Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1878-06-26
A Trip to Tuscarora Valley and
Mountain, June 20, 1878.

Church Hill Cemetery-Ihe Rice Fda-
Ly-Indian Highways from Jadge
Koons' in TuScarora Valley TO d.
Houga's in Licking Greek Vntiey,
and from the Junction Of Licking and
Tuscarora Creeks to the SaSquehanna
Rrrer-Gopernor Morris 7rauels orer
the Route By way of ID. Hough'S, the
Junction of the Tipo Creeks, .Merico
ana Rictfsld TO the Susguehanna-
The .Mc.ffee Settlement, Jennie's Or
chard and Gap-The Indian High
ray .7cross Iusoarora .Nounfain-
The Settlers Dripen from the Eaiieys
in 1763-Ihe Number Killed The
Number of Refugees at ShiPpsnsburg,
July 25, 1853.
Within the limits of Juniata county no
spot of ground contains the remains of an
cestors, whose issue comprehend as many
living people as the spot of ground known
as Church Hill Cemetery, a mile southwest
of Port Royal, in Turbett township" So
saiJ Prof. A. L. Guss, about O'Clock last
Thursday morning, as he drew reins on his
horse in front of the graveyard just men,
toned. But he was not content to look
into the sacred precincts of the place; he
must needs walk among mounds and mon
uments of the dead and learn from the in
scription on tOmbstones of people buried
there. On many of the tombstones, under
meath the name or names OF the departed,
are engraved the names of the children of
the deceased, and thus in an unconscious
but wonderfully emphatic manner is the
longing for the perpetuation of ones name
and kindred made manifest. People may
by word and act seem to care little for fam
lily record, and for the perpetuaticn of fam
lily name, but the honest longing of their
heart is most clearly revealed when the
names of living relatives are engraved on
the monuments of the deceased of the
family. 1t is natural to long for record;
it is natural to long for perpetuation, and
one of the cardinal points in the Christian
faith is that there shall be an everlasting
perpetuation. Man snail never die, and
what he has done here on this earth shall
never die. Everything that he has done is
on record, and from that record he shall be
Judged. Looking out from that standpoint,
it was but a natural act for Prof. Guss, and
the Editor of the SENTINEL AND RFPUBLI-
CAN, TO be looking up record, in Church
Hill graveyard. The Professor pointed out
the grave of the grandfather and the grave
of the father of John Rice, of Ohio, still
living, whe has recently been so much
talked of in the public prints as one of the
very few survivors of Perry's victory over
the British fleet on Lake Erie. The Rice
family is one of the most extensiyely-con-
nected families, if not the most extensively
connected family in the county. It blood
flows in the veins of at least 600 people in
the two counties of Perry and Juniata.
But Church Hill graveyard, with its sa-
cred, buried record, was not our objective
point II is a monument, and record of
living race. Our objective point was the
Tuscarora mountain, to find in its everlast-
ing sides traces of dead race-to find, If
possible, the traces or remains of an Indian
road across the mountain. Civilized and
uncIyilized men always have had and always
will have regular routes OF travel The
North American Indian could be no excep-
ton to the rule, and having long heard of
the existence of the traces of an Indian
highway on Tuscarora mountain, the 10th
day of this June, 1873, was set apart as the
day to find the Indian road and make
record of it.
We drove from the graveyard to the place
of Mr.. Wilson Calhoun, who is a second
cousin TO Mr.. Dill, the Democratic candi-
date for Governor. Mr.. Calhoun declared
his acquaintance with the Indian road over
the mountain, said il passed close by his
house, and, turning in the direction, said it
ran from his dwelling over to where Judge
Koons now lives Prof. Guss corroborated
Calhoun in the running of the path to
where Judge Koons now lives, by telling
that a man named Peter Rice, aged 81
wears, told him but a short time ago, that
by the "Indian path" from Hunters place
which is the place that Judge Koons lives
at now-is a distance of thirty miles to
Carlisle. Rice had got his information
from a James Wells, and Wells had got
his information from his father, Abraham
Wells. The certain course OF the Indian
route is not known from Hunter's-now
Koons'-to Campbell's place at the junction
of Tuscarora and Licking creeks, where an
Indian massacre took place on unday, July
10, 1853. Most ef the writers fix the date
of the massacre at that place on Sunday,
July S, 1868, but as there was no Sabbath
tiay on that date, II could not have been on
the 5th 1t must have been July or 10.
Rupp fixes the date on the 10th of July.
From Campbelrs the Indian highway ex-
tends along the ridge that borders the west
side Of M'Culloch's dam, and thence through
Milford township along the ridge south OF
Col. ]. K. Robison's to W. N. Sterett's
place, where it turned, PASSED overto Shade
mountain. around its point, across Licking
Creek, and along the foot Of Blue Ridge or
Black Log mountain TO near MAJOR u.
Hough's, where it passed over the noun
tain last mentioned in the direction OF Fort
Granville. How near TO this Indian high
way Fort Granville, in Mitftin county, was
built is not known, but the probability is
that il stood not far from the route. The
frontier people were well acquainted with
the routes of travel of the Indians, aid 1t Is
fact that the forts were all built not far
from roads or paths of the Red Men. 1t is
also highly probable that when Governor
Morris passed along the line Of the new