xt7j9k45qv6v https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7j9k45qv6v/data/mets.xml Combs, Josiah Henry, 1886-1960. 1913  books b92f452c719132009 English J. L. Richardson : Lexington, Ky. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Appalachians (People). Kentucky --Social life and customs. The Kentucky highlanders from a native mountaineer s viewpoint. text The Kentucky highlanders from a native mountaineer s viewpoint. 1913 2009 true xt7j9k45qv6v section xt7j9k45qv6v 
The Kentucky Highlanders
HRr From A Native Mountaineer's Viewpoint

JOSIAH HENRY COMBS
Member of the American Folk-Lore Society

  
  
THE KENTUCKY HIGHLANDERS
From A N ative M ountaineer's V iewpoint

By
JOSIAH H E N R Y COMBS M ember of the American F o l k - L o r e Society

I. L . RICHARDSON & C o. LEXINGTON, KY.

1913

  
To Hubert Gibson Shearin

  
SUBJECTS

TREATED

PAGE

O RIGIN, E X T E N T AND NATIONALITY T H E S COTCH-IRISH T H E O R Y T H E S COTCH H I G H L A N D E R T H E O R Y O L D E N G L I S H AS A T H E O R Y F O L K - L O R E A ND P H I L O L O G Y AS AN A R G U M E N T O L D A ND M I D D L E E N G L I S H T H E M O U N T A I N E E R ' S PERSONALITY A N D T H E W O M E N O F T H E MOUNTAINS No SOCIAL C A S T E S HOSPITALITY

7 9 10 12 14 16 17 19 21 22 24 26 30 31 36 39 43

B ORN L A W Y E R S AND POLITICIANS D E C A Y O F T H E F E U D S PIRIT O L D E N G L I S H CUSTOMS AND S UPERSTITIONS C OQUETRY A ND F L I R T I N G UNKNOWN F O L K - L O R E A ND B A L L A D R Y T H E MOUNTAINEER'S RELIGION

T H E EDUCATIONAL OUTLOOK W H A T OF T H E F U T U R E ?

  
  
T HE KENTUCKY HIGHLANDERS

T H E I R ORIGIN,

E X T E N T A N D NATIONALITY.

I S ( the Covenanter's) race had defied the C rown o f G reat B ritain a h undred years f rom t he c aves and w ilds o f Scotland and Ireland, t aught the E n g l i s h p eople how to slay a k i n g a nd b uild a c ommonwealth, a nd, d riven i nto e xile i nto the wilderness of A m e r i c a , l ed our R evolution, p eopled the h ills o f the S outh, a nd conquered the West. " T h e b reed to w hich t he Southern white man belongs has conquered every foot of s oil o n this earth their feet have pressed, for a thousand years. A handful of t hem h old i n subjection t hree h undred m illions i n India. P lace a d ozen of them in the h eart of A frica, a nd they w ill r ule the continent unless y o u k i l l t h e m . " T hese words from t he pen of Thomas D i x o n , J r., in " T h e C l a n s m a n , " may be somewhat overdrawn and farfetched. T h e y are quoted here, however, because the K e n t u c k y m ountaineers are of t hat b reed w hich is spoken o f as " p e o p l i n g the h ills a nd conquering the W e s t . " A n a rea of nearly thirteen thousand square miles of m ountainous country extending northeast and southwest a long t he eastern part of K e n t u c k y ; r idges and peaks r ising f rom an altitude of f rom five h undred to t hree

  
s

T H E KENTUCKY HIGHLANDERS

t housand f eet; c omprising a population of more than f our h undred thousand ; w ith an area of coal b eds sufficient to supply the w orld for the next h alf c entury, besides large areas u nderlaid by excellent clays of several sorts, commercially important deposits of i ron o re and of o chre, superior sand for glass-making and other purposes, p roved fields of oil and of natural gas, pure limestone for i ron furnace f lux, a nd s tone w ell s uited for structural p urposes; the reputed pre-historic dwelling-place and scene o f sanguine encounters between the Atalans and C utans, Telegans (long-headed mound-builders) and A palans ( round-headed mound-builders); the Istacans, a M ongolian r ace; the Huasiotos and Zulocaris. T his is the land, and this the people about whom so m uch has been written during the p ast fifteen years. Y e t , w ith s uch a long chain of history (?), and w ith s uch a p edigree, U nited S tates S enator " J o " Blackburn once s aid, i n a heat o f p olitical f renzy, t hat a s tick of dynamite ought to be put under this section to blow it into h ades! N ow, s ince the writer is a K e n t u c k y Mountaineer, b oth by birth and by adoption, he seeks y our indulgence a nd pardon in attempting to add to the long l ist o f t hose w ho h ave discussed the s ocial, p olitical, e conomical and a nthropogeographical s tatus o f the K e n t u c k y mountains. M u c h has been said by various writers concerning the d escent and nationality of the K e n t u c k y mountaineers. F iske, t he historian, says they are of Scotch-Irish descent, a nd t hat t heir fore-fathers came down from Pennsylvania i nto t he Southern Alleghanies early in the history of the R epublic ; T homas D i x o n , J r., in " T h e Leopard's S p o t s , " a nd also in " T h e C l a n s m a n , " calls the Southern high-

  
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9

l anders Scotch and Scotch-Irish ; D r . Guerrant, of W i l more, K y . , a whole-souled and good old Presbyterian " missionary" to the mountains, and President Frost, of B erea C ollege, w ithout any reserve whatever, class the m ajority of the mountaineers as Scotch Highlanders. T he p revalence of a number of Scotch and Irish c ognomens in this section no doubt has prompted the a bove writers to reach their conclusions in this m atter. A saner v iew, a nd, in the o pinion o f the writer, the o nly c orrect one, is taken by E l l e n C hurchill S emple, w riting i n t he Geographical R eview, J une, 1901. Here the v iew is t aken t hat t he g reat m ajority of the K e n t u c k y h ighlanders are of pure, A n g l o - S a x o n o r old E n g l i s h e xtraction, w ith a m inority of the Scotch-Irish, largely Teutonic i n o rigin. W e are confronted, then, w ith t hree t heories, as f ollows: 1. Scotch-Irish. 2. S cotch-Highlander. 3. O l d E n g l i s h , o r A n g l o - S a x o n . W e s hall use the two methods of reasoning   the Destructive a nd the Constructive, and class the first and second of t he above theories under the former of t hese m ethods, a nd the third theory under the latter, or constructive m ethod.
THE SCOTCH-IRISH THEORY.

T he p revalence of such n ames i n the K e n t u c k y mountains as M c C o y , M c D o w e l l , M c i n t o s h , M c l n t y r e , M c Guire,Campbell,Calhoun,Callahan, D uff, a nd a few others, has given rise to this first theory. D r . A . S. M a c K e n z i e , P rofessor o f E n g l i s h a nd Comparative Literature in the S tate U niversity of K e n t u c k y , d eclares t hat t he term

  
in

T H E KENTUCKY

HIGHLANDERS

" S c o t c h " is out of the question, since it is a brand of Scottish w hiskey ; t hat no such element as " S c o t t i s h - I r i s h " e xists; t hat the term " S c o t c h , " or " S c o t t i s h - I r i s h , " is u nknown b oth in Scotland and Ireland, and is spoken of o nly i n A merica. T he term Scotch-Irish derives its name, p erhaps, from the Scotch Protestants who were sent o ver to Ireland from Scotland in the latter h alf o f the seventeenth c entury, in order to convert the Romanists in the a ncient realm of St. Patrick. But the followers of the l egendary saint were incorrigible, and the Scotch Presbyterians left the island in high dudgeon, and consequently, p ractically no amalgamation of the two peoples took p lace. M a n y o r most of these same S cotch Presbyterians, on q uitting Ireland, came over to A m e r i c a , l argely to P ennsylvania, t hus g iving M r . Fiske his clew. Perhaps t he Scotch and Irish cognomens mentioned above are i dentical w ith these same S cotch. N o w , if the majority o f the K e n t u c k y Mountaineers were Scotch-Irish, the \ m ajority of the cognomens of these p eople ought to be l e ither Scotch, or Irish, or both. L e t us see. Out of four h undred surnames collected from Eastern K e n t u c k y by t he writer, it is d ifficult to find an a ggregate of twenty p er cent, of Scotch and of Irish cognomens. It is evident, t hen, t hat t his Scotch-Irish theory cannot be taken s eriously.
T H E SCOTCH-HIGHLANDER THEORY.

2. S cotch-Highlander. This is the favorite theory of P resident Frost and Dr. Guerrant, and is w idely p revalent. The a dherents o f this theory base t he authenticity o f t heir claims largely upon anology, as f ollows: T he S cotch H i g h l a n d e r inhabits the highlands of S c o t l a n d ;

  
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1I

the K e n t u c k y Mountaineer inhabits the highlands of K e n t u c k y . E r g o , t he K e n t u c k y Mountaineers are of S cotch H i g h l a n d e r ancestry, b ecause t he Scotch H i g h lander must h ave highlands in w hich to " l i v e , m ove, and have his b e i n g . " Further, t hat, s ince the Scotch H i g h lander, in his h illy, c raggy r etreats, was something of a f eudist, the K e n t u c k y Mountaineer, who inhabits surroundings the topography of w hich is s imilar to the h ighlands of Scotland, and who is h imself s omething of a f eudist, must be of Scotch H i g h l a n d e r ancestry. I t is a mistaken impression t hat t he Scotch can l ive n owhere except among h ills o r mountains. It is an h istori- ) c al fact t hat the majority of the Scotch Highlanders who j c ame to A m e r i c a are found today in the lowlands of N o v a I S cotia, e astern a nd southeastern Canada. A g a i n , t he per I . c ent, of the H i g h l a n d p opulation in Scotland i tself was \ n ever large, the majority of the population being found ) | i n the lowlands. I t is further claimed t hat t he characteristic tendency o f t he K e n t u c k y Mountaineer is to " e x t e r m i n a t e " h is n eighbor. The g reat p lains of the West have g iven t he U nited S tates t his unfortunate reputation. A c c o r d i n g to Dr. M a c K e n z i e , for every one man k illed i n the K e n t u c k y mountains, one thousand lose their l ives o n the plains ! It is assumed, also, t hat q uarrels, feuds a nd v endettas are especially peculiar to the mountaineers o f E urope and A m e r i c a . W hereas, history shows t hat t he most bitter feuds of Europe were waged in Iceland, a long t he v alley o f the Rhine in Germany, and on the i slands o f C orsica a nd S icily. R easoning f rom t his theory, t hen, the K e n t u c k y highlanders might be dubbed "Icelanders," " C o r s i c a n s , " " S i c i l i a n s , " o r even " G e r m a n s ! "

  
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T H E KENTUCKY HIGHLANDERS

W h a t a p i t y M . Prosper Merimee never v isited t he K e n tucky h ighlands for the setting of " C o l o m b a ! " L et us account for some of the lawlessness and b loodthirstiness among the K e n t u c k y Mountaineers. In the p ioneer days these p eople were compelled to bear the b runt of fighting the Cherokee and other Indian tribes, w hile t he people of the plains were molested w ith c omparative rarity. A mere handful of red men c ould g uard a m ountain pass a gainst a large body of whites, and it was the strategic importance of the highlands t hat m ade t hem a favorite fighting ground between the pioneers and t he tribesmen. W o e to the pale face t hat h ad not learned to use the r ifle! A n d this s tate o f affairs reaches back n ot t hree g enerations in K e n t u c k y history. It was the p ioneers who settled in the h ills, t hat s aved K e n t u c k y for t he whites; but this does not prove t hat t he people were S cotch H ighlanders. Bravery and patriotism are c ommon e nough among all sections of the English-speaking w orld. I f the K e n t u c k y Mountaineers are of Scotch P lighlander o rigin, t hey have been infamous enough to , d iscard the surnames of their forefathers.
r

O L D E N G L I S H AS A T H E O R Y .

3. O l d E n g l i s h o r A n g l o - S a x o n . A s was said above, t his is the theory of E l l e n C hurchill S emple. It is also c hampioned b y President T h i r k i e l d , o f H o w a r d U niversity, w ho has given a quarter of a century to mission and e ducational w ork among the Southern A lleghanies. J ames I L a n e A l l e n is not the o nly g ifted writer who is positive t hat E n g l i s h is the ancestry of the majority of K e n t u c k ians in every s ection of the s tate. A l ong c hain of c old

  
T H E KENTUCKY

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13

facts, a nd not a mere hypothesis, establishes the truth of t his contention. The K e n t u c k y M ountaineers, themselves     their c ustoms, dialect, l inguistic c haracteristics, f olksongs, play-and-dance-songs, child-rhymes, superstitions a nd r iddles, nursery rhymes and the l ike, a nd above all, t heir c ognomens, speak most l oudly i n the matter. F irst, t hen, the unanswerable argument in favor of this v iew, is t hat i t is endorsed by the science and study of E n g l i s h p hilology. E v e r y h onest man bears t he surname of his f ather. A n analysis of the l ist o f four hundred surnames r eferred to above elearly demonstrates t hat at least e ighty p er cent, of them are of pure O l d E n g l i s h o rigin. T hen, h ow d i d this E n g l i s h e lement get into the K e n tucky m ountains ? M ost o f them came f rom V i r g i n i a a nd N orth C arolina, a nd some maybe f rom P ennsylvania. T hree-fourths of the old " c i t i z e n s " of the mountains w ill c onverse w ith y ou for hours, and t ell y o u of their people i n " O l e V i r g i n n y " a nd in N o r t h C a r ' l i n y . " I n this c onnection, a nd since t here is an i nsignificant e lement of F rench H uguenot p arentage i n the K e n t u c k y h ighlands, i t m ight be w ell to quote a paragraph f rom E l l e n C hurchill S emple's s tory in the Geographical R eview. S he says : " T h e y ( the Mountaineers) formed a part of the same t ide of pioneers w hich c rossed the mountains to people the states o n the southwest, but they chanced to turn a side f rom t he main stream, and ever since have stagnated i n these m ountain h ollows. F o r example, over a hundred y ears ago eleven Combs brothers, related to General C ombs of the Revolutionary army, came over the mountains f rom N orth C arolina. N i n e o f them settling along t he N orth F o r k o f the K e n t u c k y R iver i n the mountains of P erry County, one went further down the stream into

  
1-1

T H E KENTUCKY

HIGHLANDERS

t he rough h ill c ountry of Breathitt County, and the e leventh continued on his way t ill he came into the s miling c ountry of the B lue G rass, and here b ecame the p rogenitor of a f amily w hich r epresents t he blue b lood o f the s tate, w ith a ll the aristocratic instincts of the old S outh ; w hile t heir cousins in the mountains go barefoot." E v e n a c areless perusal of the telephone register in a lmost any K e n t u c k y town w ill r eveal a majority of E nglish s urnames. In the early migrations across the m ountains and into the plains, many a pioneer no doubt was compelled to remain in the mountains b ecause o ne of h is w agon or cart wheels ran off, one of his f amily b ecame s ick, o r some other l ittle h indrance interfered. A n d here, a ttracted by the abundance of game, fish, a nd the natural s cenery, he was content to remain and make his home. D oes t his severing of ties and relationship make the b lood of t he inhabitant of the refined and cultured B lue G rass a ny bluer than t hat of his less favored, but v irile a nd s turdy brother of the highlands ? L e t John F o x , Jr's n ovels d ecide.
FOLK-LORE A N D PHILOLOGY AS A N A R G U M E N T .

A n d n ow we come to the f olk-lore o f the K e n t u c k y m ountains. The folk-songs, play-and-dance-songs, c hild a nd nursery rhymes, " j i g s , " s uperstitions and riddles s trongly c orroborate the theory t hat m ost of this f olklore c ame directly or indirectly f rom E n g l a n d . In this i nstance the proof is so overwhelmingly conclusive t hat o nly a few examples w ill suffice. If reference is made to A l i c e B . Gomme's monumental work on " T r a d i t i o n a l C h i l d G ames of E n g l a n d and S c o t l a n d , " practically all of

  
T H E KENTUCKY

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1.5

the g ames a nd play-songs of t hat w ork w ill be found to be common, also, in s ome f orm, if not exactly, to t hose of the K e n t u c k y mountains. F o r example: England Kentucky Mountains B l i n d M a n ' s B uff B l i n d P ole (Fold) C hickamy C hickie m y Crany Crow D rop H andkerchief D r o p Handkerchief F r o g i n the M i d d l e F r o g in the Meadow G reen Gravel Green Gravel G reen Grow the Leaves Green Grow the Leaves J olly F isherman J o l l y F ishermen L o n d o n B ridge L o n d o n Bridge H ewley P uley (Same g ame, d ifferent title) M a y I G o Out to Play (Same g ame, d ifferent title) R ound a nd R o u n d the V i l l a g e R o u n d the Levee T hree Dukes Three Dukes P looper's H i d e Hoop-Hide T he larger number of folk-songs show l ocal t ouches d ealing with s ome p art o f E n g l a n d . That is, of course, t hose s ongs t hat are traditional, and can be identified w ith C h i l d ' s collection. A comparison of these f olksongs w ith t hose i n the collections of C h i l d , G ummere, S idgwick, S tevenson, Q u i l l e r - C o u c h and o thers, r eveals a m arked similarity. One of them, " T h e R i c h M argent ( Merchant)," begins:
T here was a rich m argent F rom London did dwell.

I n " Jack W i l s o n " o ne line runs: " I n Katherine S treet I d id r e s o r t ; " a nd a nother, " A t length to Newgate I were b rought." Newgate, as is w ell k nown, was a famous old p rison of L o n d o n . In "Jackie F r a z i e r , " the " silk m ar-

  
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g ent" l ives i n L o n d o n . " F a i r N otamon (Nottingham) T o w n " is another instance. " K i n g George" a n d " K i n g H e n r y " are common to many of the riddles and playsongs.
OLD AND M I D D L E ENGLISH.

T he E n g l i s h s poken in the K e n t u c k y mountains is a bundant proof t hat t he people are of O l d E n g l i s h e xtraction. M a n y e xamples of pure O l d E n g l i s h , M i d d l e E n g l i s h , a nd Elizabethan E n g l i s h are common to this s ection. W o r d s and terms used b y Shakspere and in the K i n g J ames version of the B ible a ppear in abundance. T hese instances establish the possible fact t hat the purest E n g l i s h s poken on earth is t hat o f the K e n t u c k y mountains   however unpolished and crude it may be, grammatically. O l d E n g l i s h a nd words closely related to i t : holp, holpen, weuns, youuns; f requent use of the suffix like: k i n d l y sick-like, crazy-like, e tc. ; ax ( O. E . ) axian, f or ask ; heerd, beck {back), pack, {carry), chist, {chest); f requent use of deal ( O. E . ) dael); year?i {earn), gyarden, cyards ( examples of " b r e a k i n g , " or "palatal influence" in O l d E n g l i s h ) ; pard, clomb, hivang, boundeu, lief, a nd the S axon hit f or it. E a r l y a nd M i d d l e E n g l i s h : start- o r stark-naked {stcort nakit), for to invite {forte-invite), metlwuglit {methogte), t'other, without {except), afore, sistren, {sustren). S haksperean E n g l i s h : against ( conjunction), pret'near t, might near't, afeared, writ, zvait on the table (to r eturn thanks), gom, o r gorm (to muss), back a horse ( mount a horse), buss ( kiss, K i n g J ohn, III Scene, 10, 1. 35), wall-eyed ( K i n g J ohn, I V Scene 3, 1. 49); beholden

  
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to ( K i n g J ohn, I Scene 1, 1. 239); brand-fired new ( K i n g L ear, V S cene 3, 1, 132). O n l y a few of the examples have been given above, a ll of w hich d emonstrate conclusively t hat t he language of t he K e n t u c k y Mountaineer is t hat t ransported to A m e r i c a i n the seventeenth century, the era of A m e r i c a n c olonization. T here is even a possible echo of Italian, in the dialect word brigaty o r brigady, w hich m ay be connected w ith t he Italian briga, brigata, brigare, o r brigarsi. H owever, t he word may be a corruption of " b i g o t e d . " I n t his contention for the O l d E n g l i s h t heory of the o rigin o f the K e n t u c k y Mountaineers, the writer has not a imed to completely discard the evidences of Scotch and I rish a ncestry. B e y o n d the minority of Scotch and Irish c ognomens the evidences are so few as hardly to deserve m ention, a nd for t hat r eason they have been omitted.
THE MOUNTAINEER'S PERSONALITY A N D HOSPITALITY.

T he K e n t u c k y Mountaineer, as a member of the s ocial f abric, is a s triking f igure. In personal appearance he is t all, a ngular, and i nclined to droop his shoulders. C harles D ickens, w hen he v isited L ouisville, t ook note of t his peculiarity. Government statistics show t hat he is the t allest soldier on an average in the w orld. A " fine-haired f urriner'' o nce attributed this t all s tature to l ooking u pward so often to see the sun,and to c limbing t he mountains! A saner, but yet incorrect v iew, a ttributes it to the d rinking of t oo many stimulants, and eating badly-cooked f ood. T his m ight account, to some extent, for the lack of a w ell-rounded, w ell-proportioned body. The M o u n t a i n eer's e yes are set rather far back, w ith a f rank, serious

  
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e xpression, a nd are often inscrutable. One doesn't always understand them at first, but he may be sure t hat b ehind t hem the Mountaineer is d o i n g some thinking. C limatic c onditions play a large part in the temperament and disposition of the Mountaineer. It is a w ell k nown f act t hat e astern and south-eastern K e n t u c k y are p ossessed of a heavy, humid atmosphere, and t hat h eavy fogs are almost a d aily o ccurrence. T his is conducive n ot o nly to nose, throat and catarrhal troubles, but is e xtremely d etrimental to consumptives. Hence a drowsy o r l ethargic condition is often prevalent, w hich, a dded to h is p rofound reticence and lack of demonstration, often m akes the Mountaineer misunderstood and underrated b y t he outside w orld. T his r eticence and undemonstrative n ature o n the part of the Mountaineer frequently causes his benefactor to consider it as ingratitude. But he is one of the most grateful beings in the w orld, a nd d eep d own in his h eart he is thanking y o u w ith a ll his m ight. T he M ountaineer's hospitality is as pure and undented as his brooks and waterfalls. W h e n he says to you, " ' L i g h t a nd set, stranger; come in and stay all night if y e can put up w ith o ur fare," he means every word of it. A n d d on't be surprised, if at the breakfast table he asks y ou to "wait on the table ; " for he is very reverent if he t hinks y ou have a m ind to return thanks. H e w ill s end o ne of his f amily to a neighbor's to sleep, or "make down a b e d " in order to give you room. T h e Mountaineer's h ome often consists of a single log house w ith a s ingle b ig r oom, w hich s erves the combined purposes of w aitingroom, p arlor, bed-room, dining-room and kitchen. If the h ouse has an addition, or if it has more than one room, it

  
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is c alled " houses" and not "house." The Mountaineer, in s pite of his reticence, is a very sensitive being, and f ailure to converse w ith h im after coming into his house, is t aken for ingratitude or something else. H e is frank and o utspoken, to extremes, and w ill g ive vent to his f eelings o r opinions regardless of consequences. Conceit, v anity a nd hypocrisy are a lien t o his nature, and he often c redits the outsider w ith t hese a ttributes because he m isunderstands him.
T H E W O M E N O F T H E MOUNTAINS.

T he w omen of the mountains f orm an interesting s tudy. It has been said they are s ullen, g rave, and of a r etiring d isposition. T his is largely true, and is accounted for b y the fact t hat t heir position in the s ocial c aste o f the mountains is a hard one, and a deplorable one, for the m ost part. F irst, r ace suicide is no question for the s ociologist to struggle w ith i n the mountains of K e n t u c k y . W hether o r no it is b etter to rear up a s mall f amily a nd d o it w ell, o r rear up a large f amily b adly, is no concern for the Mountaineer. M ost f amilies i n the mountains are l arge   some of them very large, ranging f rom a d ozen to e ighteen or twenty under one roof. It is not d ifficult, t hen, to conceive of the multitudinous cares t hat m ust b efall t he lot of these w omen, w hich c ondition prevents m uch m ingling a nd s ocial i ntercourse w ith t he w orld. O ne m iddle-aged man, who l ives o n Caney F ork, i n K n o t t C ounty, s aid he had twenty-one c hildren, a nd t hat " I a in't done y i t . " W i t h a l , t he mountain mother is possessed of the genuine maternal instinct, is gentle w ith a nd pas-

  
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s ionately f ond of her offspring, and hospitable to s trangers. E l l e n C hurchill S emple says t hat t he idealism of y outh u sually keeps the mountain g irl p ure, but t hat w hen she marries and takes up the heavy burdens of l ife, she is p lunged i nto a gross materialism. Further, t hat " there seems to be no higher standard of morality for the women t han for the men, and for both it is l o w . " I cannot personally a ccept this v iew. T h e dual standard of morals p ersists in the K e n t u c k y mountains, as it does in almost e very other community among c ivilized p eoples. W h e n a m ountain g irl ceases to be virtuous, she loses the respect o f the people in her.community. W h e n a y o u n g man is g uilty o f the same charge, he is judged by a different c ode of morals, as he w ould be in any other community i n A m e r i c a . T he standard of morals among mountain w ives is not low. In most instances the w ife is t rue to h er husband, more so, perhaps, than among any other p eople on earth. Disreputable houses are unknown in t he mountains, and this s tate o f affairs exercises a tremendous influence. Because of it, venereal or aphrodisiac d esires are not so common, nor are sexual diseases so n umerous as in the cities. T his a lso accounts for the s trong, physical appearance of the Mountaineer. I n m ost instances the mountain woman w ould w illingly s hed her own b lood i n her husband's behalf. D u r i n g t he French-Eversole feud in Perry County, the husband of a m ountain woman was l y i n g o n a bed of sickness. A n umber of the feudists attacked the house w ith m alicious i ntent to take his l ife. H u r r y i n g h er y o u n g ones into t he basement of the house, she hastily seized a revolver a nd drove the intruders away at the point of it.

  
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M ountain p arents s till h ave some antiquated ideas about t he education of their d aughters. W h e n a g irl i n the public schools r eaches t he point of proficiency in the " three r 's," this is considered sufficient for practical purposes   for the remainder of her l ife. T i m e s pent o n a nything beyond the t hree r 's, so thinks the Mountaineer, is lost. Because of this, much d ifficulty is experienced i n a ttempting to send the girls to schools located at the c ounty seats, o r to the colleges.
NO SOCIAL CASTES.

T here are practically no social castes i n the K e n t u c k y m ountains. " I ' m as good as y o u are," or " I ' m as good as he i s , " are stock expressions. A v irile, s turdy manhood, in the midst of rugged environments, where the s truggle for existence has been so d ifficult   , a ll t hese t hings have fostered w ithin t he Mountaineer's b reast a n i ntense spirit of freedom and independence, common to the dwellers of all highland regions. This accounts for the stand taken b y the Mountaineers of the Southern A lleghanies d uring the C i v i l W ar. T h e i r a ncestors h ad s tood shoulder to shoulder during the C i v i l W a r in E n g land, u nder Prince Rupert and the Royalist leaders; at K i n g ' s M ountain they t aught C o l . Ferguson how to c hange nis opinion when he said t hat t here w ere not e nough Rebels in h ell to run him from K i n g ' s M o u n t a i n . S o, w hen the C i v i l W a r came, they shouldered arms a nd f ought for the U n i o n , a nd for one flag. A t the Battle of N ew O rleans, in the W a r of 1812, b ands o f these r ugged f rontiersmen, wearing coon-skin caps, poured into G eneral J ackson's ranks, without guns. " O l d H i c k o r y " s aid

  
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to them, " B o y s , w here are your guns ?" " G o t none," c ame the response. " T h e n what are you going to do ?" T here was a pause, and finally o ne of them answered : " I ' l l t ell y ou what w e'll d o, G i n ' r a l , w e'll f oller t hem t here T ennesseans into battle, a n d e ver' time one f alls w e'll j ist inherit his g u n . "
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BORN LAWYERS A N D POLITICIANS.

I t has been said t hat t he Mountaineer takes to law a nd p olitics " l i k e a d uck to water." H e is a natural b orn o rator. H o w are these t hings to be accounted for ? E ducational f acilities h ave l ong b een wanting, to a sad d egree, in the mountains. The B ible, w orks on history, a nd b iography are the most prominent, where t here are b ooks at all. N o w , the Mountaineer is patriotic and l oyal, a nd his idea of g reatness i n this R epublic is to i mitate t he g reat p atriots and statesmen of A m e r i c a . M ost o f them were p oliticians a nd lawyers; hence, to b ecome famous, he, too, must study law and p olitics. T he s tory is t old o f a mountain lawyer who once f ollowed a n umber of other lawyers into the consulting r oom   in his s hirt sleeves and b are feet. N o t k nowing w ho he was, o ne of the more cultured barristers said to him, " W h a t are you d o i n g in h e r e ? " " I ' m here to defend t his m a n , " was the answer. Judge Patton, whose district l ay i n the B i g Sandy V a l l e y , was one of the most famous, as w ell as one of the most eccentric lawyers and judges E astern K e n t u c k y has ever produced. H e once instructed his g rand jury something l ike t h i s : "Gentlemen, y o u h ave here a m ost beautiful piece of p ublic p roperty, upon w hich rests t his h all o f Justice. Its verdant, r olling g rass,

  
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a nd majestic towering tree t ops a ttest at once God's l oving k indness and i nfinite g reat m ercy. A l ovely fence e ncircles t his property and h all, w here justice is wont to be meted out. But, gentlemen, our people are hitching t heir horses to this fence. There is a class of people in this w orld, g entlemen, who w ould r ide right up to the G arden o f E d e n , push aside its Heavenly-commissioned g uardian, f ling t he g ate w ide open, loiter down its Tempelike v ales, hitch their horses to the Tree of L ife, a nd b anter Moses for a horse-swap. F ine these m en, gentlemen, fine them ! " A t another time he instructed them : " Gentlemen ! w henever you see a g reat b i g over-grown b uck s itting at the mouth of some holler, or at the forks of s ome road   with a b i g slouch hat on, a blue c ollar, a c elluloid, a rtificial rose on his coat l apel, a nd a banjo s trung across his b reast, a nd a -pickin' o f Sourwood M o u n tain, fine t hat m an, gentlemen, fine h i m ! F o r if he h asn't a lready done something, he's a-goin' t o ! " T he m ountain p olitician, h owever, is often a trickster, and knows all the by-paths of p olitical c hicanery and c rookedness. H e can buy votes on election day without the slightest moral reservation or remorse of conscience. T he l egal profession in the K e n t u c k y Mountains is not by a ny means a bed of roses, especially when it comes to the question of c ivil l aw. K e n t u c k y has been cursed w ith worse land titles than has any other State in the U nion. M ore t han a century ago V i r g i n i a g ranted g reat b oundaries of land to various parties, and these g rants l ap a nd over-lap each other. W h e n K e n t u c k y became a state, g rants of thousands and hundreds of thousands of acres were made by the s tate, w hich m ade the question of t itles doubtful, and caused much of the land to over-

  
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l ap as many as t hree a nd four times. W h e n some of the l arge land companies undertook, four or five y ears ago, to establish the v a l i d i t y o f the old V i r g i n i a g rants, and to c laim e normous t racts of land in a h alf d ozen of the m ountain c ounties, trouble was narrowly averted, because t he Mountaineers threatened to take up arms in support o f t heir claims. But the K e n t u c k y L a n d G rants prevailed, t he land companies were beaten in the courts, and the m atter was settled. M a n y c ivil s uits appear in the courts, b ecause of the d ifficulty i n surveying the rugged lands, a bstracting titles, prep