Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-12-10
From Tarheel,ana.

Cincinnati aud this place was made
under cover of night. and while the
| spiritual essence of the body lay
quiescent or was wandering afar OF in
dreamland. Consequently the material
eye saw nothing of the beauties of the
famed Bluegrass Region, and the
stretch between the Queen City and
Knoxville is blank. We took break
fast at the latter city, and then sped
| on to our destination.
At the first station this side of Knox
vile we saw a box car marked ''St.
Louis & Iron Mountain" 1t was the
first reminder of home we had seen
since crossing the Father of Waters at
st. Louis. and felt like getting out
and shaking hands with the coupling
pin!
The lay of the land in East Tennes-
see is very similar to that in the Ozark
country of Missouri. Perhaps the
mountains are little higher and their
ascsats more abrupt, but the general
features do not greatly differ from the
rugged beauties of Iron and Reynolds
counties. The valleys are we'll
watered with clear. rapid running
streams, and springs of pure. cold
water abound. But the hills and
mountains here are, in addition to the
oak and pine, covered with beech and
chestnut, which are indigenous to this
section. Why these latter growths
are unknown to Southeast Missouri has
always been an enigma to me. know
of no beeches or chestnuts to the
manor born, and when imported and
carefully cultivated they generally,
after few years of uncertain life. give
up in despair and sadly refuse to put
forth their tender buds to the wooiug
of the coming spring.
About sixty miles east of this city
the railroad first approaches the most
famed streams of the Old North State
the French Broad river. 1t is in
deed beautiful stream, and the eye
never tires in looking upon it. The
railroad closely follows its tortuous
windings through the thousand peaks
and ridges that line its course. These
mountain peaks are of varying heights,
from the altitude of our own Pilot
Knob to 1000 feet. AS the road pen
etrates these recesses, and the traveller
sees impending on every side mountain
upon mountain, backed by other noun
tains farther than sight can compass,
with scarcely room for the roadbed be-
side the foaming river tortuously seek
ing its outlet, he involuntarily sighs
for more elbow-room and a surcease
from this all too-crowding grandeur.
The striking peculiarities of the
French Broad are its rapid current. its
great width and its shallowness.
Though pent up SO that one would
naturally expect to see its waters con-
fined within narrow compass, it is so
widely spread out over the narrow
valleys through which it courses that
often the bed of the railroad must be
dug into the mountain side. 1t is very
shallow and for the greater part of its
way rushes over rocks and boulders
and whirls around miniature islands
which give it turbulent grace and
beauty. 1t has the appearance of an
ideal fishing resort, but the people
here tell me that there are few or no
game fish in its waters. though some
of the tanner species abound in certain
places.
Hot Springs, thirty-seven miles east
of Asheville, is rather noted resort,
and the waters are said 10 be excellent
for people afflicted with rheumatism
and nervous diseases. OF course. we
saw but little of it in our ten minutes
stop; but we are told there is some
grand scenery in that locality.
At 1856 Eastern time) Saturday We
arrived at our destined home for the
winter, and were courteousIy welcom-
ed at the Swannanoa Hotel.
The weather the first three or four
days of our residence was all that could
be desired, and attested we'll the JUS
tice of the local designation, ''The
Land of the Sky" But since then the
clouds have lowered and rain has fall
en-, on the average, about four times
to every hour of the day. And these
showers come upon one so suddenly
and stealthily! You start out for a
walk; the sun is shining in big patches,
and the scattering clouds seem in a
harmless mood. Your umbrella will
be a useless inconvenience, and it is
left at home. OF you go. and about
the time you are we'll on your way. an
insignificant, no-account-looking sort
of q cloud steals upon you from the
rear, and down comes a fine. sitting
ram that promises to let up in a sec.
ond or two. But it doesn't. and unless
shelter is near at hand you return to