The National tribune., 1897-08-12
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~ laurel Blooms
70 ....... And Men and Women
Live Near Natures Heart
CHAPTER III.
By JOHN McELROY.

alneerS III the South, as ulneIeht iiohA oho
another as if belonging to separate races
One class-of which the Elder and Robert
Inrule were good types-are descended from
the adventurous, hardy men who penetrated
into the mountains, fought the Indians,
located farms for themselves, and by indus
try converted them into rude but comfortable
homesteads, which supplied them with sub
stantially everything they ate, used, or wore.
The other class are descendants of the Eng
lish convicts and paupers who were shipped
out of the mother country to get rid of them.
They are prone to remain criminals and
paupers to this day. They have not taken
up farms, but have simply squatted on any
convenient land that they found unoccnpied.
| They are averse to steady, persistent indus
try They plow and hoe very little, and raise
neither flax nor wool. They depend for
their meat upon their neighbors' hogs, opos-
sums, raccoons, and such other . varmints
as they can catch If when tramping
through the woods they come across GIN
seng plant sang" they call it, they dig
it's roots, and lay them away to dry, when
| they are exchanged at the nearest store for
whisky, powder, lead, and such other store
goods :" as they want. This gives them the
name the class is generally known by
Sang-diggers" They are as incurably
law. shiftless. and immoral as the other
class are upright, industrious, and manly
The two classes hate each other con-
sumedly Rather, the better class intoler-
ably despises the Sang-diggers," and is
disposed to treat them very roughly on little
provocation, while the Sang-disgers envy
and hate the others for their moral, physical
and social superiority.
There is almost as little lntermarrla2e
between them as between the whites and
blacks. Their very names are different
The better class have mostly Scotch North
Irish. and North English patronymic5, with
Biblical given names. The Sang-diggers, on
the other hand, have names which indicate
to the etymologist base-born ancestry.
With mountaineers of the class of the
Elder and Robert Inrule religion is fervid, +,
controlling emotion which coiors every
thought The Bible is revelation and q
law to them to an extent that seems incom-
prehensble to people living more in the
whir of the world. In spite of their litter
acy, their minds are active and inquiring.
They are constantly in the presence OF great
natural wonders and miracles which excite
their imagination and arouse their reverence.
Instinctively their minds
Look through nature up to Natures God
and they seek in His written Word direc-
tions for the present and signs and pOr-
tents for the future They are as expect
ant of convusions and catastrophes in the
moral world as in the physical and an
other Deluge, the repetition of the plaques
of Egypt, a similar calamity to that which
| overlook the Cities of the Plain, or the
| literal fulfillment of the Book OF Reveia-
tions, seem almost as reasonable antlclpa-
tons as the coming-on of next Winter
| Many of the prophecies in the Old Testament
had been fulfilled to the last letter of every
| terrible word. Many remained to be full
| filed Those in the Book Of Revelations
were absolutely certain to come to pass. 1t
might be next year-next month, even.
| Among these simple, strong-natured, in
tensely-impressionable people Elder Storm
mont was like prophet of old among the
people on the mountains OF Palestine. he
was of them, yet above them. He was flesh
of their flesh and bone of their bone. yet
lifted above them to be their teacher and
leader by virtue of his intelligence, his elo-
quence. the intensity of his convictions, and
the purity and singleness OF his life. He felt
himself called of God for this high office, and
devoted himself to it with a zeal that was abb
solutely forsetful of self He had neither
|
ordination into the ministry he had trans
ferred his share of the paternal farm to his
married sisters, that he might sing with abso,
| lutte truth:
| mot foot Of land do possess.
Not in this wilderness"
His library consisted solely of Bible and q
| Methodist hymn book, which he carried con-
stantly in his saddle-bags. Really, he had
| little need of even these books, for every line
in both was deeply engraved upon his mind
by years of intense study, and their language
came instnctively to his lips upon every oc.
casion The books, with a single change o
clothing, and his horse-the only selfish
thing that he took pride in-were his en-
tire possessions.
Rude stone fireplace of our forefathers, what
does not the world owe thee Thou art the
nurture temple of every virtue which ha:
| adorned our race, and made it ruler ove
many lands Thou the sacred altar of the
family Thou the fame at which men were
consecrated to strength and courage-wOmer
to gentleness and purity. Thou the schoo
in which life-enduring lessons Of honor, stead
fastness, truth, unselfshness, regard fol
others were incnleated. Thou the fount a
which every trait which ennobles our hui
manty has been iostered to vigorous growth
All the greatness of the English-speakins
race can be directly traced to the fireplace
around which the family habitually gath
cred. In its genial glow the aged impaired
instruction and recounted experience they
were cared for and reyerenced the father
maintained his authority, and trained, coun
seled, and developt; the mother shed affec
tion and encouragement; the children Learned
the true lessons of life
Robert Imue's fireplace was type o
those around which our race has gathered fo
uncounted centuries. 1t was wide and deep
built of stones gathered from the ground OF
which the house was built, scarcely shaped
by the hammer and laid in mortar of clay
The broad hearth was formed of the fattest
smoothest stones that conld be found. Ii
the great recess burned logs of hickory ana
oak. which sent out glow of generou
warmth very acceptable even on that Sprin:
evening for the nights were chill on th
mountains. With the glow came the fragran
smell given Off by oak and hickory whel
burning.
Robert Inrule sat in the place of honor ant
in all time-by the right-hand jam. Mrs
Inrule sat in the second place-by the left
hand jam. The rest formed Il semi-circle be
tween them, with the Elder in the center
Pollock and Miriam sitting together on tn
side next the father, and Bildad and Reubel
! on that next the mother. Robert Inrule wa
engaged in mending some harness for use TIN
a next day Bildad and Reuhan in Sbanin1 on