The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1879-08-15

dig and market. He had already built
the fat-boat which was to transport
them, and the next thing was to get
them to the landing on the river. Go
ing up there with some hands, he turned
out some hundreds of bushels of noble
tubers, stacked them about, covered
with potato vines-for the nights were
frosty, it being in the fall-and, this
work all complete, he proceeded to get
his ox-wagon to the place to transport
them down the side of the mountain.
To his dismay he hadn't reckoned up
the engineering difficulties at all.
Loading his huge wagon heavily, for it
was not to go up but down hill, down it
went, sure enough, with vengeance.
The first go-off, and with all hands at
the wheels and holding back, and the
best blows and yells he could rain upon
the poor oxen from the front, there was
no going slow. But he undertook to
describe it himself. He was a rough
old chap, and he told us, garnishing his
story with some explosives which shall
not put in here:
"Why, sir, hitched a small tree to
each hind wheel of the wagon as drag,
after taking out half the load, and I
started 'em agin, sir! But 1 may
swear, sir, they slid fifty yards at sin
gle shoot, and toward deep ravine, sir,
whar, eff they'd gone over, they'd al
landed in kingdom GOMEZ The end of
it was, sir, that had to give it up
raised the finest potatoes you ever saw
on that cussed mountain, and then had
to leave them thar, sir, to rot-yes, sir,
to rot
That the "Old Major"-as he was
termed-d not overstate the case was
true enough, for a friend told me that
he himself, on a hunting expedition in
the vicinity of this remarkable potato
patch that same season, saw the crop
rotting there, since it was impossible to
get it down unless man carried them
in a basket or in his pockets, and that
wouldn't pay, especially when the en-
terprise included the climbing of the
tremendous mountain as well as its de-
scent.
The occasion which took me to the
vicinity of the potato spectators place
was deer and bear hunt, to be carried
range which traverses the western part
of North and South Carolina, ending
with Stone mountain, remarkable
spur in Georgia.
In climbing to the top of the mount
ain ridge, upon this occasion, we wentup
"Boone's Trail "-his usual pathway in
and out of North Carolina very
rocky, irregular pass, which proved so
steep that it was all our horses could
do TO get up 1t at all and at times in
danger o. falling over backward as they
reared and plunged in the worst places;
our only chance was to hold on to
names and saddle-pommels to keep from
sliding off over the crupper. Our sad
dies were kept on for this mountain
climbing by passing one of the two
girths forward and around the horses
breast, and, compelled to make slow
work of it, we let the animals haveit all
their own way. And yet there was a
fascination and pleasure in this wild
mountain climbing which enables any
one who has tried it to account easily
enough for the passion exhibited by
Boone and his men for it. At every land
ing place or slight plateau, as ridge
after ridge was reached, there was
spread out before our delighted vision
new and glorious expanse of hill and
valley, such as somehow for the time
being made the works of civilization
tame in comparison. Magnificent for
ests and far-off rolling rivers, like the
French Broad and Holston, with range
npon range of blue mountains fading
into gray against the distant horizon,
were among the surprises awaiting us
and, looking upon these as Boon looked
upon them, and familiar, too, with the
beautiful and rich valleys of Kentucky,
1T seemed no wonder that those brave
and wide-awake adventures and lovers
of the chase could i'll brook tanner life
in the older settlements of Virginia and
the Carolinas.
We had been out two or three days |
with varying "luck, in one case coming
plump on huge black bear, but with |
out getting him, and seeing besides |
plenty of "bear signs" where they had |
turned over rotten logs to get the |
grubs which generally abounded under
them, when one morning, while on the
Wy ooP Va VIC IiuBc, WdlJluS IOT the |
hounds to drive the deer to the Stands"
or gaps where several of us were posted
to receive them, we discovered that the
mountain was on fire and the flames
coming up the sides of it before fierce
wind, at almost horse-race speed. We
at once secured our horses they had
been hitched out on one side until
the expected deer should have passed
and for little while the chances of
entire safety looked squally enough.
The woods were very dry, the ground
several inches deep in leaves, and the
roaring and cracking of the flames and
falling limbs was at times appalling;
but there was ludicrous aspect in the
case, after all.
The fire had driven in the chief
tall man mounted on a
nule-and the hounds; and they made
heir appearance on the mountain top
1t time when the excitement was at
is height. The patron of the hunt as
lie might well be telmed-a friend who
lad gotten it up, and who was too cor
'ulent and unwieldy to run, or even to
isk much of gallcp over ground like
hat, was-as well he might be--thor-