The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1908-08-14
IMPRESSIONS OF NORTH CARO-
LIMA


materialize. As W. remember We
saw but oLe little girl with freckless
! face and rosy cheeks that IL any way
! approached the picture so vividly riv-
/ eted in our Imagination of the beau
tiful mountain lassie of whom We
have read so often in the newspapers
and magazines. True, we saw a good
many rosy cheeks at the hotels. board
ing houses and at the meeting of the
trains, but they did not look altogeth-
er as if they were painted by the
mountain air and sunlight
! The NERVE mean the working
men and farmers, principally the lat
ter-as a rule are tall and gaunt. pre-
maturely bent as with the weight Of
years. They till little patches of
earth here and there and drive great
/ distances over the mountain roads to
sell their meagre produce The mo
fence law is in evidence in North
Carolina, and nearly every home has
COW and a calf. They are tethered
about in spots to eat the succulent
/ grasses. Looking out from our win
dow early one morning we saw a man
holding a calf which was tied to
rope, and notwithstanding there was
heavy dOwnpOur of rain he held it
for an hour or more so that it could
crop the grass. which was not at all
abundant. Rain or shine every morn
ing this old man was there with his
calf.
We mention this to show what
straits there poor folks are in.
The women look wan and faded.
Their figures are not models nor do
they possess the rudy glow of health.
They climb long distances over the
mountains with bag or basket of ap-
pies. which they sell for fifteen or
twenty cents. If it were not for the
apples We do not know what the poor
people up in that country would do.
All the valley lands, Of course. are
Under cultivation, but the area is
quite limited. but what there is of it
yields abundantly. Strangely enough
the mountain sides are utilized in a
most remarkable degree. Crops are
seen growing at almost perpendicular
heights. How they manage to pillow
the burrows seems almost impossible
TO a flatwOodsman
In some places the crops are very
fine, but as a rule no better than our
own.
We saw very little cotton under cul7
tivatiOn. yet at every little town,
much smaller than Ocala. We saw cot
ton mills of some description, and it
is said that these mills pay good div
idends to their owners. Generally,
too. these mills are run with steam
power.
The principal trade at Saluda, where
We stopped, is shipping the bark of
the chestnut oak for tanning purpos-
es. and poplar wood for making wood
pulp.
This bark and wood are procured
under great difficulties and are hauled
great distances down the mountains
In former times the bark of the
Florida red oak was used quite extern
sively for tanning purposes, and no
doubt quite an enterprise could be
built up along this line. The chest
nut oak bark sells for IS and $40 per
cord The Florida red oak bark could
be procured with less expense.
It seems, too, that our wahoo and
other soft woods could be utilized for
the making of wood pulp.
Just before leaving Saluda for home
We took a trip to Tryon. 1t is a pref
~ village at the foot of the noun
tains, and is both a winter and a sum-
mer resort. 1t is noted for it's grape
vineyards. We visited the vineyard
of Mr. A. J. Lomert He has a fine
vineyard and makes a most excellent
article of wine. We were invited to
his wine house and sampled his vint-
age He has port, sherry, claret, sau-
tern, etc. The brew is pure and the
flavor excellent. He has two 500 gal
lon casks, nine 90 gallon casks, and
fifty or more ordinary barrels, and he
expects to fill them all from his pres
ent vintage. He sells the sherry for
IS cents per quart bottle and the port
for so cents. Under the prohibition
laws of North Carolina we were told
that the manufacture and sale of do
nestle wine is not prohibited.
Mr.. Lomert was a former partner
of Mr. Dubois, who had q vineyard
near Tallahassee. He is not exuber-
ant in his praise Of Florida.
The climate about Tryon is said to
be delightfully."- dry and the air SUI
perbly invigorating. 1t is claimed to
be especially excellent for persons