The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-10-16
Church Universal
Story of the Crosses.

story or the Crosses.
The Catholics OF Fermanagh were
overjoyed Aug. I'll, says the Irish Cath
Ole, when it became known that the
two crosses belonging to White Hill R.
c. church were found
The crosses 1.-TWO in number) have a
romantic history. White Hill chapel
was built eighty years ago, and there
We're no crosses put on the gables-a
most unusual thing-and this of course
left the chapel very bare looking
In 1862, tbout thirty-five years after
ward, the parish priest, Father Travnor,
who is long dead, purchased a pair CT
hne metal crosses, each standing about
TOUR feet high and about four cwt. in
weight. He had the stone bases set on
the gables ready for the crosses to so
on. They were left in the priests yard,
ready for erection, but to the good pas
tor surprise the crosses disappeared.
tie was overcome with grief and cried
out that God would have satisfaction
out of the vagabonds. and that the
crosses would come back again. but not
III his day. His prophecy fas come
true.
II is forty-seven years ago now since
the crosses were stolen, and this N the
most bigoted times of Orange ascendant
CS. There We're a good many Orange
lodges around White Hill, and their
members were much displeased at the
luea OF the crosses being erected. In
the night time fifteen, or perhaps more.
OF the brethren made their way into the
priests yard, took the crosses bodily.
and carried them a mile or more to a
large morasS called bring bog In the
very center of this bog there is large
round hole, full of water with no bot
tom to 1t, called the Bullock hole, co1se-
quent on bullocks being often drowned
IN 1t, Into this hole the crosses were
pitched by the advocates of .,ivil and
religious liberty-as they thought. never
to be heard of again.
Though the authors of the outrage
We're known, the good priest would not
prosecute. he always said that great
ef vengeance would come down upon
them than his, and his prophecy was
fulfilled. There were three ringleadcrs
OF the gang who suffered most, father
and two sons, who owned town lands,
which passed out of their hands a few
years afterward.
The father was killed coming out of
IrNlngton on his own horse OF the two
brothers, one shot the other and was
imprisoned. Eventually he was smoth-
cred in his own bed. Another who car
rled one of the crosses became Grip
pie, with stoop in the back which was
incurable. while his toes rotted off.
Still another lost his foot by putrefac-
ton. A fourth went out Of his mind. 4
fifth was crossing to America II get out
of the hands of the law. He fell off the
upper deck of the vessel on which be
was passenger and broke his neck. a
woman who supplied whisky to the mis-
creants got cancer in her hands. and
lost both.
1t seems miraculous that the heavy
crosses sank only a few feet beneath
the surface. On Aug II a laborer
named McQuaid was working at a drain
beside the Bullock hole He nut his
shovel in for curiosity, when, 10! he
struck one of the crosses. He went for
Father O'Doherty, P P, and with the
help of nine or ten men brOuGh- the
first one out with ropes 1t was only
three feet below the surface: the other
one was eight feet. He had ropes tied
around him, and he came on the other
one and brought it to the surface amid
the loud cheers of the other xorknen.
The crosses were then carried back to
the chapel Father TraynOr's proph-
ecies We're now fulfilled. The crosses
were laid safely in the chapel, and Wis
itors are coming from all parts To- have
a look at them. They are not now want
ed for the chapel, for, as soon as they
were stolen. a new pair was got and
put up, butt they win be erected on the
pillars in the chapel yard, there to stand
for the future to remind strangers OF
the pr0vOcation that the Catholics of
fifty years ago received