The Cumberland Mountains 
of obtaining it was by selling skins, or, in par- 
ticular, “sang,” that is ginseng , 1 which found 
a market in far-off China. 
My path all to-day led me along the leafy 
banks of the Hiwassee , 2 a most impressive 
mountain river. Its channel is very rough, as 
it crosses the edges of upturned rock strata, 
some of them standing at right angles, or 
glancing off obliquely to right and left. Thus a 
multitude of short, resounding cataracts are 
produced, and the river is restrained from the 
headlong speed due to its volume and the in- 
clination of its bed. 
All the larger streams of uncultivated coun- 
tries are mysteriously charming and beautiful, 
whether flowing in mountains or through 
swamps and plains. Their channels are inter- 
1 Muir’s journal contains the following additional note: 
“M. County produces $5000 worth a year of ginseng root, 
valued at seventy cents a pound. Under the law it is not al- 
lowed to be gathered until the first of September.” 
2 In his journal Muir spells the name “Hiawassee,” a 
form which occurs on many of the older maps. The name 
probably is derived from the Cherokee Indian “ Ayuhwasi,” 
a name applied to several of their former settlements. 
[ 41 ] 
