Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1865-04-13
GALLIPoLIs, OHIO APRIL 1s, 1866.

iof North Carolina, and southwest,
the mountains of Alabama. You
may look on four States.
We then visited the. lake, five
miles back on the summit of the
mountain. A creek finds its way
down the mountains, among hugh
rocks, its banks embowered with
spruce, and yellow pine, holly, lau-
rel, cedar, and other evergreens. In
quiet little nook, it spreads out into
q little lake, clear as crystal, and as
romantic as a lover ofnature could
wish, shaded by evergreens, tower
ing pines stretching their arms wide
ever the tops of the holly, and lanrel,
in whose branches-sang the thFpsh.
red bird, and blue birds merriiy as
Joy, and, happiness can make them.
Further down, the scenery is truly
Alpine ia character The stream
rushes over solid precipice of sixty
feet in height, and is dashed into a
dazzling whiteness, of the most pleas
ing effect. On either side Of this
cuscade the cliffs of the Canon. or
gorge, tower high above 1t. You
can walk to the edge of either of
these precipices, and by the aid Of q
small tree, or bush, you may look
down the fearful depth, and see the
foaming waterfall, the thunder of
which comes to the ear from the great
depth softened into a music, no art
can initiate. We thought what a
glorious picture the scenery around
in connection with the cascade would
! make.
There is brigade ofregular troops
eneamped on the mountain, and
government has several saw-mills,
saving lumber, and shingles there.
There is pleasant little village
called Summertown, where the road
from Chattanooga finally reaches the
summit The bushes and trees are
still loft standing. One cannot i'm
agine more delightful place during
a long, Southern, summer day. Be
fore the war, every summer, this
place was a gay one. Here the
Southern nabob, and roue, abandoned
themselves to pleasure, wine, women,
and wassail, games of all kinds, and
fast horses. But, what a "change
has come DER the spirit of the
dream" The feet of ''them dread
ful Yankee" now pollute the sacred
soil, and will require considerable
trouble to remove said feet. Gen.
Hooker, fighting Joe,-took q mad
freak into his head one cloudy day to
storm the mountain, and the tread
of his vandal legions, and the roar of
his internal cannon, rudely chased
away the echoes of
"-the sound of revelry by night"
of the beauty, and chivalry of the
South, THAT was wont to make Sum-
mertown a scene of so much pleas
ure and gayety. One of the houses
is still occupied by some rather fancy
locking women, of doubtful charac-
ter. We have our authority from
the Sergeant on picket duty, close to
the house, a spruce young man, who
seemed to know. for 1t. Patterson
ssked him if the women living there
were single? "They are single part
of the time" the Seargeant answered
with n merry twinkle of the eye, and
the mischievous soldiers standing by,
laughed heartily thereat. We put on
. broad grin also, being joined ther
in by the Lieutenant, and O'Dowd.
Farther down the mountain we
overlook an officer with two bars on
his shoulder straps who, evidently had
been taking "suthin strengthenin," 4"
for his equilibrium, on his horse, ap-
| peared to he very precarious. His
face was the color of the ''red, red
rose, so to speak," in the beautiful
language of A Ward, the Snowman.
Arriving at point in the road,
where it makes a short turn to the
right, from which you can look down
on one side to a dangerous depth,
the festive Captain thought it would
be the safer plan to dIsmount and
lead his horse short distance. In
so doing his spurred heels, in an un-
accountable manner, became entan-
gled in the reins of his bride. Con-
sequence was, series of gYmnastic
evolutions, not laid down in any book
on the subject, took place. The
horse became very much mixed up
with the rider, and the Captain in
the end came out with thr ground on
the broad of his back, his heels per-
forming a series of gYrations and the
nasal part of his horse, the latter
animal rearing back to prevent the
spurs from tickling his nose. We
believe the captain eventually came
out all right, for after while, far up
the mountain, we heard a voice sing
ing, 81 love thee STILL" with a he be-
tween every word.
DANIELS.