Evening star., 1934-10-21


some Cove, spreading to the Gap
and even to the crown Of Lonesome
Pine, even as 1t was prophesied by
John Fox, jr, in his romance Of
the Virginia and Kentucky mountains, THE
Trail Of the Lonesome Pine
Lonesome Pine, which watched in almost
humans sympathy the development of hero
worship, and later, love in the breast Of little
June Tolliver is dying, just as 1t came to Fox
in dream during thunderstorm, and as he
predicted in the story. But Lonesome Pine Is
not dying IN the romantic manner pictured by
Fox. 1t is dying from old age, perhaps,
from disease. Nobody knows. In his dream,
Fox saw the old tree struck by lightning. Death
is, indeed, striking Lonesones topmost branches
in some mysterious way.
1t is an unromantic modern who does not
know about Lonesome. Lonesome Pine was
revealed to the romantic world in song and
story in 1908. Later 1.-The Trail Of the Lone
some Pine made into screen and stage
successes Of the same name. Out of its few
centuries Of obscurity John Fox brought this
giant Of the Cumberland Mountains and pa
raded it across the American scene.
The old tree was given almost human under
standing of girlish heart For years now
the Lonesome Pine has stood adamant and
majestic on his lofty hill, all but forgotten on
the pathway Of a nations pioneers
DUT now Lonesome is due for another, If brief
y period of popular interest-for Lonesome
has fallen on evil days. Its sorry plight has
been brought to the attention Of the United
States Government. The Bureau of Plant
Industry has been asked to save the fast-ebbing
life of Lonesome Pine, and the Bureau Of
Plant Industry takes the lives of trees seriously.
Although not committing themselves to
definite promise to save Lonesome, officials Of
the bureau have said that at the first oppor-
tunity the bureau will have a tree pathologist
look in on Lonesome and diagnose his ailment.
If blister rust, gypsy moth, pine borer any
OF the other known enemies and diseases Of
pines are responsible, the bureau will have
O splendid chance to save Lonesome's life But
If it is old age that has overtaken the giant,
then there is little hope held for his recovery.
Lonesome is stately pine standing on the
border line between Virginia and Kentucky,
on the trail across the Cumberland Mountains
between Norton, Va, and Harlan, KY. The
pine tree spreads its roots indiscriminately in
the soil Of the two States, only few hundred
yards from the headwaters of the Cumberland
River.
How this giant pine, the only one in the
vicinity nearer than the deep hollows in the
blue distance at the foot of the mountain,
happened to grow atop the mountain, no per-
son has ventured to guess, except Fox, and that
in a book of fiction. Fox accounted for it
by a whirlwind, which, picking up a tiny
pine cone, circling heavenward," planted it
there.
Surrounding the pine are other trees Of
varied species. There are the oaks and the
poplars, the gum and the chestnut, the birch
and the sumac, but not another pine.
1t was under the green crown Of Lonesome
Pine that June, the simple mountain girl of
the novel, got her first glimpse Of John Hale,
the hero Of the story. 1t was then that she
waged her losing fight with herself against her
love for him and it was there that her wild
mountain heart given to John. The old
pine was looking down in silent benediction as
the scene was closed with the marriage Of
John and June by Uncle Bill, the old miller
and justice of the peace in Lonesome Cove.
Around the bole of the old tree also was woven
q graphic word picture of the mountain feud
of the Falins and the Tollivers.
Not all the romancing was real romance.
The boom days Of the mining country center.
ing around Stonega, Appalachia, Roda, Exeter,
Imboden and half other mining towns
in Southwestern Virginia and in Harlan, Lynch
and several other towns in Kentucky; the open.
ing up of coal and iron ore mines, giant smell
ters, mills, coke ovens and foundries was fact.
which would only lose glamour by any attempt
at establishment.
The mountains were swelling with coal and
iron ore. Capital rushed in and labor fol-
lowed, bringing adventuresome industrialists
and the attendant rfff-raff element present in
all boom communities
THE Gap, spoken of in the Fox novel, Is
] Big Stone Gap, and it lies in beautiful VAL
ley along the North Fork, or Powell River, in the
extreme tip of Southwestern Virginia. The
two railroads which "crawled like sluggish
worms along the mountain sides" are still
there, both passing the town mile away on
either side. The dummy" line, which met all
the trains at the two stations equidistant from
the town, and upon which June and John
rode when she returned from the East, where
he had sent her, long since has given up the