Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-07-30
Miseellaneous Reading.
UP IN THE MOUNTAINS.
York Man Enjoying Himself in Land
Of the Sky.

York Man Enjoying Himself in Land
Of the Sky.
II Rsbbinsville. N. c., July 23.-It is
beautiful afternoon and the birds
. are singing. merrily in the grove that
surrounds my hotel. From my win
, dow can be seen much beautiful
mountain scenery. The whole situa-
ton has a tendency TO bring a feeling
OF awe and reverence over the observ-
er. No one but those who have spent
a part OF their life in the mountains
can imagine the effects of mountain
scenery.
d The mountains at distance look as
II there Is a blue curtain overhang-
ing them, and those nearer at hand
seem as If they are covered with a
blanket Of green. We are not surpris-
ed at the hardness and roughness Of
the mountaineers when once we take
q peep at their environment. The en-
durance Of such people is astonishing;
but few fall short Of their goal.
Graham county, suppose, Is in
many respects, the most backward
county in North Carolina. 1t has no
railroad facilities; the county seat is
thirteen miles from a railroad and
contains but 155 inhabitants. The
public school system Is poor, II 1t
should be called a system. There are
only eighteen schools in the county.
But the farmers come very nearly liv-
Ing at home. Corn grows on these
rough mountain sides, that look to the
passersby as IL 1t would be impossible
Tor any one to stand on and plow, and
but little fertilizer used. Wheat,
barley and apples grow here in abund-
ance. There Is no fence law and con-
sequently cattle run at large, and ev-
cry family has a plenty.
A South Carolinian can hardly
Imagine the situation. He would at
first pronounce the people far behind
the times. OF course it will be many
years yet before the county is fully
developed, for the whole county Is
surrounded by steep mountains, some
Of them being over 1000 feet above
sea level
Robbinsville has many traditions
connected with its history. Within
lew hundred yards is the grave of old
Junobuska, once chief of the Cherokee
Indians. He made himself very fam
Gus in our war Of 1912, fighting for
the American people at the battle of
Horse Shoe Bend. He saved General
Jackson's life and for his bravery and
faithfulness North Carolina made him
a citizen, and gave him land in Gra-
ham county. He died November 25th.
1858, aged over 100 years.
/ You can now occasionally see In
dians coming into town, remnants Of
the Cherokee tribe. The writer en-
gagged one in conversation a few days
since. He seemed very intelligent in
deed, considering everything. Preju-
dice for white men still exists among
some Of them, and some you can't en-
tice into conversation with you. What
i little English they can use they re-
frain from doing so. But this one,
spoken of above, talked freely. He
told me that they had churches Of
their own and attended regularly, and
sung songs in their own language. The
services are conducted altogether In
Cherokee. The language is peculiarly
musical and beautiful as heard In the
church services. 1t must be heard to
be fully appreciated. Most Of the In
dams in this section are Baptists,
i their ministers are regularly ordained
and are members Of the associations
lgoverned by white people. The pas
ttor of the nearest Indian church Is
1.-The Rev. John Corn Silk. Messrs. John
Axe and Rope Sevisten are prominent
among the Indian citizens in Graham.
Chief Chickabily. who recently died.
was the oldest Indian in this section,
being considerably over 100 years Of
age:
| The Indian of today, as seen in
the North Carolina mountains, has de-
Perforated much in character from his
warlike and stalwart ancestors. He Is
a weakling. He Is lost in the intricate
mazes of modern civilization. Like
Edward Markham's Man with the
hoe" he appears "Stolid and stunned,
a brother of the OK" His habits Of
living are now copied from his white
neighbors. In most. part they live In
small log cabins. However, they re-
tain many of the old habits and char
acteristics. Some of the dishes served
on their tables have been handed down
from the earliest days. One delightful
Indian dish Is connohanah, made from
Indian corn in peculiarly Indian
manner There are a few good farm
ers among them, but mostly they are
indolent and unproviding, living In
filth and ekeing out pitiful existence
on the barest necessities.
When the government agent dis
| tributes money among them, as ne
does from time to time, 1t Is spent with
amazing prodigality-is all gone In
short while.
| One Of the striking features in the
mountains is the beautiful mountain
streams. The banks Of the streams
are lined with rhododendrons In bios
som at this season Of the year, and
with many species Of evergreens. The
most beautiful feature Is the musical
names applied to the streams. samples
of which are as follows: Tellulah. Ste
coah, Cheoah, Santeetlah, Nantaha-
lah, Tuckaseegee. etc.
Back from the county seat of Gra-
| nnm county, a distance of twelve to
fifteen miles, can be found the forest
j primeval" At the headwaters Of the
mountain streams can be found groves
of chestnut, poplar and hemlock so
dense that the suns rays scarcely pen
citrate at MONDAY. Still higher up one
| climbs above the timber line and finds
himself 5000 feet above the sea level,
upon the celebrated "Balds Of western
North Carolina" No trees appear
upon these high surfaces but luXu-
RANT growth of grass covers the top
and affords splendid feeding grounds
for horses, sheep, hogs and cattle.
which feed upon the mountain ranges.
Standing upon these "balds," on the
line between North Carolina and Ten
nessee. a scene unfolds which Is In
comparable. On fair days one can
look sixty-five miles into Tennessee.
seeing plainly the smoke from Knox
/ vile and Duck Town.
The northern portions Of Georgia
and Alabama are plainly visible. Look
ing out towards Asheville and the
Blue Ridge mountains tier OF North
/ Carolina counties may be seen, whose
undulating surfaces battle the descrip-
tive power of language. Here too. Is
silence, intense and awe inspiring.
Here is verdant nature just as she
came from the Creators hand. He
who is not made. a better man by
climbing to these lofty SUBMITS above
the clouds, has lost the image Of his
Maker and Is indeed kindred to the
beast.
The Land of the Sky" is all and
more than one expects; in fact the
exclamation of the Queen Of Sheba Is
very fitting. 1.-THE half has not been
told
The mountain section is the sports
mans paradise. One Of the finest
sports imaginable Is fishing for noun
tain trout In the upper headwaters OF
the mountain streams The speckled
trout Is a table delicacy Of SURPRISING
excellence. Wild turkeys. pheasants
and quail are abundant. Quite lot
Of deer and bear are still bagged In the
mountain Businesses.
| My little human interest story would
not ha oor, plata with out a word about