presumes to approach it too near, and that he never fails to visit the impious wretch who dares to ascend the mountain, with frightful threatenings of his awful indignation, by sending forth the flaming chariot of his wrath, and pouring around the summit of the mountain, a tremendous storm of thunder, lightning and rain. There was yet another tradition, amongst these rude children of the forest; and that was, that a great battle had been fought on this mountain, many centuries past, and, that the Great Spirit, being angry, on account of the great effusion of human blood, transformed the surface of the mountain into stone, as the retreating armies retired, and fixed, in an indestructible substance, the prints of their hands and feet, as also the impressions of the feet of their animal attendants, as an everlasting memento of his displeasure.

On or near the summit of the mountain, there are one hundred and thirty-six impressions of feet and hands, visible in the face of the rocks. The impressions of human feet, are from the size of four inches in length,to that of seventeen and a half inches in length and seven and three fourths in width. This last mentioned track is much larger than any other, and has six toes. The Indians believed this large track to be that of the great warrior who commanded the victorious army, in the great battle fought there. Near the feet of this great warrior, is the impression of a fine turned female hand, which the Indians alleged was that of the great warrior's wife. All the human tracks are bare except one, which has the appearance of having worn moccasons. Many horse-tracks are to be seen; one of which, only, appears to have been shod.Some are very small, others of the ordinary size, and one measures twelve and one fourth, by nine and a half inches, transverse and conjugate diameters. A great many

turkey tracks, three deer tracks, a bear's paw, and the tracks of almost every other animal common to the country, are to be seen.

How these impressions were made on the rocks of this mountain, has puzzled the learned world! And, strange to tell, descriptions of this singular mountain have been published all over Europe, while many of our own citizens, who reside within a few miles of it, are wholly ignorant of the existence of any such natural curiosity upon the face of the earth! Many persons who have visited this wonderful and singular curiosity, believe the impressions were really made by the feet and hands of human beings, and the feet of animals and fowls; whilst others believe they are the works of art. The problem, in all human probability, will never be solved; for, the Indians, who inhabited the country for ages, have neither recollection or tradition amongst them, from which even a clue can be obtained to unriddle the mystery. Whether they are natural or artificial, still the question arises, how came they there? We are wholly unacquainted with any principle of nature's law that could have imprinted

the works of art, by what

them there; and, if they are people were they made? The traditions of a savage people always preserve, at least, some faint remembrance of important events; and the traditions of the Indians who lately resided in the vicinity of this mountain, so far as they prove any thing, prove that these impressions were found there when they first came into the country, many centuries ago.

A party of Georgians visited this mountain in the summer of 1834, and were much astonished to witness the verification of one of the Indian traditions. When they arrived at the base of the mountain, the sky was clear and serene, and not an angry wind disturbed the green

foliage of the forest; but, as soon as they began to ascend the mountain, dark and lowering clouds began to gather around them, and before they reached the summit of the enchanted spot, peal after peal, of loud and bellowing thunders burst above them, the lightnings blazed in every direction, enveloping the mountain's peak in one broad sheet of liquid fire, while torrents of rain poured down upon their devoted heads. They hastily cut from the rock, by means of a mallet and chisel, which they had carried with them, for the purpose, a human track, and then descended the mountain with all possible speed. A literary gentleman who was in company, and published an account of the campaign shortly afterwards, stated, that although he was not superstitious, he could not avoid looking back, occasionally, as he descended the mountain, "with the expectation that a legion of ghosts were pursuing him." This storm of thunder, lightning and rain, however, was, of course, purely accidental; for, if the dread artillery of omnipotence, is, în truth, let loose upon every individual who dares to approach this sacred spot, then it is, not only the enchanted mountain of the poor, ignorant, superstitious savage, but the modern Mount Sinai of the refined and enlightened christian.

CHAPTER XV.

CAVERNS, LAKES, AND OTHER NATURAL CURIOSITIES.

To describe with minuteness the numerous caverns found in the highland region of Tennessee, would fill a large volume, and is, therefore, beyond the province of this work. All we can expect to do is, merely to notice, in a sort of general way, a few of the most romantic; and make a passing remark or two in relation to a few others.

In the county of Greene, about six or seven miles from the town of Greeneville, there is a large cavern. that has been visited by many individuals, and amongst others, some of the citizens of the southern States, who have occasionally visited Greeneville, and by whom its interior wonders were viewed with astonishment and delight. The entrance into it is in the side of a ridge, about midway between the summit and the base, and is about three or four feet wide, and four or five feet high. Immediately at the entrance the descent is abrupt—almost perpendicular, for about ten feet-and then becomes a gradual slope, for a short distance, the passage continuing somewhat narrow; but after the visitor has traveled a short distance, a large subterranean chamber opens to his view, with high and well-turned arches. There are a number of chambers, or rooms, in this cavern; and from the roof of some of them, hang thousands of stalactites, of various sizes and lengths. The surface, or floor, is

rough and uneven, in most places dotted over with stalagmites, formed by the calcareous substance brought down by the drip from the roof, or arch. One of these stalagmites, of considerable size, is almost exactly in the shape of a coffin. In one of the large chambers stands a column reaching from the floor to the arch above. This column is near two feet in diameter, and some fifteen or twenty feet in height; and within a few feet of it, is a very large stalagmite, rising up about the proper height for a convenient and comfortable seat. This column has received the name of the Devil's Whippingpost. This name was no doubt applied by some mischievous wag, who explored this cavern at an early day. A bold rivulet, affording a sufficient volume of water to propel the machinery of an ordinary grist-mill, runs through one of the chambers of this cavern.

In the county of Jefferson, about six miles east of Mossy creek Iron Works, is a large cavern, which is rendered romantic from the circumstance of its being in a level country. Its mouth, or entrance, is in a large sink of the earth, forming a sort of basin, commonly called, in the western country, a sink-hole. The entrance into it is so large, that a person can see how to travel for more than fifty yards under ground. The general course of this subterranean passage is east. But it has never been explored very far, there being a stream of water found running with its channel, too deep for a man to wade, and about twenty-five feet in width. On the south of this stream of water, is heard a loud and constant roaring of water, as though a much larger stream (which is no doubt the fact) was rushing through a neighboring subterranean passage, to unite with, and mingle its waters with those of this little under-ground river. The general surface of