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[Entered at the Post-office, in Atlanta,"qa" for Transportation
"WSSW-.I VOL. III.
throuqh the United States Maids at Second clan HatesTT
twice a
ATLANTA, GA., AUGUST 15, 1884. NO. 20. | 0 ’ a iW&f- AM
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from this point
is only excelled
by the bound
less sweep of
vision from the
Roan. But it
surpasses the
Kuan in the
loveliness and
variety of land
scape around its
base and the
beautiful
streams which
spring out of its
bosom.
Nothing could
be more charm
ing than the
verdant valley
of the Iola,
which widens
and deepens as
it reaches out
to the east, di
versified by the
little hills
FOUR PARALLEL TRACKS AS - SEEN NEAR ROUND KNOB IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA, from^te^bofloin
Southern Scenery.
We present on this page two striking
views of points in Western North Caro
lina.
Round Knob is in the heart of West
ern North Carolina, in a region noted
ior picturesque beauty and grandeur of
scenery. At Round Knob is seen in the
valley the hotel which is five stories
high and equal in its adornment and
equipment to the best in the land. The
railroad company, by damming up Sil
ver creek in rear of the hotel, construct
ed a large artificial lake, from whose
placid surface a fountain throws up a
stream of water 268 feet hig i, said to be
six feet higher than any other jet of wa
ter in the world. The lake is amply
stocked with fountain trout. In the
center of the valley a conical shaped
mountain riseB to' the height of several
hundred feet, and from its crest the visi
tor can see the tortuous windings of the
cars, as they ascend the mountain to its
summit, at Swannanoa tunnel. This
view is portrayed in the scene designated
Four Parallel Tracks.” The distance
from Round Knob to the summit of the
mountain is eight miles, and presents
°ne of the most splendid achievements
c ' v il engineering on the continent,
he line twists and turns and doubles
Rself on its own track in so many crook-
j hails that the passenger is often in
oubt “ whether he is going up or com-
m.g hack." While he gazes out of one
w mdow to discover the route above, his
e >es penetrate into some deep gorge
W ,f n he sees the threadlike track over
. lc h he has already come, and before
e can satisfy his astonished senses that
' i'l actually come from that depth,
0 j g0t ‘ 8 ar °und some jutting promontory
^Jock and the scene is shut out from
The train rolls easily along from ridge
to ridge, and circling the knobs and
dodging the coves like a thing of life,
but ever ascending higher and higher,
until with a bound it plunges into the
tunnel through which it burrows under
the gap, and after a moment’s suspense
emerges into the light of day on the
western slope of the Blue Ridge. Words
fail to describe the beauty and
grandeur of this passage over the moun
tain ; the artist has endeavored in the
scenes given on this page to catch faint
ly some of its beauty; but when the
traveler goes over the route
he forgets the productions of
art and gazes with awe, won
der and admiration at the
mighty creation around him.
It will richly repay anyone to
visit Round Knob. It is easy
of access via the Richmond
and Danville Railroad to
Salisbury, and thence via the
Western North Carolina Rail
road.
In another column we give
a graphic sketch of Tallulah
Falls from the pen of a recent
visitor. Tallulah Falls is not
excelled for grandeur by
Western North Carolina, and
it is close at hand. A short
trip over the Atlanta and
Charlotte Air-Line and North
eastern Railroads and the
traveler is at the scene.
Iota’s Verdant Vale, In
■Western Nortli Caro
lina.
The Nantehaleh mountain in
this country is the grandest
of its companions. Its lofti
est pinnacle is 5,500 feet high,
treeless and covered with
and add loveliness to the scene. The
most attractive of all the sweet spots,
which make this valley so enchanting,
is the rich and fertile farm of the late
Governor Swain, called "Iola Farm.”
Nearly a thousand acres of level bottom,
rich with alluvial deposits, hemmed in on
every side like an amphitheatre, spreads
out before the eye, carpeted with green
and musical witb the gentle murmuring
of the falling water and the tinkling
bells of the browsing herds.
Within two hundred feet of the great
est altitude of the Nantehaleh pinnacle,
grass. The ex- under a bluff, in a secluded cove, is the
tent of the view j wonderful wine spring, more properly a
gushing fountain. This subterranean
stream bursts from its confinement with
such force and power that the water
spouts up to the height of six or eight
inches. It is as pure as transparent
crystal and cold enough to make the
teeth chatter, and many imagine that
there are gases in its composition which
exhilarate the spirits.
The stream is bold enough to have
slaked the thirst of all the famishing
hoBts of Israel in the desert of Zion, and
no one can see this marvelous’ fountain
of water without having vividly recalled
to his remembrance the scene described
in Numbers, where “ Moses smote the
rock and the water came out abundantly
and the congregation drank and their
beasfBalso.” Theherdsof cattle which
graze upon this mountain from May to
November congregate herein great num
bers to drink these sweet waters. They
are Baited on the bare rocks in the vi
cinity, and from these they retrace their
steps to the spring. These cattle are
salted monthly and are called together
by a peculiar '* whoop ” from their own
ers, and seeing tourists approaching this
place, the cattle mistake them for the
salting men and congregate around them
in such compact herds that it becomes
dangerous to attempt to return down
the mountain. They obstruct the path-
way and come rushing down behind you
with such speed that you must give way
or be run over. A peculiar phenomenon
is occasionally, though very seldom, ex
perienced on this mountain height which
seems to be inexplicable. While riding
on the undulating plateau and gazing in
admiration at the unfolding panorama
far away, the attention is suddenly ar
rested by the humming, buzzing noise
of a hundred swarms of bees, that seem
to dart down and circle about the ground,
then suddenly rise and whirl around as
if there was a mingling of swarms and
then passing away until the sound is
lost in the distance.
ROUND KNOB, WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.