The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1883-08-15
EERMrrs ROCKY HAUNT.

"a HEhM11 ? 0eA@
The hermit Of Peters mountain, g ,'.,,..a VIII
his roek-bound home. girt WITH tne .,.;r .lIse
and pil,e trees that grow sparse anu H.,
s 3 character OF the Cold Sprlng Nalles
Z ,5bose !, waa1ts are little and whose WAYS
as mysterious as they are curious ~
- TarwilIiger was noted man "a ~
r. -. .s,a ,-ansra4ion. TO gaze upon tne
-, farTs and long white locks OF hAiI
s,a-.l;ng Da..s ~, I;Ee ! giided crown upon ye1
.bsraly head brings the interestea iace !.
- - Sr;th one Of the leaders OF iS sne
a Sa,,,,.,r -,,,.1 revolution in the summer e -
r, ~ tbs sl,,.' cavern formed By some strangs
1.o,,vuIs;on of nature hangs siles1eliSu ~
oo.s 'l..s si.',I "a 1roDdrol,s workmanship, the
saag,bsr5 tinced with blood, the oiaoe
- L~;a.b+ and Iaen-edged still, flashing g
the touch Of sunlight. Inc s1oIy u hsn' sne
old hermit is as thrilling as Y has oeen s,1a-
fruitful in tragic events. rev naeesfea M ,.''.',
listened TO its chapters, Tor ie" nase ~
ever entered the silent hhlits % ~
bern,it's mountain fastness. In the iohg
ago .Ionson Terwilliger held cltl1gIl- gI-
s6;n IN the free city of Frankfort. ne
haaan life there sixty-nine years ago
Tsirtv-fiye years since, having a Ifin
Fa;tb in the cause of the republican col,
1ago s,e,- revolutionists of that day, ne Jolnea
tkeun in their assaults against the crown,
and with many others was forced y
leave the country and came to the states,
4 wife and poIden-haired sunny-iacea
cb;Id xvere left alone by his Journey TO
tba new land and, beyond a lehs rec :,
chest of treasured goods ne prousns y
nothing with him. Little Is Known %
his WAYS after reaching tins country
nothing as to the wife and chlld III ols-
tant Frankfort on the Rhlne-ahd II L
tbonoht that constant brooding because
of the separation from his kindred lee
him ia the hermit cell, in the quiet and
continual peace of the mountains. inert
| q Harrisbnrger met Jonson Ierwllllgel
last SUNDAY. having left the Cold spring
exeursi1 nj is for five mile walk IN th'
wilderness valley.
HOW THE HERMIT LIVES.
Mountain moses and coarse llchen
and ferns form his bed, the trunk
some huge limbed oak tree, careiuiI
bolIowed out and made to serve IN
donbla nurpose of couch and benci
The cavern Is not as gloomy as Its envl
onments. Two rock boulders, really
assure in single rock as It conhec'S ~ y
low. guard the entrance, ana from y
: ton the view is combination OF ehaII y
| ing enchantment only limited TO u
mountain ranges that hem IN the vallt
, on eitherside presenting pictures OF II
! inc green and lovely verdure. \ I
3 pine, straight as an arrow ana Oh gray
e ful proportions compared to ITS stuIlp
4 naigbbors. stands as a sentinel near .
and under the shadows it casts the ~
mit has builded himself other seats IN
5 tho visitor finds in his home. Inc II
nishinps of the cavern are as Simple
q thew are crude. Pegs of wood hold
hv strans an odd fashioned rifle, a
" lust above hangs heavy stan pom!
Y with iron, the curved handle IooAl
o more like a hook used to drag game
Z wood. There are shelves everyWhe
:. filed with leather bags that pull to w
= a leather cord at the mouth, the contei
= onlv known to the hermit. his VlslE'
questioned him as to one much SINAI
tban the rest, which encased TIN p'
This the hermit said contained an
nranared from the rattlesnakes, an a
l. her Amid he held as a sure cure
Il bruises or wounds. Inquiry develop
"a the fact that this lonesome creature a
J; mountaim squatter sometimes cI0s'
% the mountains to the towns anu Nill"l
\. in Upper Dauphin and sold the PFep3S
N ton, the small income beng appiicu
relieving his few wants.
le FIRST pIsTURBERs OF THE PEACE
- Tn this mountain side cavern Jon
: Terwilliper. the hermit, has had nc
Il FOR over twenty years. The wooden
nara and then the railroad men
4, tnrhed the perpetual quiet OF his Il
noes and he watched them with
at rions eve. day by day, from the flssur
tbe rock. Storms and lightnlngs, d
been as pleasant companions as eh1 ~ "
for his fear has been as hgnt OIL thG
a. the other. Books in German ! !
mo- bonored spots in the wall and Just VIII
Is the entrance heavy line OF soot Pc Pc
IT. out the fire place. Jonson lerWlll
nd is not strictly hermit. be talks
+ little. but then he crosses the re
: mountain into civilization occasion
with his packet of oil and noun
-ho berh medicines, and that gives hi
nd sight of other fresides than those OF
mr. own selection. His Sunday visI
:" fomnd him sitting in the sunlight OF
; ;+ afternoon. with his hands to his
watching apparently the lake IN the
i'm tanee. but in reality frisky chlPm
res nibbling at the tree bark ilttie
ms down the mountain side. The ca
he ia not more than third way up
mountain, a mere thread of path, tri
vou by the wax leaves trailing arbutu
low most imperceptibly leading to 1t.
path brings the traveller to the r
tho but takes him no further. Sprln
ne water are plentiful-enough to mi
rrv- creditable stream, but each finds
row course among the rocks, det'
only by the tufts of green fresh
n IN and shoots of wintergreen. The ht
nm lives with himself day after day,
,ade after wear. His dress appears I
coarse brown check, his long bear
and away bv a jacket that buttons
new wooden buttons at the right side
fbe his shoes have wooden soles. de
,;oh- saw nothing to his Sunday visito
yond the mention of former hoi
Frankfort, a wife and child he left
and the cause that brought hit1 t
states. Perhaps some day will uI
-, this romance now held in secret