The farmer and mechanic., 1909-09-21

sol Out the scarlet and gold on the
early leaf betokened coming autumn
ana the storm-kings reign. Incidents
Dy the way were not without passing
interest. A herd Of sleek. fat cattle
Tree from flies and mosquitoes. caper-
ing on the sleeps told of life rich and
full; the yellow-jackets putting springs
in our horses excited no little merri-
ment; and the familiar airs sung by
TWO rich full voiees rose, sWelled and
swept over the valley below adding
zest to the climb. One Of the group
lined over the long gone years and
was rich in incident and anecdote.
Later, however, the trivial and
commonplace failed to interest, for
with every additional angle more
peaks greeted the vision and new
world was created below and around
us. On and up, we pushed. The
panorama widened, the tints and
shadings deepened, and mountains
multiplied. The failing vegetation.
trees dwarf in size, and ever increas-
ing rocks indicated near approach to
the ball ground" Alder bushes with
every appearance Of being singed,
are the chief products of these upper
attitudes. Now the climb is on in
ali its glory. Each pause to rest
Jaded steeds is filled with exclamations
over the beatific vision to the east.
Finally, we reach the summit Of the
to Sion's bluff. From the "observa-
tory lie in full view the world and it's
glory A billowy sea of purple noun
talns rolls away to every point of the
compass. Mitchell, Tablerock, Haw's
Bill, Grandfather and other noted
peaks are on or below horizontal
line from our vantage ground. To
walt and wonder and worship under
the blue depths becomes the mood
Fields, farms, roads, cottages, ham
lets, streams and mountains in their
abundance tend to bewilder. Only
noted peaks and objects near again
the attention.
cliff drops hundreds of feet and the
land falls away to the west until
chasm nearly four thousand feet deep
yaWns before the eye. This opens out
into wide valley allowing a current
OF air to sweep up over the bluff suf-
hcient ordinarily to return tossed
over hats and coats and shawls. But
this calm morning a leaf would have
gone down. Mr. Young said not in
fifty years had he seen SO light a
breeze at this point. Undisturbed, the
sky wore it's deepest blue and the
soft haze swept a wide horizon. The
ETHEREAL splendor about the still SOL
emn mountain top above mans little
rounds gave slight hint of earth's
commonplace.
You see into seven States from the
Roam, as claimed, may not be posi-
BILE. [ should not care to venture an
assertion. Certainly, if such is, our
eyes rested on the full quota for none
could be favored with a more pro-
pitiouS day. BE that as it may, this
much is true: A new sense of owner
ship comes to one having a foot each
in North Carolina and Tennessee with
the eye permitted to sweep such a
vast expanse of valley, mountain and
sky. Something in the atmosphere
adds to the Joy of this pleasing sense
of proprietorship. In riding along
the open crest, the temperature and
air inhaled remind one of the parks
of high attitudes in Colorado.
The Cloudland hotel, which began
business in 1885, and enjoyed pros
perity for years, has not been opened
for two seasons. The increase ex-
pense of operatin has become pro-
hibitive A family remains up there
the year round providing food and
provender for parties spending short
while. Three months in summer are
glorious for the tourist. but the win
ter brings another tale. When that
mother of fourteen children tells Of
their life. the splendor fades like the
rather, the horror settles down on
one like the pillows of fog and snow
that roll up over the Roam when
blizzard is on.
A drink Of the clear, cold, spring
water six thousand feet above sea, ob-
servatiOns from SioE's bluff, North
observatory, and sunrise rock. gather
ing balsam for pillows, (what woman
would return without this treasure y,
dinner with an hours rest to follow,
on a perch six thousand three hun
dred and ninety-four feet above sea-
level are enough to fill full the glori-
Gus hours.
San Francisco makes much of
Mount Tamal Pals overlooking the
Pacific, the city, Sacramento valley,
and a sea Of hills and mountains, but,
to me. this view is far superior. Some
like it better than Pixies Peak and