IN NORTH CAROLINA. 232 
summit of the Grandfather and. Ser weieen which ex- 
ceed the altitude of five th commonly 
three or four feet high. We were too early : for the fruit, a 
small, red or purplish berry, which does not ripen until Au- 
gust or September. It possesses an exquisite flavour, accord- 
ing to Pursh, who found the plant on the mountains of Vir- 
ginia; but our friend, Mr. Curtis, informs us that it is rather 
insipid, and entirely destitute of the tine acidity of the Cran- 
berry. 
On the 2nd of July we continued our journey (eleven 
miles) to Jefferson or Ashe Court-House, a hamlet of twenty 
or thirty houses, and the only village in the county. In- 
tending to make this place our head-quarters while we re- 
mained in the region, we had the good fortune to find excel- 
lent accommodation at the house of Colonel Bower, who 
evinced every disposition to further our inquiries, and afforded 
us very important assistance. We may remark, indeed, that 
during our residence amongst the mountains, we were uni- 
formly received with courtesy by the inhabitants, who, for 
the most part, wanted the general intelligence of our obliging 
host at Jefferson, and could scarcely be made to comprehend 
the object of our visit, or why we should come from a dis- 
tance of seven hundred miles to toil over the mountains in 
quest of their common and disregarded herbs. Objects of 
curiosity as we were to these good folks, their endless queries 
had no air of impertinence, and they entertained us to the 
best of their ability, never attempting to make unreasonable 
charges, A very fastidious palate might occasionally be at 
a loss, but good corn-bread and milk are everywhere abun- 
dant, the latter from preference being used quite sour, or 
even curdled. Sweet milk appears to be very much disliked, 
being thought less wholesome, and more likely to produce 
the milk sickness, which is prevalent in some very circum- 
scribed districts ; so that our dislike of sour, and fondness for 
fresh milk, were regarded by this simple people as among 
our very many oddities. Nearly every farmer has a small 
