The Cumberland Mountains 



softness and beauty. Oh, these forest gardens 

 of our Father! What perfection, what divin 

 ity, in their architecture ! What simplicity and 

 mysterious complexity of detail! Who shall 

 read the teaching of these sylvan pages, the 

 glad brotherhood of rills that sing in the val 

 leys, and all the happy creatures that dwell in 

 them under the tender keeping of a Father s 

 care ? 



September IQ. Received another solemn warn 

 ing of dangers on my way through the moun 

 tains. Was told by my worthy entertainer of a 

 wondrous gap in the mountains which he ad 

 vised me to see. &quot;It is called Track Gap/ said 

 he, &quot;from the great number of tracks in the 

 rocks bird tracks, bar tracks, hoss tracks, 

 men tracks, all in the solid rock as if it had been 

 mud.&quot; Bidding farewell to my worthy moun 

 taineer and all his comfortable wonders, I pur 

 sued my way to the South. 



As I was leaving, he repeated the warnings of 

 danger ahead, saying that there were a good 

 many people living like wild beasts on whatever 

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