The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1898-07-16
Written for the CE IL WING.

Mr.. George Johnston, of Elkton, has
written the "Histnrv Of Cecil County,
Maryland" (puhliIhed 1917 So far as
fae mutilated aud Imperfect records will
permit, the work gives clear, connected,
sem pr extensive narrative beginning with
the tine when the land reposed in the awe
inspiring solemnty of solitude, silent
wilderness, and proceeding through that
when it was turned into literally howl
ing wilderness by the threatening whoop
of the red Indian and the answering shout
and musket volley of the white Intruder,
until when, hwing passed through these
Shroes 1T parturition, it gave birth to
Nell-ordcred community. not Of peasant
propretors' (incongruous terms), but of
substantial yeomen, the very makers and
sole posts Drs Of a country rich in tlocks
and herds, wide fields Of waving grain,
fair homestpads and busy towns.
1t is not our intention to retrace regu-
Larry, even in the merest outline, Mr..
J0hnSton's narrative, but rather to skip
gGous among the lights and shadows Of its
Gwo hundred years. just as fancy or caprice
may direct But we will hazard so much
OF precision as to begin at the beginning"
HEd remark that Marylanders may thank
fortune that their State is not now known
as Smithia, Smithsylvauia or Toghwoghia,
"Toghwogh" being an aboriginal name,
and Smith the surname of the first white
man that penetrated far within the bounds
of present Cecil. Moreover, the said Smith
was not ycleped, as an antidote to con
{ usion, either white or black Smith but
simply John Smith-he of Pocahontas fame.
To the superficial observer, that was an
utter mixture of races and ''isms" which
either preceded or followed the wake of
8he "Ark' and the 'Doyen to America
SO recall their names would be to euuner-
rate every nation of Europe All differ
ing in language religion and customs, it
IS not surprising that, to the observer
whose view il bounded by mere centuries
Of time and whose Judgment is cramped
ny the prejudices peculiar to some partjcu-
lar family of the Aryan race, the people
descended from such varied ancestry
should seem but mongrel horde, ircapa-
BILE of cohesion and unworthy OF the title
-'uation." But such view and such
conclusion are fallacies engendered by
prejudice and historic nearsightehness, for
,ft 81 g
family-the Aryan. United and perfect
in Asia, the race became broken and i'm
perfect in Europe; but in America its
scattered elements reunite, forming again
the perfect whole.
But at the time first treated OF in Mr..
Johnston's book, the race was still broken
up by the multitudinous nationalism of
Europe: the al-embracing imperialism Of
one law, one language, had not YET re-
formed it into one mighty unit, it was still
bizarre.
From that part of this seemingly strange
medley that locked to Maryland, fortune
singled out, for the virtual founder of the
county of Cecil, Bohemian Iamed
augustine Hermen. In his youth man
Of energy and restless activity, his life
must have been full Of strange scenes and
adventures; tradition has preserved one
she substance or rather, perhaps, the
romance of which we give. iermen in
some way mortally offended the authorities
pf New Amsterdam they first entrnpped
him in one of their forts and then con-
2emned him TO death. AS a doomed man