Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1891-05-07
TENNESSEE MoUNTAINEERs.

GARD TO THIS CLASS OF PEOPLE
: Rev. W. E. Grose, of Morristown, Tenr
who lectured in the N. E. church in tn
place, on Friday evening, Was for
years engaged in newspaper work. a pa
of that time on Chicago dailies, and tt
remaining portion as editor for varioU
periods of country weeklies in Indian;
This work he gave up in response to th
reckoning of his conscience toward th
ministry. Soon after he went to Eas
Tennessee to engage in mission wor
among the mOuntaineers as minister o
the NJ f. Church. In the course an in
teresting conversation during a call a
this Office Rev. Grose related many curi
Gus facts in regard to the phases of char
acter and mode of life of the East Ten
nessee mountaineers who live in spher
almost entirely removed from ours.
These people form a distinct type o
humanity. They are ignorant and rud'
in methods and habits, yet kind in natur,
and as hospitable as their limited re
sources viii allow. Rough and rugged a:
class, both men and women very lax in
morals and chastity, yet under the ex
citement of revival they become in
tensely religious, but even under these
circumstances they never amend theil
moral CODE They make "moonshine'
whisky and drink plenty of it. Rev. Grose
related an incident of a Baptist church
in that region voting on whisky" or mo
whisky" and the corn juice guzzlers won
the battle by vote of three to one. In
many respects they are lawless accord
ing to our ideas, and among many fami-
lies feuds date far back, but that charao
teristie is disappearing. They read but
little, take very few papers, although the
government furnishes them daily mail
all through the. mountains. In appear
ance the men are tall, gaunt and sallow,
and inveterate tobacco chewers. The
women are unkempt and slovenly, rub
snuff from a swab made by pounding the
end of stick into a brush. The juice
trickles down their face, giving them an
appearance scarcely pleasing to aconnois-
seur in cleanliness. Their whole ex
ternal appearance is filthy. In summer
their dress consists mostly of scant attire.
Their houses, perched on the side of a
are usually built of logs, and
consist of one room. In such a habita-
tion they eat, live, get married and die.
A fire is built in pit in the center of the
room, and the smoke ascends through
hole in the roof. The families that live
in these houses are not small either
Three generations are frequently found
together. The sleeping accommodations
Of one of these houses is said to be I'M
limited. Rev. Grose mentioned an in
stance of sleeping in house with eleven
others, men, women and children, slowed
away in the same room, while in addi-
ion two girls and their beaux sat up and
'sparked." Even then there was room
'or several more To the uninitiated the
greatest trouble under such Circumstance !
IS is to figure plan of going to bed un-
observed and in modest way. As cooks,
hey are not equal to the French. Their
ill of fare consists mostly of corn pone
md pork, served up floating in sea of
,rease Their coffee and other delicacies
re exccrable. As a rule they do not
erve dessert. The girls are said to be
eally beautiful while young, but early in
ife take on the haggard look of the re-
ion.
Corn, hogs, and children are the prinei-
al products of the country. In the
prlng the hogs are turned out to root for
and in the fall are gathered
n, when they are fattened on acorns ard
hestnuts. The children are raised in
omewhat the same way.
Rev. Grose says that in the larger val
eys of that region there is great business
ctivity Iron mills are springing up nev
ry side. The Mckinley bills welcomed as
boon to all classes. The farmers well
ONE it because it brings with it better
rices for their products, and all look
n it as an entering wedge to bring about
reater commercial development.