A new wagon trail had been blazed across Harlan County and was busy with work. A long ditch was being dug. It was broad enough to char two ox teams abreast. It ran straight down to the river where it ended in a wooden flume. A three-foot-tall dam with a sluice gate was being raised to divert slack water across the ditch. Halfway down the canal work stopped. Stew was served to the men.
“I wonder why they stopped?” one man said.
“They’re finishing up. They’re not digging enough dirt for twelve feet. It stays too wet. You can’t do a lot in this kind of stuff.”
“Well, I’m glad, I wanted to dig something into this ground and that’s good enough for me.”
“You ever been up here before?”
“No, this is the first time I’ve even known about this county.”
“There’s a lot more to it. They call this a prairie. It’s just a big open field. Most of the roads go by tree lines. You hear that?”
“Only saw it.”
“I think you’re right. You see that tree line up there by the serpentine? That’s Hanlon. See where those trees are standing away from the farm? They’re wintering farming trees. They’re the best trees in the county. All the farmers keep their best trees in Hanlan. What you hear are a few pigs.”
“It’s still a forest.”
“It is. Most of the land is forest. Most of it is a forest.”
“You said that it was an open field.”
“It is an open field. Even the fields are forest. There are a lot of fields. You see how the farmhouse is standing here in the middle of the trees? You’ve never seen a duck pond before? Look at how broad this thing is. It’s a little bit of a forest to the west and it’s a big old forest to the east.”
“Thanks for the information. I want to start out at the other end of the ditch. It’s dry from here to there. It’s real wet down here.”
“I’m going to finish up on this end. I’ll let you know what’s down there. You hear something?”
“I’m waiting to. I’m ready to hear it. I’m not hearing anything yet. I don’t hear a thing.”
“I’m surprised at you. You come up here without a shirt? You hear something now?”
“I guess I do. It sounds kind of familiar. What is that noise? Do you hear that? It’s the sound of water. I guess it’s the sound of water. It comes from down there.”
“It does. It comes from the east. That’s the river. It’s Hanlan County River.”
“I guess it’s all right. They didn’t tell me I wouldn’t hear the creek.”
“You’re not hearing the creek. I’ve been up here before and I’ve seen the creek. This is the river. It’s a lot more than a creek.”
“So that’s the river. I guess I’ll be pulling mud.”
“It’s all right. I think that ditch has got more than enough for the year. If you dig it deep you’ll keep the water over the roots and solve them problems.”
“Yeah. I’m going to dig a little deeper from here. Just let me know when to start with the water. I’ll go ahead and start making a ditch if I’m ready to. It’ll save me the effort.”
“This is a good area to farm. The bottom land is good.”
“I guess it’s good. I like a deep ditch. I don’t want to dig. I hate to dig. I must have made dirt. I hadn’t dug so deep.”
“I said it was the river. It’s a big river, too. It’s about eighty feet across.”
“That’s a big river. Where does it go?”
“It has a big bend and goes down past the Serpentine. It’s a river. I’m not sure. It’ll go as far as it can. It goes off to the ocean.”
“I’d like to see that. I’m not sure if I believe you, but I’d like to see that. I heard that all of the roads go past tree lines.”
“They do. They all do in Hanlan County. That’s the biggest reason why people come here. They come here because of that.”
“I’m going to build a road. Where do you build it?”
“You can build it anywhere you want to. There’s a pasturehouse over in that pasture by the tree line.”
“They all build to the tree line?”
“They do.”
“Look at that. Them rocks are all in one place. It’s a good place for roads across a river.”
“I thought of you when I saw that. If you’re going to build this. You’re getting a good place to build roads across the river. It’s the best place I ever saw. This is good. If you’re going to build over that river, you’ll be in the best place you can build a road.”
“It’s a good place to build. I’m going to build a road down through the farm. It won’t be more than a mile down. I’m not going to plow it. I’ll lay the road out between the fields. It won’t be too much work.”
“I should have asked you earlier. What time is sunrise?”
“It’s pretty soon. What do you want to know?”
“I’m a man and I’m getting up there. I want to know what time it will be. I’m getting up in years. I don’t know what age I’m going to be when I see this place.”
“It’ll either be light or it won’t be. It won’t get darker than it usually does. Fly in your hat, boy.”
“I’m just asking. I don’t want to get stuck out here after dark.”
“I won’t. I’m asking you the same thing. I’m under the same pressure. If I don’t know what time it is, how will I get back to camp?”
“I don’t know. I think it’s about eight am now.”
“The sun’s going down. That’s what I like. I don’t like him to go out. I don’t like it when he goes out. It sort of stirs up the battery. It’s real soothing to me to watch him go down.”
“Same here. I’m going to keep my eyes on him until he goes down.”
“Same here. Just watch the trees. You’ll have to watch the trees. I never have any trouble when they’re putting up a dam. Your horizon will be all full of trees there. Don’t you get confused or anything.”
“I’ll be all right. I don’t feel right keeping up here. It’s a beautiful day now. I’d better get on over the hill. I’d better get on back.”
“The next time you come up here, you can come up alone.”
“I’ll do it. I’ll come up here a lot.”
“Don’t it look nice when the sun goes behind a cloud?”
“It certainly does. It’s a real nice place.”
“It’s the most beautiful spot in the state. There’s nothing left here now. I’ve known lots of coal camps, but the Yankee boys done drowned them all. I’m going to try and put in a drain on the hill. We’ll go around them roots.”
“I’ll find you a piece of pipe. We can run the water right out of there. We don’t want any more water in the ditch.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll be working close to that ditch. I’ll be about a half a mile from anybody. I’ll be working on that drain. When the sun comes up in the morning, that’s when you’ll start. You’ll catch your breakfast water for breakfast and for supper. I gathered that bush. There’s one bush won’t put up a leaf in the winter.”
“Well, I’ll let myself out. I think it’s a good place to work.”
“I’d like to watch your morning. Just come on in the back porch on your way by.”
“I may take the back way. I’ll have to get to the barn. I’d better stop there if I can. I’ll be glad to have you do that work.”
“I know you will. I’ll be ready for you. You’ll have to start early. We won’t have much to do in the evening. We usually quit early because there’s nothing to do.”
“I’ll try and get to the bedroom in a few minutes. You know the way.”
“It’s up on the end of the yard. The house is filling up with people. We’ll have to put up a bigger house pretty soon. We’ll have room for all of the people that are coming.”
“I think we’ll do it before spring. The rain is falling and the snow might come.”
“Don’t you think it’s funny. The rain, usually, stays on one side all the time. We’ve had plenty of snow and it comes from both sides.”
“I had some snow fall on the back of my jacket there. I wasn’t watching.”
“That’s it. I had that happen a couple of times.”
“I’ve seen it snow here before. There’s always a wind here. It’s a big river for the most part, but it’s still good.”
“I wouldn’t want to stay out here for over fifty years. I guess I’d be a little wacky.”
“I’d be all right. I think I can do it. I’ll try and watch that sun in the morning. Don’t you let him go out. I know it weighs a lot when he goes down.”
“That’s the way it’s going to be. I’ll watch your Sun the next time you come up here.”
“I’ll take the back way. That’s all right. I’ll see you. I’m getting towards my house. If you have to build a road through there, that’s as good a place to start as any.”
“That’d be good. The old man’s gone to sleep. He looked pretty good to me. He’s sleeping pretty well.”
“I’ll start around the hills. I’ll get pretty close to you on the crest of the coal bank before I know it.”
“I can look down on them very well. I think they must be at least two hundred feet high.”
“At the bottom of them, there’s some-like a big canyon. It’s the Cumberland River.”
“Yeah. I know that, but I can’t see all the way down to it. It’s about a hundred and eighty feet down. I don’t know what it is. We thought it was some different hill, but it’s a big coal bank.”
“I know it is. I’ve seen it before. It’s only sixty yards away. It’s like going round a curve on the road.”
“That’s right. This is the best road I ever had. The junipers have been falling down. Some of them are bigger than my chest. I’d rather work on this road than any one I know.”
“I know. I’d take the road you mentioned. I’d rather be out here anyway. I’d rather have it this way if I can work it. I know I can work on these roads right here. I’ll bet I can build a road pretty good. I can do it without a road grader. I’ve got some experience.”
“You had a lot of experience when you lived in this city.”
“I know you, but I didn’t know you all that well. I know how to work. I’ve just got to get my hands on the horses. We’ll have to have horses when we start anyhow.”
“I’ll come up here to help you. I’ll get the ice out of the river and the cattle pastured.”
“One person can treat that river. It’s real nice work. Ice comes traveling down and hits the earth, then it goes on.”
“I’d get a piece of driftwood. I’d just throw it in. We’ll have to have something to use to cut it in two, so I can throw more ice into the river.”
“I can tell you that. I know a little. It comes down fast enough. It sort of clears a place in the snow at somewhere between here and here.”
“I’d rather come on through the front end. It looks like a big road to me. I’d rather be out here in the woods than to live in this city.”
“I’ll tell you how to hit in that bank of the river. You’ll have to find a good place to put it in. Then you hit it high and get rid of some of the dust at the top. Then you take another piece of wood, cut it high. You can put it over close to the bank. Then you’ll have to have a piece that’ll float.”
“You make me dizzy when you start talking. There’ll be water in there to float it.”
“I know that. You’ll have to take the lead out of the pan. It’s the cheapest insurance.”
“I don’t see why we can’t get some work done on it. I’ll try to get up the hill in a little while. You know the way.”
“I’ll get the drain for you. I’ll go around those roots. I think they’ll be bottom-landers, only a few feet high.”hett
“That’s good. I’ll be needing you to help me while I’m working here. What’d you go to school for?”
“I went to work on a farm to earn my money for this. I picked cotton for about two years, but I didn’t make much money.”
“How’d you ever get the money to come back out here?”
“I put a little land on the farm, so I had two hundred dollars.”
“I sort of guessed you had the money.”
“I had a little more than I thought I’d need.”
“You’ll have to go into town. I want you to get me some gravel. I’ll build a good road on the way to my place.”
“That’s a good idea. Go on up and see the old man. Are you going to live in your place?”
“I’ll go over there tomorrow morning. Are you going to live in your place?”
“I’m going to sleep in my house."
