Chapter I: Front Matter

OUR SOUTHERN HIGHLANDERS

Big Tom Wilson, the bear hunter, who discovered the body of Prof. Elisha Mitchell where he perished near the summit of the Peak that afterward was named in his honor]

OUR SOUTHERN HIGHLANDERS

BY

HORACE KEPHART

AUTHOR OF "THE BOOK OF CAMPING AND WOODCRAFT," "CAMP
COOKERY," "SPORTING FIREARMS," ETC.

_Illustrated_

NEW YORK
OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY
MCMXVI

COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY

OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY

All rights reserved

First Printing, November 1913
Second Printing, December 1913
Third Printing, January 1914
Fourth Printing, April 1914

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. "SOMETHING HIDDEN; GO AND FIND IT" 11

II. "THE BACK OF BEYOND" 28

III. THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS 50

IV. A BEAR HUNT IN THE SMOKIES 75

V. MOONSHINE LAND 110

VI. WAYS THAT ARE DARK 126

VII. A LEAF FROM THE PAST 145

VIII. "BLOCKADERS" AND "THE REVENUE" 167

IX. THE OUTLANDER AND THE NATIVE 191

X. THE PEOPLE OF THE HILLS 212

XI. THE LAND OF DO WITHOUT 234

XII. HOME FOLKS AND NEIGHBOR PEOPLE 256

XIII. THE MOUNTAIN DIALECT 276

XIV. THE LAW OF THE WILDERNESS 305

XV. THE BLOOD-FEUD 327

XVI. WHO ARE THE MOUNTAINEERS? 354

XVII. "WHEN THE SLEEPER WAKES" 378

ILLUSTRATIONS

Big Tom Wilson, the bear hunter _Frontispiece_

FACING PAGE

Map of Appalachia 8

A family of pioneers in the twentieth century 16

"The very cliffs are sheathed with trees and shrubs" 24

At the Post-Office 32

The author in camp in the Big Smokies 40

"Bob" 48

"There are few jutting crags" 56

The bears' home--laurel and rhododendron 64

The old copper mine 72

"What soldiers these fellows would make under leadership of some backwoods Napoleon" 80

"By and by up they came, carrying the bear on the trimmed sapling" 88

Skinning a frozen bear 96

"... Powerful steep and laurely...." 104

Mountain still-house hidden in the laurel 112

Moonshine still, side view 120

Moonshine still in full operation 128

Corn mill and blacksmith forge 136

A tub-mill 152

Cabin on the Little Fork of Sugar Fork of Hazel Creek in which the author lived alone for three years 160

A mountain home 176

Many of the homes have but one window 192

The schoolhouse 208

"At thirty a mountain woman is apt to have a worn and faded look" 216

The misty veil of falling water 232

An average mountain cabin 240

A bee-gum 248

Let the women do the work 264

"Till the sky-line blends with the sky itself" 288

Whitewater Falls 312

The road follows the creek--there may be a dozen fords in a mile 320

"Dense forest and luxuriant undergrowth" 336

The wavy black line shows the outer boundaries of Southern Appalachian Region. The shaded portion shows the chief areas covered by high mountains, 3,000 to 6,700 feet above sea-level.]

OUR SOUTHERN HIGHLANDERS

OUR SOUTHERN HIGHLANDERS