"This is a very lofty eminence, in Floyd County, from the top of which
the view is sublime. On the north, east, and west, the beholder is
amazed at the boundless succession of mountains rising beyond
mountains--while far away to the south, the plain seems to stretch to
an interminable length. On the east, The Knob is accessible on
horseback, being two miles in height from the beginning of the ascent
to the highest point; on the west it breaks off precipitately, and
presents the shape of the animal whose name it bears. This mountain is
seen sixty or eighty miles, towering above all others. On the highest
point is a space of about thirty acres, which is so elevated that not
any trees grow there; and in the warmest days of summer, the visitor
requires thick clothing to protect him from the cold. The spot is
covered with fine grass, strawberry-vines, and gooseberry and
currant-bushes. The fruit upon them is of superior flavour, but it does
not ripen until two or three months later than upon the low-lands."