The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-08-05

NhA hiAtVS LIN q 60
road. as the crow flies. there is a Ten
hessee hillside which. once seen. is not
easily forgotten. An Arcadian valley,
green with lush foliage and softened
In surnme by the light brown of ripen-
Ing wheat fields. stretches below. In
the distance the mountains of Ken
lucky rise heavenward like an en-
bodiment of human prayer.
1t Is very easy to the
emotions which stir the breast of man,
and each of us thinks those dramatic
situations with which we come in per-
sonal contact are the most intense, Yet
| feel very sure that the Christian life
o. the young man who stood on that
Tennessee hillside with me last week
Is undergoing a bornbardment OF temp
tations rarely equaled since the per-
suasive voice of satan spoke to Christ
on the mountain outside Jerusalem.
All through the Fentress county Sec
ton. the Christian people who knew
sergeant Alvin Culiom York before he
became "the worlds greatest hero" are
praying daily that he be given strength
to make no wrong decision in the map
ping out of his postwar life.
Beset daily with moving picture Of
fers. theatrical offers, lecture tour Of
ftrs. publicity work offers. asked con-
tinually If he would accept $1,000 a
week to do this or that. the plain son
OF Tennessee. standing arm and arm
as we gazed over the isolated farm
from which he went reluctantly to the
hell-nres OF war. told me in one SEN
tcnce his whole ambition.
Il want to do something for Christ
and His cause" he said.
Even In tho hill country where lux
uries are unknown. where there is
eternal struggle for the plain neces-
stiles, the ruling code is justice for
all and universal freedom for the in
dividual. In these rugged lives there
is no compromise with evil of any sort.
Ihose who nave advised their now
noted son OF tho hills" Impress upon
him the n thought. the one lesson,
OF not accepting any suggestion Of a
bond which will carry him into places
OF demand speech. which will impeAch
his Christianity or commercialize hia
patriotism. Those people OF the hills
yield to York only the praise OF hay
ing done his full duty.
h York ! met in his mountain
homo was not h one who puzzled
usual honors in the big cities Of the
country. Then he was a~ppreciative,
amazed. quiet and taciturn. The
memory Of the fets days is still strong
in his mind. The crowds. the new
sights. the encomiums made him III at
ease. The forced luxurious surround
ings did not At In with the training OF
his early life under the shadows OF
Gods eternal hills. They could not be
~reconciled' with his views of Chris.
tianity, and he would have nothing to
do with them. They were likewise
against the traditions of the South,
where duty in religion and to country
Is not considered in the performance
OF their obligations. and where even
the semblance of a reward Ia ahhor.
rent.
The real York was apparent in the
courteous greeting extended our party
when we met and through the hours
we were his guests. His one though
was our comfort, and In this true hos
pltality none can excel these people
OF the mountains. Our greetings were
at the old spring. Two hundred fee,
from 1t Ia the York homestead, a home.
ly two-room cabin. 1t is a picturesque
setting In a wonderful panorama. The
tce-cold water burts from a small cave
fashioned with all the rugged art Of
nature. centered In immense lin estont
arches which terrace into three pier.
lined with flowers. blooming bushe,
and grass, to a height OF sixty feet
The creek which carries away tn,
water, widens in spots to eight fee
and lie filled with stepping stones
Nothing Is changed sine its comm,
into existence. In the eddies are The
milk pals Of neighbours, and near the
northern shore are the laundry pools
for "washin' days" On each banl
are trees, tall. majestic. and shad'
bearing. which are even older than the
York generations. 1t Is nature at 1T
height with a rugged beauty and pic,
turesqueness which defy the touch o
mans art.
In the long conversation of that at.
ternoon there was no reference at any
time to the exploits which have made
Sergeant York's name a household
word. He has never told his mothel
his wife, his brothers or sisters. MOI
his neighbors this story. And no on,
in the mountains has asked him abou'
it This IL not a reticence born OF
disregard Of his acts. for they ar.
proud OF York, but is a tribute to hi.
heroism and tho highest elements o.
divtdual feeling.
The marring feature OF all his ex
periences Is Yor't's thought that h,
has been placed in the attitude O
seeking praise for a duty we'll per
formed, Because his simple, straight,
forward statements have been embell
ished into a language unknown t
these honest people. York has grown
. chary of newspaper writers an.
strangers OF all sorts. The publicity
connected with the offers made hin
OF various kinds has worried him
Every mail has new offers of Engage.
ments. with urgent appeals for hi
acceptance OF these, coupled with IN.
pro1er of large sums Of money
Temptations that try the SOU Of on.
whose life was lived often wittou'
necessities and ~luxuries.
/ Sergeant York Is intense In his re
ligtous views and super-conscientiou.
as to his future duty. 1t was whiii
discussing these points that l was int,
pressed with the real spirit behind hi.
nnodesty. He realized without express
ing 1t that in his present position the
slfghtest word may be misc onstruet
ana utterances made harmful TO him