T4 THE SPORTSUAN'S AND TOURIST’S GUIDE. 
The places to which they have hereto- 
fore resorted have beeome so familiar to 
the public that they are overrun by civ- 
ilization (7) in its worst forms. Pot- 
hunters and photographers, parasols and 
pinafores, crinoline and croquet, steam- 
boats and shoddy, hotels and_hostlers, 
railroads and reporters, now swarm over 
spots consecrated and long endeared to 
the heart of many a gallant sportsman. 
There is in North Carolina a large ter- 
ritory which is verily believed to be un- 
surpassed on the continent for advan- 
tages as a quiet Summer resort. There 
is not a railroad or navigable stream in 
it. It has long been known and appre- 
ciated by the dwellers on the South 
Atlantic and Gulf coast, and some years 
ago was a favorite retreat for them from 
the fierce heats of their more Southern 
homes. 
Upon an examination of the map it 
will be observed that in Virginia the 
Great Chain of the Alleghany Moun- 
tains divides, one range preserving the 
original name and southwesterly diree- 
tion, while the other diverges toward the 
south until it crosses the State of North 
Carolina, where it turns sharply toward 
the west, running almost parallel with 
the Alleghanies until it gradually sinks 
into the plains of Northern Alabama. 
This last range is called the Blue Ridge, 
aud divides North Carolina from South 
Carolina and Georgia. ‘The lirst is the 
boundary between North Carolina and 
Tennessee. That portion of the State 
lying west and north of the Blue Ridge, 
and south of the Alleghanies, is known 
as Western North Carolina It is about 
one hundred and seventy-five 
length, with an average breadth of sev- 
enty-fiye miles. It embraces sixteen 
counties, seven thousand square miles, 
‘anda population of over eighty thousand. 
miles in 
This section has frequently been de- 
scribed asa plateau, but it is in fact a 
very mountainous region, being divided 
into a number of narrow but exceedingly 
fertile and beautiful valleys by trans- 
verse ranges connecting the Alleghanies 
and Blue Ridge, suggesting a resem- 
blance to the celebrated ligament which 
bound together the Siamese Twins. The 
Black Mountain, in Buncombe and 
Yancey counties, and the Balsam, in 
Heywood and Jackson counties, are the 
most noted of these transversal ranges. 
Indeed, Professor Guyot, of Cambridge, 
who has given great attention to this re- 
gion, and has made careful barometrical 
measurement of several of the highest 
summits, denominates it as the culmina- 
ting point of the great Appalachian 
Chain. On the Black Mountain are 
several peaks— Mt. Mitchell, Cling- 
man’s Peak, and a dozen others, higher 
than Mt. Washington, and on the 
Balsam is Mt. Pisgah, Plott’s Balsam, 
and five or six more, all of which tower 
more than six thousand feet above the: 
sea. No description can convey a clear 
idea of the remarkable parallelism of the 
ridges and valleys which characterize 
the topography of this region, or the 
grand and beautiful features of its scen- 
ery. To comprehend all its grandeur, 
and appreciate all its beauty, one must 
climb its mountains and wander among 
its valleys. 
Probably the greatest charm is the 
magnificent climate. From May till 
November is one continued season of 
health, beauty, and enjoyment. ‘The 
nights are deliciously cool, allowing 
sound and refreshing slumber, and as the 
morning advances the sun pours down 
hot rays, which would be oppressive but 
for the breezes from the high tops and 
shaded glens of the mountains. A long 
