The morning news., 1892-12-29
STORY OFAHAUNTED MILL
TaR ROMANCE OF A RUIN IN THE
ADIhONDACKS.
A Woman Hanged Herself to Beam
After the First Days Run and Ill
Luck Followed Ever Afterward-An

| LUCK FOllOWeQ Ever Att0rWar0-An
| Old Grsvestone.
From the Netc York Sun
| NoRrHwooD, NY, Dec. 27.-The sports
man or tourist who travels by the way of
Northwood on his journey to the hunting
grounds In the Moose river region of the
Adirondacks follows a rugged and crooked
trail for about three miles, and then after
passing a little graveyard on the left reaches
a spot where the road, heavy with sand
pitches down to the old wooden bridge over
Little Black creek. Rarely will the
J tourist do more than glance to the
right as he reaches the bridge but many a
man has stopped midway on the bridge to
look In silence on the stream below. 1t is
only picture of still water framed In by
oirches and Willows and spruces and hem
locks, but the yellow sunlight comes down
through the green leaves and splashes and
romps about over the black pool and drifts
away and away until trees and sunlight and
shadow and black water melt together in
the unmeasurei distance.
In its restful beauty the picture is q COM
plete contrast to the scene above the bridge,
so complete, indeed, that the glance given
1 oOONO An npt W IIElIhb6 IL IL DEOuuC5b any
| Impression on the tourist. Nevertheless, the
scene there is very picturesque in its way,
| for 1t includes an old ruin known as the
| nauntcd mill, the remains OF an old log
dam, with the winding stream and a
breadth OF sand in the foreground, aud
back OF all the ragged edge OF the great
wilderness. It is a somber picture, pict-
ure OF blasted hopes, Of which the Adiron-
dack region is full. and the story Of it Is
like the picture itself
Although the trees behind the mill form
the beginning OF the unbroken wilderness,
the country here has been settled many
years. More than 100 years ago tories from
| Canada and patriots from the Mohawk
/ chased each other to and fro across Little
Black creek. not very far from this old mill.
The value Of the tall spruces as saw timber
and that Of the water power afforded by the
stream were known to all the early settlers
of the Mohawk. The desr made parks in
the swamps there in winter time and the
| trout filed the stream. It was an invitin q
| country TO look at then as now. and pioneer
| hacked great holes in the green forest, hop
ing 70 make farms there, but the farming
| did not thrive. Elsewhere about the region n
mills were erected, and these did some y ha {
better, but the land was too poor for farm
| ing and the market too far away and thu
roads too rugged for very profitable mills
Among the rest who tried to make farms
there was Henry Clymer. a handsome g,
black k-haired man, with his handsome
black haired wife. They settled on Little
Black creek, ii is said because when look
ing at different places for sole, Mrs. Clymer
was 80 charmed by the beauties of the
long, narrow, still water, now seen from
the bridge, that she would look at no otter
place: Clymer was from Brooklyn. he
found his way up here in the days before
the Utica and Black River road was
hlilf HA DID oil
came from, however, and it was
several years before his neighbors
learned from him the fact. He told them
at first that he was from Buffalo. and
because OF his knowledge of that city must
have lived there some time. H. was man
OF some means aud had hearty, friendly
way that very. quickly gained the good will
OF his new neighbors. He worked steadily
during the week on the plsce he bought and
on Sunday made or received visits or went
hunting with some OF the neighbors. To
the casual observer he was at first in no
way very different from his neighbors save
In the fact that he was somewhat of a ten
derfoot In woodsy and farm work.
But very soon after his arrival In the
country the gossips began to find both
Clymer ard his wife the chief topics Of their
conversation. First of all, the couple was
too lovln' TO last" IL 10 not in good form
in this region foe man 30 show any afYec-
tion for his wife before folks, bat the
Clymers were little worse In this respect
than any one ever did ses here. Later IL
was observed that the woman had lived
some time in different social circle from
the man. Her speech and department..
when compared with his, showed greater re-
fnsment, even 60 the woodsmsn, Then il
was seen that while he was sfYectionate in
his treatment of the wife, 'tshe was the one
| that done most Of the love-makin'."
In the course Of two or three years this
last popularity became marked, and the
wife, who at first had been sprightly and
almost romp, lost her vivacity. She de.
veloped Jealousy for her husband that was
at first unwarranted. Meantime the farm
had not prospered. He had cleared rnora
land and had raised hay aud cats and added
to the number Of COWS, but these had con.
surned capital he brought with him he had
scarce made bis food out OF the farm 40 he
set about building mill on the banks OF
Little Black creek, where he owned the
i water right. He worked with two or tbrA .
| neighbors all one winter getting out the
stuff and logs for the saw, and in the sprin0
brought millwriRht from Utica and put
up the frame that is now tumbllng into the
stream.
People were so well pleassdIto have this
mill erected-a mill with patent turbine
| instead of the old-fashioned overshot wheel
not to mention other improvements. thai
they almost forgot to telk about wnat they
didn't and did know of Mr.. Clymer's domes-
tic affairs, and so whom the day arrived
that log was rolled on to the carriage and
water turned on the wheel and the lever
pulled that started the first cut in the mill
there was a very great crowd of men.
women and children present to see the
WORK done, and to give three cheers as tbs
first slab fell from the log.
or course there was big dinner in honor
of the event The first boards cut were
used to make picnic table, on which
enough cake and dried berry pie were piled
to give everybody indigestion for q month";
But Clymer and his wife waited on the
table. and She gossips observed that Mrs.
Clymer seemed TO have recovered some
what OF her old spirits. She laughed and
romped as she had not done in more than a
year. Nevertheless, while the meal was vet
but half over, she left the table to 90 to the
house, where one of the prying neiQhbor
women found her kneeling beside the bed
crying as If her heart would break. with a
picture of ir-haired baby before her. AS
luck would have 1t Clymer came into the
room just then. The wife made a wild
effort to conceal the picture, but failed
According TO the prying neighbor a brief
but remarkable scene followed.
Clymer made grab for the picture when
| the wife spranR to her feet and defed him.
holding the picture behind her, but saying
| nothing