XIV 
THE EARLY SETTLERS 
THE history of Asheville tells In part the story 
of the people, and in part answers two ques- 
tions always asked by the newcomer, Who are the 
"Mountain Whites," and how did they get here? 
The foot-hills, as we know, were settled early in the 
history of the state, and there was a sparse popula- 
tion on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge long be- 
fore any one ventured to establish a home in the 
mountains that lay beyond that barrier, the first 
permanent settlers west of the Blue Ridge not ap- 
pearing until after the Revolutionary War, in the 
course of which the Indians were partly subdued. 
As time passed, the restless drifting of those people 
who came to the New World in search of homes 
brought one and another to the mountain country, 
fabled for its beauty, healthfulness, and possibil- 
ities; and while some of these wanderers drifted 
away again, others settled down and raised families 
who clung to the land of their birth, where their 
descendants are yet to be found. 
Since North Carolina was settled from "almost 
all the nations of Europe," one looks to find traces 
of this motley assembly among the present inhabit- 
ants of the mountains; and there are traces in the 
names and the features of the people, although the 
