The Cumberland Mountains 
change to pay my bill. When I told her that un- 
fortunately I had nothing smaller than a five- 
dollar greenback, she said, “Well, I’m sorry, 
but cannot afford to keep you. Not long ago 
ten. soldiers came across from North Carolina, 
and in the morning they offered a greenback 
that I could n’t change, and so I got nothing for 
keeping them, which I was ill able to afford.” 
“Very well,” I said, “I’m glad you spoke of 
this beforehand, for I would rather go hungry 
than impose on your hospitality.” 
As I turned to leave, after bidding her good- 
bye, she, evidently pitying me for my tired 
looks, called me back and asked me if I would 
like a drink of milk. This I gladly accepted, 
thinking that perhaps I might not be success- 
ful in getting any other nourishment for a day 
or two. Then I inquired whether there were any 
more houses on the road, nearer than North 
Carolina, forty or fifty miles away. “Yes,” 
she said, “it’s only two miles to the next 
house, but beyond that there are no houses 
that I know of except empty ones whose own- 
[ 21 ] 
