Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-08-08
PICrUREsQUE PIKE COUNTY.
Inc Cataract Region Of the Delaware
me Mountain Lakes ScOoped Out by
@reat 6iacfers-A Region In which
hunters and Fishefmem Delight.
spondence Of the TEX EVENING STAR:

" Sh~tP It's III u hotoW VI VIZ
mountains, and there in the river is stone, the
boundary stone, on which, standing on 'all
lours, head to the north, your two hands will
oe In the state OF New York, your right foot In
New jersey, and your left I'm Pennsylvania.
Hence, the TTi-Nates Onion, the popular news
paper, so-called, published at Port Jervis. Seven
miles from IL, down the river, on small plain
or mile square. I'm a semi-circle of mountains,
stands this pretty little village of Milford. From
Its eastern front you look down from a steep
bank upon the river a hundred feet below. and
across IL, over the broad river bottom lands. to
the Shawansunk mountain chain of northern
NewJersey, and up the valley to the mountains
around Port Jervis And here. at Milford, we
are in the heart OF ''the cataract region OF the
Delaware, upon which a word or two.
Pike county is mainly part of an extensive
mountain plateau. Going west from Milford.
after an uphill journey OF five or six
tain system. A vast level country spreads be-
fore you, Of woods and jungle, of sparkling
brooks and
PRETTY MOUNTAIN LAKES,
1000 feet above the sea. There are twenty or
more of these mountain lakes i'm Pike county.
generally round, varying in size from lakes as
large as the area OF the Potomac between
Georgetown and Alexandria TO ponds OF half a
mile or less in diameter. The streams from
these lakes, flowing north into the Delaware
above Port Jervis, or eastward into the river
below that point, give you 1.-The cataract region
OF the Delaware. Among these streams are the
n.
the Raymondskill, Dingman's the Bushkill,
&c, and. as In tie last five six miles of their
course their descent is sometimes a thousand
feet or more, you may imagine their numer us
falls and their romantic glens, or canyons as
they call these gorges out west. The Sawkill,
which flows by this village has a descent of
over thousand feet in its headlong downward
course of five miles. And one of the coolest
places in the late no, siege of July in this region
was that deep and shady place i'm the Sawkill
gorge, called 'sThe Devils Kitchen"
These mountain lakes OF Pike county, and
thence through all our northern states into
Canada, are supposed to be the work OF the
great continental ice Sheet OF the glacial epoch.
long long time ago, a sheet of ice, five or six
thousand feet thick, came grinding its way
down across this continent from the highlands
OF the British American possessions, scraping
off the tops of the hills and mountains. earth
these materials hundreds of miles southwark.
Near the Delaware water gap, and thence in a
winding northwesterly line through Pennsylva-
MIA. we have what is called the terminal
moraine of this continental glazier Along this
line the moving wall OF ice, with its contents of
rocks and earth was stopped by the sun, and
the ice melted. And this line can be followed
by the great hills OF DRIFT, dropped from the ice
wall as il disappeared And from this line we
have this mixed glacial drip scattered over all
the country northward, the tops of the noun
tains generally excepted. Ii Is supposed that
the numerous mountain lakes north OF that
terminal moraine are the work ofthat glazier
from the filling in of their banks by DRIFT, or
the scoopng out of their beds. In this view we
are confirmed by the fact that south OF this ter
IL
lachian chain of mountains from Pennsylvania
to Georgia, while north of that moraine these
mountains are full Of lakes.
To this great continental ice sheet. then, Pike
bounty is indebted for its numerous mountain
lakes, teeming with fish, its great tracts OF up
land soil, of broken rocks, too rough and poor
for GUILTY. alton, SO that the country is mostly a
mountain plateau of woods and jungles,s and
game-the delight of the hunter, and OF lakes
and brooks that are lavorite haunts OF the fish,
erman. Back here in Pike county we have
THE BLOOMING GROVE PARK
of forty thousand acres of lakes, brooks and
woods, purchased by an association chiefly of
New York hunters and anglers. and preserved
by them as their exclusive hunting and fishing
ground. And they have wild bears there and
catamounts and coons, wild turkeys, pheasants
their lakes are alive with pickerel, perch, sun
fish, bass and other fishes: and their brooks will
furnish the fisherman a breakfast or supper of
trout without fail any day through their sea-
son.
These and its beautiful wild and romantic
scenery are among the attractions of Pike
draw to this little village OF Milford or five
times more than its resident population through
the summer and autumn: and its fixed popula-
ton is about five hundred.
For six weeks, until saturday last, all this
country OF the upper Delaware had been suffer-
ing from a drought, relieved only by light
showers few and TAR between. And the SINGER
est of the prayers of the farmer was. Rain,
rain, merciful Providence. Give us rain" And
day last, as the writer was observing q process
sion of gypsy wagons eight or nine in number,
neat and cosy little houses on wheels, passing
through the village, his attention was dSawn to
a great cumuious cloud rising behind the
mountains in the west. 1t had an angry look,
and an hour later it had assumed the imposing
front Of heavy thunder gust. Will we get ite
No. This strong south wind will drive il up TO
Port Jervis. And to Port Jervis, along the
Western mountains, il was driven; but then its
extraordinary wheel about and what followed
vividly recalled that terrific thunder storm I'm
Washington on the night twas it not the 30th
OF June, 1888? two days before that fatal cross
ing to Garfield of the 9Th street railway depot?
In the forenoon of that day, June 80, the
writer, with bright and handsome young fell
low fisherman, named Nympo Jones, went
down to the wharves OF Alexandria, there 10 try
our luck. Several hours slipped away as they
only slip away to the fisherman, and We had
caught passable string of perch, sunfish, cat
fish and sInelts, when, by a thunder storm COM
ing up the river, about PM, we We're driven
to the steamboat and came home. That storm
moved north into Montgomery county, and
there it continued thickening and spreading
till an hour or so after dark, when, fright about
face, forward march, it took the back track
and came down, the destructive hurricane upon
Washington. SO it was with this one on the
upper Delaware last Saturday, rolling To Port
Jeryis. 1t passed northward over that town
and into the mountains, then wheeled about
and came back upon and down the river, a
roaring rafting storm OF wind, rain. hail, light
ming and thunder, doing little damage beyond
the blowing down of some old trees and the
breaking OF window glass on the windward side
That storm was the advanced courier of our
regular equatorial dowDpouring all this day,
August 3, Till midnight. Wind northeast, east
and southeast; rain the heaviest at night from
the southeast, doubtless from the heavy mass
OF clouds brought in from the gulf stream. a
dOwnpOuring of five or six inches Tor the storm.
A MIDSUMMER DELUGE.
TUESDAY MORNING, August 4-Al the
streams of the Delaware cataract region are
rushing, roaring mountain torrents. One-haf
the citizens and nearly all the summer visitors
In Milford went up the Sawkill TO its gorge and
falls in the mountain, and the roaring. rolling
torrent down the falls the clouds of spray and
the ranbows were a sight to see. And there are
half dozen falls from 80 feet to 20 or less in
the last two miles of the Sawkill. the Delaware
river here, yellow as gold, is booming, and,
judging from the logs, trees and other drift
floating down, the smooth stream is rushing
along at the rate of six miles an hour. The
Oldest inhabitant cannot recall such a drown
ing of q drought in August; such deluge in a
dry season.
In the half dozen hotels and in the boarding
houses OF Milford there are now over five hum
dred guests, chiefly from New York, though we
hear there are, besides the writer and his party,
several other Old-time Washingtonians in the
village. u. b. w.
Lincoln and Grant
s'YoU WAS RIGHT AND I WAS WRONG"