Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1882-02-06
THE HIGHWAYS AND THE BY
WAYS OF TENNESSEE.

ied-The Rauages Of the Waters.
do not know as other people are
at all like me, but | used to think the
whole southern country was level. or,
rather, gradual slope from the Ohio
river to the Gulf. To be sure Smith S
geography told me different, but |
never quite adopted the statements
of my text books, and with the tenac-
ity of childhood, clung to the belief
that, if it wasn't a gentle slope, the
mountains were only tame affairs not
worth talking about-certainly not to
one born and brought up under the
darkening shadows of the great Green
Mountains, about which / once COM
mitted to memory and recited forty
two verses, and received therefor
from my teacher bright and shinines
new silver three-cent piece. That
was long time ago; the school
house has been torn down, the verses
are slowed away in a pigeon-hole of
memory, too safe to be found, gray
hairs are in the head of both the
teacher who gave and the pupil who
earned the silver coin. That they
are both alive is almost a cause for
wonder, so many of the pupils of
that term have ''gone over to the
great majority"
But to come back to the southland.
Tennessee has no need to be asham-
ed of her mountains. They are diff
ferent in character from the noun
tains of New England; and, too, are
unlike those in Virginia, especially
the Blue Ridge. In building the Gin
cinnati Southern road which | allud-
ed to in my last letter, some of the
tunneling tresseling, and climbing re-
quired engineering skill equal to any
developed in the work done on the
Union or Central Pacific roads, and
the mountain scenery along the
line is worthy all that has been writ
ten about it.
AS a rule the mountains are brok-
| en- into spurs, and they rear theil
heads in most unexpected places
sometimes rising abruptly from val
ley, attaining a considerable height
extending several miles, and then as
suddenly breaking down into val
) lev again. Nor is the transforma
ton from mountain to valley by cas-,
gradations it is sudden cutoff
like a load of hay on a lawn, an ex
, crescence that doesn't seem to hav,
i. any particular reason for being there
h | often wonder if the mountains die
h not start out with good intentions
fully meaning to form themselves in
S to gigantic ranges. If they did Ell
, ther, they got tired and concluded
wouldn't pay, or they had falling
out and could not agree as to whicl
q should be first or greatest. AT an,
If rate, there they are, detached, alone
e set in all manner of shapes, givins
r one all sorts of trouble to get owe
and around them. Starting up a val
G lev between two distinct ranges, ex
~ pecting to find easy passage on for
u long distance, the traveller is sure t
>" find his progress suddenly cut off b
d the joining of the two spurs. 1t
+ so unexpected, so unlike what ''fro1
II the lay of the land' he had any ide
~ ~ existed, he will probably think it is
d, sudden upheaval and uniting just
le make him retrace his steps. A fa
conclusion would that the two spm
p got into a friendly mood, reache
er over to shake hands, and, like the S
u amese twins, found themselves insel
70 arabic.
es Even Nashville, the capital of Tel
to nessee, is amidst the hills. Its cal
ly itol building crowns pinnacle whi(
as as is sufficiently elevated to make Il
-. clear white building visible for mil,
around, Yet Nashville is situate
lul on the river, and, as / write, tt
thousand of her people are homeless
lla driven out by the surging waters
ut, the Cumberland which, fed by immune
ne able mountain streams, all swollen
- the long rains, has gone on a terrib
on raid, destroying millions of dollar
MT worth of property and renderi1
est homeless vast number of peopl
TO Neither the loss nor the suffering C:
ny be measured; I have before me
he letter just received from a gentleml
Die in Nashville, and the picture he Civ
i'm of the condition of affairs is appal
lse ing. Just think of river so sw6
len that it is nine miles aide.
ra- Of course the damage is not co
m m fined to one point, but is all alol
no the entire length of the stream. 4
"a "a hour ago | received letter from
Inv friend who had just arrived at Ci
ire cinnati, going from New Orlea
u.s. thither by steamer. She tells IN
nd amid other things, of the terrible ST
're fering along the river, where ever
thing is overfowed. She says:
xy- "North of Cairo we saw hou
no ne in which stood a man, his wifeg al
M three small children, waiting to
at rescued; three cows were standil
M
in with their heads inside the door, t
lmer m water coming up to their bodie
al There was nothing but water to
er, seen in any direction. At anoth
all place a whole family, which had be
d. driven out of their house by the W
in ter, were huddled together on a lit
at elevation. the only spOt not md