North Carolina Newspapers

AMONG TAE-HEELS. DEVELOPMENT OF A INDUSTRY. LEADING A Primitive Class Wjho Live Happy and Contented Lives in the Iso lation of the Great Forests. In ante-bellum days the; pro duction of the three valuable constituents tar, pitch and tur pentinethat enter so largely into the manufacture of .naval stores, was in a crude state of development, and jat the break ing out of the war the great tur pentine producing districts of North Carolina were compara tively deserted, as most of j the men had either enlisted or were impressed into the! Confederate service. The process of manu facture was so slow and tedious that at times the j demand was far in excess of th supply, and the cost ot transportation of one of the important elements, rosin, was so extravagant that it was permitted to run to waste from the stills, covering the ground for acres in extent, and from three to four feet in thick ness, which, mixing with the sand, became extremely hard, presenting a smooth, flat sur , face, and great lyj resembling solid rock in appearance. ! When peace was! declared the demand was greatly multiplied, and the introduction of better railroad facilities and the erec tion of modern mechanical and scientific appliances gave the industry an impetus that was wonderful, and to-day one can hardly comprehend the magni tude of the business or believe the immense proportions into which it has expanded during two decades. Indeed, the peo ple who are employed in the manufacture of these three commodities are really uncon !. sciqus of the part they are per forming in; the development of j one of the greatest industries in ' the" United States. They jrarely wanner beyond the confines of the tall pines; a newspaper sel- dom finds its way into their midst; they knowlittle concern ing events transpiring in the busy outside world,' isolated! as they are from -.intelligent and progressive civilization. Here they live in their rude huts, hidden away n the depths j of these great forest, in ignor ance and solitude, gathering the crude material from nature's laboratory and preparing it for market in the stills. This is their only occupation, for a re markable feature of the coun try in juxtaposition! to these for jests is the sterility of the soil so barren, in faci;, but little grass is found in some sections. The: life of a pine tree for pro ducing purposes is computed at about at about eleven years, and the several st4ges through which it passes ere it is cast aside as a "dummy, ? to us a technical phrase, is curious in deed. First come tfie scarifiere, men with half moon-shaped knives, who make an incision in the trunk near the roots about three inches j deep. This cut is termed a "bcjx," - each of which contains from two to three quarts of sap, land ithe av erage number of these boxes to an acre of trees is 1(300 Then follow the who examine the that it is "ripe," sappers, gum to see and closelv upon their heels come the "dip pers, men who carry long, curiously-shaped iron or wooden spoons and an ordinary water bucket. The bucket is placed against the "box,'1 the spoon inserted in the -cavity, and, the sap scooped out. By a dexter ous twist of the wrist, acquired by long andBconstant practice these -dippers' ' will "clean" the box at one scoop. Then there is a process known as cor nering, which requires a brig ade of "hackers." If the sea son is good and the yield pro lific, a piece is cut out from the top and bottom of the "box" by the "hacker," with his gouge, and the tree is again "tapped." ! For a time the largest distil lery was located near Wilming ton, X. C, with a I capacity of producing l,0(0-bdf rels of gum turpentine per day, but distil leries on a more "modern plan and of still greater capacity have been erected at intervals in the districts. Look where you may the country seems one vas$ area of barrels piled one upon the other. Wagons and cars are loaded with them, ves sels and lighters on the rivers and creeks have their full com- Element, and docks and wareh ouses are filled to repletion, j One of the most interesting, as well as the most amusing sights, is the construction and burning of the tar kilns, which ,is attended with scenes of the greatest jolification j and hiliar Jty by the inhabitants. A rudely constructed one-story frame building, located in the corner of a worm jence at the forks of a road, marks j the entrance to the mighty forest. This unique structure is long and narrow, void of paint, and is environed by a rough porch. In every di rection through this mighty wilderness of trees lights twin kle like thousands of stars and dense columns: of black smoke rise slowly above the tree tops. filling the air j with fumes of burning: tar, Iwhile men and boys fit silently about like grim spectress, the whole presenting a peculiarly wild and weird scene1, j j The tar kilns are constructed from the stumps and cast-off trees, j Nothing appears to be wasted, for even here the ref use material is utilized advan tageously. Even after these cast-off trees have been "worked" for ! the gum turpen tine several times the sap still maintains a vigorous vitality, and in the old stumps also, and it adheres to the refuse limbs lying about, which it coats with a thick gummy substance high ly combustible and as quickly ignited as powder. The stumps and trees are ut into lengths of from four to five feet. An excavation about two feet deep i$ made in the ground, in the middle of which is placed the mouth of an iron pipe, which extends for some dis tance underground beyond the excavation. Dirt and refuse matterj are then filled in about the split pieces until the pile assumes the size and shape of an immense cone. The whole is then; covered with earth and the fire! lighted j This is termed the; " smother," and as the in tense I heat softens the tar it runs down into the center of the earthy basin and drops into the pipe, through which it is conveyed to the outer edge of the excavation. Men and boys are constantly on guard, armed with shlovels, to prevent an out burst t of flames. They are re quired to be vigilant and un ceasing in their attention to this important part, or disas trous results may follow. - mere are two sets or watch ers, night and 'day. Occasion- ally a bursts 11 great sheet of flame suddenly forth, illumi the gloomy surround- nating mors aijd cracking and hissing terrifically. With wild shouts the watchers nastily scoop up shovelfuls of earth and quickly "smother" it. Some of these kilns will vield from two to I I' f three hundred barrels of tar. the limit of the Fifteen davs is burning out of kilns, and when the cone has settled to a flat surfaceand the last ember died out then it is that the watchers throw down their shovels with a loud huzza, . and the women and children come issuing forth from their forest homes, and the festivities begin. All conventionalities are thrown aside. The whole com munity is a bewildering chaos of fun and excitement. Here is the kilii-burner in his red shirt, tow-linen trousers, and perhaps barefooted ; here is the maid and majtron dressed in the prim itive calico " frock," and the dirty, -hjealthy, cunning looking scions o: the tar heelers in med ley j of Colors, all mixed up in mextricjable confusion. A ven erable negro or two plays the violin, and the inevitable black jug; plais a conspicuous part on this general hilarious occasion. A loyal North Carolinian, who served in the Union army, tells a very amusing story in connection with! the rosin beds mehtioijed above. During Gen eral Sherman's famous march to the jsea a part of the Twen tieth Airmy Corps was halted in a sectiofi of this forest, and pre pared to camp for the night. The soldiers were somewhat mystified at finding so large a stretch of smooth, solid rock, but congratulated themselves that thpy would not have to bivouaq in the mud. Knapsacks were unslung, guards were mounted and fires were kindled at different points, and the tired and weary vet erans were preparing to settle down ; for a Comfortable rest. The heat of the fires softened the; rosin. First it began to sputter,! then great black clouds of smoke began to ascend, and suddenly huge columns of fire shot up seemingly Jrom the very bowels of the "earth. The whole camp was in com motion,! the men beat a precipi tate retreat, and soon the wThole space was a seething, roaring mass of flame. I One of the sol diers, as he grabbed his gun and ! started, shouted a warning to his comrades : " Run, boys ! We've struck hell !" Philadel phia Times. j v Alligrator: Hunters Profits. The demand for full grown alligators for Northern j muse ums and aquariums begins with the warm 1 days of the spring, and many ah alligator's retreat has been carefully marked by the alligator catchers, who, when the signs j are ripe, will dig the j saurians out and sell them at from $l.to $2 per foot, according to! the length of the animals. The negroes loop ropes around the big animals and drag them out in triumph. The alligators arc said j to be getting fewer in the waters of this, section, as jthey are con tinually being hunted and; killed from the time they come out until they lay up again for the winter. Hundreds of them are shot for the mere sport of shoot- mg, find It and no effort is made to them after is only in they are shot. unfrequented streams and along marshes and impenetrable swamps where they are now numerous. Sa vannah (Ga.) News. I In an English country church the curate had to give out two notices, the first of which was about baptisms and the latter had to do with a new hymn book. Owing to an accident he inverted the order and gave out as follows : "I am requested to announce that the new hymn book will be used for the first time in i this church Sunday next, and I am requested to call attention to the delay which of ten takes place in bringing chil dren to be baptized ; j they should he brought on the ear liest day possible. This is par ticularly; pressed on mothers with young babies." "And, for the information of those who have none," added the rector in gentle, kindly tones, and who, being deaf , had not heard what, had been previously said "and for the j information of those who have none, I may state, if wished, they can be obtained on application in the Vestry im mediately after service . to-day. Limp ones, one shilling each ; with stiff backs, two shillings." I Mr. Julius A. Palmer, a citizen of Massachusetts, presented a petition to , congress last Jan., for the erection of a statue in memory I of the late Mathew Maury,- of Virginia, the j great geographer, meteorologist and discoverer of) the j laws govern ing the winds, currents and routes of the ocean. The peti tion sets forth in a concise and graphic manner the incalculable benefit conferred upon the com merce of the world by the genius of Maury, and presents an un answerable argument to show why! the United ! States, of all countries, should honor his memory.! The! petition and a bill providing for the monument were; introduced in the United States Senate by Mr, Chandler, Jan. 27, 1890, referred to the committee on library, arid or dered to be printed. Baptist Preacher Inventors. A Baptist minister of South Boston, Va., Rev, Mr. Thomp son, has invented a cigarette machine,! and had it patented. H!e has already been offered two hundred! thousand dollars for his invention and refused to take it. JFhe machine is skid to be very simple, (but does its work speedily and perfectly. It will no doubt be put on the market in a short while. Mr. Thompson, if we remember cor rectly, is a North Carolinian, and was for sometime pastor of a church in Raleigh. jThus Baptist ministers grow rich on inventions. McCabe and Thomp son are two great inventors that North Carolina adds to the list the past year. To Abolish the Supreme Court. St. Paul, Minn., April 2. The indignation of the farmers1 or Minnesota has risen to white heat lover the decision of the United States Supreme Court in the now ramous Granger cases in which! the Minnesota Rail- way ; Commission was practi cally laid on the shelf. I The executive committee of the State Farmers' Alliance, representing over 3,000,000 tillers of the soil, met here yesterday, and passed a set of resolutions denuncia tory of the Supreme Court, and asking all the -banners' ances in! the country to Alii join with theni in a national conven tion looking to the abolition of the bupreme Court. Silcott's Defalcation Made Good. Washington, March 31. The Court of Claims to-day gave judgment in favor of Represen tative Crain, of Texas, in his suit to compel the erov eminent to reimburse hip for money lost through the defalcation of Sil cott, clerk of Sergeant-at-Arms ljeeaom. i W. P. WHITTINGTON, M. D., Office 28 Patt m Avenue, second floor, ! ASHEVILLE,! N. a ! ! iii Tenders his professional services to the citi - zens of Asheville, and surrounding country. Residence 188 Wopdfln street. DR. B. F ARKINGTON. Office rooms on Pattonl Avenue, over the clothing store of Cf. Dj Blanton & Co. j Residence, corner of Woodfin and Locust streets. i oclO-ly FOR SALE. I A Large Rosewood : i PIANO, in good condi- tion.1 Apply to H MRS, E. BUCHANAN, ! I i: . Dec. 19 4t. i South. Main street. A WORD TO SMOKERS SUFFICIENT. If you want the best 5-cent cigar offered in tins city car on me i am agent for i GrAEBX" & SON 'S NO. 11 0IGAES. 1 use no other. A. C. DAYIS. 1 Try ; nd you wi J. H EATON, Plain and Ornamental Plastering, Asheville, N. C. All jobbing in bis iline promptly at- tended at reasonab e prices, and work guaranteed. janl-3m Battery Park Hotel ! I 1 North Carolina. Asheville, Open throughout the vear. Elevation 2.600 feet ; average winter temperature, 55 ; mag nificent mountain! scenerv: hvdraulic eleva tor : electric lights and bells ; music hall, ten nis court, ladies' billiard parlor and bowling alley.' Beautiful drives and first-class livery. X or descriptive printed matter apply to , j JOHN B. STEELE, Manager. ! Buggy and Carriage Works, Manufactured or Ke'paired In best styleJ at reasonable prices, I'M H. M. Howard. i I ! i 81 S. Main 'St.,! Asheville, N. C. Horse-shoeing a Specialty. GRAPE r: 1 I Several kinds of YDTES. rooted young Grape Vines for sale, lower i than they can be bought at large nurseries,1 North or South Ironclads, Concords, Elviras, Etc. Apply to Si N. STEVENS, Vernon P. O.I Buncombe Co THE OLD RELIABLE BARBER, PLUM LEVI, Has established jhimself at the corner of Court Square and College ; street, where he in vites his old friends and the public to call. An expert lady barber jalways in attendance. ! Also in connection with the Barber Palace is a First Class Restaurant, where good meals, nicely served, can pe had at ail hours at rea sonaDie prices. CHICAGO AM) ALTON 11. 11. EMIGRANTS GOING WEST OR NORTHWEST Will save time and money eroinar via Chicago and Alton RouteL Vestibuled train be tween St. Louis and I Kansas City. Reclin ing chair cars and tourist sleepers free of charge to all Western States and Territories! For low rates, maps and descriptive books writerto or call on I B. A. NEWIiAND, i i Travel! Passenger Agent. No. 10 Patton ave up stairs, Asheville ;W.D .HOWE, DEALER IN Italian and Ameri can 'ar'ole, Eranite, E Alliance Warehouse, iAsheville, N. C. AH kinds of Monuments, Tombstones, Head- stones, Urns and Vases!, Fencing and Cresting ! ; t ! ! i- . - . i made to order in the latest designs. Pure Wises and Liquors! HAMPTON :-: & :- FEATHERSTOSE, Public Square, ASHEVILLE, Invite the attent on of the trade to their Large Stock PURE Mil Ali'S LIQUORS, Which is offered wholesale or :-: RETAI Our Stock of Tobacco, Cigi rs and Cigarettes is complete. THE - .V BEST Ales and ! Beers I j Always on Hand. : ! ; ' ' I i- i ! Give us a call when you want something Strictly First-Class. 1 i ; i Dec. 1289 1 j. The llading Southern school of busihesB training. ' Thorongh and coaplete couree of etud,. pares young men and young ladies for the active duties of business life. F ull corps of 11 tth EXrs No vacations. Students may enter at any tune. Diploma on graduation. Catalog Jft S? AddiSsTJ j. J.T. JOHNSON, Principal, Knoxviiie, tJ F. N. GARRINGTON, (SUCCESSOR TO WHOLESALE AND AND HMD Hay, Grrain, Bran and Shorts. BEST JELLICO COAL OFFICE : NO. 8 NORTH oct 10-lm -THE "THE WINE AND LIQUOR STORE IN THE Find Sample and Billiard Eoom. NO. 43 S. MAIN ST. THE "HIGKOM INN." HI OKORY, N. O. An all e ELECTRIC L GHTS. HOT AND ON th Special Attractions for Families. Cuisine and Appointments Unsurpassed. FRANK J. 31. SMITH. ASHEYILLE, N. C. - , ! i I !: Headquarters Having been selected by the Farmers' Alliance of Madison county as the Ware house at which to sell; all their tobacco, we take this opportunity to thank our many friends for the patronage they gave us last season. We can with confidence say that , we jare in better shape to serve them this season than ever be fore. Our Warehouse is being enlarged and otherwise refitted and our accommo dations are first-class in every particular. We are glad to say to our friends and customers that: the outlook for tobacco is very nattering, the grades they produce are in demand,! the manufacturers need them and are represented on our market, and they pay more for it here than elsewhere. Offerings are large and prices good. Asheville is the Place Wad ern .North i Carolina and East Tenn. in We have. With CrrfHt OTnimca i inoila house m the State, where you attend the sales of your own tobacco, or have it sold m a few days after shipment We have with us this year John R. Baird, Floor Manager; E; B. Davis, Auctioneer ; John A. CampbeU, Book-Keeper; J. Arthur Reagan, Assistant Book-Keeper. Elsewhere we give aiartial list of actual eale SMITH ATKINS fc CARREfGTON.) EETAIL DEALEE IN SOFT COAL. COURT SQUARE, ASHEVILLE, N. Q BONANZA," V ' i LEADING STATE. ASHEVILLE, N. t J. A. MAKQUAEDT, Manager. Year Resort COLD WATER BATHS AND TOILETS EACH FLOOR. LOUGEEAN, Prop. W. W. H0LLLV5. THE WAREHOUSE for Bright Tobacco I :o:- to sell Tobaccos Raised id ln Tanv...) ATT ! - . t . t j tCarP- & E0LUNS, Propr's. .... !