The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1901-09-13

EuIOp5 may nave ner SWltZer
land, the West its Colorado, the Pa
ciiic coast may glory in her Sierr,
Nevada, and British Columbia il
her Cascade range, but nowhere OF
the face Of the earth is there a regior
more picturesquely, more charm
ingly beautiful than the mountain
Country Of Western North Carolina
POLITICALLY known as "The Land o.
the Sky" 1t is true there are
mountains of greater elevation in
each of the localities named, but
the greatest canvases in the gallery
of art are not the choicest gems, mol
is the beauty Of nature to he meas.
ured on geodetic lines. Where the
mountain ranges of the west are
rugged, barren and forbidding,
those in western North Carolina are
robed in deep hued forests to their
highest SUBMITS. Where the great
er peaks OF the Sierre Nevada frown,
those of "The Land OF the Sky"
smile through banks of rhododen-
drons and azaleas. Where the val
leys Of the one are rocky and i'm
passable gorges, in the other they
are fern-carpeted forest labyrinths,
through which crystal streams tum.
BILE merrily along over moss-grown
rocks in their race to the open.
Picture in your mind a region
where range after range of heavily
forested mountains parallel each
other like waves Of the sea, while in
terlacing valleys are rich with ver-
due and flowers, and where silver
streams murmur increasingly. I'M
agine an air SO light and pure that
breathing itself seems a new found
Joy; then throw over all canopy
of bluest Of italian blue, and you
have 1.-The Land OF the Sky"
The rugged mountain region EN-.
braces the extreme western portion
of North Carolina and the eastern
edge Of Tennessee. Within these
confines are several districts alike in
their general features, but each hav.
ing distinct charms and advantages
peculiarly its own. The one most
generally visited has Asheville for
its tourist center.
None the less beautiful, however,
is that country in and about Blow
ing Rock and Grandfather's Noun
tain, of which Lenoir is tho entire
pot. Southeast OF Asheville are the
Flat Rock, Tryon and Sapphire re-
gions, which attract many visitors
because Of the charming environ
ments. Southwest of Asheville,
and between that city and Murphy,
is the Balsam Mountain country,
wild, solitary and Swiss-like, with
the Hayward Sulphur Springs as
the chief tourist rendezvous. Over
to the west, and near the Tennes-
see line, is the less rugged, but
more picturesquely beautiful, terri
tory in and about the Hot Springs,
while almost due north from here
and across the Tennessee line looms
up, in the majesty Of its towering
height, Roam Mountain, crowned by
a hotel, the highest building east Of
Colorado, and favorite summer
place for people from
near and far. TAKEN as a whole,
no similar area on the western con-
tinent compares with "The Land OF
the Sky" in beauty or sublimity.
In square miles it is the equal OF
Switzerland. In attractiveness, ac-
and health it is its rival.
The Southern Railway, which
brings 1.-THE Land of the Sky" with
in easy reach, approaches it from
all directions Of the compass. From
st. Louis daily sleeping cars are op-
Grated direct to AshevilIe, which is
an all-the- year-iound resort, thus
putting st. Louis tourists into that
beautiful region with only one night
IN the road.-Globe- Democrat, st.
Louis, July 4, 1901.