Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-10-22
THE NORTHWEST
THE BOTTOMLESS PITT.
H. Looks Like the Entrnace to the
Lower Regions.

A correspondent of the st. Louis
Globe: Democrat writes from Petersburg
Grant county. Va: There are many
natural wonders in this out-of-the-wOrld
region; and yesterday the monotony, of
camp life was varied by visit to one of
them, the locality known far and wide
throughout the South Branch country
rs the He'll Hole. This is an uncouth
name, but to visit the spot justifies the
title in the mind of the beholder. This
terrible abyss in on the North Fork,
west of Ritenour, at the side of Il little
stream which gurgles musically down
the mountain, and is to the lower or
left hand side of the road which leads
through the Harmar hills. The chasm,
circular in shape, is about Is feet in
diameter, almost perpendicular, and is
believed by the inhabitants near by to
he bottomless. Its situation is at the
bottom of deep rocky gorge, and the
scenery is unusually wild. Many at
tempts to sound this mysterious we'll
by lines, some of them 1000 feet
in length, have been made in days past,
but as yet without avail, and lighted
lanterns and torches lowered to adepth
of many hundred feet have revealed
naught but rough, irregular walls of
solid rock. Provided with stop watch,
[ dropped heavy fragment of rock
over the edge of this yawning gulf, and
the last faint sound which back to my
ear-was at the expiration of ii seconds.
From this, making due allowance for
the resistance of the air, the transmits
sion of sound, and the impediments to
the stone caused by the uneven sides,
/ calculated depth of 1852 feet 4
inches, presuming of course. that the
last audible sound was caused by the
rock striking the bottom.
The people who have for many years
regarded this gigantic well with some
thing akin to awe, tell man stories of it
and of the objects animate and inani-
mate, including at least one human be-
ing, which have been swallowed up in
its insatiable'maw. A fine white pine
tree, with o slender stem, straight as an
arrow and over 100 feet high, stood on
a steep slope few dozen yards from
the mysterious hole. Two of Isaac
Harmar's sons concluded to venture up
and cut the tree for troughs. 1t fell
with the top up hill, and starting to
slide, disappeared bodily into the He'll
Hole and was lost to view, the terror
stricken young men who peered caus-
tiously over the edge being unable to
see the slightest trace of the tree except
few bits of bark and branches clinging
here and there to the jagged rocks.
But other and more serious accidents
have occurred at the He'll Hole. About
10 years ago partially blind peddler,
was making his way south along the
North Fork from Martnsburg to White
Sulphur Springs, disappeared suddenly
in this vicinity. A search was made for
him, and his trail finally struck and fol-
lowed up to the brink of this fearful pit.
The supposition is that, in the dusk of
the evening, the old man walked to the
danger, and stepped of, to fall to as yet
unknown depths. D. .''
There is also legend current among
the good people of this portion of Grant
county, that, away back in the early
days of the century, when the red men
had not long been gone from the North
Fork valley, young girl disappointed
and heart-broken at the course of a
lover, had made her way to the mouth
of He'll Hole, and, depositing in little
pile on flat rock the simple love to-
kens received in happier times from
her betrothed, had leaped into the fear
ful depth before her.
On another occasion valuable horse
fell into the pit, and last winter dog,
while pursuing u rabbit, took the direc-
tion of the hole, and, catching his prey
on the edge, lost his footing and both
animals were engulfed. Tourists have
dropped tons of rocks into the He'll
Hole, but its dark secrets are still unre-.
vealed, and probably will ever remain
unknown, an object of mystery and
wonder to the passing stranger and of
the region in which it is situated.
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