The Delta independent. [volume] (Delta, Colo.) 1886-19??, 1903-03-06
In the Old Cumberland Valley,
Pennsylvania.
WRITTEN BY R. J. coFFEY.

Of his birthplace IN sObgs Oi 1--we.
Or the miner delying within the ground
Speaks we'll Of his home above.
Or the soldier pacing his lonely beat
F-igeis his own danger,us lot,
As his III pughts are waited back again
To his own low. humble cot:
Or ths convict doomed by his own ntsdecds
To waste In the dungeons damp.
VIII look on his school boy books anew.
And read them By memory's lamp.
orthc exile. who never again may come
From his foreign and desolate shore,
VIII dream In his fevervd aud troubled sleep
OF that home he caa see no more.
Or the tender msi.len who weds aud sheds
Her lfe-l1ve on homes Rfar.
viii ever miss from her own bright sky,
One besutiisl. sparklis. star.
Where the landscap pc is wild an grand:
In that heaven -ble&t state OF William Penn.
In the valley af Cumber and
II 1, many long year. since left my home,
But see IL rs bright to-day
From the towering summit OF :Old High Knob,
As did when came away
Dear old .'Hsh knott have reached thy base.
While around me sts nd the friends Of youth,
And hear their laughter ring.
But still vnce whispsn-ysur friends are dead.
You hear but the fIpplius brook:
Go up-go W 70 the summit and fczss
Your eyes with one more fond lcok.
/ seek orce again the old woodchoppers path,
And Chamber iron rock to N,ck.
Until am hearing the neecy clouds,
That rest like tile shepherds hock.
Then think CT my Colorado home.
OF its vaileys and mountainous chain;
And ~onder-btn ahi l am af the TOP,
AM standing OH "Hign Knob" agaia-
A change-but none in the mountain spring
for tts water Is pure, clear and cool
A. 1t was when was a thouxhiless boy.
Or when grandfather went To school,
Mn hi i'm IaS spse.nand as and Sirss and pine
As II gas when y boy gaihere.i their bark,
Or the wild grapes from the vine.
And the winteryrcen berries are Just red.
And the wheftleterrles as blue.
~ they were six Thousand years ago.
VIE hs, .vet t,s Al tss be-. Srsen is.f.d laurel
With crpwn Of flowers thai far excels
The jewel dccked crown Of the king.
Then say to myself what a welcome Is this,
To be met Al thy outer gate:
oh beautiful valley OF Cumberland,
Tiny treasures are many and great.
And happy indeed are thy daughters and sons.
Who rest In thy shadows 81 bright:
Enjoying the fruits Of thy fertile soil.
Secure from disease or blight
look down and sce at the mosntain's base
Thos- ruins once prined by man,
The hrsless stacks Of Augusta Forge"
And crumblins MARY Ann"
No more from iheir red hot gateways
The melted metals flow.
Nor the noise And clzsh OF the Iron Forge"
Rcsounds through the vale below.
Far down In the valley beneath me
gaze on the woodlands and farms:
And on in the distance Is Shippensburg;
That town IL = thousand charms
And high IN tile moonlight Aboveis
Tall spires and st.eples look down,
On the homes 0f busy mechanics
And merchants. Asieep IN the town.
And there in ,ho:c quiet gnvessrds
Are marble and leitsred stones.
That tell OF the long departed friends.
And guard o'eI their mouldefine bones.
While out from the old town westward,
Where the surface Il high aud dry,
Arr thousand newer monuments
Where the friends Of the late ysas lie.
Stand. the old-iine clattcring mills,
Zach grinding away by the power caught
lesson i IS ssnss, s frSm ihess hrppnf mis t and ..
That ruierS or subjects should learn:
Thai lis gathering or scattering the little gems
That strengthens or weakens in turn.
Please pardon-rvc s,rayed from my subject
To muse on the fortunes of men.
That come like the flash OF FREELY.
Or fades like the ink from my pen.
Blu, we all leave pen pictures behind US
For others to read at their Will,
OF whether we scatter our gins to the wiud,
Or gather them in like the rill.
Now away fro~s the lessons Of mills and rill.,
To yon Farm House on the hill:
Surrounded by many an acre wide
OF smooth. rich land to Till;
A home aud = farm that the owner feels
Ia his thorough reward for toll:
By the GIN OF heaven or right of dover,
That ne human law should soil.
And there on that weIltille farm SEQ
From my mountain outlook here,
hundred we'll remembered sights
That bless II every year.
see In the orchard behind the house,
The apples ripe and rare,
Ihe glossy rlums -the luscious peach,
The golden ounce, cherry and pear.
And there with its leaves of deep. dark green,
- And And It's vines Spreading wide and long.
VIM sa & sSe losssa down
With the fruit that grows better BY liquid age,
~. A the wine grows red aud strong
But warning IN time--beware my friends,
Too much might do you wrong.
SGS %sss snohs nsSe" the old Farm Ss
Both man and beast allay their thirst
With the sparkling water bright
In the rain cloud and mountain dell,
And then by his wisdom re-dirccts
Through the earth to tho old farm well.
How good. IL the men OF tho crowded town
:. And the sailors far out at sca
Ana more OF Of the ), waters ate SS.s lsss. ''''"s
think twould be better for head and heart
And cause more Of truth to dwell
In the breasts Of --if only we could,
All drink nom the old farm well.
Yes, that old farm well Is dear to me still,
Though thousands Of miles away,
And ofsen sigh With . moistened eye
sSs saua my ny. ss s %o.ss ssy brink
With my old timc friends who arc gone
And slns tns came songs that we used to sing,
From twilight to morning dawn.
The OIL Farm Barn with its massive walls
or limestone old and gray;
stxnds back frpn the well on the hill side,
Hail hidden In bank OF clay.
While up on lie roof and under II. caves
Inc swA!lows and tAne devcs shield:
Thus making the barn the home II the birde,