USA > Maryland > Harford County > The rocks of Deer Creek, Harford County, Maryland. Their legends and history > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
73
THEIR LEGENDS AND HISTORY.
be slain by a silver bullet only. The scarcity of the precious metal prevented the making of the problem- atical experiment, and hence the possessed animal was left to wander at will. For many years it has not been seen. The witch may have taken another habitation, or assumed another form. The en- lightenment of the community has thrown doubt upon the story, once so implicitly believed. People now-a-days suspect much of the past to be mythical, as it doubtless is, but subjecting everything to a mathematical test, they may forget, as my credulous friend suggests, that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in their philosophy. Candor compels us to say that in our philosophy there are no witches save those bewitching ones whose manners captivate the susceptible youths of the stronger sex.
THE BIG SNAKE.
THE existence of a species of snakes of large size in the neighborhood of the Rocks has been reported for many years. Mr. William Jeffrey, an aged citizen of Bel Air, informed us that the track of a snake " broad as a cart wheel " was pointed out to him by his father seventy years ago; that thirty, and again fifty, years thereafter, the serpent itself was seen. The Ancient Trapper avers that in his 7
74
THE ROCKS OF DEER CREEK.
youth he learned from a reliable source of a snake of extraordinary size, whose home was in the hill opposite the Ancient Mill. By the incredulous, the story was considered doubtful, or supposed to be an exaggeration, but very recently several persons whose truthfulness is not questioned, have declared that they saw the monstrous reptile. The visitor to the Rocks need have no fear, as the animal is most likely to shun the presence of man. And it is probable that the blasting of rocks in the making of the Railroad will induce his majesty to seek another domain in which to enjoy his hitherto acknowledged supremacy over the beasts that crawl.
WHITSUNTIDE.
-
FOR many years the Rocks were a resort at Whit- suntide. The best people of the country patronized the festival. It was a favorable time for making acquaintance and cementing friendships. And I suppose that then, as now, on festal days, Cupid was present, armed cap-a-pie, and that his arrows failed not of many a worthy mark. An estimable lady, who died a few years ago, living to be nearly one hundred years of age, was wont to speak with great interest of her visit to the Rocks of Deer Creek at Whitsuntide, when she was a little girl. Her memory of the delicate and refined attentions
75
THEIR LEGENDS AND HISTORY.
of Colonel John Streett, a prominent gentleman of Harford county, in those early days, was very dis- tinct, and she failed not to speak of them enthusias- tically
The Rocks in later years became at this season a scene of dissipation and rowdyism, and the patron- age of the more respectable classes was discontinued. In the procession of years, another change has come. Now, at all seasons, the Rocks are a point of attrac- tion to all classes. The pic-nic, harvest homes, political gatherings, railroad meetings, have substi- tuted Whitsuntide ; and upon the completion of the Baltimore and Delta Railroad, the Rocks must, from the attractions of scenery and the salubrity of the air, become the resort of persons from all sections of the county and more distant points.
THE PERILOUS FEAT.
To SAY fool-hardy, would be an appropriate ad- dition to qualify the act. A well-known resident of the neighborhood of the Rocks illustrated the truth of the old adage, "When wine is in wit is out," by forcing his horse to the very verge of the precipice, with seeming intention of throwing him- self and his noble animal into the fearful abyss below. The sober horse, with more discretion than his drunken master, seeing the peril, turned at the
.
76
THE ROCKS OF DEER CREEK.
moment of immediate danger, and thus saved him- self and rider from certain death. This unhappy man afterward, in an attempt to force his horse across Deer Creek when swollen, was drowned. The particular point on the Creek where he entered the water is said to have been about the head of the dam of Preston's Mills. Thus died igno- miniously a man who, but for indulgence in the use of an unnecessary beverage, might have lived for many years, a comfort to his family and an orna- ment to society. The horse, Bold Hector, as he was not inappropriately named, survived his unfortunate master several years.
AN ACT OF VANDALISM.
ON the summit of the western Rocks was an im- mense boulder, weighing many tons, poised on a fixed rock so slightly and delicately that a strong man could move it at will, and yet it was so related to the rock upon which it rested, that it required the force of four men, aided by levers, to throw it from its position. These persons, without apprecia- tion of nature, and of mere wantonness, or con- ceiving the purpose of giving immortality to their names, threw this object of great interest from its position to the rocks below, where it now lies with- out hope of its ever being replaced in its original
77
THEIR LEGENDS AND HISTORY.
location. I have understood that the then proprie- tor of the Rocks offered a reward for the discovery of the perpetrators of the ignoble deed, but that it was not effectual in securing that end. This may have been fortunate. Otherwise the names of the guilty parties might have been coupled in history with the destroyers of Rome and the burners of the Alexandrian Library.
CANAL AND RAILROAD.
WHEN the Tide-Water Canal was completed, our citizens agitated the subject of slack-water naviga- tion from a point five miles above La Grange to the mouth of Deer Creek, the accomplishment of which would have made a direct and cheap outlet for our trade to Baltimore and Philadelphia. The idea was born of a felt necessity, but could not have been made practical. Such a project would not have paid. And it has been well for the health of the country bordering Deer Creek that it was impossible of realization. Canals and fevers are synonymous terms.
Instead of slack-water, locks and dams, with in- creased disease, we shall have a Railroad, and more direct communication with Baltimore, our chief commercial city. Under the direction of a most energetic President and an enterprising Board of 7*
78
THE ROCKS OF DEER CREEK.
Directors, sustained by citizens along the line, who are awake to its advantages, it is being pushed with commendable vigor, and will, we cannot doubt, be completed in good time.
To our immediate Rocks of Deer Creek neigh- borhood the effect of the road will be very signifi- cant. Our rocks and minerals will be marketable, and the attractions of our scenery will draw many curious visitors. And it is to be hoped that the possessors of the soil will awake from their more than Rip Van Winkle sleep. It is strange that they have slept so long, seeing that around them there are so many examples worthy of imitation. The enterprise, thrift and judgment of the many success- ful farmers above, and the no less competent tillers of the soil below, should stimulate us to an exertion that may make this comparative wilderness blossom as the rose. The Railroad, completed, will ensure the development of all our interests. Our fields will yield abundant harvests, the waters of Deer Creek will be utilized in the operation of mills, and fac- tories, and furnaces. Our lofty summits will be crowned with the residences of their proprietors, or occupied as the retreats of the wealthy inhabitants of the city.
79
THEIR LEGENDS AND HISTORY.
THE ORIGINAL MOONSHINER.
SOUTHEAST of the Rocks three-fourths of a mile, through a ravine hidden by wooded hills, runs a small stream, having its sources in several springs a short distance above, which gives evidence of oc- cupation and use. Remains of a dam still exist, as also traces of a ditch, leading to what has the ap- pearance of the foundation of a building. For what purpose was the dam built, the ditch dug, and the
building erected ? The oldest inhabitants cannot answer these interrogatories, and have no tradition in relation thereto. We are therefore left to conjec- ture the purpose for which they were made. It may have been the location of the distillery of some moonshiner-one of the progenitors of the gentle- men of West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and elsewhere, who are engaged in illicit distilla- tion, to the great detriment of the revenues of the United States of America. If so, he could not have selected a place more favorable to his vocation.
Since writing the above I have had conversations with James Wann, Esq., and with David Tucker, Sr., an aged citizen, from whom I have learned some facts that may throw doubt on the moonshine theory. They informed me that in the earlier days of Harford the tub-mill was in use, requiring but little water ; that the turning of chair-stuff by wa- ter, of which little volume was required, was com- mon ; as also the distillation of brandies from fruits, requiring comparatively little water. The waters of my brook may have been used for one of these purposes. A remark made by our venerable citi-
80
THE ROCKS OF DEER CREEK.
zen, Mr. Tucker, throws doubt upon all these spec- ulations. He said that it is not rare to find in the forests of this portion of Harford traces of ditches, sometimes of considerable length, leading to low- lands, and suggested that they might have been used for purposes of irrigation. If so, by whom ? Not one of the oldest inhabitants has any knowledge of such use, and none know by whom they were ex- cavated ; nor is there tradition bearing upon the subject. Can it be that the people who preceded the Indians in the occupancy of this country, and who have left traces of a superior civilization- the mound-builders or some other race-were the diggers of these ditches, and used them, as sug- gested, for irrigating uses ? Or might they not have been rude aqueducts conveying water to their villages or fortified camps, or, at a later period, to the palisaded villages of the Susquehannocks, against whom the Six Nations waged war for many years ? It is known that the Tohocks, a tribe once residing at the head of the Chesapeake, did thus for- tify themselves against the fierce Mingoes. How soon the past becomes mythical and legendary, and how greatly it is to be regretted that there has not been left more than mere conjecture of so much which, if known, would greatly interest us of the present !
" Thus are the tracks of nations blotted out, Faint impress leaving, like the passing bird, Save when the mould, erst trod by them, is stirred By other races-giving to the light Some yellow, crumbling bone, or instrument of fight."
81
THEIR LEGENDS AND HISTORY.
THE MONUMENTS OF THE GIANTS.
WHEN the French first settled Canada, they heard marvelous stories of a race of giants who were said to inhabit the country at the mouth of the Susque- hanna and westward of that river. How much foundation of fact there was for these reports we do not know, but in after years the Susquehan- nocks were known as men of large size and of great strength. Six feet or more in height, and of corre- sponding weight, was the representation given of them by the first white explorers of their country. The knowledge of the Indians who first communi- cated to the French the stories of the size and strength of the Susquehannocks might have been traditionary and descriptive of a race who had been gigantic in stature and of herculean strength, but who, from some unexplained and unexplainable causes, had in the progress of time degenerated to the proportions of ordinary mortals. Students of ethnology know that such degenerations have occurred. There are some slightly presumptive proofs that the traditionary stories of the physical proportions of the original dwellers by the Rocks of Deer Creek are not without some slight basis of truth. The King and Queen Seats are the sitting places of giants, and they, presumptively, were occupied at a time past indefinitely distant by the rulers of the country. Indian Jupiters and Junos, honored not less, perhaps, than the gods and god- desses of Roman and Grecian mythology, may have received there the homage of their subjects. The gods have come down to us, said the superstitious
82
THE ROCKS OF DEER CREEK.
Ephesians, when Paul and Barnabas wrought miracles in their city. The gods are with us, would have been the natural exclamation of the super- stitious Indians assembled in council on the summits of the Rocks in the presence of their rulers. We may not in this argument overlook the attractions but little noticed by intelligent seekers of curious objects which we have appropriately named, as we think, the Monuments of the Giants. On the sum- mit of Rock Ridge, northeast of the Rocks, are several huge pillars of stone many feet in height. The curious observer that looks at them from the valley below in the dawn of the morning or twilight of the evening can scarce resist the conviction that they may have been erected by a race of giants in honor of their monarchs and to perpetuate their glory ; and that here may have been deposited their remains, a use to which some, if not all, of the great mounds in the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi were appropriated. The geologist who shall visit these attractions may smile at that simplicity which attributes to the might of man that which may be only a proof and illustration of the power of nature, which, in the indefinite past, threw upon the sum- mit of Rock Ridge these collossal piles. But what- ever was the agency by which the result was effected, there they are-those monuments
"That look like frowning Titans in the dim And doubtful light,"
to be numbered with the many curious and attract- ive natural objects seen in the vicinity of the Rocks of Deer Creek.
The view from the Monuments is commanding
83
THEIR LEGENDS AND HISTORY.
and extensive. In the distance northward is seen the Susquehanna River, and beyond it the hills of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania ; southward, the Chesapeake Bay and the Eastern Shore of Maryland -the bay dotted here and there with white sails, moving gracefully, like swans, upon the bosom of the scarcely ruffled waters. On every side are reaches of fields and forests, in the midst of which are towns and villages, hamlets and farm-houses, constituting rare pictures of Arcadian beauty ; the interest heightened by the lowing of the herds which feed upon the contiguous meadows, and by the sounds of distant church bells, reminding the devout of the hour of prayer, or summoning them to the worship of the sanctuary on the early Sab- bath morning. The observer of these entrancing views is, however, conscious of that illusion which is always associated with such scenes ; "every valley is an Eden, and every heart therein is at peace." The repose is the possession of unthinking nature ; the hearts of the reasoning inhabitants are the abodes of strife, for in them is found envy, and pride, and ambition, and hate,
"Every prospect pleases, And only man is vile."
84
THE ROCKS OF DEER CREEK.
THE FIELD OF DARTS.
ONE-HALF mile southeast of Rock Ridge, and two and one-half miles northeast of the Rocks and bor- dering on the Mine Old Fields, is a valley in which have been found numerous Indian arrow-heads or darts. The stone of which they were made is unlike any that exists in that locality. Either the material of which these points were manufactured was brought there for that purpose, or it was the place of a great battle or battles fought by contending savage forces. Possibly, those confederated nations, Oneidas, Cay- ugas, Senecas, Mohawks, Onandagoes and Tuscaro- ras fought at that spot the Delawares and Susque- hannocks, also confederated tribes, and that that contest was decisive of that long-continued struggle which reduced the latter nations to the condition of women, which they were contemptuously called after their subjection. No conjecture is at fault in con- sidering that eventful past in which almost every foot of territory occupied by them was the place of battle between opposing Northmen and Southmen, and no excess of imagination can paint in too vivid colors the horrors of the struggle. To the South- men the coming of the Northmen was as the coming of Gog and Magog. All resistance was vain. Loups and Susquehannocks were as helpless in the grasp of their foes, as effete Romans in the hands of Goths and Vandals.
History is ever repeating itself. Three centuries later the territory south, and bordering on the former, was the theatre of a contest between civil- ized people almost unparalleled, in its violence, in
85
THEIR LEGENDS AND HISTORY.
the history of warfare, resulting as in the past in the triumph of the warriors of the northern lakes and rivers, but as also in the past, without loss of honor to the conquered. The weaker was overborne by the stronger. Once more, if the prophet is indeed a seer, the mighty tribes of the distant North will move down upon the strong ones of the South. Russ and American in the valley of the Mississippi con- tending for the mastery, the former finding that valley the place of graves. So shall close the con- flict of the world, and the earth shall keep jubilee a thousand years. The voice of Gitche Manito, the mighty, will yet be potent to subdue man's stubborn nature, and to allay his thirst for human blood. Happy would it be for mankind if his counsels were now heeded :
"O, my children ! my poor children ! Listen to the words of wisdom, Listen to the words of warning From the lips of the Great Spirit, From the Master of life, who made you !
"I am weary of your quarrels, Weary of your wars and bloodshed, Weary of your prayers for vengeance, Of your wranglings and disunion, All your strength is in your union, All your danger is in discord ; Therefore be at peace henceforward, And as brothers live together."
8
86
THE ROCKS OF DEER CREEK.
THE CHROME PITS.
SOUTHWEST of the Rocks, from one to three miles distant, are extensive deposits of chrome. They have been worked for many years, chiefly by the Messrs. Tyson, of Baltimore, enterprising mer- chants of that city. The working has often been intermitted for considerable spaces of time, but when the Baltimore and Delta Railroad shall have been completed, this industry will doubtless be con- tinuous, and also enlarged, and thus add materially to the wealth of this section of the county of Har- ford. In addition to chrome, there are in the neigh- borhood valuable deposits of iron ore, magnesia,
black lead, flint, asbestos and natural paint. The development of all these sources of material pros- perity is but a question of time and of cheap trans- portation to market. The rock of Rock Ridge, which is fire-proof and particularly adapted for fur- nace hearths, may of itself become a considerable source of income. As an item of history interest- ing to all, it may be noted that the fire-proof char- acter of these rocks was first discovered by Dr. Thomas Johnson, of the United States Army, and brother of the late Mrs. Eliza A. Preston, of Deer Creek.
87
TIIEIR LEGENDS AND HISTORY.
THE SLATE QUARRIES.
THE Slate Quarries of Harford County, Mary- land, and York County, Pennsylvania, are distant about eight miles northeast of the Rocks. They are a source of prosperity to the section of country in which they are situated, and promise, upon the completion of the Baltimore and Delta and York and Peach Bottom Railroads, to develop its wealth indefinitely. The slate is of superior quality, and held in high estimation wherever used. The quar- ries employ many men and afford subsistence to many families. The Welsh alone, who are chiefly employed, constitute a population of six or seven hundred. The village of Bangor, upon the sum- mit of the Ridge, is composed principally of this nationality. It has several stores and other places of business. There are two churches, Welsh Con- gregational and Calvinistic Methodist. One of these has a settled pastor, the Rev. Mr. Hughes, and in both the Welsh language is exclusively used in religious services. These churches have given a desirable moral tone to the community, though, like all other Christian communities, the good find in the natural antagonism of the human heart a constant incentive to holy work. The village of Delta, at the foot of the Ridge, is composed chiefly of a native population. It has many places of busi- ness, but no church. In the immediate vicinity of the two villages are Slate Ridge, Slateville and Mt. Nebo churches, the first under the pastoral care of the Rev. Joseph D. Smith, a gentleman loved by his congregation, and held in high esteem by the
88
THE ROCKS OF DEER CREEK.
people generally, irrespective of creed or profession ; the second by the Rev. Mr. Davenport, a gentleman of deserved popularity among all classes ; the last is under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Litsinger, of the Methodist Protestant Church, a Christian min- ister of enlarged and liberal views, whose praise is in all the churches.
The representative business men at the Quarries of the Welsh population are Faulk Jones, William E. Williams, John Humphreys and Hugh C. Rob- erts, Esqrs., John Parry & Co., Richard Reese & Co., Wm. C. Robertson & Co., John W. Jones & Co., Richard Hughes & Co., Robert L. Jones & Co., and Humphrey Lloyd, Esq. These gentlemen came to America in their youth, and by industry and skill have accumulated property ; and occupying prominent and influential positions in the commu- nity, have given proof that industry and integrity are roads to success.
The first Welsh worker in the Quarries was a Mr. Davis ; the first successful worker a Mr. Parry. The latter leased from Major Williamson thirty or thirty-five years ago, acquired a fortune, traveled into foreign countries, and died at Jerusalem. His family is now living in Bangor, Wales, on the inter- est of the money made at Bangor, United States of America. He is represented to have been a man of great integrity, a proof of which is, that after his return to Wales he called together his creditors, and paid the whole amount of his indebtedness to them, with interest.
The Quarries constitute a part of the group of interesting objects that render the locality of the Rocks of Deer Creek one of great attraction, and
89
THEIR LEGENDS AND HISTORY.
the visitor to the Rocks will do well to visit them. The Quarries have a promising future. Delta's magnificent distances will be of the past, and Ban- gor's sombre residences will be substituted by more pretentious edifices. The whole ridge will be alive with busy and enterprising workers, bringing from the bowels of the earth the material that shall shield its purchasers from sun, and rain, and snow, and make fortunes for the sellers.
THE HORSE EPIDEMIC AND THE GUINEA- MAN'S PONY.
MORE than one hundred years ago, during the lifetime of Benjamin Rigdon, grandfather of the late George W. S. Rigdon, an epidemic among horses, very destructive in its character, prevailed throughout all this section of country. Tradition tells us that the Durhams, ancestors of the present families of that name, who were wealthy, owning large tracts of land and many horses, lost two hun- dred of them by the scourge; that the only horse that escaped the plague was a pony owned by an aged Guinea-man belonging to the first Mr. Rigdon. This old negro lived in a small cabin on the top of Rock Ridge, a short distance above the present resi- dence of Richard Mayes, Esq., and not distant from the Rocks of Deer Creek. Whether the preservation 8 *.
90
THE ROCKS OF DEER CREEK.
of the life of the pony was owing to the healthful- ness of the spot, or its isolated position, is not known ; most likely to the latter, as the disease was, doubtless, contagious. Though not another repre- sentative of the equine race was left, the fortunate pony ate sprightlily of the slight herbage that grew on the open places of Rock Ridge summit, or of the corn grown by his thrifty master on the plain below. Looking down on the vast reaches of country on either side of the noted ridge, which towers in mountain height above the valleys, if he could not say, with Alexander Selkirk (Robinson Crusoe), on the island of Juan Fernandez,
"I am monarch of all I survey, My right there is none to dispute,"
he could say, "I am the sole owner of a horse in all these broad domains ;" and the proud pony, joining his master in the refrain, could utter,
"No pent-up Utica contracts our powers, The whole boundless continent is ours." -
Theirs it was not as against superior man, who rules the beasts of the field, but as against the beasts themselves, every one of which, save the pony, had succumbed to the power of the fell destroyer. The invulnerable pony was alone in all his glory. The value of such a pony could not be estimated.
The Guinea-man was a character. We write only of his religion. In that he was Fetish. He bore constantly about his person a feitico, the Por- tuguese name for an amulet-a talisman. To this gru grus, the name of the charm in his native lan- guage, he attached much importance, as it shielded
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.