The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1896-07-03
The Indian Ladder.


From the owosso Press:
MEADOWS OF DAN, Va, June II, '96.
On the Blue Ridge Mountains twelve
miles from this place is mountain top
whose lofty peak towers far above its
neighbors, and clinging to it are many
traditions of Indian days. 1t projects out
into the canyon, and is said to be $500
feet higher than the river at its base. 1t
is so called from the fact that it formed a
short cut across this canyon from the
west half of the mountain to the east
half, as Dan River cuts this mountain
into halves lengthwise for forty miles or
more. Two sides of this hat-iron shaped
point are perpendicular for many hun
dred feet, and the point is nearly so, and
in making the ascent or descent one
climbs from crag to ledge and very mar
row projections, only few inches Of I'M
| certain rock between you and an almost
| fathomless abyss. One has to climb tall
pine tree, making the journey up and
down. This point is Immediately oppo-
site the Pinnacles of Dan. The river far
below its rocky summit spreads out like
vast mirror before you, its rapid waters
glittering in the morning sun like rib
bon of FURNISHED silver. From its sum-
NIT the Smoky Mountain in North Caro-
lima can be plainly seen, together with
the highest mountains east of the Rock
les, Mt Mitchell, Grandfather and Blue
Beard being the most conspicuous of
them all.
From this point the tourist, if his
"wind is good" can spend long time
pleasantly in wandering amid some of the
widest, grandest scenes to be found on
this continent. Few places possess such
power over the mind as does the wild,
desolate looking landscape from this
point. Looking down, the surrounding
bleakness and desolation render this
place one of awful grandeur. The hand
Of Him who rules the universe is no
where else more marked, and in no place
which have ever visited have l felt so
utterly alone, so completely isolated from
mankind and left entirely with nature.
On every hand, near by, high bold mass
es of granite rear their gray sides, piled
one on the other in wild confusion. The
scene is peculiarly impressive if it should
be one of those days when the clouds
float low down the horizon; one looks
over the intervening space between him
and the mountain ranges beyond and sees
naught but floating masses of vapor-no
forest, only these fleecy shapes and long
dark line rising above them, o'ertopped
by the gray sides of the ancient Smoky,
in good weather their slopiDg sides en-
robed in the greenest of all green cover
ing. Standing there as lone sentinel in
the midst of this vast wilderness of noun
tains, it possesses a wondrous beauty as
a recompense for its utter isolation up so
high. And now on this bright spring
morn when the earth puts on her lowell
est garments is the time to view them
and to carry away with you a pleasing
remembrance. You do not care to view
them in late fall and winter when the
green here has given place to the dusky
brown or parched and gittering gray
Then their rock crowned SUBMITS are
wreathed in snow, which falls in feecy
folds and life chilling shrouds far down
their cold gray sides.
Far away to the southwark the range
blends with the sky, and the dim, indis
tinct lines of green and gray blend in
one, while above them the clear blue o
the mighty dome seems to float and quiv
er space and then sweeps down to joir
them, blending with them in one mas