Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-01-11
.>>.:1ra5ter flltelIigerrer.
TUESDAY EVENING, JAN. IL, 1881.

TUESDAY EVENING. JAN. IL, 1881.
Sleigh,ng on the Susquehanna.
For the INTELLIGESCER
OF late years it is very uncommon
thing for the Susquehanna to be frozen 80
that it can be driven across at Peach Bot
tom. It is in that condition row and the
passengers are quite numerous, and the
novelty of the ride adds another charm to
the charms o: slei,hing. Last Sunday your
correspondent, in company with Messrs.
1. C. Arnold and David Weidley, drove to
the river at Peach Bottom, found a canoe
doing toll gate duty at the ferry landing,
which swung on its imaginary hinges
upon the application Of Silver key, and
settled back to stop the next who came.
as We slid through and out of the frozen
stream, that recognizes no fetter but the
ones of old Jack Frost. As he glides over
the ice with his horse stepping to the tune
that the sleigh bells ring, and sees the pic
turesque rocks and islands covered with
ice and snow, with the trees standing on
the islands looking like giants stuck
in a drift, and the bushes that
seem like mortals laden with care,
bending down with their weight of snow,
which they could easily shake off if they
would only "n,ake an effort" as Mrs.
Dombey's sister-in law would have put it !;
ss he sees all this, with the hills on the
shore looking out over the frozen field,
like old men with snow-covered heads,
their great white heards frozen into icicles
and hanging down from great caverns of
mouths, round which no smiles play, for
their smiles settled into hard lines when
the voice of their darling river was won
from them by the wiles of the cunning
frost. In grim silence they look down
upon the beautiful frost work, as the
sleighs 60 jinsling by, with the most vi .
sympashizing air, and gather frowns
around their brows at the nonsense, rs we
have seen frowns form upon the brows
Of stern parents, AS they have seen their
daughters waltz away with young
men at picEics. AS said, when he sees
and imagines all this 1--WE would
have seen and imagined great
deal more, no doubt, if driving
snow had not been striking us in the faces
and somewhat dampened our poetic ardor)
one almost forgets that lie is gliding above
rocks and rapids, clear of which the boats
always try to steer, and only remembers
that he might break through when he sees
only few feet before his track a pile of
tree branches as u warning that horse
and sleigh did go in there only two days
before. We are often plunged into great
dangers iy trying to see how near We can
20 to them safely,
And as one looks miles and lilies up the
river OF ice and sees the great distances be-
tween the shores, and turns to look miles
and miles down the river of ice, where he
sees it
Walled bv the hills OF Maryiand,'
he naturally thinks. if he is rs practical a
chap rs your scribbler, "What wonder
full waste Of land. Here are almost num-
bcrless acres of Lancaster county land
upon which millions OF pounds of thirty
cents all-rolnh =" tobacco might be grown,
laying idle, or If not exactly idle. only use
full to carry oil great, monstrous, way
ward, useless river OF water to the ocean,
that has plenty without it, and doesn't
thank us for our unruly representative"
OF course srch utilitarianisms do not oc-
cupy our minds for any length OF time
with new and beautiful scenes continually
presenting themselves as we follow the
drive, brings us to the York county shore
the petal of the white sister Of our ''red
rOse.'' DEUMORE.