The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-08-10
IN A CAROLINA FOREST.
Vanlerbilt's Vast Wooded Estate
aid the Wilds Of Pisgah.
NATURE UN MOLESTED.
the Grandeur Of tho Trees Il Never
EEA>i,l:: Wonder <oblcSt lew
America Affords.


in George N;lnIrrhilt'> two great ,lrvtl
..l,mvn1 iIr:lS as shown first in his Ril1-
mere. estate and next in his l'i>H;ih for
est. The latter is Il true forest. ile
WAS 81, fur1una1t as to discover il place
where nature had nrrn wtll-niyh unmo
lt>tru H:I then to secure tins Aill allow
he: to work her own sweet Wall. And
it i 10 be Il pilgrimage to liSyah that
THIS is to hr Il story.
There are some 10000 acres IN Hil1-
There are 100000 acres in liSEah for
Est. e which few know anything. Tie
latter is about forty miles in length, and
takes it's name from it's dominating peak.
Mt. piSgah. which is Il true cone. and
which is Il landmark even amid all the
peaks III that vast lrrtyular and lofty
p!a'ran between the Blue, Ridge and
i;rra1 Smoky mountains. East and west
thus plateau is walled in by the Hottest
nl"llii1;lillS east OF the Rockies.
t,rilS from Raleigh to .\Shtviiit. which
i the gateway to tine ElnrirS of the m"un-
l"n1 region which the Cherokee Indians
bv>'hiI> of N11nlay. the train climbs t"
~ S""nnAn"a pass. 1hrrnSn ne Blue
l'ii-", :::!l pi.'rrv> the rlrs! Of the great
:>lTi,'" through SWnNnAl',a tunnel. > }1i'
feet ;'h"v'' sea l,'v"l. l'Ir stream flowing
'nll of the eastern portal of the t;iN:lrl
u!
the VI, stem portal into the Gulf OF N'\-
i" VIA the SWanAu',"a. >}lr Preach
i',"H;l, l!!r Tennessee Hn'l the MISSISSIPPI
III. In i!rt lu!inrl is the Sr;lIvr OF the
SW"nNa!!":l. famed in story ANIL song.
"n:,h AZ A~Erv!'r Ein=iv> with the
Ere 1i,.h H%,;>tl. lrvr,l Of the Chtrul>"t>,
A;,I h.: 1i!r'n Called Tah-Nr,'-',~-lrr. the
~isAri:l- river.
ri>!ah ;vr'~, is "Mr Va Yam rI,r,'.
\ wire fence. nrrrly 1:lrrt strands of
barb. outlines ii and forms its boundary.
r"|> a quarter ct Il mile o't<i'!r this
.r:nr is the las! house. Il tiny r'tlH">
n'>' ;r,l in, LYLE r"vr its .w,!''> I'm
"-, Il G, Hp!r. The old :l.;in in his rude
l'n' kindly tA>hiun said hr liked \ir VAN
''rri'ji1 we'll. and a''.ir'l "llr is a mi-:i,1y
&C 'Hn:'n n!an: real r",nninE. BY this
l".u:r|N !'|!:;:>,, H. r;r"1lt that tn" ':'li'i
mlli,H.;irr did vet pat ON airs but was
trir!!I!y and >u"iullr.
The Pink ';rt:.
All the way from the boundary fence
t" 1hr zap. which opens the way 10 the
1HlIln" WATER This is the one sound
which is cra>tl;<>y heard Ill over Pts
-"h: the rush or the fail of the mountain
streams. which most "i the time are
'hrn>rlvr> invisible. perhaps high over
E>'tN or IN Il gorge Thousand feet be-
steep. and the >Nrr-t"otrl mules have
plenty If work to Ito. but they fairly
be nj to it. The driver who. like the
mnuntalNtrrS in general. is Il man of few
words say, Its mighty good road for
mount il. The p'"l'lrrS on foot have
tt best of it,
From the top Of the gap there is Il
=lHrlnNS view over the Vanderbilt do
m;;in to the northWarl. and to the SOUTH
W;lrd view even int" South Carolina.
Thus looked at there is an apparently
h"nndlrSS rNpan>r Of virgin forest. But
the movement downward is begun and
IN :! quarter of an hour the pilgrims are
III the Pink Beds the heart OF the forest,
70 Mr.. Vanderbilt this is merely part
"i his great woodland. but to the nnuun-
'Ainttr it is the Pink Beds. and under
thr latter name it appears in the =roloy
'ral maps 1t is a sort of table land. n,'~
tween high and nearly parallel ridges,
th!rad'1 with streams as bright as II
'""kin=- glass. all running in beds of solid
>trnr. literally Ike flights Of steps. and
which seem like quicksilver as they
jlHSh or fall from their lofty sources.
II" origin OF the name Pink Beds is
in hi>put". ii seems. IT most probably
j derived from the rolor< of the rhnd,,-
'tnHr"n which is so prufu>r as to make
thr country for miles lock in May and
june like Il conservatory. The bushes on
which these "irh-hueI flower grow. form
\ 'rll!n1ipC| tanGl". save where the
great forest trees crowd them out One
OF the mn1ntalnrrr>. when asked for his
]'ta of the origin of the l,ame Sa in
most rr">Alr manner. I don't rightly
know where tn" name comes from. but
| nave heard EN- say Il man one time.
Pad q cow here manned Pink and she cot
'":-@'u up III ma shy place and dice,
There"
The i'i<gah forest has cost VANDERBILT,
something like Il quarter of Il million of
'lnlHl>. or about $50 an acre, He has
bought !; III great or small tracts us r,1}-
idly as r">>~ih" and now his rangers are
me only, dtniz'n>. There are five Of
Them, ali pick men OF the mountains.
of fine physique. good riders and dead
shots. One Of them comes to NEE, the
pilgrims and looks at their permit which
- Il very Important piece Of plWr. This
forester, who's" name is Krarn<. is Il
type TT the rangers. %nuu-humurrh. tall
and strong, Wrllmountcl, with repeating
rifle $lun$ at his back. saddle bags and
are like an open book. and upon him and
his ASSOCIATES Il great and nrr>Sant re-
>pnn>ihility devulvpS. They must keep
open the roads and the trails see that
the boundary fence, 300 miles in length
is all right; keep out poachcrs. look after
The game and trout. and always be on
the alert for timber StcalcrS The poach-
rrS would come from near and far to
catch the trout or rather to kill them by
exploding dynamite cartridges in the
deep cool pools where the big fellows
urk; or to kill the deer, the grouse tor
pheaSantS, as they are known popularity,
or the wild turkeys. At an incredible
distance the trained ear Of the ranger
will hear the exploding Of dynamite, and
he tracks the offender unerringly, even
into other counties, and once into Ten
ntSSee.
There are 2G5J miles Of trail in this for
est, the trails leading alongside each
trout stream. There are seventy miles
of road passable for wagon.
The Forest Primeval.
The grandeur of the trees is Il never
reasing wonder. Enormous tulip trees or
poplarS, Spanish and red oaks, hemlockS,
chestnuts; black walnuts. cucumber trees
and pines, rise in size and symmetry, and
make the views grand in the extreme.
Here the destructive lumberman has
never despoiled the forest primeyal.''
The trees cover all nature.
For miles on miles their haZy files
Grow nebulously dim,
and there is always, thanks to this great
forest. the tender blue which gives the
Blue Ridge its name. no matter whether.
the weather be fair or foul, the color of
h<r,n ,{.S> T.