Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-02-26
CLEMSON DAY AT BILTMORE.
Interesting Impressions at vanderbilts
Great AshevilIe Estate.

ent at a sale Of Berkshire hogs, be-
longing to the Vanderbilt estate. The
following letter descriptive Of the trip
and of the impressions by the way, Is
as written by one Of the boys to his
mother, and it will no doubt prove OF
almost equal interest to most of our
readers. 1t is dated from Clemson COL
lege:
1t was o'clock when we arrived at
Asheville, and 1t took an hour to get
straightened out and have supper. The
meal came in courses, on Individual
dishes, served by pretty white walt
resses. The Clemson crowd must nave
afforded much amusement for the oth-
er travellers. We are not exactly used
to hotel life, and of course, not few
blunders were made. I believe we nave
some sort of a joke on every one VINO
went, and the local department OF
next months Chronicle will be well NIL
ed. After cleaning up all the supper
in sight, we went to the opera house, and
afterward part Of us went to bed ana
the rest stayed out an hour or so long
err. The next morning. PROFESSOR
Rawl got us four three seated hacks
and we put out for Biltmore.
First we went through the poultry
yards, where the artstocratic White
Leghorns live in state and seem to pc
conscious of their superiority. Their
houses and yards were almost gooo
enough for people. to live In. 1t was
the wrong time for Matching, but three
or four of fifteen or twenty large IN
cubators were turning out chicks at the
rate Of several hundred per week.
We then drove to the Berkshires,
| where the hog sale was held, and spent
most Of an hour there. I am sending
you a catalogue, giving pictures and
descriptions Of the hogs, that tells
about them much better than I can. l
have also marked, the prices for which
most of them sold, and: a good many
cases have put the nal.les Of the buy
ers. Just think of the first hog bring
ing five hundred dollars! At that rate
could not have bought the tall. we
soon got over our astonishment, now
ever, and did not express much: sur
prise when shown q Jersey bull Tor
which they had been offered $4,000, ana
which amount had been refused. Be
fore the sale lunch was served to the
300 people who were there. There
were plenty Of ham sandwiches, crack
ers, cheese coffee, bread and butter:
There were also different kinds of
cakes, and to finish up, buckets of milk
punch were brought in. This in my
opinion, was what helped to sell the
hogs. There were seventy sold, and the
average price was $3.50.
| When the sale was nearly over, we
drove around the grounds, passing the
mansion. 1 had never thought much
about Vanderbilt's house and its mag
nificence struck me with wonder. l
have seen large buildings and grounds,
| but this to be owned by one man Is the
most wonderful. Of all. We could only
drive through the gates of the court In
front, about fifty yards from the house.
No one stays there now, but those VINO
attend to it and visitors are not allow
ed to enter. The stables, magnihcent
| in their proportions, are also unoccu-
pied, and closed. While I wanted to
60 through the buildings, still did not
care so much to see inside, being con-
tented with looking at it from the out
side.
The scenery from there Is beyond de-
scription. Everywhere. stretching away
for miles, are Vanderbilt's fertile hill
sides, some in cultivation while the rest
are covered with many different kinds
of young trees all planted, the whlte
pines predominating. The macadam-
lied roads wind around the hills and In
and out of the groves, bordered on
|
berry and trailing and creeping vines OF
all sorts. There was not leaf to be
seen on the hard white surface OF the
drives, and the land looked as If 1t had
been swept, so clean did everything ap-
pear.
Through the cultivated fields there
was a strip Of Bermuda sod for ten
feet on either side of the drive.
| When we got back to Asheville II
| ~ nd
short time to drive over the city un-
| til dark. This Is not a business town.
Every thing indicates that 1t is place
of residences. There are some OF the
finest dwellings and hotels I ever saw.
What I liked best however, was the
general freshness Of appearance OF
everything. There was something IN
the atmosphere that was different from
that of the lowlands and the weather
was not nearly so cold as I thought 1t
would have been.
| It was rather late when we retired
that night and we were surprised the
next morning to hear the porter wake
Ius up with $3.50 last call for break
fast" Half of the crowd went with
Prof. Rawl on the trolley for Biltmore
| in about an hour. We the latter ones,
followed half an hour later on the next
car. When we arrived at the station
the others had walked on to the barns.
There were no hacks to meet us as
out later that the manager had to use
the hacks to carry around a party OF
northern people.
| A driZZling rain was falling and
three mile walk under such circum.,
stances was no pleasant prospect, and
quite a contrast to our travelling the
day before. Several who were not reel
ing we'll turned back at the gate, while
six of us started to overtake the first
party, and / for one am not sorry l
went. 1t rained harder by the time
we had gotten half way, and we saw
that we were in for it and made the
best speed we could and caught up with
| them at the cowbarn. We did not get
very muddy however, for at every low
place there Is drain sunk in the ROAD
that carries off the water as fast as 1t
collects. We were wet and the big
coal fire at the office Of the Berkshires
was very comfortable. The manager
had luncheon for US which consisted
of plenty of coffee and the remains of
the previous days repast. Before this
we inspected the dairy barns and
everything seems like a dream to me
now. During our hurried glance at the
COWS and their surroundings l could
just look and that was all. Papa saw
our new barn here. If I used to think
it was a big thing. now compared to
Biltmore, it is less than a needle would
| look in hay stack.
Then all the floors are made Of as
phalt and the stalls of steel bars. How
many COWS are there, I don't pretend
TO know, but 1 do know we saw over
two hundred. The man in charge
said that there were two other barns
one larger than this. Nearly all the
COWS were imported.
There are a number of Golden Lad