The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1870-03-11
skill, if he will only take the time and

skill, if he will only take the time and
trouble.
But, since have ventured on the de-
scriptive, may as well, instead of contin-
uing the subject and tone of my last pre-
vious letter, finish this with grand freak
Of Nature in an adjoining county to that
in which live, and which, like your own
"Rocks," has never been honored with a
portraiture in the books ofthe age. l al
Jude to the Natural Bridge of Scott-not
the Natural Bridge of Rockbridge, the
picture ofwhich has been seen and admired
by every child in the land
The Natural Bridge of Scott county
spans stream among the mountains known
as Stock Creek, about the size of your Little
Falls, with public road passing over it,
from the bed of which to the noisy and
dashing stream below, is by actual meas
urement 420 feet, and the face of the struc.
ture as smooth and perpendicular as if
fashioned by the hand of a mason. Lead
ing off for several hundred yards from the
lower side of the bridge, the creek is hem
med in by perpendicular walls of like
height, some 200 yards apart, so darkening
the chasm as to give the rapid stream at
the bottom an awfully grand appearance.
About 100 feet from the top of one ofthese
walls, appears fissure, or cave, in the
face of the rock, which, during the war,
was supposed to contain "Petre- dirt the
substance from which salt-petre is made,
an article of considerable traffic among the
men OF the mountains. But how to get at
it was question of some moment fraught
as it was, with such fearful peril.
A man in the neighborhood by the name
of Horton, agreed to be let down by a
strong rope, with long pole and hook on
the end of it in his hand, to pull himself
in when opposite the cavity The top off
wall being impending, he would of course
swing out some distance from the face of
the rock, his companions being about
ready to let him down, with man ON the
opposite wall to direct their movements.
They found the rope was not quite long
enough, and having proceeded thus far,
they determined not to relinquish the pro-
ject, and began to cast about as to how to
splice the rope. 1t was finally decided
to skin paupau-tree and twist the bark,
which is very strong, and splice the rope
with it. They did this, secured Horton in
the moose and let him down. Thus far all
worked we'll, the man was swinging in the
right place, and all he had to do was to
draw himself in with his pole and hook,
being some Is feet out from the place he
wanted to reach. Accordingly he fastened
his hook in the tissure and drew himselfin,
but just as he was about to grasp the rock
with his hand, his hook let 90, and away
he went swinging out back and forth like
pendulum over that awful chasm, with
300 feet below him, the bottom of which
was covered with jagged rocks and
whirling and dashing mountain torrent
1t was fearful ride in mid air, but what
added horror to the fearful situation was,
that in its vibrations on the sharp edge of
the rock, one Of the strands of the paupau
rope was severed and began to unwind,
but in a moment the good rope was reach
ed and Horton safely raised to the top,
about as near dead as alive, and is no
doubt wiser if not better man, as he
will never hunt "Petre dirt" again in that
direction.
In standing upon the opposite wall and
looking down into the deep, dark chasm
over which that thoughtless man had
swung like the pendulum of clock, l
have experienced feeling of awe that l
cannot describe, but which you may very
readily imagine. The adventure was
fearful as well as a very silly one, and only
shows what the weakness of humanity will
undertake for the sake of notoriety or the
love of money.
My next will be a continuation of Har-
ford as it was and its changes and i'm
provements. Very respectfully,
C.B. G.
abingdon, Va