The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1893-03-03
l.OTNTAiN MISSIONS.
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE POOR
WHITES" OF THE HILL COUNTRY

VIM 49," t'
lent +" Any fsemarAah.e Degree In the
Mountain Districts.
S%ectionalists who desire to create for
.hemseIv : il field of operations and an
income IN "a charming and heaitlful
southern climate not infrequently write
very touching articles for the northern
press on the a%eplorable condition of the
mountain whites" of the south and the
need Of mission work" among them.
such persons. in descriptions of life
among the mountains Of western North
Carolina and east Tennessee, pile On
The agony in a marvellous manner. Some
times they do it with an utter disregard
tor the truth They represent the excep-
ton to be the rule. and picture scenes
and conditions common enough in parts
,f the north and west perhaps, large
cities as we'll as country places. but very
rare among the people of the Appalachian
reg1on of the south. One would think
from their accounts that h southern
mountains We're swarIn.ng with cave
iweliers. The aim seems to be to per
petuate the ideas of that class OF philan.
throp,sts who find Il peculiar pleasure i'll
contemplating poverty. ignorance ami
degradation in the south since the civil
wal
Not long since The Sun noticed an ap-
peal of this SORT for aid to mission work
for mountain whites showing that it
was IN effect "a libel upon the people it
protested to describe Any person ia
miliar with the Appalachian region OF
the south would see at IA glance how alb
sur1 the whole thing was. The Christian
Union for Dec. 81. 1892. contains IL letter
from Rev. d Atkins. Il Methodist minis
ter Of H~endersonville. y. e.. which com
pletely demolishe> the mountain white
myth. Mr.. Atkins will be conceded to
know what ne is writing about. He was
born and reared III the alleged God for
saken region of poverty. ignorance, vice
and degradation He entered collegc
there. entered the ministry there and
spent II years there as minister and
teacher
AS a Methodist minister" he says. Il
nave gone INTO the most ont of the way
places and mingled freely with all sorts
Of people in ~ counties of North Caro-
lima and 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
and seen them in every condition. YET
Mr. Atkins has not once beheld the sluln
scenes Mrs. Paddock described in IA re
cent number of The Christian Union
Your correspondent" ne says. must
nave found some secluded spot | never
,,u, for IN ,1i ny sr, vols | Mayer "a +,
the things she writes of. and it seems
strange that shoE!d not even have
heard Of such things in all these years
There is poverty here and ignorance. too
but neither is in that prevalent form you
!. would suppose from the article of Mrs
Paddock Nou might live here an age
and never hear of such savage and weirt
funeral customs as Professor Bemis. an
other correspondent writing from the
south. told your readers about
The situation Is not such as was de.
/. scribeA by The Unions correspondents
Putting it il. a nutshell, Nh, Atkins say
, Of Mrs. Paddock's picture: "She has pre-.
scented the very worst possible case that
/. could be found in the remotest part and
made it Il sample of all the , zoe, 900 here,
so that If any one should receive an I'M.
/, preston from such writing he would sup
pose no other kind of people could be
found here.
As a matter of fact. the mountain
whites" are not a distinct class. Their
4 ancestors. says Mr.. Atkins. were not cut.
laws. but pioneers from the coast coun.
I try They generally own their farms and
g make IA comfortable living. To say they
: nunt for IA living is absurd There is lit
4 tie wealth and moi as much luxury rs
] might be. but the people live decently
There are some log houses. t~hree-fourth-
o of which have windows. None are plas
0 tered with mud. AS alleged, or w;thout
0 wooden floors But few have only OH.
= room Generally the hoases are quite
comfortable. All have good open fir
places. Fuel is abundant and costs notn
ing, SO hat the correspondents story o.
children"coyering their limbs with warn
ashes to keep from freezing" is special,
e absurd The people. Mr.. Atkins aifirms
are already religious and moral. They OBJ
g serve Sunday and attend Sunday school
T There is scarcely a district where there i.
+ not a school for at least three months il
e the year. Few persons are unable to reat
I and write. and such cases are SO rare IA
to excite surprise among the neighbors.
AS respects the girls who were de
scrihed as overworked and vicious, NJ
Atkins says not n in a hundred woul,
know herself by that description. '.Ih'
common virtues" he says-'chastity
Ii honesty, truthiElness. etc.-are rattle
more prevalent than in other sections
have seen The girls are healthy, stronI
and full of spirit. They marry at a goo'
; aye. make excellent wives and mothers
and do much less hard work than the,
e sisters OF the north and west" and Nh
Re Atkins spent four years in the west
70 They do not work in the field. 1T is b.
no MEANS says the writer, 1.-The custom
Of the country. Home life is as pure a
n It is anywhere ! have been." In "a word