One purpose of this writing became that of portraying in an unprejudiced manner the cultural pattern of the Virginia southwest, into which has been woven so many and varied threads constituting the warp and the woof of a distinct heritage; in the belief that no people can be thoroughly understood apart from a knowledge of their peculiar ideologies. A second purpose for this writing was to help obviate the many misconceptions regarding the so-called hill-billy; to interpret him in terms of his own philosophy and inherent culture, as he breasts the tide of modern civilization overflowing into what were formerly frontier and sequestered settlements. Thus, Chapter II is intended to preserve for posterity, especially for children in the public elementary schools, some of the typical folk-tales indigenous to Virginia's mountains; Chapter III contains some of the folk songs; Chapter IV includes legends of places; Chapter V gives some of the superstitious sayings based on former beliefs of the mountaineers; while Chapter VI is devoted to folk ways. All are intended to give an awareness of some of the many converging, yet distinct, heritable strains to be found in the region studied. To do so was a well-nigh impossible task, since even neighbors in the mountains are different, each maintaining the customs of his own inheritance, even while such customs were being "doubled and twisted", blended, strained, and refined into a definite culture pattern peculiar to the hills and valleys of southwestern Virginia. Because this research was intended to facilitate the study of the history of this section, Chapter VII gives suggestions as to how a teacher may incorporate the materials presented into the curriculum of the elementary school. The final chapter is the record of an attempt to make generalizations regarding the significance and the worth of the folklore presented in this writing. / M.S.