Evening star., 1937-10-30

equal area in the temperate zone.
There are 202 900 acres of virgin for
est, about 1900 varieties of spring.
blooming flowers and 14l species of
trees. 1t is difficult, the Park Service
states, to distinguish between trees and
shrubs. because some varieties of shrubs
attain arborescent proportions. Noun
tain laurel attaining diameter OF
80 inches, with height of 40 feet,
is cited for Illustration.
Deeds to the first portion of the
Great Smokes were accepted by the
Secretary of the Interior in 1880. but
it is only a few years since improved
highways opened up the main peaks
to motor travellers. Even greater
charm awaits those who leave the
automobile roads and hit the trails
that wind back into the heart of the
mountains. More than 500 miles of
trails have been constructed by the
National Park Service, in addition to
the native trails that were already
there.
TOURNEYING through the pictur-
esque region today you find the
mountain folk making souvenirs for
the tourists attracted to the Smokes
by the modern highways and trails.
Skilfully operating looms. the women
turn out scarfs, neckties and quilts,
while the men carve all sorts OF house.
hold objects from wood
Before reaching the majestic Smo-
kies on October %. however, the MEM
bers of the Governors Tour had spent
five days traversing other sections OF
the Volunteer State. with total area
of 41,687 square miles. From east
to west its extreme length is 432 miles,
and its greatest width, ITO miles. Be-
tween the heights of the Smokes in
the east and the lowlands near the
Mississippi in the west, Tennessee pos
seSses q varied topography and a di-
versity of interests. Within its borders
are many spots where history was
made during and before the Civil
War.
Starting from Nashville, in middle
Tennessee, on Sunday morning, Octo-
ber II, the Governors Tour stopped
first at the Hermitage, picturesque
home of Andrew Jackson, on the out
skirts of the city.
A century of growth and advance
ment all around it has not been per-
mitted to incroach upon this stately
old mansion in which the rugged hero
of the Battle of New Orleans spent
the latter years of his eventful life.
Before reaching the house, you pause
first at the little brick Hermitage
Church, which Jackson was instru-
mental in having built in 1923 to
meet the wishes of his beloved wife,
Rachel.
Time seems to turn back hundred
years as you listen to the pastor preach
today in that plain little house of
worship that has been rearranged
but slightly since the Jacksons and
their neighbors prayed there Except
for minor alterations In 1888, it is
just as it was built in 1923. AS the
clergyman pauses in his discourse
JO0 tiNoa bilC III dChlE vi Vic lO6 AL
in the hearth at the rear And above
the rostrum the original candelabra
still hang upon the wall. The con-
gregation is led in song by the time
worn notes of an organ installed rs
years ago.
A RRIVING few minutes later at
The Heritage itself, with its two
story porches supported by tall columns,
it is difficult for the visitor to realize
that nearly a hundred years have
passed since Gen. jackson and Rachel
sat beneath its shady trees Inside
you find the high-ceilinged rooms,
still furnished almost entirely with
the original furniture, some of the
original draperies and wallpaper. One
room has been converted into a mu-
scum, its walls lined with historic
correspondence of the soldier and
statesman.
Strolling through the garden at the
side of the house, you come to the
dome-covered tomb in which jackson
and his wife we're buried. Not far
from the house, the cabin OF Uncle
Alfred, Gen. Jackson's personal serv-
ant, also has been preserved.
Leaving The Hermitage, the Gov
ernor's Tour. drives to another part
of Nashville-the Brentwood section
where again the visitors from various
parts of the country are taken back
through the pages OF history to the
early days Of the Nation. Here you