The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1874-04-17
Dosc5t the .sasqueHon7,es.

county, the west branch of the Susdue-
hanna rises. Almost within q stones throw
Of the head spring Of this river. another
sming butUles forth and takes its lonp and
togtueus "ay 10 the gulf Of Mexico. This
is the head OF the COuemauob. which
joins the Allegheny and flows on to the
Chic and mississippi. They rise on either
side Of the great dividing Iidge or water
shed which separates the waters Of the
Atlantic from those C the Mississippi val
ley. Dashimg swiftly down the slDIe, mid
. messy rovk and through shady Lenllcck
groves, the Susquchauua, swollen by its
many tributaries, becomes nayigable for
rats On time OF high wator), at Cherry
zee OF Canoe Landing, between three and
four huudIed miles above tide Port De-
pOsiO.
1t might interest some of the readers of
The U7t.0~ TO learn how the huge pines are
transported down tie roughest river in the
. States" thrt e hundred miles to Marietta
Early III September, the men go into camp
IL the woods and fell the lofty pines, and
hew them square, in readiness for their
transit to the river OH the first snow. [
spent my first winter In the pines at Wolf
Spring Camp, on what was known to the
natives as the "HaUuted Ridge" in the
midst Of a large tract of pine and hemlock
/ Cur camp at Wolf Spring was one story
log structure, with two rooms, one used as
an ea ing and the other as sleeping apart
ment. We had breakfast, and were in the
woods each morning at daylight. Our crew
consisted of eight men-two to fell the
( pines and trim and measure them, four to
Z score il, and two EeweIS following
/ With the first snow the horses and sleds
arrived at tCamp' roads wcrI '.swanlpcd" TO
} the timber and RATS snaked to the river and
/ piled on skidS. When the days work was
( done, We hIed to camp, eat a hearty sup
Of 4
/ sat dC0n around the fire to enjoy ourselves.
! Then good-naturcd Aaron Thompson
/ would get down his violin, sit in 4 corner
with his head thrown back, his tongue cur
/ ling out 1T tie corner OF his mouth and
/ the tobacco juice streaming III rivulets
down his chin, working his bow with
junction, and delig ghting our ears with the
/ familiar air CT the ''Arkansaw Traveller"
! or ''Natchez under the IIilI.' The "Iaun-
/ ted Ridge Is so called from the fact that
! a ghost in the Shale Of a headless horse
man, rode around the lonely timber roads
. at all hours of the night, mounted on a
I white horse. How he had lost his head or
/ why he rode around on his milk white
( stccd without one, | never could learn, but
/ there WAS headieSs ghost, that's certain,
/ for the old man CrCstlCy, a most reliable
! anth6Iity, had seen him frequently: but
i the ghost without the head had always
! been Ioute0 by this brave old man. In
I connection with this phantom = ridiculous
/ circumstance occurred. 1t is customary
in CleaItield and most other Sparsely set
/ Ted counties for the neghboIS 70 help each
/ other, ard III the fall OF the year huskiur
4 bees, IO-!nE LIO..cs, wOod ChOppiHgS, etc,
follow each O,Eer in quick succession-
. When the work IS done = big supper is
/ provided for the men. The girls flock in
I III the evening, and either a dance or a
! ''guUsCckIEg' fellows and continues until
! morning.
/ IN tie fall Of 90, the old man Crestley
gave = rolling frOlic and quilting, and all
I the neigh hbUrhood, male and female, were
( luviteU. The clearing was rolled and leady
/ 10 fire by sundOwn, and after supper Aaron
. ''lUs!u> ~ hiS bow and she dancing began.
/ About ID o clock the whisky ran out Il was
there, and collection was taken up, and
/ old man Crestley dispatched with a jug to
/ The nve for gallon Of 'tanglefout." 1t
/ was five miles TO the tavern, and about the
! time we supposed the ''old man. was on
/ his return trip, pair ofus slipped out un-
! observed, and started down through the
/ pine fats to meet him-one of the party
( being mounted on an old gray mare that
/ belonged to one OF The guests at the frolic
( i{cacLing a lonely part of the road, we
/ halted 10 await the arrival Of the ''old
! man he oiG gray was placed directly
/ Ill tho middle OF the road, and the rider
/ wrapped up so as 20 resemble as much as
/ possible headlesS hOTSeman. Pretty soon
! He heard 4 voice in the distance singing
/ gaily, and in a few minutes up came the
/ old man, cheerful enough, aud turning
2 sharp bend in the timber road, came sud
denly on the ''Uld grey He stood for a
moment transhEed, then giving yell Of
/ terror dropped the jug and few back tow
ard the river screaming murder at every
half dozen steps. We seized the Jug and
returned to the lhanty. The balance of
I he -ty hr1Fl a
/ ''tang.eIoot' behind stump, and enter
ing tie house, joined in the festivities
Every now and then a weary dancer, with
/ The pIespuatiou rolling down his checks
ana las throat as dry as a powder maga-
zlne, would open the door, and shading his
eyes with his hand, gaze anXiously across
| the clearing IN the direction of the river.
and wonder why in the h the old man
didn't come with that whisky" | was
dancing about midnight with the heiress
oI the estate, hands across and down the
middle" when she remarked uneasilv.
1t ; queer the old man don't come Darn
ms pictures; the fellers will be all tlittin' if
LHey Qon get some whisky purity soon.''
l o aI!ay her uneasinesS, | intimated that
probably the Old gent had encountered the
he2dless phantom down in the pine flats
ana was having a pleasant chat with him.
On she replied animatedly, Pap amt
ateerd of ghosts; he'd scatter q dozen of
tuetn. lie met that feller without the
head twice, and 1 tell you he made that
ghost scratch gravel" What confidence
some chlldrea have in the invincibility of
their fathers. The old man at that time
was lying IN room down at the river with
Two men guarding his bedside. The Joke
IN the mean time leaked out, and when
the Old man became aware of the facts as
they existed, he theatencd US with dire
vengeance, and ever thereafter we deemed
q Tn
CTestey.
The Spring breaking up generally oc-
ours about the middle of March. A few
warn warm days and = little rain starts the ice:
the water pours down in torrents from the
mountain snow-banks, and the river oveI
ho"s ITS banks. The raftsmen loon huge |
cables around their timber piles and hitch
.il mem securely TO trees on the banks until |
the river recedes, when the piles are bro-
ken up and rolled in, the square sticksraft- |
ed SIDE by side and secured by stout hick- |
ory lash poles strung across the platforms |