Weekly North Carolina standard., 1858-01-13
From Porter,s Spirit Of the Timeal
s. ABOVE THE CLOUDS.
BALD; MOUNTAINS, m YAscEr couS,

| ".
Joseph Lohery, and myself, in fine spirits commen.
| ced an excursion to this celebrated mountain 45
miles northwest of Asheville. The close of hand
days ride found us lodged in woodman's hut, the
| latter being almost in untenantable condition
this we discovered to our cost, as q thunderstorm
came up in the night, and the rain was driven in
until each of us was completely drenched. In this
condition, we made an early start the next morn
| ing, that we might ascend the mountain before the
| day should become uncomfortably warm. The
storm of the proceeding night had driven from the
atmosphere ali its hazy vopor; and the fog clim
bed up the mountains sides from the valleys, the
ethereal vault had that pure and bright indigo tint
that it sometimes has on frosty winter nights when
myriads of stars are twinkling and we look far
| into the depths of unfathomabe space.
We, at sunrise, were fast approaching the noun.
tain; and here, at the distance of five miles, its
naked and sun-illuminated top loomed up before us
in the northwest, an imposing mass of beauty and
grandeur. After breakfasting and procuring guide
at the base of the mountain, at 10 o'clock com.
menced its ascent-We had yet three miles before
Us, of steep climbing, along narrow mountain trail:
but having its naked top before us in full view the
while, the strong wish to reach it impaired to each
of us unusual strength and activity.
The timber on the mountain, at and near its base
was large and lofty but, as We progressed upward
into more rare atmosphere, it gradually diminished
in size, until it dwndled to shrubs and finally
| disappeared entirely. The top of the mountain Law
spread out before us, some beautiful prairie which
uau oeeH up-ueaNeo Oy some CONFUSION IN Nature
and thus left reposing upon the top of the mountain
in its solitary beauty. This elevated prairie has a
surface OF some hundreds Of acres in extent con.
posed of rich loan, and entirely covered with the
most luxuriant grapes, interspersed and garnished
with the richest variety of floral plants, of every
shade and tint
Two bold swells divide this prairie into two sec.
tons-one hundred feet higher than the other. de.
nominated Large" and Little Bald" Betwixt
them there lies a small valley and in it beautiful
little sheet OF lImpid water-a lake in miniature;
which, to use poetic figure,
Seems a mirror hung high,
To show the wonders of the sky"
From hence, we directed our course 10 the most
elevated point upon Big Bald on reaching which
language too weak to portray the that burst
upon our gaze Suffice it, that for more than 100
miles around us, the world seemed spread out like
map, upon which, at our leisure, we could turn
from one prospect to another, and in detail contem
plate the varied beauty of the landscape around US
Ihe most conspicuous features in this extensive scene
was the chain of the Blue Ridge it came on from
the northeast of us, at the distance of 90 miles
Swelling and sinking in its course it bent round to.
wards the southwest, throwing out hundreds of ram.
ihcations in the form of lofty peaks and pinnacles
that gave bold outline to its course until far TO-
wards the southwest, it seemed to sink down. and
mlnsle with the blue ocean. The prospect next in
submity was the Cumberland chain of mountains
which We could in their entire length, as they
lay, far out towards the west and north on the
verge of the smooth, blue horizon, 80 or 80 miles
distant; forming, as it were, light frame work to
the picturesque landscape of East-Tennessee, over
which our eyes could range as if looking at paint.
ing.
One of our party called attention to some yellow
specks, that had the appearance of so many enats.
resting on the Cumberland chain the latter resem.
oing blue knotty silk thread, stretched out on
blue parchment None of us could conjecture what
they were Shortly, they assumed the size of flies;
presently thereafter, of ladies' caps; and finally
proved to'be squadron of clouds, floating directly
toward uS-When the foremost had reached the
mountain, it had attained the size of ten-acre field
and, striking fourth of mile below u.s. it ascended
the mountains side very slowly, until it reached the
leS ell of the depression betwxt the two Bads when
it rushed through with the greatest velocity. 1t
then fell in large rolling Masses down into deep
gorge of the mountain, on its lee side, and became
stationary on a stratum of atmosphere, on a level
with that on which it had f1oated to the mountain.
In like manner, cloud succeeded cloud, until the
accumulation formed dense mass, which, in short
tme was agtated by strong currents of wind; and
while all was clear and calm where we stood heavy
rain storm beat upon the side of the mountain, far
beneath us.
The clouds still continuing to take higher range
the rain cloud assembled until it was detached from
the mountain, moving slowly off towards the east;
and, as 1t thus went, the sun shining full upon its
vaPory mass, it displayed the brilliant iris we
ever beheld-a perfect and complete circle Here,
an exclamation of mingled admiration and astonish-
ment escaped from the whole company and, until
the cloud and its beautiful phenomenon had passed
away, nothing else was noticed, or spoken Of This
was in fact the first time that it had ever occurred
to any OF the party, that the common rainbow,
which we had been familiar with from childhood as
seen upon the summers cloud, and with reverential
had looked upon the beautiful symbol
OF Gods covenant with man, should under certain
be no bow at all but complete cir
cle and the sight Of instant dssipated the delu.
sion of yearsI
One of the clouds, as it passed across the noun.
tain, enveloped in its vapory dark mass; and for
q short tiine, we were literally surrounded by
" darkness that could be felt !" and SO fine and
subtle were its particles, that in a short space of
time, our garments were completely saturated, and,
when the cloud bad passed by, the water was drip
ping from each individuals hair and beard
As the evening advanced, the clouds still assumed
more elevated range; and long before sunset they
appeared to float half mile above u.s. The sun at
length went down, sinking, as it were into a blue
ocean, on the extreme verge Of the horizon
We made hasty descent to wooded recess, on the
west side OF the mountain, no great distance from
the prairie, and spent the night in abandoned hut
OF the celebrated hermit Of the Bald Mountain,
David Greer
Next morning, long before break of day. we were
again on the mountains top-this time the Little
Bald"-to witness the suns rising. The moon, in
its last quarter, shone dmly though misty, Grape
like haze, and below us the world seemed a vast
ocean-as fog had filled up the valleys-while the
oitest OF the mountains sent up their tops above it
as group of islands of various shapes and sizes
After gazing long and intently toward the east at
length, away on the verge Of the horizon there ap.
peared CLEAN of brightness, which gradually shot
upward, and increased until the whole ethereal =
vault was Int up in glow, as intensely bright
tip of the suns disc was seen as a bright star
rs 1t rose from behind the plane of the no.