i68 THE CAROLINA MOUNTAINS 
pleasantly comes back to memory one such scene! 
The only light comes from the fireplace, and dark 
shadows steal about the room as the fire flickers. 
In the glare of the burning logs sits a youth with his 
violin, rendering with zest the compositions of a local 
celebrity, — "Sourwood Mountain," "Cotton-eyed 
Joe," "The Huckleberry Bush," "The Blue-eyed 
Girl," "Old Uncle Joe," "Aunt Sally Good'in, A 
pot full of pie, And an oven full of puddin'." With 
what enthusiasm he plays them, one after the other! 
And as he plays, coal-black Jim sits in front of him, 
knee to knee, and "beats straws." The youth can- 
not keep time without this unique assistance, which 
is rendered by means of a piece of broom-straw held 
between the fingers of the right hand and struck 
against one string at the neck of the violin, while the 
musician plays. Black Jim also manages to beat 
time with his feet without disturbing the rhythmical 
tang, tang of the straw, or distracting the player. 
"Beating straws" seems to be confined to a section 
on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge, where, how- 
ever, it is in common use. After the violin solo, black 
Jim dances the "stag dance" for us, first retiring to 
put on his shoes, for though he says he can dance 
better without them, the splinters of civilization 
have to be considered, a dirt floor being the original 
and proper foundation for the dance. He dances 
very solemnly, oppressed no doubt by the presence 
of strangers, and in the heat of the fire his face pres- 
ently shines like polished ebony. 
Since the family get up with the sun, or consider- 
