The Washington herald., 1921-06-02

Tucked away in the Kentucky
mountains" began Miss Evelyn
Wells. Of Pine Mountain. KY. "are
people who. from length Of family
residence at least. have q greater
claim to be called 100 per cent
Americans than the majority Of
congiomerate America"
Miss Wells. who has been spend
ing some time in Washington. has
taught several years in one Of the
kentucky mountain schools, where
she says she has had some Of the
most Interesting, most broadening
and most inspiring experiences OF
her life.
LIVED IN HILLS SINCE
EARLIEST DAYS OF AMERICA.
These people, who have Hved in
those hills" continued Miss Wells,
since the earliest days of America,
are, / dare say. representatives of
the least mixed stratum of Ameri-
can life. In them can be seen the
descendants of the early Anglo
Saxon settlers who, with rugged
strength. pushed beyond the noun
tains to ind homes for their famI-
hes.
Having settled in those localities,
the natural barriers prevented in
tercourse with the. dwellers of the
valleys, and so generations came
and went. keeping practically the
same customs, speech and mode Of
living as their original progcnitors.
Lack of contact with the outside
world prevented a material devel-
opment that otherwise would have
been, but it Is this very lack that
gives these people some of their
Charm and interest"
SAYS THEIR LANGUAGE
is SSPARTICULARLY APPEALING.
Particularly appealing is the
language used. Its beauty and
virility and expressiveness are very
marked. Upon investigating some
unusual words not current beyond
the mountains We have found often
times the Chaucer. or Shakespeare,
or some early English author as an
authority for the same. So pictur-
esque and attractive is this feature
of their expression that we, who
have the responsibility of instruct
ing them in what Is considered wise
to learn in the present, have re-
Trained from correction or change
in many instances where we have
found some English author using
the same expression. We are afraid
that some of the rugged beauty and
virility would be lost in trying to
bring their speech up to the min
ute"
When those mountain children
have been properly nourished they
are remarkably pretty-slender,
delicately featured, responsive and
very eager to learn. well-nour-
ished bodies in these mountains, ac-
cording to Miss Wells, usually pre-
sent receptive, alert minds.
PoIsE OF CHILDREN
AN INTERESTING TRAIT.
"A very interesting trait" con-
tinued Miss Wells. that these
mountain children display is a no.
ticeable poise. Where children in
more so-called civilized communi-
ties would cape and stare. these
children are frankly and composedly
interested-neither shy nor forward.
neither embarrassed nor overconf-
dent-just quietly and politely in
terested.
1T is well-known fact that
ballad collectors have found in these
mountains a veritable wealth of ma
terial. Some of the most perfect
examples of minstrelsy that have
been handed down from generation
to generation have been found there
and are now delighting the outside
world. Not only have these unwrit-
ten ballads been found, but old edi-
tions of some early English litera-
ture have also been located in the
possession of the descendant of
some early settler of literary appre-
citation. / am sure there is lost in
these Kentucky mountains an origt-
nal copy of Millions Paradise
Lost" for we have many evidences
of its existence. In passing from
one family to another IL has. in that
section of long distances and infre-
quent intercourse. been misplaced
temporarily"
G. N E.