to olive hill and somerset , hazard and pikeville , flattop and redbush and louisa in kentucky , and over to west virginia to fort gay and williamson , welch and logan , and matewan and vulcan , and down along the big sandy , and then the tug river to bluefield , and all throughout the cumberland plateau , where men were used to the harshest of all work , coal-mining , word had spread when the hiring began .