Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1913-07-02
TpIcAL l1oUNTAINEER's Efor1E

A NE of the most interesting re-
! ~ 80 gions in the United States is
81 # the southern Appalachians. 1t
- is a land of giants and patrl-
archal families and of isolated
| simplicities in life which have deep
! human interest. One can explore on
horseback this fascinating region,
| travelling through the western part OF
Virginia and North Carolina and the
/ eastern districts of Tennessee and
| Kentucky. You can stop off any
where you happen to get tired and
board, indefinitely and sumptuously,
! for S2.4O a week. These mountain
] folk are rich in the material things If
I poor in the gimcrack Injuries the out
er world esteems needful. They are
still shut in their Businesses; but con-
! ditions are changing now from the alb
/ solute isolation that existed before the
civil war.
| In following one of the mountain
| trails the traveller Is well paid
| Throughout these ranges are bride
| paths, where notches are cut In the
rock on the steep mountainside for
| the horse or mule to secure good foot
! Ing, A traveller can find nowhere such
a variety of scenery. He starts at
! the foothills, along the banks of some
| stream. The cliffs are completely
covered with moss and ferns, watered
by innumerable springs, which In sum-
mer form a hanging garden OF fol-
iage.
| Following one of these cataracts be-
tween mountains, one discovers all OF
a sudden that the trail he is in comes
to an end. Looking to the left he dis
covers a path leading off up the noun
| tain. BY a modified climb, placing
one foot above the other. one can
reach high cliff and stop for a rest.
Only a few feet below is the trail, a
switchback, and to gain 'one-fourth of
a mile you climb a whole one.
In the Evergreens.
] Rarely could one find so fascinating
| a picture of mountain grandeur, all In
contrast with the enticing charms of
Cue valley below. where hundreds of
cattle are peacefully grazing on vast
| fields of blue grass. You are on the
edge of the evergreen timber, called
the bemlock belt.
Once in the evergreen timber. the
view is entirely shut off, except now
| and then where the trail leads over
some cliff; then the glimpse is just for
an instant There are forests of laurel
SO thick in places that one cannot see
| two feet away. The laurel trees are
from IS to 25 feet high, some measur-
| ing eight inches in diameter.
| You rest again and hear sounds that
tell Of some habitation. Listen! Yes,
you can hear dogs bark. You resume
the Journey, and through open places
In the timber you can now see fields
! Soon you come to log fence, and
afterward the trail leads off into a
| cove
A cabin appears, built of logs, fire.
place on the outside and split-oak
roof. A short distance away is the
spring. Just back of the cabin lies
the peach orchard, and alongside the
| path leading to the barn are the
| grape vines and ounces and other
fruits, such as apples, pears and paw
| paw.
This is the land OF milk and honey.
You can count over so hives of bees,
or "gums''--a hollow tree sawed in
two, then set on end on hewn timber
and covered with slab split from a
log. Away in the distant woodland
one hears the ting. ting of the cow
! bell.
A man about six fet four inches in
hight energies from the door.
"How d'you do, stranger" is his
greeting.
You give him the usuad handshake.
which Is the custom of the country,
and commence to tell your story. But
before it is finished he says. step in,
sab, brother"
You enter the door before your host,
| which is customary among mountain
! folk, and are told to have a seat. In
| one end of the room IS a fireplace
| with the old-fashioned mantel shelf.
After supper the fiddle comes down
| and the whole cabin thrills to the old
time airs-My Old Kentucky Home,
! Nellie Gray and Barbara Allen and all
| the tunes that make home of will
derness.
Close to Nature.
The head of the house asks if you
would like to lie down. You are ready
enough, and you are shown a ladder
| in one corner of the room. 1t leads
. a mole in the floor above. where