The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-07-27
NORTH CAROLINA'S OLD REL LIABLE
MOUNTAlNS---TF1EY ARE THE, BEST
Not So Big as the Mountains the Rockies But Neither Are They
Bare At the Top and Cold and Snow Capped-U
Destined to Become The Playground of the Nation

the difference. The gorge of the
Llnville river 1900 feet deep looks |
as deep 40 the gorge of the Colorado !
more than twice that depth. And it |
ed with vegetation. Trees are Won |
derful adjunct to the pleasure Of a
park
There is nothing wrong with the
lAnVllle river as park feature It's
fails are not as high as those Of the
bridal veil in Yosemite park but the
man who wants rugged and faScinat-
ing mountain scenery with ri' nd
waterfall trimmings will III
figure that he gets his money oI.
LlnVllle river, with its series Of fan
and rapids. its sorges, its mountains
and its wild scenery. Or he can drift
across the mountains and get into
mllder dcscents and valleys that are
easier to travel for Linville Gorge is
not the place exactly that you would
pick for saunter. 1t is a mans out
| ing, traVersng that bit of mountain
| very far, is.
Scenery Plentiful.
| North Carolina mountains are full
| of cataraCtS and rapids, AS they are
| threaded by many rivers which are
| fed by an abundant rainfall. There
is one feature of the Appalachian
|
a bountiful rainfall, and rainfall
| makes running water, and running
water makes picturesque scenery. In
stead of finding one big waterfall ir
| hundreds Of miles, you find them
| everywhere in North Carolina plenty
high enough to be interesting. and bis
enough in volume to be real water
falls. On Elk creek, up in Watauga
county are falls enough to throw a
the birds, Elk falls being a particular
ly interesting cataract.
/ One Of the most interesting river
. features Of the mountain country i.
, the Falls Of the Tuckaseegee. A sue
cession Of cataracts and rapids re
suits in descent Of 400 feet in les
than a mile along the rivers course
Standing back some distance where
, several of the falls can be seen, on
: above another the picture is on
worth going miles to see. It is fl
3 picture for any national park OF
earth. All of these mountain stream
: possess this one interesting phase
4 they abound in rapids. For 4 mile
e the Cheowah river falls an average Q
e | about so feet to the mile, and tn
n Linville river falls In 10 miles 1,S0
q feet, an average of 1S0 feet to tn
y mile, the fall in the first six mile
e avera ging 2OS feet to the mile. a
e the Cuilasaja lower falls the descer
k is 80 feet in quarter of a mile, on
t, fall Of nearly 100 feet Of that bein
<, in single cataract. This is in Maco
O county, a most interesting section {
a the mountains. These fails are stril
e ingly picturesque, and as much ca
) be said Of another series of falls an
o rapids as few miles farther up tt
e stream, where the narrowneSs of tn
d gorge and the swift descent of tt
" stream make a fascinating bit
mountain scenery and a magnificel
adjust for a national park.
Forest Vastness Relieved
N One of the advantages of a pa1
IF in these mountains is that every he
IS and there the forest breaks open ar
10 farms are encountered. In the vale,
it are settlers, and on the ridges al
a. herds of cattle. From the SUNNI
e. of the peaks towns and rural con
m munites relieve the vastness OF Il
ID forest eXpanse. Unfortunately II
m lumber companies are also relievi1
O. that vastness, and unless the COVER
t ment gets its park pretty soon Il
III cost Of restoring the forests Will
OF as much as the whole thing Wou
an have cost when the timber still stO,
ne in its place on the mountain side
lg That the wasteful lumber practic
as Of the private operator should be Pc
V. mitted in such a delightful count
at is q pity but the lumberman does n
IS feel that he can so to the expense
ct saving the forests for the future
es his own cost, for he puts his mon
is into the proposition for the profit tn
nj | comes from cutting the timber al
ell selling it. One glimpse of the barr