Annals of our ancestors; one hundred and fifty years of history in the ...

212 ANNALS OF OUR ANCESTORS
neighbors, and lived quite a retired life within their own
family,
ship.
going over to Clinton County for other companion-
Mr. and Mrs. Easter were money-makers; everything that
made for getting on in the world by the strictest economy was
practiced by them. Their home was a large frame house
which occupied a high ridge on the second bench of bottom
land and overlooked the rich valley of Rocky Fork. One day
in spring I stood on the top of a lofty hill near BHnko and
looked over the great farm. Oh, but it was a sight to see!
Mr. Easter and all his sons, besides the hired help, were out
with horses, wagons, plows and harrows, while sacks of grain
were heaped ready to be sown. As I looked down upon the
slouch hats of the men I could not see their faces, so I was
reminded of a great plantation scene. A better figure would
be to describe it as a patriarchal picture, for John Easter stood
at the head of his family and directed it as one of the fathers of
old; and I never saw sons who showed greater loyalty and admiration
for a father than did the Easter boys.
The country itself was a scene not to be forgotten. It was
new and picturesque; a long line of blue hills lay in the dis-
tance, called Sunfish Hills. They were a rare background for
the nearer scenes. The httle river. Rocky Fork, found its
way through precipitous banks which were a wild mass of
rocks of every shape, all covered with hemlock and arbor vitae
or twined with vines and draped with moss and flowers.
There were caves along the banks of Rocky Fork which were
of sufficient size to attract many visitors. The scenery about
the caverns was of remarkable beauty; Nature's rockeries
strewn with ferns and rare wild blossoms were everywhere
about the openings. There were canons, too, with clear,
running water finding its way in Httle rivulets to Rocky Fork.
Hundreds of birds sang in the tops of the tall evergreen trees,
their melody echoing from rock to rock, and in the deep, secluded
forest these were the only sounds we heard save the
ripple and splash of waters. I shall never forget a picnic we
had there one time amid those scenes of wild beauty.
I had not been in Highland County with my parents