Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1857-12-03

consequence Of which he was often heard 70
indulge in curses against Providence Solo
mcn, no doubt hoping to make amends for
what he had thus lost, repaired shortly after
duck on a rainy evening tothe spot aforesaid,
and, with the ard of his little son John, who
held the lantern, commenced digging directly
over the supposed vaults containing the trea-
sure. And after haring gone down about
seven and q half feet. there was las now sta
ted by the boy) great explosion from btlow,
which sent the boy possibly, and the father
certainly many feet in the air. The boy,
however. seems to have been uninjurcd, and
speedilv recovering from his alarm so as TO
be able to walk, made the best of his way
home, reporting 20 the farfiiy f7lrot had oc-
Cured,
The aiarnr being given, the neighbors soon
congregated in wild dis,nag to the scene OF
the catastrophe and ;tfere ending this open
ing in the earth, whiting until daylight ap-
reared. some two or three among them made
bold enough 10 descend in the dark mouth Of
the cavern, when to their terror ard surprise
they discovered u man apparently fresh, as Il
in full life, but naked and TURNED To THE
HARDEST STONE 1t was soon bruited abroad
that Solomon Feltus had turned to stone for
disappearing Providence on account of the
loss of his crops and daring to violate the
sacred vaults Of the old Catholic Ruins to re-
pair his misfortuue--aad this belief became
universal. when Solomon could no where be
found after the most dilgent search instituted
by his friends and others. Now, the solution
ct this whole mystery seems very simple to
the scientific mind. and we need no Ovid to
explain in mythologic verse the naetamorpilo
sis. The whole affair, with all the air of su.
perRatura! agency which confused reports
have throws around it, is plainly solved as
follows: This vault, penetrated by Solomon
Fetus, as before described, was evidently the
tomb of some old officiating priest Of the sta
ton who NAV have teen Inferred there ms
early as the year 1000. and from the chemical
and mineral qualities of the perceiating wa-
ters of that region, the body of the dead man
had been converted into stone. The explo-
sion which blew up Solomon and the boy
doubtless can be very satisfactorily referred
to the explosive gas generated in the vault
for the last 500 years: and the disappearance
Of solomon may be readily accounted for, by
the force If the explosion to have
been sufficient 10 carry him beyond the earth &
power, when. according TO we'll
understood dynamical laws, he would go to
the moen.
In addition to the moral lesson which this
judgment should teach us respecting the aw-
ful consequences of murmuring against the
ways Of Providence, and of the unscrunulous
means we make use of in our haste to become
rich, its investigation plso shows that the
wicked are no l1nger punished in miracu-
lous manner, but through the agency of nat.
ural causes, and moreover settles to the satis-
faction of the most doubling mind that long
vexed question that, if never before, there is
'aor nnquestonably "a man in the moon"
BY giving currency to the true rerSion of
this remarkable occurrence, the blundering
errors connected with all former reports touch.
ing the stone man will be corrected