The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1913-10-03
TALLULAH FALLS VANDALiZED-
OTHER WAYSlDE NOTES

On my return from Franklin
stopped over night at Tallulah Falls,
and was much disappointed at the ap-
pearance of things there. 1t seems
that in spite of the efforts of Mrs.
Longstreet, the spirit of commercial
ism has triumphed over the sentiment
tai, and vandal hands have marred
what must have been one Of the beau
ty spots of the country. great
power dam has been constructed
across the gorge about two hundred
yards above the falls, above which is
formed a lake of water said to be
over 200 feet deep. Some surplus
water, of course, is now going through
the flood gates and over the falls, but
when the power plant is finished. it
will probably take all the water. They
were blasting huge boulders and rock
in the gorge just below the dam. The
whole town was Jared and shaken by
these blasts, and one might imagine
that Sherman was again marching
through Georgia. The great power
house is being constructed in the bot
tom of the gorge, more than mile
below the dam. and the water is to
be diverted or conveyed through a
tunnel from the dam to the top of the
gorge above the power house. This
tunnel has a fall of only twelve feet,
but at the end of the tunnel the wa
. ter will have a straight fall, it is said,
of 700 feet through shafts to the tur-
bines below.
There are two falls, one about an
eighth of a mile below the other.
There is a crude and steep trail down
the side of the gorge to the falls, and
to the waters edge, which l descend
ed, and, of course, had to ascend, and
at the finish l was gasping like a
fish. This once scenic wonder is now
not only neglected. but is treated with
contempt. The gorge is full of litter
and trash. waste paper and tilth--it
is actually used as sewer.
At junction points. such as Union
Point and Cornelia, there are no de-
pots, and there is none at Tallulah
Falls. 1t seems that the depots at |,
these places were burned some years
ago and never rebuilt. / heard much
complaint. A travelling man said
that the Georgia railroad commission
was not worth dime-or some word
that sounded a little like that.
All the summer hotels and boarding
houses had closed, except the Gin
House, where ! found the meals and
service most excellent, but the room
/ got was not up to IS per day prop
osition. After supper the dining room
was converted into a ball room, and
everybody in town gathered on the
front veranda and yard to look on.
Some eight or ten couples partici-
pated in the dance, all OF whom dane
ed the pretty and graceful old time
waltzes, except one couple. who tried
to dance on their toes all the time,
and they would occasionally sway
over to the left throwing their right
feet out enough to maintain an equi-
Iibrium, then they would reverse the
proposition. Never having seen the
new and latest dances, you will have
to get the society editor to name it.
After / had retired and was almost
asleep, caught the soft sweet strains
of Home, Sweet Home, from the or
chestra, and the ball was over,
Next morning again bought tick
ct for Cornelia. with the assurance
that her ambitious rival. Lulu. would
this time be eliminated.
| did not come back by way of Ath-
ems and Egypt, and the only desert
saw was between Waycross and Bald
win, with Jacksonville the oasis
where you can quench your thirst.
Like the peerless W. ]. Bryan, took
grapejuice. In Jacksonville I met
my congenial friend, Mr.. E. H. Mar
tin, who was also returning from
North Carolina. He and have plan
ned to go up there again next sum-
mer and hire an OK and little cart,
and take in all that beautiful noun
tain scenery. leisurely, but in style.
Mr.. Martin is to do all the driving,
however. l undertook TO drive yoke
of oxen when l was in my teens, and
the recollection thereof has been