The purple rhododendron is rare.
Up in the Gap here, Bee Rock, hung
out over Roaring Rock, blossoms with
it--as a gray cloud purples with the
sunrise. This rock was tossed lightly
on edge when the earth was young, and
stands vertical. To get the flowers you
climb the mountain to one side, and,
balancing on the rock's thin edge, slip
down by roots and past rattlesnake dens
till you hang out over the water and
reach for them. To avoid snakes it is
best to go when it is cool, at daybreak.

I know but one other place in this
southwest corner of Virginia where
there is another bush of purple
rhododendron, and one bush only is there.
This hangs at the throat of a peak not
far away, whose ageless gray head is
bent over a ravine that sinks like a
spear thrust into the side of the
mountain. Swept only by high wind and
eagle wings as this is, I yet knew one
man foolhardy enough to climb to it
for a flower. He brought one blossom
down: and to this day I do not know
that it was not the act of a coward;