The Washington herald., 1909-08-22
d. ARTHuR n. ARERNETHY.

am going to tell the readers OF Tn,
Washington Herald where they may fine
the oldest people in the world, not II
old folks homes. not reclining on tn,
supporting arms OF children, but thrifty
healthy, and buOyant Some OF then
are eighty, some ninety. some one hun
dred. yes. even one hundred and fourteen
years old, doing their own work in tn,
garden and the fields.
This is no real estate advertisement
There is not a real estate agency in tn,
place OF which I write It Is simply q
moral, healthful, correctly living. Provi.
denGally blessed strip Of land where the
air, or the water, or the weather-some-
thing Of which I know nOt-gives an az
fdavit Of agreement with the inhabitant
for long life.
Lying seventy miles east OF Ashevillc
and an equal distance west OF Salisbury
\. G. II visitor will leave the Southern
train at a station known as Connolly
Springs he can go ten miles In any d.
rection and find himself in the universal
" recognized healthiest spot in the world.
IL Is not an especially beautiful terri
tory; 1t Is only about 1900 feet above the
level Of the sea-not so high as Asheville,
yet neither is It so damp, and no con-
Iumpuves are found in this belt
People Are Peculiar.
The people who reside In the territory
are a peculiar set Candor compeIs the
statement that while they are intensely
ability to disprove IN their own conduct
any claim the medical scientists might
advance as TO presence Of the hook
worm or lazy germ among them. In and
around these hills dwell the remnant Of
the once thrifty 'moonshlners." still
active as the vigilance OF the revenue
department will permit But. perhaps.
It is this very spirit OF manana-thls
restful. notwithstanding feeling
which brings such amazing restoration to
visitors who come and settle here
Oddly enough, money does not seem TO
Influence these strangely fortunate orlgi-
nal settlers. on an eminence mile be-
low the Connolly Springs depot lives a
wisdom, the mother Of a family. who ekes
farm while the rough timber and rank
weeds thrive on "Heozier's Knob" Noun
tain. towering over her. for which she
refused 5000 offered by Vanderbilt when
he sent his specialists into this section 10
md a location before he finally settled
on Biltmore.
There are hundreds Of such instances
tracts OF land untouched for whole
life-time, ike coveted possessions. Per
sons who come here and breath the ex-
hilarating atmosphere of these Catawba
highlands go away hoping some day to
return and reside here the rest OF their
DAYS. There is a saying current among
the natives that mo man who ever takes
a drink out Of Drowning Creek ever per-
manently leaves its banks" II seems
almost incredible that such a country
different from any other spot I'm this
land-should lie so near other territories
SO entirely different in climate. soil. and
general conditions
Came I'm Search of Health.
Last July was lying I'll in the Osborne
Hotel in Rochester, y. Y, a victim OF
insomnia. nervousness. and general break
down. / had spent the winter in Cuba.
Mexico. and Florida, making my way
leisurely up into Canada as spring came
thence down 10 Niagara. where the sum
mers are delightful but the winters too
intolerable for frailty A doctor attend
Ing me from McGin University told me Of
this section; OF having heard II related IN
a worlds medical congress that here in
the Catawba Highlands Of Western North
Carolina lay territory in which not
case Of tuberculosis. malaria. or typhoid
fever had ever been known 70 originate.
where people lived longest Of any part
of the world
came here 10 see FOR myself. and I
give II 70 the readers Of The Herald as
the sacred truth that Of the forty States
and four governments under whose flags
1 nave Travelled, here IS the sweetest.
most healthful, most restorative. simplest
section for peaceful life In a perfect
climate have ever observed. The To-
cation Is 30 degrees and a. minutes north
latitude, and 81 degrees and a minutes
west longitude. Too put il another way
IL has the same latitude as Yeddo In Ia /
pan. and Teheran. In Persia. and Of 1
Damascus and the Islands of Cyprus and 1
OF Iunis and Algiers. and longitudinaIiv
II Is in line with the center Of Hudson /
Bay Cleveland. Ohio. the Florida KEYS. /
and the City OF Matanzas, In Cuba. If IS
nIteen miles further west than Point
Parma and Cape Blanco, the most west
ern projections Of the South American
continent To the west the mountains
attain an elevation OF 1000 feet. and the
SHOWS may be seen upon the monumental
peaks while the Catawba highlanders
roam leisurely in the balmy air below.
On the health map issued by the
United States census department several
years ago, this section is marked with
The white. indicating It as freest from
throat and lung diseases Of any spot in
mis- country. I find on investigation.
hat the mean annual Temperature is
SIS while that OF Venice-the great Eu-
-opean resorts 56.7, with a mean winter
temperature Of 2s.6 making the summers
lotter and the winters colder in Venice
han here.
Needs No OvercOat.
I know this: I came here TO spend a
'ear in investigation. I have not worn an
'vercoat or overshoes since I arrived al
Connolly Springs. and the little village
4 Rutherford College. yet Z comfortably
I've in the open air. sleeping on the
orch in a hammock in the winter (ex-
ept when Il rains) and there has not
zen night this summer that I have not
lept under a blanket.
I write all this 70 readers Of The Herald
gho may be in quest of health: who are
weary and tired and heart-sore; who long
or the bslmy breath Of hygeia to fan
heir pallid cheeks into the glow OF the
un kiss; who want to feel well, and i'm
ulsive, and capable; who wonder II the
avs OF CHEEKY song and laughter and
sntness Of heart will ever be theirs
GAIN but who have been often deceived
y fantastic resort edvertisements-just !
s often have been-till the exchequer I
weh-nigh exhausted and there Is stir I
o health. To such I say. 90 to Lovelady {
oWnship. in Burke County. n Q Two {
owns are especially blessed in the ther- 2