Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1910-09-22
ANTIQUE CHEsTNUTS.
BY ST. JOHN BYER.

nuts would require dose OF vermifuge-
but they are tales OF Our grandfathers
handed down from colonial times, and
therefore must command respect. So
hearken, ye Daughters OF the Revolution,
for smallbeer annals which have not YET
been Registered" intype, and perchance
after beiug read, may provoke the conf
ment that they do not deserve to be.
In those days, the land sharkS-aS the
Guggenheims oftoday-were on the alert
to find where likely settlement would
settle aad would buy up the country
around for speculation. So when Cen
eral Washington was prospecting on the
upper Potomac for situation in which
to build the United States Armory, Colo
mel Shepherd, a resident hereabout, en-
tertained the General SumptuouSly, and,
when warm over the wine, tried to in
wade his confidence, and lind out where
the place would be, by an indirect in
quiry. General Washington seemed to
warm up TO the confidential humor and
said
Colonel Shepherd, can you keep a
secret?"
The latter, with the certainty that he
should thus be let in on the ground floor,
assured the General that he had the silent
wisdom of an owl, and that he certainly
could.
Then the old General, while dry,
crafty smile crossed his rubicurd coun-
tenance, replied:
"Ah, Colonel Shepherd, so can }"
Just fancy the Father of his Country
perpetrating such sly joke on his host.
The armory was not placed near the
plantations of Colonel Shepherd, but at
Harper'S Ferry-to become famous at
terward. This story is a family heir
loom, and the son of this Col. Shepherd
from whose aunt came this marathon
inherited his fathers land-buying pro-
clivities, and going West, bought up a
country, more or less, around a State
capital, from which he became very veal
thy-but he has long since passed into
that country where no real estate is
bought and sold.
Col. VanSwearingen was another OF
the largely landed men of that day, and
just before the Revolution, in all election
for the Virginia House Of BurgeSSes, he
beat the young Colonel Washington-but
at the next biennial contest, Washington
was elected. Now, il is singular fact
that an old distillery bill OF that date
shows that Col. George Washington paid
two guineas, current money OF the realm,
for two barrels OF whiskey, and If was
not mince-pie making time-So it is pre-
sumable that the whiSkey was used as
moral suaSion to turn the voters to him.
self. Washington once remarked at an
election that the question was measures,
not men"-but it does not relate what
measure CT whiskey was dealt out TO his
constituents.
In those rude days the strong man, the
wrestler, was as much popular idol as
the pugiliSt of this enlightened age,
sad enough, as proven by the late Reno
fight, in the great mass OF our people cul-
ture has not eradicated the coarse admi-
ration for brute prowess. In Marion's
famous band OF scouts, Peter Francisco
enjoyed the pieeminence in muscular
strength. In that book OF child's wonder
stories, good ParSon Weem's life oi
Marion, Peter is described as guessing
the weight ofhorses by lifting them not,
however, i'll the way they were Gifted
during the Civil War in this Valley. AT
ter the Revolution, Peter came TO live in
the Northern Neck of Virginia, whence
the fame OF his strength pervaded all the
regions round about. One of the gentle
Quakers from the State of eye William
Penn was the champion OF that State
and deemed himself a match for Francis
CO, whom he wished to meet; and SO
ardently that, as the distance between
their homes was not great, he saddled his
steed and rode over the State line to meet
and challenge old Peter to wrestling
combat. Onhis way he met a gentleman,
also on horseback, and as they were 60
ing the same route, after apleaSant "good
morning" they began conversation, in
which he told the purpose of his ride,
asking the gentleman if he knew Francis
co.
40. yes; | know old Peter very well,
and all his tricks and manner of wreSt-
ling, and could possibly show you some
of these to your advantage, for ! am a
wrestler myself Now, if you cannot
handle me readily, you will not have
much chance with old Peter"
So they concluded that they would
match strength with each other, and 60
ing in a closed lane, hitched their horses
and in friendly way proceeded to tackle
each other. But in few moments the
Pennsylvania found himself pitched
clear over the fence, or, rather, gate oi
the lane. He picked himself up, looked
over and said
"My good friend and pitcher, won't
you please pitch my horse over the fence
too ?"
Peterwas an obliging old soul, so he
n;cted I'm the steed and landed him over