The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1891-07-16

the main line, to Mr.. Vanderbilt's place
Is owned by him, and is used solely for
conveying building material and salaries
to the men 1t is called the Vanderbilt
system Twenty thousand dollars per
month is the sum paid at present to men
working on the grounds aside from
those who are building And yet my
grounds, especially on Monday, present,
l think, more cheerful appearance
than his'n does. often tell him that
when our folks arc rinsing out their
white clothes in the second water, and
placing my new parboiled shirts on the
lawn to bleach, | know of no landscape
gardener who can begin to get such ef
fects as we do.
Mr.. Vanderbilt is very popular here,
especially on Saturday evenings; but he
is not loved alone for his vast wealth.
Here, as on Staten Island or in the city,
he is known as a quiet, studious, thor
ough gentleman and scholar, as well as
a good judge of the native wines made
here in the mountain Businesses Of the
state out of the grains and cereals Of
Carolina, and used to shorten the long
stage waits formerly so painful when the
governors of the two Carolinas were
thrown together.
The richest of gold mines known, prior
to the acquisition of California, was found
in North Carolina, and yielded $500 to
the bushel. Possibly the reader thinks
that ! am trying to be facetious, but
that was the rate-$5OO to the bushel of
earth-for it was a placer mine-or
100000 while the mine was being
worked Then it suddenly became flood
ed, and ! believe is still little moist as
this letter goes to press
Diamonds of fine water, and from one
half to two karats in weight, have been
found in the state, but not in sufficient
quantities to interfere with agriculture.
Fine detached crystals Of zircon, gar
nets and graphite occur in Franklin,
Lincoln and Mecklenburg counties.
North Carolina is also headquarters for
granular or crystalline corundum, or
emory. Arsenic, anthony, bismuth,
cobalt and nickel are also met up with
here, but not in the gneissoid rocks.
The climate of North Carolina, es-
pecially Of Buncombe county, is really
its chief charm 1t is, in fact, why both
me and Vanderbilt came here. We said
to ourselves; Staten Island is beauti-
full beyond description, especially al
times, but it is not suitable for the en-
tire year. One should go up into the
hills, at least for q part of the year, that
the ozone may dawdle through ones
whiskers. Change is good thing, and
the climate of North Carolina has its
good points"
Once came here along with fall o.
two feet of snow and mean tempera
ture. | had nothing to do with it, but
even yet land that was better than five
years ago. the people of BuncombC
county, whenever frost strikes the val
ley, as they profanely hunt in the bot
tom of the rag barrel for their ear muffs
murmur to themselves and begin to lool
at the depot for baggage with my name
on it,
At night, or in the shade, it is alwayi
cool here, especially during the holidays
But take the year round, facts, figure
and poorly patronized cemeteries show
that this county can easily give point
to the field and carry off the blue SAITH
ribbon.
Relatively, the larger part Of the stat
is very near as the Creator left it in tn
sun to dry. Virgin forests are still tina
way after the lapse of millions of years
and | have had them pointed out t.
me with pride on that account by oil
timers here. There are thousands an,
thousands of acres everywhere, and no
where will you see thereon where an eff
fort has been made at clearing up tn
land, save the unsatisfactory one, i
seems to me, of trying to clear farm
by cutting down tree every two week
in order to get 'possum that is con
cealed in it, From the oranges of tn
coast to the buckwheat pancakes of tn
Blue Ridge; from the terrapin of he
tropical shores to the maple sirup of tn
mountains, North Carolina has almos
everything on earth that is good to cal
and, in the language of Daniel Webster
her skies shed health and vigor. d
not Just remember for sure whethe
Webster said that or whether | quot
from myself, but it is good and true.