The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-10-01
THE SOUFH'S HIGRLANDERS
THEIR MINDS, WAYS, PREACH
 FRS,
schools, Ancestry and EmpIoymsnt'

rate and few of them can read or write' they have a natural intellectual aetivi- tv that is remarkable. vivid imagina- 4ions loeical habits of reasoning, keen sense of humor. a lively poeucal annreciation of the beauties and won ders of nature, deep religious conVlc- lions and a tendency to speculatoIi which often surprises strangers WHO sueceed in gaining their conhoei'ce' Their con1fortIess lives give them @ keen sense of enjoyment; tnelr lsiloi ance and inexperience makes them reti- cnt and proud; their lack of comforts and great capacity for endurance makes them stoical and patient, and they re- cent any intrusion upon the privacy or +be,r l,ves- However poor their cabins may be, they have the nobiest spilal oa hospitality, but if a visitor snoMs sense of superiority or a disposation lo patronize them they are qulcK 10 per- ceiye and resent it. Their selI-respece and their pride are more sensitive than 1vn,,ld he the case if they knew more or Inc world. Their reticence is mental armor d form of self-protection. But after they become acquainted Wlth straneers they are generous and chlld- f,,,a in their confidence. Once Drln& 4tan into contact with the other side of life and they quickly adjust themselves to it.
 Tn their present condition, their re- nressed intelligence and stuffed emotions find escape in religion They are pure calyinists. They believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible, which, 10 them. is a. living book whose truths ana teachings are almost their only food for thought and monopolize their hours of ref,ection and controversy. They are instructed by a native ministry quite as ignorant as themselves, who are framed No theological and doctrinal discussion. Most of the preachers are even more lg- norant than those of the negro quarters on the plantations. A gentleman who has a lumber camp in the mountains was telling me of a sermon he heard on Easter Sunday morning. in which the preacher traced the history of that an- niyersary to Queen Esther and seemed to be entirely ignorant of it's relation to the resurrection.
 The oratorical talent displayed by some of the preachers is greatly ad- nlired. and their mental vigor and mag netic power gives them an irresistible influence over their congregations. People who live in this part of the country relate many anecdotes of their eloouence as well as their absurd inter pretations of scripture. It is the height of every boys ambition to be preach CT. although 1t is an affectation among the horny handed portion of the popu- lation to pretend to despise those who do not engage in manual labor. While wadting for a ferry over the French Broad river one day made the ac- uuaintance of bright-eyed youngster who took a deep interest in everything that was said and done by the members of our party.
 lat are you going to do when you grow up?, asked.
 The boy turned his head away, blushed with embarras assment and began to draw semi circles in the dust with his toe. In the meantime his father an swered for him:
 q reckon that boy'l be preacher; he's a powerful pert talker when he ain't bashful, an he's too darn lazy tc work"
 The lack of schools among the noun tains and the ignorance of the teachers that are employed in those that do ex ist cannot be two much deplored, ant the weakest point is that the people ap preciate the defects and havt no respeci for or confidence In their educationa privileges. Ignorant as the parents may be, they know whether their ehil' dren are learning and whether the. have a competent instructor. It is no unusual for school to be closed befor, the middle of term because the pa rents will not permit their children tt waste their time in going to an incom potent teacher. When they get a goot school they appreciate it. That hai been the experience of the missionaries who testify that the mountain childrel are quicker and brighter than the av craze of the same age to be found in tn city schools. Notwithstanding thei primitive surroundings and lack of ad vaatages, they seem to have inherited i; love of learning, and the men folks es pecfally show an eager inquisitivenes regarding history, geography and arith metic which is often pitiful The sup erintendent of the state insane asylum of North Carolina at Morgantown tol, me the other day that the mental per captions and the memories of tn naountaineers were phenomenal, and h mentioned especially a young man wh had recently been employed in the en gine-room of that institution as a labor Ter, and a boy who had come down fror the mountains to ask his aid in gettinI an education.
 A home missionary told me a curiou story in his own experience of finding man forty years old sitting on a log b. the roadside one dayfunb ling a well worn childs geography, and explaine that he was trying to find something about the Spanish war. Another mis sionary who was riding over a noun tain road, was held up by a mountain ger who appealed for his assistance il s.getting out of a mighty bad fix"
 My chillun at school has got nor sense than I've got" he explained, "an I'm nightly feared they'll find out can't work this sum-" and he handle up a primary arithmetic to the travele with his finger upon the following: T one yard of calico costs seven and one half cents. what will eight yards cost?
 These people are claimed to be tn