The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-07-30
WEIRD TALE Of A
FISHING FROL|C
Not of Fish Caught, but
of Sights Seen.
DEVILS FOOT PRINT
This is One Among the Wonders Chat
ham offered the Party. Another is
the DEVILS Tramping Ground.
Places The Superstitious Give
a Wide Berth.
a Wide Berth.
BY G. w. PASCHAL.

Mr.. j. George Hannah, of Siler City,
kept receiving messages all through
the early part of July from Mr. Fl. 7.
Bray. who lives on Flat Creek, down
the Randolph line near Moore coun-
W: Come down. Creek full of fish.
BRING seine and some of your friends.
be certain to bring Uncle Dowd Cheek
Tor l want a barbecued sheep
In response to this invitation on the
afternoon of Friday, July 21st, Mr..
Hannah, accompanied by Mr.. Cheek
and r. G.. Hannah, of Montgomery,
Ala; r. l.. Paschal, of Fort Worth
Texas. and G.. w. Paschal. of Wake
Forest. started for Mr.. Bray's Their
first stop was five miles south of Siler
City at a rock which has imprinted in
II what is known as The Devil S
Track" This is a great wonder and
an object of awe to all the country
around. The rock in which it is inn
printed is structureless blush, of
immense size such as is found in de-
tached masses all through this section.
and belongs to the oldest or next 10
the Oldest geological formation of the
earth. 1t has evidently been subjected
to great heat at some period of the
earth's history and is doubtless hun
drcds of thousands of years old. Yet
here in 1t is. a track such as bare
foot child would make in soft mud.
On one side of the track the rock re-
sembleS mud pressed out by the foot.
1t is about six inches long. or count
ing the toe prints which are scarcely
visible, an inch longer 1t is about
three inches wide. The instep is very
high. The age and character of the
rock preclude the possibility of its be-
in6 formed by the imprint of foot
There are many Such-So biologists
tell us-in the world, and they were
formed in the following way: Some
one with wet or muddy foot left his
track on the rock. Then either he or
some one else resting on the rock and
seeing the track began to peck at il
with a stone. This was kept up per-
haps at intervals and by different par.
ties until the track was fashioned as
we see 1T. A later age not understand
ing the phenomenon has ascribed il
as an object of awe to the Devil
A little further down on the road
leading from Harper's Cross Roads to
Coleridge. and about three miles from
the former place We visited a much
greater wonder which presents some
phenomena yet unexplained, and
which is also ascribed to His Satanic
Majesty, and known as The Devils
Tramping Ground 1t lies on a knoll
in a pine forest with an underground
of post-oak, and carpeted with Sedge'
The Tramping Ground is a circle OF
wire grass. one hundred and twenty
five feet around. 1t is bounded by a
path about a foot wide, and crossed
by two paths of the same width run
ming through the centre almost at
right angles. In all these paths moth.
ing grows, nor ever has CROWN. The
wire grass grows to the border, but
not a sprig grows beyond or in the
paths. On the outside grows the sedge
but has never encroached beyond the
edge of the path. No tree or other
plant except dwarf minora here
and there grows in the circle. A pine
however has sent it's roots within,
There is no other wire grass within
ten miles. Several interesting cues,
tons are suggested. What does this
circular spot of ground mean? Why
is it that wire grass grows only in "a
circle and has never grown beyCnd?
And why does the sedge, common
here, and other plants, not invade the
circle? And why does not kind of
plant grow in the circular ana da-
mertical paths? There is a legend
that an Indian chief was buried here
and that squaws brought earth in
blankets from beyond Deep River and
planted it in wire grass. This is pro-
baby a true story for with my khI1e
l dug up some of the earth in the
circle. / found that on the top an
inch an one half or two inches deep
was a blush. clayey looking earth
which is markedly different from that
under the sedge Immediately outside
the circle. So it is evident that the
earth was brought here. The wire
grass likewise must have been trans
planted from some other point. The
ends of the diametrcal paths mark
pass. And this may be due to some
purpose to get the grave of the dead
chief properly set. But why nothing,
not even wire grass, grows in the
charmed paths l must leave uneX.
planned. There is no difference Sc
far as l could detect between the
earth in the paths and that under the
wire grass. 1t is certain that no
animal human or brute. tramps regu-
larly in these paths. or. often enough
TO keep vegetation from springing up.
Hence many of those who are best &C
quainted with the place maintain that
the Devil and some of his impS here
hold a nightly revel At the hour of
midnight they meet and scurry around
in merry dance, especially in windy
weather, when the signing pines
around furnish them Wild and weird
music. Out of the paths they never
step, for DEVILS foot blights what
ever it touches and yet its fall is so
light that it leaves no track. l have
never heard that any of the defend
ers of this plausible theory ever iii
person investigated the matter. A
midnight hour a deep forest, and thu
presence of the devils, when taken to-
gether, are not. favorable conditions
for scientific work. So the devil 5
dance is unmolested as are the opos-
SUMS in the Immediate vicinity. Some
have passed the place at night ana
seen nothing. Mr. A. G. Williams,
now dead, used to tell how ''he anu
Dick Paschal had often passed the
place at night on fox hunts and had
even caught a fox one night very near
the place and had seen nothing UNI
usual" Here. too. the treasure hun
ter has been busy, and has much de-
faced the place by digging a hole in
the centre. Some one, however has
filed this up.
Three miles southwest Of the Devils
Tramping Ground we found the Buff
falo Wallows. They are in the midst