The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-01-26

throughout that SparSely peopled re-
gion, and upward poured the men or
the mountains. Old men, young men
and boys. farmers fresh from their
fields, merchants, students, teachers,
ministers; veteran hunters, with their
famous rifles and shOt-pOuches, swept
up the mountain paths with the elias
tic tread Of youth, leading and advls-
ing the anxious multitude from the
Swannanoa valley; whilst similar null
titudes were ascending from Caney
river. At least five hundred
men were engaged in the search.
Well and faithfully did they labor.
From Friday morning until Tuesday
their efforts were fruit1eSs. No trace
whatever could be found, and at every
moment the task grew more and more
hopeless The faint expectation Of
finding him alive and suffering, grad
ually went out of all mems minds, and
then came the more sober desire to
find his lifeless body. At last, on
Tuesday, came a melancholy cOn1ir-
nation Of his disputed assertion that
| he had been on the very highest peak
| in 1914.
"An old hunter and experienced
mountaineer by the name Of Wilson
! was present, from YanCey county,
who had guided the professor on his
former visit. He said he believed he
| could retrace the very route by which
| they had assembled thirteen years be-
fore. and expressed the opinion that
the professor had himself undertaken
to descend into the valley Of Caney
| river by that way. The result proved
this opinion to be correct. A care
full and minute search in the edge
of a beautiful little prairie near the
highest summit discovered the trail
of human footsteps. SO faint was it
that an Impractical eye could not
1 how a iofir,e ,iC1,n VII
left by some wild animal; but these
mountain Nimrods, with that Won
derful sagacity which is the result Of
close observation and almost instinc-
tive reason, recognized it at a
glance. The effect of this
discovery was almost electric. With
| rapid steps and eyes as keen and true
as the scent Of well-trained sleuth
hounds, off bounded the hunters upon
the trail, and soon were lost in the
rugged and fearful wilds below. A
large number, feeling that they could
! be Of no assistance in following that
delicate trace, remained upon the
heights, whilst the others swept
downward upon the search. AS the
: ground became rOugher, and the way
, more difficult, the traces left by the
wandered became more plain and un-
! mistakable. Soon he trail left the
! sharp crest Of the ridge down which
of a splashing stream. Adown this
| they followed it without difficulty fol
= about four miles, when they came tt
: a cataract with a sheer fall Of forty
f feet. On the dizzy edge Of this they
e found broken laurel branch over
: head, and torn moss under foot
g Cautiously descending. they found be
a low the dead body of him they sought
d The spot was most romantic and pc
O culiar Pouring over the precipic'
II this mountain torrent had original,
: struck upon solid rock below, but tn
attrition of it's waters for untold cen
d turtles had worn out a smooth, cir
If cular basin, about fourteen feet dee
> and as many in diameter. This wa
!. filed with cold, pure. and perfectly
o limpid water in which lay the bod
e calmly. perfectly preserved
o Vance Letters Hitherto Unpublished
: In the collections of the Nortl
1t Carolina Historical Commission ar
Le three autograph letters from Vanc
te relative to these events, written con
d, temporaneously with them, none Q
ID which have been heretofore bee
ar published. They not only reveal hi
l. own intense interest in the matter bu
D throw interesting new light on it. TIL
OF first was written to Hon. David ]
is Swain, the president Of the Univer
IN sity Of North Carolina. in which d
lie Mitchell was a professor.
I'd Asheville, n. c., July s, 1857.
~ Governor Swain.
Id My Dear Sir: I have most me
n ancholy and unfortunate piece of ir
ne moration to communicate, and thin
er it best to do so before rumOr render
it more unpleasant. if that were pos
as Sible, than the sad reality.
ay Our dear old friend, DR.. Mitchell
Us no more. He is lost among the mouI
us tains and the utmost search we hay
ed been able to make has as yet prove
he una vailing. He left his work on tt
ty Swannanoa side of the Black MOuI
90 tain on Saturday the 26th to 6
he across to Caney river. and has n
he been heard Of yet ! left the moul
n tain this morning at 4 -2 O'Clock, an
ne up to the time I left, the only tra'
a we could discover was slight ira
,s- along which we traced him for SON
ne three miles, when that became undi
nd tinguishable. It seems that he lie