The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-09
locality for a century, and who, has been a
district schoolteacher there. II Is IA follows'

StfHnTe ana hAfd ~ vac way amt
II In Gods Time my Bones boiFound.
Know, on. Stranger. Strange was my Name
Another version Is as follows:
STANCE Is the Water.
Strange Is the Gtound'
/, Strange, am lost
And can't be found
All the versions begin In the same way, and
the differences In them are either uhllnpof'
ant or obviously inventions OF later times
II Is said that the two SURVIVORS CUT the sec
ton of the tree bearing the lnscription 1nl
creek where they buried the body ana planted
the tree trunk as a. sign post ana grave nlatk,
and thai q flood a%iterTSTd carried a"aE ene
had been established as the name OF the stream,
To this day the Fix River children WHISPER
g,hoStiy imaginings to one on ah2sIe 10 900 soo up
the ravine Nothing was ever lound OUT ABOUT
Strange, Communication In those DAYS pc
tween ne coast ana ,he INTERIOR w WA he 4 m new .
Of his tragic fate had reac he'd the pace RON
whence he came the people who had known
him had forgotten what little about mn they
had known. The up-Elk people firmly believe
that somewhere near the mouth OF strange
Greek are buried the bones OF u scion oil Ehgn'h
nobility.
Another legend Of that immediate vicinity
concerns itself with a, pot Of buried money.
or course there Is hardly q nelahborhood over
the length and breadth OF the land that ha,nt
got a pot Of money buried somewhere, but
this pot seems 10 be n little more definite than
most Slthough nobody has ever ELL got fro y SH sne
~ t'h ~ - i'LAA VI Wv ~ .h1N
bound westward. were pursued by, a band OF
Indians, They shot a hole In the Indian war
canoe ther eby getting q good start on their,
pursuers, but realizing that the traiers would
not give up the chase merely on that account
resolved that they must, In order to save thelr
lives, tighten the boat Of all except the most
vital necessaries, They had with them good
deal OF money and some valuables, all or whlch
they pooled AID buried AZ the mouth OF a creek
near where the town Of Gould now, Is. The
spot, It IL understood. was marked by two
large rocks leaning against each other IN s1ph
a-mnnel1 eoGd az to ,bd form a TISnt n a9 ~ fallen MIN timb sie
aud this breaking and pouring out swept every
thing before II, including the two rocks. 10
the owners OF the treasure this made the less
difference in that they never came back for
their money. II Is known that they escaped
the Indians ard II is said that several years
IN Elk advising him Of the buried wealth and
Offering him a certain part OF II u he Toulu
forward the rest. Nobody has ever iound an,
trace Of II, but many years ago the head OF
an axe Of very old design and make was i,ound
neapyhe spot. deeply eaten with rust; Many
treaslNe' hit there is something in the atmos-
phera ~ the region that renders any kild OF
work repugna0t and II j. 10 be doubted whether
I'm the search. Nevertheless there are many
who intend to-if they are to be believed One
Elk Rock bears a tradition which is no myth.
The last Of the noble animals who gave, thelr
name to the river, was killed there by old nan
Y 'HIlfs iAlllfi ! hill't CAV ~ .
Elk nconle will tell YOU that they have heard
that the hunter carved an inscription in a huge
towering rock at the river SIDE IN G ,SaIa ebmaGnit
been another elk seen In the region Tor years.
They will add that they have never seen ne
almost inaccessible, but that folks who have
seen II told them II was there. And l.. rant
and worn, bur still plainly decipherable, except
something. Above the figures are Il hand, a
gun and a pair OF %antlers. The inscription Is
far M on the rock and can only be seen by
climbing. Hunter" Frame, II Is SHud,
crouched behind the rock and shot the elk a:
he anne down to drink on the opposite SIDE or
The river II + in,sresting to u n1'e !hF F[o Ine
was left handed and such was his tame mat
there EXISTS IN al Elk TO this day a belief mai
man who shoots left handed Is more deadly
than the ordinary marksman,
Another curious story concerns it-elf with
a white mulberry tree that grows some miles
below CLAY Court House in a broad meadow,
along which the railroad rum How a White
mulberry tree got into that region is SomethinY
Of a mystery, unless one accepts tle ieRihl
which ascriheS its growth 20 a scotch redler
who came through there In a wagon some hity
or sixtv wears ago. This S~cotchman, II appears.
while travelling and selling his wares came 10
there for the night. was taken violently III. IN
his misery he PRAYED for some aRenGy 70 put
him ont of his rain. even though II Killed hin.
A an answer TO his PRAYER ne was mvsteriously
imrelled TO eat, a small plant which grew IN
abundance on the ground, P9 'toi ye eaS ria9s
now carpeted' At any rate the Scotchman
recovered and, desiring to leave a token Of
thankfuiHess at the place, he 70 p bnd 6ro ShsbFft
from Scotland with the design OF, having a Tree
In. his yard as soon as he should have ACQUIRED
a home. The seed s%prouted and the tree grew
anaCe, and when IL came 20 bear II attained a
great reputation m Elk for PROVIDING a remedy
for stomach troubles. Every year many Of me
It's fruit and the writer can testify from personal
experience that It's OUTPUT is an effective stom-
acNic A few other white mulberry trees have
appeared in the vicinity, presumably from
seeds borne away bv the birds, as IN tree is
extremely rare in this country. The Scotch
man'- mulberry i, estimated by oo'anists 10 be
TrediiiSHs of mis- yort are a part Of the everv-
dav life Of the up-Elk people. who regard them
thev do not see WHY outsiders should show
anr interest in them. IN, fact they rather
resent tho interest of outsiders, An outsider,
held long residence there. He is called a
foreigner" and there Is usually a superllcious
tone, 70 the appellation. TO people Tho have
ERs ary Frame Is family @2o FF WSs Tace en- i a" a" @sEked i most
Of the residents Of that locality had lived there
Yes; several years" he replied. Every
measure Of time, space or number is several
Well how long, on the average'" asked
"Oh, eight or ahundred wears. eypect.--
Aren't there any newcomers around hereP-
"Oh. YES. There's the is across the river.
THEY'RE foreigners"
How long have thev been there'-
We'll, | don't EXPECT they've lived around
hero more than twenty years or so,
The foreigner whom the Elk River resident
particularly diSlikes is the man who comes
up there and, securing lumber or coal property,
proceeds 10 get from the land the riches which
The Elker considers ought TO be his own by
right OF long residence.
.ToCEO,S NJGUT OPP