USA > Virginia > Tazewell County > Tazewell County > History of the Settlement and Indian Wars of Tazewell County, Virginia: With a Map, Statistical. > Part 14
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The identical spot on which Henry was buried, could not be marked for a number of years- a few years ago, a grave was opened near the supposed place, which accidentally proved to be the very spot on which Henry was buried, which was known from the presence of boards or puncheons, which had been substituted for a coffin, and the identical button through which the fatal ball passed. The button is now in possession of some one in this county.
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DEATH OF GILBERT.
DEATH OF GILBERT.
In the latter part of the summer of 1792,* Maj. Robert Crockett of Wythe, county, was informed that a considerable band of Indians had been seen in the settlement on the Clinch, endeavoring to steal horses, but had not at that time succeeded. He immediately raised a company of forty, and went in pursuit of them, thinking it likely that he should fall in with them as they were leaving the settlement with their booty.
He found their trail, over which they had but a short time passed, and having no doubt of the route which they would take, concluded that it would be an easy matter to come up with them that night. Being short of provisions, he stopped and ordered the men to separate in pairs, and try to kill a few deer. They were to hunt but two hours when the march was to be resumed.
Joseph Gilbert, and Samuel Lusk, acting as spies, were ordered to keep on and carefully note every sign, and in case they found the Indians, to return and give information. These two men were noted spies, and had often served together. They continued on the trail for about an hour, when they came upon a lick at which the Indians, who were also in need of provisions, lay concealed, waiting for the deer or elk which frequented it.
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* I say, that this circumstance took place in the latter part of the summer, not because I was so informed, but from circumstances equally conclusive. The date furnished me was simply 1792, but it will be scen that the Indians were engaged in catching the young of the otter (Lutre vulgaris), which do not bring forth their young, till late in the summer .- (See Goldsmith and American Zoologist).
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DEATH OF GILBERT.
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The Indians fired, missing Gilbert but wounding Lusk in the hand. Gilbert turned to run, and had made off a few yards, when Lusk called to him to return and save him, if possible. The affectionate tone in which this appeal- was uttered, fired the manly heart of Gilbert, who turned about and shot the nearest Indian, who fell upon the spot. The Indians closed in upon him as he stood over the body of Lusk, who had fainted from loss of blood, but dropping his gun, he drew his heavy hunting-knife, and fell to upon the naked bodies of his enemies with such spirit, that the Indians no longer dared to approach within reach of his arm. Keeping out of his reach, they began to hurl their tomahawks at him with such force and accuracy, that he soon lay dead on the earth by the side of his now reviving companion. The wounded hand of Lusk was immediately cared for by the Indians, who after scalping Gilbert, commenced a rapid march for the Ohio. The firing was too far off to give Maj. Crockett any warning of what was going on; but when the two hours had expired, he took up the line of march and followed on after his spies. When they arrived at the lick, they found the body of Gilbert, and pushed on with all. possible speed, after burying him near the bank of the creek which now bears his name, but could not come up with the Indians.
The Indians told Lusk, whom they took prisoner, and who' returned in a short time, that if Maj. Crockett had not stopped to hunt, he must have cut them to pieces, as they were, but_a few moments before they came to the lick, en-
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MASSACRE OF THE KUARK FAMILY.
gaged in catching young otters, their arms in the meantime lying on a little knoll several rods from them.
MURDER OF WILLIAM WHITLEY.
William Whitley lived in Baptist valley, and had been out on a bear hunt. He came home, and finding that a choice dog was gone, started the following morning to look for him. The day passed off and he did not return. His family be- came uneasy, and a company started out to hunt for him. They had not gone far, however, when they met a man named Scaggs, who had passed a murdered man at the mouth of Dick's Creek. The company pushed on and identified the man to be Whitley. He was dreadfully mutilated - his bowels torn out and stretched upon the bushes, his heart in one place, and liver in another. A hole was opened, and the fragments gathered up and interred. This happened in 1786.
MOFFIT'S CHILDREN CAPTURED.
Capt. Moffit lived near Clinch river, on the plantation now owned by Kiah Harman. Two of his children were attend- ing to a sugar camp, when they were captured and taken off to the Indian towns in the west. Whether the boys ever got back is unknown, as Captain Moffit soon afterward moved to Kentucky, where some of his descendants still reside.
MASSACRE OF THE ROARK FAMILY.
James Roark lived at the gap of the dividing ridge, be- tween the waters of the Clinch and Sandy rivers, through
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247
RAY FAMILY.
which passed the Dry Fork road, and which has since been known as Roark's Gap. Early in 1789, a band of Shawa- noe Indians left their homes in the west, and ascending the Dry fork, fell upon the defenseless family of Mr. Roark, and killed his wife and several children. Two sons and Mr. Roark were from home, and, it may be, thus saved their own lives, as the Indians were rather numerous to have been beaten off by them, even if they had been at home.
This is the only instance that I have met with, of the Indians visiting the settlements of Tazewell before the winter had clearly broken. There was a heavy snow upon the ground at this time.
From this time forward, the Roarks became the deadly enemies of the Indians, and sought them, even beyond the limits of the county. Mr. Roark and one of his sons (John), were afterward killed in a battle, fought at what was then known as the Station bottom, within the present limits of Floyd county, Kentucky.
RAY'S FAMILY KILLED.
I have been unable to learn anything of the particulars of this occurrence, more than the bare fact, that Joseph Ray and his family were killed by the Indians, on Indian Creek, in 1788 or '9. It is from this circumstance that Indian Creek has taken its name.
DANIEL HARMAN KILLED.
Daniel Harman left his house, on the head of Clinch, on a fine morning in the fall of 1791, for the purpose of
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248 DIALS AND THOMAS.
killing a deer. Where he went, for that purpose, is not known, but having done so, he started for home with the deer fastened to the cantle of his saddle. Harman was a great hunter, and owned a choice rifle, remarkable for the 'beauty of its finish, and the superior structure of its trig- gers, which were, as usual, of the double kind. So strong was the spring of these, that when sprung, the noise might be heard for a considerable distance. He was riding a large horse, fleet, and spirited, and had got within a mile of home, and was passing through a bottom, near the present residence, and on the lands of Mr. William O. George, when suddenly a party of Indians sprang from behind a log, and fired on him. He was unhurt, and putting spurs to his horse, away he went through the heavy timber, forgetting all other danger, in his precarious situation. On he went, but his horse, passing too near a tree, struck the rider's knee, breaking his leg, and throwing him from his horse. In a few minutes the savages were upon him, and with their tom- ahawks, soon put an end to his sufferings. The horse con- tinued his flight till he got to the house, at which were several of the neighbors, who immediately went to look after Harman. Passing near the Indians, they heard the click of Harman's well-known trigger. A panic struck the men, and running in zigzag lines, they made a rapid retreat, leaving the Indians to silently retrace their steps from the settlement.
DIALS AND THOMAS KILLED.
.. On the 11th of April, 1786, Matthias Harman and Bem-
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jamin Thomas, returning from a spying expedition, stopped at John Peery's, where there lived a man, named Dials, who kept liquor for sale. The three (Harman, Thomas, and Di- als) were soon under its influence, and the two who had just . returned from the woods, being hungry, asked Mrs. Dials for dinner, which she promised to furnish if they would get some wood with which to cook it. Dials and Thomas started for that purpose, leaving Harman at the house. When they got to the mouth of the lane, which was about two hundred yards from the house, they were fired upon by a party of six or seven Indians. Three of the balls entered Dial's body, who fled toward the house, and a warrior after him. The Indian pressed him so close, that in catching at him, he suc- ceeded in drawing Dial's shirt from his pantaloons. The In- dian, finding that there were men at the house, gave up the chase and joined his companions at the mouth of the lane. Dials fell against the chimney corner and died in a few hours.
When the Indians fired, it seems that only one attempted to shoot Thomas, and he was so close that Thomas struck up his gun as he fired, and the ball entered an oak high above his head. He was, however, knocked down with a war-club, by another Indian, scalped, and left for dead. Harman, who was getting boozy enough to feel brave, ran out, mounted his horse, and pursued the Indians a short distance, challenging them to stop and fight. This they declined, and made off as rapidly as possible.
Thomas was left on the battle-ground till next morning, ..
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ENGLISH FAMILY.
when William Wynn found him, and took him to his fort, where he survived seven days. It seems a little strange that a wounded man should be left out all night; but he was supposed to be dead, and it was not necessary to disturb him till assistance could be got to bury him ; and this could not be done sooner than the following day. Within the sound of one's voice, several hundred might now be collected. on the spot in a few hours, but this is the year of our Lord 1852.
CAPTURE AND MASSACRE OF THE ENGLISH FAMILY.
In the spring of 1787, a small company of Shawanoe Indians entered Burk's Garden, through Wolf creek Gap, and attacked the family of Thomas English, who, at the time, resided upon the plantation now owned by John Thomp- son. Mr. English being absent, the Indians easily succeeded in taking Mrs. English and her children prisoners. Not long after the Indians had left the house, Mr. English returned, and, as he was passionately devoted to his family, made every possible exertion to get a company to go in pursuit of the Indians. His movements were so rapid, that by sunset, the same day, he and his party were fairly in pursuit. Night came on ; but still the frantic husband and his brave com- panions pushed on. They came up with the Indians at about eleven o'clock at night. One of the men, named Thomas Maxwell, had on a white hunting-shirt, which English de- sired him to pull off; telling him that he would become a mark for the Indian rifles. He refused to do so, and de- clared his willingness to die. As soon as the Indians found
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251
JOHN DAVIDSON KILLED.
that the whites were in pursuit, they quickened their pace. English, who had been a prisoner among them, and speak- ing their language, bantered them to stop and fight him; all to no purpose, however, for as soon as they entered Max- well's Gap they charged the Indians, who fired in return, upon the whites, doing no injury, however, to any except to Maxwell, whose white hunting-shirt had furnished a target amid the surrounding darkness. Hence the name of the gap in which this scene transpired.
The Indians, finding themselves pressed, killed one child, scalped another, and also Mrs. English.
Mrs. English and her mangled child were brought back to William Wynn's fort, where they received such attendance as was necessary. The child died the next day, but Mrs. Eng- lish recovered, and raised a small family afterward.
JOHN DAVIDSON KILLED.
At what precise time this occurrence took place I have not been able to learn. It is supposed to have occurred sometime in 1789-'90. Mr. Davidson was on his way home from & trip to Rockingham county, whither he had been on business, and had got as far back as to where John D. Peery now lives when he was killed by a band of Indians. The circum- stances of his murder, were told to some prisoners who had been taken from this county, and who were then among the Indians. It seems that Mr. Davidson had stopped at an old cabin to feed his horse and rest himself, when the Indians fired on him. The Indians say, a white man was with them,
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252 SKIRMISH AT THE ISLANDS OF GUYANDOTTE.
and that they found in his saddlebags a considerable sum of specie. ·
A few days after his son, Col. Davidson, became uneasy on account of his absence, and raising a small company went in search of him. Luckily, when they got to the cabin, they found a hatband, which, being of peculiar structure, was recognized as that worn by Mr. Davidson. After consider- able search, his body was found stripped of clothing, and somewhat disfigured by birds.
As the Indians had been too long gone to be overtaken, Mr. Davidson was taken home and buried.
SKIRMISH AT THE ISLANDS OF GUYANDOTTE.
The Indians, in visiting the frontier settlements, had several objects in view; among which horse-stealing was an important one. It is true, that the Indians rarely failed to kill the whites when suitable opportunities were offered, but at the same time, it must be acknowledged that a fine horse was valued nearly as much as a scalp. And it was not unusual that the Indians spared the life of a few persons to get a drove of horses for the Canada markets. Companies starting on a horse-stealing expedition, were usually larger and better provided with provisions than the predatory bands which killed, or carried into captivity, the first settlers or their families.
Such a company made a descent upon the settlement of Bluestone, and on the head of Clinch in 1790, and after col- lecting about eighty horses, started for their towns in the
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SKIRMISH AT THE ISLANDS OF GUYANDOTTE.
west. A hunter came upon their camp on the first night, which was but a short distance from the settlement, and hastened to give the alarm at the forts and stations. A large company from Bluestone, and another from the head of Clinch, were ready to go in pursuit by twelve o'clock the next day. They made forced marches, and came up with them about one o'clock at night, at what is called the Islands of Guyandotte. Some of the whites were for attacking them immediately, and others wished to wait till morning, when they might see. While thus in parley, the Indians in the meantime apparently preparing for some movement, a horse neighed; in a moment a fire was opened upon them, but to no effect. The Indians raised a yell, secured a few of the horses and fled, leaving a good breakfast, and several dozen pairs of moccasins to be taken home as trophies by the whites. The breakfast of bears' meat and turkey, was con- sumed by the whites, whose appetites were too keen to suffer themselves to enter into speculation as to the probable nicety of their runaway cooks.
CHAPTER VIII.
MOTIVES FOR WAR ON THE PART OF THE INDIANS.
Ir is a melancholy fact, which cannot be denied, that almost every American -every man, who has any idea of the principles of abstract justice-must, and generally does, acknowledge that the Indians have been badly treated, and
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254 MOTIVES FOR WAR ON THE PART OF THE INDIANS.
have ever had sufficient cause for making war upon the whites. Though the whites may not have made the first assault directly, yet they did indirectly. They came to their shores from countries where nations fought for conquest; and con- quest was the avowed object of all the expeditions of dis- covery, from the time of the Genoese navigator to that of Raleigh.
Yes, they came as friends, but claimed the privilege of taking from the poor native, everything which he possessed if found valuable. A few valueless beads were given to the simple native in exchange for fortunes that princes might envy. The whites made settlements upon the lands of these people, and even tried to subject them to the chains of bondage; and when opposed by these natural republicans-fired by a patri- otic love of country, home, and the graves of their ances- tors-war! war to the knife, was opened upon them.
These people possessed sagacity enough to see, that a final obliteration of their race must be the result, and accordingly took such steps as their savage nature suggested, to prevent the catastrophe.
They waged a cruel war-which was returned with as much or more cruelty by the whites. The Indians waged a war for home-for wives-children-the tombs of their fathers, and their hunting-grounds. The cruel manner in which the whites were sometimes killed, did not justify a Christian people to wage a similar war, and butcher their victims in a like manner.
In most atrocities, in early warfare, by the Indians, the
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MOTIVES FOR WAR ON THE PART OF THE INDIANS. 255
cause came indirectly from the whites, who kept their wigwams in a state of riot by intoxicating liquors, of the excitement of which, the Indian as well as the white-man was fond; and when under its terrifying influence the Indian committed a depredation, the white-man was sure to repay it with a vengeance calculated to inflame the already over-excited re- sentment of the injured and insulted child of nature. All acknowledged that before the year 1492, the Indians owned every foot of land from the North Sea, to Cape Horn, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean; and that now, they do not own a foot which can be called their own. It will be said that the lands were purchased from the Indians: I answer by asking, What equivalent did they receive ? they did not receive the value of a grain of wheat to the acre. Would the sale be a valid one in an American court of justice ? No, the truth is, that the principle on which this land was bought, was to blind the eyes of the world, and did not show any desire on the part of our government, or the governments of Great Britain or Spain, to give the ignorant red-man a fair valuation of his lands. The sum required to do this, was forty-eight billions of dollars, or forty-eight thousand millions a sum greater than all Europe was ever able to pay. For the ten or twenty millions paid the Indians, the whites have received seven fold from them in the shape of exchanges for valueless beads, etc.
It is said by a wise philosopher, that "intellect is universal in its application, it may become the handmaid of any of the faculties." In this instance it seems to have been the instru-"
256 MOTIVES FOR WAR ON THE PART OF THE INDIANS.
ment by which the base passion of avarice sought satia- tion. And so the Indians now feel: in illustration I may be excused for here introducing a speech delivered at Fort Wayne in 1803, by an Indian chief, perhaps Laulewasikaw, the notori- ous prophet and brother to Tecumseh, the Tippecanoe warrior.
"The Master of Life," said he, "who was himself an Indian, made the Shawanoes before any other of the human race; and they sprang from his brain; he gave them all the knowledge he himself possessed, and placed them upon the great island, and all the other red people descended from the Shawanoes. He made the French and English out of his breast, the Dutch out of his feet, and the Long-knives (Virgin- ians) out of his hands. All these inferior races of men he made white and placed them beyond the stinking lake (Atlantic Ocean). The Shawanoes continued for many ages to be masters of the continent, using the knowledge they had re- ceived from the Great Spirit in such a manner as to be pleasing to Him, and to secure their own happiness. In & great length of time, however, they became corrupt, and the Master of Life told them he would take away from them the knowledge which they possessed, and give it to the white people, to be restored when, by a return to good principles they should deserve it. Many ages after that, they saw something white approaching their shores; at first they took it for a great bird, but they soon found it to be a monstrous canoe, filled with those who had got the knowledge which belonged to the Shawanoes. After these white people landed, they were not content with having the knowledge which
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MOTIVES FOR WAR ON THE PART OF THE INDIANS. 257
belonged to the Shawanoes, but they usurped their lands also: they pretended indeed to have purchased these lands; but the very goods they gave for them, were more the property of the Indians than the white people, because the knowledge which enabled them to manufacture these goods, actually belonged to the Shawanoes: but these things will soon have an end. The Master of Life is about to restore to the Shawa- noes both their knowledge and their rights, and he will trample the Long-knives under his feet."*
Tecumseh said to Gen. Harrison that, "the Americans had driven the Indians from the sea-coast, and would soon push them into the lakes," and that he as one was, "resolutely de- termined to take a stand, and prevent, if possible, the farther encroachment of the whites upon the Indian lands."t
It was this idea of knowledge and Christianity, being the instruments of torture and oppression, that drew from the lips of the St. Domingo chief, Hautey, the memorable remark which has portrayed so much truth in so few words. Having fled from St. Domingo to escape the oppression of the Spaniards, he was captured and ordered to be burned alive: this order was given by the governor of Cuba, Velasquez. When urged at the stake to embrace Christianity, he inquired if the white men would go to heaven? on being answered in the affirmative, he replied, "then I will not be a Christian; for I would not go again to a place where I must find men so cruel."}
* Life of Tecumseh. t Dawson. # Las Casas, in an article describing the cruelties of his countrymen in New World, and quoted by Prescott in his conquest of Mexico. 17
258 MOTIVES FOR WAR ON THE PART OF THE INDIANS.
Were I sent forth to find men true and brave, I know of none to whom I should go sooner than to the Indians. Were their deeds of heroism emblazoned upon the page of un- fading history, a brighter light could not be cast upon the works of God.
I have been induced to make these remarks to mitigate, in a measure, the feelings that must have been harrowed up, by the perusal of the massacres contained in the last few chap- ters. I may be accused of being over-partial to the Indians; but I cannot persuade myself that such is the case, or that I have said one word too much for them, nay, rather do I feel my inability to do justice to the lords of the American forest, with whom, the proudest of the proud, might seek an alliance.
The day of trial to the poor Indian has not yet passed, the whites are yearly encroaching upon the territory set apart for their residence by the general government. Lawless men, who seek only self aggrandizement, are daily insinuating themselves among the Indians, and selling to them intoxicat- ing liquors-destroying not only life, but domestic peace, and fitting the poor savages for the commission of deeds which will bring vengeance upon their heads.
If this custom is not arrested, we may expect to see the Indians continue to dwindle away before the now powerful, but ungrateful offspring of their guests, driven hither by op- pression, but a few hundred years ago. That all deplore this fact, who suffer themselves to reflect for a moment, none will deny. We seldom meet with an individual who is so
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dishonest as to claim that justice has been done the Indians even by historians.
With pleasure we recount the deeds of the heroes of past ages-each striving to color them highest-but amid all our labors, few wield the pen to perpetuate the deeds of heroism acted by the many brave warriors who have figured among the American Indians. Why is this? Ahl the answer is plain- it requires much labor, and does not pay so well as those labors which are bestowed on a familiar theme. Hannibals or Napoleons may not have led their hosts of red-men to the battle-fields in the forests of America; but men with the patriotism of a Washington, have fallen battling for their homes. How many must be the daring feats which have been performed by these brave people; and how pure were those emotions which actuated the Indian father to leave his home, and all its endearments, to repel the advancing foe! How devoted must have been that Indian mother to the land in which reposed the bones of her boy ! for it has not yet been proved, that civilization and love are inseparable.
It may be, that the obliteration of the Indian race, was but the working of an allwise Providence, and if so, then none will complain. But that they might have been civilized, and brought to an understanding of the truth of Christianity, is proved beyond & doubt, by the present condition of, the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes. In college, the Indian boy has not been found deficient; nor can I subscribe to the opinion, sometimes expressed, that they are an inferior race of men. Circumstances have conduced to make them such ---
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260 MOTIVES FOR WAR ON THE PART OF THE DIDIANS.
but instances have not been wanting, where the unfavorable conditions have been removed, of great depth of mind, and general vivacity of intellectual powers, having been exhibited by the North American Savages.
It is a remarkable fact, that most of the tribes or fragments of tribes of North American Indians are but little more ad- vanced than they were centuries ago. The Indians of the west, still hunt with the bow and arrow, and make war with the lance and shield. Their religion, manners and customs, have under- gone little change for three hundred years. The same vague superstitions-the same stupid ignorance-the same mutual dissensions which have ever been the barriers to their pros- perity, yet exist-a few tribes, originally settled east of the Mis- sissippi river, have become somewhat civilized, and Christian- ized; but the greater portion of the western Indians are still savages. The labors of Christian missionaries have been too confined and cramped, to accomplish what we could have wished to see.
But surely, the Christian denominations, if not the general government will take some steps to reclaim this lost people. The more we learn of them, the more we find to admire. Then how noble would be the labor of a life among them, thet their full history might now be saved, and not perish, as it will most likely, without exertions, in less than two centu- ries, when not one representative of these once powerful people will exist, to remind us of their ancestors-our bene- factors.
Who is he that would not contribute something to the
MOTIVES FOR WAR ON THE PART OF THE INDIANS. 261
cause of education-one of the first steps to civilization- among the poor ignorant savages of the western wilds? Surely, if such a man lives, he will not let his existence be known.
The day is coming when the western wilds must be con- verted into happy homes, and if the red-man who now occu- pies them is not first taught to fill the injunction laid upon Adam, he must go the way of his ancestors and be no more known among the nations of the earth.
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IT was originally my intention to have traced the personal history of most of the early settlers of this county; but I found that to do the subject anything like justice, it would swell the volume beyond what had been contemplated. Few of the early settlers, it is true, attained anything like political eminence; yet, taking into consideration the surrounding circumstances, we find much to admire in the characters of many of these men. Their devotion to the country, their heroic deeds during the frontier wars, their isolated con- dition, and manliness of character exhibited by them, deeply impress us with the most profound respect for men, who gave up all the ease and safety of more cultivated sections, and braved the terrors of the forest and its inmates, to pro- cure for their sons and daughters, homes in the virgin lands of ancient XUALA.
From a few of the early settlers have sprung most of the citizens of the county. The Harmans, Peerys, Gillespies, and Wittens, are most numerous. I am of the opinion, that it would be better if the line of relationship was less distinctly drawn than it is; for it sometimes occurs, that political excite- ment is carried too far, in consequence of different views (263)
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taken by these large connections. Even among themselves, it is sometimes a serious evil. If, for instance, a large con- nection wish to elect one of their number to an office, and a few members of that extended family secede from the com- mon interest, or join another party, they are cast off, and feelings of bitterness are ever after cherished. Now this would not be the case if this family feeling did not exist.
The many thousand anecdotes told of the early settlers, are worthy of insertion here, but as personal history, of which they are a part, my work would be swelled beyond its limits, and without them, the work will not fill quite as much space as I at first contemplated. Yet I imagine that when it is known that the incidents and facts herein contained are those of a single county, the work will be looked on as complete.
Many general facts, which would be suitable to the history of a state, are not suitable to this work-especially when this is regarded as a part of a great work which will be the complete history of south-western Virginia. I do not mean to say that I shall write a history of each county in south- western Virginia in a separate volume, for there are eighteen of these counties, and the work would be much too large. But I shall get the work. up in about five volumes, each a complete history of a particular section .- From these five, a condensed work of two volumes will be written for general circulation. The next book in the series will embrace the Clinch valley, or the counties of Russell, Scott, and Lee. The third, will embrace the history of Washington, Smythe, Car-
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roll, and Grayson; the fourth will embrace Wythe, Mont- gomery, Floyd, Giles, and Monroe. The fifth, will embrace the counties of Mercer, Wyoming, Fayette, Logan, Raleigh, Boone, Kanawha, and Cabell.
That this region is unknown, will be shown when the con- templated work is completed. As stated elsewhere in this book, many traditions of the early settlement of the south-west may now be gathered and placed upon record, but which in a few years will be irretrievably lost. That the work may not be delayed, I respectfully ask the friends of the enter- prise, to commence now and gather such traditions and facts as may be known to exist, and forward them to my address (Jeffersonville, Tazewell county, Virginia). It is almost im- possible for one person to collect all the existing facts of such an extended district, in anything like a reasonable time, therefore, it is desirable to get as much assistance as possible. If the notes are taken and forwarded to the Jeffersonville Historical Society, they will be preserved, even though this extended history is not carried out by me. The day is fast approaching,.when the people of south-western Virginia, will take a prominent stand as patrons of literature; and such a labor will be appreciated. The car of progression is now moving on rapid wheels in south-western Virginia, and a few revolving years will present quite a different scene from the one of indifference now observable in this section. The intro- duction of steam as a motive power, and especially when applied to the rail-car, will introduce also a change in our manners and customs; our commercial operations will take
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on a different cast, and surely if any country needs the fostering hand of commerce and the arts, to reclaim it, ancient XUALA is the one.
When we shall have good agricultural schools established, and a spirit of inquiry shall have been awakened among us, the citizens of the surrounding states, and the eastern part of our own, will begin to look upon our land as something else than a bed of rugged mountains.
If nature may be said to have been partial to any county, it was to this. Here is one of the most salubrious climates in the world-water of the purest quality, and a soil naturally productive, and capable of being swelled, in its pro- ductive agency, to almost any extent. I say that the car of progression is in motion; this is plainly perceivable by any one who will examine the statistics of 1840, and of 1850. The increase of population for the last ten years, has been nearly seventy per centum ; while the increase in wealth has been more than 130 per centum. If this is not a sign of prosperity, what is ?
When geological surveys shall have been made by the state government, and the mineral wealth of this region be made known, the rush by our eastern brethren will not be for the western states, but the western part of their own. For the eastern Virginian, in leaving his plains for a new home in the mountains of Virginia, will not regard his steps as so many taken toward his grave, for he will know that here, care insures health. .
When our coal, gypsum, salt, lead, sulphur, iron, etc., shall
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be brought into market by numerous diverging railroads, and our lands are stocked with improved cattle, and horses, and tilled according to the laws of science, we may expect to see Virginia once more taking the stand she so long occupied- the first of states.
It has been the citizens of Virginia, who have built up so many of the western states. The tide of emigration is now checked, by the influence of a more liberal constitution; and it is to be hoped, as is really the case, that her sons, as way- ward children, will soon be seen returning to their homes, to cultivate and make bloom the land of their nativity.
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Miss Sue A bitch field Miss Sur Il kite hifield
3 2044 014 788 145
Book
RETURNED "TO THE LIBRARY"
BEFORE THE LAST DATE STAMI
BELOW. NON-RECEIPT OF OVERI
NOTICES DOES NOT EXEMPT T BORROWER FROM OVERDUE FEES.
2 MAR 2 2 1982
ri-
G
1082
CICS
3363
L
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