The daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1889-1890, 1889-09-21


started down the mountain, they found
plain print of a mans shocin the damp
earth that some of them supposed had
lcen made by DR.. Mitchell. Others said
that it could not be so; that two hun
dred men had been all around that place,
and it was more probable that one Of
them had made the track. Ten of the
men then went on home, but Wilson and
the Aliens, said they would first go out
on the ridge few hundred yards. and
ire n gun to see if any of the Buncombc
men were in hearing. suppose VIC were
not more than one hundred yards apart
when the gun was fired ASH said before.
Wilson's company, all except the two
Aliens, had gone home, and Wilson said
if he had not found us when he did, that
they also would have gone | asked Will
son if he thought he had probably found
Dr. MitchcIls track, and he said it was
very improbable. told him If there
was any very reasonable probability OF
the fact we would send for Stcpp and the
whole company. He said mo, donot do
that, but bring your company along
with us and examine the track and the
place and see for yourselves" We soon
to the description of the shoes we were
told DR.. Mitchell wore. But then many
men who had been hunting for him wore
the same make of shoes, and had been
backwards and forwards near that place
every day for nearly week. told Will
son that as he had started home we
would go with him down the valley to-
wards his place, that it was my opinion
the lost man had gone that way, and il
he had we would surely ind other tracks.
We all agreed to that, and | think we
had gone about mile when some one of
The party called out, here is a man $
track" We all ran to the place, and
saw a very plain track that corresponded
to the other one and to the shoes the
lost man wore. We were then con-
ident that we were right and
that we would find him. 1t was
then about eleven O'Clock, anh
we matted for dinner. There my provis-
ions came in at the right time and place,
for Wilson and his two companions had
mad nothing to eat since the day before
except some fresh beef without salt, |
then proposed to Wilson that we all go
back to the top of the mountain and
send for Stepp and all the men on the
ether parts of the mountain and put
them all on the right track. He objected
to that, but as a substitute proposed
that send my three men to inform the
others, and that | go with him home,
and that we all meet at the place next
morning where we were then. He said
lie was obliged to go home that night,
and that he might on his way come
Icross the lost man, manglcd by a fall
from prccipice or torn by wild beasts,
ind that | must go with him. told
him would go, and then MIR. K. {. Pat
ton said he would 90 too, if his brother
Calvin Patton and William Burgin would
90 back and inform the men on the other
part of the mountain that we were on
he right track, and to meet next morn
ing near that place. That was agreed
to, and we separated, the two named,
.yoing back, and the other five, Wilson,
he two Aliens, X. { Patton and myself
going down the hollow towards Caney
river. The main company with Stcpp
was at least five miles from where we
we're. That was the seventh or eighth
day since Or. Mitchell disappeared; there
had been frequent showers, moss covered
rOCkS, lOSS anu SNSIS pl'tSSI sV Nhdt
tracking seemed out of the question.
But after the separation, we had gone, |
suppose, two miles without finding a
single track, when K. {. Patton, who
was about ten steps to my right, called
to me to come there, that he had found
an impression in the moss that had the
appearance of a human track, He care
fully removed the moss, and under it was
tolerablc plain track where track III
the heel had cut it's way through laurel
root We all got together then, and
hurried down the hollow to small creek
that ran down to our right. Just before
reaching the creek we came to a large
sloping rock covered with moss with
scrapes in the moss as though man had
zone over it on his hands and feet. 1t
was too steep for man to walk down
it in safety 1t was getting dark when
he passed this place" remarked to the
Others. "How do you know one OF
them asked. Because here is an easier
way down, to the right that he did not
see" We then hurried down the creek,
and soon came to a waterfall. Mr.. Pat
ton and crossed the creek and went to
the head of the fall, where we saw the
moss had been disturbed and scrapes i'll
the soil where something undoubtedly
had gone over. Wilson and the other
two men had gone round to the left, and
hy this line hadgot i'll sight below. Mr..
| pattun called out to Wilson: "Hc is i'll
that pool, for here are plain marks where
! he went over" Yes, said Wilson, al
most Immediately, "yondcr lies his hat
lodged on some brush,"
then measured the depth OF the pool
and found it to be thirteen feet, but VIC
did not disturb the body. We then went
down the stream four or five mile, where
Wilson lived, got something to cat and
were thinking of soon retiring to rest for
the night, when Mr.. Jesse Stcpp came aC-
companied by Mr. A. F. Harris. Mr.
| Stepp said on receipt of the news that
we had found the trails, he had directed
all the men to assemble that night at the
cabin near the high peak He then an
nounced his determination to return that
night and inform the anxious, tired
crowd of men of our success. Mr.. Pat
ton and /, though tired, determined at
once to accompany Stepp and Harris
that night to the top OF the mountain
Mr.. Stepp acted as guide, and at two
O'Clock next morning we reached Mitch
ellis peak, worn out by our almost con
stant tramp over the mountains for
twenty-five hours. Perhaps that was
the first and also the last time that four
men ever made the trip from the foot t.
the top of the highest mountain east o
the Rockies, with the sable mantle o
night resting on its dark, baIsam cover
ing.
When VIC reached the cabin where al
the weary, anxious men were waiting
and announced the fact that the lost wa:
found, and that he was then lying at th'
bottom of pool of clear mountain wa