Library 
 
 OF THE 
 
 University of NortH Carolin 
 
 THE LINDSAY PATTERSON 
 COLLECTION 
 
 Given as a memorial by his wife 
 
Some Results of iEtaaum 
 Work in the Mountains 
 of North Carolina 
 
 
 By REV* R. P. SMITH, Superintendent of 
 Home Missions in Asheville Presbytery <£J> 
 
 
 
" Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife, 
 Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray : 
 Along the cool sequester'd vale of life 
 
 They kept the noiseless tenour of their way." 
 
TYPICAL HOME OF THE REMOTE COVES 
 
Introductory Note 
 
 Rev. R. P. Smith, the writer of this sketch, has been the Sup- 
 erintendent of the Home Mission work of Asheville Presbytery 
 since the organization of that body, eight years ago. He was 
 called to this work because of his peculiar fitness for it. From 
 his boyhood he has known and loved the people of the mountains, 
 and a large portion of his life as a minister of the gospel has been 
 spent among them. 
 
 For the last eight years he has given his whole time to mission 
 work in the mountains of Western North Carolina, traveling from 
 place to place in conveyances of various sorts, on horseback or 
 mule-back, with or without saddle, and frequently on foot. He 
 has preached the gospel to the people in churches> school-houses 
 and groves, by the wayside, and from house to house. 
 
 He has drawn plans and purchased the materials for our build- 
 ings, superintended their erection, and equipped them with furni- 
 ture, and all this without embarrassing or jeopardizing the work 
 with debt. He has organized churches and schools, and found 
 suitable pastors and teachers to take charge of them. 
 
 He has been "all things to all men" and almost "all men to all 
 things." 
 
 In this little pamphlet he "speaks that he knows and testifies 
 that he has seen," and what he has written may be received by 
 all who read it as an intelligent, truthful, and sympathetic account 
 of the conditions found in large parts of this mountain country, 
 and of the earnest and successful efforts that have been made, with 
 meagre resources, to better these conditions. 
 
 R. F. CAMPBELL, 
 
 Chairman of Home Mission Committee of the Asheville 
 Presbytery. 
 
 Asheville, N. C, Jan. 2, 1905. 
 
Some Results of Mission Work in the 
 Mountains of North Carolina 
 
 THE CONDITIONS. 
 
 The writer will now endeavor to comply with the numer- 
 ous requests that have come asking him to publish an ar- 
 ticle on the Home Mission work in this part of our state. 
 
 In the past few years much has been written about the 
 destitution found among" the mountaineers of North Caro- 
 lina. Many of the articles which have appeared in papers 
 and magazines are timely and wise, while some of them 
 are otherwise. Some writers have not discriminated be- 
 tween the cultured population of the valley sections and the 
 illiterate classes that dwell in the remote coves and on the 
 rugged mountain slopes. The demagogue politician and 
 the self-important character of strong sectarian bias have 
 used these unwise articles for strengthening the prejudices 
 and inflaming the passions of the unlettered. In this way 
 truth has been obscured for a time and the strong arm of 
 philanthropy has been weakened. 
 
 After years of thorough investigation and close personal 
 experience with all classes and conditions of those who 
 dwell in this region, the writer must acknowledge that he 
 has found much destitution in the remote districts ; yes, 
 more than most of us are willing to admit. In some re- 
 spects we have been too sensitive on this subject, and have 
 tried to mollify our sore by saying: " Other places are just 
 as bad." We do not know so much about the conditions 
 in other places ; we certainly know that ours are alarming. 
 Let the following facts speak for themselves : 
 
 (i) In a certain mountain county there are 7,988 white 
 children of school age, only 4,715 of these have been en- 
 rolled, leaving 3,273 that have never attended school. If 
 
all these children would attend there are not enough school 
 houses by fifteen to twenty to accommodate them. 
 
 (2) In another county 31 white voters of every 100 can 
 not read and write. The census taker found 1,852 children 
 of school age that have never attended any school. 
 
 (3) Many children are kept from school because their 
 parents are not able to purchase the necessary books, some- 
 times not costing more than ten to fifty cents. This may 
 seem incredible, but it is a true statement, for numbers of 
 families in these remote districts do not handle as much 
 as ten dollars in cash during an entire year. What they 
 can not make at home they get by barter. 
 
 (4) We have visited many homes in which none of the 
 inmates could read, and the Bible was not there because 
 they could not read. 
 
 (5) Many of the public schools in the most remote dis- 
 tricts are of little force due in a great measure to incompe- 
 tent teachers, worthless, uncomfortable buildings, and short 
 sessions of two to four months. 
 
 (6) Many of the cabins have only one room, in size 
 about 16x18 feet ; and it is used as kitchen, parlor, bed room, 
 store room, etc. In such homes large families are reared ; 
 frequently we have seen from six to ten children in them. 
 
 (7) The women have to endure many hardships ; they 
 do the cooking, the washing, make the clothing, and then 
 share equally with the men the work in the fields, making 
 and gathering the crops. 
 
 (8) The scores of children born out of wedlock, the long 
 dockets at our criminal courts, and the clank of the con- 
 vict's chain testify in undeniable terms against us. 
 
 It is an unpleasant duty for me to record these facts ; it 
 is done, however, through sympathy for a people that have 
 been long neglected. It has been well said : " They never 
 had a fair chance." Entrenched here for generations and 
 far removed from the thoroughfares of a progressive world, 
 the wonder is that they have done so well. 
 
 4 
 
5 
 
ENCOURAGEMENTS. 
 
 The mountaineers still maintain many noble traits of 
 character bestowed on them by a noble ancestry. Inde- 
 pendence is a marked characteristic. 
 
 Recently a man died, leaving a wife and five children, all 
 girls, the oldest being twelve years of age. They had a 
 little cabin on a small farm and there I found them strug- 
 gling to keep the wolf from the door. While the mother 
 remained in the house plying the needle and caring for the 
 two younger children the older ones were in the field pre- 
 paring the land for a crop ; the oldest did the plowing. Not 
 a murmuring word was heard as the struggle went bravely 
 on, but an air of independence, which pervaded house and 
 field, was an inspiration to the weary traveler. Reader, who 
 would not feel like lending a helping hand to heroines like 
 these ? 
 
 It is very evident to all who have had experience with 
 this people that they are endowed with strong intellectual 
 powers. Often our teachers express great astonishment at 
 the brightness of the children's minds. They readily un- 
 dertake tasks which other children regard as very difficult. 
 It is not an unusual thing for the younger members of the 
 Sabbath schools to memorize a whole chapter of one of the 
 Gospels for a recitation ; and many of them master our 
 Shorter Catechism within two to four weeks. 
 
 " If any man doubts the sharp intellectuality of the 
 mountaineer, let him exercise his wits in trading with him, 
 and he will come in contact with more shrewdness and pen- 
 etration than he cares to combat." 
 
 Perhaps the most encouraging feature of the work is the 
 eagerness manifested by most of the people for bettering 
 their conditions. Concrete cases narrated would rival in in- 
 terest many of our historical novels. 
 
 Some time since it was my privilege to spend a night 
 with the leading character in one of the far-off mountain 
 coves. He wrote the letters, read the papers, advised in 
 matters of law, expounded the scriptures, etc., for the com- 
 munity. In the course of conversation he said : "Mr., yon 
 
 6 
 
seem to be a knowing sort of man and I want you to ex- 
 plain a certain verse in the Bible for me if you can. I was 
 reading the Bible to my neighbors the other day when I 
 struck a verse that got me. It says : ' No man putteth new 
 wine into old bottles ; else the new wine will burst the bot- 
 tles, and the wine be spilled, and the bottles shall perish ; 
 but new wine must be put into new bottles.' One of the 
 men said, ' There is something wrong about that ; the old 
 bottles at my house have been tried, and they will hold wine 
 as well as any of your new ones.' I said, ' Boys, the Bible 
 is right, but I can't explain it." Then I told him that the 
 bottles referred to in that passage were made of animal 
 skins and not of glass. With a look of astonishment and 
 much doubt he said : " Mr., where did you learn that, and 
 how did you get it?" I explained how we get much inform- 
 ation about the scriptures from studying the manners and 
 customs of the people in Bible lands, and asked him if he 
 had a Bible dictionary ; he said that he had never heard of 
 such a thing. I gave him one and showed him how to use 
 it. An expression of great delight was on his face when 
 he said, " Thank you, I'll be ready for the boys now." 
 Sabbath after Sabbath he has explained in his own simple 
 way the Word of Life to those who can not read. This 
 might be called a Mountain Theological Seminary, if you 
 please, and its library cost $1.25. 
 
 SHORT SKETCHES OF SOME MISSION FIELDS. 
 
 I. 
 
 Seven years ago we entered Graham county to study the 
 conditions there. But little investigation was made before 
 we discovered the paramount need, viz. : school privileges. 
 
 The few public schools were sadly deficient, lacking in 
 suitable buildings and competent teachers ; the click of a 
 
 7 
 
ROBBINSVILLE ACADEMY 
 (church and school building) 
 Robbinsville, N. C. 
 
printing press had never been heard in its borders ; apathy, 
 like a gloomy cloud, had settled over most of the homes. 
 The best of the people eagerly grasped the first opportunity 
 that was presented for establishing a good school in their 
 midst. The next year, under the leadership of a godly cul- 
 tured woman, a school was organized at Robbinsville, the 
 county seat, and a neat comfortable building was erected; 
 one room being used for the school, the other for church 
 services. The school has grown steadily year by year, and 
 two more rooms have been added to accommodate the in- 
 creasing patronage. The enrollment of students has reach- 
 ed 350, three teachers are actively engaged, a library of 600 
 volumes has been installed, a church and a Sabbath school 
 organized, and a pastor employed. 
 
 The people of the community have helped liberally with 
 this enterprise and refer to this school as the greatest influ- 
 ence for good that has ever been established in that county. 
 
 II. 
 
 A few years since a visit made in the northern part of 
 Haywood county revealed the fact that there had not been 
 a school of any kind taught within the bounds of a certain 
 school district for two years. They did not have a school 
 house, so the school committee-men during this time had 
 been saving the pittance allotted from the public fund that 
 they might use it for the purpose of erecting a building. In 
 the meantime scores of children were growing up without 
 any educational advantages. Many of the best citizens in 
 that section pleaded earnestly with us to give them aid. 
 Some benevolent persons became interested in their case, 
 and soon a nice little building for school and church pur- 
 poses was erected, bearing the name, Snyder Memorial 
 Academy. Later a teachers' home was built, an efficient 
 consecrated man was placed in charge of the work, 295 pu- 
 pils have been enrolled, several young persons have been 
 stimulated to seek a college education, a nice library estab- 
 
 9 
 
i 
 
 THE SNYDER MEMORIAL ACADEMY 
 Palm, N. C. 
 
lished, and the entire community is enjoying a great uplift 
 in all matters that tend to make life happier and better. 
 
 III. 
 
 In November, 1897, mission work was commenced for 
 the first time by our church on the head waters of Big Ivy 
 Creek, in the Black Mountains. The needs were great and 
 the difficulties that faced us towered in gigantic proportions 
 like the rugged peaks of Mt. [Mitchell, which have furnished 
 a refuge for moonshiners and other lawless characters lo 
 these many years. Our entering that locality seemed to 
 arouse all the evil spirits and a fierce contest was soon 
 waging. Never did workers (preacher and teachers) labor 
 more heroically than those on Big Ivy. The story written 
 in full would give a picture so thrilling that it would tax 
 the powers of the most credulous. 
 
 The good results have surpassed the hopes of even the 
 most sanguine. Two churches have been organized, and 
 the membership now numbers 150 souls; two good paro- 
 chial schools have been established; two nice church build- 
 ings (with a school room attached to each) and a comfort- 
 able manse have been erected, the aggregate cost being $2,- 
 500; intemperance has been checked; and respect for law 
 has been inculcated. 
 
 Recently an ex-moonshiner told me that our workers out | 
 there had done more to benefit that section than all the laws j 
 of North Carolina had ever done. 
 
 IV. 
 
 While traveling in these remote districts often has my 
 heart been moved in deepest sympathy for homeless orphan 
 children, and for poor abandoned children whose condition 
 is worse perhaps than that of the orphan. The writer found 
 a homeless little boy who had been spending his nights in 
 a stable using a bunch of hay for a bed ; also, a little girl 
 
 11 
 
THE COVENANTERS 
 (church and school building) 
 Dillingham, N. C. 
 (in the black mountains) 
 
 12 
 
JENNIE SPEAR MEMORIAL 
 (church and school building) 
 Barnardsville, N. C. 
 (in the black mountains) 
 
whose bed was a pile of straw where a vagabond mother 
 had placed her. But let us draw a veil over this unpleasant 
 picture. Effort after effort was made to secure places for 
 these unfortunate ones in some of the orphanages of the 
 state, but each time we failed ; satisfactory reasons were 
 given why they could not be admitted. Occasionally we 
 succeeded in placing some of these children in good Chris- 
 tian homes, immediately a dozen more would make piteous 
 appeals for like help. We could not turn a deaf ear to these 
 cries. Through the aid of some kind friends we established 
 a Home at Crabtree, in Haywood County, and it has been 
 placed under the care and control of Asheville Presbytery. 
 Many thought this a hazardous undertaking for the only 
 definite pledges of help that we had came from two Ladies' 
 Societies, which promised $10 each per month. These 
 amounts enabled us to secure the services of two noble 
 Christian women ; one does the teaching, the other acts as 
 housekeeper. 
 
 The Home was opened January 19th, 1904, and since 
 that time we have admitted and cared for 20 children. Thus 
 far their support has come from individuals making volun- 
 tary gifts, and we have closed each month without any 
 debts. 
 
 In connection with the orphanage a day school is con- 
 ducted for the benefit of the poor children in the neighbor- 
 hood, and 65 have been enrolled. 
 
 The work has only commenced. Scores of these poor 
 children are appealing to us constantly for a home. Shall 
 we reach out a helping hand and save them, or shall we let 
 them drift away to swell the ranks of the criminal classes 
 which bring shame and disgrace on our civilization ? 
 
 Recently work was commenced at Canton, a beautiful 
 little village in the Pigeon River valley. A neat, modern 
 school building has been erected ; it and the equipments 
 
 V. 
 
 / 
 
THE ORPHANS' HOME 
 Crabtree, N. C. 
 
 *5 
 
have cost $2,000. The more prosperous citizens of that 
 community seeing the great need for a school of this kind 
 have contributed liberally of their means to help the enter- 
 prise. 
 
 The Primary Department of the school was opened last 
 September, and already 60 pupils have been enrolled ; the 
 higher departments will be opened within a few weeks. It 
 is our aim to make this a high school, giving a cheap rate 
 of tuition, where boys and girls in this part of the state 
 can prepare for college, and where numbers of our young 
 people can be thoroughly equipped for teaching the public 
 schools. 
 
 The pressing need of this work at present is a suitable 
 building for a boarding department. 
 
 Numbers of other communities are begging us to give 
 them the privileges of the Gospel. With deep regret we 
 have been compelled to say "no" to most of the appeals made 
 recently, because we have not the means to employ more 
 workers. How long must we behold the needs and not be 
 able to help? 
 
 BRIEF SUMMARY OF WORK ACCOMPLISHED. 
 
 The following is a summary of what has been accom- 
 plished during the past eight years in eleven of our moun- 
 tain counties : 
 
 (1) Seventeen buildings, at an average cost of $750, 
 have been erected, and all of them are free from debt. 
 
 (2) Six parochial schools have been established and 
 maintained with good results. 
 
 (3) Six churches have been organized, and twenty mis- 
 sion points established. 
 
 (4) Our church membership has increased 58 per cent. 
 
 (5) The contributions of the churches to pastors' salar- 
 ies and benevolent causes have increased 300 per cent. 
 
 17 
 
i8 
 
(6) Twenty-four additional Sabbath schools have been 
 organized in which 1,500 children and young people have 
 been reached with religious instruction. 
 
 (7) Several small churches have developed into self- 
 supporting groups ; and others are making rapid strides in 
 that direction. 
 
 (8) Many Bibles and other religious books have been 
 distributed, giving information, cheer and comfort to num- 
 bers of families. 
 
 (9) A Home has been established to care for poor aban- 
 doned children and for orphans. 
 
 The above summary represents much labor, endurance, 
 thought, anxiety, and self-sacrifice. The teachers and 
 preachers who are doing this work are worthy of double 
 honor; truly, they are " Enduring hardness as good soldiers 
 of Jesus Christ." Reader, we must not let you enter the 
 inner circle where we have seen these noble characters bear- 
 ing patiently so many hardships ; God knows all and that is 
 enough. 
 
 "THE DOOR OF HOPE." 
 
 To elevate these people of pure Anglo-Saxon blood and 
 make them a useful factor in church and state is a matter 
 worthy of our very best efforts. This can be done only by 
 giving special attention to the children and the young peo- 
 ple. The school and the church must be planted side by 
 side, the teacher and the minister of the gospel must fully 
 co-operate, and those living under more favorable circum- 
 stances must lend a helping hand. 
 
 This "Land of the Sky" has many of God's best material 
 gifts to man, and they are waiting development ; the uned- 
 ucated multitudes stand pleading for opportunities that will 
 enable them to become progressive and useful citizens. 
 
 Great possibilities and rare opportunities lie before us, 
 let us seize them now. 
 
 R. P. SMITH. 
 
 Asheville, N. C., January 2, 1905. 
 
 19 
 
Extracts from Private Letters 
 
 The following extracts, from letters written by teachers in our 
 Mission Sabbath Schools, were never intended for the public eye: 
 
 (a) "Two very urgent requests have been sent to me for a 
 
 minister to come and preach at . Could we not by 
 
 some means raise money enough to have an arbor built and seated 
 with plank, which could be used afterwards in building a school 
 house?" 
 
 (b) "I am compelled to combine a part of day school work 
 with my Sunday school work. I am in great need of a reading- 
 chart, since so few of my children are able to read, and they have 
 no books." 
 
 (c) "I had to move my school out of doors as the room is too 
 small to accommodate the crowd. How am I to get along without 
 a house and without help with this school of young children, young 
 boys and girls, middle aged men and women? They know nothing 
 of order only under my eye. If possible do please put a gentleman 
 teacher in this field for the need is urgent." 
 
 (d) "In my Sunday school 40 children have memorized the 
 Child's Catechism, and 21 have memorized the Shorter Catechism 
 this year." 
 
 (e) "Some children had to go home without their lessons be- 
 ing heard, so many I did not have time to reach them. They begged 
 me to let them stay until dark if I could hear them recite." 
 
 (f) "In a class of 16 young people only three can read. Do 
 please help me with these poor people who are so anxious to learn." 
 
 R. P. S. 
 
 20 
 
A CORN MILL IN A COVE 
 
 A whole plant of the cheapest construction costs from 
 $ro to $20 and will grind from three to five bushels of 
 corn in a day. 
 
1