The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1884-08-16
"A Mountain Girl.
Written for THE COMET.

COMET. One half Of the world docs
not know how the other half live and
the ladies OF THE COMMIT do not
know how their cousin who lives in .
leave" ON the steep side Of some
mountain or knob passes away her
time. t#Rss US. e.
She is born in a log hut Which is
lighted by the open door in the day
time, and by the blazing fire on win
ter nights. Cracks in the floor the
walls, the ceiling and hole out
through the wall beside the chimney
furnish pentyof air, Thehouseconsl
tains but one room and loft above it. |
The attic room is aoorcd with loos
boards and has one or two beds spread
on them. The lower room has two
bedsteade-ip the rear corner of tho
room, with Il case ofsdraWerss bctwecp
them. Perhaps third bed stands on
one side Of Tie open fireplace The
table stands i'll the middle of the room,
-Four split bottomed chairs are ranged
abo0t the chimney in the winter and
about the door in the summer The
"baker" Gan iron pot with lid with a
rim around it to hold live coals) the
frying pan and the coffee pot stands
on the hearth for half an hour before
each meal and cook the breakfast din,
nerand supperof coffee, fried meat
and biscuit. The rest Of the cooking
vessels together with the table dishes
are ON the shelf between the FIREPLACE
and the door. The clothing OF the
family is kept in chests that are plac-
ed under the beds. On the lofty "fire-
board" or mantle piece are the orna-
mental possession of the household,
the canned peaches, and the lytho-
graphed pictures taken fror seed cat
alogues placed inside Of empty glass
jars. If the family is well to do pile
of quilts four feet high stands in some
corner. The washstand is a post out
side of the door holding a tin wash
pan. A towel hangs by the door and
a comb is placed near small looking
glass on the wall. A few hundred feet
from the house is the spring. A rail
fence matches the house. The garden
is fenced with split pickets. The view
from the front door embraces several
fields and is bounded by tho dark
woods of the "knobs" on the opposite
side of the read and branch. Such is
the birthplace of our heroine IA
Her earliest memory will be of hel
cradle, made of six Imprinted boards
If she has kind father she will have
little split bottomed chair as soon az
she can sit. She will early learn thai
it is useless for her to cry as her moth
er is too busy to pay attention to her
She will also learn to amuse herself
She will find her own toys. If sht
has one doll in all her girlhood shD
will be unusually fortunate. Nom
will trouble themselves to furnish he
playthings. Her best dress, il he
mother can provide her store goods
will very likely be made of yellow cal
leo. At five years Of age she vii
have pantolets and an apron made 0
homespun jersey. At ten she vii
make her last change OF costume
She will have a long dress without
waist reaching to her. heels, and
sunbonnet. In summer the dross \
made of calico, in winter of homespur
She will have one pair of shoes eacl
winter to go to school. At the dii
trict school she is q better and NOR
successful student than her brother
She will learn to read little (enoug
to read her Testament perhaps) t
write a letter aud to cipher less. Sh
will attend Sundayschool about ever
other summer from harvest till til
big campmeetings are held for tn
campmeetings will take all the tcacl
ers away, and dissolve the sehoc
When there is an appointment in he
ncighborhood, if the weather is goo'
and the preacher comes, she viii hei
a sermon-perhaps six or eight tim,
a year She will attend campmeenir
in August or September and will "g
religion and give her heart to Il
preacher when she is eighteen
twenty.
During all these years. she has lear
cd very thoroughly another lesso
that she is only girl She viii ket
the flies off the table while her brot
err eats, and will afterwards eat h
dinner off of his soiled plates.sa, 81
willneyer expect toleat atltheiifst I
bic. When she is . young woman 8
will 90 barefooted, except when goii
to church, while her brother wears
boots all the time. Her husband "
wear boots all the year, while his wi
will go barefoot all summer. She wi
when married, wait upon her husbal
as a servant. She will have to hu
for wood, especially in SUNNI
time, drag it down the, hillside al
break it up with dull axe before 5