362 FORTY-FOUR K^EABS OF 



grass tied in a knot over a horse's withers while his rider 

 was sitting on him ; and when it was cut in good season, 

 it wintered cattle equally as well as timothy, though it was 

 not so good for horses. 



There were then hundreds, if not thousands, of acres of 

 this grass growing where there is now nothing but bushes, 

 and a rough and very inferior kind of grass, which serves 

 very well for early pasture, but is of little worth for hay. 



My mind cannot imagine a more beautiful sight than 

 could then be obtained from the highest grounds of the 

 Hoop-Pole Ridge, which commanded a view of the valley 

 between that and the great Back-bone — a distance of from 

 six to eight miles. It was a grand sight to watch the 

 tall grass, rolling in beautiful waves with every breeze 

 which passed over its smooth surface, as well as the herds 

 of deer, skipping and playing with each other. It was 

 not a strange thing to see a great lubberly-looking bear 

 forcing his way through the grass, when every deer which 

 got a sight or a scent of him would bound off, with tail 

 erect, toward the nearest thicket. Sometimes a wolf could 

 be seen prowling among the high grass, endeavoring to 

 sneak on a fawn, or, if possible, even on a grown deer. 



I used to think the months of April, May, and June 

 were the best for a visit to these natural and beautiful 

 meadows, as during those months there was not such a 

 high growth of grass as would hide the turkeys from the 

 traveler. From fifty to one hundred young turkeys, in one 

 large glade of perhaps a hundred or more acres, all en- 

 gaged in catching grasshoppers, flying, running, and in 

 every sort of action, was a sight pleasant to the eye of the 

 beholder. 



Men of other States, but first those of Virginia, becom- 

 ing acquainted with our glades, they were so much de- 

 lighted with these unbounded pasture-lands, that they pre- 

 vailed on some of the settlers to herd large quantities of 



