XXX 
LEDGER AND THE ROAN 
THE nameof MIcaville explains itself. It lies in 
the most important mica region of the moun- 
tains, where the rocks sparkle, the roads glitter, and 
nearly everybody is engaged one way or another in 
working in mica. You see women and girls sitting un- 
der sheds cutting plates of mica into regular shapes, 
and piles of mica- waste glinting by the roadside or 
flashing near the mouths of the mines on the hillsides. 
Yet there is nothing here to suggest the hardships of a 
mining country, for the mines are for the most part 
near or at the surface, and the workers are the moun- 
tain people themselves. It is here that, walking on a 
dusty day, you come home sparkling like a Christ- 
mas-tree decoration, and here that the laurel bushes 
glitter with little points of light that do not come 
from their glossy leaves. Not only at Micaville, 
but all through this region the earth sparkles pro- 
digiously. 
If you follow the road northeast from Micaville, 
you will not only get some very fine views of the 
Black Mountains, but you will cross a charming 
ford of the wild North Toe that enters the South 
Toe a little below here, and best of all you will soon 
come to Ledger, which, though it may be little more 
than a name on the map, is much more than that 
