Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-08-13
A Startling Narrative.

the Belefontaine (Ohio) Examiner we
clip the following story: :.
Without occupying much of your val
liable space, l beg leave to detail an Incl
dent connected with the terrible hurri-
cane that passed over the Miami Valley
on the evening of the Glorious Fourth.
On the well known old Anderson farm
whose fertile acres extend to the banks
of the historic Miami, stands, or rather
stood, fine oak grove. A fortnight
since the majestic trees stood erect and
intact, but now two-thirds of them are
lying on the ground, hurled down by the
relentless fury of the last great storm
Little did the storm demon think when
he set out upon his mission of destruc-
tion that he was destined to rob tree of
a secret which it was scrupulously kept
for eighty-two years. l have the facts
of this storm incident from the own lips
of Mr. Rogers, the present occupant
Of the farm referred to, and a man of
proverbial veracity.
Upon the morning subsequent to the
storm, Saturday Mr. Rogers. in com
pany with a "hired man." proceeded to
inquire into the extent of the damage
inflicted upon his premises, and the first
objective point was the ruined grove
The centre tree of the plot was noble
oak. the king over its fellows, and a tree
which had stood the ravages of time,
seemingly unscathed for several centuries.
This tree had been snapped and felled BY
the storm. Upon examining the fallen
giant for the purpose of ascertalning its
worth as rail timber. Mr.. r made a
startling discovery. This was nothing
less than the fact that the tree in telling
had disgorged a skeleton
The bones were disconnected. yellow
as gold with age, and scattered promis-
cuously over several square feet Of pas
turage. The skull was almost intact (;
all the teeth save two-molars-were
still in their places, and there was scar
on the left paretal bone which looked
! like the memento of some fierce cavalry
charge. The humerus of the right arm
was shattered, and save the three defects
just mentioned, the skeleton when put
together was without blem ish.
The tree in falling ! should have men
toned was rent asunder-a task not diff
cult of accomplishment when | refer tc
| the fact that an examination found that
at some remote date the very heart Of
the oak had been cleft by lightning -
From spot twenty feet from the ground
upward to the first great fork-a distance
of ten feet-a hollow extended. and from
this cavity the skeleton had been hurled
.'If we but knew how it was ?" thought
my informant, Mr. B., and strange to say
few minutes later the twain discovered
that the tree had also disgorged thrill.
ing history.
An old-fashioned leather or memoran
DUN book lay in remarkable state Of
preservation-whichn no doubt had been
dropped into the rent made by the light
ming, and thus been preserved while its
master decayed. A few brass buttons Of
old and unique pattern were found neaI
the memorandum, but it is with the lat
ter we have - deal. This old leather
purse. entirely moneyless, contained snn.
dry papers covered with rude pencilings,
quite difficult to trace. as they were writ
ten on the backs of army passes and
military consignments which dated as far
back as l776.
The mans name, as gathered from the
papers, was Rodger Vanderburg, a rative
of Lancaster, Pa, and captain in the
Revolutionary army. He was an aid tc
Washington during the retreat across the
Jerseys, and served time in Arnold
headquarters at West Point In 1871
he marched with St. Clair against tht
northwestern Indians, and in the famou,
outbreak of that General on the Wabash
November 3, of the year just written. he
wac wounded and captured. But while
being conveyed to the Indian town a
Upper Piqua-a historical place wei
known 20 your readers-he effected hi
escape, but found himself hard pressed
by his savage foes.
He saw the hollow in the oak, an(
despite the mapg!ed arm, and with th'
aid of a beech that grew beside the giant
then. he gained the haven and dropped
therein. Then came fearful discovery
He had miscalculated the depth of th'
hollow, and there was no escape. U. th'
story told by the diary of the oaks des
pairing prisoner. How, rather than sur
render to the torture Of the stake, h'
chose death by starvation how be wrot'
his diary in the uncertain light and thu
snow.
Here is one entry in the diary: NOV
10. Five days without food when
sleep dream of luscious fruits and hO'o
ing streams. The stars laugh at my
misery. 1t is showing now. l freeze
while 1 starve God pity me y
The italicised words were supplied BY
8. II IL x,.LI:.o. hand off