MOUNTAINEER’S CABIN, CUMBERLAND GAP, TENN.

This is the home of some people who live in the mountains of Tennessee. Perhaps it is not like your house. You can see it is a log cabin. It is more like the houses that were built long ago before there were great cities and many people in our country.

It probably has just one room. This room has an open fireplace, and much of the cooking is done there. Some is done in the iron kettle you see out of doors. Did you ever count the windows in your house? Most likely this house has just one window. Do you think these people do not have enough air because there is only one window? They have plenty of air. The cracks between the logs are not all filled in. The wind blows through these cracks. There is no cellar under the house. The floor probably has great cracks in it. The wind blows through these, too. Oh, yes, there is enough air. You would think so in winter when it is so cold the ground is covered with snow. You can see that the people who live in such a house must be poor.

These children have very few toys except rag dolls and broken pieces of dishes. But almost every one has a dog for a playmate and sometimes a pet pig. Food is so scarce in winter that they often go hungry.