The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-04-25
THROUGH UNION AND FANNIN.
THE INDIAN LEGENDS OF TRACK
ROCK AND MOTLEY RIVER.

THE INDIAN LEGENDS OF TRACK
ROCK AND MOTLEY RIVER.
BIairsvfIle, the Thriving Capital of
Union County, and Some of Its
PeopIe-A Drive From BIairsvilIe
to Ranger, n. c., Over Bell Noun
tain in the Tracks of the Gold
seekers, and Across the Natley
River. Then by Rail to Blue Ridge.
Fannin County, Memorial to Col.
James Fannin, who Died mt Golind
hy santa Annals Brutal order.
Between Young Harris and Blairs-
willie lies Track Rock. prominent
farmer and a jolly good fellow, Capt.
w. w. Irwin, told me that the place
derived it's name from Track Rock or
Enchanted Mountain. On this noun
tain there are, or were, hundreds of
stones, upon which were cut the tracks
of human feet and those of birds, bears,
deer, turkey, horses, and other ami
mated creatures. The ruthless hands of
the collectors for museums have taken
cravings on those that are left are in
many instances we'll executed. Who
these artists were, and when and how
they did their chseling, there is not
even a tradition. The Indians who
lived in the mountains, when the white
man came across the Blue Ridge, said
the work was done so far back that
even an Indian Ananias would not at
tempt to say how many moons previous
those red Michael Angeles lived. There
is a story that the mountain was the
scene of a sanguinary battle between
the Cherokees and Catawbas, and the
hieroglyphics are those of an Indian
historian a Macauley, or a Watson, as
it were, and if we could only translate
the work of their stone chisels they
would, like Hamlet's fathers ghost, "a
tale unfold" This is why We nave
a postoffiee in Georgia called Track
Rock.
There is another story about
Track Rock Mountain. 1t is
said that Noah's big canoe
rested on it's peaks and when
the family of the patriarch, and the
living things that God ordered him to
take in pairs into the aii5, landed in
the ooze. or silt, that remained when
the waters receded. they left their
tracks behind Them. as they started
this old world in business again. In
evidence to the correctness Of this
thecrg. it IS pointed out that several
Of tho Impressions of human feet show
six toes. and Noah was a six-toed man.
There is nothing like circumstantial
evidenced
Blairsville is another pleasant noun
tain town, and like the good city we
read oe in the Bible. Sis upon hill.
1t is the county seat of Union county,
and has a new court house, an excel
lent school, the Blairsville High School,
a good hotel. and a number of stores
and dwellings.
l stopped at the Sycamore Park Ho-
tel, kept by Hon. j. A. Butt, wfo is
also lawyer and merchant. lie keeps
a hstel. because the town has to have
one, and he likes to have those who
travel from affair." and also his ne, gh-
bors, around him. He and his wife
and his daughters and sons,
maxi it very homelike for guests. 1t
was the only place in the mountains
where ! saw colored servants, but
here they We're to wait on tn BILE, brush
your shoes, or take yoar valise. The
hotel, the host and the surroundings
ton home, with the planter and his
family in the foreground
Mr.. Butt is a native of Union coun-
~, and gentleman of just my age,
and his father was one of the first
settlers. Col. Eugene w. Butt, his
brother. is the leading merchant of
the town and an extensive farmer;
both gentlemen are among the wealth.
lest citizens of the county.
Blairsville is 10 miles from Young
Harris. 1t seemed to me that there
We're more hills in that distance. than
1t was possible to count 1t was up
and then down the entire distance
The horses were either Juggling and
straining on the traces, or brakes
We're on, and the collars nearly over
the horses ears. 1t was another rainy
trip, but that did not prevent my en-
joying the scenery.
Judge Estes and his retinue arrived
at Blairsville the day after l did, and
his honor preceded to open court
with a snap. There were a number
of cases; at first the machinery of
justice did not work well: a lit
tie call you bad names" case
took all day and night that is
the jury stayed out until o'clock a.
M, and in the meantime the judge
had to walk to the court house In the
rain to enlighten the twelve citizens
on the law, and believe it was a mis-
trial after all
Union county and Blairsvlle has an
excellent newspaper, the Herald, edited
and published by Messrs HARRISON &
Critics. The office is a very modest
place, but it is evidently sufficient for
the work l spent very pleasant hour
or more with my fellow newspaper
men, who gave me the best chair and
were as clever as they could be- al
lowing me to read advance proofs of
nice editorial which they had writ
ten of the visit of the South Georgia
candidate. This is one of the advan-
tages that a newspaper man has over
other mortals. He can read his own
obituary, if he would like to know what
will be said of him when he has cross
ed the Styx.
Blairsville is named after James Blair,
a member of the Legislature, and
Union county, which was organized in
the days of the notification and Union
parties in the South QS32), was so
named because there We're none but
Union party men in 1t.
The population of Union coun-
ty, according to the census of