The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-08-24
In tho Mountain wilderness Of virginia.

1N0 Journey OCCuPlou uay oAu q
half. They rode Intlian file along a
trail which only Jerry's eyes could fol-
low; it crossed heaps Of rocks, swamps,
fallen trees it led through all unbrok-
en- forest of gigantic pines, oaks, birch,
ash, and sugar-maples; even the nut
trees and black cherry had a time here
to reach the height Of a hundred and
fifty feet. Evergreen deciduous trees
grew alike leateless and branches side
by side, spreading palm-like at the top.
The journey was, In fact, passage
through lntermlnable aisles of huge
black pillars under flat, leafy roof.
The sides OF the creeks were banked
with flaming color; laurel and rhod-
odendrous neaped up walls Of dark
green scarlet, and creamy white; in
the sunshine late azaleas lifted wands
Of sheal-like rose. Sometimes the
horses literally broke the path for miles
through waving forests OF fern, whose
delicate leaves, Sarah fancied, touched
her hand, as she passed, with a shy
caress. The girls life was full. Her
ife had before now been filled up with
sewing and sweeping, and the petty
matters of a little village. 1t was the
first time that she had looked upon the
great solitary face Of nature. 1t SEEM
ed to her that the sky and water and
trees knew that 1t was the first time,
and were glad that she had come, and
whispered to her, as did her old home
to Bfignon, "Poor child where hast
thou staid so longP"
There was no sign that man had ever
passed this way before. Huge trees,
fallen a century before, lay in gigantic
round burrows on the ground; burrows
Of deep moss, Of fretted and tlutcd
lichen, gray and golden, bronze and
purple, and of trailing myriads ofpink
oxalis. Plumy fern nodded from the
sides, and thicket Of young hemlocks
pushed ambitiously up from the top Of
the ridge; but when Jerry put his foot
on 1t, the whole furrow orumblcu like
putf-ball into cloud of red dust. 1t
was dead body, which undisturbod In
the slow passage OF uncounted years,
had made all this false show Of life.
Very few song-birds had made their
way into this solitude, There was
none Of the multitudinous hum of life
of woods near towns. The absolute
stiffness was strange and oppressive at
MONDAY. Nature dwclt alone here,
and kept silence, and there was some
thing savage in her mood, now that
they had come upon her nnawarcs.
Even jaunty, selfsutlicient Mrs. Mulock
felt like ali intruder, and rode apart
and quietly. The Judge led Surah' >
horse, which could not keep its footing.
Sometimes he pointed with bright,
pleased eyes, to stately tree or n bed
and never called on her to admire them.
MIR. Morley rode up once, and said, In
agrave and patronizing manner, that
he must acknowledge that there was a
quality Of freshness AMI newborn
strength In this uneXplored wilderness
which any scene must lose aftc" 1t had
been trampled over by innumerablc
al N te grest a%d Wo
less meanings CT the woods.
Monstrous fungous growths reared
themselves on every side as they began
10 descend to the Blackwater. The
th1ckets grew more dense; red and
Dlack spiders swung themselves 'inces-
sanity across their faces from tree to
tree; they found traces of bears IN
newly Darkcd trees, and more than
once the three-lobed, clawlcss track of
panther In the wet black mould
The thickots Of laurel and scrub oak on
the banks Of the rivers give to these
beasts anu to wolves an imperious shel.
Ter; they have the best chance there
too' OF catching the deer as they come
down to water. Browning pointed ont
dark green shrub. which he said w,c
ok orowse,' and chad boon made by
the GOOD Man to grow just that high
10 reach the muzzles OF the young
elks." No elks had bean seen In this
relgon for fifty years, thoug some might
yet be hiding back in Canaan.
Inc party campod the second niuht
on the bank of the Blackwatcr, a stream
which elnptlcs into the Cheat, makiup
nuts OF beach bark, and beds of hem
lock boughs set Oh end to give an clas-
TIC spring. The Doctor and Morlev
set out with their best white llles, reels
ana lines to catch trout for supper in
the coffeo-colorcd gloomy creek.
Browning took fow worms from q
rotten tree trunk In his pocket, and
his old rod; the Judge built up the fire.
anu Mrs. Mulock and Sarah cooked
some hltch, and secured the tim plates
IN the stream. Things went the usual
way In such cases. The scientific fish,
erman came home dripping wet. and
swearing that there was not the lin of
trout in the river, to find jerry
placidly frying forty in q pan. Thew
ate their supper by the light of tho
roaring fire, q great horned owl hoot
ing III the thlcket. Every man had n
hunting story.
Surgeons Pcrquisites.