. Picturesque America; or, The land we live in. A delineation by pen and pencil of the mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, water-falls, shores, cañons, valleys, cities, and other picturesque features of our country . cally portrayed, in an accompanying picture, one of the manystriking scenes upon the French Broad—a farm on a hill-side. The mountain lifts itslofty peak to mingle with the clouds; and its rough escarpment, taking new expressionfrom every point of view, overhangs the famous Buncombe Turnpike, which winds alongthe base, skirting the rivers edge. This road was built by the State, abo
. Picturesque America; or, The land we live in. A delineation by pen and pencil of the mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, water-falls, shores, cañons, valleys, cities, and other picturesque features of our country . cally portrayed, in an accompanying picture, one of the manystriking scenes upon the French Broad—a farm on a hill-side. The mountain lifts itslofty peak to mingle with the clouds; and its rough escarpment, taking new expressionfrom every point of view, overhangs the famous Buncombe Turnpike, which winds alongthe base, skirting the rivers edge. This road was built by the State, about forty yearsago, and is the great route for hogs and cattle driven from East Tennessee to thecotton-growing section of South Carolina. Originally, it was the old Indian trail. Pre-vious to i860, as many as sixty thousand head would pass over this route during thewinter; and these animals, with their human tenders, made a market for the surplusproduce of the hill-sides. Still, as may be imagined from the sketch, farming under suchcircumstances is rather a precarious business; for, notwithstanding the fact that the soilis astonishingly rich in potash and vegetable matter—a black, fatty-looking loam—the. A Team on the French Broad. difficulties that attend its cultivation require from the hardy agriculturist unusual patienceand toil. A low-country man, on his way to the Springs, once asked one of these farmers,who was something of a wag: Say, squire, you dont grow corn up yonder, do you .? Well, I reckon I do. How much do you get to the acre? Nigh on to twenty-five bushel—shelled—thar or tharabouts. But how do you manage to plough on those hills ? Why, thats easy enough. Yer see, our animuls is born kinder irreglar-like—twoshort legs and two long legs—and the long legs allers travel on the down-hill side, Just one question more, squire—how in thunder do you plant it when you getamong the rocks ? .
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1872
