will be taken from the earth and scattered over them. And when the demand is sufficient, we shall manufacture large quantities of sulphur. Many saline springs exist, from which salt will be manufactured at no distant day. There is, within four miles of Jeffersonville, on the lands of Mr. Thomas Witten, every indication of a good salt stream. The county has already produced much niter.
Coal exists everywhere, though wood is so plenty that it has not been used as fuel to any extent; hence, no search has been made for it. Bitum- inous, and, probably, cannel coal, exist in great quantity. The nearest to Jeffersonville, that has yet been discovered, is on the lands of G. W. G. Browne, in Poor valley, about four and a half miles from Jeffersonville. It is generally thought that coal does not exist on the head branches of Clinch river, but I imagine the supposition has no foundation. It has been found below, and in every direction around, and no doubt, exists generally through the county. When shall we have an outlet for this coal?
NATURAL CURIOSITIES.
There are, in the county, many natural curiosities, such as caves, prec- ipices, bone caverns, etc. A cave, running under Rich mountain, has ex- cited some curiosity. I am informed, by Mr. Thompson, who has explored
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it, that it is one of the most magnificent caves in the country, as yet known. The ceiling, in some places, being so high, that the best torch light will not discover it; nor will a stone, thrown from the hand, reach it. A fine stream flows through it, in which fish are said to exist. It is nearly destitute of those rugged cliffs, usually to be found in such places.
During winter, vast numbers of bats (Oreillard insectivora) are to be seen; some, fastening themselves to the ceiling, are seized on by others, and these again by others, till they sometimes form lengthy bunches, re- sembling a swarm of bees after they have pitched. On placing the flame of a candle near them, they set up a piteous cry, which is generally plaintive enough to divert the destroyer's hand. It would be an endless task, to give a description of half the caves to be found in the county. There is much sameness about them. They are, frequently, the receptacle of vast numbers of human bones, of an extraordinary size, and thought to be those of an ex- tinct race, formerly inhabiting this region.
Stalacities* are usually found in these caves, many of which are beau- tiful. It is said that a cave, near Liberty Hill, exhibits the prints of human feet, in the solid rock: this may, or may not be true, for I have never had bravery enough to take pleasure in examining caverns. If they are really to be seen, I think they may be accounted for, by supposing that some miner, in search of niter, had entered and left his tracks upon the mould usually to be found in such places. The abundance of iron existing in some kinds of clay, seems to keep the lapidifying, or rock-making process, constantly pro- gressing, so that what were mere tracks in the clay, sixty years ago, may now be impressions in solid rock. In confirmation, I beg to mention the following incident, related to me by Mr. William Thompson, a worthy citizen of the county. In 1805, Mr. Thompson killed a snake, which was thrown in a hollow, or bottom, on a large, exposed stratum of rock. Heavy rains caused the submersion of the rock, and when the water dried up, it was found that the rock was covered several inches in clay. In 1813, or eight years after, the clay was washed off by heavy rains, and behold, there was the serpent, which had become a part of the rock, as may be seen to this day. I ask, if some of our scientific gentlemen had seen this snake, without know- ing the circumstances, would they not most likely have pronounced it an antediluvian work? That this conclusion of the present progress of lapid- ification is true, I offer another example. There are, in the northern part of the county, rocks bearing the impressions of buffalo tracks, too plain to be mistaken.
Petrifactions constitute no small share of our natural curiosities. I have elsewhere referred to a spring, in the northern part of the county, having the property of petrifying. In the western part of the county, about eighteen miles from Jeffersonville, is a location where great quantities of petrified turtles, snakes, lizards, etc., etc., are found. On the road leading to Abingdon, at what is known as Thompson's Gap, petrified or fossil ducks, frogs, and a variety of other reptiles were found, when grading the road across the mountain. Fossill remains are so abundant that it is useless to
* From stalazo, to drop. Water, holding lime in solution, drops regularly at one place, and deposits the lime in long rods, often hollow ; these are called stalactites.
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attempt to describe them. At Maiden Spring, on the lands of the Messrs. Bowens, are limestone rocks containing great quantities of fishes. I have in my possession the major part of a fish much resembling a dolphin, which is pure flint of hardest texture.
While searching for Indian paintings on Paint Lick mountain, in com- pany with Col. Rees T. Bowen, we discovered a thin stratum of Medina sandstone, composed almost entirely of fossil fucoids. The larger and less solid parts of the stems are not so well preserved. We traced the stratum about one and a half miles, along the mountain, and know not how much farther it may extend. I suppose the stratum to be about two hundred feet below the surface, with an inclination of 60°. It can be reached only by entering the clefts of the mountain. Myself and the Col. were fatigued, and accidentally sat down to rest near a cleft from which a few fragments of the rock had broken, and rolled down the mountain side. The discovery of a small piece, led us into the search; specimens of this rock may be seen in the cabinet of the Historical Society. As I have been often asked to account for this collection of fucoids, perhaps the most remarkable in the world, I beg to offer the following remarks, premising, that as I am not writing for the information of geologists in particular, I shall avoid technicalities:
Fucoides Harlani is only one species of the family Algea. It occurs almost invariably in, and is, therefore, a type of, Medina sandstone. The stratum here referred to, is found upon the ridge of the Alleghany or Appalachian chain of mountains during their whole course, and even further than these extend. It is to be found in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, N. Carolina, Georgia, and many other sections remote from this chain of mountains.
Let us suppose that at a remote period, the surface of the earth was nearly level, and, as is most likely true, the sea covered the continent, and that the Focoides Har- lani, which is a native of the sea (hence its common name, seaweed), was beaten down by the force of the waves, or dying, became specifically too heavy to keep upon the surface. It was then deposited on the bottom of the sea, and other matter deposit- ing itself over this, it became lapidified ; and upon the lapidification of other strata, in the course of a long series of years, the Fucoides Harlani became an under stratum ; and hence we find it now deep in the bowels of the earth. Then, the same convulsion of nature which caused the upheaving of the mountains, raised this stratum to its present elevated position, which is about 1400 feet above the bed of the Clinch river.
CHAPTER XVI.
WATERS.
The waters of Tazewell are both numerous, and of fine quality. White, blue, red, salt, sweet and warm sulphur springs; chalybeate, iodureted, car- bonated, alum, lime, and freestone springs are abundant. Perhaps no county in the state exhibits such a variety of waters as this; yet so little has been done to inform the valetudinarian of our mineral waters, that they are almost a useless appendage to our county. In truth, mineral waters are so com- mon, that it excites no interest to speak of them. Only a few of our springs have been analyzed, a circumstance to be regretted.
The Tazewell White Sulphur springs, now owned by Thos. H. Gillespie, are four miles west of Jeffersonville. Those wishing to spend a season in retirement, can find no more suitable place than at the Tazewell White Sulphur. When I say retirement, I do not mean that they will see no one else, or never hear the enlivening ring of the violin, for a considerable number are to be found here every season; the dance is assumed at the pleasure of the company; in fact, most amusements usually found at watering-places, are here offered to the visitor. But the visitors are mostly ladies and gentle- men from the adjoining counties, who are seeking to restore lost health, rather than to find pleasure. The little expense, the good fare, the beauty of the mountain scenery, the purity and salubrity of the air, the excellent quality of the water, and conveniences of the establishment, render it at once attractive to the valetudinarian.
Six miles east of Jeffersonville, are Taylor's springs. Here, as at the Holston springs, are a variety of waters; six kinds, clearly different, rise from as many springs within a few feet of each other.
There is a spring in Baptist valley, about eighteen miles west of the C. H., belonging to Mr. Spotts, somewhat impregnated with alum. When I examined this spring, it had but a short time before been cleaned out, and had rather an earthy taste-the water is strongly tinctured with iron, a circumstance which has led some to question the existence of alum in it at all. There is, however, a small quantity of alum, yet not enough to render the springs notable.
A spring, said to contain iodine, rises upon the lands of Mr. Crockett, near Jeffersonville.
A sweet spring, without any trace of sulphur, but containing much iron, breaks out from the south side of Clinch mountains, in the Poor valley; but as few know even its location, its medicinal properties have not been pro- perly tested. It is known to be highly cathartic, and my guide to its lo- cation, declares it cured him of dropsy when the physicians failed. It was a very cold day in winter, and the snow falling fast, when I visited it, so my observations were imperfect.
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Springs slightly salty are so common, that no attention has been paid to them. Their existence might yet prove to be the index to the existence of vast quantities of salt.
I am informed by Mr. Wynn, that a warm spring gushes from the base of Round mountain, in the south-east corner of the county, and that on the summit of the mountain, there is a spot the temperature of which is so high, that snow never lies on it half an hour after its fall, and generally melts while falling.
That kind of water used for culinary and ordinary purposes, is more important, however, to the people of the county, than any other; I mean the common blue limestone. This kind of water is used in all parts of the county, except that which is drained by the Sandy river. This blue limestone water has only one objection: it is rather hard, and is thought by some, to operate to the injury of both the digestive and urinary organs. (See further remarks upon this opinion, in the chapter on General Health.)
The springs usually have a temperature of 45° to 50° Fahr., during the summer, and about the same in winter. The average for a summer and a winter month was 49° Fahr. Except in a few instances, the occur- rence of heavy rains, seems to affect the amount of water discharged, slightly. I think that the quantity of lime in our water is, perhaps, less than in some other sections in the south-west. To the taste, no water can excel ours; it is true that when persons formerly in the habit of using free- stone water, commence using ours, it proves pleasantly aperient; this is owing to the presence of magnesia.
HEALTH OF TAZEWELL.
This county is not at present so healthy as one would suppose from its character in other respects. This, I imagine, may be easily accounted for. One of the most prominent causes of disease in any mountain country, where disease prevails, will be found to be the want of comfortable build- ings. Some are too close-others too open-others want light, and others are too damp. The country being incapable of producing malaria, is, of course, exempt from miasmatic diseases. The only disease worth of particular notice, is what is known among our physicians as typhoid fever, but which will most generally answer to some form of pneumonia. It seems to be generated entirely from exposure, and does not assume a serious form except in inclement seasons.
Here is to be met with a greater variety of diseases than I have any- where seen. The quality of the water may account for the numerous cases arising from derangement of the digestive apparatus. I know that my position will be disputed by those who have cherished, from their cradles, the idea that no waters are so healthy as those of the mountains; yet, this should not prevent me from stating my opinions, and the reasons why I entertain them.
There are living in the town of Jeffersonville, five physicians, who get a reasonable amount of practice; and, so far I have conversed with them, they all declare, that if the diseases arising from the digestive ap-
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paratus be discarded, that there will not remain sufficient practice for two of the five. Now what should impair the digestion in this region more than any other, if it be not the water?
That this county, naturally, is superlatively healthy, no one will doubt; and as soon as a little more attention is paid to the laws of life, and the quality of our mountain water, we may expect to see a decided improvement. It is high time that my brethren of the grade-glass and mortar, were investigating this subject.
CHAPTER XVII.
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
Under such a general head, I could say but little for the information of my readers, I shall therefore, introduce several subjects, properly be- longing to this place. And I must ask such of the sons and daughters of the noble people whose habits form a theme for my pen, who are either vain or proud, to forgive me for exhibiting their fathers and mothers, in such a light as I necessarily must. I too, am of these people, and hope I am as sensitive of my ancestors, as the vainest or the proudest.
The people of all mountain-countries have some customs peculiarly their own. The same pastoral simplicity which characterizes the people of the Scotch highlands, the mountainous regions of Europe, and the hill country of ancient Judea, may be here clearly traced. The same industry, love for stock, determination to be free, hatred of oppression, pure senti- ment, etc., are found here.
DRESS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS.
That worn by the men, has already been described; that worn by the women, is well described by Dr. Doddridge, in the words, "linsey coats and bedgowns," which he says "were the universal dress of women in early times," and further suggested "that they would make a strange figure at the present day."
The garments made in Augusta, Botetourt, and other older settle- ments,, had worn out, and a different material was brought into use. The weed now known among us as wild nettle (Urtica dioica), then furn- ished the material which served to clothe the persons of our sires and dames. It was cut down while yet green, and treated much in the same manner in which flax is now treated. The fibrous bark, with the exception of the shortness of the fibers, seemed to be adapted to the same uses. When this flax, if I may so term it, was prepared, it was mixed with buffa- lo hair and woven into a substantial cloth, in which the men and women were clothed. It is a true maxim, "necessity is the mother of invention."
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