The Spirit Of The Mountains

A classic account of mountain life, accurately portraying the people and lore of the Cumberland Mountains. Miles' familiarity with the mountain people--and her perception of the importance of women, especially older women--allows her to illustrate their way of life in a personal and realistic manner ". . . gives us an extraordinary insight into the personal relationships of the mountain lore, signs, rhymes, omens, tales, even the development of the mountain music. She presents the strength of religious beliefs along with the emotionalism and simplistic tradition of 'the old-time religion.'" --The Southern Quarterly . Emma Bell Miles (1879-1919) also wrote numerous poems and short stories that appeared in such publications of the period as Harpers Monthly, Century, and Lippincott's.

In 1912, Mary Vaux, a botanist, glaciologist, painter, and photographer, wrote about her mountain adventures: "A day on the trail, or a scramble over the glacier, or even with a quiet day in camp to get things in order for the morrow's conquests? Some how when once this wild spirit enters the blood...I can hardly wait to be off again." Vaux's compulsion was shared by many women whose intellects, imaginations, and spirits rose to the challenge of the mountains between the late-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. This Wild Spirit explores a sampling of women's creative responses--in fiction and travel writing, photographs and paintings, embroidery and beadwork, letters and diaries, poetry and posters--to their experiences in the Rocky Mountains of Canada.

"Best of IMS Photo Contest, 2011-2016, the best mountain photography in the world."