The Coolidge examiner., 1937-06-10
Typical Great Smoky Mountains Cabin.

over the mountains between Ten
nessee and North Carolina. It winds
through the scenic valley Of the
West Prong of Little Pigeon river,
crossing and recrossing the stream
to the state line at Newfound Gap.
The Chimneys, rugged twin
peaks, thickly forested, stand like
sentinels, guarding the bridge which
carries the highway across the West
Prong. From the bridge all the
way to Newfound Gap the traveller
is hemmed in by steep, wooded
mountain slopes, unbroken except
where a waterfall, too high above
and too far away to be heard,
CLEANS in the sun like white silken
ribbon as mountain stream
sweeps over precipice toward the
noisy river caScading below.
At Newfound Gap along the state
line the mountain top has been ex-
cavated and space provided for
parking several hundred automo-
biles. Here the arboreal wonder
land that is the Great Smokes
spreads before you in both states.
Down Into North Carolina.
From this point the highway de-
scends into North Carolina along
the Oconaluftee river, through the
Qualla Indian reservation, toward
Asheville and Bryson City, North
Carolina gateways to the park
Southwestward from Newfound
Gap, the Skyway. one of the high
est highways in the country, is TAX
ing shape. 1t has been completed
nearly to ClingmanS Dome, the loft
lest peak in the Great Smokes.
Ultimately it will wind forty miles
over and around peaks along the
state line until it reaches the west
ern end of the park, affording amaz-
ing vistas of jumbled mountains and
billowy valleys. Portions of the Sky
way are already $500 feet above
sea level.
1t is along the trails that the hiker
meets isolated mountain families in
their cabins, and stumbles upon the
remnants Of abandoned mills that
not long ago ground out the noun
taineers' turn" of cornmeal.
Nearly everything one observes
in and around a mountain cabin is
homemade. Trundle beds, high
backed chairs, spinning wheels, and
looms are usually heirlooms.
One of the first known white men
to study the wonders of the Great
Smoky mountains was a botanist,
William Bartram Of Philadelphia,
who climbed among these heights
about the time patriots in Indepen-
dence Hall signed the Declaration
of Independence. After him came
other botanists who have found the
mountains their paradise, one of the
largest and last vestiges of the ma
tive forest that swathed the hills
and valleys of colonial America.
OrCnluS anu ernS.
So diversified are the wild flowers
Of the Great Smokes that visitors
from many sections Of the country
find species that grow abundantly
in their fields and woodlands among
others that are rare to them. TWen-
ty-two orchids find natural habitat
in these rugged and Well-Watered
mountains; there are SO kinds of
lilies; of trilliums; % Of violets,
and 5 Of magnolias.
The native wild orchids, while not
SO large as the more familiar cul-
tivated species, have all the exqui-
site form and dainty coloring of
their "civilized' cousins. Like
many other plant families in the
Smokes, the orchids are found
throughout long blossoming sea-
son. Certain species make a bold
debut in the very early spring; 9TH
ers appear reluctant to yield sway
to chilly autumn.
Ferns range from the most deli
cate, with lacy fronds, to the most
hardy types. There are lush car
pets of MOSES and lichens of many
varieties, and hundreds of mush-
rooms and other fungus species
range from almost microscopic
sizes to the large and snowy vari-
cites, many of which are priced edi-
bles.
Here the cataWba rhododendron
is at its best. In late June and
July its white and purple blossoms
cover whole mountain spurs, fleck
sweeping slopes, and envelop trails
and streams. Mountaineers call
rhododendron and laurel thickets
"slicks" and "hellS." Indeed, the
plants grow in such tangled masses
in some areas that only wilderness
animals can get through them.
Higgins He'll. covering about five
hundred acres, is one of the largest
rhododendron and laurel thickets.
1t was named for Irving Higgins,
a mountaineer who sought to drive
his cattle from one mountain to an
other. On the way he was trapped
in the Higgins He'll area. 1t took
him several days to find his way
out. Mountaineers avoid the
Sticks" identified by such colorful
names as Devils Tater Patch, Dew
IFS Courthouse, Woolly Tops, and
Breakneck Ridge,