prolonged sleep, is shown to the tourist, who hears at his hotel, in the
conveyance he hires for the day, and among the very mountains
themselves, countless local legends as to Rip Van Winkle, and as to the
percentage of fact and fiction in Washington Irving's masterly
production.

If he is antiquarian enough to desire it, he can be shown the very spot
upon which Rip Van Winkle laid himself down to sleep. Local opinion
differs as to the exact spot, but there is so much faith displayed by
the people that no one can doubt that they are genuine in their beliefs
and sincere in their convictions. The tourist can also be shown the site
of the old country inn, upon the bench in front of which Rip Van Winkle
sat and astonished the natives by his extraordinary conversation, and
his refusal to believe that a generation had elapsed since he was in the
town last.

The chair upon which Dame Van Winkle is supposed to have sat, while she
was berating her idle and incorrigible lord and master, is also shown to
the visitor, and the more credulous ones gaze with interest upon a
flagon which they are assured is the very one out of which Rip Van
Winkle drank. The only thing needed to complete the illusion is the
appearance of the old dog, which the man who had so grievously overslept
himself was sure would have recognized him, had he put in his
appearance.

It is almost impossible to outlive one's welcome in the Catskill
Mountains, or to wear one's self out with sight seeing, so many are the
novelties which greet the gaze. The Catskills are abounding with
traditions quite as interesting and extraordinary as the Rip Van Winkle
story. They were known originally as the "Mountains of the Sky," a name