254 THE CAROLINA MOUNTAINS 
twisted, like trees that have had to battle with the 
elements for life. 
To go to the edge and look directly down requires 
a steady head and should be done with caution, for 
the rock is bare and polished, and but for a ledge 
where bushes grow, a ledge scarcely noticeable a 
short distance away, it resembles, as some one has 
said, a stupendous petrified waterfall. In some lights 
this appalling front gleams white as snow, which has 
given the mountain its name. The characteristic 
feature of the scenery from Whiteside is the up- 
springing cliffs of the nearer mountains, impressive 
walls that would be more terrible if those close to 
you were not wreathed in verdure, and the more dis- 
tant ones softened by the tender lights and the cloud 
mists that so often lie about them, although there 
are clear, hard days when the cliffs look savage 
enough. 
And there are times when Whiteside Mountain 
becomes the theatre of a scene so terrific that to wit- 
ness it is a landmark in one's life. It was on a cloud- 
less summer day that one walked along the top of 
Whiteside far enough to see the cliffs of the Devil's 
Court-House, as the turret-like northern end of the 
mountain is called. One remembers admiring the 
little cloud that suddenly appeared in the intense 
blue of the sky, and the merry massing of white 
clouds that came rolling sweetly up over the edge 
of the horizon. You started to descend because of 
them, but finally decided that they were going 
around. You did not know that no cloud ever goes 
