xt7kwh2d8f84 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7kwh2d8f84/data/mets.xml Guerrant, Edward O. (Edward Owings), 1838-1916. 1910  books b92br535g82009 English Onward Press : Richmond, VA Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. N/A The galax gatherers : the gospel among the highlanders. text The galax gatherers : the gospel among the highlanders. 1910 2009 true xt7kwh2d8f84 section xt7kwh2d8f84 
  
  
  
  
  
  
THE

GALAX

GATHERERS

T H E GOSPEL A M O N G T H E HIGHLANDERS

BY

E D W A R D O.
Belvoir,

GUERRANT
Wilmore Kentucky

Jessamine County,

Edited by H i s Daughter, Grace

PUBLISHED

BY

ONWARD

PRESS

RICHMOND,

VIRGINIA

  
COPYRIGHT BY EDWARD O.

1910

GUERRANT

  
LOVINGLY

DEDICATED TO

i ftm
" WHOSE WHOM I I AM, AND SERVE "

  
  
A

FOREWORD
w hich its name might suggest, b ut fiction."

T his is not a Novel,

the truth, w hich is sometimes "stranger than the imagination.

T hese are real p eople and places, and not figments of T he partiality of friends is largely responsible for the p ublication o f these r andom notes, written while travelling a nd preaching through the mountains. T hey w ere not written for pleasure or profit, but for the Glory of God and the salvation of H i s long-neglected c hildren i n the Highlands. better advocate. D r . D abney said of these H ighlanders, "They are the m ost distinctly American stock on the continent." A n d D r . Talmage recently said, " T h e inhabitants of the mountains are the last of earth's children who shall y ield t heir hearts to the conquering march of Christ." " W i n t he Highlanders for Christ and you w i n the world f or C hrist." N o n obler object could engage o ur hand and heart. T hat you may share i n this g reat w ork and its g lorious r eward is our humble prayer. O u r t hanks are due to Drs. L i l l y , M c C o r k l e , Patton a nd B ryan, and Professor Gordon and M r s . M a r y Hoge Both o bjects a re worthy of a

  
Vi

A

FOREWORD

W ardlaw, M r s . J udd a nd M r s . Wells for their contributions. B ut especially to my companion and amanuensis, my d aughter, w hose f aithful help made the work possible, I o we more than I can repay. C ommending these s imple annals of the Highlanders to God and H i s children who love H i m and their fellowmen, I am sincerely, Y o u r fellow servant.
E DWARD O . GUERRANT.

  
CONTENTS
P age F rontispiece. I ntroduction T h e Galax Gatherers G lencairn I n the Mountains of Old V i r g i n i a I n the N o r t h Carolina Alleghanies O n t he Estatoa The Scotch-Irish D an M cintosh D edication on Haddix F o r k A Highland Wedding F r o m t he B i g B l a c k Mountain T h e Ivy Patch From Hazard F r o m t he Troublesome A T r i p U p the B i g Sandy O ne A Woman A L ittle V i s i t to T u r k e y Creek V i s i t to R a v e n Roost O n t he Shoulder Blade P roctor B i l l C henowee On t he B lkatawa P anther Ridge T h e House that God Built The C h u r c h on the Grapevine P reaching to the Poor C oming t o Christ Barefooted V isit to I n the At Cataloochee Great Smoky Mountains (Dr. J . D. Patton) Upper Quicksand VII 1 6 9 15 19 24 27 30 33 36 42 46 49 54 57 59 62 65 68 73 76 83 86 91 94 98 102 104 109 113 117

Ebenezer

B ear Creek

  
V III

CONTENTS

P age 119 129 132 136 140 144 147 150 152 156 157 161 162 166 171 175 179 184 186

M ormons in the Mountains S atan and the Mormons M issions on the Canoe D edication of the Church on the Canoe On t he Canoe T h e Regions Beyond P uncheon Camp T wenty Years After B loody Breathitt H ighland C ollege A R ed Letter Day T o t he Children of the City T h e Orphans H ome ( Dr. D. Clay L i l l y ) Feed My Lambs T w o Highland Funerals (Mrs. M a r y O'Rear Everett) A T our Through the A U nique Contest (Rev. J A . B r y a n ) Cumberlands G len A thol (Mrs. M a r y H oge W ardlaw) A W o r d from Prof. Gordon P entecost at Puncheon Camp O n the Grapevine J ett's Creek A G irl's T r i p i n the F a r Cumberlands (Grace Guerrant) T o B i g Creek (Grace Guerrant) T he L u c k y Thirteen F r o m t he Lost Creek A T eacher's Letter

189 191 195 199 202 205 208 212

  
INTRODUCTION
R EV. DR. W . W. M OORE,

Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Va.

S ome years ago, wishing a practical article of a certain t ype for one of the issues of the Union Seminary Magazine, I r equested D r . Guerrant to furnish it. H e w rote me in reply that it had not been his specific mission t o write the Gospel but to preach it, and seemed to i mply t hat he had no special s kill w ith the pen. F o r l ove of his alma mater, h owever, he granted my request a nd sent the article desired. The readers of that article a nd o f the various articles descriptive of his evangelistic t ours in the mountains, which have appeared from time t o time in our church papers, do not need to be told that he was quite too modest in his estimate of his gifts i n t his way, and that his style as a writer is no less i ndividual a nd striking and effective than his style as a s peaker, which is saying a g reat d eal, as all know who h ave heard him preach. The same underestimate of his g ifts with the pen would have prevented him from ever p ublishing i n more permanent form what he calls " these l ittle f ield notes concerning the mountain work," and i t is only to the filial a dmiration of his devoted amanuensis and coworker that we are indebted for the a ppearance of this volume. The author g ave h is consent only when assured by her and by others who knew t heir v alue that the publication of these w ayside notes w ould h elp the cause f or which they were written and

  
X

INTRODUCTION

t hus glorify God in promoting the education and salvation of those long neglected Highlanders whom he so e arnestly desires to help to a better life on earth and a b etter home beyond it. T here are some men who have never given a minute's s tudy to the technique of authorship, but who know h ow to write, as a b ird k nows how to fly. Robert L o u i s S tevenson, himself a carefully-trained author, writing t o D r . J ohn B r o w n of the fame he had won and the f riends he had made by the apparently effortless production of that E n g l i s h classic, Bab and His Friends, says : " Y e scarce deserved it, I'm a f r a i d     Y o u that had never learned the trade, B ut j ust some idle mornin' strayed I nto the schule, A n ' p icked the fiddle up and played L i k e N e i l h imsel'. Y o u r e'e was gleg, your fingers d i n k ; Y e didnae fash yersel' to think, B ut w ove, as fast as puss can l ink, Y o u r d enty w a b :     Y e stapped your pen into the ink, A n ' t here was R a b . " S o with D r . Guerrant. H e stapped his pen into the i nk, a nd there was the American H i g h l a n d e r ,     w i t h his l ittle c abin and his large family, his hard poverty and h is deep i gnorance, his spiritual destitution and his e ager response to the preaching of the pure gospel. T hese quick, short, unstudied sketches bring before us the region and the people with a vividness that any p rofessional writer who ponders over his phrases and

  
INTRODUCTION

XI

c arefully p olishes his periods might envy. N o w aste of w ords   no beating about the bush   no leisurely approach   swift and straight he goes to the heart of his s ubject. The opening of T o m Sawyer is not more a brupt or effective than that of the sketch entitled Bear C reek. Y e t there is a poetic vein in him which ever a nd a non crops to the surface as he revels in the beauty of G od's world, as where he speaks of "the g reat m ountain w ith its autumnal dress of crimson and purple and g old, a nd its r ich, d ark mantle of balsams around its g iant shoulders." A n d there is a quaint humor that t winkles i n the most unexpected places, as where he says of a remote and forlorn settlement, " W e felt lonesome here. But the L o r d h ad promised to go with us ' to the end of the world,' and as we had reached that p lace, we claimed that promise." A s S ir Walter Scott by The Lady of the Lake a nd Rob Roy m ade the Highlands of Scotland known to the w orld a nd turned an endless stream of tourists through those romantic regions, so D r . Guerrant, by t hese s ketches, has helped to give to the world a true knowledge of this vastly greater and wilder Appalachian r egion w ith its four m illions of untutored and unChristianized p eople, and has done more than any l iving m an to t urn a s aving stream of evangelists and t eachers into its remote and needy recesses. H e has been in t urn S oldier, Doctor and Evangelist,   these t hree,   but the g reatest of these is Evangelist. His h eart has responded to the sore need of this vast region, as large as the German E mpire, a nd practically without c hurches, Sabbath schools, or qualified teachers. He has recognized clearly that this H o m e M i s s i o n w ork is

  
XII

INTRODUCTION

the paramount obligation resting upon our people. H e has himself for twenty-five years labored there as his o ther duties have allowed him opportunity. Seeing that he and all the colaborers he could secure from his own c hurch were quite inadequate to the stupendous task of g iving the blessings of education and religion to this great t erritory, he called upon all other Christian people to help. A n d the real significance of this volume to the C hristian c onscience is that it is throughout a reiteration of that c all. F or, notwithstanding all that has been d one, the field is yet almost untouched; there are many t housands yet unreached; and as D r . Guerrant says, "the q uestion is not whether they can be saved without the G ospel b ut whether we can be saved if we do not give it to them."

  
  
  
T h e Galax Gatherers
P robably S olomon, who said there was "nothing new u nder the sun," was acquainted with the Galax Gatherers, but I must confess t hey w ere n ew to me, u ntil I w ent to the N o r t h Carolina Alleghanies. A word about t his i nteresting people may not be unwelcome. O n m y way to their lofty mountains, I stopped to see Rev. R. F . K i n g , o ur faithful Evangelist in the h ill c ountry of East T ennessee. L e a v i n g the railroad at P i n y F lats, in Sullivan County, I was driven several m iles o ver the green h ills to White's Store, where I e xpected to preach in a large school-house at R o c k y S pring. B rother K i n g was awaiting my coming, and c lever M r . B u r k e y g ave m e a nice home and a T e n nessee w elcome; I could wish no better. T his r egion lies in the "forks" of the H o l s t o n and W atauga Rivers, and though nothing but rocks and h ills, i t is picturesque. The people, though mostly i n h umble circumstances, are thrifty and industrious. M r . B urkey t old me he handles some ten thousand chickens a y ear, e ggs w ithout number, and a considerable quantity of walnut-kernels. This industry was also new t o me. T he congregations soon crowded the spacious schoolhouse, and though quite unwell, I managed to preach m orning a nd night for ten days, omitting one day, and s itting d own to preach one day, when too w eak t o stand. T he weather was very hot, but the patient people came

  
2

G A L A S G ATHERERS, A KD

i n c rowds. One day M r . K i n g t ook me down deeper i nto the F o r k , to Deer L i c k , w here I preached to a s chool-house crowded with a deeply interested people. A fter the sermon nearly every one came up to confess t he Savior. Another day we went even beyond the s chool-house   to Smokey   and preached in the open w oods, beneath the g reat o aks, to a large crowd, seated o n the rocks, on boards and on the ground. H e r e again G od t ouched many hearts, and they confessed the S avior w ith tearful joy. It was good to be there, i n s uch g ood company, with G o d and H i s poor children. T hese are some of Brother K i n g ' s many preaching p oints. O n Sabbath morning, I preached the last time at Rocky Spring, to a large congregation. A t the close, t wenty-five young girls and women came forward and p ublicly confessed the Savior. It was a strange and b eautiful s ight, the l ike of which I had never seen. T here was not a single man or boy among the number. W hile the Gospel is freely offered to all, the majority of the saved w ill be girls and women, as far as I have o bserved. I was glad to learn that a benevolent man (Col. Gregg) h ad left $6,000.00 to b uild a n ice brick church here for these p oor, but worthy, people. I was sorry to leave t hem, b ut remembered there was One who w ill n ever leave. That Sunday night I went to Brother K i n g ' s home and preached at the old church, " N e w Bethel," f ounded one hundred and twenty years a go. It is a l arge church, and was crowded to the doors, with a fine c ongregation. I expected it, after one hundred and t wenty years of training in the Confession, the Catechisms, a nd sanctified with the memory of the Doaks,

  
S K E T C H E S O F T H E A M E R I C A N H IGHLANDERS.

3

t he K i n g s , the Hodges, the Bachmans, and other mightymen of God, who h ave h ere proclaimed the Gospel. It was an honor to preach in that pulpit. B u t I m ust go on to the Galax Gatherers, before you g et impatient. L e a v i n g Brother K i n g , d oing the work of two men, in a b i g Missionary field, I crossed the r apid W atauga, at DeVault's F o r d , S unday night, and r ested there half a day. That evening found me in J ohnson C ity, and Tuesday morning on the new r ailroad, t hrough U n i c o i C ounty, and up the Nolachucky R iver, i nto N o r t h Carolina. O n the train I met Brother C ochrane and his family, from B ristol, g oing to rest a while at U n a k a Springs. I only wished I had time t o rest awhile myself. But Cecil J o h n Rhodes said " S o much to do, so little done," and I went on. We w ill rest i n Heaven. E ast T ennessee, t he Switzerland of America, is beautiful: w ith its emerald hills and quiet vales, and lofty m ountains and l impid s treams. If one had nothing to do but enjoy himself, I don't know a better place, i n s ummer. S ome thirty miles brought us to the Gorge, where the N olachucky cuts its way for twelve miles through the g reat U n a k a Mountain, of solid rock, some five hundred feet h igh. It surpasses the g orges of the N e w R i v e r a nd t he French Broad, and is longer than the Cafion of the Arkansas through the R o c k y Mountains. It is a wfully grand. The building of the railroad here is a t riumph of s kill a nd hard work. E m e r g i n g from the G orge, we are in M itchell C ounty, N o r t h Carolina, on t he beautiful Estatoa River (here called the 'Toe). This i s t he same river as the Nolachucky, but when it passes

  
4

G ALAX G ATHERERS, A ND

i nto Tennessee i t changes its name. A t Green M o u n tain, the present terminus of the road, clever M r . B o w ditch met me with a saddle horse and, we rode and w alked some seven or eight miles up a rough road along the rapid river to the school-house, where our M issionary, Miss Elizabeth McPherson, is teaching some sixty b right mountain b oys a nd girls. Here Brother H a r r i s , the Bishop of the Estatoa, met me and helped me faithfully for a week. T hough quite unwell, I preached t wice a day, for several days, to a large school-house c rowded. This is called "Loafer's G l o r y , " but I am g lad the loafers have d eparted, and the glory of mountain a nd valley s till r emain. It is indeed a grand country. E ven the deep v alleys are 2,400 feet a bove t he outside world, and the old R o a n Mountain looks down f rom its throne, 6,334 feet u p in the sky. M o r e than t wenty years a go I preached on that mountain top, the first sermon and perhaps the last. H o w time flies, and the mountains remain, hoary with the passing centuries, a nd s till u nchanged and godlike. O ne day I had the pleasure of a ride over G ouge's H i l l to Bakerville, the county seat. I t is a clean, quiet l ittle v illage of nice homes around the court-house, and G udger's hotel, an ideal summer resort, when the r ailroad comes. O n S unday morning, Brother Hiuddleston, of the M ethodist C hurch, filled h is appointment at the schoolhouse, and I had the pleasure of hearing an earnest sermon. I p reached at night, and again M o n d a y morning a nd n ight, when sixteen men and women came forward a nd confessed Christ and g ave t heir names to Brother H arris t o organize a church. Some others had joined

  
S K E T C H E S O F T H E A M E R I C A N H IGHLANDERS.

5

before, for all of which we thanked God. M r . Bowditch g ave a b eautiful site for the church, and the generous p eople subscribed over $300.00 t o b uild t he first church there in that cozy mountain hamlet. Those who k n o w B rother H arris w ill e xpect it to be dedicated in a few m onths. B eing t oo weak to preach longer, I reluctantly bade g ood-bye to clever J ohn S tewart, my good host, and his k ind f amily and friends, and turned my face t owards m y h ome beyond the Cumberlands. B u t I w ill n ot go, before I add a postscript and t ell y ou who the Galax G atherers are. T his is their native country, and the galax is a w ild f oliage plant which grows on the bleak sides and summits of the b i g mountains of N o r t h C arolina. It has a r ich g reen color i n the summer, which deepens i nto a s plendid b ronze as the winter approaches. These leaves ( about the size of a colt's foot) are used in the homes of the r ich p eople in the cities for decoration. D u r i n g t he f all a nd winter, the poor people find e mployment a nd s mall compensation in gathering the leaves a nd s elling t hem, at from fifteen to twenty-five cents a thousand. I t is a hard way to make a l iving, e specially when snow a nd ice cover the mountains, and when the leaves a re m ost valuable. Probably none who enjoy their gorgeous f oliage in a stately mansion ever know what labor a nd s acrifice and suffering these leaves cost the poor H ighlanders. B u t there are compensations in all things. They live i n G od's royal presence on the g reat m ountains, where r ed b lood, and ruddy cheeks, and sinewy limbs are

  
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G A L A S G ATHERERS, A ND

made, and pure thoughts and noble impulses and high a spirations are born. T he L o r d of glory Himself was born, and lived and d ied, a mong the Galax Gatherers of the holy mountains b eyond the seas. I t is a privilege and pleasure to preach to them the same sweet o ld story H e first preached on the mountains of Galilee, and last preached on the sacred m ountain at Jerusalem. T his is the mission of the Soul W i n n e r Society, whose seventy missionaries are carrying this blessed evangel to t housands of humble homes i n the Alleghanies and C u m berlands.

GLENCAIRN. T his is a little mountain hamlet in the most romantic C umberlands. I guess s ome Scotchman named it, t hough most anybody could h ave p ut the Glen and C airn t ogether in a name, as G o d had done in nature. I t is a w ild a nd beautiful cleft among the old sandstone m ountains, j ust wide enough for a l ittle, c lear stream, a nd some small, humble cabins between the beetling r ocks. T he mountains were c overed with their gaudiest dress of c rimson and gold, as if for a feast i nstead of a funeral. T he white shroud of winter w ill s oon replace this g orgeous gown of the autumn; and this fact took me there to see two noble women, who are w o r k i n g in our mission. W e knew they had lived through the summer in an open r anch, w hich would not turn the snows or storms of w inter. T hey did not complain, but counted it all joy

  
S K E T C H E S O F T H E A M E R I C A N H IGHLANDERS.

7

t o endure hardships for H i m , who endured death on the c ross for them. T here is no church in the country; and when I p reached there the little school-house of the Soul W i n ners' M ission c ould not hold the people, so we adjourned t o a saw-mill shed, half a mile a way, a nd it was filled w ith eager l isteners, who stood a storm which beat i n u pon t hem from the unprotected sides of the b i g shed. T hey w ere the same "common people" who heard the S avior gladly on the mountains of Galilee. I n f ront of the little cabin of our missionaries stood a l ofty c liff, over five hundred feet h igh, where many birds of p rey built their safe e yries. Behind the cabin, a t all m ountain shut out the view. The forest enclosed it on e ither side, so that the only open view was up toward G od a nd heaven. It was well that they could see that w ay, for all their hope and help must come from H i m . L izzette, the younger, a graduate of Converse College (that noble school for girls in South Carolina), walked for m iles between the cliffs and over the mountains, to c onduct a mission-school, alone, and visit the sick, and c arry the "glad tidings" to many humble homes along the narrow valleys. One month she walked over a hundred m iles   there was no road to ride on, and no horse t o ride. H i s "jewels" are gathered in such glens. H e r a unt, a most accomplished woman, who spent y ears i n the easier Spanish missions, taught her school n earby. The little school-house was just b i g enough to. h old t wo dozen children   as bright and pretty as any I ever saw. L e d by B irdo, t hey romped up and down the g len as free as the air, and as gentle as the fawns of t heir n ative h ills. N o such teacher as M r s . T . had

  
8

G A L A X G ATHERERS, A ND

ever been in that w ild g len, and all Glencairn loved and h onored h er and M iss L izzette for their self-denying l abors of love. T he approaching winter sent M iss L izzette to her faroff Southern home in Texas, but her elder sister came a nd t ook her place, as companion and helper to her aunt. I knew that they could not endure a Kentucky w inter i n the open cabin, so I went to see what could be done for their comfort. I was glad to f ind t hat an o pen-handed and big-hearted mountaineer, who had two c abins, had turned one of them over to our missionaries, free of rent. Of course it was a poor home for such w omen who had been reared in luxury. It had no c eiling, no fire-place, no carpet, no mattress, no papering   only n aked walls of unhewn boards and a bedstead, M iss L izzette had made. But they did not complain, b ut set about fixing it up to keep f rom freezing. M iss A nnie had turned a corner into a wardrobe with some rough planks and bought some m uslin to cover the bare walls. Some noble women at home promised to send them a carpet for their room and something to cover the spare-room, where the l ittle s chool w ill " r u n " a ll w inter. I am sure the L o r d , w ho clothes the l ilies a nd feeds the ravens, w ill n ot forget H i s faithful children at Glencairn, or anywhere else. I have t old y ou this simple story, to show you and o thers, that God s till has a people who love H i m and H i s p oor children, and who are glad to endure hardness f or H i m who endured the cross for them. The m artyr-spirit s till l ives in hearts, even in t imid w omen. W e have m any such noble women in these g reat m ountains, t eaching the way of life to hundreds of the poor,

  
  
Miss

RIVERS'

SCHOOL

IN

PATRICK

COUNTY,

VA.

THREK

YEARS'

GROWTH

  
S K E T C H E S OF T H E A M E R I C A N

H IGHLANDERS.

9

b ut grateful, children of the h ills. O ne I know, who has never seen a church since she went into the mission field, n ow almost three years ago. Their reward is in h eaven. Have you a part in this noble w o r k ? " There comes a time in the future near, W h e n t his life has passed away, W h e n these n eedy ones w ill s tand with me I n the light of the Judgment Day. W h e n the angel reads from the book of life, M y deeds f or that g reat r eview, I f the L o r d s hould speak and accuse me there, I w onder what I should do? T he Son of M a n , with his angels fair, W i l l s it on the g reat w hite throne; A n d o ut of the millions gathered there, H e w ill k now and claim H i s own. I f he says t o me those words I've read I n t hat Book so old and true, ' Inasmuch as ye did it not to these,' I w onder what I should d o ? " S ettle that g reat q uestion now, so H e may say to y o u : " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom p repared for you from the foundation of the w o r l d ; for I was an hungered, and ye g ave me meat; I was thirsty a nd ye g ave me d r i n k ; I was a stranger and ye took me i n : I was naked and ye clothed me."

A WEEK

IN T H E MOUNTAINS OF OLD VIRGINIA.

B y t he kindness of some of my ministerial brethren, I was permitted to preach a w eek r ecently i n the mining-

  
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G A L A X G ATHERERS, A ND

c amp on Tom's Creek, in Wise County, V i r g i n i a .     S o m e a ccount of that interesting field may not be without its lessons to those unacquainted with their neighbors. I left my home on Tuesday, October 3d, and passing t hrough the Cumberland Mountains at Middlesboro, a rrived on the second day, at Norton, V i r g i n i a , a bove B i g S tone Gap. H e r e I was met by Rev. F . E . R o g ers, the evangelist in charge of this f ield. I f y ou don't know how a pelican of the wilderness feels, go as an evangelist to the mountains, one hundred miles beyond all who know and love you. I need not say we were g lad to see each other. " Sheep a mong w olves" need no introduction. But I was not quite so m uch a s tranger as I thought, when a bright young fellow w alked up and shook hands with me and said his n ame was Reese B owen, son of C o l . T o m Bowen and A ugusta Stuart, and grandson of Gen. R eese B owen, of T azewell County, V i r g i n i a . S ome twenty years a go, w hen he was a lad, I preached his little sister's funeral at his grandfather's old home, at Maiden Spring, V i r ginia. I was surprised and gratified that he remembered me. I guess heaven w ill be f ull of such glad surprises. After dinner, Brother Rogers and I set out for T om's Creek, twelve miles farther down the Norfolk and W estern Railroad, among the red mountains of old V i r ginia. If y ou were never in a coal-mining camp, you w ill have to go there, for a description of the dust and smoke f rom two hundred and fifty coke-ovens, and of the noises f rom engines and cars, and dinkeys and larreys, and t ipples, and men and horses, and mules, and three thousand people of all colors (white is not a color) and sizes and

  
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t ongues. The little and b i g houses were scattered for t wo miles in the narrow valley and along the mountain sides along Tom's Creek, which is the name for a river of b lack coal-dust. W e were fortunate enough to get o ur r oom at one house, and our meals at another; one of D r . Barr's flock, who has wandered away into these m ountains. T here is not a church here (for three thousand people), a nd n o place to preach, except under a chestnut tree, or i n a l ittle school-house. W e took the school-house, only because we couldn't warm the other place. It was half a m ile of railroad tracks, and cars, and locomotives, up t o the school-house, but many of the people came farther, and we did not complain, or get k illed. S ome thirty c ame out the first night, but they gradually filled u p the l ittle s chool-house, though many had never learned to g o to church, for want of opportunity. The religious d estitution was p itiful. I n twenty-two families, I visited one day, I found only about a dozen persons who h ad ever belonged to any church. They received me k indly i n their humble homes, for most of them were V irginians. I ndeed, of the fifteen hundred men there at w ork, only some thirty are foreigners (Hungarians). B rother R ogers worked faithfully under the greatest d isadvantages. The men were at work from 7 A . M . to 6 P . M . in the mines and ovens, and d i g g i n g and hauling, a nd building two hundred and fifty new coke-ovens. E verything was in a rush, except the church. Money, a nd not souls, was the object of all, but a few, a remnant of Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal. A l ittle p rayer-meeting at 9130 A . M . , of half a dozen good w omen, held i n one of the c ottages, h elped us preach at

  
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n ight. T he congregations and interest increased from d ay to day, in spite of the dark nights, and the tired b odies of the laborers, and the little uncomfortable s chool-house, without a breath of ventilation. Some of the wandering sheep were gathered back into the f old, the seed sown in many a heart that responded its acceptance, and all the results left with God, whose word never r eturns to H i m void. The harvest w ill c ome bye and bye. Pray for God's faithful laborer in this g reat a nd destitute field; he needs m uch assistance and encouragement, and I am sorry I could not remain with h i m a m onth instead of a w eek. A m onth's work here would doubtless gather a r ich h arvest of immortal souls; but a p lace must be provided for the preaching, and earnest, p rayerful effort made to reach these m ultitudes of n eglected people. W hile here I took the opportunity to revisit Gladesville, the county seat of Wise County, V i r g i n i a , w here I j oined the Confederate A r m y , February, 1862, thirtyseven years ago. I had ridden from my home, in central K entucky, with a lot of other boys, across the one h undred m iles of hostile mountains to the Southern A r m y . W e found the old general in Gladesville, a l ittle, m ountain h amlet, 2,300 feet u p on the Cumberland p lateau, and there we enlisted for "three years, or during the war," to fight for old V i r g i n i a , the land of my fathers. It is eleven miles from Tom's Creek, but a good horse soon climbed the Guest's M o u n t a i n , two miles up to the plateau, and nine miles along it, to the little mountain t own. The scenery b eggars d escription. Nature h ad o n her gayest a utumnal dress of crimson and gold, a nd the g orgeous p anorama, painted by the g reat A rtist,

  
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s tretched a way o ver blazing mountains and valleys, beyond our utmost vision. O n l y a few houses a nd fields of red heather broke the solemn and awful monotony of the wilderness. T he last time I passed this way, thirty-five y ears a go, I r ode with J ohn M o r g a n and two thousand brave men, o n o ur last Kentucky campaign. H o w changed the s cene! N o w , only G o d and the old mountains remain. A lone boy was lazily grinding sorghum in a mountain d ell, a nd reminded me that I first tasted it, in this v ery country, during the war. It was sorghum or no s weetening then. B y 10 A . M . , I reached the old wartown of Gladesville I first saw thirty-seven y ears a go. O nly two of the houses, and not a l iving s oul, remained of its war-time inhabitants. What a lesson on this transitory l ife! O n l y two houses a nd the old h ill r emained of the Gladesville I knew. W h a t memories they awakened ; w hat of good and i ll, of joy and sorrow, of victory a nd defeat, are crowded into those thirty-seven years! B u t G od was in them all, and through them all H i s loving h and has led me! I need not say I was lonesome in Gladesville, though the little town was wonderfully improved. A s plendid c ourt-house has taken the place of the old barn of one, we used as a hospital; and many handsome homes h ave t aken the place of the little cabins. But the men and places I knew w ere g one, the army w agons a nd mules, t he cavalry, and infantry, and artillery, the clanging sabres a nd spurs, the burnished guns and bayonets, the s ick and wounded soldiers, w ere a ll g one. T o m H a y den's bugle was silent; the drum had sounded the last t attoo; the camp-fires w ere a ll out, and the b oys h ad

  
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s truck their tents, and most of them had pitched them b eyond the river of death. I was not happy i n Gladesville ; it was a cemetery to me, and I did not stay long. B ut I f ound the dismantled old hotel, and the room where the general made me a soldier, and b egged a piece of the wood to take home, as a memento of d ays " sacred to the memory" of many brave men. I n the r oom a bove, where noble Captain Hawes kept the money t o buy hard-tack and cotton clothes for the "boys," I f ound these w ords on the w all, i n pencil: " L o o k a nd see where you are going, O soul of mine! Y o u are travelling to eternity, and when thou art there, w ill i t be in heaven or i n h e l l ! B e careful, O my soul, f or w hile thou art in the flesh is the time to serve t he L o r d . W atch, therefore, for in an hour when we think n ot the Son of man cometh; so beware, O my soul." W here that traveller is now, only God can