Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1911-03-01
!. !. !. !. !. j. j. j. J. j. j. :,
]. RAVEN ROCK. .
|. "A Section of OcOnce that Stands j.
!. To-Day as Nature Made 1t. y.

ter | will tell you of a visit which
made recently to one Of the most re-
markable sections Of Oconee county.
Early in the morning of February
18th, while the stars were yet gleam-
ing in the sky and the barn-yard
"chicken rooster was crying in loud
tones for Father Time to open the
daylight door, friend and myself
departed from the Rocky Fork sec
ton for n trip up Chauga river. BY
o'clock the farm houses had been
left in the rear, and we plunged into
the wildwood, or wilderness, in earn
est
This vast section of country is over
six miles square and does not contain
single inhabitant. So far as pro-
gress IS concerned 1t is the same as
it was when America was discovered.
The hardest mountaineer does not
make his home here, and there is
reason why. The mountains,
which border on the stream, arc al
most perpendicular-that is to say,
they are nearly straight down from
the top, and almost straight up from
the bottom" The little valleys on
the banks Of the stream are too mar
row, and hence there is no place for
the cabin. So thick is the brambe i'm
here that person will do well to
travel Il mile in an hours time.
We found it necessary to doff our
No. slippers and ford the stream
twice before we reached Raven Rock.
which was our destination Talk
about big trees and rocks. Well,
bless your heart, they are here. If
the little boy has never read Acsop's
Fables it will be necessary for him to
hold his breath and stretch his mag
ination to the utmost notch while
thinking of how large they really are.
One poplar tree is eleven steps
around at the ground. 1t has a hol-
low body and stumpy top, and it may
be four or five hundred years old for
a swectgnm which we measured and
found to be thirteen feet around its
body Just above the ground II is
probably 100 feet to the first limb OF
limbs, and the first one is not far
from the top. 1t is not an uncommon
thing to see beeches. spruce and white
pines with bodies three or four feet
OH l,.
Of pine are by far the tallest timber
that grows in this section, and
think they are equally as high as the
long-loHf pine in the lower part Of the
state
The principal part OF Raven Rock
IS situated on the eastern bank OF
Chauga. and Is near the waters edge
1t Is about fifty yards wide, and from
its summit to the bed OF the stream
is something like 200 feet. Near the
center Of the rock are vcavations,
which are entirely out Of reach OF
man or beast, and here, it is said.
the ravens once raised; hence the
name-Ravcn Rock.
Even If this section does incline to
DC prccipitous there IS not foot Of
barren ground to be seen. There is
an underground OF ivy and long-lcaf
laurel which grows ten or twelve feet
high. They grow so dc o that the
sunshine never reaches the ground
under them. and as one travels along
he cannot see far ahead OF him, even
i'm midday, for want OF light. Among
this underground the long-lcaf pine
and white pine grow in vast num-
bcrs. Their dark green tops seem to
be nearly as high as the sky itself.
AS the noOntime sun peeps down
through their limbs it makes vast
picture that for refinement and
beauty no pen can describe.
AS | looked about me and saw so
many vines and shrubs which would
bloom in their season, all alone and
without being praised and adored
even by children, my thoughts went
back to the poet, whose verse seems
to have direct reference to many
human lives
"Full many gem OF purcst ray Sc
rene
the dark, unfathomcd caves OF ocean
bear;
Full many flower is born to blush
unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert
air
This is retreat for wild animals
Of the lower type. such as coons and
wild cats. There are also wild turkey
and pheasant. The latter grow to be