The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-07-16
THE PRESIDENTS
MOUNTAIN TRIP
THROUGH TIE LAND OF THE SKY.

Long before the war it was noted for
its dry climate and bracing atmos-
phere, and since then newcomers have
bu..t city on air. The streets and
the houses have their brick and NOR
tar, but the real foundation of Ashe-
vile is an exhilarating, aerial cham
pagne that stimulates to the point of
Of intoXcation.
1t is said that Major Mckinley,
having tasted this beverage, neglected
wine of the vinta. e of '43 and even the
protection punch that Mr.. Mckissick
brewed in his honor Looking out on
that grand panorama and drinking in
that ambrosial air that comes over the
mountains, man forgets the monoto-
ny of every day life and loses himself
in a Nirvana of rest. A commonplace
mortal becomes poetic and your coun-
try-cracker throws off his shuffling
gate and walks with grace:
Hard by this Nirvana is the Garden
of Eden, brought down to date by
George w. Vanderbilt. The roads,
which are perfect, wind through miles
of flowers that mingle their perfumes in
indescribable bouquets. The wild
flowers of this region and exotics from
all parts Of the world grow up togeth-
er. The mountain laurel and the
rhadedendron grow side by side, and
the running honeysuckle is joined with
rarer plants in the same border. Miles
of spruce and balsam line the roads,
and all but the hills and slopes the in
digenous and transplanted shurbs arc
intermingled so that it is difficult to
tell where nature leaves off and art be-
gins.
The absence of humidity from the
air about Ashevillc rids the climate of
the sultriness which is so oppressive
elsewhere. When other cities were
sweltcring under the heat of 95 or 100
degrees, the guests at the Battery Park
hotel were enjoying balmy breezes
with temperatures of IS.
The approach to Asheville from Sal
isbury, ever the Southern Railway,
is through charming country which
is especially beautiful at wheat harvest.
From the car windows you see thous-
ands of acres of golden grain, standing
OF in shock. Governor Holt is run
ming ten harvesters this week and will
make 10000 bushels of wheat.
From Salisbury the train ascends
gradually to Old Fort, where the
mountains rise to height of 5000
feet. 1t takes two powerful engines
to pull the train up Round Knob.
In twelve miles they climb 400 feet.
Fourteen times the tract doubles round
the Knob before it reaches the summit
Rushing out of Il long tunnel, the train
whirls into full view of Royal Gorge,
a grand avenue along the mountains,
with broken valley between. As far
as the eye can reach mountains r.se to
right and left. This grand vista is
worth coming miles to see. The Blue
Ridge breaks up into veritable play
ground of 'Titans
From Royal Gorge the track de-
scends by easy stages. In half an
hour the picturesque Swannanoa leads
you into Asheville. There you find
clean, well-kept town of $4,000 people,
surrounded by eminences crowned
with hotels and Villas The finest
view is from Battery Park hotel,
which holds the site of & fort and is
reached by an electric car. There you
get panoramic view which is hardly
elualed this side of the Rocky Noun
tains. Nature has thrown out cor
don Of mountain peaks that surround
the place like gigantic sentine!s. 1t
is a great circle forty or fifty miles in
diameter. and through the middle Of
the valley flow the Swannanoa and the
French Broad. Away off in the dis
trance shread of white cloud tlecks
the mountain side. Farther away an
other spreads its white wings over
IIominy Creek Gap. The mountains
rise to height of 5000 or 5000 feet,
heavily wooded to their SUBMITS.
Asheville is $500 feet above sea
level, and Biltmore house is about 3
500 Over the valley of the French
Broad and the Swannanoa 4 heavy
mist rises soon after sunrise and floats
away. Sometimes in the afternoon
YOU can look across and sec thunder
storm in the mountains, twenty miles
distant. When Pisgah is thus cnvel
oped YOU think of Sinai with its cloud
and its thunders, or Of Byron's descrip-
ton Of l. storm in the lps--
From crag to crag leaps the live
thunder"
From Asheville back to Atlanta, by
way of the french Broad and the Hols-
ton river. the journey is Il pastoral po-
EN-. \ man who has seen wheat har-
vest on the Holston river and the up
per Tennessee, will want to quit every
thing else and go to farming. East
Tennessee is 4 garden from Newport |