The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1904-03-09

Interesting Impressions at Vanderbilt'ss
Great Asheville Estate.
Yorkville Enquirer.


A large party of Clemson boys were
taken to Biltmore recently to be pres
ent at 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. It is datad from
Clemson College
y n
1t was 8 o'clock when he arrived at
Asheville, and it took an hour to get
Strengthened out and have supper.
The meal came in courses, Oh indi-
vidual dishes, served by pretty white
waitresses. The Clemson crowd must
have afforded much amusement for
the other travellers. We are not ex-
actly used to hotel life, and of course,
not few blunders were made. be-
lieve we have some sort Of joke on
every one who went, and the "local
department" Of next months Chroni-
Gle will be veil filed. After cleaning
up all the supper in sight. we went to
the opera house, and afterward part of
Us went to bed and the rest stayed
out an hour or so longer. 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 aristocratic White
Leghorns live in state and seem to be
conscious ee their superiority. Their
houses and yards were almost good
enough for people to live in. 1t was
the wrong timefo Matching, but three
or four Of fifteen or twenty large incu-
bators 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 q catalogue, giving pictures and
descriptions of the hogs, that tells
about them much better than I can.
[ have also marked the prices for
which most of them soid, and iu d
good many cases / have put the names
of the buyers. Just think of the first
hog bringing five hundred dollarsl At
that rate could not have bought the
tail. We soon got over our astonish-
ment, however, and did not express
much surprise when shown Jersey
bull for which they had been offered
$4,000, and which amount had been
refused. Before the sale lunch was
served to the 800 people who were
there. There were plenty Of ham
sandwiches, crackers, cheese, coffee,
bread and butter. There were also
different kinds Of cakes, and to finish
up, buckets of milk punch wore
brought in. This in my opinion, was
what helped to sell the hogs. There
weTe seventy sold, and the average
price was $3.50.
When the sale was nearly over, we
drove around the grounds, passing the
mansion. I had never thought much
about Vanderbilt's house aud it's mag
nifoenoe struck me- with wonder. T
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 who attend to it and visitors
aTo not allowed 10 enter. The stables,
magnificent in their proportions, are
also unoccupied, aud closed. While I
wanted TO 60 through the buildings,
etill | did not care 80 much to see in
side, being oontented with looking at
it from the outside.
The scenery from there is beyond
description, Everywhere, stretching
away fer miles, srs Vanderbilt fer
tile hillsides, some in cultivation while
the rest are covered with many differ
ent kinds Of young trees all planted,
the white pines predominating. The
macadamized roads wind around the
hills and in and out Of the groves,
bordered on either side by the choic-
est Of shrubbery and trailing and
creeping vines Of all sorts. There
was not leaf 70 be seen on the hard
white surface Of the drives, and the
land looked as if it had been swept, SO
clean did everything appear.
Through the cultivated fields there
was q strip Of Bermuda and for ten