644 



A MOUNTAIN TRAMP. 



Bearing in mind Thoreau's saying, that "they 

 are not true travelers whose legs hang dangling the 

 while." I began "to wear away the soles of my 

 shoes," as he enjoins, upon the mountain paths. 

 The traveler who journeys on horseback learns 

 much that must be missed by one who goes by rail ; 

 but only to such as go on foot is granted that infinite 

 leisure that the acquisition of knowledge demands. 

 To start upon an unknown road, on foot, careless of 

 the end, and of time ; stopping to rest when one 

 tires, to eat where one finds food, to sleep where a 

 bed is offered ; to pause and listen to the carol of 

 a bird, to the murmuring brook, to the whispering 

 wind ; to have leisure to note the clouds in the sky, 

 the flowers under foot, the tints in the foliage of 

 the trees ; to pause for speech with them who are 

 slow of words ; to go into the homes of the people 

 and see their lives — this is to travel, and to learn. 



The dignity of the mountaineer is a marked 

 quality, but it is not offensive or presuming. It can 

 best be characterized by the prefix "gentle," but it 

 is very genuine in its way ; and the term gentle, 

 foreign as it may seem to certain of their traits and 

 to individual characters, conveys better than any 

 other word, my impression of them, as a whole. 

 There is a pathos, too, in lives that are only an 

 unvarying round of eventless monotony. Yet they 

 are contented, for they know little of the great 

 world, and have few ambitions. 



They are ardently religious, and in the log meet- 

 ing house, in the heart of the wilderness, will often 

 remain together for hours — preaching, praying and 

 singing, alternating with intermissions for eating and 

 drinking. To these meetings the people gather for 

 many miles about: the preacher is usually as illit- 

 erate as any, but being gifted "with the power of 

 words" he can continue his exhortations almost in- 

 definitely. The popular style of delivery is a pecu- 

 liar, sing-song, nasal drawl, interspersed with many 

 "ahs!" and an intermittent "sniffle" (if so inele- 

 gant a word may be permitted) which becomes very 

 rasping to the unaccustomed hearer. 



I am sorry to say that their morality is not 

 always on a par with their religion. In some little 

 matters such as temperance in drink, personal 

 chastity, respect for the revenue laws, and for the 

 command " Thou shalt not swear," they are a little 

 below the standard. 



Their absolute lack of curiosity is a point worth 

 noting. If, in conversation, a word or term is used 

 that they do not comprehend, they will not ask its 

 meaning ; they will not admit by word or look that 

 you possess knowledge beyond their ken. If a 



question is asked which they do not understand, 

 they will reply inconsequently. To illustrate this : 

 A mining engineer was awaiting the arrival of his 

 photographic outfit. He asked a native to go to 

 the river with him to help bring the camera across. 

 On the way the man remarked to an acquaintance 

 whom they met, in perfect good faith, that he was 

 going to the river "to help swim a camel over." 

 This was said as if it was the most natural thing in 

 the world that a camel should be expected. There 

 was no curiosity as to why it should be brought, or 

 the use to which it would be put. They are a 

 delightful, simple, ingenuous people — and I love 

 them. Why they should have remained so long so 

 near the centers of civilization, yet unharmed by 

 its degenerating influences, can hardly be under- 

 stood by one who has not been among them. But 

 they care absolutely nothing about the great world 

 and its work ; and, until the world discovered that 

 there were things of more material value than men 

 and women among these mountains — such things 

 as timber, and coal, and ores — the world cared 

 nothing about them. 



The first of the settlers here were from Virginia 

 and the Carolinas ; some, doubtless, fugitives from 

 justice, others men who followed the chase, and 

 finding game plentiful, came here and lived amongst 

 it. Such people had no interest in the outside 

 world ; the succeeding generations knew no more of 

 it than they learned from their fathers ; centers of 

 civilization, though so near, were inaccessible except 

 by long and tedious horseback journeys, which there 

 was little motive for undertaking. The " moun- 

 tain " remained isolated, while the world surged 

 about its feet. But finally rumors of its wealth 

 got abroad, of its timber, and its mines. Railroads 

 and land companies have come, and are coming, to 

 the mountain, and they are despoiling its bloom 

 and freshness, so that they who would see it before 

 it has been marred by the rude hand of civilization, 

 must see it soon. 



Agriculture in this region has heretofore been of 

 the most primitive sort, and there has been nothing 

 to encourage its development; ignorance, too, has 

 been the handmaid of indifference. 



There is very little level land on the plateau, and 

 very little that the farmer of the Mohawk or the 

 Miami valleys, accustomed to broad, rich bottoms, 

 would term good farming land. There are very few 

 farms of any large cultivated area. Yet there are 

 now evidences of a coming change in the conditions 

 that surround these mountain dwellers, and it will 

 afford good opportunities for the industrious home- 



