The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-06-23
A PECULIAR FIND.

Eli Thornton, an old resident of the
western part of the town of Pharaslia,
was in Norwich Tuesday, and told of a
startling discovery which he made on
the road which leads from South Otselic
to North Pitcher. He was driving along
the road about dusk Sunday evening, and
he had just got well into the ravine near
North Pitcher, when he observed, en-
beded in the side of the hill, what was
evidently wagon wheel. 1t was fully
two feet above the highway, and wonder
ing how it could have got there, Mr..
Thornton left his team standing in the
road and went to investigate. He pulled
ON the side of the hill just the iron
tire of a carriage wheel, the rest of the
wheel was so rotten that it crumbled at
the touch. Mr.. Thornton took a stick
and poked further into the rock and dirt
and found the perfect outlines of a car
riage, of the style of 1910, and also the
crumbled form of what might once have
been horse. A little poking soon de-
stroyed the entire shape of the thing, but
parts of the iron work may still be seen
in the ground there in the ravine. Mr..
Thornton still has few old rusty bolts
and the tire which first attracted his at
tention.
Thus, after nearly three quarters of a
century, is mystery which puzzled the
police of three continents probably ex-
planned. 1t is story full of pathos, and
one which deserves place in the history
of ChenangO county.
This is the story: A long way back in
the early days of this century, when
Pitcher Springs was in its glory, and
when there were larger number of ho-
tells around the Springs, summer visitors
used to come in large numbers from the
cities to spend the heated terms in the
most pleasant of summer resorts.
Some time in the thirtes Jacob Van
Twiller, member of one of the Oldest of
the Dutch families, came with his wife
and one son, young man about % years
old, to spend the summer in one of the
large hotels.
Young Van Twiller had only been in
the hotel short time when he fell deep
ly in love with another. guest of the
house, handsome Irish lassie named
Moore, who was also spending the sum-
mer at the Springs with her parents.
One afternoon the young couple, who
had already become engaged, started out
for a carriage ride. The drove to North
Pitcher and from there started for the
raw le. lulS WAS the ldSG VndG was ever
seen of them. They disappeared as
completely rs though the earth had
swallowed them. Search was made all
through this country, streams were
dragged, the police of foreign countries
were notified, in fact the whole world
was secured as if with fine tooth comb,
but they were gone. The two families
at last gave up the search and returned
to their city homes and never returned
to the scene of their great loss.
1t is remembered that soon after the
young couple left North Pitcher terrific
thunder storm came up. Mr. Thornton
who gave the facts to the reporter, says
that he has not the slightest doubt, now,
that Mr.. Van Twiller and Miss Moore
drove under projecting ledge of rock to
escape the fury of the storm, and that
the raiu loosened enough of the rock and
dirt to completely bury them. This
could easily have happened, as under
brush and stumps and dirt were loose all
along through the ravine. Thus is an.
other mystery of long standing ex-
planned. Norwich Telegraph.