Evening journal., 1893-02-20
FOUNTAIN MISSIONS.
be TRUTH ABOUT THE "PooR
PHlTES7 OF THE HILL COUNTRY.

southern Clergyman Refutes the Charge
hat Ignorance and squaIor Are Preva-
ent 60 Any Remarkable Degree In the
fountain Districts.
'ectionalists who desire to create for
mselves a field of operations and an
ome in a charming and healthful |
lthern climate not infrequently write |
|y touching articles for the northern |
,ss on the deplorable condition of the
fountain whites" Of the south and the |
ID Of mission work" among them.
ch persons, in descriptions Of life
ong the mountains of western North
rolina and east Tennessee, "pile on
agony" in a marvellous manner. Some
les they Go it with an utter disregard
the truth. They represent the excep-
q to be the rule, and picture scenes
conditions common enough in parts
the north and west perhaps, large
es as well as country places, but very
eamong the people Of the Appalachian
1 ion of the south. One would think
m their accounts that the southern
untains were swarming with cave
ellers. The aim seems to be to per-
uate the ideas Of that class of philan-
opists who find peculiar pleasure in
Itemplating poverty, ignorance and
\ radiation in the south since the civil
2r.
lot long since The Sun noticed an APP
\ Of this sort for aid to mission work
mountain whites" showing that it
in effect a libel upon the people it
fessed to describe. Any person ia
lar with the Appalachian region Of
\ south would see at a glance how alb
& d the whole thing was. The Christian
8 ion for Dec. 81, 1892, contains a letter
N Rev. ID. Atkins, a Methodist minis
& of Hendersonville, n. c., which COM
d tely demolishes the mountain white"
tn. Mr.. Atkins will be conceded to
wv what he is writing about. He was
n and reared in the alleged God for
en- region Of poverty, ignorance, vice
E degradation. He entered college
re, entered the ministry there and
mt II years there as minister and
n cher.
(. AS a Methodist minister" 3" he says, Il
e gone into the most out Of the way
ces and mingled freely with all sorts
people in 20 counties Of North Caro-
and Virginia and in nearly all the
rst parts of east Tennessee. l have
ted these people at their homes, have
n en- with them, slept in their houses
a seen them in every condition" Yet
Atkins has not once beheld the slum
nes Mrs. Paddock described in a re-
t number of The Christian Union.
n our correspondent" he says, ''must
o found some secluded spot I never
?, for in all my travels 1 never saw
things she writes of, and it seems
lnge that 1 should not even have
I'd of such things in all these years.
IRE is poverty here and ignorance, too,
neither is in that prevalent form you
uld suppose from the article Of Mrs.
ldock. You might live here an age
never hear Of such savage and weird
.eral customs as Professor Bemis, an
er correspondent writing from the
tn, told your readers about"
he situation is not such as was de-
bed by The Unions correspondents.
ting it in a nutshell, Mr.. Atkins says
Mrs. Paddocks picture: "She has pre-
. ted the very worst possible case that
Id be found in the remotest part and
de it a sample Of all the 1000, 900 here,
hat if any one should receive an i'm
ssion from such writing ne would sup
e no other kind Of people could be
nd here"
IS a matter of fact, the mountain
ties" are not n distinct class. Their
;estors, says Mr.. Atkins, were not out
IS, but pioneers from the coast coun-
They generally own their farms and
ke a comfortable living. To say they
It for a living is absurd. There is lit
wealth and not as much luxury as
ght be, but the people live decently,
are are some log houses, three-fourths
which have windows. None are plas.
ed with mud, as alleged, or without
oden floors. But few have only one
IN. Generally the houses are quite
nfortable. All have good open fire
ces. Fuel is abundant and costs moth
so that the correspondent story oi
ldren covering their limbs with warn
es to keep from freezing" is specially
urd. The people, Mr.. Atkins afiirms
already religious and moral. They oh
We Sunday and attend Sunday school
ere is scarcely a district where there il
a school for at least three months IL
year. Few persons are unable to rea,
write, and such cases are so rare a.
excite surprise among the neighbors.
As respects the girls who were de
ibed as overworked and vicious, Mr.
zins says not one in a hundred woul,
ow herself by that description. 9Th
nmon virtues" he says-"chastity
lesty, truthfulness, etc.-are rathe
re prevalent than in other sections
re seen. The girls are healthy, stronl
full Of spirit. They marry at a goo'
make excellent wives and mothers
do much less hard work than thei
.ers of the north and west" and Nh
Sins spent four years in the west
ey do not work in the field. 1T is b.
means" says the writer, "the custom
the country. Home life is as pure a
anywhere have been" In a word
emountain white, with his abysma