The times., 1898-12-16
QUEER PEOPLE.
Some of Those Who Live In the
Mountains of Eentucky.
lFrom &c 10 York rimes.

(From the New York Tmes.)
William Goodeli Frost. President sof
Berea College. a missionary inst on
situated in the heart of Kentuckys
mountains spoke yesterday afternoon to
the class in present-day problems at shc
Broadway Tabernacle. Mr.. Frcst's sub
ject was The Kentucky Mount ineer."
He said that five years ago he went from
his home in Ohio and took up his Sbod
among these peopie. his aim Se,ns To
bring them out OF their narrow lie AMI
give them a glimpse of the outer wO;ld.
When 1 went to these people" Air.
Frost continued ''it took only a lit
while to convince me that the 80 miles
/ had traversed TO reach them was 4
longer Journey than if l had gone to E.
rope. for ! had taken a step from ;he
present age back TO the seventeenth cen
tury.
That portion ef the Appalachian range
of mountains IS one of the widest az d
most rugged and picturesque sections 4
the country. These peoil le. of whom there
are about 5000. .oo0 inhabit portions Of
nine different States-Kentucky TenIes-
see, North and South Carolina Alabama
Georgia, Virginia, West Virginia and
Maryland.
Politics. religion. protracted meetings.
and whisky are their advertisements of
life When it is considered what absolute
isolation surrounds them. the only Won
der is they are not more wanting in all
that goes to make up refinement and civil
lization. As It is. they are almost me
diaeval in their manners customs and
habits. There is little pottery: near
Madison. way up in the mountains
where they manufacture stone lamps 70
be used with floating wicks. such as were
used 5000 years ago. Such thing as a
known 10 them. one reason being that it
is not an easy matter to transport glass
hundreds of miles on horseback.
ssThey do not look with favor upon edu-
cation, and Il per cent of them are regis
tered as iiliterate. In the matter OF
churches they show a marked desener-
acy But they are not a degraded people;
shey simply need to be graded up. l had
a number of New York papers sent to me
some time ago for distribution among
! these mountain dwellers, and was de-
lighted to see how eager they were for
them. / found later that they were using
them for papering their cabins
These people weave every inch of cloth
they use. 1t is an interesting sight to
watch them. and 1 feel sort of reverence
in the presence of a spinning wheel, FOR IL
brings up all the old-tims simplicity OF tn.
custom, and 1t shows that the spinner is
not Idle or shiftless-
They are hospitable. generous and open
| hearted and every one of them Is honest
to a fault. Feuds are constantly spring
1 ing up among them, and it Is most or
! binary occurrence for one man to go gun
ming for his neighbor. They think moth
| ing of this, for the same man wouldn't
| mind being killed himself in 4 fair and
! square fight.
''They have little mission Sunday
school up in the mountains. and the
! preachers speak to the congregation by
! appointment. One of the preachers was
! told that his next appointment would
come on Easter Sunday He was too proud
! to acknowledge that he did not know whit
| the day meant, so went to his home and
| searched through his New Testament for
4 the desired information. He did not find
what he sought. but when the day came
! he preached on the subject of Queen rs
4 ther.
| Probably the greatest events In the
| lives of these mountaineers are when
| lectures are given in the church or
| schooIhouse They Will come from m les
4 around, and listen intently to the iaf-
4 lures and talk of them for months after
They are all of good old Sco.ch - d
| English stock: they have soidea +, arts
| In the rough and are brave. lore I'd
/! generous They simply llc! nc II
! and to be told what else tn r In I E.
/: Our highlanders should h cCual ~ thu
of Scotland and should have tte;- . q
| In the modern Christian civilization 4
our country"