F 157 

.S8 G7 
Copy 1 



















tL^ ^L 





" Listl n." 
Photo bj Col. Cecil Clay, from "Forest and stream.-, 



PROSE AND POETRY 



OF THE 



SUSQUEHANNA 



AND 



JUNIATA RIVERS. 



EDITED BY 



ZENAS J. GRAY, 



1S93. 

HARRISBURG PUBLISHING CO., 

H VKklSIH'KC, PA. 




ISIS 



Id Erefaane* 
Lt U. Pub. Lift. 



4>. 



>8 



Od 






WITHDRAWN 



TO MY FRIKND 

WILLIAM MURRAY GRAYDON, 

whose life and work has been in" close com- 
munion and sympathetic touch with all 
of nature's beauties — of mountain, 
field and river — this 

Simple Tribute 
Is Humbly Dedicate!' 



THE WRITER. 

/uric JJ, f8$J. 




if@se andTpeetw 



OF THE 




usquehanna an d Juniata j^it'ers 



WHY 



QJ 



HERE is no reason why this book should nol have been written years ago, nor 
is there a logical excuse for its appearance now. The public could have lived 
without it. It is believed, however, that the student of local history, the lover of our own 
beautiful rivers will, in time, learn to appreciate the labor of pen and pencil required in its 
compilation. 

The Editor acknowledges many favors from the works of Dr. William II. Egle ; 
numerous contributions from local writers and others who gave encouragement at every 
stage of the work. The illustrations are from photographs by L. Lemer, Katun and Sch river, 
of Harrisburg, W. Bailey, of Columbia. A majority of the perfect illustrations were made 
from pictures especially painted by Edward B. Black, of Harrisburg, whose talent and 



genius shows in every hue 



Prose and Poetry. 



SUSQUEHANNA. 

HROW broad thy gleaming waters bright, 
Susquehanna ! in thy flow, 
& I And let me lie and dream to-night 
Of days which once I seemed to know. 
river rolling from the dawn 

< )f a new world and century. 
Not yet, not yet, shall be thy sung, — 
That in the future, yet must be. 

( ) broad, blue river, in thy beams 

1 see around me now the lands 
Already growing dim like dreams 

In which are warring, savage hands. 
They come again as in a dream. 

Their shadows moving to and fro; 
And watch-tiivs on the hills that gleam 

In the red sunset's crimson glow. 

Now like some gleaming sword all bright 

Unsheathed by some great God of old, 
Thou severest with thy liquid light 

The darkness which is round thee rolled. 
The turbid Tiber still doth flow 

Bv temples, aqueducts and dome-: 
It but of dead days past doth know 

When heroes round it made their homes. 



But thou, o river rolling on 

It is the future which is thine ; 
A future when a brighter sun 

( >n brighter days shall proudly shine. 
And in the distant years to come, 

Like fable, will it still be told 
How a strange race, whose lips are dumb, 

Named thee in time, far past and old. 



Bennett Bellman. 



1885. 



Susquehanna and Juniata River 



UP STREAM. 




II' dec] i the broad paddles, send forward with swiftest stroke and agile 
leap the light canoe; cut the rough white caps with sharpened prow 
until naught but silvery gleams of churned spray mark the boat's 
pathway : spurn the noisome marshes of Spesutia island, and beware 
of the sand bars that hug, with treacherous embrace, the shadowy 
shore. Row carefully as you round Rocky Point, then bend to the 
uars for all danger is behind. 

Dip! Dip! Dip! The oar locks creak, the craft bounds ahead ; 
Carpenter's Point comes into full view, and the spires of Havre de 
Grace point into the horizon. A steamer passes with splashing wheels 
and hoarse whistle of recognition ; to the left a topsail schooner 
rides gracefully on the crested waves, while sloops and smaller ships, with sails unfurled, 
drive onward toward the storm-washed < 'apes that guard the outlet to old ocean. 

1 >eeper dip the oars as the breast of the current grows stronger and the wave line harder 
and more difficult to break. The shores come nearer ami nearer, and the waters leap upon 
the beach to fall back into the waiting lap of the ebbing tide. 

Dip! Dip! ( >n and on! leaving behind the long, low marshes, the salt-laden waves 
and sand-crowned shores of historic Chesapeake Haw where Neptune, forsaking his deep-sea 
kingdom, comes up in royal chariot to view the verdant hills of Maryland. Between the 
lusty oar strokes there comes the noise of town lite, the busy, bustling monotone heard only 
in the sea-port cities; the wheezy puffing of tues and steamers, the cheery call and song 
of sailor and 'longshoreman, — and the boat is in other waters. 

Ah. the thrilling sensation ! The boat has crossed the magic line ami plows forward as 
if propelled by a mightier force; the waves have less resistance and the current exhibits a 
milder and gentler manner. There is a sparkling bewitchingness about the drops that roll 
from off the oar blades seen only in a tiny mountain stream, the babbling meadow brook 
and the big, cool spring that bubbles forth from beneath the spreading willow of some dear 
old home up, far up, among the Pennsylvania hills. The boat has, indeed, crossed the magic 
line; and the waters of the noble Susquehanna, with lingering echoes from Jack's Narrows, 
[roquois, Wyalusing and Conewago, baptize the prow with silent blessings and invocations. 




Prose and Poetry. 




A SONG OF THE MARSHES. 






< ^T SING a song of the marshes, 
A melody seldom sung, 
But the tunc may find an answering note 
In the heart, though not from the tongue. 
Tis a song of the tangled marshes. 

Of undergrowth, dank and tall. 
Shoivs kissed by laughing ripple 
And hugged by the waterfall. 



A song of the gloomy marshes, 

< )f swamp-land, malaria-bound : 
Of weeds, pestilential and noisome, 

Where the snake and lizard are found. 

Where the river creeps in from its current 

And in glances, loving and shy. 
Coquets with " pill-will-willet," 

When he chances to wade by. 



A song of reed-decked marshes 

That none but the gunner knows: 
Where game birds live uncertain lives 
As the hunting season grows. 
These are the river marshes, 

And this the song 1 sing, 
Though the melody may lack sweetness 
To the theme I gladly cling. 



Susquehanna anij Juniata Rivers. 

The Song. 

Come tu the marshes, bold hunters, come rowing, 

Daybreak is flushing the eastern sky; 
The sun is just showing the horizon glowing 

And morning peeps forth from her aerie on high. 
Make haste while the birds arc guardedly sleeping, 

Row silently to the bush-grown isle, 
Lest vim startle the sentinels, faithfully keeping 

Their watch o'er the trusting ones, resting from toil. 

Make haste with your boats, your guns hold ready — 

To the haunts of the canvas-back, mallard and teal 
You are come. Row softly, ami keep your arm steady, 

There's fun in the marshes, hut death's on the trail. 
Hush! dip your oars lightly, nature is list'ning, 

.Steer nut mi the mud-fringed shallows tun far; 
Creep slowly beneath the bushes, all glist'ning 

With dew-drops, wept by the morning star. 

Hark, the rail bird; first to take warning! 

A thousand wings startle the mist-laden air. 
The curlew, woodcock ami plover dread morning 

And switt from their lodgings they fly in despair. 
Over there by that clump of brown-tasseled alders, 

\\ here the white-runted valisneria grows, 
Beyond the gray crowns of flood-washed bowlders, 

A sharp-eyed mallard his top-knot shows. 

Aim sure, aye steady! Successful the slaughter, — 

Across the wide marshes few refugees fly; 
The flock is depleted and blood-stained the water — 

Bag the game ami fur other victims we'll hie. 
How joyous tin' sport! True hunters ne'er tire 

Of boat that is trusty ami gun that is sure, 
Tis a pleasure exciting; all thoughts inspire 

Ambitions that know hut river and moor. 



Zenas .1. Gray. 




10 



Pki >se and I'i ii:tkv. 






Tliis uncert 
followers cl 
considered 
reasons are 
wao'ed betw 



FIRST EXPLORER. 

A1TAIX JOHN SMITH lias the credit of being the discoverer 
and first explorer of the Susquehanna. When lie returned to 
Jamestown, with an elaborate account of what he had found ami 
seen during his trip up the Chesapeake Bay, he little dreamed and 
knew, still less, the wealth and beauty of mountain, valley and 
river above, and far beyond the point where his boat stopped. 
Although a daring sailor and fearless fighter, Smith was distrustful 
of tie 1 Northern Indians, who in the eyes of the Englishmen, looked 
I like giants. He feared treachery, notwithstanding at every landing- 

he was met with evidences of friendship and hospitable welcome, 
tin knowledge of the nature and intention of the natives kept Smith and his 
ose to their barge which could sail only in the deeper waters. This was 
sufficient cause to prevent, or postpone further explorations, though various 
given in addition' to the contests for foothold in the new world that were being 
ecu rival kings for possession and maintenance of their royal prerogatives. 





■ 







Mouth of lln Susquehanna. 

Captain Smith was, therefore, the recognized first white man to dip oars in the waters 
of the Susquehanna, — the glorious, most beautiful and romantic river. This event occurred 
in 1608, the year after the settlement of Jamestown. Smith returned to England, and 
in 1029 published a map of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. It is a primitive 
and roughly executed drawing, but a truthful reflection of the limited knowledge of the 
art of draughting and the magnificent country it was designed to represent. According 
to his journal, Smith sailed up the Susquehanna until the first rapids were reached 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. " 

before he learned the name of the river. .U the falls a party of Indians met him, 
an d from them he heard tin' word "Sasquesahanougli," now called Susquehanna. The 
Indians whom Smith met at the tails, which some historians think was at, or near 
Conestoga creek, were of the Sasquesahanougli, " people of the Falls River," who lived in 
fortified towns situated at points between the present sites of Harrisburg and Port 

I teposit. 

As to the derivation of the word. Dr. William II. Egle says: "The first part, Sasquem, 
meant Falls; the second part Hauough, is the Algonquin hanne, meaning stream. As applied 
to these people by their neighbors, it signifies very expressively ' Tlu pcoplt of the Fulls 
River.' Through time the word was gradually changed to Sasquehannock, and finally to 

Susquehanna.'" Thus is very satisfactorily disposed of the clai f certain writers on 

Indian history that Susquehanna meant "The long, crooked river." 




Snuh Island, near Port Deposit. 

From the time of Smith's explorations until the coming of William Penn, few, if any 
settlers dared to locate any distance from the Chesapeake Hay, the Delaware river and 
other navigable streams These conditions were largely due to the warlike habits and 
revengeful attitudes of the tril.es who looked upon the whites as robbers and usurpers, 
facts which were known to the Indians, having been exemplified in the New England 
Colonies. Then, to,,, the river not being navigable, ships from which protection might be 
sou-lit and obtained could not pass the falls, communication with the upper country being 
possible with canoe and batteaux only. As a consequence foreign adventurers who came 
over in ships of deep draught placed little value on lands contiguous to a river not navigable. 

It remained, however, for William Penn, the English Quaker, to bring into prominence 
a land of milk and honey, and to invite colonists and make possible their existence away 
from the Delaware, which seemed to he the magnet toward which the wealth, the brain, 
the hone and sinew of the adventurous and discontented Britton rushed with avaricious 
designs. Penn, as is well known, held, by virtue of his purchase, the river Susquehanna, 



12 



Prose and Poetry. 



all the islands therein, and lands on both sides. He did not originate the plan of buying 
the in- Hans' lands, hut was an imitator of Calvert, who planted his Maryland colony in 

1634; Roger Williams, the banished Quaker, who left Massachusetts for Rhode Island in 

1636; the Swedes, who bought land on the west shore of the Delaware in 1638, and Phillip 
Carteret, 1665, the then Governor of New Jersey. That he approved of the plan and held all 
such transactions as sacred and binding his whole life and djings in the New World 

is evidence. 

Penn knew of the rich lands on the Susquehanna river and in 1684, two years after his 

arrival here, and prim- to his return to England, arranged 
with Governor Thomas Dongan of New York, to buy 
from the Five Nations "all the lands on the Susque- 
hanna and that adjacent to the lakes in or near the 
province of Pennsylvania." Dongan succeeded well and 
gave to the colonists the first evidence of wholesale 
land-grabbing, of later years so aptly termed syndicating, 
and which is commonly and cleverly practised. 

Willam Penn was honest, hut exacting and shrewd : 
hi' calculated the magnitude of the great deal and did 
not rest satisfied until the Dongan purchase was ratified 
and confirmed which took place September 13, 1700. 
The price paid for all this valuable territory was about 
live hundred dollars. 

Following is a copy of the deed: -Sept. 13, 1700; 
Widaugh and Andaggy-Junkquagh, Kings or Sachems 
of the Susquehanna Indians, and of the river under 
that name, and lands lying on bath sides thereof. Deed 
to W. Penn for all the said river Susquehannough, ami 
all the islands therein, and all the lands situate, lying 
and being on both sides of the said river, and next 

adjoining the same, to the utmost confines of the lands 

which are. or formerly were, the right of the people or 

nation called the Susquehannough Indians, or by what 

name soever they were called, as fully and amply as we 

or any of our ancestors, have, could might or ought to 

have hail, held or enjoyed, and also confirm the bargain 

and sale of the said lands, made unto Col. Thomas 

Dongan, now Earl of Limerick, and formerly Governor ol 

New York whose deed of sale to Governor Penn we 

have seen." 

This deed was still further confirmed the succeeding 

year by the Susquehanna, Potomac ami Conestoga tribes 

who were dissatisfied and held aloof from the treaty of 1700. 
The Susquehanna has its origin in a tiny lake or 

spring, less than a mile above Otsego Lake, in New York, 

and fiows southeast, receiving the rivers Lnadilla ami 

Chenango; then turning south enter- Pennsylvania where 

ii receive- the Pittston, Tioga, the West P.raneh and the 




Willi 



P 




Otsego Lake, N. Y. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



13 



Juniata, together with the numerous creeks thai drain the valleys and empties itself into the 
Chesapeake Bay, al Havre de Grace, Maryland. 100 hundred miles from Lake Otsego, and 
L53 from its junction with the Wesl Branch, at Northumberland. It is the longest river on 
the American continent not navigable, a condition made clear and comprehensible by the 
study and research of geologists. 

The impression prevailed, and was shared by William Perm and his descendants, relative 
and governmental, that the Susquehanna river was navigable, or that it could ho made so 

by an insignificant outlay of money. The provincial government gave the matter s ■ 

thought, but took no action, the colonial rulers following in the path trod by their 
predecessos. The settlers above the Conestoga were at a disadvantage as to means f trans- 
portation, the numerous rapids and dangerous currents being a standing menace to all plans 
suggested for their relief and benefit. It was not, therefore, until after the war of the 
revolution, when the population, which rapidly increased by the rush from foreign shores. 
sought wider and more promising fields for settlement, that public attention was more 
directly turned to the Susquehanna as a commercial highway. All schemes and suggestions 
put forward were discussed, ending in complete paralyzation by the reported and estimated 
magnitude of the undertaking, they knowing the immense expenditure of money (hat would 
be required to clear the channel tor even light draught vessels. In the meantime, the ark : 
or Hat boat was being poled from the Wyoming Valley to the Chesapeake, carrying the 
products of the backwoods settlements to be exchanged tor domestic necessities and 
business traffic. 

Francis Cummings, in 1807, made an extended tour along the Susquehanna, stopping 
at all villages enroute. He was interested in the transportation of products to the seaboard 
cities and observed closely the natural and existing conditions of the country through which 
he passed. A carel'ul examination of the river from the tidewater to Harrisburg prompted 
him to note in his journal, viz. " The Susquehanna would be one of the most useful rivers 
i,, the world— its different branches embracing a wonderful extent of country, settled or 
rapidly settling— were it not that it abounds with falls, shallows and rapids.' 

The completion of the canal around 
Conewago Falls, prior to 1800, which permitted 
of the passage of keel-bottom boats, had the 
effect of quieting agitation in the way of 
general river improvements. Finally, the 
Legislature, in 1825, became aroused and 
Samuel L. Wilson, Jabez Hyde ami John 
McMeans, were named Commissioners to super- 
intend the proposed improvements in the 
channel, between Northumberland and title- 
water. From the records it will be seen that 
the work as prosecuted, because of the ridicu- -M&_ 

lously small sum appropriated, was of no •^^"""^™— 
consequence, resulting in no advantage what- MeCulls Ferry. 

ever. The Commissioners, in 1828, two years after their appointment, reported that §1,201.50 
had been expended in improving the river from Columbia to Northumberland, and from 
Columbia to Tidewater $15,323.37. 

Baltimore capitalists with more money than sagacity, in 1825, formed a company for the 
purpose of testing the practicability of operating steamboats between York Haven and Sun- 




14 Prose and Poetry. 

bury. The entire stock was immediately taken, three boats were built, viz : the " Codorus," 

''Pioneer." and "Susquehanna," all of which made their trial tripsin the tall of the year. 
Behind all this so-called progressive event was a scheme so frequently and successfully 
conducted in the intervening years. 1825-1850, — that of robbing and plundering the State by 
genteel methods, tor decency's sake called appropriations. The Baltimore steamboat com- 
pany was not alone in their prospective plans, hut were hacked and encouraged by native 
Pennsylvanians. Although it was intended to impress the State Legislature with the 
allurements and consequent rich returns from the establishing of a system of steamboats, 
the enterprising conspiracy failed of its object. The steamboats, loaded with enthusiastic 
passengers, steamed up to the improvised wharf at Mulberry street, Harrisburg, where the 
legislators stood waiting to be impressed. But no appropriation was forthcoming and the 
hopes of the projectors were not realized. The result is easily summed up. The "Pioneer"' 
was not provided with sufficient power to stem the currents of the various rapids and was 
frequently grounded. In April, 1826, the "Codorus" ran into a sand-bar at Montgomery's 
Ferry, where it lay for a week. This boat made a trip up the Susquehanna to a line 
separating Pennsylvania from New York, and is believed to be the first boat propelled by 
steam ever placed on American waters. About the same time the "Susquehanna," when 
near Berwick, exploded its boiler. Of the passengers, two were killed and a number 
wounded, Representative Probst, of Columbia county, being among the injured. The boat 
was a total wrejk. In 1834 the citizens of Harrisburg attempted to secure national legislation 
for the purpose of '■ opening a. steamboat and sloop communication between the ( Ihesapeake 
Bay and the lakes, by way of the Susquehanna river." Congress then, ami later on, refused 
to make an appropriation, which created the suspicion that the Government at Washington 
was in sympathy with the management of the canals along the Susquehanna, which were 
under construction by the State. When it is recalled that this noble old river drains nearly 
fourteen millions of acres of land, still in the infancy of enterprise ami production at the 
tune referred to, there was intelligent reason in the prophecy made in ]341, " that in a few 
years more the present canal system will be inadequate to carry off the products of the 
Susquehanna Valley." The honorable citizen and patriot had sincere and unbounded 
confidence in the future greatness of the old Keystone State. It was with this same confi- 
dence and individual zeal that again lead to a movement looking to the navigation of the 
Susquehanna, largely brought about by the reckless and extravagant expenditures of public 
money in the construction of canals by the infamous Canal Board. It was proposed to 
again attempt the removal of rocks in the main channel; to construct locks of sufficient 
capacity to allow the passage of heavy draught steamboats, and build canals, though at 
considerable distance from the river, that the greater falls ami rapids might he overcome. 
\ isionary as that way now seems, it will be remembered that millions of dollars were being 
spent annually on the canals and railroads had not yet come into use: the advantage of the 
delayed improvements being apparently far beyond the ken of the most enthusiastic believer. 
Put the advocates of navigation persisted, contesting every foot of legislative ground, finally 
succumbing, but without striking their Hag. The obnoxious Canal Hoard held the purse 
strings of the Commonwealth within its grasp, controlled election-, made the Executive a 
mere figurehead and brought the credit u[' the State to the door of !>ankmpfe\ . There were 
millions for canals, but nothing for river improvements. And thus ended all efforts in favor 
of making navigable the Susquehanna river. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



15 




WHEN THE BASS BITE BEST. 

HEN the North is breezy and cool and char. 

Lifting the low blue bills in sight; 
When the waters are dimpled beyond the pier 
And clouds sail idly over the mere, 

Oh, that is the tunc for the bass to bite. 

When boughs grow bare and apples fall 

With every Haw from the windy West, 
When the frost is white on the orchard wall 
And the river is bine at the passing squall, 

Oh, that is the time when the bass bite best. 

When paths are blind with a drift of leaves 
And nuts lie thick in the yellow grass, 

When barns are bursting with garnered sheaves 
'Ruperunt horrea " — full to the eaves, 

( >h. that is the time for the wary bass. 

With a silvery shiner far below 

Tugging away at a silken thread 

In a cove where the quiet currents flow 

Ami purple shadows come and go 
And a bit of blue sky overhead. 

Too soon the western bills grow black 

With lone pine looming above their crest 

In silhouette — too soon, alack ! 

Do far lights glimmer to guide us back, 

For that is the time when the bass bite best. 




16 



Prose and Poetry. 



SAFE HARBOR OR CONESTOGA. 




AFE EARBOR is built on or near the site of the old Indian town 
Conestoga, which figured so conspicuously in the early settlement 
of tin: Susquehanna Valley. The village was located on the hanks 
of the stream which took its name from the tribe living thereon, 
and was known to the first white man who paddled up the " River 
of the Great Falls," being the principal meeting place or Council 
town of the tribes that paid tribute to the Iroquois, or Six Nations. 
To it came annually representatives from the Southern and Western 
Indians to confer together concerning the encroachment of the whites, 
who while in actual possession of the host lands on the New England 
coast, the Delaware river, and Chesapeake Bay, showed avaricious desires and partiality for 
the still richer lands lying contiguous to the Susquehanna. How well they succeeded in 
their designs the student of history knows and the descendants of the early settlers and 
landholders can tell. The land skirting the Conestoga creek is the most fertile in the State, 
rich in products, native and cultivated. The Turkey Hills that form the east hank of the 
river and slope gradually to the north, rise up in great bluffs giving to the scenery an 
aspect of charming wilduess and sublimit}'. 

To the Conestoga in 1701, came William Pen n, the 
proprietor of the country, who met with a warm 
welcome at. the hands of the Indians because of their 
confidence in him and his intentions to deal honestly 
with them. In 1705, James Logan, representing the 
proprietors, spent some time making inquiries concern- 
ing certain trailers who had built cabins in the 
neighborhood. Governor Evans, with a retinue of petty 
officers, visited Conestoga in 17<>7: likewise Governor 
Gookin in L710, and Governor Keith in 1721, the latter 
to investigate charges against two traders, John and 
Edward Cartilidge, then in jail lor various alleged 
misdemeanors, the principal being that of inducing the 
Indians to break faith with the English and favor the French. 

On this spot the Paxtang Boys meted out tardy justice to a degenerate remnant of 
treacherous and inhuman savages, forever putting a quietus on the atrocious murders 
committed almost daily in the villages north of the Conestoga creek. This act of extermina- 
tion occurred on the night of December 14th, 1763. The Paxtang Boys were frontiersmen 
of tin' ideal type, could penetrate the hull's eye with a. rifle hall, and lift the scalp from the 
head of an Indian with neatness and dispatch All were prominent in the affairs of life 
and only resorted to massacre as a last remedy for tin 1 desperate condition of the frontier 
brought about by the differences as to the treatment of suspected Indians and the policy outlined 
by the proprietors and Quakers as against the judgment ami demands of the landholders 
ami frontiersmen. The few Indians that escaped the slaughter at Conestoga, being absent 
from the village the night of the attack, were, mi the morning of December 'J7th, killed in 




Soft Harbor. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



17 



the Lancaster workhouse, whither they had fled after the 1*1 ly affair at Conestoga, the 

Rangers overpowering the keeper and defying the authorities. Notwithstanding the presence 
of a company of militia in the town, the Paxtang Boys had their own way and retired to 
their homes confident of the greater safety from the scalping knife, conditions that followed 
immediately thereafter. 

With the disappearance of the Indians from the 
Conestoga there came settlers who increased in numbers 
and prospered. The valuable mines of ore were early 
developed, a furnace and rolling mill built and busy times 
followed. The rails for the first complete equipment of the 
Pennsylvania railroad were made here. The Conestoga 
creek was at an early date, rendered navigable for large 
boats by the erection of a series of dams and leeks, a still 
larger dam being constructed across the Susquehanna 
about 300 yards below the month of the creek. Boats were 
then towed across the river by a steamboat to the Tidewater 
canal. But a. great change has come over this community. 
Business has fallen oil', the canal is abandoned, with here 
and there the remains of an old lock to toll where the 
boatman's horn once waked the echoes among Lancaster's 
green hills. As to the dam across the river there is but a 
faint trace of it left, the floods of thirty years ago completely 
demolishing it. Near the site of the old dam is "Indian 
Rock," a massive bowlder containing hieroglyphics, signs 
and characters indicative of their aboriginal history. This 
rock is well preserved and quite easy of access during the 
summer mouths. Safe Harbor is a sleepy old village, 
one-half of its houses being in ruins while the other half is apparently affected by the same 
destroying influences. The existence .if three licensed taverns may account, to a considerable 
degree, for the desolate appearance that is everywhere visible. The place was in great repute 
for its prolific fishing grounds, but since the destruction of the dam the visits of the 
fishermen grow less year by year. 

Experiments for steam navigation were first made in the Conestoga. as early as 17<i(>. by 
one William Henry, who partially succeeded, but his boat accidently sunk, and he died soon 
thereafter. Near the historic stream was born Robert Fulton, who successfully used (he 
steam engine for the propelling of boats. Fulton went to Europe, where he studied painting 
under Benjamin West, but returning to America, he resolved to navigate rivers by means 
other than sail and oar. This was in 180G. Two years later he built \\ir boat "Clermont" 
with which he steamed up the Hudson to Albany and returned. Fulton died in 1815, after 
years of toil, attended by successes and disappointments. 




Sn in in a i- Sllft //"Wi< 



18 



Prose and Poetry. 




A DAM NUISANCE. 

HEN April comes on the shadfly's wing 

Tis a sign that shad arc ripe, and Spring, 

The luscious creature, has bared her anus 

To show the world voluptuous charms, 

That passing crowds look up to sec 

And love her for her modesty. 

Shu hears the fisherman's tale (if woe 

From Havre de Grace to Otsego, 

How lie raves from morn to night, 

His moral tone is in a plight, 

He seeks for aid. he knows net where 

His life has many loads to bear; 

For the savory shad is seen no more 

Above Columbia's smoke-wrapt shore. 

The sound of wrath comes floating down 
From Nanticoke to Sunbury town, 
Pasl the Notch where Girty's cave 
Looks out on Susquehanna's wave; 
Still on and on, till isle and shore 
Clasp hands at Conewago's roar; 
Till Falmouth hears.— alas, the psalm!— 

■■( ) dam ( lolumbia ! Columbia dam." 
() direful nuisance ! Not a sham 
Is this dam Columbia ! Columbia dam ! 
The waves have washed, the waves have worn, 
Its broad old breast the Hoods have torn, 
Yet laughs at storms, — so stout. I'm sure 
A thousand years it will endure 
Through centuries we'll sing the psalm — 

■■( ) dam ( 'olumhia ! Columbia dam !' 



\ 






%,\ 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



19 



COLUMBIA AND WRIGHTSVILLE. 

OLUMBIA and Wrightsville, the twin cities on the Susquehanna, 
are united by a mammoth wooden bridge 5,690 feet long. The 
livsl bridge was built in 1S14, the same year that Columbia 
was incorporated as a borough. It was partly destroyed by the 
ice-Hood of 1S32. In the latter part of June, 18G3, it was burned. 
to prevent Lee's army, that was halted with such fatal results at 
Gettysburg, from getting a foothold east of the Susquehanna. 
The entire structure was immediately rebuilt. 

For many years Columbia, so delightfully situated on the 
banks of the river, was the terminus of the Philadelphia and Columbia railroad, where it 
connected with the canal already built and in operation alone, the upper Susquehanna. The 
advantages of these improvements brought the town into prominence and its business 





( 'olumbia from '/" Hill. 



prospered rapidly and grew'in wealth and importance. All freight was transhipped here ; 
and togethei with its iron and lumber industries the place assumed airs that, compared with 
to-day, the imagination is unequal to the task. All the vast lumber interests of the mountain 
regions beyond the Kittatinny range centered here where saw-mills converted the crude 



20 



Prose and Poetry. 



lumber into building material, that found its way into every community. When rafting- 
was at its prodigious height, Columbia was at the zenith of its prosperous career. The 
decline was gradual until after the rebellion, when the raftsman disappeared and his well 
remembered figure, rowdyish air and attire has but a niche in crowded memories. 

Scores of men now prominent in financial and business circles here laid the foundation, 
of fortunes and world-wide prominence; and from the old borough have gone out into the 
world men as good, grand and noble as ever basked in the sunshine of a dazzling future. 

The first settler was Robert Barber, a native of Yorkshire, England, who purchased 
one thousand acres of land from the Penns. This tract extended to the river and included 
the present site of Columbia. Barber came to Lancaster county from Chester about 1 T li » > . 
lie induced others to emigrate with him, among whom was John Wright, after whom 
Wrightsville was named, shortly after Barber's arrival at the Susquehanna, efforts were 
put forth to make Columbia the county seat. Barber had himself elected sheriff, buildinsr a 

1 ■ o 

log jail to forestall any subsequent movement that might be made favoring some other 
locality which, however, tailed of its purpose. In Barber's log jail was confined James 
Annesley, who was the rightful Lord Altham, and grandson of the celebrated Duke of 
Buckingham. The mother of .lames died in 1822, the lad being in his seventh year. His 
father had formed an liaison with a .Miss Gregory, who schemed to marry the elder Altham 
and desired the removal oi the child. To accomplish her object she poisoned the mind 
of the Lord against his son by telling him that James was not his lawful child. He was 
placed in a school in Dublin by his father, who died suddenly soon after. Richard, uncle 
of James, was an accomplished vidian and determined to possess the estate by getting rid 
of both his nephew, James, and the Gregory woman. In the person of the latter Richard 
found a fie worthy of the steal he proposed perpetrating, being compelled to pay her a large 
sum of money that enabled her to escape to the continent where she disappeared. In April. 

1728, James was kidnapped and carried to Phila- 
delphia, where he was sold as a redemptioner to a 
German farmer. In a few months he ran away 
and being caught was confined in sheriff Barber's 

log jail. He possessed a wonderfully sweet voice, 
f> with which he frequently entertained the ladies 
of the village, rendering the choicest Irish and 
Scotch selections. After being released from jail, 
which was about 1740, he worked for a farmer 
living on the Lancaster turnpike. One day he 
met two Irishmen, from near Dublin, who recog- 
nized the young lord, ami who later on returned 
with him to Ireland, and testified at the trial of 
the unscrupulous uncle. James died shortly 

after securing his rights and valuable estates, and his uncle was again in undisputed 

possession. 

The whilom ferry between Columbia and Wrightsville was operated for many years by 

the Wrights, the course being about midway between the dam and the bridge. It was a 

simple affair, but served the day and purpose fur which it was designed. Along about the 
M 1745 James Wright built the little stone mill on Shawnee Run, where flour was made 

for the soldiers belonging to Braddock's expedition. The manufacture of iron and iron 

products is -till carried mi extensively, the advantages and resources of the place being 

equal to any in the Slate. 




( 'olumbia Z'uma /. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 21 

The Twin Cities are known for their enviable positions in the shad fishing industry, the 
early construction of tin- famous dam giving them a well-enjoyed monopoly in that direction. 
The first shad said to have been caught here with a seine was after 1 7 < '> < ► . During the 
fishing season, commencing about April 1st, and continuing into the month of May, the 
broad stretch of river below the dam fairly swarms with fishermen, who toil all night long 
with varied success. Of late years Columbia has lust its old-time prestige for shad fishing 
the pirates farther down being accused of vising gill nets and other illegal devices for 
catching fish. 

It is related by historians that Wrightsville narrowly escaped being made the Capital 
i>f the United States. General Washington, who frequently crossed at Wright's Kerry, 
impressed with the natural beauty of the location, picturesque surroundings and security 
from foes, strongly urged upon Congress the advantages to lie gained. Other prominent men 
advocated the town on the Susquehanna, but a small majority prevailed against and in favor 
of the present city on the Potomac. 

The Tidewater canal, extending from Columbia to Havre de Grace, a distance of 45 
miles, was chartered by the States of Pennsylvania ami Maryland, in 1835, with a paid up 
capital of $1,500,000. It was originally intended to construct the canal on the east side 
of the Susquehanna. Put in 1830 the route was changed to the west side of the 
river. On account of the unforseen, difficulties the cost of construction exceeded the estimate 
of the chief engineer, Edward F. Gay, the total cost being about $4,000,000. The work was 
pushed vigorously forward, and late in the fall of 1839, water was first admitted that the hanks 
might be thoroughly tested. The event was celebrated with pomp and ceremony and a 
free excursion from Columbia to Havre de Grace, in which many distinguished citizens of 
both States participated. It was then that Hon. Nicholas Biddle, of Philadelphia, made his 
famous speech on internal improvements. It is told that a number of the excursionists had 
not yet returned home when the hanks gave way in many places washing tons of earth from 
where it had just been laid, creating damages and disaster that was most disheartening. Hut 
the crevasses were repaired and the canal opened to the public use the following Spring. 
The greatest amount of revenue from boat tolls received in any one year was $225,000 
collected in 1865. 

Ever since its erection the Columbia dam has borne the execrations and denunciations 
of upper-river residents, sportsmen in particular, who blame the scarcity of the shad to the 
existence of this artificial obstruction. Laws innumerable and legislation without limit have 
failed to effect its removal or even modification. Fishways have been placed in the dam at 
great cost to the State, in addition to appropriations for other improvements that have proven 
worthless. Storms have swept over the old dam : floods have torn away a portion of its mighty 
bulwark, and spring freshets have taken a turn at demolition, but the handiwork of a former 
generation remains to vex the angler of to-day. A long list of floods, viz: 1843, 1846, L857, 
1865, 1868, 1875, and 1889 left the structure wrecked and broken, hut the damages were 
as quickly repaired. The dam. together with the Tidewater canal were, in 1872, leased by 
the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, who have since operated them. 

The Tidewater Canal, so far as concerns general uses for transportation, local or other- 
wise, is practically abandoned, scarcely more than a. score of floats passing through the 
Wrightsville lock during 1892. With these conditions, and existing facts for argument, why 
not remove the Columbia dam. that up-river fishermen and lovers of planked shad may 
revel in the delights of taking ami partaking of them without loss of temper or begrudged 
collapse of the domestic treasury ? 



"> ■> 



Pri ise and Poetry. 



Passim* up stream one sees the continual smoke of furnace and hears the roar of trains 
thundering along bearing their freight to the uttermost parts of the world. The beholder is 
awed by the grandeur and picturesqueness of the 
variety of landscape spread before him. Emerging 
from the mountainous formation is a jagged ridge, 
its abrupt cliff's dipping directly into the water. 
Through it is the "Columbia Tunnel "alike familiar 
to all travelersof the railroad and boatmen. Chiques 
Rock, the highest and boldest headland south of 
the Shikalamy bluffs, overlooks the river for miles, 
limited only by the Conewago hills on the north 
ami the Turkey hills southward. Chiques creek 
empties here, a name reverenced wherever a son of 
Lancaster mains or has a fixed habitation. The 
rich and seemingly inexhaustible deposit of iron 
ore in the vicinity affords every facility I'm- the 
manufacture of iron. Numerous furnaces are here, 
their products being the principal basis upon which 
rests the solidity and substantial prosperity of the 
surrounding country. At (lie foot of the celebrated 
rock is the old Hal. Ionian mansion, a stately land- 
mark that speaks of sixty years of progress and 




< liiqut s Hock. 




Marit ttu, front Old Aconuic Tuvt in. 



improvement. It was built by 
the late Professor Baldeman, an 
eminent scholar and mineralogist 
and is a type of ancestral archi- 
tecture standing alone by " the 
beautiful rolling river." 

Marietta is a pretty town. 
delightfully situated on the river 
shore, alone which it extends tor 
nearly two miles. It was founded 
as a rival to ( lolumbia, an act 
having been passed in 181 I an 
thorizing the erection of a bridge 
across the ousquehanna, hut the 
friends of the Columbia project 
secured an appropriation from the 
State and the bridge was built 
thi re. The plai e was originally 
known as Anderson's ferry. An- 
derson was one of the pioneers 
and made every preparation to 
conduct his terry on a business 



b as i s- Ho tait a road through the York hills that lead travel down to old Acomac tavern 
; U ,,1 offered special inducements to patrons. Hut the Columbia bridge ruined him finan- 
cially and the ferry suffered a decline. The Acomac tavern is still a favorite resort foi 



Susquehanna and Iuniata Rivers. 



25 



fishing parties from Lancaster and York. A few miles north of Marietta is Donegal 
Presbyterian church, il being the parent church of the Scotch-Irish settlements on the 
us quehanna, and from which sprang all the many congregations in Central and Southern 
Pennsylvania. The first church al Donegal was buill prior to L740. 

Wild Cal Glen is the mosl gorgeous piece of romantic scenery along the entire river. 
It is on thf York county shore, one and a half miles above Marietta. A deep, narrow canon 
piercing the high hills, with rock-piled walls and precipitous ledges, with trees of every 
variety of growth crowning the top-most ridges and dark ravines. Narrow pathways lend 
into tin' deepest recesses of the glen, along the noisy stream of pur,' water that tumbles and 
dashes in rollicking, reckless humor down the weird chasm, forming cascades and miniature 
falls that again spread out into tiny lakes and pools to again disappear in its tortuous descent 
to the river below. The glen was once quite popular, visitors from all parts of the country 
being attracted thereto. There is always blowing through the gorge breezes delightful and 
refreshing, and weary humanity may find rest and fascination in the wild scenes surrounding 
The conveniences for a trip through the glen are admirable, paths leading in all directions 
and easy stairways and bridges spanning the deeper and more dangerous chasms. At the 
entrance to the glen, a few yards back 
li'niii the shore, stands a. large, roomy 
building with all conveniences for picnic 
parties or those who desire to spend a 
longer period. The facilities for boating 
and fishing are first-class; the locality 
being favorable in every respect. The 
place was once secured for the purpose of 
making it a permanent resort for members 
of the Masonic order, but the project tailed 
of its realization. 

< )tlier towns of old-time prominence 
in the days of boating and rafting are 
Bainbridge and Collins' station. The 



; 




'ihl Cat Glen -Falls, and \~icw from Road. 



24 



Prose and Poetry. 



former was once the site of the Indian town named Dekanoagah, the village of the Conoy 
or Ganawese tribe, commonly called " Flat-heads." A large collection of .skulls, arrows, 
points, axes, beads, pottery, etc., was made from excavations for the canal. Below the 
town John llaldeman built a grist-mill and hauled the flour to Chester, where it found 
a market. 




THE BOATMAN'S CALL. 

WAKE, awake, Lock-keeper! Let the boat drop through, 
We're drivin' hard to reach the lower bay; 
Autumn's fadin' mighty rapid, winter's comin' too, 

Then the born will cease its callin' night and day. 
Open wide the drippin' gates, fill up the slimy lock. 

The water is impatient to rush on ; 
Hear the bugle notes a-tootin'? bar away! then wander back 
Like the mem'ry of friendships Inst and gone. 
hear the horn! " Toot-a-too, too, too !" 

Make ready, we are comin'! Driver, • slow-ow-o ! 
" Toot-a-too, too, too ! Too-a-too, too, too-o-o !" 
Away we onward go. 

By fair romantic valleys, where Juniata's tide 

And Susquehanna's waters float along, 
Through echoin' mountain passes — Old Kittatinny's pride — 

I've sat on deck and sang the joyous song. 
The boatman's life has charms, the recollections plain, 

I like to go a dreamin' of the past; 
Though my forehead is wrinkled, my heart is young again, 
And I know the sentiment will always last. 

Eear the bugle blow? " Toot-a-too, too, too !" 

Make ready for our comin'! Driver, slow-ow-o ! 
"Toot-a-too, too, too! Toot-a-too, too, too-o-o !" 
< Madly we onward go. 

I've been snubbin' long the towpatb nearly fifty years, 

I've seen my share, bad tears and frolics, too; 
The steam-cars have outdone us, we're crowded to the rear, 

The boatmen's shadows grow more dim and few, 
The packet is no longer seen, — its rate of speed too slow 

To suit this age of rush and enterprise; 
.Soon the bocks will be deserted, — the grizzled captains go 
On the final trip beyond the nightless skies, 
o hear the horn! " Toot-a-too, too, too ! 

Steady there, steady! Driver, slow-ow-o 1 
" Toot-a-too, too, too ! Toot-a-too, too, too-o-o ! " 
Hopefully we onward go. 

Zenas J. Gray. 



SI M MUMIANNA AND JUNIA I A RlVI RS. 



25 



FALLS OF CONEWAGO. 




SHORT distance below the junction of the C.'onewago creek with the Susquehanna, 
at the extremity of Elliott's, now Duffy's rslanrl, are the great falls of Cone wago, the 
most dangerous rapids in the long list of obstructions to inland navigation. The 
Conewago Hills look down upon either shore and the natural scenery is of the 
wildest and most picturesque character. A great ledge of rocks stretches across the entire 
width of the river, irregular, massive and formidable in withstanding the rush and the fury 
ill' the centuries of floods. ( >n the Ynrk county side the talis rise to a height, of eighteen feet 
terminating in scattered bowlders of trap ruck at Falmouth, on the cast shore. 

In L793 the Conewago Canal Company was organized, the object being to facilitate the 
passage of Bat boats and improve navigation in general. Through the efforts of this 
company the first canal on the Susquehanna was constructed. It was about one mile 




( 'nm irmjii Fulls. 

long, extending from the head of the rapids to where the York Haven mills now stand. 
It proved a paying investment, there being no railroads or artificial waterways, even 
the Con estoga wagon was unknown and the transportation of merchandise and all other 
kinds of commodities depended solely upon the ark or river boat. York Haven grew 
into a thriving and prosperous village, huge stone warehouses were built by Baltimore 
capitalists, who made extensive preparations for sustaining a wheat market. Before this 
canal was completed, about 1794, a German miller, Jacob Kreider, residing on the Juniata 
at Huntingdon, ran the Conewago rapids with an ark loaded with Hour and produce 
successfully carrying it to Baltimore. For upwards of thirty years the boatman was king 
of the river and the most prominent and useful character in the prosperous and growing 
country beyond the Kittatinny range. However, with the construction of the canal from 
Harrisburg to Columbia and the Tidewater canal below, by which a through route to the 



26 Prose and Poetry. 

Chesapeake Bay was secured, the glory of York Haven passed away. The big warehouses 
fell into ruins and the river traffic of seventy years ago is a matter of history. Another 
canal for the carrying of boats around the falls was constructed on the east shore of the 
river, from Falmouth to Bainbridge, traces of which may yet be seen. 

In the days when shad fishing above Columbia was a profitable industry, Conewago Falls 
figured conspicuously in prolific returns and was also, a popular resort fur anglers who 
wielded the rod for pleasure and entertainment. A number of fisheries located above the 
falls did an extensive business, supplying the farmers on both sides of the river with choice 
shad. At the Conewago fisheries the men employed would rest during the day until about 
six p. m., when the seine was used to make a haul, followed by a rest until midnight, when 
they would start in again and fish until sunrise. During the spring season shad and salmon 
were so plenty that at certain places in the open current the shoals could be seen distinctly 
from the rocky shore and fish of enormous lengths would swim along, careless of the 
lookers-on. But all tins is changed. The erection, at intervals along the river, of dams to 
promote slack water navigation has destroyed this once popular industry, until only the 
fisherman's legend or worn tale is inherited by succeeding generations. 

Bass fishing at the falls is still indulged in. ami large strings of the favorite fish are 
caught annually. The innumerable rocks on the upper and lower ripples is an excellent 
hiding place for the bass which play at hide-and-seek with taunting effect upon the seeker. 
Its gamesomeness, wonderful strength, plucky qualities and great table merits places the 
bass on the first course, unrivaled and undisputed. Fishing at Conewago is attended with 
considerable risk and unusual caution is required to keep the boat from swinging into the 
dangerous ami swift-running current. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



27 



CONEWAGO 




ONEWAGO ! Conewago! Pride of forest, 
Home of Nature's firsl adored, 
w thy praises breathed and chanted 
To the topmost peaks have soared ; 
I |, .Mi.l down the broad old river 

Far away among the hills, — 
Conewago! Conewago! How thy fondest 
Memory thrills. 

the rugged, wildest beauty of the 

Spray-bathed rock and isle; 
(i the dashing, splashing, crashing as 

The waters east a smile. 
Then with rumble, grumble, tumble 

And a playing hide-and-seek, 
Id-,,], to rest in calmer current from 

The mighty struggle weak. 

Conewago! Conewago! Rich in legend 

Ami in fame, 
Bravest pioneers have left thee 

Something other than a name,— 
Penn ami Haldeman ami Kreider, 

Barber, Anderson ami Wright, — 
Proudest heroes of the century. 

Born to conquer, pray or tight. 

Conewago' Conewago' Beautiful 

Ami grand thy place! — 
When the early mists have lifted 

I. ike a veil from oil' thy face, 
When the summers that would kiss thee 

C.mii' with sunshine and cheer, 
Conewago' Conewago! Ah, thy name 

And fame ait dear. 



Zknas J. Gray, 



1893, 



28 



Prose and Poetry. 




THE RED HOUSE. 

I!<>A'E the Cone wago Falls, and almost touching the rapids, is 
Elliott'- island, while farther up, probably a half-mile, opposite 
Goldsboro, and lying toward the York county shore, is 
another large body of land known as Shelly's island. They 
are the largest islands in the Susquehanna, and are noted for 
their productiveness and value as farm lauds, being peculiarly 
adapted to the cultivation of tobacco, although other crops are 
grown with like prolixity. The area of Elliott's island is 
r about four hundred acres and Shelly's two hundred and sixty 
acres. At one time they were considered the choicest fishing 
rights on the river. 
Shelly's island is the more popular among sportsmen, it being located in the midst of 

the finest fishing and ducking grounds to he found between Havre de Grace and Otsego 

Lake. It is the home of the Red House Fishing and < funning Club, composed of a score of 

ardent watermen whose fixed habitation is Harrisburg. Of late years the Capital City has 

become famous for the large number of enthusiasts who dwell within its gates, but who at 

uncertain and frequent intervals steal away from business and professional can- and seek the 

delightful shade of mountain, the cool, invig- 
orating breezes of charming river scenes, or the 

quiet, restful life of the cosy and cheerful farm- 
house. It is this sensibh — and growing more 

general — desire to bid a temporary farewell to 

fret and worry that continues to encourage 

out-door life and relaxation found only beyond 

the city's boundary. A most delightful spot 

where one may commune with Nature: where 

a dav's outing may he enjoyed to the 

extent and gratification is 

at the cheery old Red 

II, cise. 

far removed from the 

ordinary haunts of men 

where the echoes ol the 

street cannot penel rate ; 

where there's naught but 

brightest sunshine, purest 

and health-giving air, and 

where p 'ace and pleasure' 

exclusively reign, what 

wonder that life passes as 

line glorious, voluptuous 

dream, and legends oi Area- Heel House, Looking Toward tin Fulls. 



fullest 





SUSl IUI HANNA AND ll NIAl'A RlVl RS. 



29 



dian bliss become a reality. The club house is situated on the southern point of the island, 
near the west shore, and at an elevation of eighteen feci above low water mark. Hie 
building is one of the oldest on the Susquehanna, having been erected in 1787. It is built 
of logs, chinked and daubed and weatherboarded. It is one and a half stories high, with 
steep roof sloping down, over a broad, open porch, facing the South, thus affording a 
magnificent and fascinating panorama of river, here and there studded with smaller islands, 
and the long range of Conewago hills in the perspective. Sitting on the old-fashioned porch, 
one is within sight and sound of the mighty rapids, and the weird noise of the waters call to 
mind the important part the old house has played in the drama of civilization and prog 
that crept up the Susquehanna, battling against the savage cruelty of the Indian, the 
treachery of French and English, and the deceit of the so-called peace-loving Quaker. 
Those were stirring times, and the Red House was one of the silent actors surviving all 
others. It is a precious relic of the past, and its century of years but makes it more hallowed 
to those who have partaken of the modern hospitality so liberally dispensed beneath its 
moss-grown roof. For many years it was used as a tavern and patronized solely by sailors on 
the old flat boats and their successors, the raftsmen, from the up-river lumber regions. Its 
color has been red since the time it was first occupied and was distinguished thus from the 
" White House " at Highspire. Successive generations have given proof of their fidelity to 
old customs by renewing its carmine hue <>n stated occasions. The interior is supplied with 
necessary comforts and its walls decorated with numerous exhibits of the taxidermists art 
and trophies ..f the rod and gun. The Red House is a half-hour's row from Goldsboro 
station, on the Northern Central railroad. 



THE SONG MY PADDLE SINGS. 




Smr-Mill (ii Goldsboro. 



West wind blow from your prairie nest. 

Blow from the mountains, blow from the west, 

The sail is idle, the sailor, too ; 

(), wind of the west we wait for you. 

B'ow, blow ! 

I have wooed you so. 

But never a favor you bestow. 

You rock your cradle the hills between, 

But scorn to notice my white lateen. 

I stow the sail and unship the must — 

1 wooed you long, but my wooing's past. 

Mv paddle will lull you into rest. 

( ) drowsy wind of the drowsy west. 

Sleep, sleep, 
Bv your mountain steep, 
Or down where the prairie grasses -wee).. 
Now f.bl in slumber your laggard win--. 
For soft is theTsoug my paddle sin-- 



}0 Prose and Poetry. 

August is laughing across the sky, 

Laughing while paddle, canoe and 1 

Drift, drift 

Where the shores uplift 

On either side of the current swift. 

The river rolls in its rocky bed, 

My paddle is playing its way ahead. 

Dip, dip, 

When the waters flip 

In foam as over their breast we slip. 

And, oh, the river runs swifter now; 

The eddies circle about my how 

Swirl, swirl ! 

Mow the ripples curl 

In many a dangerous pool awhirl ! 

And far before me the rapids mar 

Fretting their margins forevermore; 

Dash, dash, 

With a mighty crash 

They seethe and tumble and bound and splash. 

Be strong, <) paddle! lie brave, canoe! 

The reckless waves you must bear me through. 

Reel, reel, 

< Mi your trembling keel. 

But never a fear my craft will feel. 

\\ e've raced the rapid, we're far ahead, 

The river slips through its silent bed. 

Sway, sway, 

As the bubbles spray 

And fall in tinkling tunes away. 

And up the hills against the sky, 

A fir tree rocking its lullaby, 

Swings, swings. 

Its emerald wings. 

Swelling the song that my paddle sings. 

E. P. Johnson. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



h 



MIDDLETOWN AND STEELTON. 



y^IDDLETOWN, situated at the mouth of the Swatara creek, was called by the 
'ndians who had a village (lure " Swahadowry." The name Middletown was 



I Indians who hi 

I given it becaus 



ise of it being midway between Carlisle and Lancaster. It is a 
J l? _I_ 5 V delightful place of residence, and its business and financial interests are 

creditably represented. It was laid oul in 1755, by George Fisher, who inherited the land 
from his father, a Philadelphia merchant. It soon grew into prominence as a harbor for 
river boats and place of exchange. In 1779, during one of the Indian wars, the small boats, 
or batteaux used by General Sullivan's army were built here. Until the year 1704, when 
John Kreider first ran the Conewago Falls, Middletown, sometimes called Portsmouth, was 
considered the head of navigation, but after that period raft- and arks were piloted through 
to Baltimore with safety and greater profits. The town has suffered many fluctuations of 
fortune, due largely to the public improvements made by the State, and which directly 
concerned its prosperity by reason of its location at the junction of the Union and 
Pennsylvania canals, and the building of the railroad by way of Mount Joy, abandoning to 
a great extent, the re-shipping of freight to Columbia by the river route The Union canal, 
long since abandoned, was projected in 1763 and completed in 1S27, and was the first oi all 
public improvements. William Pern is said to have visited the Swatara village in 1701, 
intending to proceed on up the Susquehanna, but was prevented by the prevalence oi some 
disease, supposed to be small-pox, then epidemic at certain points. Francis dimming, in 
1807, stopped over night in .Middletown, at the General Washington Inn. kept by the widow 
Went/.. He was evidently delighted with the treatment received and the landlady as well, 
lie describes the view down the river, from the porch of the inn. as very line and the river 
as a noble stream. He tells of the plentifulness of rock fish, perch, mullet, eels, suckers, 
catfish, and white salmon, but says " the inhabitants are too lazy to do anything except thai 
which will give them money, and that is used to procure whiskey." The first steel made in 
America was produced here in 1796, from the furnace of Daniel and Thomas Stubbs. The 
completion of the Harrisburg, Portsmouth and Mount Joy railroad in 1836, was an event 
celebrated here with considerable pomp and enthusiasm, a "special train" with cars 
containing eighteen persons each, being run from Harrisburg. 

One of the oldest churches in the country is still 
standing, though not used for congregational purposes. 
Old St. Peter's Lutheran church was built in 1767, and 
stands in the midst of the old graveyard, where repose 
the ashes of the early settlers. The interior is in a fair 
state of preservation. 

Opposite Middletown, in the center of the river, is Hill 
Island, a large tract of land surrounded by water at ab 
seasons of the year. The lower part of the island is 
cultivated, but the upper part terminates in a high blufl 
with a steep descent of two hundred feet to the river 
below. The top is covered with trees and immense rocks 
through which it is difficult to pass. Here, in 1834, the 
religious sect called Millerites made preparation to mil Island. 




)2 



Prose and Poetry. 



ascend heavenward in accordance with the prophecy of their leader, Miller, who predicted 
the Millennium. It was a cold day in the month oi December when the little band crossed 
over tn the island from whirl] they were to bid farewell to every earthly tie. They were 
attired in white robes made expressly for the occasion, all other worldly possessions being left 
behind. All day long they sang and prayed and waited for the angel to pilot them into the 
land beyond, hut night came down and still no sign of the Millennium. One of the 
brethren, a sort of doubting Thomas and possessed of little enthusiasm or confidence 
in the result, was overcome with fatigue and fell asleep. In the meantime a drizzling rain 
set in. and to keep warm huge bonfires were lighted, which shed a brilliant ray all about 
the assembly. The careless, and sleeping brother awoke with a sudden start. Looking 
around with an expression of mingled resignation and surprise, he drolly remarked : 
" Well, in hell just as 1 expected '" 

The ascension was a failure: and the participants in alter years told of their experience 
as one would relate a joke. 

On the shore of the river, midway between Middletown and Highspire, is the "White 
House, "a large three-story frame structure facing the open river, with a lawn shaded by 
thrifty trees and reaching to the pebbly shore. It is a relic of rafting days and known to 
every raftsman that ran tin.' Susquehanna. It is one of the few old taverns built for the 

exclusive accommodation of rivermen. Here the lum- 
bermen disposed of their rafts to dealers from Middle- 
town, Goldsboro and York, or arranged to float their 
lumber on to Baltimore. The pilots who guided the 
rafts through the Conewago falls, made tin' White 
Bouse their headquarters, h is estimated that upwards 
ot one thousand rafts have been tied up in one day at 
this point. It was also a favorite rendezvous for the 
country youths on the Sabbath when they became apt 
students of the Yankees in gambling, drinking and 
profanity. 

1 1 ighspire is a pleasant village, prominently known 
in later years for the excellent brand of " Spiritus 
Frumenti" produced here, and the many charming 
homes that look out upon a beautiful stretch of river with the York hills for a background. 
It was called " Tiniaii " in Colonial days after the country seat of Colonel James Burd, a 
hero of the revolution, which stands on the hill hack of the village, in full view of river and 
railroad. Colonel Burd built " Tinian " in 1763, the old stone house being well-preserved, 
the old-fashioned brass knocker remaining on the door at this day. John Hollingsworth 
built a mill here in 177"). It was burned in 1860, and another structure was erected mi the 
site of the old oin\ The Wilson distillery was established here in 1823, its products reaching 
all parts of the globe. Beyond the town is Ulrich's woods, through which runs an avenue 
from east to west, and hedged on each side by small and larger trees, affording an unob- 
structed view to the river beyond. It is said Colonel Bouquet cut this road while marching 
to Bedford, although some attribute it to General Braddock. 

Nearlv two miles above one may see the trace ot what was known as Chambers' ferry 
called Simpson's on the Cumberland side of the river. Colonel Simpson occupied a large 
stone house built upon tin.' bluff, where he once entertained Washington and Lafayette on 
their way west. In 1807 Chambers and Simpson leased their ferries at *I70 and $309! 




The WliiU House. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 33 

respectively. The road was much frequented by wagoners from the backwoods country 
who crossed the mountains at Sterret's Gap, reaching the Tuscarora Valley by way of 
Liberty Gap. Hawk Rock, a favorite fishing place is near Simpson's ferry. 

Steel ton, the most flourishing and substantial manufacturing town on the Susquehanna, 
had in 1866 a population of six families. To-day the population exceeds 10,000 souls. 
Its growth was phenomenal due solely to the location of the Pennsylvania Steel Works 
in the year previous mentioned. The land on which the original works were located 
was owned by Messrs. Rudolph K. and Henry A. Kelker, and purchased from them by 
popular subscription among the business men of Harrisburg, amounting to $24,577.50. 
Other purchases have since been made by the company to accommodate their increased 
business. The town of Steelton proper was laid out by Rudolph l*\ Kelker, who sold 
only to those who intended to build. Subsequently speculators secured the land adjoining 
and the price of lots increased rapidly. The Pennsylvania Steel Works are leading 
manufacturers of steel in the United States, employing and giving steady labor to more 
than three thousand men. During the twenty-seven years that have passed since laying 
the foundation for its immense plant the company has experienced but one strike, 1890 
when none of the departments were totally crippled, many of the employes refused to 
go out and in less than a week the strike was declared off. The policy of the company 
has always been marked by a generous and liberal treatment of its employes, the 
advancement of their moral and social relations and domestic happiness. The Steelton 
high school building, a magnificent structure containing ten school-rooms, exhibition ball 
and superintendent's room, was erected and presented to the borough school board free 
of all expense. A night visit to the Bessemers, rail-mills, blooming-mills, open-hearth 
furnaces, rolling-mills, frog and switch departments, blast furnaces, machine shops and 
numerous other industries will well repay all who indulge themselves. 




RESCUE OF JOHN HARRIS. 

I'T see! around the old man is that band! 
Each tongue is mute, but stretched is every hand 
A shout uprose, each lip joins in the cry, 
While vengeance flames in every Hashing eye ; 
The old man, reflecting on the curse, 
And all the evils that it brings for worse. 
Refuses gently the request in tones 
That meek humility only owns. 
Quick as a flash of lightning from the sky. 
Rolls down the river bank the dreadful cry — 
The stake! while from the hills there came 
Echo's sound, till back is hurled the same. 
Unmoved by threats the fearless old man stands, 
Folded upon his breast his harmless hands: 
•Indians," said he, "to thee 1 freely sell 
The goods of life, but not the ills of hell : 



34 



Prose and Poetry. 

Taste not the accursed draught 'twill prone to thee 

Eternal death — eternal misery." 

Scarce had the words from his lips fell 

Ere through the woodlands rung a loud, loud yell — 
'Death to the trader!" hurst in one wild cry, 

But steady was the brave man's eye; 

He feared not death, if duty found a grave, 

And violated virtue must life save. 

Inflamed with rage, the red-browed race leap'd up 

Resolved to force from him the damning cup. 

Seizing the bold old man, they rudely bore 

His unresisting form along the shore; 

lie plead nor prayed to them, but smiled alone, 

Pointing above to the great White Throne. 

Foaming with wrath, beneath a primeval tree. 

They bound his limbs to mark his agony. 

But Harris saw beyond the verge of time 

A power Omnipotent, a power sublime. 

Who from his arms could rend the strongest chain. 

And bid him rise unscathed again. 

Lashed to a tree, the Indians build a pyre, 

And pile the fagots ready for a fire; 

The blazing torch with shouts they now apply, 

Shouts that run echoing thro' the vaulted sky. 

But still that good old man with peaceful gaze, 

Beholds around the bursting blaze; 

Nor heeds he now the dusky forms that there 

Are waiting for the shrieks of his despair; 

His pious spirit, at the crystal gates 

Of heaven in faith, for succor calmly waits. 

Wildly the dance of death begins; the flame 

Like living viper, coils around bis frame. 

But bark ! from yonder woody shore there glide 

Three bark canoes across the rapid tide; 

The rescuing Indians leap on shore to save 

Their pale-faced "father" from a dismal grave. 
-Onward to save him," cries the brave young chief; 

With gleaming knives they fly to his relief; 

Pack, back they drive the inebriated throng, 

Who, mail with frenzy, chant the wild death song: 

Sev'ring the bonds which bound him to the tree. 

Again beneath the heavens he st 1 five: 

Unscathed was he, and fearless still his eye. 
for his soul's trust was in his God on high. 
And what is man, if in that trust undone? — 
His heart's a waste, a world without a sun. 

Andrew Jackson Herr. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



>5 




so 
hi 



HARRISBURG, THE CAPITAL CITY. 

ARRISBURG, the gateway to Central Pennsylvania, and Capital 
of the State is a beautiful city, located on an elevated plain or 
plateau, above the Susquehanna and fully twenty-five feet from 
low water mark. This plateau is in reality an immense island, 
oval in shape, and surrounded by the river, Paxton Creek and 
Fox's Run. Of recent years the city has overstepped the ancient 
boundary lines, reaching far into the adjoining townships. 1 1 
;■ embraces within its corporate limits 2,272 acres and has a popula- 
: ^*' lion of o'.)..'jSr>. Since the centennial of its founding, an event duly 
"" ^f^^S**^ 1 * - celebrated in 18S5, Harrisburg has experienced a marvelous growth, 

olid and substantial in general character, and encouraging to those 
aving the real welfare of the city at heart. For generations, and 
until lone- after the close of the rebellion, the State Capital wore a Van Winklean look 
and a frown of contempt for all innovations witli tendencies to compel the old ways to 
reconstruct themselves ami don the habiliments of progress, enterprise and municipal pride 
and ambition. For years Harrisburg bore the reputation of being the native heath of the 
"clam," a species of individual that will not move out of a given line, and opposes the 
fellow with push, pluck and vim who desires to do good for himself and thoss about him. 
Hut it is evidence of a greater and broader spirit of progress to note that the "clam" is 
being made use of, viz: to populate the handsome cemeteries that arc in the vicinity. 

The commercial advantages of Harrisburg are superior to all other rival cities 
Philadelphia and Pittsburg excepted, railroads from every section of the country- 
centering here, thus affording unexcelled advantages for the manufacture and shipment 
of iron and other products. The splendid railroad system radiating from it has been of 
especial importance to Harrisburg and made it a. point of supplies for the merchant, the 
farmer and mechanic. The largest industrial establishments in the State arc located here; 
and through .,11 the years of financial stringency that threatened the prosperity of the 
country, they kept steadily on, disbursing thousands of dollars monthly to the working 
classes and aiding in the gradual building up of a great inland city. Harrisburg can 
well boast of her churches, schools, and banking institutions, factories, depots tor supplies, 
railway connections, the finest hotels ami electric street railways connecting all parts of 
the city with the neighboring towns. 

John Harris, an Englishman, who originally settled in Chester county, built the first 
cabin in this locality. Like others of his day, he came to America to make money out 
of traffic with the Indians. Finding the banks of the Delaware uncongenial to his tastes 
and ambitions he pushed into the wilderness, stopping for a while at Bainbridge, then at 
th<- mouth of the Swatara, now Middletown. The precise date of Harris' arrival at 
Paxtang creek is not of record, but he is heard of prior to 17'JO, when he permanently 
located on the banks of the Susquehanna, at the point where Front and Paxton streets 
intersect. Here he built a log house, with extensive sheds, the whole surrounded by a 
high stockade. He traded with the [ndians, exchanging goods of all kinds for furs. He 
married Esther Say, also a native of England, by whom he had one son, John Harris, Jr., 



H. 



Pri ise and Poetry. 



said to be the first white child born west of Conewago Falls. The lad was born in October, 
1727, and was in the following September taken to Philadelphia on horse-back for baptism. 
John Harris, before locating on the Susquehanna, laid the foundation of his wealth by 
pulling stumps from the streets in Philadelphia. Harris, bought land, the title to which 
he did not obtain until 17:i:'». adding by degrees In his purchase until he owned several 
hundred acres. He was as industrious as he was shrewd, combining agriculture with business 
pursuits tn a successful degree, and did not scruple hi sell whiskey and powder to the 

Indians, when he was nut 
person a 1 1 y endangered 
therehy. He also accumu- 
lated money through the 
operation of what was 
known for a half-century 
as -Harris' Ferry." thai 
crossed the river from Pax- 
Ion street to the old ferry 
house, the ruins of which 
are still standing below the 
end of the Cumberland 
Valley railroad bridge, at 
Bridgeport. Harris had a 
craving for more land, and 
squatted on Duncan's Is- 
land, hut was forced to 
give them up on complaint 
from the Iroquois, through 
< Ihief Shikalamy. At one 
time, Harris narrowly es- 
caped death at the stake, 
the Indians becoming en- 
raged because of his refusal 
to give them more rum, of 
which he believed they 
had sufficient. He was tied to a mulberry tree and the fire already started, when some 
friendly Indians, whose villa".' was near West Fairview, came to his rescue. A colored 
servant, named Hercules, is said to have carried the news of his master's danger across 
the river, and was ever after held in high esteem by Harris and his family. 

John Harris, the settler, died in L748, and was buried beneath the old mulberry 
tree ahum the river hank. His grave is enclosed by an iron fence, a tombstone being 
placed therein with an appropriate inscription. For years the stump of the mulberry tree 

S | | the action of the elements, hut finally succumbed to the inevitable, the decayed 

remains being removed in 1889. The younger John Harris had been brought up beneath 
the eye of his father, whose business sagacity, courage and energy he inherited. He was 
married twice, the names of his wives being Elizabeth Met 'lure and Mary Reed, respectively. 
Mary died in L787. John Harris, Jr., on getting control of his estate, at once secured a 
legal right to operate the ferry, which continued to be a source of revenue for sixty years 
thereafter. He took part in all the Indian wars, leading several expeditions in person. 




Hurrisburg, from Fort Wushington. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



37 



One of the first to declare for American tndepencencc lie also loaned the government three 
thousand pounds. He had unbounded confidence in the future of Harris' Ferry. All Ins 
plans were based on what he believed was in store for the place, which also led him to 

lay >mt streets and avenues, and devise means whereby the seal of government might be 
transferred In the town yet in embryo. In 1785, when Harris laid out the town proper, 
three score houses already occupied sites near the river hank. Claiming the privilege ol 
naming the town by reason of certain grants of land for public purposes, viz : Market Square 
and Capital Park, he christened it Harrisburg. Altera dispute with the Supreme Court, who 
wanted the name "Louisburg" applied to 
point and the original choice, Harrisburg, ^ 




law. The large stone mansion at the corner 
ington streets, the residence of (lie late 
eron, was built by John Harris, Jr., it 
lTliti. three years alter starting the 
a pretentious building in its daw the 
made John Harris a 
and influence among 
neighbors. M a ny 
upon General Cam- 
time will recognize 
Moti that hears such 
with the old log 
Harris, Sr. The death 
occurred July 29, 
in the old Paxtang 
ing plaee of many 
Paxtang Valley. 
tercd Harris all the 
shore of the Susque- 
site of Indian vil- 
berland, as far up as 
Cumberland Valley 
Harris tendered 
The Indian wars 
excitement at Ilar- 
the Paxtang 



it. I [arris gained his 
was recognized in 
of Front ami Wash- 
( ieneral Simon ( 'ani- 
heing completed in 
foundation. It was 
possesion of which 
man of prominence 
his less wealthy 
readers who called 
eron during his lifc- 
tlii- elegant old man- 
marked compa rison 
house built by John 
of John Harris, Jr.. 
1 T'-M . I le was buried 
graveyard, the rest- 
old settlers of the 

The I'eniis once of- 
land from the west 
hanna, including the 
lages, at West Fair view and New Cum- 
Silver's Spring, and extending across the 
from mountain to mountain, for $25,000. 
them $17,500, and refused to give more. 
between 1750 and 17<i">. created great 
ris' Ferry, and not until the march of 



Boyson J " k " Harris' Cabin, Gravi and Conestoga and subsequent annihilation 
Home m' Harris tin Second. , , ' ,. , ,• ,• , , , r 

of the tribe did the ' settlers feel sale from slaughter. In 

1790 the feeling in Congress toward making Harrisburg the Federal seat of government 

was so strong that the vote at one time was a tie. The Legislature, in February, 1812, passed 

an act authorizing the removal of all the State officers from Lancaster to Harrisburg, which 

was the decisive step in this direction. The corner-stone of the Capitol was laid .May 31, 

1819 and was completed 1821, since which time many additions and improvements have 

been made. Visitors to the Capital City will not go away without indulging in a stroll 

through the beautiful park and a thorough inspection of the State buildings. The Capital 

stands on a handsome, sloping elevation, affording an excellent view of the surroundings. 

The grounds are tastefully laid out in gravel walks and driveways winding among the 

tall umbrageous trees of vigorous growth and broad shade Along the public promenades, 



J 8 



Prose and Poetry. 



placed at convenient distances, are benches where one may rest and enjoy the beauties about 
him. Two artificial fountains, with rustic centers, occupy prominent positions near the 
buildings. A smaller statue fountain, "The Unfortunate Boy," a recent addition to the 
Park attractions, is a great favorite with the children. Then there is the stately Mexican 

Monument erected to the memory of Pennsyl- 
vanians who lost their lives during the Mexican 
War. It is surrounded by a fence composed <>f 
flint-lock muskets that were carried from the Rio 
Grande to the very doors of the Montezumas. At 
the loot of the monument, placed on a huge frame, 
are a number of Mexican cannon captured by the 
Pennsylvania troops. 

The conservatory, where flowers bloom as 
profusely in December as May. is a tine building 
of unique design and convenient appointments. 
The numerous entrances to the Park have lately 
been beautified by elaborately corniced steps and 
balustrades that show their massive grandeur to 




Go 



E. /■:. Patti 




( 'apitol Buildings. 



excellent advantage. The 
visitor will not forget to look 
into the Senate- ( 'hamber and 
Hall of the House of Repre- 
sentatives before ascending 
to the second story. Here 
are apartments for the State 
Library containing 97,000 
volumes, in charge of Dr. 
William II. Egle, a distin- 
guished historian, antiqua- 
rian and genera] writer; offices of the Attorney General, Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, Adjutant General and Lieutenant Governor. The Flag-Room, the depository 
of the battle-torn banners carried by the Pennsylvania Regiments during the late war 
between the States, is a most sacred shrine where those who wore the Blue and fought to 
defend the glorious stars and stripes may direct their footsteps and gaze in silent veneration 
upon the precious relics. 

After all the years that intervene 

Between the fall of Sumpter ami to-day, 

'I'be laded banners, torn and old. 
Have tales of conflict yet untold. 
And patriotism marks each Ibid 
Though death holds lips at bay. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 

With hearts most grateful, tenderest words. 
And lashes pearled with honest tears, 
Gaze on the ragged flags! No blot 
Or tarnish to the sight is brought, 
But noble, faithful duties taught 
liv lessons from those years. 



i<> 




( 'uptivt Guns. 

God bless the flags! Their records bright 
Add glory to the righteous cause; 
Freedom won a new birthright 
Ami reverence for her laws. 
Guard them, men. to whom is given 
The guidance of our State ' 

Emblems of valor horn of heaven, 
Defying shafts by traitors driven, — 
Protect them ! Lowly, — great. 

To the south of the main building is the office of the Secretary of Internal Affairs, 
containing also the Supreme Court Chamber. The north building shown in the engraving, 

is occupied by the Auditor General, State Treasurer, and on the second story by the 
Secretary of State and the Governor of the Commonwealth, Hon. Robert E. Pattison. The 
Executive Department is much visited by strangers and open to all persons, to whom is 
shown the most courteous attention by the Governor and those about him. On the walls 
of the reception-room hang the portraits of all the Governors of Pennsylvania, from the 
adoption of the Constitution of 1790 down to and including tin' present incumbent, who was 
elected in 1882 and again in L890. The Governor's mansion is on Front street near State. 



40 



Prose and Poetry. 



From the dome of the'Capital one may behold a landscape unexcelled for variety of 
effects, picturesque beauty and charming river scenery. To I lie north are the famous 
Kittatinny mountains, called by the Indians "The Endless Hills," and Rockville Gap, 
through which flows the Susquehanna. Looking in the same direction the eye cannot 

miss the great white dome 
that crowns the Lunatic 
Hospital, opened for the 
reception of patients in 
L851. Turning to the 
East one may see the 
State Arsenal, a splendid 
building for the storage 
of military sup] dies : the 
Harrisburg cemet cry 
where repose the remains 
of three of Pennsylvania's 
Governors, viz: William 
Find lay. 1817-1820; 
David R. Porter, 1839- 
1845; and John W. Geary, 
1867-1873. Distant a lew- 
lots from the tomb of the 
latter, is the grave of the 
first Joseph Jefferson, 
grandfather of the present 
distinguished actor of Rip 
Van Winkle celebrity : 
Prospect Park, the location 
of the city reservoir, which 
prominence extends eastward and tonus tbe historic Paxtang Valley. To the South is Steelton 
and the York bills that blend into the South mountain range and at whose feet lie cultivated 
farms, cosy homes and the growing town of New Cumberland. Looking westward is the 
far-famed Cumberland Val ley, where the hardy and intrepid Scotch-Irish early made homes 
and secured valuable estates. Here Hows tbe broad Susquehanna about whose shores 
cluster richest memories interspersed with traditionary lore, nineteenth century progress 
and the magic of homely and familiar associations. There are the green isles that every- 
where break tbe otherwise monotony of a wide expanse of water, the rippling waves 
dancing beneath the sunlight and coquetting with nodding trees and grass-fringed shore. 
Then, too, there comes to tbe ear a welcome sound from tbe multitudes in tbe streets below 
that tells of the ebbing and flowing of humanity's tide; of earnest competition in trades. 
professions and business circles; of tbe joys and pleasures sought after in the pursuit 
of man's ignis fatuus — Fortune, and of burdens that fret and bear heavily down upon 
weary shoulders that ache with tbe toils of tbe day. 

Four bridges span the river at Harrisburg, two of which are used for vehicles and foot 
travel exclusively. The first bridge to be built across tbe Susquehanna at this point and 
widely-known is " Tbe old Camel-back Bridge." It was finished in 1816, nearly four years 
being consumed in its construction. Tbe builder was Theodore Burr, and tbe price paid 




Over tin liiii i- tn West Fuirview. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



41 



him $180,000, of which sum the State appropriated $90,000. The pari next to Front street 

was carried away by the II 1 of March 15, 1846, and re-built in 1847. It. was destroyed 

by fire in 1866 and again rebuilt in the year following. The bridge running between the 
island and Cumberland shore is the original Burr plan, said to be the only one of the kind 
in the world. It is a rare curiosity. The States share of stock, $90,000, was sold to private 
parties for $9,000. The Cumberland Valley railroad bridge was built and opened for travel 
a t 2.30 p. m., January 16,1839. The first train leaving Bridgeport was composed of two 
batfouge cars, three coaches and the locomotive, "Nicholas Biddle." It was destroyed by 
fire in 1844 and immediately re-built. This structure was supplanted by another in \s~>f>. 
and this again by the present iron bridge, completed in 1886. The South Penn Railroad 
Company contracted for a bridge across 
the liver at Paxton street, the piers of 
which were erected in the summer oi 
1S85. The road was never completed 
and the piers are pointed out as "Tin 
Vanderbilt monuments." The People's 
bridge, at Walnut street, was built by 
popular subscription in 1S89 and de- 
signed as a rival of the "Old Camel- 
back." They were consolidated during 
the present year. The handsome iron 
bridge crossing the River at Paxton 
street was built by the Philadelphia 
and Reading Company in 1890, and is 
parallel with the South Penn piers. 
There are many other points of interest 
in and around Harrisburg worthy of special visit, the convenience afforded by the electric 
street cars running on the principal streets, being ample for all requirements or purposes. 
The close proximity of the Kittatinnv and South mountain ranges, the numerous groves 
popular with the people as pleasure resorts, and the facilities for reaching the same conspire 
toward making a residence at the Capital City one of enjoyment and desirability. 

There is a stretch of river, from Harrisburg to Rockville, that is worthy of a passing- 
notice. Taking the turnpike, or as it is known to pleasure seekers, "The River Road," one may 
behold a five-mile panorama of scenery unsurpassed in loveliness and beauty of landscape. 
The drive is a delightful one and will linger long among the happy experiences of life. 
McCormick's Island, a large, fertile tract of land in mid-river, is popular as a picnic 
resort. In the vicinity of the Island the choicest terrapin are found. Estherton is the name 
of a roadside village, better known as " Coxestown," and was prominent in ante-revolution 
times. It was laid out in 1762, by Dr. John Cox, of Philadelphia, farther on is a relic of 
ye olden times, the homestead of the Otts'. The old mansion was built in 1764, the brick 
used in its first construction being brought from Philadelphia. It was partially destroyed by 
tire and afterwards re-modeled. In the early part of the present century the old house had 
the reputation of being the rendezvous of thieves and counterfeiters who plied their nefarious 
trade among rivermen and wagoners on the Pittsburg and Philadelphia turnpike, passing 
the door. A tunnel was built connecting the house with the river, but all trace- have 
disappeared. The scenery at Rockville, where the Pennsylvania railroad crosses the 
Susquehanna is the finest in the country. Rockville Gap possesses an historic charm to 




Picknicking — OpposiU Mc( 'orwiicfs Island. 



42 



Prose and Poetry. 



every admirer of Nature and homely associations. On the top of the mountain peak, whose 
steep sides extend down into the village, are the ruins of an old fort, called by the settlers 
the "Indian Fort Hunter." From its rocky walls a sweeping view of the river in both 
directions may be obtained. It was one of the favorite retreats for Indians when on 
the war-path. Spencer Park is the home of 'Squire James McAllister, a genial companion 
and prominent citizen. He is a descendant of the McAllister's who settled at Fort Hunter. 



OUR RIVER. 




ENTINELED by mountains purple (lows the river on its way, 
^ Legends from the land of shadows whisper of a bygone day. 
Paces vanished and forgotten lived and loved upon its shore. 
And its placid, rippling waters have been stained with deepest gore. 



It has heard the din of carnage, seen the hitter, deadly strife, 

On its banks of fairest beauty has been born a broader life. 

Darts the light canoe no longer o'er its waters, calm and clear. 

And no savage, stern and vengeful, wakens now the white man's fear. 

Solemn secrets holds the river in its ever silent breast — 
Secrets of the buried ages and ot nations laid to rest, 
Wooded hills and lonely islands may no knowledge now impart, 
Swells the storied wealth of ages deep within the river's heart. 



1898 



Flow its waters on, unceasing, tireless, restless, swift and fast, 
While its current gives no token of the cruel, heartless past, 
This, the lesson that it teacheth: Look not at the withered sod; 

loment. Live, and work for man and God! 

Mabel Cronise Jones. 



Li 



>ut in the present in 




Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



43 



CAMP CURTIN. 




sti; 
de: 

111! 



ill and m 
end the I 
the great 



ust be 
nite 



AMI' Curtin is of the past. lis name and memories live bul 
in the recollections of those who fought for the Union; or in 
the magic dream life of the present generation, then too young 
to realize the horrors and demoralization of war, and who now 

draw upon history, written and verbal, fur a more c pre- 

lensive and familiar idea of the memorable conflict. The 

i\v%M story uf <:n " ! ' Curtin ma y 1 "' told lii ' ii '"- v - its '"'K 1 "' uses :u "' 

liJr til I, though volumes might he written to enrich 

the literature of romance and realism to an almost unlimited 

extent. 

liming war times Harrisburg, besides being the Capital 

of Pennsylvania, that had so conspicuously declared the 1 nion 
preserved, thus practically and fearlessly leading in the movement to 
States from its enemies and home-born traitors, was centrally located 



ailway whose branches and connections ramified and touched the entire country 




out < 'amp ( 'urtin Hospital. 

west of the Alleghenies and north of the Empire State line. In addition to these advant- 
ages, the then young Governor, Andrew G. Curtin. inaugurated January 15, 1861, had 
declared openly and enthusiastically for the abolition of slavery, and from which position 
he never surrendered through all the years of conflict following. It is said of him that he 
came to the Executive Chair just as hostilities were opening, and he occupied it until the 
smoke of the conflict had cleared away, and the veterans from many a hard-fought held 
and lonely bivouac, with banners streaming in triumph, came marching home. 

When war became inevitable Governor Curtin issued his famous call for volunteers, 
out of which was formed the celebrated Pennsylvania Reserve Corps that so signally dis- 



44 Prose and poetry. 

tinguished itself throughout the rebellion. By the massing of large bodies of men at the 
State Capital Governor Curtin saw at once the necessity of providing a place of rendezvous 
where the recruits could be properly drilled and disciplined. It was then — April, 1861, — 

that the fields north of the city were leased and immediately occupied. The ground 
selected was above the Asylum mad. at that time nearly a mile beyond the limits, or 
built-up portions of the city. The location was considered perfect. The limits of the cam]), 
from a present survey, included all the land hounded by Watt's lane on the north, the Penn- 
sylvania railroad on the east, Asylum road, or Maclay street, on the south, and what is now 
known as Fifth street on the west. Captain I "avid Qnger was the owner of most all the 
land so occupied. Here the tents were pitched in rows, forming a white village of canvas 
covering acres of greensward that soon became trampled ami bared by the thousands of 
passing feet. It was soon deemed necessary to erect a hospital for the accommodation of the 
sick and wounded, the latter being sent from the front or taken ill en route to their homes on 
furlough. The illustration is an excellent likeness of the hospital building, the site of which 
was, until recently, occupied by the barn belonging to St. Genevieve's Academy. To the 
hospital came the noble women of Harrisburg to care for the sick and minister to their 
wants. They indulged in their charitable and kindly duties with a willingness and fortitude 
never excelled, and seldom equaled. They distinguished themselves for kindness and self- 
sacrificing devotion to the health, cheerfulness and comfort of the soldier, rendering efficient 
aid, both in the sick wards and in the camp. Verily, they shall have their reward. An 
appropriate, though brief, synopsis of woman's experience in the wards of the hospital is 
told with truth and pathos in the lines following, and written by a Southerner: 

" Woman's Wai: Mission." 

"Look around! By the torchlight unsteady, 

The dead and the dying seem one; — 
What, paling and trembling already, 

Before your dear mission's begun? 

Pause here by this bedsidi — how mellow 

The light showers down on that brow — 
Such a brave, brawny visagi — Poor fellow, 

Some homestead is missing him now. 

Some wife shades her eyes in the clearing. 

Some mother sits moaning — distressed, 
While the loved one lies faint, hut unfearing, 

With the enemy's ball in his breast. 

Here's another, a lad — a mere stripling — 

Picked up from the field, almost dead; 
With the blood through his sunny hair rippling 

Prom a horrible gash in the head. 

Fought and fell 'neath the guns of that city. 

With a spirit transcending his years. 
Lift him up in your large-hearted pity 

And touch his pale lips with your tears. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 45 

Pass on. It is useless to linger, 

While others arc claiming your care; 
There is need of your delicate finger, 

For your womanly sympathy there. 

There arc sick ones athirst for caressing, 

There arc dying cues ravine of home, 
There are wounds to be bound with a blessing, 

Ami shrouds to make ready I'm- some. 

They have gathered about you the harvest 

< )f death, in its ghastliest view; 
The nearest as well as the farthest 

Is here with the trailer and true. 

And crowned with your beautiful [.alienee. 

Made sunny with love at the heart, 
Yen must balsam the wounds of a nation, 

Nor falter, nor shrink from your part. 

1 grant that the task's superhuman, 

But strength will be given to you 
To do for those dear ones what woman 

Alone, in her pity can do. 

Bui e'en if you dropdown unheeded. 

What matter? (Soil's ways are the best; 
You've poured out your life where 'twas needed, 
Ami he will take care of the rest," 
A daily witness of the most stirring scenes, Harrisburg, happily for its inhabitants, 
experienced none of the disastrous scenes consequent upon the capture and occupation by the 
dreaded foe Located on the Susquehanna, it was the key to communications with Wash- 
ington and the entire North. Believing in its strength to resist (be approach oi the 
< lonfederate army, it become the objective point of Southern refugees and the inhabitants ot 
the border counties. Little apprehension was manifested until June, 1SG3, when the daring 
and still bolder movements of the foe caused a feeling' of anxiety to pervade eve. (ami, 
Curtin itself It was in the dawn of the month of roses when the Confederate army. Hushed 
with the pride of two victories-Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville-that Lee. in emulation 
of Alexander, thought of weeping because he found there were no more toes to conquer. A 
commander of his disposition could not remain long idle, and consequently backed by the 
government at Richmond, preparations were hurriedly made to move North. Lee knew that 
a lodgment on Pennsylvania soil, be it ever so dangerous, meant a gnat deal, from a military 
standpoint, and cherished a hope that Pennsylvania's Capital would tall into his bands. 
Besides, the advance, if successful, could not fail of restoring confidence among the supporters 
of Jefferson Davis, who, at different periods, doubted the wisdom ot Lees actio..-. It was 
Lee's ambition and desire to transfer the theater of war to the east ot the Susquehanna, 



knowing too well the effect upon the country at large 



were such results attained. The State 
rapiiaM.ecame^thoroughlv alarmed at the report of Lee's advance, and was followed by 
Governor Curtin's proclamation of June 12, assuring the people of the impending danger ami 
urging them to enlist and organize for self-protection. General Couch was busy at ( amp 



46 Prose and Poetry. 

Curtin mustering in ana naving drilled the constantly increasing ranks, and making 
preparations for a stubborn resistance. The citizens organized themselves into companies 
and were at once assigned for duty. The contents of the State Library, together with all 
valuable State papers, were shipped to Philadelphia; fortifications were thrown up in Harris 
Park and at other points along Front street; citizens volunteered to work on the hill opposite 
Harrisburg, now known as "Fort Washington," where a long line of breastworks soon 
crowned the summit, and from which could he seen the glitter of cannon and musketry 
ready to erect the invading army that did not come. Those were days of anxiety in Harris- 
burg, and when Carlisle fell into the enemy's power, the excitement became intense. 
Regiment after regiment left Camp Curtin for points in the Cumberland Valley, where the 
Confederate General was having things his own way, and others hut awaited orders to march 
off. During the afternoon of June 29th, the Confederates had advanced as far as Oyster's 
Point, four miles west of Harrisburg, on the Carlisle pike, where a skirmish took place. 
General Knipe was in command of the home troops. The enemy was pushing on toward the 
Susquehanna when Knipe turned upon them the guns of Miller's Battery, which soon forced 
them to retreat. Oyster's Point was, therefore, the nearest advance to Harrisburg of the 
enemy in force. To prevent the approach of the Confederates spans of the "Old Camel-Back" 
bridge were severed, ready to be dropped into the river in case an attempt were made to cross. 
With a knowledge of the shallowness of the Susquehanna at that season of the year, when one 
can almost walk from shore to shore upon the rocky bottom, the sawing of the bridge spans 
seems ridiculous. < >n the morning of June 30th all signs of the raiders had vanished in the 
direction of Gettysburg, where the great battle was fought July 1. :! and 3. Thereafter the 
State Capital was not molested by Confederates or rumors ot Confederates until the war closed 
in V..".. 

The first volunteer military company to reach Harrisburg in response to Governor 
Curtin's call for troops, was the Ringgold Artillery, of Reading, arriving at eight p. m., April 
Kith. The Logan Guards, of Lewistown, arrived the next morning. They left for Washing- 
ton April 18th, with few guns ami no uniforms. Enlistment rapidly followed until the 
tent line of Camp Curtin was extended, quarters for the men increased, and provisions 
every way enlarged t<> meet the crowing demands, made so by the echo of Anderson's guns 
at Fort Sumpter ever ringing in the ears of the patriots ot the North. The last tent was 
removed from Camp Curtin in September, 1865, though traces of the famous ground 
remained for years after. By and by Harrisburg began growing westward, progresss and 
population reaching out toward the Asylum Road and embracing the territory between the 
river and railroad. Year by year these changes increased until at length a village site 
was laid out on the very spot marked by the imprint of tent-poles. Like pilgrims to a sacred 
shrine the veterans come back for a farewell look at old scenes, hut find so little to remind 
them of war days. They are waiting the final reveille when they shall be mustered in 
for eternity. The land marks are all cone, the last to disappear was the old pump. It is 
now a sacred relic in the museum of Post 58, College Block, a gift from Colonel John Motter, 
who owned the ground where the well was filled up. The site of the well is opposite 
Grove's Hotel. To recall the chances that have gradually crept into the vicinity of Camp 
Curtin one has hut to look back a dozen years. Then Asylum road was considered an 
out-of-the-way place. Few houses were built above Harris street and cultivated fields greeted 
the eye long before the Stock Yard Hotel was reached. But time has chanced all this. On 
old Camp Curtin a village has been built and homes for the working man founded. Whei 
the roll of the drums, the gruff call of the sentry and the hum of a populous camp sounded, 
after twenty-eight years peace rules, industry thrives and prosperity shares alike with all. 



c 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



47 




A RIVER REVERIE. 

S twilight chases the sunset behind the mountain's brow, 
As night steals o'er the valley and the life of the day is low, 
I loose my luiat from its moorings and float on the placid stream 
( > 1 1 1 into the gathering darkness, into a sleepless dream. 



The weird wash of the water on the river's pebbled shore, 

The mellowed rush of the ripple and the quiet dip of the oar 

Are sounds that break the silence, so lonely, gloomy vet grand, 

That hangs like a dusky curtain 'twixt the day and the dark'ning land. 

As I float, with trailing paddle, past islands growing dim, 
1 hear the vespers chiming the notes of a sweet old hymn ; 
A hymn that brings recollections of life's most sunny days, 
And 1 lose myself in fancy till the real becomes a maze. 

I pass where the lights of the city shine out from the ghost-like shore, 
The clock in the State-House tower tells the hour gone before; 
The distant hills of Cumberland stand forth in their lonesomeness 
And guard, like faithful sentries, the river we praise and bless. 

The cheering noise of factory, the furnace's hum and glow 
Are Labor's grandest chorus ever heard by man below : 
Ami 1 float with bated breathing, with silent lip and tongue — 
The melody is not forgotten, though the song remains unsung. 

My boat drifts with the current 'neath bridges frowning and lone, 
Away from the busy city, into the night unknown. 
Till I rouse from my happy reverie, and with stroke of trusty oar. 
The boat drifts swiftly shoreward, and I live in the real once more. 

Zenas .1. Gray. 




48 



Prose and Poetry. 



,--.- *-- 





OLD 
FORT HUNTER. 

( )n the east bant 
of the Susquehanna 
at the mouth of 
Fishing Creek, op- 
posite the town of 
Marysville, and six- 
miles above Harris- 
hurt;-, is Old Fort 
Hunter, a name 
spoken and known 
for more than one 
years. There are no traces of the old-time battlements, no rusty 
cannon— nothing to indicate the part this famous locality figured in the struggle for 
settlement and civilization of the Susquehanna and Juniata Valleys. Yet it is Old Fort 
Hunter! old in local history and story in colonial and ante-Revolutionary records and 
traditions that have come down through verbal and historic highways. 

Fort Hunter was one of the earliest settlements west of the Conestoga, and soon became 
noted for its frontier advantages as a place of rendezvous and defense and supply station 
for other posts farther up and beyond the Susquehanna. Numerous conferences with the 
Indians were held here, nearly all 'of which hut proved the craftiness and treachery of their 
race. Prior to 1730, one Joseph Chambers, with three brothers, took possession of three 
hundred acres of land and built thereon a large double cabin, and the first grist-mill above 
the Swatara. The mill was of logs, primitive in appearance, but it fulfilled its mission. It 
was patronized by the settlers from the Paxtang Valley and those as tar west as Duncan's 
Island, who brought their corn and wheat to be made into flour. The original building 
was washed away by the big Hood of 1784, since which two mills have been built on or 
near the old site, Chamber's place was the resort for Indians, settlers, traders and 



hundred ami lil'h 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



49 



adventurers of all classes; the jovial disposition of the owner and the plain, honest 
hospitality dispensed soon attracted a large patronage. The batteauxmen, who did a 
thriving business on the river, and who tied up at Fort Hunter, were, according to the 
Journal of the Rev. David Brainerd, an English missionary, who, in 17 hi. stopped at 
Chambers' over night, "an ungodly crew who drank nun" and indulged in unlimited 
profanity. About the year 1755 t.he Provincial government ordered the erection of a line 
of forts at certain points on the east bank of the Susquehanna. Chambers' was the first to 
be selected, and the high bluff facing, and extending into the river, was considered the 
most eligible. It was advantageous from a military standpoint, the embankment being 
more than thirty feet above the river and overlooking it as far as McCormick's Island on 
the south and great bend, beyond Dauphin, on the north. Fort Hunter was not built for 
strong defense and could not have withstood a sudden or determined attack from the enemy 
bad one been made. Originally it was a lone-, low building of logs used for garrison pur- 
poses, surrounded by an entrenchment supported by stones at the parapet bases. Eight 
years after its erection Rev. John Elder wrote Governor Hamilton that the earth-works were 
level with the ground and called his attention to the absolute necessity of having erected 
" a stockade to cover the men." 

In 1785 Chambers sold his land including the old fort and tavern to Archibald 
McAllister, who was a typical boniface of ye olden time. His establishment was the gath- 
ering place of the entire neighborhood, the guests numbering among them boatmen, 
wagoners, travelers from the far away Alleghenies and the rich speculators from the East, 
all of whom doubtless enjoyed their stay. 

In 1814 few traces of the old fort were visible, and later the large mansion house 
standing near the edge of the precipitous bank was built. The property is now in the 
possession of the D. D. Boas estate, of Harrisburg. In the laige lawn are several relies of 
pioneer davs — trees, tall, majestic and of immense girth, wdiose genial shade has cooled the 
brows of many generations. 




50 



Prose and Poetry. 



KITTATINNY. 




OR mount sublime, nor humblest one of all, 

Thy gentle beauty, ever brought to mind, 

Turns thought to thee with ('very idle wind. 

In woods of thine resounds the pheasant's call, 
And nimble squirrels chirp from treetops tall; 

Thy ozone-laden airs the senses bind, 

And nature adds the smallest of its kind, 
A musically tinkling waterfall. 
When morning's brilliant sunlight gilds thy crest, 

And night's dark mists are rolled back to the sky — 
While fragrant flowers nestle on thy breast, 

And, with the fern leaves to adorn thee, vie — 
Thy mantle blue, with glistening dewdrops drest, 

Clothes nature's queen ami heaven's joy on high. 

John Handiboe. 



ROCKVILLE TO DUNCANNON. 




VER the magnificent iron bridge, the traveler is rapidly carried 
into the heart of the famous gap that takes its name from the 
town situated at the eastern end of the bridge. The latter is 3,670 
Iret in length, above the point known to raftsmen as "Weitzel's 
Nose." Three miles further on is Marysville, once a thriving and 
industrious town, before the abandonment by the Northern Central 
Railway of the bridge, the piers of which are still noticeable. 
The scenery here is wild, the Kittatinny Mountains on the east 
and the Tuscarora on the west, forming a foreground picturesque 
to a remarkable degree. The river is broken by the rapids called 
"Hunter's falls," the site of old Fort Hunter being opposite. 
Huge rocks abound, through which the current dashes and surges, and was ever the fear and 
dread of the rivermen. Dauphin is on the opposite shore, in Dauphin county. If is a desir- 
.,1,1,. place of residence in summer. Passing around the end of the mountain, you are in the 
Cove, a celebrated locality and a great favorite with Harrisburgers, many of whom own 
handsome cottages, where they spend vacation days and entertain friends. The Cove is a 
geological peculiarity. Prof. Claypole says its physical features are entirely due to the pres- 
ence and direction of the Pocono Sandstone Mountain, which crosses the river at Duncannon, 
under the name of Peter's, or fourth Mountain, runs to the southwest, then curves around 
and, turning eastward at the Horseshoe, returns to the Susquehanna River, which it crosses 
above Marvsville. The Cove is considered the western extremity of the southern angle of the 



Sum Mil MANNA AND .IllNIATA RIVERS. 



51 





RockvilU Gap — I 



.ooking Up Sh 



great Pottsville coal basin. The river, after passing through the gap at Duncannon, flows 
slantingly down and across the Cove, five miles, turns in through a gap in the Second Moun- 



tain at Marysville and Dauphin, thence through 
fall of the Susquehanna through the Cove is 
estimated at 1.58 feet per mile, from the Cove to 
Rockville, 2.69, thence to Harrisburg the rate 
is 1.35 feet. From Mahantonga, above Liver- 
pool to Rockville a distance of 30J miles, the 
river lias a total fall of 81| feet, or at the rate 
of 2| feet per mile. The several falls, or rapids, 
which are frequently referred to, form natural 
dams, over which the river has been tumbling 
for ages. The conclusion to be reached is, 
that these natural dams must have been higher 
above the ocean level in each preceding age 
following the process of wear and tear hack- 
wards, and the whole country from the Blue, or 
Kittatiny Mountains at Rockville westward, 
was one great lake. There is ample evidence 
to prove this geological assertion. 

The railroad company has made extensive 
improvements in (lie Cove that had much to 
do with its present popularity as a summer re- 
sort. At Cove Forge, a station east of Duncan- 
non. the Harrisburg Fishing Club has elegant 
quarters. The club house stands on an emi- 
nence, three hundred feet above the river, and 
overlooking the entire Cove. It is a delightful 
resort in summer, and a place of rest, at all j- 
seasons. 

Duncannon is the busiest town in Perry 
county. For years it has enjoyed the distinc- 
tion of being the manufacturing center of the 



the Rockville gap towards Harrisburj 



Th 




X" 



N 



jfeV.. - ' --■ 




*£. CO f*Mfi.f* 



Covi F"fj' Fish House in II inU i\ 



^2 



Prose and Poetry. 




three-fourths of a mile 
path built on the lower 



river valley, as between Harrisburg and Lewistown. The Duncannon Iron Company owns 
and operates a furnace, rolling and nail mills. It is a prosperous town and is in direct 
communication by railway with the richest part of the country. East of town there is a spur of 
mountain called "Profile Ruck." from its resemblance to the human face. On Sherman's 
Creek, not far from Duncannon, the tirst settlements were made against the wishes of the 
Provincial Government, who sought to keep faith with the Indians. Col. Crogham, then a 

resident of Carlisle, and after whom Sterritt's 
Gap was first named, was sent into Sherman's 
Valley to dispossess the settlers. He burned 
their cabins, laid waste their lands and drove 
them from the valley. 

Clarke's Ferry is so well known to all 
Pennsylvanians that a description of the locality 
might seem superfluous to those so informed, 
but its proximity to Duncannon and the close 
relation it bears to Duncan's Island and the 
mouth of the Juniata, is ample apology for any 
extended reference here. The ferry, or fording- 
Bown th<: Hirer From Duncannon. place, was used as early as 17:'>o by the whites 

who were pushing their way into the Juniata Valley. The river was easily crossed, the cur- 
rent being sluggish and n.-t deep. The Indians called it "Queen ash awkee." The river is 

,-ide and is crossed by a wooden bridge. There is a double towing 
used for towing boats, the channel changing from the east to the 
The dam is immediately below the bridge. It is a beautiful sheet of water and 
forms a pool extending more 
than a mile above. There are 
line fishing grounds below the 
dam. ami are prolific of fish. 
The Benvenue Club House is 
situated at the mouth of the 
Juniata, on the Perry county 
shore. It is a charming site. 
The building is nf stone, two 
stories high, the interior being 
commodious and convenient. 
It was formerly the old Baskin 
tavern and homestead. Facing 
the confluence of the Juniata 
and Susquehanna the river 
\ iew is unequaled in placid 
beauty. The roar and sparkle of the waters as they fall over the comb of Clarke's Dam exert 
a delightful influence on the beholder, and hut adds to the perspective with Peter's mountain 
towering high above and overlooking the historic neighborhood. 

Duncan's Island at the junction of the two rivers, and a sister Island, Ilaldeman's. 
occupy the foremost position historically of the many famous localities west of Conestoga, 
Duncan's Island is perhaps the most noted, as it was the site of an In. ban village, believed 
to have been " Attrakour," first heard of in L654. It is probable that it was occupied by 




/;, nvt mi, ( "mil Houst . 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



53 



the earliest tribes and maintained by them as as a wayside place of res) and for the excellent 
fishing the two rivers furnished. Captain John Smith, when he explored the lower Susque- 
hanna in L608, was told by the tndians whom he mel of the village, " Ohoniaday," and Isaac 
Taylor, the Chester county surveyer, in 1701, made a map of the Susquehanna on which he 
has marked, ai the mouth of a large stream, "Cheniaty." II was on Haldeman's Island 
at what was known as " White Rock," thai John Harris in 1733 built a cabin and sought to 
trade with the Indians but was forced to vacate. The Hillings' and Walls' were the earliest 
settlers on Duncan's Island, the former locating on the upper end in 1755. He it was who 
established the ferry over the Juniata and built a causeway over tin narrow stream near the 
present Aqueduct for packdiorses to pass over. Another settler named Baskin was the 
originator of what is still known as ('lark's Ferry. During the Indian wars the settlers 
on the Juniata suffered extremely. In 1760 the Hulings' family was driven away. Placing 
his wife and child on the family horse, Hulings directed them to proceed to the point 
where the two rivers meet and await his coming. He went hack to get a farewell shot, hut 
was detained longer than expected, whereupon Mrs. Hulings became alarmed and forced the 
animal into the river through which he carried her in safety. She awaited her husband's 
arrival on the other side, and, together with a Mrs. Berryhill, whose husband was killed 
they reached Fort Hunter. Rev. David Brainerd, in 174"), visited the Island, remaining 
several days at each visit. His description of the Indians and their mode of worship and 
manner of living is given with sincere regret at his inability to improve their conditions. A 
Mrs. Baskin, one of the original families, and two children were carried away by Indians 
The hoy escaped before leaving the Island, and .Mrs. Baskin also eluded her captors near 
Carlisle. The daughter was taken to Ohio, where after six years of captivity she was 
returned to friends. She married a man named Smith and resided at Newport until her 
death. Duncan's Island was the favorite home of the Indians. Their burying-ground was 
where the canal lock is now located. A great mound existed, out of which was taken large 
quantities of hones, implements made of stone and various trinkets. The Duncans inherited 
the island from their grandparents, the original Hulings' and Watts' who had inter-married. 
It is related of Hulings that in 1756 he owned two hundred acres at the mouth of the Juniata 
and was of the belief that a great city would spring up there He moved to the junction of the 
Allegheny and Monongahela where he also took up land. Thinking the latter was too far 
west for profit he sold it, returning to his Island on the Susquehanna. One of his purchases 
is now Pittsburg, and the other Benevue. Although the old Duncan plantation still retains 
the name " Island" it is not in reality an island now. Before the construction of the canal 
the Juniata flowed into the Susquehanna, or vice versa, through a channel north of the 

Island, near Rentier's old tavern, and called by boatmen, " the (int." During the great 11 1 

of 1346 the embankment was swept out and the Susquehanna resumed its old course until 
rebuilt. The channel that surrounds Haldeman's Island is deep and rapid. It rejoins the 
river at ( 'larke's bridge. 




54 



Prose and Poetry. 




ON THE BRIDGE WHERE THE RIVERS MEET. 

EARS agOj when the wind was low 
And the east was dim and grey, 
le) And the west was red with the sunset glow. 
And the daylight ebbed away. 
And never a sound came through the night 

Save the rush of the waters fleet 
1 stood where I stand in the waning light 
( hi the bridge where the rivers meet. 

The years have come and the years have gone 

And have left their marks on me; 
But the river unchanged speeds gaily on 

To the ever-changing sea ; 
The hills are unaltered far and near 

And the still scene is complete : 
I alone seem changed who linger here 

On the bridge where the rivers meet. 



Charles Johns. 



SUNSET AT BENVENUE. 




SLOW the bridge at sunset 
We take our rapid way 
«\ \ The oars are dipping lightly 
As if in merry play. 

In the softly twirling eddies 
The foamy waves flow on 

Past many an emerald island 
Bathed in the setting sun. 

The waters, falling gently. 

Send up a misty spray, 
All brilliant with the beauty 

( If the fading day. 

Across the lonely ferry 

From out the bridge's gloom 
Away from the mountains shadow 

The twilight echoes come. 



Emma F. Carpenter. 



si, i lUEHANNA AND lUNIATA RIVERS. 



55 



INGLENOOK. 




occupancy of the rnemb* 



NGLENOOK, one of the most charming family resorts oil the 
Susquehanna, is situated on the East bank, near Powell's creek, at 
the base of Peter's mountain, and about one and one-half miles 
above Clarke's Perry dam. The grounds lie between the river and 
the Northern Central railroad, and is a recognized station at which 
all local trains stop. It is owned by a number of gentlemen 

representatives of pr incut Harrisburg families, who, in 1888 ] 

organized themselves into an association for pleasure and social 
purposes, with necessary charter rights and privileges. The site is 
one of the prettiest north of Benvenue, and excellent judgment 
was displayed in its selection. There are two buildings of Queen 
Anne design, the largest of which is for the exclusive use and 
rs, their families and invited guests. The interior is conveniently 

arranged and furnished to gratify 
the simpler desires of those that long 
for a genuine outing with com- 
plete freedom from worldly cares, 
as well as others more luxuriously 
nclined. A large, old-fashioned fire- 
place, from which the result lake- 
its name, is the must conspicuous 
idolized object among the interior 
appointments. It is fitted-up with 




andirons, shovel 
and lone tongs; 
and when the 
big hearth is 
piled high with 
blazing logs, the 
warmth and 
glow and cheer- 
ful surround- 
ings throw over 
one a facinatina 



Inglenook — River View from Piazza. 



56 



Prose and Poetry. 



spell out of which the awakening is accompanied by regrets. The poetic Ingleside of 
Scotland, made world-famous by the genius and songs of Robert Burns, finds a faithful and 
honored counterpart at Inglenook-on-the-Susquehanna. The smaller cottage is tbe home 
of the steward, who lias sole charge of the grounds and the cuisine. 

The scenery is ravishingly beautiful, the variety and pleasing effects being unsurpassed- 
The main building stands by the shore and has for its foreground a broad, bewitching 
expanse of river, nearly a mile wide. In appearance it is one vast lake, with a wild sweep 
of current that, washing the eastern bank, turns at right angles and runs direct to the farther 
shore. The boating is excellent; and the knights of the rod and gun can find both pleasure 
and game in return for their labors. 



THE LAND BETWEEN THE RIVERS. 



I lov 



ET those who will as pilgrims go 
To climes across the ocean, — 
love the scenes which long ago 
Awaked my young emotion ; 
That bade my youthful thoughts arise, 
And manhood's high endeavors. — 
My native home, that smiling lies, — 
The land between the rivers. 

Though there no lordly castle throws, 

O'er moor, or plain its shadow; 
From where the Susquehanna flows 

Through mountain-gap and meadow, 
To where the Juniata's tide 

Its tribute wave delivers; — 
The streams that bound on either side, — 

The land between the rivers. 

And spreads our river broad, a lake, 

With Ceaseless currents fretting, 
A thousand islands green that break 

The crystal of their setting ; 
And there the wildfowl gayly swim, 

And there the sunlight quivers, 
Till evening veils with mantle dim 

'the land between the rivers. 

'I'he purple mists of early morn, 

With diadems of glory 
Our rugged mountain crests adorn. 

Unknown to song or story ; 
And monareli-rob'd in golden light. 

They look, where sways and quivers, 
The water-lily's spotless white 

That grows beside the rivers. 



Si SQUEHANNA AND JllNIATA RlVERS. 



57 



Aiul soft in beauty sweetly lie 

( >ur fertile vales extended, 
Afar, where golden clouds on high, 

And gold-green earth is blended : 
No eye can trace the faint drawn line 

Which hill and sky dissevers; 
So close the heavens bend down to join 

The land between the rivers. 

And there, in sunset's dying day, 

Through evening's sapphire portals, 
Bright forms Angelic countless stray 

Unseen by eves of mortals; 
Charmed from their fair celestial home, 

Where Death ne'er comes nor severs, 
To bless a second Ellen's bloom 

In land between the rivers. 



G. Cary Thrap. 



THE SUSQUEHANNA AT HALIFAX. 




WEET Riverview ! Sweet Riverview ! 
I love thy hills and mountains blue, 
Thy waters broad and sparkling bright, 
Their purple gleams of sunset light. 



Sweet Riverview! Sweet Riverview ! 

I love thy beauties, old and new; 

I've found it here, though long the quest: — 

Sweet peace of mind and perfect rest. 

Sarah B. McFarland 




5<S 



Prose and Poetry. 



HALIFAX TO SELINSGROVE. 




HERE may be "a pleasure in the pathless woods," but the path ought 
not to lead one too far from home and friends. There is, however, a 
greater and surer pleasure, with unbounded delights constantly mani- 
festing themselves, in a journey by the shore of our favorite river, whose 
name is ever associated with Indian legends, brave deeds and noble 
sacrifices of daring men ami loyal women who made the beautiful Sus- 
quehanna Valley to blossom as the rose. And their memories and 
deeds live on. 

Fort Halifax, on the Susquehanna, was contemporary with Forts 
Hunter, Augusta and other fortifications erected by the English between 
tic years 1740-60. It was ordered to be built in 1756, the work being 
in charge of Col. William Clapham. The site chosen was on Armstrong creek, which flowed 
into the river a short distance above the town of Halifax. The creek took its name from 
three brothers, John, Robert ami Alexander Armstrong, who located land along its banks 
and traded with the Indians. Alexander Armstrong was a man of considerable executive 
ability, as the records show, being entrusted with 
important business demanding prompt and loyal 
attention. His brother, John, was the opposite, 
and a source of trouble and annoyance to him. 
John early acquired the name of "Captain Jack" 
Armstrong, and he it was who was killed in the 
celebrated Jack's Narrows, mi the Juniata, which 
place took its name from the man and the cir- 
cumstances elsewhere related. Of the site of the 
old fort there is nothing remaining to indicate its 
position except a spot that is pointed out, with no 
assurance that it is correct. Opposite the town. 
mi pleasantly located on the high ground above 
the river, is Clemson's Island, for years the home 
of the late Leonard Clemson. There are many 
traditions connected with this island, one of 
which lixes it as the site of a Shawanese village 
in 1701. The Indians buried their dead here, tic result, it is said, of a bloody battle fought 
between certain tribes not known. A large mound may still be seen, from which have been 
taken hones and many relics belonging to the Stone Age. 

Girty's Notch, a high promonotory overlooking the river, its perpendicular walls rising two 
hundred feet above the shore, is on the west bank of the Susquehanna at the great bend 
above the town of Halifax. The notch is the abrupt termination of Half-falls mountains, 
and is dreaded for its weird associations and lonely surroundings. In the steepest side of the 
rocky ledge and difficult of approach, one hundred and fifty feet from the tow-path, is the 
old-time hiding-place of the famous outlaw. Simon Girty. For a century it has been known 
as Girty's Cave and is surrounded with superstitions that grow in irrewsomeness and frightful 




EagU Island— OpposiU Halift 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



59 



suspicions. There is no path leading to the cave, and one must climb the steep notch to a 
large rock ai the summit, then, with the aid of small saplings, using treacherous rocks for 
footholds, slowly and carefully descend for a distance of fifty feet, only to be disappointed 
when the cave is reached. A narrow space permits of two persons standing before the en- 
trance, which is now almost obstructed with the wash ami debris from the rocky summit 
above. There is no doorway, only an irregular opening in the rock, through which one can 
crawl with difficulty. A small niche above the entrance is called the " window," by means of 
which a broad ami sweeping view of the river 
may he had without exposing the body of the 
watcher. The interim- is far from attractive. 
It consists of hut (me large room, :'>7 feet long. 
11 feet wide ami '■• feet high. The air is very 
dry ami pure, hut the general appearance, 
coupled with the unsavory reputation of the 
place, renders it disagreeable and repugnant. 
The cave can he reached only by the circuitous 
route above described. The tales of Simon 
Girty's doings in the vicinity of the cave are 
purely legendary and will not hear close inves- 
tigation. The eider Girty, also named Simon, 
was a native of Ireland, and came to America 
when quite young lie became a trader 
among the Indians. In 1 7 - « T he married Mary 
Newton, au English girl, with whom he set- 
tled down, beginning life at the then notorious 
locality, Chambers' mill, now Fort Hunter, and 
some six miles above Harrisburg. Here the 
younger Simon was born in 1711. He had 
two brothers, .lames and George. Chambers' 
mill was not famous tor its morality, and had 
few rivals for wickedness and general demoral- 
ization. The Girty boys early imbibed a love 
of such company found at the place, and soon 
excelled in wickedness some of their instruct- 
ors. ( >ld man < iirty squatted on Sherman's creek, but was ousted by the Sheriff of Lancaster, 
wdio burned their cabins and bound the men over to appear for trial at Shippensburg. Sub- 
sequently he was killed at Fort Hunter, in a drunken frolic, by an Indian, who, in turn, was 
shot by John Turner, a friend of Girty's. Two years later Turner married the widow, a 
woman of unblemished character. Turner, with his wife and stepsons, removed to Sherman's 
Valley, thence to Fort Granville, now Lewistown, where soon after the fort was captured by a 
band of French and Indians, the prisoners, among whom was Turner and his family, were 
taken to Kittanning, where Turner was burned at the stake in the presence of his wife and 
her boys. In the years that followed Simon < Iirty and his brothers took a prominent part in 
the Indian wars, and stand charged with disloyalty to the colonists during the revolution. 
Simon was treacherous, blood-thirsty and an enemy of the whites. But once was he known 
to show mercy to a fellow-being, lb' became totally blind, and died on his farm, in Canada, 
not far from Detroit, February IS, ISIS. He was buried near the cabin in which he had 




Girty's < '"'< 



60 



Prose and Poetry. 



lived. In 1879 the supposed body of one Albright, the slayer of a man named Miller, which 
occurrence took place at Montgomery's Ferry, was found in the old cave, it being alleged that 
the murderer shot himself to avoid the penalty of the law. The body of the supposed mur- 
derer and suicide was let down from the mouth of the cave by a long rope. It was discovered 
by the presence of vultures hovering about the Notch and their attempts to enter the cave. 
The accompanying illustration is from a photograph, the first ever taken of the famous 
locality. The river makes a great bend here, turning due south. It is more than a mile wide. 
The view from the summit of Girty's Notch is wildly grand and fully repays the labor ex- 
pended in reaching the place of observation. 

Millersburg is a popular and enterprising place containing numerous factories and busi- 
ness houses. Wiconisco creek flows into the Susquehanna at the edge of the town. Two 
brothers, John and Daniel Miller, and Francis Jacques, commonly called "French Jacob," 
were the first settlers. "French Jacob" built a mill on the creek in 1790, also a large block- 
house for the protection of settlers, and in which 
Daniel Miller taught the first school. Millersburg 
was wonderfully benefitted by the discovery of coal 
in Lykens Valley by Jacob Burd and Peter Kimes 
in the summer of 1S2~>. The coal was loaded on 
boats at the mouth of the creek and carried across 
to Mt, Patrick, where it was transferred to boats on 
the canal. The first boat-load of Lykens Valley 
coal was shipped in April. l.s:'4, to Thomas Bar- 
bridge, at Columbia. Millersburg enjoys a large 
and lucrative trade with the surrounding country. 

Liverpool, on the west bank of the river, is a 

picturesque town laid out by John Ruggins in 1808. 

The advantages of the Pennsylvania canal soon 

made it the most important trading point on the 

i rough the two mountains below renders the scenery 




( 'lump of T)-ees in Mid- Rivt r. 



west shore. The passage of the river tl 
exceptionally tine. 

Selinsgrove, an old fort town and of considerable importance in the early part of the cen- 
turv. is situated on l'enn's creek at its junction with the Susquehanna. In the early settle- 
ment of the l'enn's creek valley the inhabitants suffered untold atrocities at the hands of the 
Indians, many of whom were Governmeni pensioners. Before the construction of the canal, 
at the mouth of Middle creek and near where Penn creek empties, there was an island called 
"The Isle of Q." Cbarlestown, a suburb, is built on this island. The place was founded by 
Anthony Siling, a German and brother-in-law of the late Gov. Simon Snyder, whose resi- 
dence was two miles below. Gov. Snyder died in November, 1819, and is buried in the 
Selinsgrove cemetery. The State, a few years since, erected a monument over his grave. His 
term of office covered the period between December, 1808, and December, 1817, having been 
elected three times. During his administration he refused to pardon a certain Philadelphia 
murderer, whereupon the paramour of the condemned man, a notorious woman, named Ann 
Smith, alias Carson, with two ruffians, left Philadelphia for Selinsgrove for the purpose of 
abducting the Governor's youngest son and holding him until the pardon was secured. The 
plot failed, all the conspirators being arrested at Fort Hunter. They were convicted and 
imprisoned. 




Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. ci 



THE SONG OF THE WATERS. 

? was midnight on the water 

By fair Susquehanna's shore, 
loating dimly down the distance 
Came the rapids sullen roar; 
And the camp-tire's smouldering embers 

Threw a faint and ruddy gleam, 
( >n our tent amid the pine trees 

On the sparkling, moon-lit stream. 

I was sleepless, and the beauty 

<>f the radiant, star-lit night 
Drew me down beside the water, 

With an unresistful might. 
On the farther shore the mountains 

And the heavens seem to meet 
And their deep empurpling shadows 

Stained the current at my feet. 

Sweet and faintly sang the waters 

Soft they murmured o'er the stones, 
And their music seemed to whisper 

In the sweetest, faintest tones ; 
"I am ancient, very ancient, 

I am aged if a day, 
And the centuries, piled on centuries, 

Will attest me what I say. 

"I could sing of trackless forests 

Never trod by foot of man, 
Of the beasts and birds that loved me, 

Through their brief and earthly span. 
I could tell of newer ages. 

When the lied man trod the shore, 
When the war-whoop's piercing echo 

Rang above the rapid's roar. 

"I could sing of Wyalusing 

And her brave Moravian men, 
Of the village that they founded 

Far from haunts of mortal ken, 
And of Standing Stone, the mighty, 

»'lo>e by Wysox's rocky shore 
Bronzed and grey with countlesss ages 

Rich in legendary lore. 



62 



Prose and Poetry. 

"I could tell of war and treachery. 

Of the tomahawk and knife; 
Of the tory and the settler, 

And their sharp and bloody strife. 
I could sing of fierce Queen Esther, 

And the rock that bears her name; 
Of sweet Gertrude of Wyoming 

She of old historic tame. 

"I could sine,' of love and pleasure, 

I could tell of grief and pain, 
In the centuries that have flourished, 

That can never come again ; 
But my duties call me onward, 

I can here no longer hide. 
I must haste to lave my ripples 

In the ocean's briny tide." 

Then the fretful, babbling current 

Drowned the river's rhythmic tone. 
And the water's seemed to murmur 

"I am going, I am gone." 
And the moonbeams' silvery halo 

Danced on river, rock and shore, 
And again the forest echoed 
To the rapid's sullen roar. 

William Murray Graydox. 



December W, 1889. 




Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



63 




ing a\\ 

At its 



ay to the 
Feet is the 



North, 
iuncti 



SHIKALAMY BLUFF. 

HIKALAMY BLUFF, the high peak on the west side of the river 
opposite Sunbury, is one of the most noted, picturesque ami historic 
spots on the Susquehanna. Rising to a height of nearly two 
hundred feet above the river, it is the most prominent landmark 
between ( Ihiques Rock and < lampbell's Ledge. Its precipitous sides 
are covered with a scraggy growth of pine and dwarf oaks that find 
mot ami scant nourishment among the grey rocks and huge 
bowlders. 

From tlic summit of the bluff a panorama of unsurpassed 
loveliness and wild natural beauty lies before the beholder stretch- 
East, and South like an unbroken dream of voluptuous perfection 
m of the West Branch with the main ho.lv of the glorious river that 




Shikalamy Bluff — OpposiU Sunbury. 

conies down from the North. The width of the river below the confluence is one mile, and 
is a popular resort for oarsmen ami all lovers of aquatic sports. On the summit of the Bluff 
.Shikalamy is a large and commodious hotel, where guests from all parts of the State spend 
the hot season. 



64 Prose and Poetry. 

In the early part of the eighteenth century there was great trouble among the several 
Indian tribes that lived on, or frequented the Susquehanna, whose lovely valley was the 
favorite hunting grounds of the Iroquois, or Six Nations. Chief Shikalamy, after whom the 
bluff is appropriately named, was elected to preside over the villages on the Susquehanna 
and Juniata, and came among them in the full vigor of manhood, possessed of nobleness 
of purpose, humane instincts and intelligent, christian character. Shikalamy was of the 
Cayugas, a powerful tribe, whose principal village was on the present site of Cayuga, in the 
State of New York. He spent his youth in Canada, where he received instruction, religious 
and educational, from the Jesuit priests, and was baptized in the Catholic faith. In later 
years lie embraced the creed of the Moravians, in which belief he died in the month of 
April, 1749. Shikalamy married Nenaoma. a young Indian woman of great beauty and 
sterling virtues, by whom he had a daughter and three sons ; one of the latter being Logan, 
the Mingo Chief, who made his home for many years in the Kishecokilas Valley. Nenaoma 
was born at Shamokin and grew to womanhood surrounded by all the wild barbarities and 
picturesque scenery of her tribe and locality. The coming of the young Cayuga chief, and 
his subsequent wooing of Nenaoma and their happy marriage, is most charmingly told by 
that gifted poet, Truman H. Purdy, Esq., a distinguished citizen of Sunbury, and member 
of the Northumberland bar : — 

" Shikalamy." 

Where Susquehanna's tranquil branches meet, 
Like prince and princess, each from far retreat, 
And meeting wed, becoming henceforth one, 
Was Nature's daughter, Nenaoma, born. 

Blue Hill, which has for many ages frowned 
Upon the less imposing hills around, 
Rock-breasted, mountained-walled, bad ever been 
The legendary home of wondrous men. 
Upon its crest of crags a Chieftain stood 
And overlooked the river and the wood ; 
lie carried weapons worthy of a man, 
But to the past his thoughts of glory ran. 
His braves in battle never new retreat 
And yet the world seemed hollow at his feet: 
For what were triumphs to a man whose breath 
In age began to compromise with death? 

From far Cayuga he had brought his son 

To see his people where these rivers run ; 

For these Six Nations, which had been his pride 

I lis son should rule when he, their chief, had died. 

Across the river, where the rippling waves 

Press round the Cape as if to kiss their graves, 

His noblest warriors, one by one, 

Had gone in silence to the setting sun; — 

To that imagined "Happy Ilunting-Ground ; 

Where fadeless youth and endless joys abound. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 65 

His son was but the child of woods and waves 
Caressed by winds, and taught by birds and braves; 
And he, while gazing from the ledges, spied 
A youthful maiden at the river side. 
He shared not in his father's thoughts, nor tears — 
His heart and hopes, went out to future years; 
And quick descending from the rocks he came 
To give his own and ask the maiden's name. 
"My father is Oneida's Chief," he said: 
And " I am Nenaoma," quoth the maid. 
They met like children, each admiring, stood 
Between the river and the fringe of wood. 
He gave her presents carved from tooth of hear, 
And wove the partridge-berry in her hair, 
And told her tales of Northern lake and glen, 
Of fish, of birds, of forest, and of men. 
And she, her pleasure and her skill to show 
Bound ferns and feathers to his polished how; 
She was by nature mistress of those arts 

Which work such havoc with untutored hearts; 

And with a fairy's step she touched the sand, 
Coquetting with her prince from Northern Land. 
The old Chief's mission was at last fulfilled, 

His government to his son was willed; 

Hut so enticing was this lovely plain 

That Shikalamy pleaded to remain. 

His mild entreaties were denied and spurned, 

And to the North his youthful face was turned ; 

His feet obeyed; but he in thought was still 

With Nenaoma by the Towering Hill. 
* * * * * * 

The bright full moon of August came at last. 

And o'er Shamokin all its splendors cast; 

And where the North and Western Branches meet 

Was heard the coming of the festive feet: 

A gallant band ; a brilliant native train 

That ne'er shall grace that shining shore again. 
Young Shikalamy, with his Northern braves, 

Came there amidst the old ancestral graves, 

And in his native costume, richly dressed. 

With belts of wampum, crossed upon his breast; 

With head-gear lit by crystals from the mine. 

And bracelets wrought from quills of porcupine, 

And eloak of ermine fur, he stood to claim 

The sweetest bride that e'er to chieftain came. 
Than Nenaoma, none could he more fair, — 

Wild roses from the hill-sides graced her hair, 



66 



Prose and Poetry. 



And hung in wreaths and festoons lightly round 
Her charming form, and trailed upon the ground. 
Her eyes shone like the gleaming of a star, — 
Her robes were trophies, both of peace and war. 

Tins wedding was unique, and, strange to say 
Some of the guests have never turned away : 
But still remain around these honored dead, — 
Around the spot where Shikalamy wed. 

Sunbury, the county seat of Northumberland, stands on the site of Fort Augusta, erected 
bv the provincial government in 1756. For years it was the most important military post in 
Pennsylvania. Many councils between the settlers and Indians were held here. The situa- 
tion is one of the most desirable along the river. The city stands on a plain bordering the 
left bank of the Susquehanna river, immediately below the junction of the West and North 
Branches, and above the mouth of Shamokin creek. It is a thriving place, made so by its 
proximity to the coal and iron regions, and being the eastern terminus of the Philadel- 
phia and Erie railroad and the junction of it with the Northern Central road. The town 
proper was laid out and incorporated as a borough in 1707. It has many manufacturing 
industries and is a delightful place of residence. 

Northumberland is situated opposite Sunbury, at the point formed by the confluence of 
the North and West Branches of the Susquehanna. Its locality is unsurpassed for natural 
beauty and picturesqeness. The river is spanned by bridges which afford convenient means 
of travel. The place was laid out in 1775, by Reuben Haines, a Philadelphia brewer, and 
in infancy was looked upon as one of great promise. Dr. Joseph Priestly, the eminent 
scientist, lived ami died here, lie was the discoverer of oxygen gas and the founder of the 
modern school of chemistry. He was born in England, in 1733, and died at Northumber- 
land in 1804. His grave is marked by a simple monument. In his honor the "Centennial 
of Chemistry" was celebrated in Northumberland, in August, 1874, many of the most 
distinguished scientists being in attendance. 




Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



67 



FAIR WYOMING. 




MATCHLESS vale, when first the white man's eye 

Caught a bright glimpse from yonder fissure high, 

lie saw tin' ideal of the poet's dream 

And claimed thy beauties for the poet's theme. 

To him no fairer region bad the sun 

In his revolving journeys beamed upon: — 

Pure, limpid rills, bright skies and balmy air; 

Rich flowers, glad promise to the planter's care: 

The painted hills, the checkered beauty proud, 

Flecked with the varying shadows of the cloud ; 

From Lackawanna's gap to Nantieoke, 

Crowned with embattled pines and vine-wreathed oak, 

The mighty river pours its brimming tide, 

While bending o'er the marge on either side. 

Scarlet and purple flowers inflame tin.' wood 

And on the stream reflect their mantling blood. 




Smith's Island. 

What wonder that of this romantic vale 

To distant lands went forth th' alluring talc'.' 

That blue-eyed Saxon and Mercurial Celt 

Came to find homes where perfect freedom dwelt '.' 

That bleak New England sent her thrifty men 

To seek fnr richer fields in this fair glen ? 

That warmed to life by Campbell's tender tale 

Of Gertrude, fairest flower of all the vale. 

<>ld Pantisocracy would tain renew 

The social fabric which a Plato drew? 

The days of settlers, strife and feud are o'er; 
Peace spreads her wings on Susquehanna's shore. 
If hanlv life condemns to daily toil 



68 



Prose and Poetry. 



1878. 



That rich rewards rise teeming from the soil ? 
How large the promise made to honest worth 
Of a new Eden on this troubled earth '.' 
On Susquehanna's hanks, an age of gold, 
Like the pure age by ancient poet's told 
When man. once more, as in his first abode, 
Secure from sin and ill might walk with God. 



Henry Coppe. 




FAIR WYOMING. 

All; Wyoming — sweet vale of Wyoming ? What innumerable pens 
have traced thy praises, and what songs the poets have sung 
of thy lovely landscapes, glorious sunrises and enchanting twilights? 
And thy sad history, Oh, Wyoming! Ah, hut the years have dried 
up the springs of sorrow and pathetic memories until one looks back 
through history's records with but momentary thoughts of horror 
and vague imagination. 

The beauties of the Wyoming Valley were sources of comment 
by traders, who frequented the North Branch of the Susquehanna, as 
early as 1662, hut were kept from getting hold of land by the Dela- 
ware Indians until after the middle of the seventeenth century. 
The valley lies on the Susquehanna, between Nanticoke on the south and ( lampbell's Ledge on 
the north, and is about twenty-two miles long by three miles wide. The valley is surrounded 
by mountains that rise nearly one thousand feet above the river. From the mighty summit 
of Campbell's Ledge, looking southward, the lovely valley may be seen in one view, as a 

charming whole, its lofty mountains forming 
such well-defined boundaries as to exclude 
the more distant objects from mingling in 
the prospect. The valley is one immense 
industrial hive, where the mechanics, man- 
ufacturers, miners and artisans of whatsoever 
name mingle in daily converse and indulge 
in social rivalries. The Indians dearly 
loved the Vale of Wyoming, a name sup- 
posed to be a corruption of " Maughwau- 
inainy " — the large plains. After repeated 
proffers for land the Delawares, in 1765, 
sold the valley to a Connecticut company, 
who soon brought settlers to occupy the 
newly acquired territory. Although made 
in good faith and for an acceptable price, 
Naticoh Dam— Eagle's Nest. the Indians regretted their action that soon 




Susquehanna and Juniata Rivi rs. 



69 



generated a bitter feeling of strife requiring years to quench. The Connecticut people 
objected to a parly of Pennsylvanians who had also located in the valley, and between them 
a bitter lend arose. The Indians, knowing well the mistake made by disposing of their land 
to the Connecticut company, and believing the dissensions among the whites would lead 
to further war in which they, the Indians, could lake part and get their revenge, sought 
many ways to continue the bitter feeling and left no opportunity pass without showing their 
savage thirst for massacre and extermination. The Delawares alone remained as a tribe 
when the French war begun, the Shawnee's having removed to Ohio and the Nan ti cokes 
fearful of proximity to the whiles had gone to New York, thus leaving the Delawares in 



possession 



of the valley. The latter, after Braddock's defeat, openly declared for the French 




When tin Susquehanna leaves tin Wyoming Valley. 
and took active part in many of the murdero 

... . . i- _ . i- . . . • i i i iL. i ii. :i.. l . a . . i.:.. i \ 




70 



Prose and Poetry. 



beneficial effect upon the Wyoming Valley. The patriotic feeling was intense and the sons 
of Connecticut and Pennsylvania stood shoulder to shoulder, and finally marched away to 
join the Continental army. In 1778 Wyoming was an exposed frontier, bordering on the 
country of the Six Nations, who were numerous, fierce and treacherous. At this time nearly 
all the able-bodied men were in the American Army and none but aged men, women and 
children remained behind. 

The British had sought the aid of the Six Nations and planned the desolation of the 
frontier by the savage horde. The country was also overrun with cowardly tories who 
sought revenge upon their more patriotic neighbors and assisted the Indians in all their 
expeditions. Wyoming Valley, in June, 1778, was yellow with ripening grain, the barns 
were partially tilled with the earlier crop 



already housed and the general landscape was 




Campbell's "Ledge— When tlu River Enters the Wyoming Valley. 

beautiful in its picture of thrift, contentment and bountiful harvests. But what a terrible 
fate was in store? On June 30th, a force of four hundred Tories and seven hundred 
Indians, led hy ( 'oloiiel John Butler, entered the valley. The settlers had mustered three 
hundred men under a brave American, Colonel Zebulon Butler. For a day or two there 
were frequent skirmishes, the settlers taking refuge in Forty Fort, In tin first encounter the 
settlers lost two hundred men, and were almost driven to Wilkesbarre Fort. The slaughter 
was terrible. Here it was that the half-breed Indian woman. "Queen Esther," tomahawked 
fourteen wounded settlers in revenge for a son killed in the engagement. After a seige of two 
davs. the inmates on the morning of the fifth surrendered, under the promise of being 
protected hy the Indians. No sooner were the gates of the fort thrown open than the slaugh- 
ter began. The men were nearly all killed, while the women and children were either 
tomahawked on the spot or held for a more dastardly and cruel fate. The sufferings of the 
few win) escaped were horrible, many seeking shelter at Stroudsburg, where there was a 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



71 



small garrison. Again in 1779, less than a year from the time of the first butchery, the 
Indians entered the valley. The people were few, weak and ill-prepared for defense, but they 
concentrated their numbers and made a showing that deterred the savages from further 
hostilities. Alter destroying a number of dwellings the Indians lefl the same way they 
came. It was during the massacre of July, 1778, that little Francis Slocum, aged five years, 
and daughter of Jonathan Slocum, was carried away into captivity. Fifty-eight years after 
she was found in Indiana, the widow of a celebrated Indian chief, to whom she was married , 
and quite rich in land and stock. The beautiful story of the young captive is graphically 
told in a recent work by Mr. John F. McGinness, of the West Branch Valley, who gave much 
time and' labor in the securing of facts concerning the pathetic and romantic life of the 
young woman. 




Yet 
An. 



Hid 

Thy 

No 

Her 



MONTROSE. 

ROUD Susquehanna rolls his waters on, 

Scarce mindful of the changes time has brought ; 

The Delaware and Iroquois have gone, 

And every work by nature's children wrought; 

the same spirit which her children caught 

From cloud and sunshine, wood and mountain stream. 
I which the laws of life and virtue taught 

Still lingers on the shore, and still the theme 

Inspires of ancient legend and of poet's dream. 

den remote in Pennsylvania's hills, 

Thy vine-clad cottages. ( ) fair Montrose! 

fields of green watered by mountain rills 

And the pure sparkle of thy winter's snows, 
romance of forgotten years disclose; 

Yet here strange legends of the past abound, 
e hostile ashes side by side repose. 

For thine was once the "Dark" and Bloody Ground" 

Where heroes strove for fame, and graves of glory found. 

Edward A. Warrimer 



1880. 




71 



Prose and Poetry. 



THE JUNIATA. 



THE BLUE JUNIATA. 




"Sweet Alfurata." 

(From a photograph of Miss Sarah Cole, an Iroquois Indian, 
residing in Franklin county, X Y.) 



Wild roved an Indian girl, 

Bright Alt'arata, 
Where sweep the waters 

Of the bine Juniata. 
Swift as an antelope, 

Through the forest going. 
Loose were her jetty locks 

In waving tresses flowing. 

Gay was the mountain song 

Of bright Alfarata, 
Where sweep the waters 

Of the blue Juniata; 

■ Strung and true my arrows are 

In my painted quiver; 
Swift goes my light canoe 
A.down the rapid river. 

Bold is my warrior trui — 

The love of Alt'arata: 
Proud waves his snowy plume 

Along the Juniata. 
Soft and low he speaks to me, 

And then, his war-cry sounding, 
Kings his voice in thunder loud, 

From height to height resounding 



So sang the Indian girl, 

Bright Alt'arata, 
Where sweep the waters 

( >f the blue Juniata. 
Fleeting years have borne away 

The voice of Alt'arata. 
Still sweeps the river on, 

The bine Juniata. 

Mrs. Marian I >i x Sullivan. 



1850. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



73 



TWO SONGS. 




HE music lore of Pennsylvania is rich in many sweet songs, whose 
notes and inspiring words cling to one's memory all along the rough 
and rugged life that leads up to the journey's end. Nor do they 
fade away as heads grow silvered and bowed with the weight of 
years, hut rather increase in loving favoritism and charming <_^ t ■ ; 1 1 i t i - 
cation as they are recalled by associations or backward look into the 
filmy past. But old age cannot dim the voluptuous rhythm of the 
waltz-like measure; the sentimental sentence so expressive "I admi- 
ration ami love, nor the heaven-created melody that even angels, in 
their aerial flight, are compelled to look earthward In listen and 
rejoice. 

Old songs! old liymns! old faces! — God bless all of them! 

Less than forty years ago that must popular of liomely songs, "The Blue Juniata," was 
known to ami sung by everyone, from lisping child to gray-haired parent. It was published 
tar and wide, and the simple melody was heard in cabin or cottage, or wherever the footsteps 
of a IViuisvlvaiiiaii wandered in quest of pleasure or fortune. There is in its composition 
touching menu >ries of the Indian who once roamed the valley of the .Juniata, and vivid recol- 
lections of other tonus and faces and dew-kissed lips that have sung of "Sweet Alfarata," 
lone-, ever so long ago. The song was written by Mrs. Marian Dix Sullivan, wife of John W. 
Sullivan, of Boston, Mass., a son of General Sullivan, of Revolutionary fame. She was a 
daughter of Timothy Dix, sister of < reneral John A. Dix and Miss Dorothea L. Dix, the great 
philanthropist, who did so much for sick and wounded soldiers during the war of the rebel- 
lion. Mrs. Sullivan was horn in Boscawenin, X. II.. near i\\r beautiful Merrimac river, and 
died in 1800. It is said the song was inspired by a trip along the Juniata by packet boat 
before the completion of the railroad between Harrisbnrg and the Alleghenies. 

The '• Response to the Blue Juniata" was written in L865 by Rev. Cyrus Coil, D. D., for- 
merly of Greencastle, Pa., who was then missionary pastor of the First Reformed Church, 
which he had organized two and a-half years before in Altoona. In the work of raising 
funds wherewith to erect the present edifice of that congregation, the author-preacher had to 
make frequent trips along the Juniata and its main branches. 

It was in the month of August that the spirited little ballad was conceived and woven 
into rhyme, the author jotting down his poetic inspirations while riding in the cars along this 
peerless river. In the following month, September, 1865, while traveling with Rev. Dr. II. 
Harbaugh from Chambersburg to Mercersburg in the favored seclusion of the distinguished 
divine's carriage, the author showed the poem, which immediately called forth expressions of 
delight and pleasure ami a desire to publish it in his magazine. "The Guardian," which was 
accordingly done in March following, after much hesitation and consultation with friends. 
Since then Dr. Cort has written many beautiful things, comprising hymns, poems, odes and 
tne "Bouquet and Brown Memorial." 



74 



Prose and Poetry. 



RESPONSE TO "THE BLUE JUNIATA ." 



HE Indian girl lias ceased to rove 
Along the winding river; 
&_ The warrior brave that won her love, 
Is gone, with bow and quiver. 

The valley rears another race, 

Where Hows the Juniata; 
There maidens rove, with paler face 

Than that of Alt'arata. 

Where pine trees moan her requiem wail, 
And blue waves, too, are knelling. 

Through mountain gorge and fertile vale, 
A louder note is swelling. 

A hundred years have rolled around, 

The red man has departed, 
The hills give hack a wilder sound 

Than warrior's whoop e'er started. 

With piercing neigh, the iron steed 
Now sweeps along the waters. 

And bears, with more than wild-deer speed, 
The white man's suns and daughters. 

The products, too, of every clime 

Are borne along the river, 
Where roved the brave, in olden time, 

With naught hut how and quiver. 

And swifter than the arrow's Might, 
From trusty bow and quiver, 

The messages of love and light 
Now speed along the river. 

The engine and the telegraph 

Have wrought some wondrous changes, 
Since rang the Indian maiden's laugh 

Among the mountain ranges. 

'Tis grand to sec what art hath done, 

The world is surely wiser. 
What triumphs white man's skill hath won 

With steam, the civilizer. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 

But still, methinks, I'd rather liear 

The song of Alfarata— 
Had rather chase the fallow deer 

Along the Juniata. 

For fondly now my heart esteems 
This Indian song and story ; 

Yea, grander far old nature seems, 
Thau art in all its glory. 

Roll (in. thou classic Keystone stream. 

Thou peerless little river; 
Fulfill the poet's brightest dream, 

And be a joy forever. 

As generations come and go, 

Each one their part repeating, 

Thy waters keep their constant How, 
Still down to ocean fleeting. 

And while thy blue waves seek the sea, 

Thou lovely Juniata, 
Surpassing sweet thy name shall he, 

For sake of Alfarata. 



75 



lsc,:, 



Rev. ( 'yi,ts Cort. 



V | 4 



76 



Prose and Poetry. 



JUNIATA. 



I'XIATA, a word as familiar to every Pennsylvanian as one's own 
name, and when spoken its meaning and general significance are 
instantly divined. There is more than ordinary interest attached 
to it beyond even its historic and romantic associations. Like its 
sister valley, Wyoming, it was held in almost veneration, selfish 
though it might have been, by the Iroquois tribes who had villages 
all along its flowery hanks and uncut woods and where they hunted 
and fished, warred with their foes or wooed the dark-eyed Alt'arata 
throughout the unknown centuries. It was their ideal hunting- 
grounds, through which ran the endless trail that touched the Sus- 
quehanna on the east and the Mississippi on the west, and over 
which the last Indian passed as fate decreed and the persistent 
white man forced him so to do. Through all the unwritten lore of the tribes that once 
claimed the valley of the Juniata as their own, absolute ami indisputable, there comes the 





"Winn iln Rivers M<<i" — Looking Up from Duncannon. 

eel f regret at surrendering and parting with the lands by the blue Juniata, it is told of a 

delegation of Indians from Illinois, who, in 1835, were <>n their way to Washington, made a 
special request that they he permitted to pass through the Juniata Valley, the home and 
hunting grounds of their fathers. The party made the trip by canal boat, which mode of 
travel afforded every advantage for observation. It is also told that from the time they took 
passage at Holidaysburg until Harrisburg was reached there was absolute silence, not a word 
hi- gesture to indicate the slate of their feelings. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



77 



The river "Choniady," as the natives were wont to call it, rises in the Allegheny moun- 
tains near Altoona, is joined al Petersburg, seven miles west of Huntingdon, by the Franks- 
town branch, and, flowing in an easterly direction, empties into the Susquehanna at 
Duncannon. Its total length is about one hundred and forty-five miles, Its entire course is 
tortuous, winding in and out of valleys, breaking through mountain ranges and precipitous 
hills, waters fertile meadows, and lias, through nearly its whole course, some of the most 
grand and picturesque scenery of the State. 

Travelers over the Pennsylvania railroad obtain the last view of the Susquehanna as 
they speed around the bend above the Duncannon station and pass Juniata bridge. The 
latter was formerly known as "Baskinville," from the original settler who located opposite 
the confluence of the two rivers. The grand parents of the late Hon. Alexander H.Stephens, 
of Georgia, were born and raised here. 
There is a story told that young Stephens 
and Miss Baskin, when their attachment 
became apparent to the young woman s 
parents, made a mutual and solemn vow 
to be true to each other and he content 
to "hide awee," hoping that the parental 
objections might finally become elimi- 
nated, or withdrawn. Meantime the 
flench and Indian war came on, and 
Stephens marched away with Braddock's 
army. After the war the young colonel, 
for he had won fame and honor, returned 
to the mouth of the Juniata to see his 
allianccl. The Baskins still objected to Club Ilou Aqueduct. 

the union, and the loving couple, nothing daunted, resolved to "skip.' and brave the 
parental storm at some future day. They were both willing and the elopement was a mutual 
success. They left home on horseback, traveled westward and finally settled in Kentucky, 
where a son, the lather of the great Southern orator, was born, but removed to Georgia, the 
birthplace of his distinguished son. 

Yon have caught the last glimpse of the big river and are fairly launched on a journey 
unexcelled in variety and beauty of landscape. You pass the Aqueduct, where the Juniata 
canal joins with that coming down the Susquehanna, also Losh's Run, a choice camping 

place, with excellent fishing and hunting in the neigborl 1, and an old graveyard, where 

lie the bodies of Marcus Hillings and wife, the first settlers at the mouth of the Juniata on 
Duncan's Island, although the original homestead is said to be the old tavern above the 
"(hit'' and opposite Aqueduct station. Between the numerous mountain ranges and succes- 
sion of hills that everywhere greet the eye. a rich and thrifty farm comes into view, a latter- 
day evidence of the patient industry and frugal lives of the descendants of the first settler- 
Irish and Scotch Presbyterians and < rermans, the last named coming into the valley after the 
former bad routed the Indians and made lite safe and existence live from savage molestation. 
As early as 1745 the Scotch-Irish explored the Juniata as far west as Standing Stone, now 
Huntingdon, ami doubtless with the intention of locating land as soon as it would be consid- 
ered judicious and safe. They were the brave and fearless frontiersmen who believed the 
land was for other purposes than that of hunting, an opinion that determined their actions in 
tin' bonier wai fare thai followed, carrying with it a hard-earned victory and assurance of 
future prosperity. 




Prose and Poetry. 



PICTURESQUE IROQUOIS. 




ROQUOIS! 

The brakeman thus relieved, fastens back the door with a bang, 
swings himself to the steps, then to the ground, where he gallantly 
extends his hand to help you down. Before you have time to ask a 
question the conductor signals, the bell rings, there is a succession of 
spasmodic, rasping coughs and the steam monster mils away with 
its load nf humanity and is soon lost to view. 

Iroquois! With what familiarity the word impresses one, recall- 
ing something from the past of which we have no personal recollec- 
tion, fostered only by memories of oft-told tales in which romance 
and realism, preserved by tradition and history, figure so conspicu- 
ously. Now that the train is gone and the first sensations one 
experiences when suddenly transported into a new world have swept across your mental lyre 
and you feel yourself again, take a glance around and endeavor to find out if you have a 
i'wril habitation within shouting distance, or if the rest of the world can he reached by 
telephone. For you are in the midst of a mountainous region — there are mountains all 
around, a canal at your feet and a river within throwing distance. You are in the wilds of 
Perry county, and among the few signs of civilization are the four endless threads of steel 
tracks -listening in the sunlight, the dazzling reflections relieved by the gray stone ballast 
and weather-beaten ties. There is a solitary stone house, built ever so long ago, with back- 
ground of rocks and trees, the abrupt termination of Limeston Ridge, or, as locally known, 
the Buffalo Hills, thai has apparently stopped short to permit railroad, canal and river to 

pass with lingering echo of whistle, 
horn and ripple. This is Iroquois, 
formerly "Poorman's Spring," some- 
times called "Half Falls Spring," 
and twenty-two miles west of Har- 
risburg, on the line of the Pennsyl- 
vania railroad. 

The platform on which you 
stand, in expectation of what may 
next follow, is elevated about ten 
feet, ami just as you are about de- 
scending the steps leading to the 
foot-bridge crossing the canal, you 
are met by a committee from the 
Iroquois Club House. popular Fishing Club whose guest 

for the day you must, and very willingly, consider yourself. 

"Welcome to Iroquois!" says a well-known Harrisburg gentleman, whose hearty grasp 
of hand is indicative of the generous disposition of the man. "Glad to see you!" comes in a 
chorus from a half-dozen others; while the baritone voice of a big, fat and jolly coal merchant 
from the Capital City belches forth: "Aw! stop puttin' on airs. Bring him over till we see 




Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 79 

how he walks the plank." Informal introductions are in order, and a great deal of courteous 
oratory is dispensed with accustomed liberality. Circumstances peculiar to the place force a 
compliance with the spirited and imperative request, "to make yourself a1 home," and you 
become surprisingly obedient. And being at home, you look around. The club house 
stands within a few feet of the canal and aboui thirty yards from the river shore. It is built 
upon a stone foundation, thus elevating the first, floor some twenty feet above low-water 
mark, and on a level with the tow path. The main structure is square, two stories high, with 
east ami west wines. Tin' first story is made of lues, chunked and daubed, the interior 
being plastered, painted and tastily decorated. The surroundings are neat, cuzy and con- 
veniently arranged, while the second floor is used exclusively for more positive rest and 
recuperation. The kitchen is supplied with a complete cooking pharaphernalia, from spoon 
to stove, and is where the members display varied ami conspicuous skill and originality in 
the preparation of dainties and substantial for the assembled epicurians. Most men have, at 
some time, imagined they were chefs, dangerous rivals of the French species — have thought 
so, and said as much. For that reason the kitchen at froquois has witnessed some humorous 
attempts at following rules laid down in culinary text-books. Hut there are dishes oi 
[roquoisian exclusiveness that have a fame extending from the Mouongahela to the Dela- 
ware, ami of which prominent personages — statesmen, politicians, men of the cloth, the brief 
ami scalpel — have partaken and gone away satisfied ami possessed of eulogistic enthusiasm. 
Among the memories that linger around these festal recollections are the Seiler terrapin, the 
Bergner brew, the Zeigler '6S, the Owen punch, the Markley and Haehnlan planked shad, 
and many other equally palatable solid and liquid favorites. 

When the Harrisburgers, who are sole owners of the place, sought for some secluded spot 
where they might erect a lodge and woo the sylvan Gods, they wisely secured the old home- 
stead at Poorman's Spring, the trad comprising about sixty acres of timber and cleared land. 
Tin' charming spring was the real object, the possession of which was the prime inducement 
leading to the purchase. A man named Poorman is said to have settled in the vicinity in 
the early part, of the present century and christened the natural fountain, giving it his own 
name that has come down through generations to he discarded by the powers that create 
railway nomenclatures and obliterate traces of the dingy past. With the disappearance oi 
old faces, old customs, habits and pioneer families that made the valley famous in peace or 
war, also disappeared and going faster year by year, are the still older names of places and 
localities known the State over. The Iroquois of to-day was a popular stopping place for 
wagoners east of the Alleghenies far hack into the beginning of the settlement of the Juniata 
Valley. These men made quarterly trips to and from Philadelphia over the old Pittsburg 
turnpike, that skirts the opposite shore of the river like a thread leading into the shadowy 
years of the bygone. The stage coach, with its load of freight and passengers, stopped at the 
Steckly homestead, where a. change of horses was made. In the evening the travelers would 
indulge in a. spurt with the oars, crossing to tin' opposite shore to drink from the old spring. 
But wdiat memories a talk of those old statue coach days brings forward' Why. — 

"We hear no more the clanking hoof and the stage coach rattling by; 
For the steam king rules the traveled world, and the pike is left, to die. 
The grass creeps over the flinty path, and the stealthy daisies steal 
Where once the stage horse, day by day, lilted his iron heel. 
No more the weary stager dreads the toil of the coming morn; 
No more the bustling landlord runs at sound of echoing horn; 



8o Prose and Poetry. 

For the dust lies still upon the road, and bright-eyed children play 

Where once the clat'ring hoof and wheel rattled along the way. 

The coach stands rusting in the yard, the horse has sought the plough; 

We've spanned the world with an iron rail, and the steam king rules us now. 

The old turnpike is a pike no more — wide open stands the gate; 

We've made a mad for our horse to stride, which we ride at a flying rate. 

On, cm, cm, with a haughty front, a puff, a shriek and a bound; 

While the tardy echoes wake too late to babble hack the sound." 

But there must have been some peculiar attraction in the refreshing waters that could 
induce hunter, or trapper, or traveler on horseback and stage to cross ostensibly to renew 
youth and presumably discuss the future of the backwoods country. Still longer back in the 
dim past bright Alfarata has roved by these same flower-tipped banks and coquetted with 




I "i,n- From tin East Stoop. 

her warriors bold, or paddled her light canoe up and down and across the rippling stream. 
Who knows but this charming Indian woman did not have her trysting-place by the old 
spring, where she tortured her lovers in a manner that the fair maidens of to-day follow with 
historical accuracy. Though the story of Alfarata may carry with it a great deal of poetical 
and romantic imagery, yet there is a fanciful fascination about it that compels one to accept 
it as a fact. 

Should tin.' day be typical of summer or early autumn, your visit to Iroquois will 
be one of unbroken pleasantries, social chit-chat and enjoyable communings with nature. 
And long years after you may draw upon imagination and live over again the entertaining 
moments, the memories of which constantly break in upon daily life, adding sweetest 
fragrance to occurrences gone by. On the broad and shady porch one may sit and look and 
Look at the beautiful panorama of broken landscape. Right below is the river — the blue 
Juniata — and you instinctively hum a liar or two of that pretty song that Marian Dix 
Sullivan wrote in her girlhood days, and picture, if you can, the heroine, Sweet Alfarata. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. ki 

The river is a quarter mile wide the current disturbed here and there by rifts of sandstone 
rocks that look out from the surface al the clear sky above. One can hear the incessant 
musical murmur of the Falls, the echoes wandering back and passing away until lost in 
the wooded glens. A picture of magnificent grandeur and natural lovliness lies before 
you. Rough mountain roads, picturesque in their surroundings, forming the most beautiful 
drives through charming woodland scenery, lead down to, or alone the river that Hows 
onward, hemmed in between the Buffalo Hills on the right bank and the three bold head- 
lands of Half falls mountain on the left. The gap of the Juniata, at [roquois, is reputed to 
be the most gorgeous piece of near scenery in many miles. In this instance it is not 
distance that lends enchantment, but singular and varied beauty that charms. The fishing 
here is excellent, the owners of the Fish-house stocking the river, from time to time, with 
small fry and looking after the enforcement of the laws with that zealous spirit inherent in 
every true sportsman. 



•'Over' Over!" 
Under the weird spell that comes upon one while contemplating the wild and rugged 
beauties of Iroquois, you have lapsed into a dreamy, half-waking mood, out of which you 
are aroused by the voice of somebody calling. All around is quietness and the cause of the 
disturbance is a mystery. Looking up stream in the vicinity of the boat-house, a man 
woman and two children are seen standing by the big rock that marks the landing for boats. 
The woman and little folks sit down upon a waif log, while the man continues to look 
across the river. Presently he jails both hands to his mouth and again comes the sound: — 
"Over! Over!" The attention of one of the children is attracted by something on the 
opposite shore, and dropping the handful of sand, runs to the big rock, climbs up and 
exclaims: — '-There's the Ferry Girl's house'" and claps the tiny hands in .joyous satisfac- 
tion. Do you see that two-story stone-and-log house on the other side oi the river? It 
stands at the foot of the mountain slope and close by the old Pittsburg pike. From the 
nV( . r — a hundred yards away — a much traveled path leads up to the door. Soon a figure 
appears in the doorway, ami a childish form skips down the path to the rude stone wharf. It 
is a mite of a girl who has probably run ahead of some older person that intends taking 
the boat across tor the party waiting on the Iroquois shore. For this is a ferry, known far 
and near, and in that old house by the turnpike lives the ferryman, Reuben Sheaffer, his 
wife and family. But the child waits for no one. A large boat, moored beside the wharf, 
is quickly unfastened, the girl jumps in. picks up the oars with a familiarity that is surpris- 
ing; drops into the seat and the boat shoots out into the stream. The craft is now fifty feet 

fr the wharf. The girl turns her head, glances toward the opposite side of the river to 

get her bearings, then settles down to work. See how she bends to the oars.' Deep down 
-he dips them, and then, with the strength of a man ami skill of an athlete, she pulls long 
and hard, releasing the tips of the paddles with that easy, rapid grace, one sees among 
rowing people only. Every stroke of the oars sends the boat dancing over the suddy waves. 
coming nearer and nearer with the swiftness and grandeur of the swan. The nearness of the 
craft does not magnify the figure of the rower, who is even smaller than at first supposed when 
seen on the further shore. The creaking of the oars in the worn locks grows plainer ; the 
wash of the waves sweeps up beyond tin' wet line, and the tiny pieces of drift disturbed by 
the incoming swell from the stream, dive and tumble and bow and nod as if acknowledging 
the mtrt of a mermaid or latter day water witch. The boat reaches shallow water, scrapes 
the sand and stops. 



82 Prose and Poetry. 

"Ready?" queries the girl, standing erect, heedless of the rocking of the restless boat, 
a Hush on her cheeks the result of her trip just ended. There are no signs of fatigue about 
her, and with a saucy, independent toss of the head, an innocent smile upon her lips, she 
directs the man and woman how to be seated to advantage, bids the children to keep still, 
assuring them that she will take them safely over ; gives the boat a quick shove and leaps on 
hoard. It takes but a moment to swing the boat into position, then with the confidence and 
air of an old sailor, seizes the paddles and like a Hash, the little "Water Witch" and her 
passengers are swiftly speeding away from the Iroquois shore. Away goes the boat, feeling 
the effects of every stroke of the oars; dashes across the ruffled bosom of the East side 
current ; swims the placid waters lying next to the shore, and brings up at the wharf with a 
precise suddenness that almost throws the occupants off their seats. 

That was but a glimpse of the Ferry Girl of Iroquois, or as strangers call her. " the little 
Water Witch." If dashing simplicity, venturesome disposition, womanly daring and absence 
of fear are essential to the title of " Water Witch," then little Annie Sheafer has been 
appropriately, though informally christened by the patrons of the ferry ami others who 
frequent the neighborhood on pleasure bent. Her acquaintance is limited to those brought 
into actual contact, many of whom she has ferried across the Juniata, or acted as messenger 
when the condition of the commissary at the Fish House demanded prompt replenishing. 
Yet fickle Fame has left unsought this little heroine, without crown, but with honor in her 
own country. The youngest of a large family, the brief years— fifteen all told— of Annie's 
life, have been spent almost exclusively within the shadow of the log house where she first 
saw the light. For companions, she has none, save the dogs that rove the pine hills and 
keep jealous watch over her in all her daily wanderings. Born beside the river she imbibed 
all the fondness for aquatic pleasures and exercises that nature involuntarily provided. The 
father is one of that class of whilom hunters and fishermen, once so common in the Juniata 
Valley, hut of whom only a few remain to rehearse the tales of woodcraft they so cleverly 
practised. He added to his income the revenues derived from the ferry, which though 
small, was of considerable aid to the man, the head of a large family, with broad shoulders 
to clothe and sound appetites to appease. When the father was absent or otherwise engaged 
the mother of little Annie was left to care for the ferry and its patrons. There is no record 
of the girl's first trip across the river. She seems to have been rocked on the bosom of the 
rippling waves, growing into girlhood between the pebble-lined shores. When seven years 
old Annie was the cause of the most painful anxiety on the part of strangers and the almost 
distracted mother. The two were alone, the mother engaged in household duties, paying 
little attention to the ferry or possible patrons liable to come along. Annie, with a pair of 
big dogs, was down by the river reveling in sunshine and giving no thought to cares or 
passing hours. An imaginary castle "I Hat stones, the walls interlined with pebbles and 
mussel shells; bent twigs representing Knights on horseback, and crisp brown leaves, gala- 
decked chariots,— the whole a reflection of thought uppermost in the young mind, and a 
v.rv good impression left by the perusal of some story hook— was the result of a half day's 
persistent work or play. The dogs slept in the sun. their noses thrust deep into the cool 
sand, ready to be suddenly awakened in case of emergency or signal from their young 

mistress. Two men st 1 on the opposite shore, close by the Fish House. They waved their 

hands and called for the ferry boat. The child raised her head, tilted hack the little, faded 
sun-bonnet and listened. Again she heard the men calling. Annie understood the signal 
and decided not to interrupt her mother. She ran to where the boats were anchored, climbed 
in and took the chain off the post. The does wanted to join her hut were refused. Too 



SUSQUtHANNA AND JUNIATA RlVERS. 83 

small Id si) down, she s( I with tiny hands grasping (I ars which she wielded with 

remarkably full sweep. She seemed to remember every acl of her father with whom she had 
so often crossed, and carefully followed the course that, al this day, assures an easier pull. 
The men saw the boat coming, watched its slow but steady progress, never thinking that a 
child was in charge. By and by she landed and declining to be expostulated with, as well 
as refusing the oars to one of the men, she ordered them in and ferried them over in safety. 
Carrying the money received for ferriage to her mother, she proudly and laughingly told of 
the event and, with a show of contempt, of the " fraidy men who couldn't talk for shaking." 
\\ hen the flood of '89 deluged the river valley and swept away the savings of a life- 
time, the Ferry (iiii rendered heroic services to neighbors and strangers that shall ever stand 
as a sacred monument to her name ami memory. People living among the hills east of the 
Juniata, were short of provisions which could only be had at the few stores located on the 
West hank. Much suffering was known to exist and every day saw the situation growing 

more serious. Men came to the ferry to talk .if the great H 1 and discuss the future, but 

every proposition to send for relief across the river was declared hazardous and too dangerous 
to attempt, Neighbors divided their last pound of Hour, and many were left with nothing 
hut a small quantity of meat. The Hood had come upon them suddenly and found them 
unprepared. Annie had listened to their complaint ami felt no little anxiety for her own 
household. Early one morning, the water being somewhat higher than the day previous, the 
girl startled all by announcing her determination to cross the river and take a train for 
Newport where provisions could be procured. All she asked was money; she would do the 
rest. Many objected, hut without effect, except to make the child more determined. The 
father wasappealed to, but he said she knewwhat she was doing and he hail confidence in her 
ability and pluck. She took with her a large hasket and leather bag, placing the money 
given by the neighbors in the latter for safe-keeping. The boat was carefully examined, the 
strength of the oars tested, a hasty good-bye and the brave girl started for the other side of 
the river. She hugged the shore for a considerable distance up stream, then took a diagonal 
course, aiming for a huge oak tree standing a hundred yards above the Iroquois fish house, 
and landed on the bank of the canal. The tow path was partly underwater, hut with almost, 
superhuman strength ^\w drew the boat into the canal, reaching the station in time for a train 
to Newport, Returning in the afternoon she found the water had receded and recrossed the 
river in safety. 

During the summer Annie has the exclusive control of the ferry, crossing the river as 
often as twenty times in one day. In appearance she is of slender build, erect carriage, quick 
and graceful step. Her face, childish in form, hut. expressive of great determination with 
prominent lines indicating fearlessness and combative force, is crowned by a mass of well- 
kept dark brown hair, and lighted by a pair of piercing black eyes that scintillate and dance 
with merriest, but positive and vigorous intimations when their owner wields the paddles. Her 
hands are small, the forearm thin with no noticeable prominence of muscle. In the remark- 
able development of the biceps lies the secret of the girl's success and endurance as a rower. 
A prehensile movement of the arm— a grasp unyielding and firm— displays a mass of hard 
muscle, extending to, and including the sterno and scapulary coverings, affording a powerful 
grip and retentive strength that is astonishing. The child has never had a coacher nor the 
advice and example of one skilled and trained in athletic or aquatic exercises; nor has she 
ever witnessed a rowing contest. All her work has been done in the old ferry boat, a big, 
heavy and clumsy float that severely taxes the strength of strong and able-bodied men. 
Given a boat of proper size and weight, a shell constructed for fast rowing, and a teacher 



84 



Pri ise and Poetry. 



that understands his art and pupil, there is no risk in asserting that the world might not 
have long to wait for an opportunity to huzza and land the champion of the oar in the 
person of the little Water Witch of Iroquois. 



Walk down a gently sloping path leading to the river and yon stand on the verge of 
Iroquois' treasure. The waters laugh and sparkle with the rogueishness "fa woman's lips and 

eves till one is tempted to hug and kiss the very 
1*^' walls for gratification or revenge. Standing thus 

by the historic landmark, ymi readily understand 
ami appreciate the popularity the place has always 
enjoyed. It is a fact, remarkable to many, that 
there is hut one spring of water of nearly equal 
capacity, between Harrisburg and Newport, other 
than that at [roquois. The one referred to is near 
the town of Marysville, and was dug out ami walled 
by the late 1>. W. Seiler, then engineer of construc- 
tion on the Northern Central railway. It is not 
known who built theoriginal w alls at Iroquois, long 




'flu Oh! Spring. 



since gone to ruin. They were rude, of native stone and constructed without regard to 
design, height or width. The flood of '89 damaged the Club's grounds, the surroundings of 
the spring being among the general wreck. When repairs were made the spring was 
enlarged and remodeled. It is shaped like a horse-shoe, is fifteen feet long and ten feet 
wide. The quantity of water discharged per minute is estimated at one hundred gallons. 
The fountain head is in Limestone Ridge, just above the railroad, the water finding its way 
through the strata of rocks that terminate a few feet above the outlet. The water has no 
known specific medicinal properties and its reputation rests solely and securely on its 
warranted purity, refreshing and invigorating qualities. 



A hundred yards below the spring a long irregular ledge of rocks crosses the river at 
right angles. These gray, water-washed fragments were, doubtless, once an impregnable 
barrier to what has since become tic natural water course, affording perfect ami complete 
drainage to the Juniata Valley. These rocks form a beautiful cascade, or falls, of singular 
charm and impressive effect. They span the entire width of the stream, making a .lam fully 
ten feet deep at any season of the year, driving the water back to a level that reaches Bailey's, 
more than a mile above. In summer the scene is ravishingly picturesque, the wild 
surroundings being increased in weird magnificence by mountains and wooded hills whose 
feet are washed by the murmuring waters. Iroquois Falls attracted the attention of the 
engineers who constructed the canal, they deeming it wonderfully advantageous as a .lam 
from which to feed the proposed canal. It was at one time under serious consideration, and 
only the magnitude and cost of the undertaking, the limited finances and the risk supposed 
to attend it, prevented the consummation of the project. When the flat boat and ark were 
seen upon our inland streams, and the means of transportation were limited to the wagon, the 
pack horse and river boat, the navigation of the Juniata was one of the heroic sides to the 



Susquehanna and Iuniata Rivers. 85 

life of the pioneer. To get over the Iroquois Falls was an effort requiring strength of muscle, 
tact, patience and pluck. Whole 'lavs, it is told, were consumed hauling the boats over the 
treacherous rocks; while often they were relieved of their freight and the empty boat dragged 
on .shore and thence around the falls. In one or two of the larger rocks the iron staples yet 
remain to tell of those struggles for civilization. 



On a point of land, barren and desolate, just below the rocks, is the old burying-ground 
— so old that local traditions have no positive record of its first use for interment of the dead. 
It is a secluded and lonely spot, the ground sloping toward the shore and partially hidden 
within the shadows of huge old oaks tint stand like faithful guardians over the slumbering 
dead. Who they were, or what they did, is unknown so far as careful inquiry could discover. 
A few rude stones mark the dimensions of the graves. On one is cai-ved in large figures j 
■• lsos." the only inscription, but meaningless as to identity of the dead, (hi another, but 
almost effaced, are the initials, "C. G." Old settlers have told that the place was the favorite 
Indian burying-ground, and the land lying between the river and where the canal now is 
was once covered with headstones and mounds, beneath which were dead Indians numbering 
many scores. No attempt was ever made to excavate for relics of the departed, that the 
legends might be verified or proven mythical. There are sr\-r\i distinct mounds, with head 
and foot stones in position, but residents of the neighborhood assert that they well recollect 
when the sacred limits included all the hillock referred to. This land was once owned by 
the Hulings and Watts families. There is no doubt hut the Iroqouis graveyard contains the 
bones of departed pioneers from Sherman's, the Tuscarora and Buck's Valleys, whose descend- 
ants are ignorant of their resting place. Tradition has it that in 1780 a small log church was 
erected by the few Lutherans living near the spring. It was, according to the same author- 
ity, burned down in 1801. The remains of what was once a foundation wall may still he 
seen above the old burying-ground. 



Tin' locality was not only famous for its spring and burial ground, but because of its 
being the natural outlet, or short cut between the two rivers. One of the oldest known 
Indian trails, and one which the white settlers followed in traveling from Northeastern Penn- 
sylvania to beyond the Alleghenies, crossed the Susquehanna at Montgomery's Ferry, led 
through Buck's Valley to Iroquois, known at that date as "Half Falls," thence west through 
the Juniata Valley. Settlers from all the valleys bordering on the .Iuniata river tramped 
over the same path to and from Wilkesbarre and the Northeast, considering it a great saving 
of time and travel as compared with the trail through the Lebanon Valley to Harrisburg and 
westward along the river. Here the celebrated Shawnee Chief, Shikalatnv, whose village was 
in the vicinity of Sunbury, met the old Chief, Kishecokilas, also of the Shawnee nation, and 
conferred concerning the constant increase in numbers of white settlers that were taking 
possession of the fertile valleys crossing the Juniata. Both chiefs were the friends of the 
settlers, and evidenced their loyalty in every possible way. Kishecokilas was not as powerful 
and influential as Shikalamy, but could control many of the villages, and the young warriors 
looked to him for counsel and advice. With Kishecokilas came Logan, whose title, "Mingo 
Chief." as well as the reputation for fealty to the settlers, which he possessed, maintains for 



86 Prose and Poetry. 

him a niche in local history. Logan was the second son of Chief Shikalamy and went into 
the Juniata Valley presumably as the friend of old Kishecokilas, companion and fellow- 
warrior of his noted father. Consequently when Kishecokilas received Skikalamy's request 
for a conference. Iroquois, or Half Falls Spring, was selected as the place. Chief .Shikalamy 
was of the Cayugas, a. powerful tribe, whose principal village was situated on Cayuga Lake, 
in New York. He was deputed to rule the Shawnees, who had been received into the 
alliance thereafter known as the Six Nations. He had been converted by the missionaries, 
and when he came among the Shawnees he soon obtained a great influence over. them. They 
were dissolute, blood thirsty and treacherous, but Shikalamy ruled them with kindness, 
backed by an iron will and indomitable courage. He was strictly temperate, because he was 
credited with saying, "I never wished to besome a fool." The council between the two chiefs 
lasted for several days, the accompanying Indians indulging in fishing and hunting. The 
spring was considered by the Indians as sacred, they believing that the Great Spirit drank 
from the fountain, and the water, in consequence, was blessed and possessed virtues to 
prolong life and assure freedom from danger and disease. 




Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



87 



IROQUOIS. 




WAY from the city's bustle and roar, 

The mad'ning rush of the frigid world ; 
From the endless grind of the helpless poor- 
(> lives so crushed and ruthless whirled! 
To the beautiful river I'll gladly go, 

"With reverence worship the Gods of Joy ; 
Dream of one spot, but one below 

This side of heaven: 'Tis Iroquois. 

And there 'neath the shade of primeval trees. 

Charmed by the ripple's lullaby song, 
I'll tell my soul to the fragrant breeze, — 

A pledge of love both true and strong. 
No envy or care shall dare intrude, 

The bitter of life must lie forgot ; 
The Spring, the Falls, the sacred dead 

E'er bless and hallow the lovely spot. 

Drift on, <> waters of storied blue, 

Nor heed the waves that swell and dip ; 
Smile hut on those who can lie true, 

Kiss hill ami vale with red-ripe lip. 
Flow on, () Juniata, fair, 

With gentlest murmur and softest sigh ; 
Far though 1 wander, far from here, 

I'll never, never, say "Good-bye." 



ZENAS J. < J KAY. 




88 



Prose and Poetry. 



UP THE RIVER. 

AILEY'S is an old-time packet-boat station and the location of "Old Caroline 
Furnace," one of the earliest of its kind east of Millerstown. The place took 
•) ) its name from the owner, Hon. Joseph Bailey, a gentleman of the old school, 
iL^i/ member of Congress and manufacturer. The land here was first settled by the 
Van Camps in 1763. They came originally from Holland, settling at Kingston, New York, 
which place they left hastily in terror of Indian Massacre bringing away with them all their 
effects on the backs of horses. The ruins of the old furnace together with a few of the 
tenement houses are still standing. There is a legend that in the Buffalo Hills lying between 
Bailey's and Iroquois the Indians got their supply of lead hut refused to indicate to the 
whites the location of the mines. 

The river has numerous curves, shod and sharp, the railroad swinging around Trim- 
mer's Rock and along the base of the mountain until Newport is reached. The town was 

laid out by Daniel Reider in 1814, and took 
the name of " Reidersville." The building 
of the canal in 1830 brought a prosperous 
trade and it was called " New Port." It was 
the gateway to the rich valleys of Perry 
county, an immense trade being transacted 
tor more than sixty years. A narrow guage 
road built as far west as New Germantown, 
connects here with the Pennsylvania road. 
While making the canal a large stone 
shaped like a Greek cross was dug up on 
the site of the Indian town just north of the 
borough limits. On it was cut hieroglyphics 
and data that mystified the residents as to 
its origin and history. Careful research has 
however, revealed its story. About 1771 
two Jesuit priests came from Canada with 
the design of founding a mission among the Juniata Indians, reaching the valley near the 
site of Newport. The priests cul the cross out of native sandstone and which formed part 
of their rude altar. Failing in their object to build a church the cross was buried ami the 
Jesuits, with the Indians, weld toward the setting sun. 




Trimmer's Bock— East "1 Newport. 



.Millerstown is on the east bank of the river, one mile above the dam so familiar to 
boatmen and anglers. It is a beautiful sheet "f water across which canal boats are towed 
with an endless rope, being operated by water power. Indulging in a geological talk which 
is appropriate at this time, Professor Claypole says very few people have any idea of the 
amount of work done by a -ingle river like the Juniata in transporting the land from 
adjacent hills into the sea. In ordinary weather a gallon of Juniata water carries about 
eight grains of earthy sediment, or one pound for every one hundred cubic feci. At the 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 



89 



Millerstown dan; the river is six hundred feel wide and four feel deep, with a current flowing 
two miles an hour; that is 24,000,000 cubic feet of water pass over the dam every hour, 

carrying 240,000 pounds (120 tons) of rock sediment, in other words, 1, ,000 cubic yards 

of rock waste of Juniata, Mifflin, Huntingdon ami Blair counties pass down the Juniata river 
to the sea every year. The water basin from which this river sediment come, measures 
about 10,000,000,000 square yards. Its average loss per year is, therefore, about the ten 
thousandth of a yard, and counting the gravel and stones carried down in flood times and 
by ice, it will he safe to call it the live thousandth of a yard. Thus the whole surface of tin, 
Juniata Valley has been lowered say one foot in 1500 years, or 3,000 yards in 13,500000 
years. 



A few miles east " r Millerstown, in Pfoutz's Valley, is old Si. Michael's Lutheran church 
The congregation was organized in 1760, worshiping in private cabins and later in the old 
log school-house built on the graveyard plot. The first church was erected in 1798 a new 

one taking its place in 1847. The early settlers, many of whom were murdered by the 
Indians, lie buried here. 



Thompsontown, on the left bank, and one mile from the railway station which is reached 
by a high bridge across the Juniata, is quite an old town, with a. prosperous country trade 
Mexico is a wayside station and is prominent in local history as the locality settled by an 
ambitious Scotch-Irishman, Captain James Patterson, who came across from Cumberland 
county in 1751. He was accompanied by others who located in the vicinity. Two large log 
houses were quickly built, the sides being pierced with loopholes in readiness for an Indian 
attack which they expected. In locating at Mexico, Patterson defied the proprietors whom 
he did not consult and would not purchase from the Indians with whom he had frequent 
encounters with rill,' and knife. They called him " Big Shot," on account of his expertness 
with the rifle. Later he was forced to leave and seek shelter in Sherman's Valley but 
returned to find that the Penn's had parcelled out his land and it was occupied by strangers. 
He secured another tract and again refused to pay for it, holding that if it was right for the 
Penns to cheat the Indians out of millions of acres of land it was no wrong in him to cheat 
the Penns out of a farm. In the war upon the whites commencing in 1763, the Tuscarora 
settlements suffered the most horrible massacres, many of their children being carried bevond 
the < Ihio. 



Port Loyal is on the west hank of the river, at the end of the "Tuscarora Path Valley '' 
extending from the Gap at Concord, to the Juniata river. A narrow guage railroad has just 
been completed, which will aid in making the place one of business importance. 



Mifflintown, the county-seat of Juniata county, is delightfully situated on the left hank 
of the river, opposite the railway station, which latter place also takes the same name, being 
formerly known as Patterson. The town occupies a sloping eminence, from which a v 
of the surrounding scenery is afforded. An open iron bridge connects the two porti 



lew 
ons 



90 



Prose and Poetry. 



of the town. The repair simps of the Pennsylvania railroad were located here prior to their 
removal to Altoona. Pell's Island is a fertile tract on which one of the many mythical 
" Grasshopper Wars " is said to have taken place between two tribes of Indians. The town 
was founded in 1791, by John Harris, a native of County Donegal, Ireland, and not by John 
Harris, of Harris' Ferry, who was an Engishman. The similarity in names has doubtless 
led to such contusion in the Colonial Records, all credit being given the Harris of Paxtang. 
The MifHintown Harris was also prominent in his day, and it is a matter of sincere regret 
that so little authentic history of the man and his time has been preserved. In the pretty 
cemetery there are four massive marble slabs with the inscriptions less satisfactory than the 
meager traditions that have come down to the present, 'flic first records the death of James 
Harris, believed to be the brother of John Harris, which occurred September 1. 1804, in his 
85tb year. Beside James' tomb is that of John Harris, the founder of the town, the inscrip- 
tion being copied in lull : — 

" Here lieth the body of 

John Harris, Esq., 
who departed this life, Feb. 28, 1794 

Aged about 71 years. 
■• He was born in the County of Donegal, in Ireland ; came to this country in early lite. 
Educated in the principles of religion and morality, he was exemplary in the performance 
thereof. He possessed a large share of public confidence; in the character of a magistrate 
he was judicious ; as a legislator he was discerning and determined, and in the worst of times 
shewed himself his country's friend and the friend of man. As a husband, a lather, a 
relation or a friend he was beloved, honored, respected and in bis death by all lamented. 

The third grave i- that of his wife, Jean Harris, who died in 1807, agi d 83 years. The 
inscription on the fourth and last slab says that William Harris, presumably the son of John 
and Jean, died in 1807 in his 48th year. MifHintown possesses many tine homes, the 
residents being enterprising and thrifty. The surrounding country is well-cultivated and 
highly productive. The elevation is 434 feet above lidewater. 

A ride of tour or live miles along the Juniata and the train enters the celebrated 
Lewistown Narrows, the wildest and most beautiful scenery which the eye of the tourist could 

desire. The Black Log mountain is ^n the 
right bank of the river, while the Shade 
mountain guards the left, booking out of 
the car window and upwards you see, 
perched upon the very summit of both 
mountains, huge, rocky promontories, black 
and dismal, and broken in irregular heaps 
of detached rocks held in place by some 
small sapling or deeper-set rock. Covered 
with moss and of a dark and sombrous 
color, they give to the scene a stamp of 
positive wildness, the beauty of which is 
increased by the overhanging foliage, slop- 
ing to the rugged banks of the Juniata, 
which leaps over its rocky bed as if bewil- 
dered by the scene around. There are 
many other scenes in our mountain ranges 




si squehanna and Iuniata Rivers. 



91 



similar to this; but there is none in this broad continent which surpasses it in picturesque 

outline.' It is one of those things, , that must be seen leisurely to be fully comprehended 

:mi1 enjoyed. Rushing through this mighty gorge one can but feel as though passim* 
through a land of strange and weird scenes, interspersed by gleams of sunshine and music of 
splashing waterfall. A ride through the "Long Narrows" is a pleasure never forgotten nor 
regretted. 



Rolling up the gentle, but perceptible, grade of fifty-seven feet in twelve miles. Lewistown 
is reached, west from Harrisburg sixty-one miles; from Philadelphia, one hundred and 
sixty-two miles. Arthur Buchanan, also a Scotch-Irishman, from the Cumberland Vallev, 
took up land where Lewistown now stands and built the first cabin in 1755. About the 
same time Fort Granville was erected a mile above. The site of the fori has lone since 
disappeared. The Indians butchered the inmates in the summer of 1750, after a brave and 
desperate resistance. Near Lewistown is the famous Kishecokilas Valley, the home of Chief 

Kishecokilas, the friend of Shikalamy at Sha kin, ami with whom tlie latter's son, Lo«-an 

the Mingo Chief, lived and hunted for many years. Lew- 
istown was laid out in 1790 by James holler ami William 
Brown. The place is noted for its tine scenery, railway 
and manufacturing facilities, and all the desired advant- 
ages of .•! prosperous inland city. Eleven miles above is 
McVeytown, an old established fori village and formerly 
of considerable importance. Near it is Hanawalt's 
Cave, from which the Indians obtained saltpeter used 
by them in making powder and the curing of venison. 
Ryde is a bewildering little place of a dozen houses, 
grist-mil] and cemetery. A half-mile above and close 
by the river hank -muds (he pretty resort of (he Altoona 
Hunting and Fishing Club. A charming bit of sandy 
beach stretches along the premises, reminding one of 
seaside spots haunted by mermaids and water witches. 




( 'lub Hmm at Ruth 



Newton Hamilton, noted for its Methodist ('amp Grounds, has. since the abandonment 
U "I" ° anal - :, lost , much " f its P re s%e. West of here the river makes a -harp bend over 
winch the railroad crosses on a bridge seventy feet above the water. 



Mount I nion, with an altitude of five hundred and ninety feet above ocean lid,, is built 
at th " ent ™nce to the old Aughwick Vallev. so renowned in the early settlement of the 
Juinata - [( has numerous iron manufactories, extensive tanneries and a large trade with the 
valleys that open toward the river. It is the junction of the East Broad Top road that now 
runs through the Shade (lap and into the ore fields in Shade Valley In the vicinity are 



rich mines of iron ore used fi 



>r home consumption and foreign shipment. 



Leaving Mount I mon, the railroad, without observing the formality of an introduction 
™ S,es th f ''; iv " k ' r into the world-famous ' Jack's Narrows," in the ver/midst of mountains 
thai an. hold, rugged and far beyond description. The name. "Jack's Narrows " or " rack's 



92 



Prose and Poetry. 



Mountains," were so called from the fact that one, John Armstrong, whose home was on 
Armstrong's creek, in Dauphin county, now Halifax, with two hired men, James Smith and 

W Iward Arnold, were killed by an Indian. Musemeelin. The murder was committed in 

February, 1744, and created a great deal of talk among the Indians at Sunbury and the 
white settlers on the Susquehanna. "Jack" Armstrong was given to drink, and was 
possessed of few principles that make up the man. lie had dealings with the Indian 
Musemeelin, from whom he took a horse as security for a debt that mysteriously grew larger, 
though the Indian made frequent payments. Armstrong and his servants went to the 
Narrows to hunt, and there meeting Musemeelin, the latter demanded his horse. Armstrong 
refused, and the Indian determined upon revenge. Following Armstrong's party, he 
succeeded in killing all three and buried their bodies among the rocks. The place of 
sepulture is said to he on the summit of Rocky Ridge, west of Mapleton. where, it is alleged, 
remains of a human body were discovered in 1888. Near Mapleton, in 1789, Samuel Drake 

established a ferry, which, for fifty years, 
was the great crossing-place over the 
Juniata. Another individual, called 
"Captain Jack," "The Black Hunter," 
etc., and a veritable hater of Indians, 
haunted the Narrows after the murder of 
•lack Armstrong. The "Black Hunter" 
settled in Aughwick Valley, removing to 
the Narrows in 1755, where his exploits 
and the terrible vengeance he inflicted 
upon the Indians soon made him friends 
among the frontiersmen. He led a com- 
pany of scouts, or rangers, and offered his 
service to General Braddock, who refused 
them on account of Jack's unwillingness 
to lie enrolled as a regular company. 
The " Black Hunter" is said to have died 
in 1 77'2. 

Huntingdon, ninety-seven miles west 
of Harrisburg, is the county seat of II un- 
tinsdon county. It was laid out at the 
mouth of Standing Stone creek, in 1 77< '. 
by Dr. Smith, the then Provost of the 
University of Pennsylvania, in honor of 
Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, a liberal 
contributor to the funds of that institu- 
tion. Prior to this time the place was 
i village there. A fort was erected in 17o - 2 
It has long since been noted for its beautiful 
Dank of the Juniata, the wealth and intelligence of its citizens and the 
enterprise and success of its business ventures. Furnaces, for smelting lead and iron ore, 
were elected as early as 17'.»2, its mineral wealth having but few rivals. At Petersburg. 
-even miles west of Huntingdon, the Frankstown branch joins the Juniata, which dwindles 
gradually into a small mountain brook, whose source is high up in the Allegheny 
mountains. 




View in /acfc's Narrows. 
known as "Standing Stone." the Indians bavin 
for the better protection of the frontier. 
location on the left 



Susquehanna am; Juniata Rivers. 



93 



JACK'S NARROWS. 



LL liail thou deep and mighty gorge, 

That rnak'st for man the way; 
Thou wondrous work of nature's hand, 
( >n old creation's day ; 
With awe I view thy rugged slopes, 
And mark thy tow'ring heights, 
Where mountain grandeur clothes each view 
With wild and lovely sights. 





Drake's Ferry. 

And proud thou art that at thy feet 

As peaceful measures elide. 
The Juniata's limpid waves 

Thy rocky steeps divide, 
And mirror from their placid depths 

Thy pines and oaks .so old, 
Whose mossy trunks and cone-clad boughs 

Heed not the heat or cold. 



Upon the gray and hoary cliffs 
That crown thy winding way, 

That stand like castles, old and grim 
Untouched by rude decay, 



94 Prose and Poetry. 

The eagles rear their helpless young 
From all their foes secure, 

And teach their timid wings to range 
To ether clear and pure. 

When vernal skies dispel the chill 

That winter winds have brought, 
And heal the wounds with piteous hands 

Unfeeling frost hath wrought, 
Then woodland beauty hastens forth 

Thy bleak defiles to hide, 
And leaflets spring from tree and shrub 

And flowers on every side. 

If summer suns, with melting ray. 

Make hills and valleys glow, 
And fling their beaming radiance down 

Alike on friend and foe ; 
With gentle breezes thou art fanned, 

With balmy zephyrs blest, 
Refreshing to the languid ones, 

And tn the weary rest. 

So, too, when autumn's mellow days 

Begin their busy hours, 
And hang their gorgeous drapings wide 

O'er all thy sylvan bowers, 
Then many a low and ladened bough 

And many a stately tree, 
With gen'rous yield their fruits bestow 

A bounty rich and free. 

But they have left thy wooded wastes, 

And sought an unknown strand; 
Their fires are out, their wigwams gone. 

To rise in spirit-land ; 
They tread no more thy mazy paths. 

Nor cross thy rocky bounds, 
But trend in blissful ecstasies 

Their happy hunting grounds. 

And then a race superior came 

To wake thy sleeping scenes, 
To hew a. passage through thy length 

And bridge thy dark ravines; 
Their beasts of burden came and went 

Their wide and beaten way, 
While great and lumbering wagons passed 

In haste both night and day. 



Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. 95 

They smoothed still more the broad highway 

With must untiring skill 
And sent the daring stage-coach 

To speed along at will ; 
And when the echoing horn rang out, 

In din both wild and new, 
Thine Alpine peaks and deep retreats 

Soon faded from the view. 

But when the storms of winter come 

Thy solitudes to claim, 
Old Boreas rides in wrathful mood 

( )'er all thy bleak domain ; 
He fiercely hinds thy far-famed stream, 

lie madly seals it fast, 
And sweeps athwart thy dark ravines 

In many a roaring blast. 

An hundred years great change hath brought 

To thy primeval state. 
And in thy future's hidden years 

Still greater wonders wait; 
Oh, glorious gate-way for the world. 

So kind to coming life, 
Bring not the woes of Glenco's vale, 

Nor old Thermopylae's strife. 

Long ere Magellan built for fame 

By sailing round the earth, 
In years unknown to history's page — 

Before Columbia's birth, 
The tribal children here did dwell 

In freedom's happy dream. 
And sought their food among the glens, 

And from thy fruitful stream. 

But greater works thou wast to see 

Along thy rocky feet, 
A graceful son thy river gave, 

The traveler's wants to meet. 
And on its gentle bosom bore, 

In craft of wise design. 
The treasures of the field and mill, 

And riches of the mine. 

Anon the packet sped along 

In haughty, boastful pride, 
J [er precious load of joyous lite 

Bode soft as zephyr's glide; 



96 Prose and Poetry. 

And swiftly by thy wond'ring hills 
She carried man and wealth, 

To distant fields they journeyed all 
For fortune or for health. 

Yes, mark the wonder still to rise 

To men's progressive will; 
The iron way traversed thy length, 

Men's wishes to fulfill; 
And where thy quiet years have slept, 

The thund'ring train now flies, 
And millions of the stirring race 

Have swept beneath thy skies. 

Yes, every land that shares the sun 

Contributes to thy throne, 
That day and night between thy slopes 

Is swiftly borne along; 
And treasure, too, from every clime 

Comes slumbering in the wake. 
And both are grateful for the way 

Thy kindly openings make. 

And stretching all thy dreary length 

The iron nerves are hung, 
That gather thoughts from all the world 

And speak with lightning's tongue; 
What greater works hath man to boast 

Than these immortal peers — 
The telegraph, the telephone, 

That bless the rolling years. 

And here — a century old to-day — 

Drake's Ferry lives in mime; 
How bright the story of its years, 

How far its patrons came' 
What bustling life, what moving wealth, 

Confided in the skill 
Of one tradition praises well 

And loves his memory still! 

And last, let mem'ry's deep impress 

Record the deeds of yore, 
( If him who sleeps in peaceful rest 

On Juniata's shore; 
Friend to friend; a foe to foe, 

To stand he was not slack, 
And thou dost wear this hero's name — 

The name of Captain Jack. 
1889. W. W. Fuller. 



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