The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-04
PART TWO.
THE ROCKING ROCK.
How "Frenchy" Tested the MARVEL
ouS Powers of the Great Stone.

Of New England; stones so exquisitely
,oised that although they weigh tons, they
can be rocked by child, They have
sto5d for ages-but here. I am giving you
useful information, and I'm sure that's
not what you want. But I had to say
.bat much in order that you would under
staud what follows.
There is one of these rocking stones at
74arwinfeld, in Connecticut. 1t is fifty
feet high and fifteen feet thick. and it
ro,l5s so easily that it would be an excel
lent place on which to put baby to sleep.
we're it not for the fact that few mothers
could reach the top with their babies in
their arms
n is SO smooth and steed that not many
bovs have been able to climb it-as far
back as the memory of man goes. If you
bapnen 10 know anyone in Harwinfield,
YOU can substantiate what 1 am going TO
rel YOU. 1t has always been said by the
local country folk that if a boy could
reach the top, turn around, clearing the
stone in his descent, he would be able to
double money or anything else he could
pick up
vicinity of Capt. Kids buried treasures,
boys are forever digging, so there had al
WAYS been Harwinheld boys who were
crazy to reach the top of Rocking Rock,
turn three times and jump. And then
the riches of the world would be theirs.
But the rock was as slippery as ice on
the top, and there was barely room for
small foot so while every few years
boy would be found able to reach the
apex. he could do no more than slide off
AGAIN and land, with more or less bruises,
on the other side.
But John AngeVine was as ventureSome
as any boy that ever lived, and he had
good deal of the Rocky mountain goat in
his makeup. He was French Canadian,
who had come with his father and ten
brothers and sisters to Harwinfield when
he was , years old.
From his babyhood he had heard of the
legend connected with the rock, and ne
early determined to reach the top and spin
around three times. AS for the jump?
Wen he would think about that when he
got up. 1t might not be necessary.
John was 10 years old when he first
reached the top of the rock The other
boys cheered him until he tried 10 stand
up and failed, and then they jeered. Boys
are not unlike their fathers in some
things.
John slid down and landed in a heap
on a pile of hay at the foot of the rock,
but he was not daunted He practiced
standing on one foot on fence post until
he was able to balance himself on crow
bar stuck in the ground, and then he tried
the rock again.
Ii had been noised around about that
he was going to try it, and every boy in
Harwinfeld and a few from East Ca
naan we're on hand to see how it would
turn out 1t was on a Saturday after
Nom inst before having time.
Are you go'n' to try the jump? asked
his particular friend Con Staggers.
Tell you when I get up" said john
Then he rubbed chalk On his shoes, as he d
seen acrobats do in the circus, and began
the climb. Up he went, almost as easily
as a fly would have done it, and INSIDE
of a minute he had reached the top lie
slowly raised himself to q standing posi-
ton on one foot Then he began TO turn.
Bully boy, John!' GOO boy! Keep
It up!" you'll do it, Frenchy"
Once. twice, thrice he went around.
"Now, jumpr' said Con, but at this point
Johns nerve forsook him. He knew that
TO jump and clear the rock meant pas
sage of over fifty feet in the AR, with
the probability of a broken leg at the END.
lie was not quite old enough to love money
enough to give a leg for it. So ne shd
down the rock in time-honored fashloh
and landed in the hay
why didn't We do il, John?" asked Con,
almost in tears.
"Mebbe you have the power, anyway
draWled Hank Vnton
John took 2-cent piece out of his pocket
and rubbed it between thumb and fore
finger, and-in twinkling he had TWO OF
the old-fashioned coins.
well. you don't know what fun is II
you weren't there. l was, because l was
boy then, and l lived there, and l was
one of the first to get my pennies chang
ed into as many more. we dldn stop
until out pockets were bullying with pen
nes-that seemed unheard of wealth to us,
whose fathers were Woodworking farmers,
TO whom a quarter of a dollar represented
more than SO does to folks nowadays. L
had to so home at 4 o'clock, so 1 didnt
have a chance to spend mine, but most
Of the other boys went to Hiram Hayden $
store aud called for Jackson balls and
Union balls and Haggi's chewing gum and
imitation tobacco made of slippery elm
and licOrice root.
Old man Hayden was astonished at the
orders and like the man in Simple ST.
mon" he said, "Show me first your PEN
ny"
And then came an awful disillusioniz-
Ing. Every penny beyond the ones tina.
the boy had had originally, was bad. You
never saw such a mad lot of fellows III
your life. Con Staggers told me about 1t.
They would have thrashed John unmefci-
lu.iy If Hiram hadn't interfered. He was
quite an old man, and when he heard the
hcys story he said that 1t was all be-
cause John hadn't jumped. we've got
lhe paower to double things, but We hain't
got the Daower to make 'ern good"
And 1t was so. John could make two
Oh eny one thing. but he couldn't get the
good out Of the new thing. OF course 1t
was lots of fun for us ALL but it was ex-
aSpcraung. too. For instance, he'd pick
nice red strawberry apple off a tree
ana turn 1t into two, but the second
wouldn't be good to eat. 1t would look
nAe an apple and feel like an apple and
reIt like an apple, but it was no good
ven we boys never got through poster
I.s MIN to try 1t again and do the jump.
~ ne broke leg, as Bradford Williams
,tminded him, Il wouldn't be any of our
sSi and, will you believe 1t, just after
"oylng was over he finally consented.
we all went out to the wintergreen lot,
"nere Rocking Rock stands, and we put
d lot of hay down all around 1t to break
.+a ial. John chalked his shoes and