Ashville, North Carolina, May, 1848.
Twenty-five miles from this place, in a northerly direction, stands
_Black Mountain_, which is the gloomy looking patriarch of the
Alleghanies, and claimed to be the most elevated point of land
eastward of the Mississippi. It is nearly seven thousand feet high,
and, with its numerous pinnacles, covers an area of territory which
must measure in length a distance of at least twenty miles. Unlike
its fellows in this Southern land, it is covered with a dense forest
from base to summit, where may be found nearly every variety of
American trees, from the willow and the elm, to the oak and the
Canada fir; and it is the parent of at least a hundred streams. Not
a rood of its rocky and yet fertile surface has ever been
cultivated, and its chief inhabitants are the panther, the bear, and
the deer. Almost its only human denizen is one Frederick Burnet, a
“mighty hunter,” who is now upwards of forty years of age, and is
said to have slain between five hundred and six hundred bears upon
this mountain alone. To obtain an adequate idea of its height and
grandeur, it should be viewed from at least a dozen points of the
compass, and with regard to the circular and apparently boundless
panorama which it commands, it can be far better imagined than
described. On questioning one of the wild natives of the region as
to the character of this prospect, he replied: “Good God! sir, it
looks down upon every seaport in the United States, and across the
whole of Mexico.” On learning this truly remarkable circumstance, my
curiosity was of course excited, and I questioned my informant as to
the facilities of looking off from the peak. “Directly on the
highest point,” said he, “stands a single fir-tree which you have to
climb, and thus look down on all creation.” “And how do you reach
the summit?” I continued. “O! it’s a very easy matter, stranger; you
only have to _walk_ about six miles, and right straight _up_ the
roughest country you ever _did_ see.”
With this intelligence I was fully satisfied, and thereupon
concluded that I should waste none of my strength merely for the
privilege of “climbing a tree,” even though it were the most
elevated in the land. One of my Ashville friends, however, to whom I
had brought letters of introduction, spoke to me of the Black
Mountain in the most enthusiastic terms, said that I ought to visit
it, and added that he had gotten up a party of one dozen gentlemen,
including himself, who were resolved upon visiting the foot of the
mountain in my company. They were described as lovers of scenery,
anglers, and hunters, and it was proposed that we should go on
horseback, though accompanied by a kind of tender, consisting of a
small wagon load of provisions, fishing-rods, and guns, which was to
be under the especial charge of an old negro named Sam Drymond. I
was of course delighted with this arrangement, and, as the
expedition was accomplished to the satisfaction of all concerned, I
will give an account of its principal incidents.
Our cavalcade started at the break of day, and, as Miss Fortune
would have it, in what we imagined a morning shower. It so happened,
however, that it rained almost without ceasing until we reached our
place of destination, which was a log shantee not far from the base
of the Black Mountain, and about six miles from its summit. Our
course lay up the valley of _the Swannanoah_, which, in spite of the
rain, I could not but admire for its varied beauties. This river
rises on the Black Mountain, is a charming tributary of the French
Broad, from five to twenty yards in width, cold and clear, very
rapid, and throughout its entire length is overshaded by a most
luxuriant growth of graceful and sweet-scented trees and vines. The
plantations on this stream are highly cultivated, the surrounding
scenery is mountainous, graceful, and picturesque, and among the
small but numerous waterfalls which make the first half of its
course exceedingly romantic, may be enjoyed the finest of trout
fishing.
To describe the appearance of our party as we ascended the
Swannanoah, through the mud and rain, were quite impossible, without
employing a military phrase. We looked more like a party of “used
up” cavaliers, returning from an unfortunate siege, than one in
pursuit of pleasure; and in spite of our efforts to be cheerful, a
few of our faces were lengthened to an uncommon degree. Some of our
company were decided characters, and a variety of professions were
represented. Our captain was a banker, highly intelligent, and rode
a superb horse; our second captain was a Lambert-like gentleman,
with scarlet Mexican cloak: we had an editor with us, whose
principal appendage was a long pipe; there was also a young
physician, wrapped up in a blue blanket; also a young graduate,
enveloped in a Spanish cloak, and riding a beautiful pony; also an
artist, and then a farmer or two; also a merchant; and last of all
came the deponent, with an immense plaid blanket wrapped round his
body, and a huge pair of boots hanging from his legs, whose romantic
appearance was somewhat enhanced by the fact that his horse was the
ugliest in the country. Long before reaching our place of
destination, a freshet came pouring down the bed of the Swannanoah,
and, as we had to ford it at least twenty times, we met with a
variety of mishaps, which were particularly amusing. The most unique
incident, however, was as follows: The party having crossed a
certain ford, a motion was made that we should wait and see that old
Drymond made the passage in safety. We did so, and spent about one
hour on the margin of the stream, in a most impatient mood, for the
old man travelled very slowly, and the clouds were pouring down the
rain most abundantly. And what greatly added to our discomfort was
the fact, that our horses got into a cluster of nettles, which made
them almost unmanageable. In due time the negro made his appearance,
and plunged into the stream. Hardly had he reached the middle,
before his horse became unruly, and having broken entirely loose
from the wagon, disappeared down the stream, leaving the vehicle in
a most dangerous position, near the centre thereof, with a
tremendous torrent rushing on either side, and the poor negro in the
attitude of despair. He was indeed almost frightened to death; but
his woe-begone appearance was so comical, that in spite of his real
danger, and the prayer he offered, the whole party burst into a roar
of laughter. One remark made by the negro was this: “O Massa, dis is
de last o’ poor old Drymond—his time’s come.” But it so happened
that our old friend was rescued from a watery grave: but I am
compelled to state that our provisions, which were now transferred,
with old Drymond, on the back of the horse, were greatly damaged,
and we resumed our journey, with our spirits at a much lower ebb
than the stream which had caused the mishap.
We arrived at a vacant cabin on the mountain, our place of
destination, about noon, when the weather became clear, and our
drooping spirits were revived. The cabin stood on the margin of the
Swannanoah, and was completely hemmed in by immense forest trees.
Our first movement was to fasten and feed the horses; and having
satisfied our own appetites with a cold lunch, a portion of the
company went a fishing, while the remainder secured the services of
the hunter Burnet, and some half dozen of his hounds, and endeavored
to kill a deer. At the sunset hour the anglers returned with a lot
of two or three hundred trout, and the hunters with a handsome doe.
With this abundant supply of forest delicacies, and a few
“knick-knacks” that we had brought with us, we managed to get up a
supper of the first water, but each man was his own cook, and our
fingers and hands were employed in the place of knives and plates.
While this interesting business was going on we dispatched Burnet
after a fiddler, who occupied a cabin near his own, and when the
musical gentleman made his appearance, we were ready for the
“evening’s entertainment.”
We devoted two hours to a series of fantastic dances, and when we
became tired of this portion of the frolic, we spent an hour or so
in singing songs, and wound up the evening by telling stories. Of
the hundred and one that were related, only two were at all
connected with the Black Mountain, but as these were Indian legends,
and gathered from different sources, by the gentlemen present, I
will preserve them in this letter for the edification of those
interested in such matters. On the north side of Black Mountain
there was once a cave, where all the animals in the world were
closely confined; and before that time they had never been known to
roam over the mountains as they do now. All these animals were in
the keeping of an old Cherokee chief. This man, who had a
mischievous son, often came home with a fine bear or deer, but would
never tell his son or any other person where he found so much
valuable game. The son did not like this, and on one occasion when
his father went out after food he hid himself among the trees, and
watched his movements. He saw the old man go to the cave, already
mentioned, and, as he pushed away a big stone, out ran a fine buck,
which he killed with an arrow, and then rolled back the stone. When
the old man was gone home with his deer the boy went to the cave,
and thought that he would try his luck in killing game. He rolled
away the stone, when out jumped a wolf, which so frightened him that
he forgot to replace the stone, and, before he knew what he was
about, all the animals made their escape, and were fleeing down the
mountain in every possible direction. They made a dreadful noise for
a while, but finally came together in pairs, and so have continued
to multiply down to the present time. When the father found out what
the foolishness of his son had accomplished, he became very unhappy,
and in less than a week he disappeared, and was never heard of
again. The boy also became very unhappy, and spent many days in
trying to find his father, but it was all in vain. As a last resort
he tried an old Indian experiment which consisted in shooting
arrows, to find out in which direction the old man had gone. The boy
fired an arrow towards the north, but it returned and fell at his
feet, and he knew that his father had not travelled in that
direction. He also fired one towards the east and the south and the
west, but they all came back in the same manner. He then thought
that he would fire one directly above his head, and it so happened
that this arrow never returned, and so the boy knew that his father
had gone to the spirit land. The Great Spirit was angry with the
Cherokee nation, and to punish it for the offence of the foolish boy
he tore away the cave from the side of the Black Mountain, and left
only a large cliff in its place, which is now a conspicuous feature,
and he then declared that the time would come when another race of
men should possess the mountains where the Cherokees had flourished
for many generations.
Another legend was as follows: Once, in the olden times, when the
animals of the earth had the power of speech, a red deer and a
terrapin met on the Black Mountain. The deer ridiculed the terrapin,
boasted of his own fleetness, and proposed that the twain should run
a race. The creeping animal assented to the proposition. The race
was to extend from the Black Mountain to the summit of the third
pinnacle extending to the eastward. The day was then fixed, and the
animals separated. During the intervening time the cunning terrapin
secured the services of three of its fellows resembling itself in
appearance, and having given them particular directions, stationed
them upon the several peaks over which the race was to take place.
The appointed day arrived, and the deer, as well as the first
mentioned terrapin, were faithfully on the ground. All things being
ready, the word was given, and away started the deer at a break-neck
speed. Just as he reached the summit of the first hill he heard the
shout of a terrapin, and as he supposed it to be his antagonist, he
was greatly perplexed, but continued on his course. On reaching the
top of the second hill, he heard another shout of defiance, and was
more astonished than ever, but onward still did he continue. Just
before reaching the summit of the third hill, the deer heard what he
supposed to be the same shout, and he gave up the race in despair.
On returning to the starting place, he found his antagonist in a
calm and collected mood, and, when he demanded an explanation, the
terrapin solved the mystery, and then begged the deer to remember
that mind could sometimes accomplish what was often beyond the reach
of the swiftest legs.
With regard to the manner in which our party spent the night at the
foot of Black Mountain, I can only say that we slept upon the floor,
and that our saddles were our only pillows. The morning of the next
day we devoted to an unsuccessful hunt after a bear, and a portion
of us having thrown the fly a sufficient length of time to load old
Drymond with trout, we all started on our return to Ashville, and
reached the village just as the sun was sinking behind the western
mountains.