The Cumberland Mountains 



softness and beauty. Oh, these forest gardens 

 of our Father! What perfection, what divin- 

 ity, in their architecture! What simpHcity 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 ig. 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. "It is called Track Gap," said 

 he, "from the great number of tracks in the 

 rocks — bird tracks, bar tracks, boss tracks, 

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

 mud." 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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