Newport weekly independent., 1904-01-29

P PAAAe VHASAN o WCll III tAC AlS II III tangible spray shrieked with af- fright and indignation.
 "They would lot dare do it. Our mountains are ot own. Our fast nesses and glenS and forests and waters belong to nature, not to puny man, whom we can brush out of the way and destroy whenever we see fit. What tempest or flood can these poor tillers of the soil escape if we join hands to wipe them and their insignificant hab- itations out of existence? ?"
 The towering hickory tree, which was nearly a century old, shook it's leaves and feathery blos- some with laughter at the useless fury of the waterfall.
 Don't get excited" the nut tree said. You evidently know very little about that curious creature, man. You can, of course, occa sionally get the better of him, and with the aid of the clements do q great deal of damage to the viii lages in the valleys, and to the fields and farms men cultivate with so much patience and care. I know all about that word, be cause the crows which fly so far afield chatter and gossip together when they come to gather nuts and perch on my branches, and they are clever and experienced birds.
 But don't deceive yourself, Glen Biern. Men are wonderful. They are wise and powerful, and it is amazing what they can and do accomplish when they are trying to grow what they call rich and prosperous. They have no regard for the wild grandeur and beauty of nature as rule. All they want is to make use of our fertile dells and hillsides and our water courses.
 ssYou had better look at the mat ter in a philosophical, plain, com mon sense fashion, forget the flat tery of the artists and painters who admire you so much, and make up your mind that sooner or later you will be turning the huge wheel of some factory. Your wayward days will be over then, and you will have to be satisfied with knowing that you are useful. That you are helping to feed and clothe the poor mountain folk living along here.
 "As to the careless, slovenlv habits of the picnickers," the old hickory tree e Ii ttiInuedd, again ss F laughing jocosely in the sunlight while bending and swaying, as the west wind from Blowing rock swept through the glen, syou had better get accustomed to their ways, because every year, if you have noticed it, more people come up here, and consequently more excursionists are going to wan der about, bent on sightseeing ex cursions, and the enjoyment of eating luncheon in the open air, which adds to their appetite. So you may expect to see them scram- bling and clattering to visit your falls, sprawling on your. banks, eating chicken salad and popping champagne, throwing dirty scraps and empty bottles on every side, leaving their abominable litter among the forget-menots and rho dodendron bushes, when they go away back to their hotels and to their vulgar pleasures they talk so much about, card playing, ten his, polo and flirting"
 Glen Biern Falls rushed furious ly along and reflected sadly that it might possibly be as the old nick ory tree said, and the waters went purling over the smooth surface of their timeworn stcnes, puzzling over the problem of how to cir cumvent man and prevent the wicked intrusion into the glorious, inaccessible regions of the ancient hills with his steam and machin- cry and modern progress.
 ''There is but one way" finally said the Falls to the hickory tree.