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The Natives of Western North Carolina.

The natives of western North Carolina, which is the mountainous section of state, are very interesting people. They live in secluded spots where they know very little of what goes on in the world except in their immediate neighborhood.

They live in log cabins with large, wide chimneys running up the outside; the large fireplace, in fact, is their only means of artificial heat and they do all their cooking in or over it.

The people themselves must have been descendants of the Scotch - Irish immigrants who came to this country in Captain John Smiths' time and crossed the mountains from Virginia into North Carolina. They have greatly degenerated and are tall, gaunt people for the most part, and look as if they did not get enough to eat. As their chief diet consists of cornpone and bacon, I think this must be true.

As I said, they know nothing of events and inventions in the world outside which is proven by the fact that one man, a few years ago, invented an iron cooking stove and in trying to have it patented, was much surprised to find that people in the north had been using them a long time.

The principle industries of these people are lumbering and farming although the soil is very rocky.