64 SUNSHINE AND SPORT IN 



farther bank. Local tradition has it that this black 

 reptile is a deadly foe of the "rattler," which must 

 either avoid the encounter or be slain. What is 

 known with greater certainty is that the domestic 

 hog eats both with equal relish. 



At such altitudes there are no mosquitoes in 

 April, though, in the height of summer, midges 

 probably haunt the fringe of the lakes. The only 

 insects I took note of that day were some lovely 

 butterflies in dark, velvety coats, which floated 

 beside us down the sunlit track. Of four-footed 

 creatures I saw only a few grey squirrels flitting 

 from branch to bough, like birds in fur coats, taking 

 occasional pause on some lichen-covered bole to 

 chatter impudently at the invaders of their wild 

 domain. Those forest fastnesses harbour many 

 deer and a few bears, but not for so impatient a 

 visitor would these show themselves. 



Fishing- and shooting are the chief resources of a 

 holiday in the " Land of the Sky," but there must 

 be fifty miles and more of riding trails, and for 

 those who are fond of driving there are the nine- 

 and-a-half miles of turnpike from Toxaway to 

 Sapphire, and the extension of two-and-a-half to 

 Fairfield, each stage with a lovely lake for its goal. 

 The road, as I remember it, was less smooth than 

 Broadway, but the driver and his beasts would have 

 known every foot of it on a moonless night, and 

 unpruned timber is a grander background than 

 flat-iron buildings, and the wild home of the vanished 

 Cherokee is better than the luxurious surroundings 

 of the modern millionaire. Gone is the Cherokee, 

 but his romance still haunts the overhills and 

 underhills of Ottaray. He knew the peaks and 



