The Yellowstone journal., 1893-02-24
MOUNTAIN MISSIONS.
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE POOR
WHITES" or TIE HILL COUNTRY

tent io Any Remarkable Degree In the
Mountain Districts.
Sectiona!sts who desire to create for
.helnselv1s a field of operations and an
income in charming and healthiul
southern climate not infrequently write
very touchl,ry articles for the northern
press on the depiorabie condition of the
mountain whites of the south and the
need Of mission work" among them
Such persons. in descriptions OF lie
.iuonu the mountains OF western North
Carolina and east Tennessee, pile on
the agony in Il marvellous manner. Some
times they do it with IN utter disregard
for the truth They represent the excep-
ton to te the rule. and picture scenes
and conditions common enough in parts
If the north and west perhaps large
titles as well as country places. bu: very
rare among the people Of the Appalachian
region of the south. One would think
from their accounts that the southern
mountains were swarlning with cave
lweliers The aim seems to be to per.
petuate the ideas of that class OF phi'an
thropists who find IA peculiar pleasure III
contemplating poverty. ignorance AMI
degradation in the south since the civil
wal
Not long since The sun noticed an a.s-
neal of this sort tor aid to mission wOrk
for mountain whites. showing that II
was III effect ii libel upon the people ii
professe,i to describe Any person fa-
miliar with the Appalachian region of
A.. n h.,xS
sur.l the whole thing was. Tine Christian
Un,Dn for Dec. 81 1882. contains letter
from Rev u Atkins. a Methodist minis
ter OF Hendersonville. \. c.. which com
pletely demolisheS the mountain white
myth Mr. Atkins will be conceded to
know what he is writing about He was
born and reared in the alleged God fer
,aken region of poverty. ignorance. vice
and degradation He entered colleg.
there entered the ministry there AMI
spent II years there rs minister and
teacher
AS a Methodist minister. he says. Il
nave gone into the most out Of the way
places and mingled freely with all sorts
Of people in 90 counties Of North Caro-
lima aud Virginia and in nearly all the
worst parts Of east Tennessee. have
visited these people at their homes. have
eaten with them. slept in their houses
aud seen them in every condition. Ic'
| MIR Atkins has not once behed the slun
scenes Mrs Paddock described III Il re
cent number OF The Christian Union
'Your correspondent. he SAYS, must
nave found some secluded spot never
saw for in all Iiy travels never saw
the things she write, of. and It seem,
stran:re that | shpuli not even have
neard of such things in all these years
There is poverty here and ignorance, too
out neither is in that prevalent form yen
would suppose from the article of Mrs
! Paddock You might live here an age
and never hear of such savage and weirt!
funeral customs as Professor Bemis. az
other correspondent writing from the
south. told your readers about"
| The situation Is not such as was de.
scrihed by The Unions correspondents
Putting it il. Il nutshell. Mr.. Atkins say,
OF Mrs Paddock's picture: ''She has pre-
sented the very worst possible case that
could be found in the remotest part and
made it sample of all the ? Gee. 900 here
so that il any one should receive an i'm
preston from such writing lie would SIP
pose no other kind Of reople could be
4 tonnd here.
As matter of fact. the mountain
whites are not Il distinct class Their
ancestors. SAYS Mr.. Atkins. Were not cut
laws, but pioneers from the coast couIl
try They generally own their farms and
make comfortable living. To say they
hunt for living is absurd There is lit.
tie wealth and not as much luxury as
tnight be, but the people live decently
There are some log houses, three-fourtha
of which have windows. None are plas-
tered with mud. as alleged. or without
wooden floors But few have only one
room Generally the houses are quite
comfortable All have good open fire
places Fuel is abundant and costs moth
rug. SO that the correspondents story of
children covering their limbs with warm
ashes to keep from freezing is specially
absurd The people. Mr.. Atkins atfirnls.
are already religious and moral. They OBJ
serve Sunday and attend Sunday school
There is scarcely district where there Is
not Il school for at least three months in
the year Few persons are unable to read
aud write and such cases are SO rare IA
to excite surprise among the neighbors.
AS respects the girls who We're de.
scribed as overworked and vicious. Mr.
Atkins SAYS not one in hundred would
know herself by that description. The
common virtues. he says-"chastity
honesty trGthfulacss. etc.-are rather
more prevalent than in other sections
have seen The girls are healthy, strong
and full of spirit They marry at a good
age, make excellent wives and mothers
and do much less hard work than thei,
sisters OF the north and west" and Mr.
Atkins spent four years III the west
They do not work in the field. 1T is by
no means. says the writer, 1.-THE custom
of the country Home life is as pure a:
It is anywhere have BEEN In a word
the mountain white" with his abysmal
/ Accumulation u, ., meth opl ooo1s mr.