THE SAPPHIRE COUNTRY 263 
it is interesting to know, in the early history of the 
country lay on the boundary line between the Eng- 
lish and the French possessions, the French acquir- 
ing by treaty all the territory in this region drained 
by waters running to the Mississippi. Since there 
were several "Broad" rivers in the mountains, this 
one became the "French Broad," a name that it 
retains to this day. Up the French Broad Valley as 
far as Toxaway comes that branch of the railroad, 
from Hendersonville. So it will be seen that High- 
lands now lies between the terminals of two rail- 
roads, the joining of which one fears is only a matter 
of time. 
The largest and finest of the group of hotels that 
has sprung up at these lakes is at Toxaway, where 
the visitor will find all the amenities of modern hotel 
life. And now an electric car line is being projected 
from Toxaway to Fairfield, the first thread in that 
web of steel which the eye of prophecy sees woven 
over the mountains in the near future. 
The whole Sapphire Country is remarkable for its 
scenic beauty. The points of view to go to, the moun- 
tains to climb, the streams to fish, the waterfalls to 
visit, the forests to explore, afford inexhaustible 
entertainment to the nature-lover, to which has 
been added tennis, golf, boating and hunting for 
those who enjoy such sports; for the property of the 
hotel company, which includes some twenty-eight 
thousand acres, is mostly wild land where the forests, 
kept as game preserves, are full of deer and birds and 
the streams and lakes are well stocked with fish. 
