The Land of Saddle-Bags

by Raine, James Watt

• ISBN13: 9780813109299
• ISBN10: 0813109299
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-02-13
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Kentucky

Summary

" This charming account of life in Appalachia at the turn of the century is one of the three most important books from the early twentieth century that, as Dwight Billings writes in his foreword, have "had a profound and lasting impact on how we think about Appalachia and, indeed, on the fact that we commonly believe that such a place and people can be readily identified." Originally published in 1924, it was advertised as a "racy book, full of the thrill of mountain adventure and the delicious humor of vigorously human people." James Watt Raine, professor of English literature and later head of the English and drama departments at Berea College from 1906 until his retirement in 1939, provides eyewitness accounts of mountain speech and folksinging, education, religion, community, politics, and farming. In a conscious effort to dispel the negative stereotype of the drunken, slothful, gun-toting hillbilly prone to violence, Raine presents positive examples from his own experiences among the region's native inhabitants.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix	(36)
Dwight B. Billings
Preface	xlv
1 Introducing Ourselves	1	(18)
2 The Spell of the Wilderness	19	(14)
3 Adventures for Freedom	33	(32)
4 Elizabethan Virtues	65	(30)
5 Mountain Speech and Song	95	(32)
6 Moonshine and Feuds	127	(36)
7 The Mountains Go to School	163	(28)
8 The Religion of a Stalwart People	191	(16)
9 Health and Happiness	207	(14)
10 Wealth and Welfare	221	(20)
11 The Challenge	241