Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-09-18
AUTUMN ON THE MOUNTAINS.
The Hunting seaSOn--eregg's Knob and
stem Roek-Excurslonlsts' Paradise.

/ tumn, is fast approaching up mere, 5iOUO
/ feet above sea level, and soon our hills
/ and wales will appear in their most
1 brilliant and beautiful costumes which
/ Nature so plentiiullv provides. Au-
tumn on the mountains, especially on
/ The highest point of the Allegheny
range has far different meaning than
the usual term as applied to the low
l lands. When the first day OF Septem
Der has come and gone, then we begin
% look for different enjoyment and
/ sport from what charecterizes our sum
[ mer seasons, Summer is all right, as it
gOes-in a lazy, ind fferent sort OF man
ner. the past one having been intoler-
| ably dry aud warm-but when the early
I frosts descend and tinge the leaves and
shrubbery with brilliant hues, then life
/ takes on a different aspect to many.
/ The heart of the hunter and sportsman
rebounds within him IS the hunting sea-
son approaches, and he perchance i'm
AGNES himself in somo prlmeval forest,
/ with the wiley squirrel saucily throw
/ ing nuts from trees at him, yet man
aging TO keep carefully hid behind
! sheltering limb. Squirrels are quite
] plentiful here this season, as are also
Dheasants, wild turkeys and partrldges.
/ III this letter comes before the vision OF
a true hunter the best thing no can do
/ is 10 hastily pack his grip" polish up
| his guns and take straight course for
/ Terra Alta. The game laws Of the State
provide for the killing OF turkeys from
September Is and for pheasants from
/ October 1. The partridge season does
not come in until November l. This Is
also the season for excursion parties TO
neighbOring points OF interest, and al
most every day marks the passage OF
CAV party TO "Greeg's Knob" or "Stem
| Rock" Cheat River or other points.
| "Greeg's Knob" is o knob OF high
ground located about two and One-half
miles north OF here, and is quite an en-
| chanting spot. From its altitude OF
! 8. 200 feet the tourist Is able to see as
far as his vision will penetrate. 1t is
said that ono can see into five different
States from the knob, namely: Virginia,
West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and
| Kentucky. As far as the eye
can reach toward tho south,
\ east and west rise up miles and miles OF
eternal mountains with their peaks
\ seemingly touching the sky, and far,
\ far away the dim blue line marks where
mountain and sky apparently meet.
"Stem Rock" is mountain scenery
\ also, but vastly different from the above.
/ While the Knob is grand in its great
sublimity and amount of miles, the
\ Stem Is doubly so in its wildness and
variation. Leaving this point at noon,
\ one reaches the base of Shaggy noun
| tain" inside Of two hours, going by con-
veyance, and then the horses and
wagons must be left aud the ascent
/ made on foot Up over little knobs we
/ 20, here passing a wild flower and there
/ o fern, the scenery every moment
/ growing wilder until the top OF the
mountain is reached. Then we begin
I to round mammoth rocks, Chamber over
/ dead logs and pass under half-iallen
/ trees; now we will have a carpet OF
\ softest green moss, ankle-deep, TO walk
over, and again dead leaves and brush
/ where turks the poisonous rattleSnako
ready to give q warning hiss and spring
mon an intruder. However, the
snakes are not plentiful around here,
/ thanks to the hereditary" kill
/ ing OF them by Sigh" Som
mers, a Shaggy mountaineer,"
who has killed 149 OF the reptiles this
/ season, "and still trGckin' more" &C
cording to his own statement. But to
90 back to the subject. At length
,"Stem Rock" is reached, rising sheer
/ thirty feet in the air and looking very
! much like a huge stem on watch (de-
/ irving its name from its appearance),
| and the ascent begins. When ladies are
/ in the party it is necessary for one gen.
| tleman to Chamber Up, giver her his
hand, and with the assistance Of an al
pine stick and "main strength and awi-
/ wardness" draw her on to the first land
ing. Then a winding path" as ii
hewn out Of the solid rock, carries one
on a few feet farther, and presently,
1 amid laughter and jest, suppressed
sbrieks and fears, the whole party is
| landed on the very top OF the rock. Az
first glance at the magnificent scenery
spread before one 10 all its glory, the
/ bahOlder can only stand and dum0ly
gaze Down the mountain side to the
| left rise up huge powders as II ready
| and awaiting the slightest push to go
crashing down ond destroy the face OF
all nature in their mad descent. Further
down tall monarchS OF the forest decKed
in beautiful colors of red, yellow, green
and brown add q lustre to the
scene that can be found only
n Autumn time. Here and there stand
skeletons of trees whose glory and life
have long departed, but reminding US
OF posted sentinelS jealousy guarding
and dumbly waving their dead arms az
the great intruder Time, who needs not
| saw mills or factories TO put the marx
OF the destroyer on many of tho choice
hits of timber that adOrn our forests
On the rock itself are natural juts OF
stone that can be used as seats 20 &C
commodate q large party OF tourists.
/ Surrounding the rock are others, some
OF larger dimensions, but none aspiring
10 the height possessed by the stem.
This is an excellent place TO take lunch,
and bye aud bye when the scene has
grown and is lndelibly stamped on the
memory and vision Of the beaolder' the
appetite comes in for its share Of atten-
ton, the baskets are brought up ana
the contents interviewed. But such
pleasure cannot last forever, and as
daylight is far preferable TO darkness
20 make tho descent, all take last,
fond lingering look aud with SIGH say
! farewell. The descent is much easier
than the ascent and more largely de-
voted 10 the beauties OF naturc-ferns,
flowers, &c. IL is rather late for
Wild 1owers-but oh, the ferns!
All colOrs and varieties
the fragile, tender and delicate maiden
hair fern, the clumsy and almost black
rock fern, the blue mountain fern
! growing often six and seven feet high
and the numerous other varieties are