The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1893-10-20
AT HUCKLEBERRY HILL.
hattlers Cause Trouble and Ter
riTy Grandpa COnnor.

Every year people flock to HucllIe-
berry hi. from away up in Steubeu
county, " y; from clear over in Me
keau county, the furthcSt parts Of Pot
ter county. and distant sections of
IioEa county. says Roulette tPaJ
correspondent of the New York sun
lIuckleherry hill is the only place
within "a radius OF fifty miles where the
fruit for which il i named grows in
any quantity, and the people of all that
country being especially fond OF huclllc-
berries they think nothing of driving
all night and part OF a day to get on
the prolific barrcns Of Hucklcberry
hill, where several square miles of
nothing but berry bushes and sword
like brakes spread beneath the sc1rch-
..r sun. The hill is one thousand feet
above the valley of Pine creek in east
ern Potter county, and abounds in
scanned lodges and tumblcd heaps of
loose rocks. Whole families camp for
days on this forbidding barren II pick
hucislchcrries for market. As many as
one thousand five hundred persons have
been on the hill at one time, whore
dancing platforms, hurdy gurcIcs open
air gin mills, brass bands, and all kinds
Of Taking schemes are in full blast to
amusc and fleece the visitors.
Like all good huclilcberry districts.
Iiucillchcrry hill is = favorite haunt Of
rlttIcauallcs, and they grow there 10
extraordinary size and v:rility These
snakes keep many picllers on the move
from ono part of the big berry patch to
another part, for they are always
q o:nd, and some huclllebcrry visitors
10 not care to dispute territory with
them, uut retreat to other D0i~r@ as
,unI. a. uncy can discover Il rattler or
near one in their vicinity. Others,
though. are loath to give up good
picking place because a rattlesnalIc or
two are taking things comfortable
there and don't care to be disturbed.
and they pitch in with clubs and rout
or siay the reptile tenant of the spot.
So at almost any time of day visitor
may see inen. women and children,
some OF them pale and tcrrOr-stricllen,
moving away from some particular To-
caIity with much haste, and others
thrashing away in the bushes with
clubs and holding their own against
The snakes.
Not a dav passes that some one isn't
bit by rattIer When the berry pick
ers return from the hill 10 their various
homes they fetch with them stories OF
queer and exciting experiences with
r;tttlcsni.llcs that some one has had
This recital has come to be known
hcrcabouts as the annual crop of snake
stories from Hucklcberry hill. The
gathering of this crop is awaited with
more interest by many people than the
picking of the huc<lcberry crop.
Among the best of these stories that
nave reached Roulette. which Is thirty
miles from the hill, but which sends
caravan of hucl<lcbcrry piclSers there
every season, are these:
Mrs. Juston of Lcetouia, had found
Il patch where the berries were espe-
cially fine and abundant. She was
rapidly filling her twclve-quHrt pail,
much To the envy of Miss Still, a friend
Of hers, who hadn't struck eXtraordi-
nary luck. Suddenly Mrs. Juston picked
l1o her pail and walked away from her
rich find without saying a word. Miss
Still gazcd after her in amalemcnt, and
asked her if she wasn't coming back 10
that lovely spot.
NO" said Mrs. Juston. You can
have it if you want it,"
Miss Still thanked Mrs. JustOn effu-
sively for her great generosity and uu-
scIfishncSS. and was soon sweeping the
berries into her pail just where Mrs.
.Juston had picked mp her pail SO sud
denly and walked away Miss Still was
in position that brought her face
almost even with her pail, and as she
was picking away, two big rattlesnakes
rose up from somewhere behind the
pail and stuck theirugly noses over the
side of it, not two feet away from Miss
Stills face For an instant the young
woman was unable to move, but then
she recovered herself, sprang up, and
ran.
Hello. Emmyl' said Mrs. Juston
from her new picking spot, laughing at
what She thought was good joke.
Did you see emp"
The secret of Mrs. Juston's generos-
itv was revealed 10 Miss Still, and it
made her so angry that she stopped
running, hunted around until she
found a club. and hastened back To her
huclslcberry pail. The snakes were
stiu there. and Miss Still pitched into
them. They were ugly and fought her
back so fierccly that she had to thrash
around in the bushes for several
minutes before she LAID them out,
and after she had laid these two
ont she had to kill another big
one that came on the scene to see
what was going on. While Miss Still
retired among the group OF plckers at
n distance TO rest and bc congratulated
on her pluck, Mrs. Juston, seeing that
the land had been cleared for her, re-
turned 10 the choice picking patch That
she had so unsefiishly rcnounced her
claim to in favor of Miss. st II, ana
resumed her picking there. When Miss
still went back To 90 on with her pick