The farmer and mechanic., 1913-12-02

fore, but would like to take again
in spite of the hardships. The mar
row, stOnebrOken road trails up wal
nut creek for some seven miles to
the gap in the Blue Ridge and then
slides down on the other side couple
of thousand feet, winding up on Big
Laurel creek, and the Country Life
camp.
No sooner were we out of town
and round the bend and climbing up
ward before the world Of John Fox
Jr., began to unfold itself. Along
the track clustered the darkgreen
laurels and the rhododendrons: back
Of those the hemlocks and chestnuts
and pines The "branch" sang the
same song and the pines whispered
the same secrets that they had done
to the mountain girl. In the coves
on either side lay the cabins OF Nc
en-, with clay and stone chimneys at
one end. On near approach most of
them seemed fOrlOrn and untenanted.
How human beings can live in such
novels is almost beyond conception;
and yet live here they certainly did.
Most of the cabins have no windows
three or four shutters answer the
purpose. In daytime these and the
door are wide open, or if it is too
cold they are kept closed and the
family sits in semidarkness. The
shutters were necessary in feud
times-and the last victim was mur-
dered in bed only two years back
And this all happened because he
was SO darn keerless as to fix a
| winder in his cabin
No Race Suicide.
One thing can be said of the
mountain folks, and it is. that race
suicide is unknown among them.
Passing a cabin we would first see
| the outline Of some old hag-like
grandmother passing from the semi
darkness within, in a moment to dis
! appear again. Over her shoulder
could be seen the mother of the
home, sallow, prematurely old wo-
| man. Closer scrutiny would there
upon discover glistening eyes of from
seven to a dozen assorted mountain
youngsters behind bush and stack
| and brushpile. They were unsmil-
the mountain only the teachers in
the mission schools ever bathe. In.
| deed, mountain midwives say that tc
bathe the babies is to kill them "fel
| sartin."
How these people live is hard te
understand. Each place has a small
patch of corn occasionally reaching
an acre or perhaps two. This lies a.
rule. on the mountain side and il
washing down. 1t is worked b!
hand or tended by q small aeil,
mule. In the bottoms are small
patches of tobacco, which we fount
hanging In the barns undergoing th
cure. A few lean cows and an oc
caslOnal pig or two are to be seen
No, | am forgetting the dogs, whicl
are as numerous as the children.
remarked to the driver that tn
! mountain sides seemed well adopte
to sheep-raising. He answered tina
hit war SO all right; but one cayn'
keep sheep and dawgs at one tim
! nohow; so he guessed they'd kee
| their houn dawgs and let the shee
l go to hill.
, In a few of the larger coves wer
t the crumbling remains Of onetim
3 substantial and attractive homes an
large barns Here could be seen al
D SO the dying remains of large appl
t orchards. l was told that the manu-
facture of applejack and appl
g brandy was a flourishing industr
). mere years ago, before the govern
: ment enforced a heavy license fe
n distilling. This last meant death I
r the industry and now the very hom,
n OF the distillers are falling to ruiz
: Moonshine corn whiskey, it is whi
IS pered, may still occasionally /
It found; but the whisper must be
'r low that the "revenuer' does not g
d hold Of it.
} A strange story is this of the An
lie erican mountain folk. They are
of various origin, as attested by the
physlca! appearance. In the ear
colonial times sturdy Scotch Iris
lg drifted westward over North Carolil
ID and seized the mountains, ivil
as there as the highland class had do
Sc at home. About the same time &c
Mt mans began taking the valley lanl
up coming especially from Pennsy
he vania, in this following the thrifty i
OF stinct Of the fatherland. Then
e. great many ne'er-do-weus from
ne the colonies, 'indentured servant
in from Virginia, and much other f1t
on sam drifted in. But there are rea
on two types:- The swarthy Gall
Scotland, sinewy and good featt
an ed: but generally listless and und<
ms fed. The other is the haxen hair
al fair featured descendants OF Teut