hi-; saw them i\ i»i8
Roan & Grandfather
By CHARLES LAWMAN
To be in keeping with my wayward
wandering* in thi* Alpine wilderness,
il now become» my duly lo speak o(
ihe Hi Hin Mountain and ihe (irand
Father. By actual measurement the
former is only seventy feel lower than
the Black Mountain, and consequent¬
ly measures well nigh to seven thou¬
sand feet. It derives its name from the
circumstance that it is often covered
with sno». and at such times is of a
roan color. It lie* in the Stales of North
Carolina and Tennessee, and has
three prominent peak», which are all
entirely destitute of trees. The high¬
est of them ha* a clearing containing
several thousand acres, and the cattle
and horses of the surrounding farm¬
ers resort to it in immense numbers,
for the purpose of feeding upon the
fine and luxuriant grass which grows
there in great abundance. The ascent
to the top of this peak is gradual from
all directions except one. but on the
north it is quite perpendicular, and to
one standing near the brow of the
mighty cliff the scene is exceedingly im¬
posing and fearful That il commands
an uninterrupted view of what ap¬
pears to be the entire world, may be
readily imagined. When I was there
I observed no less than three thunder
storms performing their uproarious
feats in three several valley's, while
the remaining portions of the lower
world were enjoying a deep blue at¬
mosphere. In visiting Roan Mountain
you have to travel on horseback, and,
by starting at the break of day, you
may spend two hours on the highest
peak, and be home again on the same
evening about the sunset hour.
In accounting for the baldness
which characterizes the Roan Moun¬
tain. the Catawba Indians relate the
following tradition: There was once a
time when all the nations of the earth
were at war with the Catawba*, and
had proclaimed their determination
to conquer and pvssess their country.
On hearing this intelligence the Ca¬
tawba* became greatly enraged, and
sent a challenge to all their enemies
and dared them to a fight on the sum¬
mit of the Roan. The challenge was
accepted, and no less than three fa¬
mous battles were fought — the
streams of the entire land were red
with Mood, a number of tribes be¬
came extinct, and the Catawba* car¬
ried the day. Whereupon it was that
the Great Spirit caused the forests to
wither from the three peaks of the
Roan Mountain where the battles
were fought; and wherefore il is that
the flowers which grow upon this
mountain are chiefly of a crimson hue,
for they arc nourished by the Mood of
the slain.
One of the finest views from the
Roan Mountain is that of the Grand
Father, which is said to be altogether
the wildest and most fantastic moun¬
tain in the whole Alleghany range.
It is reputed to be 5,600 feet high,
and particularly famous for its black
bears and other large game It* prin¬
cipal human inhabitants, pir excel¬
lence. for the last twenty years, have
been a man minted Jim Riddle, and
his lov ing spouse, w hose cabin was near
its summit. A more successful hunter
than Jim never sealed a precipice;
and the stories related of him would
fill a volume. One of the funniest that
I now remember, is brieflv as fol¬
lows:—
He was out upon a hunting ex¬
pedition, and having come to one of
his bear traps, (made of logs, weigh¬
ing about a thousand pounds, and set
with a kind of figure four.) the bait
of which happened to be misplaced,
he thoughtlessly laid down his gun.
and went under the trap lo arrange the
bail. In doing this, he handled the
bait hook a little loo roughly, and was
consequently caught in the place of
a bear. He chanced to have a small
hatchet in his belt, with which, under
every disadvantage, he succeeded in
cutting his way out He was one day
and one night in doing this, however,
and his narrow escape caused him to
abandon the habit of swearing, and be¬
come a religious man.
To the comprehension of Jim Rid¬
dle. the Grand Father was the high¬
est mountain in the world. He used
to say that he had read of the Andes,
but did not believe that they were
half as high as the mountain on which
he lived. His reason for this opinion
was, that when a man stood on the top
of the Grand Father, it was perfectly
obvious that “all ihe other mountains
in the world lay rolling from it, even
to the sky."
Jim Riddle is said to have been a
remarkably certain marksman; and
one of his favorite pastimes, in the
winter, was to shoot at snow-balls. On
these occasions, his loving wife. Bet¬
sey. was always by his side, to laugh
at him when he missed his mark, and
to applaud when successful And it
is reported of them, that they were
sometimes in the habit of spending en¬
tire days in this elevated recreation.
But enough; Jim Riddle is now an al¬
tered man. Hi* cabin has long since
been abandoned, and he has become
a travelling preacher, and is univer¬
sally respected for his amiability, and
matter-of-fact intelligence.
The final chapter in this series of
Letters from the Alleghany Mountains
will be published soon.
□
ТИС
STATC. Junc IB. 1955
