The daily gazette., 1878-08-24
Letter from Monroe .ounty,Pa.
MARsHALL's CREEK, Aug. II, 1873.

present., month L left my home at st.
Georges, with my family, for this place.
At Philadelphia we took the Penn X. r..
Belvidere Division, kno yn as the Della
ware Valley Line, and in four and a half
hours we were set down at Stroudshurg,
the county town of Monroe, distant
three miles from the famous Delaware
Water Gap. / believe am safe in say
ing no other railroad in the United States
presents more magnificent scenery along
it's entire route, than do the different
branches or divisions of the Penn. X. Il.
The ride up was most enjoyable one
At StrOudsburg we took private con-
veyance and drove five miles through n
charming country, over the celebrated
Milford Port .Iervis, road TO the hotel
where we are stoppinR-"the Marshalrs
Creek House" +. d. Hopkins, proprie-
tor. Here we have every comfort that il |
usually to be had from home the house
is entirely new, opened this season for |
the first. 1t is well arranged, high cell |
ings and well ventilated rooms adjoin- |
ing the house is fine oak grove, and
within stones throw is MarshalPs
Creek, situated upon which are the falls |
and picturesque and curious rocks, that |
attract so much attention from all visitors
| to this region. We are within easy driv-
| ing distance of the delaware Water Gap.
four miles Butter-milk Falls, two and
n half miles; Bushkill Falls, nine miles,
Ressaca Falls, six miles, and Marshalls
| Creek Falls, three-quarters of a mile, all
of which attractive places can be reach
| ed by good roads and at small cost to the
visitor. A few days ago well known
resident and politician, who is candi-
date for the office of County Treasurer,
Invited me to drive With HIM on a can
vassing tour. OF course | accepted the
kind invitation, and had the opportu-
nifty of seeing great deal of this roman
tic county, ana the pleasure of meeting
many of the kind-hearted and well-to-do
| farmers, all of whom l found to be sound
Democrats. They extended 10 me a
thrice hearty welcome when they learn
ed | was from the little State of Della
| ware, for which they seem TO have
high regard, and call her, very justly, a
daughter of their great commonwealth.
| | have met few men here who are not
perfectly familiar with the names Bay
ard and Saul.bury. Many of them have
read with much interest the able spseches
made by our Senators during their re-
speCtlve terms IN the u. g. Senate. L
have met one very intelligent gentleman
| who Is an enthusiastic admlrer OF Della
wares present able chancellor. He heard
him speak once or twice and was care
/ full reader of Mr.. Saulsbury's sp eches
during his Senatorial career, and he eX-
pressed it AS his opinion that "Willard
Salisbury was by far the ablest man and
most eloquent orator Delaware had ever
produced"
There are very few Republicans in this
county; out of four thousand voters there
are only about 900 who vote the Repub-
Ihcan ticket, and the proportion of Re-
publcans III the adjoining county of
Pike, l am informed, is even less. Dur
ling the drive above referred to we as
cended IA high mountain OF peculiar
lshape, called an osiers Rock" upon the
lextreme top of which il an observatory,
from which we have an extensive aud
Imost attractive view of the picturesque
Iscenery for miles in every direction.
This county was organized out of
Northampton and Pike counties, by an
act of Assembly passed in 1886. The
acres of land given in the STATISTICS
lhave at hand are as follows: Improved
ISj633; woodland, 6j,470; other unim-
proved, A ,S4l. The cash value OF farms
in the county in 1870 was 4,459,ll4. Ihe
population was 1S, ,3G2.
I am indebted to the "reminiscences of
Samuel Preston for the history of the
origin of the name "MarShalPs Creek,
as applied to the beautiful stream of
water near our hotel.
ain the year 1882 Thomas Penn, son OF
William, contracted with Teedyuscurg,
, a noted and pretended chief, for the H.,
, dian title to all the land to be taken of
n parallel of latitude from any point as
far as the best three men could walk in a
day between suprise and sunset, from q
certain chesnut three at, or near Bristol,
lin a Northwest course. Great care was
taken to select the most capable men for
. such walk. The reward was fve
pounds in money and 500 across of land
| TO be selected any where in the purchase
The choice of men fell upon Jas. Yeates
lSolomon Jennings and Edward Marshall
This Marshall was q native OF Buck'
county-a stout athletic man-famou'
as IA hunter, cha II carrier, nc. One OF the
Longest days in the Summer OF 1888 Wt
lapnointed, and tho champions notified
Tie people collected at what they
, thought the first twenty miles, on The
Durham Road, to see them pass. F1rs
came Yeates, stepping lightly, accom-
A pauied by Thomas Penn, and attendants
on horseback After him but out o
= sight, came Jennings, with strong an,
steddy step; and yet further behind
Edward Marshall apparently careless
swinging hatchet, and eating dry bis
cuit. Bets ran in favor of Yeat-s Man
shall carried the hatcher to swing in th'
hands alternately, that the acton IN m
arms should balance that of his legs. H'
was determined to win, or die IN the aL
tempt. , 1,.,.
Yeates gave out near Durham Creek
| Marshall kept on, and before he reached
| the Lehirh, he overlook and pass
ed .Jennings-w waded that river a
bethlehem, and hurried on, by the spo
where Nazareth now stands, to the WINE
Gan. That was as far as the pain nat
been marked for them to walk on, an,
there was waiting the last collection OF
people to see If any of the walkers Woul'
lreach it by sunset. Marshall only halte'
4 for the surveyor to give him pocke
Il COMPASS and started again.
, Three Indian runners were sent afte
him to see that he walked fairly ,and how
far he went He then passed TO the righ
of Poconm Mountain (about the centre
of this country and ket on till he reache,
Saltwater there he marked tree, wit
messed bv three Indians. The distance
he had walked between sunrise ana sun
set not being on a straight line. and abou
li3O miles of il through the woods, was estl
mated at about 10 miles; Yates died II
e. three days afterwards; Jennings healtl
=, was so much impaired that he died in
" few wears, but Marshall lived to the ag'
"a of 30 wears. Mr. Preston CLAIMS TO nave
received this account from the lips OF th'
is aforementioned Marshall. A parallel o
ID latitude from saltwater would nave Gu
., Oft all the valuable posSeSSlonS oI th'