Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1863-11-18
3aftfman's = Ipnrnal.
CORRESPONDENCE OF THE "JouRNAL.
Letter from Philipsburg, Pa.
PHILIPsBURG Nov. 9th. 1865

OedT Journal Another semi OF month
has passed away since my las; to you. Gone
never more to return. Many fond hopes
| bright anticipations, great prophecies, and
fat offices have been blasted in that short space
of time Oh, thou monstrouS guillotine, Time.
| there is nothing that escapes from thy sweep.
| You wait for none. All must move at thy
biding,-the high and low, the rich and poor,
| the blind and lame aud halt, all must bow
| submissive TO your will, and must hurry on to
| that bourne from whence none return. Even
| the Copper heads of the Empire State have
| gone the way of all things. There was a ray
| of hope that 4 vestige OF the s.Snaik'' would
escape your scythe, by taking ssreef," with
| his tail, around the hind leg of the sGreat
| Bear - but the raid made by his snak eship in
| the Keystone and Buckeye States, on the 18Th
| ultImo, lett too small a portion of his caudal
! end to take '.hitch'' around rye straw,
much less the leg of the Bear. The requium
is now played out to their hearts content.
| Gone irretrievable buried. with only infamy
| to mark its trail. Poor s.snaiks," they meet
| their fate with downcast looks, and mouruful-
| ly shudder at every gale that sweeps down the
! valleys from the icy North. They die hard,
and as their eyes are upturned the thought
| rises in their throat
''Oh, for lodge in some vast wilderness
| Where Copperheads are known not.''
| The Empire State gives the coup de grace of
the entire reptile. Seymour played a master
stroke of startegy when he addressed his
| ''friends'' in New York city in July last.
l have heard his admirers eulogize him Tor
his craftsmanship and his abilities for making
speedy termination OF the war, but never
heard them praise him for his greatest charac-
teristic-his chronological organ Of strategy.
II is strategy eclipses Hannibal in his feat OF
removing the rock when descending the Alps
in his passage to Italy. As Seymour's speedy
determination OF the 'ssnaiks" bears some little
resemblance to Hannibais removing the
rock, l will draw the coincidence
1t occurred in passing the Alps, whose tops
seemed to touch the sky and covered
with snow. Here nothing appears to the eye
except few pitiful cottages scattered here and
there on the sharp tops of Inaccessible rocks,
and a few meagre tiOcks almost perished with
cold and hairy men OF a savage and fierce
pect, but renewed the terror which the distant
prospect had raised In Hannbal;s soldiers
and chilled their hearts with fear. He com
menced the ascent with So 900 foot and 8 900
horse. On the ninth day they reached the
summit. There was but marrow path, rug
ged and craggy. The advance came to a sud
den halt-H annbal wondering what was wrong
hurried to the front and found huge rock
completely shutting up the path. The earth
had fallen away from the rock and left a fright
fui preclpice above a Thousand feet deep.
There no possible way to get around, but
TO remove the lock. (Tbis before the
age of drills, gun powder, and Copperheads.)
Hannibal resolved to pitch his camp, and then
commanded his soldiers to clear the ground
Whereabouts. He ordered them to cut down the
trees and pile them against the rock, after
which fire set 10 them. The wind, by good
fortune, blowing hard, a fierce flame soon
broke out, so that the rock glowed like the
very Goals with which it was surrounded.
Then Hannibal caused great quantity of vim
egar 10 be poured on the rock, which piercing
into the veins, or cracks, formed by the in
tense heat of the fire, calcinsd and softened
it. In that manner the rock was removed
aud the amy passed Thus Seymour's
address to his ssfriends'' during the mob era
in New York city his speech al the Acade-
my of Music, (however that was prior to the
mob,) and his recent electioneering speeches,
famed the Union flame of detestation around
the Copperhead rock to such degree. that
when the uinegar was let on by the Union
men on Tuesday the Sd instant, the sssnak"
was so completely calctned that there is moth
ing left OF i:,-even the venom has evapora-
ted. Oh, 1t vas glorious piece of strategy
one that will go down to the latest posterity.
God grant that it may never revive the Cop
perheads.
The past week has been string one for
our town. 'Ts strange how easy people
will become reconciled to new things. L re-
member when the Tyrone and Cleartield Rail
road was first talked of. Then | hoped TO be
in Philipsburg when the first locomotive would
come into toWn--that il would be a good time
TO see the different cuts, styles, fashions, man
kind and womankind, and children of kind and
kline generally, from the uttormost parts of the
pea Vines" down to the lower countries of
Morrisdale, Kylertown and Black Moshannon;
and the lads. lassies, bellies and stately danes
from the middle Kingdoms of ssBiack Bear
Slab-town, Dunbar and the ssForge.' Well,
was here when the first Iron Horse came
snorting into the
''Loveiest village of the plain -
But the affair was grand fizzlc. The machine
met with cold reception land the people con
cluded ''to run it as they found it, and kept
on in the even tenol of their way. The eX-
citement was not to be compared to that form |
erly Created by the "Old Troy and four, ,''when
it came in with sixteen passengers inside, and
plenty room for more-the deck, front and |
hind boat looking though it was q travelling |
town with an exclusive mail population. But
the screams, unearthly yells and whistling of
the two freight engines that came to town dali |
ly during the last week have fully initiated |
Philipsburg into the degree of Royal High |
Arch Railroad terminus.
An amusing Incident happened to some
boys from the country on Saturday last Two |
locomotives have been hauling trains of lum-
Der from Messrs. j. F. Steiner & Co.'S mill. |
They come down to town to switch off. One !
OF the engines sounds its whistle similar to !
saw-mil engine, which it was sounding /
as the boys were turning the corner of !
North Second and Laurel streets, but did not |
seem to attract their attention much. Just 1
then the first engine ceased blowing and the |
other commenced sounding screaming noise /
though forty cats, having their tails tied to-
gether, We're in the valve, which brought the |
boys to a halt. The engine kept up its noise, |