USA > West Virginia > Randolph County > A history of Randolph County, West Virginia, from its earliest exploration and settlement to the present time > Part 16
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worthy of consideration. He is upward of sixty years old and for his peculiar opportunities for seeing the world, is more cosmopolitan in his speech and views than most of his neigh- bors. He wears shoes habitually, and his residence exhibits the grade of civilization pertaining to a pack horse road. His face, including his stack of hair, looks as if cast in bronze, while his square sinewy hands are of the type most frequently carved and painted by Michael Angelo. His tall, athletic figure is a model of strength and endurance. Its proportions are slightly modified at present, owing to an accident. About six weeks ago, at the saw mill, a log about three feet across the butt rolled over him, and flattened him out considerably ; but he thinks he is drawing up to his natural shape again by degrees, and his ribs and backbone getting set back in their places. To assist Nature in her praisworthy efforts at re- construction, he distends himself as much as possible by eat- ing heartily, and greases his exterior with bear's fat.
"Having never been in the military service, he cannot explain how he got the sobriquet of 'Soldier,' but thinks it was simply a tribute to his youthful strength and activity, which were extraordinary. Being a justice of the peace for Ran- dolph, he is now sometimes more properly addressed as Squire White, which title of dignity he prefers. The Squire has a partner who is worthy of him, and a daughter rising of six- teen' who assists in the house keeping.
"Martha White is entirely too pretty to be sketched as a type of the mountain maiden. A sparkling brunette, lithe and graceful as a fawn, she is- also, from the habit of meeting strangers, more affable in her manners than most of her moun- tain cousins. On being asked if she understood cooking trout, she replied smartly, 'You'd better catch a mess first and try me,' indicating at the same time that there was good fishing just below the mill.
"The Major and myself took the hint, and soon hooked a pretty string of medium and small sized fish. There were, however, some magnates we saw moving about in the crystal water who could not be tempted by any bait we had to offer. They would glide out from beneath the cool shadows of the boulders, approach our traps with a certain majestic delibera-
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tion, sometimes even rubbing their noses against the hooks, then, as satisfied that it wasn't worth the risk, would retire contemptuously and let the minnows take a bite, tickled no doubt at seeing how rapidly the youngsters snapped and went up. While we were worrying with the sly old rogues, Martha came down armed with a hickory wand with a running noose of horse hair attached to the end. With an arch smile
Noosing Trout.
she requested us to hold off a while and let her try her hand. Creeping like a cat over the rocks, she marked a grand old voluptuary half dreaming among the shadows. Silently and gradually dropping her slender noose into the water, she drew it toward him. As the enticing hair touched his fin, it sug- gested a slight suspicion of mischief, and he slowly retreated to a distance of about half of his length, then resuming his indifference again, lay balanced and immobile, very possibly
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felicitating himself on the superior wisdom which had enabled him to detect the gilt and feathered shams displayed to de- ceive the small fry of his race, and the lofty virtue which had taught him to resist the allurements of casual appetite. The next moment he was whipped from the water by an invisible noose of horse hair, and wriggling in Martha's cat-like clutches, and her plump cheeks pitted with rosy dimples. Quieting our applause with a gesture, she readjusted her trap, and presently lifted out another beauty, then another, and another, until she had captured four of the largest fish we had seen, one weighing two and a half pounds, and surpassing any we had taken with the hook. Having thus justified her own skill, she handed her angle to the Major, at the same time instructing him how to use it; but neither he nor I had the dainty glibness of hand to execute the trick successfully, and after several awkward failures each, we gave up and returned to the house. The trout at dinner were as brown as fritters, and verified another of the pretty maid's accomplishments.
"The afternoon was whiled away with smoking, sleep- ing, and discoursing with Squire White and his sprightly daughter. We were given to understand that if we could con- tent ourselves to remain a couple of days we might partici- pate in some fun at the house, as there was to be a goose- plucking, at which all the gay society of the Fork would be gathered. Mr. Rains, from Seneca, had sent word he would be over. Dilly Wyatt also would be there with her fiddle, and when she played it would set a cripple to dancing.
"And who was Dilly Wyatt?
"'Ye never heard of Dilley?' exclaimed the Squire, with an expression of gratified surprise as if he had discovered a de- fect in our education. 'She's our brag gal over here, she is,, and strangers like to hear about her.'
"Then do tell us her story, to pass away the long evening:
"The Squire thrust his nervous square-cut fingers into the shock of iron wire which stood for his hair, and after a preliminary rustling and scratching proceeded to deliver the following narrative, which we will endeavor to translate into smoother English, at the risk of losing something of its origi -- nal naivete and graphic point :
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"Several years ago there was a young stranger from the lowlands who was in the habit of spending the greater part of the summer months roaming about the mountains. What brought him here was never clearly understood, nor could the limited fancies of the natives ever suggest a plausible mo- tive for his frequent visits and long sojourning. Some sup- posed he might be a drover seeking a lost steer : others reck- oned he was one of these 'inchimists' who could tell brass from gold, and was prospecting minerals ; a third respectfully suggested that he must be an engineer locating a railroad-a nefarious entrivance to increase taxes and the price of land, which would scare all of the game out of the country. Shrewd- er gossips insinuated he was possibly a refugee from the op- pressions of lowland law or society, whose vague terrors or- casionally chilled the hearts of free-born mountaineers even in their most secluded retreats.
"But neither the stranger's appearance nor ways seemed to justify any of these surmises. He was a handsome youth, with a wild romantic eve and a contract of blonde hair falling over his shapely shoulders. Reticent of speech and shunning companionship, he seemed to take delight only in savage and solitary places. The hunters sometimes met him in the re- cesses of the forest, tearing through the laurel as if pursuing or pursued by some wild 'varmint.' Then he would lie for hours basking beside a sequestered brook, idly watching the gambuls of the trout or the movements of the uncivilized creatu. es that came down to drink and prey upon each other. Again they would tell of his reckless activity in scaling fright- ful precipices, or how he stood upon the summit of inacces- sible peaks looking down upon the eagles, always carrying rifle and haversack, he was so heedless of sport that he was never seen to bring in any game. With pencils and tablets in his pockets if he ever sketched or wrote, the world never heard of it. A worshiper of Nature, who sung no anthem to her praise, and laid no votive offering on her altars: an Al- pine climber who kept no record of the nameless heights he scaled, or the lonely dangers he encountered. a romantic vol- uptuary, content to revel in beauty and sublimity without the courage or ambition to rehearse his emotions before a cynical
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and unappreciative world. A poet without verses, an artist without works, a dreamer, an idler, a genius, whose life was a bold defiance, or perhaps an unconscious protest against a society domineered by mercenary traders in stock; 'whose speech is of oxen' or of meaner speculators in stocks, whose voices are modulated by the rise and fall of gold. As time wore on he ceased to shun the friendly faces of the settlers, and was frequently seen warming himself at their hearths, sitting at their tables, and even sleeping in their beds. They were entertained with the novelty of his conversation, and amazed at the extent and variety of his conversation, while he found in their society gratification of his natural longings for human speech and presence without the risk of intrusion into the hallowed precincts of his ideal world.
"Dilly Wyatt was the only child of a widower, a stout herdsman and mighty hunter of the wild valley, whose cabin stood in one of the most savage and secluded passes. She was a tall, fine looking girl after the mountain pattern, beam- ing with health and good humor, and uncommonly smart in all the learning pertaining to her people. She could cook or keep house equal to any maid or wife on the Fork. She could shear a sheep, card and spin the wool, then knit a stocking or weave a gown with a promptness and skill that were be- yond rivalry. Besides these feminine accomplishments, she could fish, shoot with a rifle, swim, or skin a bear, in a man- ner to challenge the supremacy of the other sex.
"Our wandering artist had frequently stopped at Old Wyatt's cabin, where, among other attractions, he found an ancient fiddle with which the proprietor had once amused his roistering youth. Being an expert on the instrument, he sometimes tuned it up and played for hours, to the great de- light of father and daughter. When the men were gone Dilly took up the fiddle herself and being one of those who could turn a hand to any thing, she soon learned to play several airs upon it. Next time the visitor returned she surprised him with her new accomplishment, and he, perceiving that she had both taste and will to learn, undertook to initiate her regularly in the mysteries of the art. His time and teachings were not wasted, for she learned with surprising rapidity, and
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soon developed very decided talent.
"Thenceforth it might have been observed that the er- ratic stranger was less frequently heard of in the wilderness, and oftener seen in the vicinity of old Wyatt's sociable dwell- ing, while Dilly's acquaintances were annoyed with her in- creasing absent mindedness and continued humming of danc- ing tunes, both in and out of season. But it was natural enough, when wearied with his own lonesome ways, the teach- er should find a solace in the comp iny of so apt and willing a pupil, and that a mountain maiden, amidst her rude surround- ings, should become enamored of her gentle and engaging art. Fortunately there were no meddlesome gossips at hand to suggest that it might be the artist instead of the art.
"One morning, after giving Dilly her musical instruction as usual, the artist stored his haversack with some cold vic- tuals, and promising to return by evening, struck across the dry river and disappeared in the forest. The cottagers were so accustomed to his eccentric courses that his failure to ap- pear at the appointed hour excited no surprise or uneasiness. Next day was stormy. A windy tempest swept the woods, and the rain came down like a water-spout. During the night that followed the storm swelled to a hurricane. Tree-tops were hurled through the murky air like thistle down, and the forest shrieked and howled for the downfall of the tallest chieftain. The Wyatts sat beside their lowly hearth glaring with pine knots, and occasionally enveloped in clouds of smoke and ashes, to which the father responded defiantly with counter-puffs from his root pipe, while Dilly concealed any vague uneasiness she might have felt behind her darling fiddle. Soon the old man removed his pipe, and pricking his ears as if to catch some special note of the tumultuous chahivari without, exclaimed, 'D'ye hear that, Dilly?'
"She answered, with a nervous start, 'What is it, daddy? Did you heary anybody?'
"He motioned silence, and her straining ears became presently aware of a low rushing sound distinguishable amidst the fitful voices of the tempest by its steadiness and con- tinuity. As they listened there was a sudden swelling of the storm, followed by a crash so enormous and stunning that it
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seemed as if the whole magazine of thunder bolts had blown up at once. Old Wyatt started to his feet, staring wildly up- ward at the roof of his trembling cabin, while the daughter snatched a flaming brand and rushed out into the darkness. By the flash of her torch she saw near at hand a freshly up- heaved wall of earth and roots higher than the chimney top, and stretching away across fences and cabbage patches lay the prostrate body of a mighty hemlock tree which had long overshadowed their humble dwelling.
"'Come back gal,' cried the father, resuming his pipe and his stolidity at once. 'The Fork is up, and the big hemlock is down, so we might as well go to bed.'
"The second morning dawned through clouds and mists, which hung on hillsides and tree-tops like sloppy rags put out to dry. Æolus was quietly folding up his flaccid wind- bags, and Aquarius resting languidly on his empty watering pot, but the dry river was full from bank to bank, and career- ing like a mad bull. After breakfast the old man mounted his nag and rode away toward Soldier White's to gossip anent the storm and look after a grist he had carried there some days before. Dilly was left alone to tend her household af- fairs and nurse a vague uneasiness about her absent friend. The day passed wearily enough between spinning, fiddling, and strolling up and down the stream, vainly listening for some signal call, and straining her eyes into the depths of the opposite forest. Late in the afternoon she was startled by hearing a distant rifle shot, and hurrying up the stream a half mile or more she discerned through the midst the figure of a man emerging from the wood on the further shore. Flush- ed with the sight, she gave a ringing halloo which evidently struck the wanderer's ear, and was answered by a feebler shout, about like a cry for help. Then the figure tottered for- ward, sunk, and disappeared among boulders and thickets.
"Agitated with mingled hopes and fears, she repeated her calls again and again, awakening the echoes away up in the mountains, but no response from any living voice. Then, as if struck with a sudden thought, she hurried back to the house, and in a short time returned clad in a scanty linsey gown, bare armed and bare footed, with a stout package tied firmly
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on the top of her head. Her eyes sparkled, her lips com- pressed, and there was resolution expressed in every feature and in every movement. Scanning the savage torrent above and below, she hesitated for a few moments, as if instinctive- ly calculating its force and speed, she nimbly descended to the stream, flung herself into the raging water. A few bold strokes brought her to the mid-current, which swept her away light as a feather in a whirlwind.
"The girl had evidently underrated the power of the stream, but she was a strong and confident swimmer, and in spite of the resistless downward sweep, continued to strike vigorously for the further shore, holding her head erect, as if intent on keeping her bundle dry at all hazards. Amidst the heaving and boiling of the mad current her downward course was so rapid that it was difficult to estimate her trans- verse progress ; but as she approached a bend in the river, just at the head of a succession of falls, it might have been noted that the color forsook her cheek, and her efforts became more hurried and spasmodic. Suddenly, as if caught up in a water spout, she was heaved over a submerged boulder and dashed headlong into the foaming eddy below. For a moment she was lost to sight, then her head popped up through a bed of yellow froth, blinded and gasping. Clearing her eyes with a quick movement of her hand, she saw that the bend and cur- rent had helped her on her way, and she was almost in reach of shore. Another desperate effort and she succeeded in grasping a trailing root, by which she drew herself to land. Once more on firm footing she felt for the package on her head, and finding it still in place, hurried up the bank to search for the object of her solicitude.
"Nearly a quarter of a mile above her landing place she stumbled upon the body of a man lying prostrate among the bushes. Beside him was a rifle, dropped from the nerveless grasp ; his clothes were drenched and torn in shreds ; his up- turned face, half hidden by the tangled hair and battered hat, was white and motionless as death. On the brave girl's face the dawning smile of recognition was suddenly quenched. With trembling hand she loosened the bundle from her head, and laying it on a rock, dropped on her knees beside the body.
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A few moments after she started from the cold embrace with a countenance all radiant with joy, and quickly opened her precious package, displayed its contents on the sward-a cold corn pone partially soaked in muddy water, some greasy slices of fried venison, and a small flask of liquor.
"Dilly clapped her hands and laughed, 'Not dead yit, by a long sight, but only jist half starved. See what I've brung ye, my pretty boy !'
"But at the sight of the bread and meat the languid eyes closed again, as if in token of refusal. Then, tenderly en- circling the youth's clammy head with her plump arm, she raised him to a half sitting posture, and in coaxing tones half whispered, 'Now this ye won't refuse, I'm sure.'
"Then followed the resonance of an osculatory smack, as his pallid lips met those of the devoted girl's brandy bottle. The timely stimulant assisted exhausted Nature across the narrow bridge which led from death to life. The patient open- ed his eyes, sat up alone, and consented to nibble a little at the corn bread and venison. In the meantime the indefatigable nurse had collected a heap of wood, and by means of the rifle kindled a blazing fire, and warmed a portion of the food to render it more savory and wholesome.
"Drink, food and fire had so far restored the wanderer that he was enabled to give a brief account of his absence. He had strolled many miles away toward the summit of the back-bone, where he was caught in the storm. Having eaten up his provisions, he undertook to return, fell from a ledge of rock and sprained his ankle, and thus crippled and half starved, he had spent two terrible days in endeavoring to drag himself back to the cabin. Now he required only shelter and rest : but the stream was still impassable, and from his sprain- ed ankle and general exhaustion he was incapable of locomo- tion. To a city belle the situation might have appeared hope- less ; but Dilly 'was not born in the woods to be scared by an owl.' In a marvelously short time, with moss and hem- lock twigs she had made a bed which, under the circumstances, might have been esteemed luxurious. A canopy of evergreen boughs sheltered it from the sky, while a blazing fire dispelled unwholesome damps and diffused an air of cheerfulness
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around. The remnants of the meat and drink were placed be- side it, and the hollowed surface of a convenient rock con- tained several gallons of fresh rain water to quench the in- valid's thirst, if required. Regarding these arrangements with a smile of satisfaction, the mountain heroine cut short a grate- ful speech by ordering her patient to lie still and get a good night's sleep. 'By morning,' said she, 'the Fork will be down.
-
Goose-Plucking.
and dad'll fetch ye over to the house on his horse.' The stars were shining when she took leave, and walking some distance up the stream to find a longer sweep of unbroken current, she boldly took the water again, and reached the cabin in safety.
"Next morning the river bed was nearly dry, and by sun- rise the invalid had been transferred to old Wyatt's cabin. He had slept profoundly, and was refreshed; but his ankle was fearfully swelled, and it took a fortnight's nursing to set him fairly on his feet again. When the time came for the stranger to leave he pressed a pretty sum of money into old Wyatt's hand, and thanked the daughter with a warmth and fullness of speech which ought to have been satisfactory ; but there was at the same time a reserve and even stateliness of man-
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ner which rather wounded the warm-hearted girl. He went and returned no more."
"'And did he go off and forget such a girl as that?' Ex- claimed Dick indignantly. 'By thunder I'd have married her!' 'Very chivalric,' suggested the Major ; 'but in your case that might be thought poor return for a heroic service.'
"'Tomorrow she will be at the goose-plucking, and we will tarry to see the heroine, and dance to her music.'
"Next morning we were out carly, trying to earn our breakfast before we ate. After breakfast while the materials for the frolic continued to arrive, I received a private invita- tion from Squire White to look in at the goose picking. As we slyly peeped between the logs of the barn the whole in- terior seemed to be a whirlwind of laughter, screeching, and flying feathers, so that it was hard to distinguish the pluckers from the plucked. Occasionally as the downy clouds sub- sided one might catch a momentary glimpse of groups of worthy of the antique scenes that may be carved and paint- ed more elegantly and easily than described-and as such we commend them to the Praxitileses and Photogeneses of mod- ern art : and for a more practical account of the subject we must refer our readers to those good old-fashioned folks who raise geese and sleep in feather beds.
"Dilly Wyatt at length arrived, carrying her fiddle in a muslin bag slung over her shoulders. She was a buxom lass with grand black eye and regular features : but we were dis- appointed in her appearance, as we usually are by the per- sonal presence of famous people. Nevertheless our mountain heroine showed the ameliorating influences, in dress and man- ners, of her association with the Muses.
"After the midday dinner our party was swelled by a number of young bucks from the neighborhood, and the danc- ing commenced. The movements at first were rather shy and constrained, but a few rounds with the inspiring strains of Dilly's music warmed their blood and started the wheels of gayety to buzzing. We had all done our best in playing the agreeable to the ladies to avoid offending the jealous sus- ceptibilities of their native beaux, and had nearly got through the afternoon without an accident.
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"With his usual luck however, Cockney narrowly escaped getting us in a row. Delighted with the opportunity of show- ing off his strong points he had been exceedingly gay and prominent in the dance, but becoming wearied and disgusted with the succession of jigs, reels and square figures, he asked Miss Roy if she understood the round dances. That young lady signified her willingness to shake a foot to any tune that
The Dance.
could be started, and promptly took her place on the floor be- side the gallant. Encircling her waist with his arm, Augus- tus politely requested the fiddler 'to please give us a polka.' The mystified musician was silent : and the equally mystified partner, red as a trout about the gills, delicately attempted to elude the embarassing embrace. He, entirely absorbed with the idea of electrifying the assembly with his graceful whirls, reiterated his call for a polka, mazourka, waltz or any round dance, and persisted in holding on to his retreating partner.
"At length a tall, iron-bound forester, who had been squirming with jealousy, forgot his hospitable politeness, and
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laying his heavy hand on Cockney's shoulder, exclaimed, 'Lookee here mister. Our gals won't stand huggin' on sich short acquaintance, they won't, eh.' Augustus was himself electrified, and the house buzzed with mingled laughter and indignation. The Major, prompt in all social engagements and emergencies, stepped forward and explained the situation. Cockney apologized to the lady and the company, and the big woodsman made amends for his rudeness by a grasp of the hand so friendly and penitent that it brought tears to the recipient's eyes."
Shooting Contest.
Shooting matches in which the prizes were usually turk- eys, were frequent occurrences in the earlier history of the county. So much depended in those days on the skilful use of the rifle, not in the way of self-defense only, but in obtain- ing the necessities of life, also, that the skillful marksman was a hero in the community. Porte Crayon here relates his ex- perience in a contest for markmanship with Tom Mullenix :
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