Cumberland Mountains 



ment, he turned on his heel and said, &quot;Tell him 

 to go into the house. A man that comes right 

 out like that beforehand is welcome to eat my 

 bread/ 



When he came in after his hard day s work 

 and sat down to dinner, he solemnly asked a 

 blessing on the frugal meal, consisting solely of 

 corn bread and bacon. Then, looking across the 

 table at me, he said, &quot;Young man, what are 

 you doing down here?&quot; I replied that I was 

 looking at plants. &quot;Plants? What kind of 

 plants?&quot; I said, &quot;Oh, all kinds; grass, weeds, 

 flowers, trees, mosses, ferns, almost every 

 thing that grows is interesting to me.&quot; 



&quot;Well, young man,&quot; he queried, &quot;you mean 

 to say that you are not employed by the Gov 

 ernment on some private business?&quot; &quot;No,&quot; I 

 said, &quot;I am not employed by any one except 

 just myself. I love all kinds of plants, and I 

 came down here to these Southern States to get 

 acquainted with as many of them as possible.&quot; 



&quot;You look like a strong-minded man,&quot; he re 

 plied, &quot;and surely you are able to do something 

 [23 ] 



