The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1888-08-22
THE SOUTH PENNSYLVANIA.
OF fhe PennsvIvanIa putch-

peaded. tEo years ago. when the Enou
deal was compIeted between the Wander
bits and the Pennsylvania Railroad Com
pany. by which The Nss-Yo-k Central Gem
pany gained control Of tie West Shore Rail
rOae. and the Pennsylvania Company va
70 have taken possession OF the South Psan.
s~ylvaniA The courts stepped in At thi.
jnnctare. however, and defeated the lAss par
o fthe programme. The history Of the Rad,
since the courts first in1erfere1 Is familiar 10
the pubic Every court ihsf has had any.
thing 10 do with the case has dse33 tAsi
the rad parallels the Pennsylvania Railroad,
and that, consequently according 70 tie
laxs ofPennsylraniA the latter cannot bay
II. Periodically there appear stories 10 tbs
effect that the South Pennsylvania Is 10 De
completed IN the near future. and thousands
Of friends Of the enterprise have sincerely
wished % SEE these promises maisTiAllze,
but any one who viii take the trouble 10
look over the files Of the newspaper viii ind
that the same kind Of stories have appeared
al intervals ever since the courts frt decided
that tie road could not be bought 81 the
Pennsylvania Company and people tha.
have hoped almost against hope for the COM
plehon u the sozd, have begun TO grow
sepdcal about their HOPES ever becoming
realities. The road-bed / graded al a great
altitude, and the railroad, should il ever be
completed, woald become famous for lis
magnificent scenery.
FoUE uSSsL ~ THIRrY NILEs.
Where il enters Somerset County fnom The
east, a tuned ever a mile long cuts through
the backbone Of the Allegheny Mountains al
an altitude Of about 2Sg feet aboyesea
Level. Ten miles farther on, Negro Noun
tain Is pierced by a tunnel I,s0 fest long
six CT eight miles Beyond. aLF00 foot run-
nei eoes through another QncnHahoning ridge
and the read leaves as~eeo1nty on the westby
piercing Laurd Hill with . tunnel about
a mile and a quarter in length. Besides
these four tunnels in les than % miles. in
this picturesque county, there are many deep
and high emhankmenIS some ofthe cuts are
- feet deep, and tie emb4nkments from %
70 loo FEE: high. These miniature hills and
valleys cut up the firms With impossible
barriers. and ISOLATE one par Of TIE farm
lands from tie other causing the Ernlez no
end Of permanent annoyance and as they
do not Teceiye any beneht in the way Of
transportation facilities, Tie farmers are uatu-
rally bitter III iher -denunciation % methods
that make such q state Of affair posi5le
TIE farming portion ofthe mhlbit1nts Of
tie oo1nty are for the most part PennsyL
yania Dutch and some Of them are a.
qusint. and a cid too. one would think to
look az them, as the hills on which they
live. They are q harl-Working SCI RISING be-
lore daylight ard working untI after dark
aieir greatest complaint beiore tie railroad
was partially finished 70 furnish them with
a new grievance was that the days aera not
long enough zach farmer has hs coal
hole, where be DE- coal for bis oEa Use
the veins ofcoal enen cropping ont O the
tor o5 The ground and many veins ~ coal
several feet IN thickness ue-a struck il the
tunnels and cnts Of me new ral-aai TIE
e-mbankmeat made fon the executions in
Negro Mountain tunnel vas aimos atirsly
OF osal. and the engineers expressed FEAR
thai il would some dag czich IRE and entire
~ burn up. Macy ofthe inhabitants have
never been ont II the county. some have
never even seen q ~aiiro4l train. and more
have never had a ride on one. some oftle
more ignorant ones have heard OF the large
cities IN an indefinite a and have about
such an idea Of ihena a. the average New
Yorker has Of ihe realms beyond the
skies They are nearlys al Dunkersin their
religion, and hold their iove-seasts where
they nah each Others leei; and tie minis
tiers, whom the members Of each church
elect gaosn among their number to teach
them may Be- seen 81 days in the week
~plougiang in his fields. and on the seventh
e-xhorins them in the picturesque churches. /
many o whieh are bnilt in tie woods, where
the ouly SQUADS that disturb the solemnify
Of their worship Is the ehirp Of the chip
munk, tie whi-r-rr 81 = squirrel, or tie
singing Of birds.
THE LE5END o. Il HarsTD LEasUaE
some strange legends are iold the occasion
al visitors 70 those parts. One in particular
was causing considerable excitement al the
tine oftie writerss visit Long years ago.
- the story run i've men came across the
mouniails from the East. IN . particular
ly Wild region, that IS even uoE never sisit-
Ell except BY exploring parties they discover
ed . pocket ofgold ia the rocks and n ey
stayed there several months melting il up
and putting il into convenient shape to
carry. one bad spirit among them conoeiv-
ed the idea Of killing his companions and re-
turning East With ali Of the gold So he
laid a trap By which three Of them we're
killed II different parts Of the woods aroaad
tie camp The last ofthe foar. the father
OF family. the descendants Of whom are
stlI living n the ueighberho0d. was . giant
in size and strength and though badly
wounded by the murderer. he had enough
strength leh TO Kill his assaiiaat lie then
managed 10 drag himself 10 q mountain road
several miles away. and lnekiiy fell in with
a passing emigrant train. What explana-
ton he made to account Tor his strange posi-
ton Is lot told. lie never recovered hJw-
ever, but wrote a letter - his son. wLo was
in the East. and = q dying request ASKED tie
emigrant 20 svear thai be would deliver the
letter intact TO his sa This was done sew
erll ye2rs anerward, and after ] yea- or two
of delay. the son ezme out and ouud the
place where his father had met bis death,
and in exploring about the place hnnd the
four bleached skeletons Of his fathers COM
panions and TIE gold He xas greatly ex-
cited and began picking up the gold bars,
which we're IN . cresice ofa rock, when the
rocks suddenly became hot, and q blue
shot out Of the ereyice- he jamped
back, and a De did % heard a great disturb
in the air aud bushes close 10 him,
could see nothing. lie was greatly
and started to run awsy, whena
voice called after bin, seemingly from the
air, and told hHa il WAS he fathers spirit,
thst the reason he had been disturbed
was that the spirits Of the murdered men lad
become jealous that his PROSPERITY alone
receive the benefit Of the g1ld; butif
he would come back the next year. al The
same time. be thought the Others would by
that tine consent to lis taking H. This be
DID, and the nexl year, and for many years
after, be went TO the mountains al alone,
but the oiher spirits stIl refused TO let him
have the gold. : As years went by, he grew
old and feeble aud likely to die, and be Felt
unable 70 make the TIP during The coming
June, 20 he callei his only "a. and made
him acquainted with the story. The Old