The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-08-10

g convinced that such q sound pro-
ceeded from q a sucker pecking
away on a dead, hollow limb! At the
bottom of the gorge flows a small
branch, and at n place it rushes
down q bold declivity for about three
feet, making a miniature cataract. AS
we approached this spot, a noise en-
anated like the rush of many waters.
Louder and louder it got, until we ex-
pected a veritable Niagara would come
in sight. Judge Of our surprise when
we stood over this puny waterfall, lit
tie but loud. Jogging along, wonder
ing what would come next, we were
startled by a series of sounds like so
many steam whistles turned loose, and
which came from a clump of laurel
bushes a little ahead. After dilligent
searching through the mazes of the
thicket, to our utter amRzement, there
sat a wood thrush. singing away those
selfsame notes which, ordinarily are so
soft and flute like that he is deservedly
pronounced the sweetest of all wild
wood songsters. / had to pause right
here to make an endeavor to take in
the wonders of this marvellous gorge,
for my faculty of wonder was aroused
to the utmost. So l proposed to my
companions to dispose of the lunch
VIZ had the forethought to bring with
is. But we had sOon to desist, for in
biting off pieces of hard tack, the
sensation produced by the sound arts
ing therefrom was like taking the top
of our skulls of-the noise was like
the breaking off of icebergs from the
edge of the glaciers around the North
Pole. After this attempt to crunch our
lunch we proceeded down the gorge.
We had not progressed many steps be
fore we we're. attracted by a deep, So
norous, mum9d sound, reminding us
of the rumbling of distant thunder.
1t seemed to proceed from q little pool
in the branch not far ahead, and upon
approaching, there sat a green-headed
google eyed bull frog on the bank. As
he dived out of sight, his plunge made
a noise like that of a huge boulder
hurled into a lake from the top Of a
precipice. Presently after this, a noise
filled the air all around us, resembling
the humming of the machinery of a
cotton mill in full blast, when, 10 and
behold, a bee few by and settled upon
a wild ''touch me no" blossom. He had
80 hnao IN fhn hANooo~n 0~au n E0-
seconds when a tremendous glug, glug
came therefrom. It was the noise
made by the bee in the act of sucking
honey from the flower. Up to this
time not a breath of air was percepti'
BILE in the gorge, but on a sudden
a breeze sprung up, and stimuli,
~taneously the whole air was filed with
sounds reminding us of beating car
pets with long poles, interpreted with
noises similar to those produced by
the Tipping of huge canvass sails. We
we're sometime in accounting for this
phenomenon. At length 1T was sug-
gested that perhaps it was the result of
the rustling of the leaves by the wind,
which I soon found was the case by
placing my ear close to bunch of quiv-
ering leaves which nearly deefened
me, and the sounds ceasing at this
iuncture with the dying away Of the
wind still further confirmed the fact.
We were now nearing the end Of the
gorge, and we observed that the sounds
were not as intense es towards the
middle. But before we emerged into a
natural state of things we thought Of
trying the effects of a pistol shot. W.
fired a ehot and the report was equal
to the concentrated conclusion Of ten
simultaneous claps- Of thunder. The
conclusion, indeed, vas so great that
it nearly knocked US down. As we
proceeded through this marvel OF won
ders we had to address each other in
whispers, and even the lowest at our
command, came forth with s~tentoEian
loudness and volume, while en ordi
nary conversational tone OF voice was
90 tremendously thun3 erous that the
words uttered were not distiugulshable
but seemed like the meaningless shouts
from the throat of a 40 times piled up
Goliah.
AS we retraced our steps towards
camp we could scarcely realize the
contrast batween the wo0ders OF
Thunder Clap HolIer" and a natural
state Of things, and it exercised our
powers TO tho utmost TO convince u
selves of the reality of what we had
just witnessed, and which fingered in
the mini like Impressions OF a dream.