Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-07-13
BEERSHEBA.

We have some two hundred and fifty
/ guests here, almost solely from Nashville
This Is one of the few places which has In my
experience distanced expectation. 1t is sim
! ply splendid. It's charms burst upon the traV.
eller the moment he gets out Of the stage
here. The hotel is situated at few feet from
the brow Of mountain ridge, with a road
or street Of ordinary width between, bound
ed on the side opposite the hotel by plank
sidewalk which runs along the edge Of the
ridge. From the hotel porch the sidewalk
opposite seems to be the edge of perpen-
dicular precip:ce. In reality the ridge slopes
lspidly downward from the sidewalk TO the
valley, twelve hundred feet below. The hotel
is sad to be twenty 1.-TWO hundred feet above
the sea level, and eighteen hundred feet
above the level of Nashville. immediately
| opposite rises somewhat loftier mountai
ridge, covered with dense woods in their
| primeval ruggedness and Widness. Bears
are sometimes killed in these woods. Up
aud down the winding valley between the
| two ridges, the eye sweeps until the deep
veTdura of the forest-clad mountains hazily
| puppies in the dim distance. Often the
valley below the hotel is covered from the
view by the clou. 6. Sometimes masses Of
! inky Gapor, in some parts made lurid by the
SUMS rays struggling vainly 10 penetrate
them, come stOrming up the valley, ex-
puDSing the prospect as they pass, and i'm
pressing the most sluggish minds with feel
ings of awe and sublinity. One such
spectacle since my arrival here was ineffl-
bly, grand aud terrible. After G rain,
picturesque phenomena succeeded. The
blank curtain of mist in front, hiding the
opposite mountains, gathers into sepsra'
masses, of various snaps and shades Of hue,
and slowly rises into the heavens and moves
Of. Sometimes thin condensaiions Of va
p0r settling upon the side Of the opposite
mountains suggest the notion Of huge spi-
der-webs clinging to the trees, snd some
times the sun playing upon the damp for
est creates the appearance of smoking
woods. at night sometimes the vapor con-
Gensing at the bottom of the valley, and this
process continuing, a mass of cloud grsdu-
silly builds up, until the opposite mountains
are almost or wholly shfouded in white. l
have spent whole hours pleasantly in the
observatory, which juts out beyond the
edge ofthe bill, .jlst in front of the hotel,
watching the shifting aspects Of cloud,
mountain and valley, the gigantic shadows
on the mountains OF the mO7ing clouds
and the deep, clear blue of the sky where
UnobsC lred. Some of the nights here have
been coudleSs, brigh. and purely beautiful.
Within short walks, finer views may be- had
than from the hotel. OF these, perhaps
the most beautiful is to be seen
from ClaTk's cottage grounds. From the
OCtaCoDal billiard saloon here, on the brink
Of the ridge, one can gaze for nHny miles
down tie msaudering valley, whose various
irhteT shades Of cultured patches softly
enameis the darker veDdu-e of n punt iins
on either side, deepened here and there by
gigantic shadows Of the rowing cloud
masses. = moderately longer walk yields
wilder prOspe IS; that from what is called
Stone Door being the most impressive
have seen. Here on every side the eye
meets with only huge Jagged rocks and vast
mountain spurs, enYeloped il a garb of IN
broken primeval forest, standby now as
vast and lonely and solemn as at creations
dawn. One seems here to be beyond all
trace Of mans dominion, in such Ceep rug
ged soiitudes. Oae is smitten with an
overwhelming sense Of mans insiguifcanca
when brought face to face with the naked
immensely Of nature.
Baersheba is delightful place for fami-
lies with small children. What with the
spacious grounds appertaining TO the hotel,
and the adjacent woods Astounding with
wild flowers to be PluCked, bhCkberries
and whOrtleberrics TO be gathered, and
walkiDg-s'icks and whistles to be cut and
carved, the small boy that cannot find en-
away from the maternal apron
strings must indeed be suTchaEged with
"cussedness.'
[ need not say that Beersheba is also
lutely perfectly healthy. The temperature
is comfortable in the shade during the hot
test part Of the hottest day, and is cool in
the mornings and eyeninGs-sOmetimes
though not often now, sufficiently 50 for
FIRE. The fare is excellent, and the accom-
modation5 ample. This, bowevsr, is i'm
phi d in the statement that the ''shebaDg"
is run By Sam Scott, with the assistance Of
his gifted aud accomplished little wife,
whose match in all sterling qualities it
would not re easy TO tind.
Thu amusements Of the place are bow
ling, Billiards, Croquet, cards, chess, check
ers, backgammon, jsCk-s.raWs and, last
though not least, dancing, for which there
are a spacious bal room and q fine band Of
m-sic. Saturday evenings the sable popu-
Iation have balls IN the large, open arboT,
over the chaly beatc spring, the band then
being sltheir service. The piOusl7 disposed,
of which l, Of course, am one, attend
divine service Sundays. The Rev. Mr..
McDorold, President Of Cumberland Uni
versity, has hitherto ofiiciated-a gentleman
of great learning, ability and eloquence, an
ACCOMPLISHED scholar, and a man beloved
by all who Intimately know him. From
the quantity Of be8uteOuS, youthful femI-
uility and sppTeCiativ5 nasculinity here, 1t
is certain that there i lots OF romance "
ing around loose, could one penetrate into
the mysteries of young hearts. Gossip IS
absolutely unknown here.
Everybody is s0cisbie and kindly. There
are Two ways of coming here, enc by way
OF Tracy City, and one by McMinnvllle.
One coming tue first time should make the
former for the sake Of the magnificent seen
cry along the line of the little railroad from
COWan (where he leaves the n. q q. rail
roar) TO Tracy City. But, aside from this,
l pronounce very positively in favor of the
McSLinnvilie route, which, from Mc3linn-
vile TO the foot Of the hotel mountain at
Beersheba, is very pleasant trip, through
beautifully wooded country, and the road
is smoother than the other. But it must be
added that the last two miles up lie noun
tain are teetotally CXecrable. But gentle
men find this part Of the jsunt pleasant
wa k. and there are short cuts for the pc
deslr;an, which reduce the distance to
something in the neigh5orhOod OF halt
mile.
There is no hotel, and no anything, at
T:GcY City; while there is an elegant hotel
a. McMiunylltr, which, in case Of accidents
delaying progress, is q mater TO be re-
garded.
Acout nine miles from the hotel at Beer
sheba is the Swiss Colony, of some seventy
families. On tie 9th inst. a large party en-
bar6ed in three stages and as many private
vehicles, lefs the hotel to visit this colony.
1t had been stated that the Swiss had been
notified beforehand and would appear il
force, clad in their Ia ional costumes, and
that the girls would sing the songs of their
native land and nee their national dances
10 their own music.
Glimpses of Switzerland were to be had
in America. Something less than two hours
f,~m the appointed time, the caravan left
the hotel. mr. @. B, of Nashville, the
heart-snasher OF the season, was the mar
shall OF the day, and one Of the most active
projectors Of the enterprise. 1t was an
uourced in the ball rOOm the evening be-
fore, that there would b. a clesTed place,
with ample saw-dust thereon, prepared for