i8o THE CAROLINA MOUNTAINS 
ever heard about a mountain baby, or any other, was 
told us by a woman of her sister's child, — "You 
never did see a prettier big baby in your life — hit 's 
as pleasant as the flowers are made." 
"He has a very glib team," we are told of one 
whose horses have made a hard journey in a short 
time. And of a neighbor suddenly fallen ill one is 
informed as the cause that "he has taken on too 
many apples." "It's not doin' much good noway," 
a disappointed farmer says of his corn crop, or again 
you will be informed that the land is so good that 
two or three acres of it will "eat a family," which 
does not mean what it says. 
There are no "stones" in the mountains, — only 
' * rocks. ' ' The boys ' ' rock ' ' each other when they get 
angry, they "rock" the cows, and we found a little 
girl "rocking" a hen that persisted in sitting on 
some round "rocks." "Air ye lookin' fer rocks, 
stranger?" is a common question in the regions of 
valuable minerals. Neither are there "hives" in the 
mountains, only "bee-gums," which the bees fill 
with "right smart of honey." 
Perhaps the most immediately noticeable pecu- 
liarity of speech is the universal use of "you-all" in 
the singular. "How are you-all to-day?" by no 
means applies to the health of the family. " We-all " 
and "they-all" are good form, though not so often 
heard. One imagines the genesis of "you-all" to 
have been in those early days when people lived so 
far apart that meeting with one member of the 
family necessitated inquiring concerning the health 
