The Indianapolis times., 1934-05-15

q
an Indians and whose brown eyes shine with that
honesty for which the mountaneer of the Bg
Smokes is noted wherever people know about him.
A Model MOmtaineer
A NDY HUFF could do for a model of the fine
simple mountaineer who helps his neghborS,
fears God and takes his own part. He runs hotel
nowadays. thanks to the accident which created a
national forest in the Big Smokes and brought the
pavement to his door, but in other years for long
time, his place was no hotel but just sort of crude
mountain inn without bath to which few casuals
came now and again for few DAYS away from it all
Among his guests in the inn in those old days
was city fellow out of New York who pretended
that he had come there merely to get away from it
all out soon turned out to be private detective
Trying to get Andy's affidavit and false one at
that, against young woman who had been his guest
a short time before.
He was willing to pay a reasonable price for this
perjury and this suggestion only made Andy Huff
the madder and he the private detective down
the mountain in great indignation.
Ihls is the nature Of your true Tennessee noun
taineer.
Mrs. Andy Huff was woman of the same char
acter. She worked hard around the inn reared her
family to be honest and kind and brave and lived
this good life until she died few years ago. Dur
ing her younger years she often climbed the peaks
around Gatl1nburg and she always had planned and
wanted to climb Mount LIE Conte, the highest of
them all But she never quite got around to that
when she was well and late in her life after she
had begun to weaken from the illness which finally
took her off, she couldn't make it.
She SGJC the Peak
CTILL, Mrs Huff pined to see the top of LIE Conte,
~ where her Oldest whose name, I think is
George. had built shelter cabin for himself and
often withdrew for days at a time to hunt or Just
view the view and enjoy the grandeur of the scene.
She would look up the peak from the high valley
Where the inn stood and remark that she would love
to be able to see it before she died. And finally one
day. this son George if that is the boys name came
around the side of the house with a curious con-
traption strapped to his back and knelt down and
told her to get in. Mrs Huffs son had built chair
Tor her and, on his own back, the boy carried his
mother up the rock trail to the top of lie Conte and
down again.
Not very long after that Mrs Huff died and not
long after that the boy got married. The boy got
married and the place he chose for his wedding was
the peak where he had oted his mother to crafty the
last wish of her life He married his girl on the
mountain top just as dawn coloring the smoky
mist of the hills
Yes" said Ed Meeman. who had been listening
to the narrative, Il vouch for all of that It is
an absolutely true story know because was editor
of paper over there. Andy Huff and all the Huffs
are honest brave people and very sentimental about
those mountains There is Just one little correction
which I would suggest, though"
There was pause and Mr. Meeman said
1t isn't much of a correction. But the fact is
that the Hufs aren't really Tennessee nountaineers
at all. They are Pennsylvania Dutch Who came down
here only twenty years ago"
Copyright 1884 by United Feature Syndicate, Incl