The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1891-04-03
SCHoOL-sooK FICTION.
4 Washington story That Goes with til
Tale of William Tell.

4 washington story That Goes with ths
Tale OF william Tell.
would not be understood as beliey-
ing the Natural Bridge not worth see
ing. 1t is a magnificent sight and more
than pays for the pains it costs to get
there to see it A natural blue lime
stsae arch In height from the bed of
Cedar Creek 10 the surface OF the arch
1854 feet, with an average breadth at
the top of eighty feet, is wonder which
Is not seen in any other part Of the
known world 1t is worth the while to go
there and see this wonder and it is also
worth the while to go there and have the
mind disabuSed Of some of the impress
sions which were made of this place when
the present mature generation was en-
gagged In drinking wisdom from the old
Towns Fourth Reader. I remember
that my own mind was once powerfully
Impressed With the ingenious story told
in that readar about boy, or rather 9
young man, being seized with an am:
bition to carve his own name above the
&c. w." which Colonel Parsons, the
owner of the bridge, tells everybody
stands for George Washington
The story goes an 10 say that the
young man climbed up the giddy height
by cutting inches for his hands and feet,
and at last. with the same knife, carved
his own name above the initials OF the
name of the Father of His Country.
The name carved the aspirant to fame
looked about him, preparatory to de-
saeAding when be discovered that the
rock to which he chung oYeFhung the
water and rocks below, and that he
could not go down the way he had
climbed There was nothing left for
him to do but to cut inches for his hands
and feet and climb to the top as he had
climbed to his present dangerous place
And the rock above him overhung as
did the rocks to which he chung. The
etory then went on to graphically por-
tyRy the painful and laborious work he
had in reaching the top, how, of last
when within o few feet Of tho surface
of the bridge. friends who had gathered
about with bated breath reached down
with ropes and in some way adjusting
them to ham, succeeded in hauling him
to the top
OF course, to give a rounding finish to
the story, the young man had to fall
fainting into their arms as soon as he
had reached the top. Now, anybody who
has read this thrilling story, and there
few who have not. will go to the
bridge with the confident expectation
of seeing that young mans name and
seeing the inches so laboriously cut
in the rock. He will be disappointed.
There are no inches there. There never
was any young man to perform this
task, there never was g young, or old,
or middle-aged man who could do it, for
the blue limestone at the Natural Bridge
is almost as hard as granite. A knife
would make no more impression in that
rock than would rats teeth on q file.
The initials &C. W." whose ever they
are, were chiseled in the rock with q
cold chisel. There ART few admirers OF
the great G. w. who believe that he
ever had the time or disposition to get
a ladder and climb up twenty or thirty
feet for the purpose of chiseling his
name in those hard rocks G. w. al.
ways had more important business in
hand. The &c. W." are there fast
enough, and a rectangular frame has
been chiseled around them, but there is
o very prominent suspicion lurking ip
my mind that q. w. himself never saw
them.-Oor. Cincinnati Tmes-Star.