85 



Otey and many others, I took part in the funeral ceremo- 

 nies, at the re-interment of the remains of Dr. Mitchell, on 

 the highest peak of the Black Mountain. Among the per- 

 sons present were my old friend William Wilson, whom I 

 had not seen for many years, his cousin, Thomas Wilson, 

 the well known guide to the Black Mountain, who was the 

 first to discover the body of Dr. Mitchell, in the pool, at 

 the bottom of the Falls which bear the Doctor's name, and 

 ISTathaniel Allen, the son of Adoniram Allen. The two 

 latter are comparatively young men, and were children 

 when I ceased to be a resident of Asheville. 



Bishop Otey and myself examined each of them careful- 

 ly and minutely in relation to the leading facts connected 

 with Dr. Mitchell's explorations of the Black Mountain, 

 and the fatal catastrophe which terminated his existence. 

 William Wilson stated, that he was never on the spot, 

 where we then stood, until the Summer of 1835, that then 

 in company with his friend and neighbor Adoniram Allen, 

 deceased,' he went there as the guide of Dr. Mitchell. He 

 entered into a detail of the leading incidents connected with 

 the difficult and laborious ascent of the mountain, pointed 

 out the route and referred to the most remarkable locali- 

 ties and objects, which then presented themselves on the 

 way. He stated that after the exploration of 1835, he had 

 never been on the top of this mountain until some time 

 subsequent to Dr. Mitchell's death ; when, hearing that a 

 controversy had arisen with respect to the pinacle then 

 measured, he determined, old and feeble as he was, to as- 

 cend it again, and had done so. He said that he recog- 

 nized, as he went up from point to point, the remarkable 

 places which had attracted his attention when he climbed 

 it with Dr. Mitchell. He had now gone over the same 

 route the third time, and entertained no doubt of the accu- 

 racy of his recollections. There is probably no one, whose 

 course of life and long familiarity with this range of 



