142 THE CAROLINA MOUNTAINS 
who, unable to succeed in the slave states, were 
crowded to the mountains, or else became the " Poor- 
White " of the South, who must not for a moment be 
confounded with the "Mountain White," the latter 
having brought some of the best blood of his native 
land to those blue heights. He brought into the 
mountains, and there nourished, the stern virtues 
of his race, including the strictest honesty, an old- 
fashioned self-respect, and an old-fashioned speech, 
all of which he yet retains, as well as a certain pride, 
which causes him to flare up instantly at any sus- 
picion of being treated with condescension, this 
pride being one of the most baffling things to the 
stranger, who never knows when he is going to run 
up against it. 
That the people are, for the most part, of English, 
Scotch, and Irish descent, their names show. And 
what good names some of them are, names that are 
crowned with honor out in the big world, — Hampton, 
Rogers, McClure, Morgan, Rhodes, Foster, Bradley, 
and dozens more; and to those fortunate ones, who 
out in the big world have gained fame and fortune, 
these Highlanders are undoubtedly related. The 
same blood flows in their veins, although they are 
here, and living back in the eighteenth century. 
Why have they remained in the mountains all 
these generations? The answer may be found, partly, 
at least, in the fact that in the beginning it was too 
easy for them to make a living, that is, such a living 
as contented them. Game was abundant, and their 
flocks and herds supplied their own wants upon the 
