The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1882-09-27
A Four Hundred Miles Walk BY Six
Girls.

Girls.
To-day the party of six girls who
started about the first of the month to
walk all over North Carolina arrived at
Laurenburg, where their walk ends.
They are all well and in good spirits,
and, though much sunbuIned, are as
comely set of lady pedestrians as ever
undertook long tramp. They started
in the neighbOrhood of Hendersonville
nearly month ago upon what was re-
garded by their friends as foolish
scheme to walk over North Carolina
and see the principal points of interest
in the State, and to pay special attention
to the mountains. Three of the girls
were at school when the project was
first agreed upon, and the other three
who agreed to join them were friends.
They made all their arrangements for
the proposed journey as quietly as pos
sible, for they knew attempts would be
made to dissuade them from the under
taking. Their friends were taken COM
pietely by surprise when they were told
but day or two before the commence
ment of the walk of the intention to
tramp over the State without any es-
cort. To the suggestions that going
alone and with no one to protect them
they would subject themselves to insult,
they replied that they were willing to
make the attempt, and they averred to-
day that from first to last they had
never received one rude word or rough
jest from any one, their only grievances
being that once or twice some persons
of their sex attempted to prevent them
from continuing their walk by charac-
terizing such an undertaking as immod-
est and unladylike. One old lady of
fered to be their chaperone if they per-
sisted in their purpose, but the would
be chaperone wanted to 60 in buggy,
and when she learned that they expect
ed to tramp over mountains where there
were no roads. she backed out, al
though they mischievously gave her
an invitation to join. On the first
week of their trip they suffered much
from exhaustion, and the youngest and
frailest of the party, Miss Murdoch,
had to stop and rest by reason of
severely-blistered feet. 1t was feared
that she would have to abandon the
trip, but she pushed on nobly, and after
the eighth day she began to gain
strength, and is now one of the health
lest of the fair tramps. Her weight
when she started was but ninety-two
pounds, and she turned the scales to-
day at 103 pounds. All save two of the
walkers fattened after the first week.
while two who were inclined to obesity
were pulled down twelve and eighteen
pounds. Their record shows that they
made 420 miles. They started out with
the expectation of making between 500
and 600 Each walker wore a pair of
red Heather walking g-shoes, and wore
short walking dresses. and carried
strong staffs in their hands and KNAPP
sacks upon their shoulders, in which
were packed hammocks and other
necessary articles. They also wore
very broad -brimmed hats. which, how
ever, do not seem to have protected
their compilations, for they are all
carried pistols to protect them from ae-
cidental incursions of wildcats and
bears. Much of the time they slept in
the open air in their hammocks under
canvas coverlets, which were used to
shield them from heavy dews and rain.
One night, ten days ago, apprehendine
a severe storm, they camped in a grave
yard and slept between the graves.
Another night, in the mountains, they
were thrown into CONSERVATION by the
appearance of bear, but the beast be-
ing as frightened as they were, fled
without offering to molest them.
In the mountains they were
in great terror of rattle-snakes,
but did not encounter any OF
the reptiles. Along their route they
were treated kindly, many of the hos
pitable farmers entertaining them, bni
they summed notoriety and avoided al
the towns and villages, frequently going
some distance out of their way rather
than meet crowds. A novel feature ol
their undertaking was the keeping ol
what they called their log-book. LII
this the record of their impressions ane
adventures were kept, each taking bel
turn. The book contains l, ,246 closely
written pages Although frequently
offered vehicles, they always declined
saying that they started with the deter
mination of walking. They spent three
days in exploring the celebrated Bale
! Mountains whose mysterious rumblingl
some years ago created so much excite
ment They not only made the Difficult
ascent to the top, but went into one o
the crevices. which they examined mi
nutely, with the aim of discovering
what caused the strange sounds in th'
interior. The novel trip of the sil
young lduloS HAS DccH uiuCH tdihcs
about, but as they had avoided th
crowded thoroughfares they were igno
rant of the interest taken in them, an,
were much astonished and slightly in
suited when they learned that bets ha'
been made by certain sporting mel
that they would not make four hundre'
miles in the month. The parties ar
modest and shun notoriety. They ave
| thew end the trim now hecaIlSe three n
their number will begin their schoo
days early in September, but they asser
their determination to walk over tn
unexplored portion of the State mex
summer. They leave tomorrow by ra
for their homes, near Hendersonvilie.-
Monroe IN. CO. Cor. Chicago Times
i Honest, But not Reliable.
Not long since lady called on Mos
Schaumburg, to find out if a colore'
| woman. who had formerly been servan