The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-12-26
sALTER PATH NOTES
Our Cerress,endent Gives . Ciinpse
Into the Life Around Hin-Popaia-
ton Has Diminished to 81 Souls.

Our people are all well and healthy.
and moving on about the same as when
We last wrote. our population has IL
minished some. some few nave moved
away. and a few nave moved in the set
Element, the whole number here now il
81 souls. Fishing. hunting and cla--
ming are still the chief occupations OF
the men.
Last week was hog killing time with
raost of Us. some had a few large fat
hogs Messrs. Timothy. Cicero. ID. j.
and Edwin Willis. slaughtered b q
half Dozen. Weighing from $50 to $50
pounds. each. Alr. d. ]. Willis has one
large hog two a old that he will
kill in q "a or two Ia will weigh
near 500 pounds.
A few have good gardens Of -
and turnips. n some have very fine
sweet potatoes. Mr.. Cooper Adams
leads in sweet potatoes. be has about
so bushe housed. This is a good place
for truck farming. but our folks don't
AXE stock in farming. they have no
horses nor ponies. the women holds the
plow handles and the man acts the
horse in most cases
We have school going on, but the chill
dren don't attend much, their parents
won't make them. and thew won't go .u
school il they don't want to-. Mr.. q.
w. Ward of Swansboro, is now, and has
been their teacher for over a year, thav
seem to like him very much as a teach
er. but don't like to be told of their
careleSsness in making their child-n1
mind and attend school They are very
good citizens in their way, but are en-
tlrely ignorant of the outside world. as
regards education and society; very
religious in their way don't curse, don't
swear. dom drink SpirituouS liquors,
nor work much on Sundays. love tobar-
CO in all styles, even the women -
children chew and smoke, and use
snuff in abundance, We see the smallest
bows and girls with pipes or a chew OF
tobacco in their mouth, and the young
ladies do the same, and how can it he
otherwise, when their parents do the
same and don't object to their children.
They are very shamefaced and t-"--'
to strangers. When a strange comes
the young girls and old ones too, keep
out of sight If they can, If you &c in
one door, they will go out of the other
if they can generally; now. what we
want is, enlightenment among us "nd
how are we to get it? We will never
be educated unless We have a compul-
sorry law q don't think and this is not
the only place that needs such a law.
We have these kind of people all along
tsiS SOoo1 "a ooN 81 v AoN
them in Swansboro, in Beaufort and
many other places along the coast. We
hope Governor Aycock and his corps IT
educators, will take steps to come to our
people in the east more during the next
year to try and learn US something
about education and society. Out ~
his number Of so souls, not one is edu-
Gated, only a very few can read and
write so you can understand it, not -
correctly, and yet We are good and law
abiding people.
Last Saturday night we had a we'd
ding or marriage here. two young -
pie got married on Saturday night,
both in their teens we believe.
We hav preaching twice a month;
all but six 1 think, grown ones, belong
to the M. E. church we have no posi-
office here and We need one very much.
We have to get our mail from Mo~o"
City, ten miles away, we also need an
officer. a justice of the peace on these
banks, here and along the east and west
lines, their lives over $50 people, ana
not a justice of the peace nor postoffire
to help them. even if thew wanted to be
helped that way.
AS We said. they don't seem to WON'T
to now or do anything but hunt and
fish: 1 think there is need for mission
aries in North Carolina as well as China
and other foreign countries.
richly VI VIII uScl, SOOHo, opoSooihSI
ducks, wild geese and brant. besides
other small game in abundance. If
some one wanted to establish a deer
park Begue banks is the best place we
know Of for it. Since writing the above
Mr.. D.. ]. Willis has killed his big hog
Dick, the hog was not fat, but the
cholera came on the banks and Mr..
Willis, was afaid to keep Dick" longer
and killed him this morning, he was
seven feet. five inches long n five feet.
nine inches around the body aft, IT be
ing butchered and weighed 465 poun IL,
if the hog had been fat. he would have
weighed over 600 pounds. Mr.. Willis
killed five more the same time.
Some very old people are here, Mrs.
Lyzer Willis and Mr.. Sam ]. Dixon are
81 years old each, and knocking about
we'll for their age. When the young
folks want to get married tnev don't
wait to get old enough or of age, as the
saying is but say mar, I'm gwinter get
married. and they get married. We'll
we guess that is the best way for them
as they all seem to like that wav them
selves. G. w. w.