the pioneer woman in Tazewell County who
was carried off by the Indians and was massacred some distance from
home. Her small child was left to die of exposure and starvation in the
mountain wilds and was at last rescued by a hunting party. The child was
pulling at the mother's body, trying to rouse her and was muttering,
"Hungry, mother--hungry, mother" when he was found.

That is the origin of the name of the mountain which is not far from
Marion, and the peak of the mountain is called "Molly's Knob" in memory
of the pioneer mother.

The State has created a beautiful park on Hungry Mother Mountain. Cabins
have been erected to house the visitors, a stream has been dammed up to
provide a lake--and most astonishing of all to the mountain folk who
enjoy their park is the sandy beach. The sand was hauled 375 miles from
Virginia Beach to its present location.

Swimming, sailing and canoeing are popular water sports; saddle horses
are available and hiking is a favorite occupation. Ample picnic grounds
have been provided. Crowds from nearby towns enjoy a day at the Park and
the cabins are in great demand from the vacationists in Virginia and
surrounding States.

White Top

Iron Mountain has lost that name and today is known far and near as
White Top. The visitor looks down five thousand feet below and can see
into Tennessee, West Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky. The top is
bald, rocky and about three hundred of its sloping acres are covered
with a fine white grass. In summer one sees hundreds of wild flowers,
sturdy evergreens, similar to Norway spruce, called Lashhorns, berries
and many small animals.

[Illustration:--_Courtesy Virginia Conservation Commission_

HUNGRY MOTHER STATE PARK]

Wilbur Waters, the hermit, is one of the most colorful characters in the
great Southwest and many adventures he had with wild animals. Wilbur's
mother was an Indian who died when he was very small. His father, who
lived in North Carolina at the time, apprenticed the boy to a shoemaker
to learn that trade. The little boy, no doubt homesick, could not stand
his new home. He ran away and from that time on made his own living.
When he heard how the wolves were making havoc for the settlers in and
around Abingdon, he came to get the rewards offered for their heads. He
built himself a rude shack on White Top, and if one would read real
adventure tales, let him read _Wilbur Waters_ which relates many
stirring ones.

Every