Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-06-21

full comprehension of that system il
merely a matter of the application o
correct mathematics by such intellec
tual giants as have performed thi:
particular task. The road wind
around and around, first this mountain
and then that, following the tOrtuou
head waters of the Catawba. gettn!
higher and higher with each circle ol
half circle, sometimes looking back fo
miles and miles, and coming forward
again on another elevation, then pass
ing off from one ridge to another, ant
! suddenly shooting straight through
some otherwise unconquerable barrie
to come out on the other side on to {
still higher ridge. Some of the tunnels
shoot straight through, and others are
driven in decided curves. Pretty soor
the passengers, looking ahead, begin tC
speculate that another deep tunne
comes next; but find their way out OF
the maze by skirting the side of the
mountain, while at other times the way
appears clear when, without a tunne
there could be no further progress.
A Glimpse of Mount Mitchell.
| Having followed the Catawba river
to a point where the valley ceases tc
| exist, where the course is discovered tC
| originate from scores of small noun.
| tain torrents, dropping hundreds anG
| hundreds of feet down the steep noun
| tain slopes, the situation seems hope
less. There less than a mile away rises
| ridge that seems to dwarf all the
other high ridges that have been pass
| ed. This is the place for the wings OF
| the elevator, for the top of the noun
| tain is more than two thousand feet
above the railroad track. When | eX-
pressed my fears to Mr.. De Hon, he
explained that the obstruction ahead
was Altapas, at the top of the water
shed that divides the streams tribu-
| tary to the Atlantic from the streams
tributary to the Gulf of Mexico. Point
ing ahead to a dark spot about half
way up the mountain, he explained
that it was the tunnel, through which
we would pass to the other side of the
divide, and although apparently less
than half mile away, we would have
to run around a loop of something
over thirteen miles before we could
get to it. Wild scenery had already
become commonplace; but this loop
furnished more stimulation to the
thirst for the wonderful. Deep chasms
and gorges have to be crossed and in
stead of resorting to steel viaducts, the
builders have filled in with earthen
material frequently to depth of more
than 125 feet. But after a while, the
higher level is reached and Col. Kohn
pointed out in the distance, Mount
Mitchell rising to height of Gill feet
above sea level. The mountain is
about thirteen miles away, and al
though the rain that had commenced
before we left Spartanburg was still
with us, the noted peak could be seen
without difficulty. But in spite of the
roughneSs of the country, the railroad
kept it's grade of about sixty three feet
to the mile during the entire long loop
over which it goes to get rise of
about 500 feet.
Altapas, a Resort Of Promise.
Just over the divide is the station
of Altapas. There is nothing there but
a depot, a hotel and a postoffice and
a store. The store carries quite large
stock of everything. The hotel has
about twenty rooms. The postoffice, a
little 10 by II shack perched on the
side of a mountain and identified by
the legend ~. S. Post Office" careless
ly scrawled in lamp black on a pine
board, afforded a good deal of amuse-
ment. But nevertheless the postmas-
ter had on hand plenty of postage
stamps and a big stock of inevitable
and omni present postcards. The rail-
road people, however intend that AL
tapas shall be something 1t is in a
protected cove with mountains rising
high all around it, leaving no chance
even for the wind to get in without
coming around half dozen or more
curves. Already some foreseeing capi-
talst has put more than $4,000 apple
tree scions on one side of one noun
tain an2 they are digging the founda-
ton for a big tourist hotel on another
The people about took pleasure in
saying that still another hotel was to
be built right on top of the divide, and
real estate values generally are easily
comparable to the surrounding alti-
tudes.
During the stay at Altapas some
members of the party gathered lot
of mountain laurel for the ladies, and
many snap shot kodak views were
made of the pretty girls in the party
| with the mountains as a background
| Generally, also reasonably good look
ing beaux managed TO be close in the
neighborhood of the girls while the
pictures were being made.
Leaving Altapas after a stop of more
| than an hour, we proceeded on down
the slopes with Johnson City, Tenn.
as the next principal objective of the
| greatest interest. Pretty soon it de-
veloped that just as we had gotten tC
Altapas by following the north branch
of the Catawba to it's source. we were
to get away by keeping along the val
lev of the Toe river which is reached
after passing through tunnel. The
Toe is a bold, rapidly running stream
and the railroad follows it closely at
height of from only ten to twenty fee,
above it's level OF course the river
is crooked There is no straight wa!
out of such mountains, and there is nc
lack of good scenery. The mountains
slope away from both sides To dizzy
| heights. They are not precipitous;
but a pumpkin or even a dry goods
| box, given a start from the top woulc
require no further urging to get Il
down to the river. But l would not
| like to guarantee the condition of eth
or after it had struck the bottom.
Unsurpassed Scenery.
| After a few miles. the Toe river
reaches the Tennessee line and 1t: