The Portland daily press., 1892-06-09
"Hold on, thar, Father Petersr''


as he was called by the mountaineers,
clergyman, and ten years before the war
he, with his wife and daughter, moved
into the Cumberland mountains in south
eastern Kentucky. Only an intense re-
ligious spirit could have induced Father
Peters to leave his home in the rich
lands of the western reserve and to take
up his abode among the hills of the Cum
berland range. 1t would be difficult in
the United States to find place and
people in more violent contrast with his
old associates. Wealth, or at least COM
fors and intelligence were the rule in
northern Ohio. There was hardly an
exception to poverty and ignorance in
the new home.
But Father Peters, without giving
thought to the sacrifice he was making,
felt that he was coming as missionary
to the heather quite as much as if he
had gone out to the heart Of darkest
Africa. He built a large double log
cabin, that was quite palatial and
model of home comfort in contrast with
the cabins Of his neighbors, and as he
knew that the people were too poor to
contribute to his support, he broke up
little farm and astonished his neighbors
by introducing agricultural appliances
and methods such as they had never be-
fore heard of or dreamed of.
Soon after his arrival, and with no as
sistance from those whom he had come
to benefit, Father Peters built a log
meeting house across the rough noun
tain road from his home, and sent word
through the hills that hereafter there
would be preaching every Sunday morn
ing at Bradley's Crossing, as the place
was called.
Al first the people did not take kindly
TO the missionary. These mountaineers,
while hospitable to passing strangers, do
not favor the coming in of outsiders.
The man who may not own an acre of
rocky hillside is strong in the belief that
the mountains round about are the ex-
elusive property of himself and his kin.
Then, again, while there were no slaves
in this part of Kentucky, the peoplG had
bitter hatred Of Abolitionists-a hatred
that grew more intense as the day of
strife approached. They believed that
every northern man was an Abolition
ist, and at first they were inclined to
think that Father Peters had come into
the mountains to spread his pernicious
political principles rather than to preach
the Gospel.
Although young enough to be her hus-
bands daughter, Mrs. Peters threw her
self heart and soul into his work. She
was a woman of much culture and force
of character, and before she had been a
year in the mountains she established a
school in the meeting house. Excepting
Bradley the blacksmith's children and
those of family named Burns that lived
near by, the school was not attended.
Neither the mountaineers nor their faith
ers had had any "book larnin," and SO
they reasoned that their children could
get along without it, and then they had
a dim notion that schools and abolition
were closely related.
Gradually the meeting house became
a rendezvous for the mountaineers for
ten miles around. 1t was particularly
popular In the summer season. Then
groups of lank men and women, often
accompanied by troops of ragged, tow
headed children, would come down the
mountain trails every Sunday morning.
The women, for comfort rather than
economy, would carry their rough shoes
in their hands and wash their feet and
put on their foot covering by the little
stream that brawled behind the meeting
house. The men often carried their
rifles with them to church, and it was
the exception to find one who had not a
pistol strapped about his waist. It was
not unusual for the young men to in
dulge in target practice while the
seniors were listening to Father Peters
sermon, and more than once the services
were suddenly ended by fight between
two men who had met by appointment
for that purpose.
But Father Peters farm, quite as
much as his preaching, helped to break
up the stupid monotony of the noun
taineers' methods. Heretofore they
never dreamed that anything but pota-
toes, oats and corn could be raised in
the hills. Butgradually the preachers
young orchard of apples, plums, pears
and peaches began to bear, and his veg
etable garden was at once revelation
and a show, Of which the congregation
never wearied on Sunday.
During the ten years that Father Pc
tiers preached and Mrs. Peters taught
they never received one dollar from the
people; the subject of compensation was
never even limited at, nor did the idea
of a donation party ever enter their dull
minds. Indeed, they felt that they had
claim on the proceeds of the clergy
mans labor, for they helped themselves
from his orchard and garden without
permission in advance or thanks after
ward.