The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1896-03-12

North carolina, Virginia and Kentucky
are Of the same stock as tine rest of the
people of those States principally from
England, North Ireland and Scotland.
Some Germans are among them, but
not many. Their peculiarities come
from their isolation, remoteness from
churches, towns and schools"
DR.. Bryan adds with clearness, truth
and force:
In those sections Of the mountains
! with which am familiar, German
and Dutch as we'll as Scotch and Irish
names and families are to be found.
The truth Of the matter is, that these
people are Americans, of various
origins, who have married and inter-
married, until their original peculiari-
ties have been lost sight of. They
have been reduced to the present con-
dition of poverty and ignorance by the
strenuous conditions under which they
have been compelled to live. No one
who has never himself experienced
those conditions can realize how ter
rible is their effect upon the individual
| life, OR how great their effect must be
upon the life of a family from genera
ton to generation. To live on the
mountain-side and perhaps in the
depths of a forest, without roads, with
out means of transportation, on such
products as the soil outside the cabin
door provides, and in climates of great
severity, will tell upon any man or
woman, Or family Or stock however fine
its origin may be. The physical effect
is only exceeded by the mental. I'm
agine your own condition if you were
compelled to live year after year in the
same house, and with the same sur
rOunulngs, engaged in the drudgery of
the house, or the drudgery of the field.
The nearest neghbor's house is often
far to visit; and if it be near enough
the house is often but little better than
! the one from which the visitor comes.
The conversation centers on the crops
| and the household events, with only
now and then vague report from the
great world outside. Any one who
would mot degenerate under hard con-
dltlOns like these would be more than
human, and in my opinion these stren-
uous conditions are quite enough to ac-
count for the peculiarties and deficcn-
cles of the class under discussion.
DR.. Bryan is, of course, speaking
from religious and Presbyterial point
Of view, and with the aim of enlght-
ening those who contribute TO home
mission work in the /, ountains Of the
South. He is wei! qualified to speak
on this subject, having labored for
fourteen years OF his ministry in the
mountains of West Virginia and North
Carolina, nine in the former State and
five in our own. Being thus able to
speak from experience and from full
knowledge of the facts and conditions
as they exist, he is only trimming the
wick whereby the light of truth may
burn the brighter. Indeed, we pause
to say here parenthetically that DR..
Bryan is but one of many Southern
ministers who have accepted calls to
Northern churches, and who, outside
of the immediate prosecution of their
great calling, are doing noble work
in removing-quietly, silently but ef-
tectively-causes of misunderstanding
! between two sections of our great
country. We hope his and all other
efforts for the establishing and further
ing of mission work for these simple,
honest, lonely souls who people the
forest, hills and valleys of our Southern
country will be abundantly successful.
There is, however, a secular side, so to
speak, to this question-a lesson for
the State. Is North Carolina doing
her duty toward these children of fhers!
Are her free schools adequate for the
education OF the mountain folk? There
is Northern institution at Ashevile,
the Home Industrial School, under
the care OF noble woman, Miss Flor
ence Stephenson, where the girls Of
these poor people can be fed, lodged,
clothed and for $50 year, but such
is the s'strenuous" condition of life
among the mountaineers that they
often cannot scrape together even this
pittance. Many of them have never
seen that amount of money at once in
all their lives. Those of US who live
here in the piedmont section of our
State and in the further eastern low
lands, where "making a living" is cas-
ier, know that with us our three and
four months free schools with incom
petent teachers often, are inadequate
to the needs of oar rural population.
When we consider, then, that the ed
ucatonal wants Of our humble noun.
tain citizens are SO much greater, and
their educationtional facilities SO much
inferior, to those of the people we see
around US, as citizens Of great Com
monwealth, Jealous for the entire ref
ormation of our insufficient, incompe
, tent, unsatisfactory system of public
education.
We often hear of the MAJ fifteen
timber in the forests of our western
} North Carolina mountains, but useles
and undeveloped because of its hither
to inacCessibility. 1t is insighcan
compared with the perfect grain O
spirit and character to be found il
. many mountaineer family -timbe
, OF which great men and true womer
f might be made, if only the axe of edu
5 cation could blaze out the paths of op
y portunity that lead to the activities G
= the world. Let our makers ant
taxpayers consider this question S
that the State may do its duty towar'
the mountain whites Of North Carroll
= ma.
The True Disagreement.
t UGoinp to live Ii the country eh2'