The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1880-10-28
~ e l q G t II e =
From the Bloomhell times.
THE SPECTRE OF THs SUSQU=-
HANNA.
ny CLAY coRDERf.

Tue puSlleninul. III WAS u pehc3-
ful evening iu Octoser, aud all ma
ture sereuely lay enfolie1 in the hazy
atmosphere Of the Iudian sumner
The evenisg was beautiful, aud 80
was the scenery iu this particular
locality. 10 the east toward tho
H,lf Falls and Berry's mountains,
now Of an aznre hue, while TO the
south, the Cove mountain loomed
up to the height of u thousand feet,
aud stood gard for many mile
over the sn 10Th hIwing Sislis-
hanna, until the blue Juniita, al hug
her aqueous volume TO that of her
sister they together wended their way
toward tue srpth through the chan.
uel, which. in ages past thes had
hcwn for tdsu,elves through the
proud mDnttin. To tho north
and west ST., tched tho forest,
uow dressed o. the autu nnll irOsts
till they rivaled the rainbow.
1t was at this point, near where
the Juniata eppties Into the Sus-
quehanna. that there st o. n large
stone house, in the long ago. 1t
was strongly anl substantially biilt,
aud early as it was, it bad been al.
ready standing fJr some years.
This eveniug it WAS l,t up early. --
Hardly had the first STIR appeared
before ttlljw dips sn)lel ani spit-
tered in every rOJn, aIl. 10y their
IliciarinI rays, sereueIy tried -
llumine the scenes of hustle and
confusion reiSning Within aaL
without the hplso
Every one was in hnrry, even
Itck, who. because of his prOvokiuB
slosuess had been called tue racer,
fir once, qllcken5 | his sut. IA |
veil nigh h., all al. ui then, be
excite |, for thiI wIsa great oc'l.
sion. For the lir5, time in the his.
tory Of that socuDn ut tae country,
there WA to bs m appl, batter
boiling, Of apples rusel ~ cider
m lle IN the cOdnty. This WAS to
os big a'fir. 1t had bean talked
# for mlnths. lhyittti)ns hIl
boon sent far m / near. Pae elite ui
he clua.ry hli Hil been invited,
mi. ns there was bat Que class rs
,ot, npn, GROVE, b,,tlse thny did
loi belong to the first set, "
rne candies hal not spllttcrcl
i'teen INMATES bifDrs tbs uJigIbDrs
beg,u 10 arrive, anl were soon all
iner4. for the future town OF DiH-
n non wa then 10 its infancy. rlc
smo ilns climueys AMI grooming en-
Iin 5 were vet hlrlci il tlD earth
mi only half n Il ,2ol log houses
shpHel the sito of the future town.
Soon the jpyiuS laugh cpnll b,
heard ~ the ynung Dik1 gltherel.
some walked, bat the m,jor!ty rode
}uggies were uukuowa ia those
parts, Consequently horses had t.
axe their place, nu few were tue
horses that arrived that evening
which hld uDta double burden, -
Il Hays mtle anl i fe'n lie,
Strange as snch a mode Of convey
tnce mi Sht appear now, 1t was a
very fivlrite one among tho young
folks in those days. Nothing was
simpler each girl possessed rid.
ing cushion which was made Of
some gay material aud arranged to
DO strapped on the horse behind the
saddle. Whenever journey Of any
distance was intended, tue faithful
swain would bride aud saddle his
horse and gallop to the house of his
passenger, where he was always Ger.
tain to find her awaiting his arrival
with cushion in hand. To strap it
behind his saddle took but M.
ment, to ride to the horseblock aud
get her on, but moment more, but
to prevent his hearts bursting as
she clasped him around the waist to
keep herself on, was often the hard
est task of all. Thus mounted, they
rode in the good old time and were
happy.
The guests arrived rapidly, and by
eight o'clock, all that might be ex-
pected were there. In the mean
time, the cider had been placed in
the huge kettles, and a roaring fire
made under them. The time had
now arrived for dissolving the apples,
aud basketful after basketful was em
ptied into the boiling cider.
Four willing hands grasped each
stirrer and with many jokes aud hap
py laughter, spun the thickened ci-
der around. fhese sti rr ers were
relieved at the end of every few min,
utes, until the butter was done,
which was not till far in the night.
Tue boiling of the butter was on
ly secondary object of the gather
ing. The primary object was fun
and innocent enjoyment. And they
determined no. to be disappointed.
For already the notes of a violin
and the sound of quick moving feet
could be heard in the house, while
the apples aud cider even went rouud
without.
We will now leave them till I in
troduce you to two of their number
John Thompson aud Juliet Weston
John was young farmer, with good
prospects. He had broad sholders,
dark hair, blue eyes, fair complex
ion. and o pleasant voice. just
such man as half the girls these
days, picture to themselves aud call
their "ideal.' He was worth look
| inc nj the second time go the girls