The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-08-10
IN A CAROLINA FOREST.
Van3erbilt's Vast Wooded Estate
and the Wilds of Pisgah.
NATURE UNMOLESTED.
The Grandeur Of the Trees Il Never
CcaainE Wonder <obIest View
America Affords.

in George Nanuerbilt'S two great devel-
tpment ideas. as shown first in his l}ilt-
mere estate and next in his l'i>gah for
est. The latter is Il true forest. He
WAS SO fortunate as to discover Il place
where nature had been wellnigh unmo-
Tested and then to secure tins and allow
her to work her own sweet Will. And
it is 10 be Il pilgrimage to liSgah that
this is to be Il story.
There are, some 10000 acres in Bit
more. Of which all the world knows.
est. Of which few know anything. The
latter is about forty miles in length, and
takes it's name from it's dominating peak,
Mt. IiSgah, which is Il true cone. and
which is a landmark even amid al! the
peaks in that vast, irregular and lofty
platean between the Blue Ridge and
Great Smoky mountains. East and west
this plateau is walled in by the loftiest
mountains east of the Rockies
Going from Raleigh to AShevilie, which
Is the gateway to tine glUrlcS of the NOUN
tain region which the Cherokee Indians
in their not unmuSiral tongue called the
Ovrrhil!S of Ottolay. the train climbs to
'nv SW&nnanoa pass, through the Blue
Ridge, and pierrr> the crest OF the great
divide through SWnnnaEua tunnel. :'4:)O
feet above sea Lowell. The stream flowing
out of the eastern portal OF the tunnel
runs into the Atlantic ocean: that ont of
the western portal into the Gulf OF Mex
leo via the Swannanoa. the FRENCH
Broad. the Tennessee and the MISSISSIPPI
ri. In the tunnel is the source OF the
Swannanoa. famed in story and song.
which ut -AShevi|lt min%leS with the
French Rroad. loved of the Cheroket>,
and Ivy them called Tahktt~uS-trr, the
''Itariny river.
TO all the nativr folk near and far:
1i>=ah forest is MIR. Nanderbilt'S place"
\ wire tcncr. merely tnrte strands OF
barb. outlines it and forms its, boundary.
Only Il quarter OF Il mile outside this
t':lrt is the last house, Il tiny cottage
aged crnpr The old man in his rude
hut kindly fashion said hv liked Mr.. VAN
lrrlit we'll. and added: lie is 4 mighty
common man; real conmor.' BY this
homely phrase he meant that the ,HuiIi-
. millirn*ire did not put ON airs but was
friendly and SOciahle.
The Pink Beds.
All the way from the boundary fence
t" the gap. which opens the way to the
falling water. This is the one sound
which is ceaselesSly heard all over Pts
"ah: the rush or the fall Of the mountain
streams. which most Of the time are
1hemSelvcS invisible. perhaps high over
head or in Il gorge 4 thousand feet be-
low. The last tW" miles Of road is very
steep. and the Surctootel mules have
plenty OF work to do, but they fairly
bend to it. The driver who. like the
mountaineers in general. is il man Of few
words say, ..lt's mighty good road for
mountn. The plodders on foot have
the best of it.
From the top Of the gap there is 4
glorious view over the Vanderbilt do
main to the northWard. and to the south
ward Il view even into South Carolin;]
Thus looked at, there is an apparently
houndlcSs eNpanse Of virgin forest But
the movement downward is begun. and
in 4 quarter Of an hour the pilgrims are
in the Pink Beds. the heart of the forest.
20 Mr.. Vanderbilt this is merely part
OF his great woodland but to the noun
taineer it is the Pink Beds. and under.
the latter name it appears in the =eooy-
zeal maps. 1t is a sort of table land. be-
tween high and nearly parallel ridges,
I"oking-"lasS. all running in beds of solid
stone. literally like flights Of steps. and
which seem like quicksilver as they
flash or fall from their lofty sources.
The origin OF the name Pink Beds is
in dispute. 1t seems. 1t most probably
is derived from the colors of the rhodo-
dennron, which is so profrSe as to make
June like Il conservatory. The bushes OF,
which these rich-hued flower grow. form
continuous tanglr, save where the
great forest trees crowd them out. One
of the manufacturers. when asked for his
IDEA OF the origin Of the name. said in a
most prosalc manner. I don't rightly
know where the name comes FROM hut
| have heard en- say a man one time
had a cow here named Pink and She ~nt
h,ogSc!! up i'll IL ma'Shy place and died
there
The I'isgah forest has cost Vanderbilt,
Sone1hHlS II re Il quarter OF Il million of
dollars. or about $3.50 in acre. Hr has
bought it i'll great or small tracts as ra1,-
idly as possible, and now his rangers are
the only deniZenS There are five Of
them, all picked men OF the mountains,
Of fine physique: good riders and dead
shots. One Of them comes to meet the
pilgrims and looks at their permit. which
is Il very important piece of paper. This
forester, whose name is Kearns. is a
type of the rangers. good h,lmored, tall
and strong, Wcl-mounted. with repeating
rifle slung at his back. saddle bags and
poncho. TO him these mountain wilds
are like an open book. and upon him and
his ASSOCIATES great and incessant re-
sponsibilty devolves. They must keep
the boundary fence, 800 miles in length,
is all right; keep out poachers, look after
the game and trout. and always be on
the alert for timber Stealers. The poach-
crs would come from near and far to
catch the trout, or rather to kill them by
exploding dynamite cartrid ges in the
deep cool pools where the big fellows
Turk; or to kill the deer. the grouse (or
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
neSSee.
There are 2G5 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 Primeva1.
The grandeur of the trees is a never
ceasing wonder. Enormous tulip trees 0,
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 1.-The forest primeyal'
The trees cover all nature.
For miles miles their haZy files
Grow nebulously dim,
and there is always, thanks to this great
forest. the tender blue which gives the
Blue Ridge it's name. No matter whether
the weather be fair or foul; the color OF
these mountains is always blue, deeper