Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1884-10-18
THE MARTINsBURG HERALD, SATURDAY. OCT. IS, 1
NEIGHBoRING NEWS.

From the Shepherdst0,cn Register
The people of Shepherdstown are
now mainly dependent on Northern
ice, as the local supply has been al
most entirely used up.
The colored barber at Hancock, Nd,
died recently, and his widow, Sarah
Proctor, continues the business. She
iswell patronized, as she is said to be
skillful at shaving and keeps very
tidy shop.
A number of the canal boatmen
have made a demand for so cents a
ton for carrying coal, instead of &C
cents. The boatmen are reported as
being in desperate condition, owing
to the continued bad luck which they
have had this year.
Shepherdstown seems to be infested
with that nasty little varmint," the
pole cat. On Tuesday evening the
disagreeable odor was so strong as to
drive the people from the streets. Al
one time panic was created when q
particularly strong Whit came. Every
one thought the animal must be al
his heels.
We may look for an extraordinarily
severe winter if there is any virtue
in the old Indian hornet sign. All
the nests we have heard of this year
are built on the ground. When they
are suspended from trees and high up
it is sign of a mild winter. Old
prognosticators say that they have
never known the sign to fail.
A few days ago two freight trains
were run from Roanoke, Va, to New
York city, against time, one via the
Norfolk and Western Road and its
connections, through Baltimore, and
the other via the Shenandoah Valley
Road and its connections, through
Hagerstown. The Shenandoah Val
ley train accomplished the distance in
five hours and forty minutes less time
than the Norfolk and Western train.
The will of John w. Garrett makes
his sons administrators of an estate
valued at $29,000,00 The poor OF
Baltimore are to receive $4,000 per
annum forever, and the sons during
their lives are to disburse $4,000 each
year for benevolent or educational
purposes. The trustees are to hold
for twenty years the family interest
of thirty thousand shares in the Balri-
more and Ohio road, and control it
for the commercial benefit of the
city.
HARPER's FERRY.-The Washing
ton correspondent of the st. Louis
Post and Dispatch writes that Har-
per's Ferry derives it's name from
Robert Harper, native of Oxford
in England. He was born about the
year 1903, and, at the age of 20, emil
grated to Philadelphia, where he pros
ecuted the business of architecture
and millwrighting. In 1747 he was
engaged by some members of the So
ciety of Friends to erect church for
that denomination on the Opequon
river, near the present town of Win
chester. While on his way through
the then almost unbroken forests, he
lodged one night with a German in a
lonely inn on the site of the present
city of Frederick, Md. This German,
whose name was Hoffman, informed
him that his best route was by the
way of the Hole" where h, would
see some wonderful sights. Harper
adopted the suggestion, arrived at
the "Hole," fell in love with the
place, found a man living there by
the name of Peter Stevens, bought
out Stevens with fifty British guineas
and settled there. The realty of the
place was in Lord Fairfax, and by
perseverance he obtained from that
nobleman deed or patent. Harper
settled down there and established
ferry hence the name the "Hole !"
ceased and Harper's Ferry doomed
up into perpetual prominence. Har-
per died in 1882 and was inferred on
his own property. His moss-covered
grave is to be seen in the romantic
graveyard that overlooks the old
TOWN