5^-
The
Ghost
Of
Riddles
Knob
The biltor olasli off Pa¬
ir iol against Tory,
iioig'lihor against neigh¬
bor. still hangs heavy in
the mists around Wolfs
Den.
By E. W. W ADSWORTH
The specter o* Coptom Riddle, ostndc his phontom steed, gollops oloisg the misty ridge holloing lor his
com portions, (illustrotion by Normo Murphy)
The Wolfs Den on Riddles Knob in
Watauga County can be reached from
the Woodring place off State 194 nine
miles north of Boone. Formed by an
out-cropping of rock thrust upwards
by one of the earth's primordial up¬
heavals. the den extends back into the
ridge of the mountain from which bro¬
ken rocks jut.
To enter the cave, one must do so on
his hands and knees then slither along
on his stomach to negotiate the low
places. It is not an undertaking for a
timid person or someone who has
claustrophobia. The air inside the den
is dank and altogether unpleasant.
Although less than five thousand
feel in elevation. Riddles Knob affords
the climber an excellent view of Elk
Mountain and the Snake, to the north¬
west. as well as Rich Mountain to the
west, each more than one mile high. To
the northwest, one has a distant view
of the South Fork of the New River,
with Old Field Bald sitting astride the
Watauga-Ashe County line six miles
away.
From Long Hope Gap. separating
Riddles Knob from Pine Orchard
Mountain, the climber can look dow n
into the valley through which came the
last herds of buffalo into Western
North Carolina. The view is breath¬
taking. and well worth the strenuous
climb to get there.
Haunted
But Riddles Knob is haunted,
haunted by the ghost of the man for
whom it was named. Captain William
Riddle, a notorious Tory who was
hanged by Colonel Cleveland at the
Tory Tree in Wilkesboro in 1781. The
specter of this man. astride a phantom
steed, still gallops along the misty ridge
on moonlight nights halloing for his
companions, long dead. Coon hunters
on frosty nights in the early fall have
had their dogs frightened by the fearful
apparition. The ghostly rider may also
be seen in the vapors rising from Rid¬
dles Fork at the foot of the mountain,
as it dashes along the old footpath und
wagon trail used by pioneers more than
two-hundred years ago. A lonely
place. Wolfs Den is not the setting to
linger after the sun has set. The vibes
are bad and the climber feels the urge
to hasten his departure, to leave Wolfs
IX‘n and the unquiet spirit which in¬
habits the place to the denizens of the
forest, and night.
The ghost of Riddles Knob, if in fact
one does exist, must be associated
with an event, the only incident con¬
nected with the American Revolution
to occur in Watauga County, which
took place at the Wolfs Den on Riddles
Knob in April 1781 .
This affair involved one of the most
colorful, if not most controversial, fig¬
ures in North Carolina history. Col¬
onel Ben Cleveland, hero of Kings
Mountain, whose fondness and pro¬
pensity for hanging Tories were un¬
equaled.
Neighbor Against Neighbor
With the outcome of the rebellion far
from being decided, the summer of
1780 was the worst of times. The peo¬
ple of North Carolina were divided in
their loyalties, and many citizens held
political persuasions different from
their neighbors and countrymen.
House burnings, bushwhacking, and
thievery of every description brought
on the crudest of retaliatory actions by
Loyalists and Patriots alike in the
western part of the state.
In the brief skirmish at Ramsour's
Mill in Lincoln County, neighbor
fought against neighbor, and. fre¬
quently. brother fought against
brother. Using their muskets as clubs,
they fought and battered each other in
the most savage manner, cracking and
smashing heads, til blood llowed red.
At Kings Mountain, the over-moun¬
tain men faced their fellow country-
men. not the Hessians or the British
Redcoats.
The treatment of the Tory prisoners
following their defeat by the Patriots
can hardly be imagined. So terrible
was the abuse of the prisoners on their
THE state. October 1«$2
