USA > Wyoming > Wyoming; its history, stirring incidents, and romantic adventures > Part 27
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There is another view from what is called the White Rocks, but a short distance ascending to the right from the Spring House, which has advantages in rendering some parts of the valley still more per- spicuous than Prospect Rock does, on account of their more jutting position.
Time had been "winging us away" faster than we were aware or wished. The sun had already dipped his lower verge below the western mountains, giving their tree-clad summits an appearance as
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LAKE HOUSE
HARVEY'S LAKE.
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HARVEY'S LAKE.
if fringed with fire. As our little giddy world wheeled eastward, leaving the king of day gradually sinking from the horizon, he seem- ed to kiss the western hills with his ruddy lips, and, bidding us good- night, sank in a sea of glory.
HARVEY'S LAKE.
THE following sketch of a trip to Harvey's Lake is contributed by Miss Miranda Myers, of Kingston :
Bright and early, long before the purple hill-tops environing Wyo- ming were illuminated by the rising sun, we presented ourselves at the gateway, ready for a drive to this romantic summer retreat some twelve miles distant.
Passing the wild scenery of the Narrows, and through a beauti- ful rural district, we inquired, for perhaps the dozenth time during our ride, How far off is Harvey's Lake ? An honest-faced Hiberni- an answered, "Shure and you are right on it; and you have only to drive a bit ahead and turn into the lane, and you'll get there." Thanking him, we prepared to follow the direction, if it only brought us to our destination. We soon had the extreme satisfaction of see- ing the Lake House, with its fair proportions, loom up before us. As we drove up, the accommodating proprietor, Mr. Clayton, met us at the door, ready to attend to all our wants.
The house is built upon a slight elevation on the eastern shore, a few rods from the water's edge. It is large and commodious, handsomely furnished, and capable of accommodating a large number of guests. From the verandas, which extend around two sides of the house, a magnificent prospect feasts the eye-a scene of unrivaled and quiet beauty-the calm and unruffled surface of the lake spark- ling in the sunshine, begirt with beautiful hilly woodlands. These afford covert for herds of deer and other wild game, while the lake furnishes an abundance of the finest fish. Harvey's Lake has been resorted to for hunting and fishing ever since the first settlement of the country, long before there was a road cut through the mountains, the old hunters tracing their way through the dense forests by means of marked trees. It is said that the lake was discovered by one of the early settlers of the Valley noticing that the wild ducks flew very high, and in a northerly direction, from which fact he concluded that there must be quite a large body of water not far distant .*
* The lake derived its name from Benjamin Harvey, who settled upon the out- let below Plymouth, and it is supposed by his descendants that he was the first white man who discovered it. The descendants of Thomas Bennet suppose that
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Below us, in front of the house, a wagon-road winds along the shore, and is soon lost from sight among the trees. Looking across the lake toward the west, we observe a small clearing with several dwelling-houses; one is pointed out to us as the property of Hon. Warren J. Woodward. Casting our eyes down along the shore in the direction of the outlet, through a gap in the hills we behold the faint outlines of distant mountains against the sky, in fine contrast with those nearer by.
At our left is the inlet, though, properly speaking, the lake has none, being fed by springs at the bottom. A rude, unfinished bridge crosses the inlet. This can be used only by foot-passengers, as it is sunken considerably near the centre.
Having finished our observations from the house, we betake our- selves to the boat, a number being always in readiness. The white, pebbly bottom of the lake is distinctly visible for quite a distance from the shore; but as we near the centre it gradually disappears, the water becoming very deep, and assuming a look of inky black- ness. We were told that a line ninety feet in length had been sunk here without reaching bottom.
We were recalled from our aquatic expedition to the house by the sounding of the gong. Here we found an elegant dinner awaiting us-fish, flesh, and fowl, served up in every possible style, with veg- etables, tarts, puddings, pastry, etc., in profusion, calculated to please even the most epicurean palate. Dinner over, we again sallied forth in quest of enjoyment.
Noticing upon one of the pillars of the lower veranda a diagram of the lake, with the distances along the margins given, we made in- quiries of Mr. Clayton, and learned that some scientific gentleman,
he'is entitled to the honor of the discovery of this lake, and that he was led to the search for it by the flight of flocks of wild ducks. It is quite probable that these hardy pioneers each made the discovery in the same way, one reaching it from the lower extremity of the Valley, and the other from Forty Fort. It is certain that Mr. Bennet cut through the first bridle-path from Kingston to the lake, as that path is noted on the field-books of the earliest surveyors, and is called " Ben- net's Path." Andrew Bennet, son of Thomas Bennet, launched the first canoe upon the placid waters of this lake in the year 1800. John Bennet, Esq., son of Andrew Bennet, says that the canoe was made in the Valley, and shod with hick- ory saplings, and drawn over the mountain by two horses attached to it tandem, and that he, then a lad, rode the leader, and that his father led the way on foot, and that another man followed and kept the "dug-out" right side up. They ar- rived sufficiently early in the day to launch their craft, and steal upon a fine buck standing in the edge of the lake, and shoot him down. The canoe was kept con- cealed at the head of the lake in a thicket of laurels. The lady traveler who con- tributed this article is the great-granddaughter of Thomas Bennet.
TOBY'S EDDY.
TOBY'S CAVE.
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TOBY'S EDDY.
whose name we have forgotten, made an actual survey for the ben- efit of visitors. We give it as it appears there.
Lovely as the lake is in the rich glow of the morning sunlight, its romantic beauty is by no means diminished when bathed in the glorious coloring of the afternoon sun. The rippling current flashes and sparkles, the wild duck skims gayly over its surface, regardless of the lurking sportsman, and the splashing oars of the pleasure-boat keep time to the harmony of nature; every tree growing upon the margin of the lake has its counterpart slumbering motionless be- neath the water. But we must turn our backs upon this scene of be- witching loveliness, for the lengthening shadows warn us that the sun is sinking in the heavens, and we have yet twelve miles between us and our valley-home.
Persons visiting Wyoming should not fail to take a drive to the lake; we are certain they would be amply rewarded. Indeed, we see no reason why Harvey's Lake may not become as fashionable a resort during the summer as the more crowded watering-places, ac- cessible as it is from our cities, within twelve miles by railroad, and affording every facility for enjoyment.
ยท TOBY'S EDDY.
THIS famous locality is situated at the mouth of Toby's Creek, near Kingston village. The beautiful scenery copied in the opposite engraving lies between Ross Hill and the river, and is one of those lovely, secluded spots where one delights to spend an hour or two in retirement from the busy world. Here the students of the seminary hard by often meet to shake off the blues and recruit their exhausted energies. Here they bathe, walk, swing, and exchange pleasant greetings. Here many a pleasant picnic has been held, and glances have been exchanged full of meaning, and ominous of happy days at new homes.
But, alas ! progress and civilization have made sad ravages upon this sweet and beautiful spot. The railroad has utterly ruined its beautiful unity. Its jagged, rocky embankment, running through the centre of the little natural paradise, has broken its ancient en- chantments, and dispelled the bewitching associations which clustered around it. So goes this world of ours. What God made is perpet- ually changed, if not improved, by the inroads of art and the spirit of the age.
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TOBY'S CAVE.
WHAT is called Toby's Cave is found in the hill-side west of the Eddy. It is not deep or large, but might once have constituted a place of retreat for old Toby the Indian, whose haunts were once along the creek to which his name has been given, and who planted corn upon the flats above. It is said by some of the old talkers that this cave once extended quite to the opposite side of Ross Hill, the distance of three fourths of a mile. Curious legends of strange supernatural appearances in this cave are told by an old gossip still living, all of which may be doubted without just exposure to the charge of unwarrantable skepticism. Stories of strange sights and superhuman noises, which used to be told about Toby's Cave by super- annuated nurses, and believed without a doubt by children, are not worth repeating; still, they have left their impression, and they con- tinue to cling to the locality with which they were originally asso- ciated. Legends, however incredible, often constitute classic ground, and give a sort of importance to objects and localities which other- wise have little about them to render them noticeable. There are in the world many such objects, and among them is Toby's Cave.
SEMINARIES.
THE great changes which have taken place in Wyoming are remark- ed in nothing more clearly than in the means and appliances of edu- cation which constitute both its power and its pride. We give brief sketches of the origin, progress, and present condition of the three leading institutions of the Valley, arranging them in chronological order.
THE WYOMING CONFERENCE SEMINARY.
This is a school for both sexes, and was opened September 24, 1844. The opening address was delivered by the Rev. J. P. Dur- bin, D.D. The first seminary building was of brick, thirty-seven feet by seventy feet, and three stories high. The cost of the building and fixtures, $6089, of which about one fourth was contributed by Thomas Myers, Esq., of Kingston. The building for the accommo- dation of the ladies and for a boarding-hall was erected by Mr. My- ers, and subsequently sold to the trustees.
The school opened with thirty scholars, and the whole number in attendance the first term was forty-seven.
There were three teachers : Rev. R. Nelson, A.M., Miss Ruth In-
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galls, and Mr. E. F. Ferris. The patronage continued to increase for every succeeding term until there arose a pressing necessity for an additional building. In the winter of 1850-51, while the trustees, without funds, were deliberating upon the subject and vainly endeav- oring to devise a plan for enlarging the buildings, they were happily relieved from their embarrassment by the noble and generous prop- osition of one of their number, William Swetland, Esq., to defray himself all the expense of the erection of such a building as the trus- tees should deem necessary to meet the wants of the school. Accord- ingly, a building was erected and finished in the fall of 1851, at a cost of between three and four thousand dollars, and named "Swet- land Hall."
At the same time, Hon. Ziba Bennet, of Wilkesbarre, donated to the institution $1000, to be expended in the purchase of a li- brary, which was appropriately named by the trustees "Bennet Li- brary."
Within six months from the completion of "Swetland Hall," all the rooms in the whole establishment were occupied, and the trustees began to arrange for putting up an additional building. They had contracted for its erection, and excavating for the foundation had al- ready been commenced, when, on the 15th of March, 1853, the build- ings were entirely destroyed by fire, supposed to have originated from a stove in the third story.
While the ruins were yet smoking, the trustees were stimulated to an immediate effort to rebuild by the remarkable liberality of Will- iam Swetland, Esq., already referred to, who, together with his son, Mr. George Swetland, and his son-in-law, Payne Pettibone, Esq., donated to the institution in all something over $8000. They were also greatly aided by the liberal donations of $1000 by Isaac C. Shoemaker, Esq., of Wyoming, $500 by Hon. Urbane Burrows, of Gibson, and $500 by Amos Y. Smith, of Wyoming. The above, with other contributions, enabled the trustees to erect four buildings, three of them being of brick.
The entire value of the whole establishment now can not be esti- mated at less than $30,000.
The institution has an experienced and efficient board of teachers, a superior philosophical and chemical apparatus, an extensive library, and a valuable cabinet. The Rev. R. Nelson still presides over the institution with great ability and success.
The catalogue just issued shows an attendance of 676 students dur- ing the year. The success of this institution is without a parallel in the state.
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LUZERNE PRESBYTERIAL INSTITUTE.
This institution is located in one of the pleasantest portions of the Valley, in the village of Wyoming. Rev. Thomas P. Hunt, so wide- ly known for his able advocacy of the cause of temperance and relig- ion, first suggested and labored for the establishment of a literary in- stitution at this place, and has ever been most earnestly devoted to its interests with time and means. Not less indispensable have been, from the first and always, the abundant services and liberal benefactions of Mr. Thomas R. Atherton, or the efforts and coun- sels in its behalf of Rev. J. D. Mitchell, its first principal and al- ways firm friend and supporter, as well as those of others, its early and constant, or more recent friends, among whom are the entire board of trustees as at present constituted, consisting of Rev. T. P. Hunt, Rev. N. G. Parke, H. Hice, T. F. Atherton, Hon. C. D. Shoe- maker, Rev. H. H. Welles, Rev. C. R. Lane, W. S. Shoemaker, Hon. Steuben Jenkins, Theodore Strong, E. A. Lawrence, and Joseph P. Atherton, with Rev. J. Dorrance and James Jenkins, former mem- bers.
The great aim of the institution is to furnish facilities for a sound Christian education of youth. It is not sectarian in its teachings, but Christian, and invites to the enjoyment of its privileges youth from all denominations alike. Instruction is given in all the English branches, sciences, mathematics, languages, and ornamental branch- es common to our higher seminaries, preparatory for college, for teaching, or for the active duties of business and social life. It has a male and a female department, a normal department at some sea- sons of the year, also philosophical and chemical apparatus, and geo- graphical, astronomical, and anatomical maps and charts. The in- stitute building is out of debt, and will be enlarged as soon as the state of the times will permit. There is a good boarding-house ; students also board in private families, while lads and others, as de- sired by parents, board with the principal.
Classes were first formed in 1849. An act of incorporation was obtained the following year.
Rev. Reuben Lowrie, now a missionary in China, Rev. C. R. Lane, now of Tunkhannock, and Rev. P. E. Stevenson, acted as principals of the institution in succession. E. A. Lawrence, A.M., extensively known and approved as a highly accomplished teacher, is now prin- cipal, and, although the pressure of the times has unfavorably affect- ed the attendance, as in many other institutions, the condition of the institute is encouraging and promising. Several of its students are
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preparing for the ministry, while others of them are already pro- claiming the Gospel to a dying world.
THE WILKESBARRE FEMALE INSTITUTE.
A number of gentlemen, citizens of the borough of Wilkesbarre, deeply sensible of the importance of a thorough and Christian educa- tion for their daughters, and believing that the female character re- quires a system of instruction and discipline differing somewhat from that adopted in reference to the other sex, after consultation, determ- ined upon the establishment of a female seminary of a high order- one which should preclude the necessity of seeking beyond their own borough the facilities for a finished education.
Accordingly, a subscription for the erection of a suitable building was opened, and some ten or twelve thousand dollars raised. The subscriptions, several of which are very liberal, were principally from members of the Presbyterian congregation. Of the whole sum, near- ly one half (including recent donations) is the contribution of George M. Hollenback.
A charter for the contemplated institution was obtained in the summer of 1854, during which year the seminary edifice was com- pleted. This is a neat and commodious building, three stories in height, with suitable school and recitation rooms, lofty and well ven- tilated. There is also good accommodation in furnished rooms for some forty or fifty boarders under the same roof with the family of the principal; the grounds are ample ; and the site, fronting the Sus- quehanna, with an open common intervening, is one of unusual beauty.
The school was opened in October, 1854, with some fifty young ladies, under the charge of Rev. Joseph Eastburn Nassau, since which time, though subject to temporary fluctuation, it has made encour- aging progress. Quite a number of young ladies have completed the prescribed course of study, which is equally extensive and thorough with that of our best seminaries, with honor to themselves and the institution.
The average number of pupils in actual attendance is now about seventy, and is steadily increasing. The principal, R. S. Howes, A.M., who has had a successful experience of sixteen years at the head of select and high schools, proves to be well fitted for his posi- tion, and gives to the trustees and patrons of the institution entire satisfaction.
The institute is, by its charter, under the supervision of the presbytery of Luzerne, by which body the trustees are appointed.
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WYOMING.
The object of this supervision is not the inculcating of sectarian te- nets, nor to render the institution an organ of proselytism, but to se- cure an enlightened, homogeneous, and salutary religious influence, with the hope that our daughters, while subjected to thorough men- tal discipline, will also be adorned with those Christian graces which are the highest and loveliest accomplishment of the female character.
INDEX.
Alexander, Mrs., her account of her father's death and mother's escape, 111 ; character of her mother, 120 ; account of Mrs. Gardner, 353.
Armstrong, Colonel, comes on under authority of Pennsylvania-gross treachery, 64, 217, 413.
Bedford, Mrs., character and parentage of, 201; her account of the Indians, ib .; of a mission to Queen Esther, 202; a war demonstration, 203 ; the battle, 204; of the flight to Middletown, 209 ; return, 210; Franklin family, 212; keeps house at Forty Fort, 218.
Bennet, Thomas, captivity and escape of, 291.
Rufus, wonderful escape of, 362.
66 Solomon, escape of, 160.
Bolin, Captain, killed, 184.
Bones of the patriots, 377.
Brant, history of, 71; at Unadilla, 73; at Oriskany, 74; ravages on the Mohawk, 78, 84; not in the battle of Wyoming, 87 ; cruelty of, 94.
Brockway's, Widow, a fight there, 183.
Butler, Colonel Zebulon, commands at the battle, 38 ; report of, 4 ?.
Colonel John, invades Wyoming, 38 ; faithless conduct, 45; report of the battle, 52; character of, 96.
Butler, Walter N., destroys Cherry Valley, 80; Colonel Stone's apology for, 86; cruelties of, 82 ; death, 85.
Campbell's Ledge, 10, 344.
Cherry Valley destroyed, 81.
Connecticut people, object of, 26.
Corey, young, tortured, 214.
Decree of Trenton, 63.
Delaware Indians, war, 11, 12.
Denison, Colonel, came from Hartford, 147; in the battle, 39 ; remonstrates with J. Butler, 162; robbed of his shirt and hat, 163.
Dick, Captain, defeated, 146.
Esther, Queen, 152; prisoners escape from, 285 ; Colonel Stone's apology for, 287. Follett stabbed and scalped, 213.
Fortifications, ancient, 13.
Forts, situation of, 56.
Forty Fort erected, 136; strengthened, 30; capitulation of, 43.
Franklin, Colonel John, opposes Colonel Pickering, 190.
Roswell, family of, carried off by the Indians, 212.
Gardner, Richard, 351.
Gustin, Dr., carries a flag of truce, 162; assistant surgeon, 201, 206 ; settles in Carlisle, 209.
Hammond escapes from Bloody Rock, 285.
Hartley, Colonel, marches against the Indians, 60.
Hollenback, Colonel, comes to Wyoming, 100; enters the army, 102; escapes from the battle, 106; engages in grubbing, 109 ; returns to Wyoming, 110 ; trades in Canada-trip with John Jacob Astor, 116; followed by robbers, 118 ; is a mag- istrate and judge, 119; character, 121; residence, 123 ; anecdote of, 124; reso- lutions of the court-character by Judge Scott, 127; votes for Jackson, 131. Hopkins, Noah, life saved by a spider, 369.
Hurlbut, Christopher, journal of, 405.
Ice-flood, 178.
Indians make preparations for war, 154 ; plunder the people in the fort, 162.
Jenkins, Colonel, 388 ; capture by the Indians, 391; opposes Colonel Pickering, 394 ; employed by General Washington as a guide to General Sullivan, 393 ; fights the Pennsylvania claim, 402.
Johnson, Sir William, 31. Guy, 32.
Lackawanna, events at, after the battle, 221; flag of truce, 222 ; a singular triumph at, 225.
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Luzerne County organized, 398, 414.
Manning, Captain, liis house defended by hot water, 141; removes to Lackawanna Island, 142.
Marcy, Mrs., history of her troubles, 220; flees across the mountain, 227 ; a child in the woods, 228; reaches her father's, 229 ; account of the Pennamites, 230. Massacre at Wyoming, erroneous accounts of, 56.
Monument, Wyoming, 376.
Myers, Mrs., character by authors, 133; her account of her father's leaving Rhode Island, 135; coming to the Delaware, ib .; visiting Wyoming, 136; removing his family, 137 ; his imprisonment, 143 ; hard toiling, 148; affecting incident, 151; the battle, 156; separation of the family, 161; goes to Sunbury, 167; crosses the mountain, ib. ; spends two years in the east, 171; returns to Wyo- ming, 172; usefulness, 173 ; account of the death of Satterlee, 183; married, 191; subsequent history, 150.
M'Allum, captivity of Daniel, 235.
Nanticoke Indians, 11.
Northern border wars, 31.
Ogden, Captain Amos, heads the Pennamites, 139 ; repulsed, 145. 66 Nathan, killed, 140. David, attempts the life of T. Bennet, 144; drowns Satterlee, 183.
Pencil shot by his brother, 371.
Pennamite and Yankee wars, 20, 26, 180, 184, 215, 410.
Pennsylvania, policy of the proprietors of, 19 ; lease Wyoming, 25.
Pickering, Colonel, 190, 304, 395, 399.
Pike, Abram, 304.
Plunket, Colonel, expedition of, 14?, 215.
Plymouth Company, 21.
Prospect Rock, 418.
Ransom, Colonel George P., captivity, 317 ; whipped, 320 ; taken to Prisoners' Isl- and, 321 ; escapes, 322 ; great sufferings of, 324; marries and settles, 326; an assault and battery, 327.
Rogers, Jonah, captivity and escape of, 304.
Schuyler, Fort, invested, 33; siege of, raised, 36.
Seminaries, 426.
Seybolt, Mrs., her story of the battle, 221.
Shawanese Indians, 11.
Slocum, Frances, captivity, 239; her father killed, 243 ; family seck for her, 244; is discovered, 248; visited by her brothers, 255 ; second visit, 264; portrait, 267 ; her story, 274; act of Congress, 281; last days of, 282.
Smith, Dr. W. Hooker, 181, 201, 206, 219.
Speedy, William, released from prison, 147.
Sullivan, General, expedition of, 61; leaves a garrison in Wilkesbarre, 173.
Susquehanna Company, 22; purchase of the Indians, 23; send on forty pio- neers, 25.
Sutton, Esquire, settled in Wyoming, 101; visits Queen Esther, 202; flees down the river, 207; builds a mill, 210.
Toby's Eddy and Cave, 425, 426.
Tories, cruelties of, 46.
Umbrella-tree, 417.
Van Campen, Moses, 304.
Westmoreland, town of, 27; town meeting of, 28; erected into a county, 29 ; com- panies of, organized, 29.
Wyoming, name, 9; visited by New England people, 14; first settlement, 24 ; lives lost in, 26.
Zinzendorf, Count, 14.
THE END.
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