San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-12-05

ter and entertainment shortly after 1 H.
dismounted and seen my horse attended to,
two pale, siclSly looking women came to the
gate, each driving a little bull calf attached
to pillow. They seemed thoroughly wearied
out, and touched my sympathy. They were
dressed in cloth spun and woven by their
own hands Their heads were protected by
old fashioned sun bonnets, and their shoes
badly worn. Pretty soon they were joined
by young mountaineer, apparently about
IS years old, with an ak on his shoulder.
ae was six feet tall, a remarkably handsome
man, and proved to be the husband of one of
the women, while the older was his mother.
was as kindly received and treated as
Hospitality as their means allowed. On en-
tering the door of the house | found myself
stunned for an instant by receiving a severe
blow upon the forehead. then discovered
what | afterward found to be a custom
among mountaineers-that in cutting the
door, at least one more log should have been
taken out, and unless you humbly bowed
your head you are reminded of the incivility
by bump on the forehead
There is a scarcity of chairs in most Of all
the mountain houses there generally being
only enough for the adult members Of the
family The visitor, however, is given the
most comfortable seat, while the family find
accommodation on the beds and boxes in the
room The wealth Of the mountaineer seems
to rest in bed quilts, and you see these cover
ings piled up in the corner of the room as
high as your head When these people have
superfuous money, instead Of investing it In
stocks or bonds, they go to the nearest store
and purchase calico with which to make more
quilts When one of the girls marries, this
is her principal dowry You find the room
filed with beds, and they are stuck every
where it is possible to place one Their litera-
ture is Of the crudest kind, consisting of sew
eral Grier's almanacs, dating back a number
of years, and perhaps two or three odd vol
umes of old novels, or a well thumbed school
book. The room is decidedly uncomfortable
There are numerous cracks In the floor and
walls, through which the keen wind whistles
The meals are prepared in the other room
at an open fireplace, where is also kept the
loom and spinning wheel. You are given a
seat at the table, but the chair you occupy Is
so low that your plate is about on a level
with your chin, and eating is a decidedly dis
agreeable undertaking You are given a
greasy old knife, with one side of the handle
broken off, and fork with a single prong
Your plate is the old style blue trimmed crock
cry. with dirty crack nearly through it.
The tablecloth has been stained yellow with
the numerous meals eaten upon it since the
last wash day, and it is stiff enough to stand
alone on its corners Fried hogs meat, float
ing in grease, b invariably served, and this Is
passed to you in the skillet, from which you
are expected to help yourself. The piece Of
corn bread is also passed by hand, and as it
is several inches thick and cooked very hard,
it requires pretty strong grip of the fingers
to break it If you are given coffee, it Is
nothing but weakened water. II there Is
butter on the table, It Is a white stuff
When bedtime comes one of the beds In the
room L. pointed out as your place Of repose
Perhaps there are several females In the room,
and you Of course wait for them 30 retire be-
fore diTobing for the night You viii, how
ever, find yourself disappointed No more
attention is paid 20 your presence by these
women than were you log of wood, and they
will keep their seats by the fire, smoking and
dipping snuff. When you have retired, they
will go to sleep in another bed in the same
room. and perhaps not removed two feet from
the one you occupy. Even when there are
two rooms in a house all the beds win fire.
quently be placed In one apartment, to be
occupied by the entire family and their guests
The next morning On asking your bill you
will find the invariable charge to bet mat
ters not what was your fare or accommoda-
tions-twenty-fv cents for each meal, bed,
and horse feed As stated, however, these
people are hospitable and kind Some of the
best soldiers in the Confederate army were
selected from among these mountaineers,
and il they were taught habits of industry
and thrift and properly educated, would
make a superior class Of citizens. Of course,
in this description refer only 10 the rudest
class OF inhabitants Of our mountain counties
the typical moonshiDer. Athens Ga)
Banner W atchman.