USA > West Virginia > Preston County > A History of Preston County, West Virginia, V.1 > Part 4
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'Of them it can be frankly asserted that they may have been equaled but could not have been excelled for strict integrity and pure old genuine honesty. For the past fifty years all of those who settled here previous to 1800 have been walking on 'the bright golden plane.' There is not one of their children at this time but has left a thrifty lot of descendants with nice farms and good, neat dwellings. Their Switzer barns are among the best of the 120 that have been erected in Union district."
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In the center of Union are the twin villages of Aurora and Carmel. Four miles east is Eglon, and two miles west is the hamlet of Amboy. Amblersburg, a railroad hamlet, lies in the northwest, and Brookside, almost purely a summer resort, lies a mile east of Aurora.
The district of Reno was named for the gallant Federal leader who was killed in 1862 at the battle of South Mountain. In form it is rectangular, its dimensions being nine miles from north to south and nine to twelve from east to west. In size it is almost equal to Portland, and in 1890 it was the most populous district. Since then it has been slightly eclipsed by Portland. There are other points of resemblance between these districts besides those of size and population. Each is bisected by a mountain range, each is higher toward the east, and each has streams flowing in opposite directions. But as a whole, Reno lies at a lower level and does not present the same con- trasts in altitude. The surface is very hilly and is destitute of glade. Yet the agricultural capibilities are not inferior to those of any other district. In the west is a fine coal field, as yet undeveloped.
The people of Reno are of a composite stock, and the German ele- ment is less conspicuous than anywhere in the East Side. Somewhat curiously the population is in part derived from an early sub-immigra- tion from the north of the county. The separated branches are at the present time but little in touch with one another.
The Northwestern Pike, which bisects this district also, was a great developing force toward the middle of the last century. It created the villages of Fellowsville and Evansville, and although these have fallen from their early estate, the steel track parallels the old road at a distance of only four miles, and being so near has forestalled any retrogression of the district.
Rowlesburg, the largest place in Reno, lies on the Cheat in the ex- treme east. Besides the small villages of Fellowsville and Evansville, there are the hamlets of Marquess and Colebank, the latter lying on the Barbour line. A portion of Tunnelton, though little of the business quarter, lies also in Reno and in the rear are suburban clusters of houses. The chief of these is the hamlet of Denver. On the northern edge of the district are portions of West End and Austin, the railroad being for several miles the Reno boundary.
Lyon district was named after General Nathaniel Lyon, an energetic and promising officer who fell in 1861 at the battle of Wilson's Creek in Missouri. Had he lived he would doubtless have become one of the
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greatest commanders of the Federal army. This is the smallest of the eight districts, being only two-fifths as large as Portland Its length is eleven miles and its greatest breadth five. The shape is roughly that of a half moon. the diameter coinciding with the western line of the county. Likewise, the altitude of Lyon is less than that of any other district. Neither is the district entered or touched by any well defined mountain ridge. Yet the surface is generally very uneven. The smoothest por- tions are the pleateaus of Laurel Ridge in the southwest and Gladesville in the northwest.
A few settlers had come here before 1800, but until after the build- ing of the railroad, this locality was backward and thinly peopled. The deposits of coal and iron then caused Lyon to develop with rapidity, and to become the most industrialized of all the districts. In 1870 and again in 1880 it led in population. But mining at length ceased at Scotch Hill, Newburg, and Irondale, and was maintained only at Austin. In conse- quence, Lyon was at a standstill in 1890 and had lost ground in 1900. But the resumption of coal mining has nearly restored the census figures of 1890. The industrial operations made Lyon wealthy and gave it a high rank in educational matters.
The population, mainly at first of non-German colonial elements, be- came more diversified after the railroad arrived. Scotch hill derives its name from the Scotchmen who came to dig out its veins of Pittsburgh coal.
In consequence of the industrial character of Lyon there is here the largest proportion of town dwellers. For about half a century Newburg stood first in size among the towns of Preston, and continues to grow, though now surpassed by Terra Alta and Rowlesburg. Lyon also con- tains the railroad points of Independence, Austin, and Hiorra, as well as Victoria, formerly Irondale. Gladesville, the only inland village, is one of the largest of such places in the county.
Kingwood district, the only one which does not touch the county line, derives its name from the county seat. In shape it is an irregular oval, its dimensions being ten miles by six. On the east it is bordered by the Cheat, and on the south it is bordered in part by the Baltimore and Ohio track. It is traversed lengthwise, rather to the west of the center, by the western arm of Laural Hill. This wood-topped elevation covers much of the district, and having a light and rather sandy soil, it causes Kingwood to rank below the average in fertility. Toward the Cheat the surface is deeply fissured by the courses of Pringle's, Tray, Morgan's, Green's, and Laurel runs.
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The earlier settlers, very largely of British elements settled mainly on the river hills, along the oid Winchester and Clarksburg road, and in the valley of Bird's Creek. The elevated interior lay wild many years, finally being colonized by German and Irish Catholics from Europe. Other newcomers appeared in the south after the railroad came, though coal mining did not arise until within the present Industrial Period. As for the seat of local government, it drew its population from every quarter of the country, after the manner of all towns of its class.
The town of Kingwood is elsewhere described in detail. A large part of Tunnelton is also in the district, but until of late the only other centers were the railroad villages of Howesville and Anderson. To these are now added the mining points of Irona and Atlantic.
The district of Valley receives its name from the valley-like basin which occupies its center. Its shape is that of a triangle, the apex and one arm resting on the Monongalia line. The other arm first runs quite nearly with the almost imperceptible divide between the basins of Decker's Creek and the Three Fork. It then passes to the east of the western arm of Laurel Hill. The length of the district is eleven miles, and the base of the triangle, resting on the Cheat, follows that river an airline distance of eight miles.
The flat-topped highlands on either side of the district have a rather light and sandy soil. The basin of Decker's Creek, somewhat suggestive of a drained lake dotted with knob-like islands, has a dark soil and com- prises some of the very best lands of the county. The river-hill plateau which skirts the canyon of the Cheat likewise includes some lands of more than average fertility. The basin of Valley.is a good coal field as well as a good farming district.
Until the Industrial Period the people of Valley were chiefly the descendants of early settlers of British stock. Until the last census it was the least of the districts in point of population. Since then, thanks to the development of its coal deposits, it has leaped at one bound to the rank of fourth.
Until within the last dozen years, Valley possessed the little inland villages of Masontown and Reedsville. Both these are now important railroad towns, while between them is the mining village of Bretz.
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CHAPTER V.
INDIAN PERIOD
Fewness of the Aborigines - Their Great Antiquity - Prehistoric America - Indian Characteristics and Usages - Indian Paths - Indian Warfare - Attitude of Indian Toward the White.
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When the white man discovered the great country now known as the United States of America, it was tenanted only by the Red American race, popularly known as the Indian. Of these people there were many tribes, yet their numbers east of the Mississippi are supposed not to have exceeded 180,000 souls. These figures give us the impression of a great host. Yet if this native population had been dispersed evenly over the entire region, it would have supplied only one thousand families to all West Virginia, and only twenty-seven to all Preston county.
But as a matter of fact, the early explorers of the Mountain State found almost no natives residing in the portion west of the Alleghanies. It was indeed threaded by footpaths, yet the Indian used these trails only when in search of game or when passing through to attack the tribes beyond.
At first blush, this very scanty population would seem to indicate that the Indian had not been in the Western Hemisphere a long while. Yet a close look proves the very contrary.
In the eastern continent we know that tribe has constantly pressed against tribe and nation against nation. We are never able to tell when any certain one of its districts was first populated. And as we look back we sometimes find an inhabited region becoming almost a wilder- ness through war, famine, or pestilence. We have no right to suppose these facts have not been true of America as well. That West Virginia in general, and Preston in particular, have at some period or periods been permanently occupied, there is every reason to believe. Some considera- tions bearing on this matter will now be given.
In this county, and as is usually the case throughout the Eastern states, many arrowheads have casually been found. These weapons were tedious to make, and the proper material for them was not every- where to be found. They would not have been used wastefully. Their comparative abundance shows that the Indian has been in the land very many centuries.
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When the Preston area became known, it would appear that there were openings in the forest, particularly in the north of the county. These openings were of the same nature as the prairies found in the Shenandoah valley. They were of artificial origin and were maintained by burning the grass at the close of each hunting season. The readiest way in which such an opening could arise was when a village became deserted. By persistently firing the grass each year, the open spot would grow larger, even without the help afforded by girdling the forest trees. The purpose of these artificial prairies was to attract the buffalo and the deer.
The Appalachian prairie did not necessarily take its rise in every instance from a village clearing, and the occasional Indian grave does not necessarily point to anything more than the occasional death of a warrior or hunter. But when we find a large burial mound, we have quite strong evidence of a settled population. Such a spot is not suf- ficiently accounted for by the theory of a battle in the vicinity. The, warfare of the Indians was of the guerilla type, and the usual war party was a mere handful of men. The native burial mound grew in breadth and height in consequence of successive interments. Where we find such a mound it is almost certain evidence of an ancient village near by.
On the Goff bottom, seven miles above Rowlesburg, the pioneers found three burial mounds. On a ridge three miles east of Fellowsville is a mound which originally was twenty-five feet in diameter and fifteen feet high. One more lies near Pringle's Run, five miles south of King- wood, and there seems to be still another on Roaring Creek, two miles below Albright. On opening these tumuli, the bones of men, women and children were found at the base. The corpses were arranged in a circle, and were placed in a sitting posture with the feet pointing out- ward. The age of these mounds is very largely a matter of conjecture. It may be three centuries and it may be twenty. Contrary to what we might suppose, earthworks are very enduring, and the bones found in these prehistoric graveyards of Preston crumbled on exposure to the air.
But as there is an absence in this county of towers, flat-topped pyra- mids, and extensive ramparts, it would not appear that the resident native population was ever large at any time.
A local history is not the place for a long essay on archaeology. Yet to round out our discussion, we will now give a synopsis of prehistoric man in America.
The great number of the native tribes, the great differences among
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them in language and customs, and the profound unlikeness of their tongues to those of the Eastern continent, all go to show that the red man has been living here by himself a length of time that makes the voyage of Columbus seem as but an occurrence of yesterday. Because the Red American has an outward resemblance to the Mongolian, not- withstanding a sharp distinction in language, it has been assumed that America was peopled by way of the narrow Bering strait, a passage of water only thirty-six miles across. But if men could pass over it in the one direction, why could they not pass over it in the other? Indeed, the actual line of migration is now known to have been from America to Asia, and not from Asia to America. So as a practical question the human race is as old in the one continent as in the other.
When we take a glance at tropic America we find some facts which are startling in their suggestiveness. It is known that agriculture is very conservative. So far as we have definite knowledge, no important food plant has been developed within historic times. But the domesticated food plants of America are more numerous than those of the other hemi- sphere. Of those which through a very great lapse of time have become seedless, every one with possibly a single exception is native to America. The one seeming exception is the breadfruit tree of the islands in the South Pacific. Yet the breadfruit is closely related to the osage orange, an American tree. Through evidence like this we find that agriculture began in America. But civilization has nowhere developed without agri- culture. The general conclusion is that civilization as well as agriculture began in the warmer parts of this continent.
The Pacific in its center is the broadest of oceans, and at first glance it would seem a wild statement to assert that it must have been crossed many centuries before the time of Magellan. One strong evidence to this effect is found in the cocoanut. The palm tree which produces this nut is found on all the seacoasts of the tropics, but only as a domesticated plant. It will not shift for itself any better than Indian corn. It used to be thought the cocoanut palm had spread over the tropics through the floating of the nuts. But it is found that a soaking in sea water soon robs the nuts of their power to germinate. The only wild palms having any resemblance to the cocoanut are found in the extreme northwest of South America. It appears that the domesticated tree was carried thence to island after island until the Pacific was crossed. That such early feats were not at all impossible is evident from what the Polynesians could accomplish before they had either chart or compass. They made voyages of two thousand miles in their little vessels.
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The Chaldean civilization is the oldest in the Eastern continent and is traced back to an antiquity of nine thousand years. Yet legendary history indicates that civilization was brought by means of ships to the Persian gulf. When Columbus stumbled upon the islands of the Carib- bean, it would appear that civilization had made the circuit of the earth and come back to its starting point. In its deliberate journey it had scattered along its pathway a stock of folklore tales and curious myths, and the legend of an ocean encompassing the earth. These thus became the common property of the race. It is hardly reasonable to assume that stories practically alike should arise independently in many countries.
The lowlands of Yucatan and the highlands of Mexico became dotted with the stately ruins of stone buildings. Immigrants from that region crept around the Gulf of Mexico into the valley of the Mississippi. Here they tilled the soil, dug ditches, and threw up ramparcs and immense mounds. They now used earth, because rock was no. usually to be had. They were more numerous than the natives of the historic period. They were also more industrious and more given to agriculture. Yet they did not constitute a civilized empire, as was formerly supposed. They had no horses, cattle, or sheep, and no metallic implements except such as they hammered out of native copper. They gradually gave place to kindred tribes that were ruder than themselves and more warlike.
Overlooking the State Prison at Moundsville is a pyramid of earth covering an acre of ground and originally seventy-five feet high. The tribes found on the Ohio by the English and French would not and) could not have collected the two million cubic feet of earth which it took to build this mound. The forest screening it two centuries ago could not have been standing while the pyramid was rising. This artificial hill was undoubtedly built in the midst of an old clearing of great size.
But although the red man was not dwelling in Preston in the middle of the eighteenth century, he came here to hunt. He therefore claimed ownership of the soil, and viewed the white man as a trespasser. The natives who frequented this wilderness were the Mingoes and the Shaw- nees. The latter were few, yet very formidable. Both tribes are now reduced to remnants and live on little strips of land in the northeast corner of Oklahoma.
Unlike their descendants of today, the Mingoes and Shawnees of 1750 had thus far amalgamated with the whites in only a very trifling degree. The men were straight and supple, fleet of foot, of great capacity for enduring hunger and fatigue, yet inferior to the white in muscular
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development. They had keen, dark-brown eyes, coarse, lusterless black hair, and a cinnamon-brown skin, deepened in color by exposure to the weather. They were beardless, and allowed no hair to grow on the cranium except the long scalp-lock. The women were round-faced and had more plumpness of form.
It is an error to suppose the Indians of that period were without fixed homes. Each tribe held a region with definite boundaries. For another people to encroach on this line was a cause for war. Yet the Indian had no knowledge of territorial citizenship. A Shawnee was a Shawnee whether dwelling on the Potomac or the Ohio. He could not see why a Marylander should call himself a Virginian simply by moving across a river. Hence there was no such thing among the Indians as private ownership of the soil. They held that the territory of a tribe be- longed to the tribe as a whole. The individual had a recognized right to the ground occupied by his hut and his truck patch, but only so long as he continued to use it. The red man had, in fact, a deep attachment to the region he called home. He would make a long and even dangerous journey for the satisfaction of seeing where his people had formerly lived and viewing the graves of his foreparents. This inclination led to the wanton murder of the last wild Indian who ventured into Preston.
The Indians lived wholly in villages and not in isolated homes. The village stood in a clearing and was surrounded by a small border of tilled land. The Indian hut was made of long poles driven into thel ground, the upper ends bent together and secured, and a covering of bark laid on. There were no openings except a place for going in and out, and a hole at the top to permit the escape of smoke. In the small, dark, and odoriferous interior, the inmates lay huddled during inclement weather or after a feast.
The art of weaving was unknown to these tribes, their clothing being made of the skins of animals tanned by a simple process. Decorations of feathers, beads and other trinkets were much in use. Implements were laboriously fashioned from stone or bone. They had baskets, and also pottery, but the latter was not proof against a hot fire, water being boiled by dropping heated stones into a vessel. Their canoes were logs hol- lowed out with their stone hatchets and with the help of fire.
Custom took the place of law and was rigidly obeyed. The form of government was nearly a pure democracy. In other words, it was gov- ernment by the people themselves. All important matters were settled in a council, where there was a general right to speak and to vote. The
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speeches at the council fire were often eloquent but never very long, custom requiring the orator to keep to the point. Men of address and daring were very influential, as they are in every form of society, and the chief was necessarily a person of ability.
The Indian did not count relationship as we do. His tribe was made up of clans, each with some distinctive name, as that of the Bear or the Beaver. All the members of the clan were reckoned as brothers and sisters, and no person might marry within the clan. And as the members looked upon themselves as one family, an injury to one was held as an injury to all.
The religion of the red man was the worship of a Great Spirit. It was scarcely monotheistic, since his supreme deity ruled the minor deities of air, earth, and water. After death he believed the soul of the warrior took its flight to a happy hunting ground in the unseen land beyond the setting sun. Here it followed the chase without limit of days. But no coward and no person deformed or mained might enter this abode of bliss. In his own way and to the extent of the light given him, the Indian was religious. But as is the case with all unenlightened people, he was a believer in witchcraft and a slave to superstition.
The Indian commonly had but one wife, though polygamy was not unusual. In case of separation the woman held the wigwam and could marry again. Yet in the eye of the white man, the lot of the Indian' woman was hard, although she often exerted considerable influence and sometimes rose to the position of chief. The children, who were treated with kindness, belonged to the clan of the mother, and were under the authority of its chief. The father had no legal authority over his own chidlren, yet exercised an authority over the children of his sisters.
Around the Indian villages were the squaw-patches, wherein were grown corn, beans, pumpkins, and a few other plants. But subsistence was very largely on meat, and as there were no domestic animals, each village required a very large area of wild country from which to draw a supply of food. Since a scarcity of game would cause a famine, the Indian never butchered his food animals out of sheer wantonness, after the manner of some sportsmen who imagine themselves to be civilized.
Since the squaw was gardener as well as housekeeper, the Indian has been called lazy. This verdict is not altogether just. The Indian was first of all a huntsman, and he held to a rigid subdivision of labor. To pursue game and follow the warpath, his limbs needed to be kept supple. It also took him huch time to make his weapons and keep them in order.
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The Indian was an adept in woodcraft, though surpassed in this accomplishment by frontiersmen of the type of Daniel Boone. He was a close observer of the aspects of nature and the habits of wild animals. He acquired a knowledge of herbs which was probably more extensive than in the case of any other wild people.
By means of picture-writing he was able to tell on a rock or skin a story very intelligible to others of his kind. In weaving his baskets or in bedecking his robe with feathers, he followed certain prescribed rules, each with its own meaning. The same was true of the modes in which, on special occasions, he painted his person. He had a large fund of folk-lore and tribal history, this passing from father to son as oral tradi- tion. Like other people he also had his proverbs, some of which are very expressive ,as will be seen in the following examples :
The coward shoots with shut eyes.
The Indian scalps his enemy; the paleface skins his friends. Before the paleface came, there was no poison in the Indian's corn.
When a man prays one day and steals six, the Great Spirit thunders and the evil one laughs.
When among the whites, the Indian was silent, generally suspicious, and always observant. But in his own home he was fond of society, talkative, and gossipy. His sense of humor was keen and he was about as quick in repartee as the Irishman. He had his rules of civility in social intercourse, some of which, according to General Miles, we could copy to advantage. The red man had no fixed hours for his meals, and though ordinarily a great eater, he could when necessary go without food a long while. He was the first man to use the tobacco plant, yet he did not devise the filthy habits of chewing and snuff-dipping. It is true that he smoked, yet he did not make a steady business of smoking after the style of his white brother. Smoking was with him a ceremony. a means of communion with the Great Spirit. It was also a form of oath, as in the case of smoking the "pipe of peace" at the conclusion of making a treaty.
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