XXII 
THE CHEROKEE NATION 
THE railroads that have triumphantly sur- 
mounted the Blue Ridge and taken the moun- 
tains, as it were, by storm, make it easy in these 
days to get within reach of the formerly almost inac- 
cessible places. Besides those that have crossed the 
mountains, and the short line up the French Broad 
Valley to the "Sapphire Country," there is the 
"Murphy Branch" that connects Asheville with 
Atlanta, Georgia, by a circuitous route down the 
very centre of the plateau around and over obstruct- 
ing mountains. 
At intervals along the Murphy Branch, villages 
have grown up, the largest of which, Waynesville, is 
beautifully placed close to the Balsam Mountains, 
and has long been a favorite summer resort. The next 
most important are Sylva and Dillsboro*, lying 
between the Balsam and Cowee Mountains, and 
beyond these, Whittier and Bryson City, between 
the Great Smoky and Cowee Mountains. 
From any of these villages one can start afoot or 
otherwise upon delightful trips through some of the 
finest scenery of the mountains, and from two of 
them, Whittier and Bryson City, roads lead into the 
Cherokee Indian Country that lies on the lower 
slopes of the Great Smoky Mountain. The Indian 
