The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-10-22
VIATM' MARI GAGE"
\ Trip From ASheviie To Il lar
Heel Town 40 Miles From n
State Capital.
fBy j. 4. PARHAM.)

two miles from the Tennessee line.
1t is ass miles from the State capital
and 1S3 miles from the home of the
states next governor-by rail, which
is the cheapest and quickest and only
practicable way to make the trip
from Asheville. And the trip takes
one 1876 miles through East Tennes.
nessee. Such was the trip taken re-
Gently by Hon. Locke Craig and DR..
j. Y. Joyner, who were billed to speak
at the Avery county fair, and by h
representative Of The News and OBJ
server
All Around the Elbow.
TO make the trip one : takes the
Salisbury. Asheville and Mem
phis line Of the southern
Railway from Asheville to Norris
town, Tenn, thence h Chattanooga,
Knoxville and Bristol line of the same
system to Johnson City. Tenn; spend
the night there and take the a
Tennessee and Western North Caro-
lima train through the mountains TO
Elk Park-32 miles on a narrow
gauge road.
Mountain Railroad Graded by Nature.
From Asheville the railroad track
follows the course of the French
Broad river for fifty miles or more,
practically all the way quite near the
waters edge, his to avoid grading
and tunnelling. The road bends in
n out, with the numerous bends Of
the river, which is doubtless as crook
ed as the Neuse, or Lumber, or Cape
Fear. All the way on u side is the
river below and on the other the
mountains rising high and often pre-
c~ipitOusly above.
Eden of Apples and Cattle.
Thirty-eight miles west Of AShevi1le
- Hot Cnrin0o n 400 It'll rncor% 1-hov0
a hundred guests or patients 8 ojourn in
a hotel on the hill and take messages
n baths in the spring water. b
is in the midst Of a great fruit and
cattle country. Seventy-five car loads
Of cattle were shipped from one point
last year, SO the writer was told by
a gentleman engaged in the wholesale
grocery business. He told also Of an
ordinary fruit grower near Hot
Springs, who has been offered this
year $1,000 for his apple crop as it
stands in the orchard-a crop which
has cost him practically nothing this
year. He refused the 81, 500 and will
gather. grade and pack his apples and
sell them through the Western Caro-
lima fruit exchange and get much
more tina that.
House of Ben Hooper.
Passing the delightful town Of
Newport, Tenn. we were reminded
that it was the former home and
birthplace Of Governor Ben w. Hoop
err. who was SO severely denounced
the other day by the chief Bull Moose,
who came over this road on his way
to Mort Carolina.
Supper al Bulls Gap.
We reached MOrristoWn about dusk.
Finding we had no time to get sup
per, and knowing we would reach
Johnson City too late, we asked what
hungry men were to do and were old
that our train would stop for supper
at Bulls Gap. Now Bulls Gap is
little more than a flag station, but,
All, that supper. When the passengers
and Grey rushed in from the train,
behold the tables were literally cover
ed with little dishes, about a dozen at
each place., filed with a great variety
Of good things. including the hes,
fried chicken in America!
h the engineer blew us out ii
was h consensus Of opinion among
that part Of the crowd who a never
tonped there before that it was the
biggest and best supper we had eve1
seen served at any hotel for the price
only fifty cents-and we told the
landlady so.
IN of Our Unjust Burdens.
Approaching johnson City from
the west at night, the strangers at.
tenton is attracted by several large
buildings of the Federal soldiers
home, handsome buildings several sto
rles high and brilliantly Illuminated
1t is said the home now contain.
nearly 1900 Yankee soldiers, all fec
and clothed by the Federal govern
ment, n our citizens Of North Car
DINA who take care of our own Con
federate veterans without even tn,
aid of the Federal government or 9th
er states, are taxed to feed an
clothe these men who shed the bloc,
of our fathers n grand fathers
burned their bridges and factories
barns and fences, p%lundered thei
homes and abused our mothers an,
grandmothers! BY late breakfast tim
in the morning scores Of these old sol
diers, all in sky blue pants and nav
blue coats, with brass buttons, ma
be seen scattered throughout the bus
mess part of the town, some of Their
decrepit. but many apparently hal