Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1884-11-01
DYING FOR His MASTER.
SHEPHERD DOGS ENCOUNTER WITH A
RATTLESNAEE.

"My name is Thomas Wilman. and
I'VE in Philadelphia, where my son
larry Is prominent business n,en.
Fhirty-one years ago married, in Great
Darlington, Mass. as pretty a girl as
that village (famous for its pretty girls)
ever sheltered. She had been well
brought up, but had no fortune. lad
q 800 which | had made by running
awnill. We were young and had the
world before MS, and we concluded
- 90 West Going West in those DAYS
didn't mean as it seems to now, going
beyond the Mississippi Going into
York State was going West then. I
had cousin in Cattaraugus, little vii
age on the Erie Railway, 30 miles east
If Dunklrk, and we concluded to 90
there.
II was late in August when We reac,e,.
fattaraugus. My cousin gave MS q
hearty welcome, and ! set about lookin
5ov spot to build, Cattaraugus is
curious sort of place. The village is
surrounded by hills. and the wonder to
.ne is that it doesn't slide down into the
washtowl-like valley on the side of
which it is built A little creek runs
through the village, and mile to the
west finds itself in deep, narrow valley
with almost perpendicular sides, 100
feet high. This valley is called Skinner
Hollow, and is one of the most pictur-
"sque spots on the Erie Road. | went
iown into the hollow prospecting. The
sides, where they were not too steep,
were covered with heavy growth of
frst-class pine, and for miles around the
hills were thick with the same timber
saw there was money in sawmil
light down in that hollow, and I built
one on the stream, which l could see was
\ goodsiZed creek most of the year. 1t
Creek, which empties into Lake Erie 80
miles west of Buffalo.
u built my mill there, and close t. it
little house, so close, in fact, that the
wo joined. l took Katie, that is my
wife, down there, and we began house
keeping. That was well into the winter.
and | began logging at once. hired a
gang Of men to help me, raised money
ny contracting my lumber ahead, and
started in. We cut lugs on the bills
close to the mill, rigged up slides, and
ran them down to the logway. tell
yqu II was music to me when the saw
ripped into the first log and clean cut
slab dropped away from the teeth We
All little jollifcation. That was the
first log ever cut in Skinner Hollow, and
people drove miles TO see it. Business
was good. There was lots of snow,
which made it easy work getting logs
the mill and drawing the lumber out n
the village, besides giving me sll the
water l wanted. In fact water was run
ning over the tail of my flupie ever.
.our from the time turned it into tn,
race till the middle of July. Then DIR,
sp,l came on. and had to shut dowI
lor two or three hours every day to lie
ny race fill up.
'But didn't mind that l had ha.
up-top season and had made money.
al logs enough at my door to keep m'
usv for year, and i knew where there
We're plenty more when those ran ont
And, besides, had two to look after in
stead Of one You wouldn't think
you'd see Harry, with all lis refined
WAYS and education, that the first mllsi,
he ever heard was saw tearing through
pine knot. But it's So He was
poneer's son and knocked around {
sawmlll till he was into his teens. Well
when business WAS slow | workes
around the house, fixing up things her