Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-12


does not dwell either In heads Of
wood or bone. 1t is mostly an oak
country, though there are some pines.
those pines which are so plentiful,
green, fragrant and beautiful in
southern Maryland and the lower Po-
tomac part of Virginia. Some of them
stand here like outposts on the edge
of the pine belt, either defying the
oaks to drive them back or threaten
ing to scatter their cones and make
conquest of the hardwood country.
Along the lonely road on which the
Rambler was travelling were a few of
these pines. One who knows pine
trees cannot help having an affection
ate feeling for them. The wind was
cold and cruel, and the tops and
branches of the pine trees bent and
swayed. But while the naked oaks
seemed to groan in the winter blast
laughed at the rude gale. They
knew that 1t was the kind of weather
<hat tests the metal-or the timber
OK tree, and they seemed proud that
TINY could stand the test. Only the
pine and its kin-trees, the cedar,
their green boug CHS merrily in such a
biting wind. Any weak and timid
tree can flourish its foliage of
delicate green and let its leaves
dance gracefully when warm and
genial breezes blow from the south,
but 1t takes man of a tree, a tree
with rosin in its veins instead of
feeble sap, to f1aunt its colors when
the winds rush down from the north
in winter. Here is tree whose bright
green needle-leaves take q cold bath
in frost or frozen dew every winter
day and sleep in snow. Many men
tell their friends that they take
cold bath every morning in winter,
but most of them draw their cold
water out of the hot-water spiggot.
The oak tree is boastful of it's
ancestry and sometimes calls itself
an upstart among trees when COM
pared with the pine and its
kindred. Fossil cones embalmed in
the rocks tell that the pines are an
older family than the oaks. Many
poets have twanged their Tyres and
sung the praises of the oak tree,
but most poets write in spring when
oaks have primped themselves in
new robes of greenery. Besides,
what poets say does not matter very
much anyhow: Most Of them roll of
a plenitude of tuneful measures, but
very little sound sense. A cord of
pine wood is worth more today than
cord Of poetry, and a wood chopper
can earn bigger wages than poet:
In walking through 'the forest" of
county tHe ItatHDltj gave NY
a good many thoughts to pine and
oak trees. but he was also thinking
Of some of the pioneer men who
lived In that country, and among
these were the Janneys and the Har-
rsons. Some time ago the Rambler
received the following letter from
X. l.. Russell, who lies out on Web
ster street:
To the Rambler: The following narrative OF
Abel Janney, in connection with the Indians
readers Of your Goose Creek stories of early
Loudoun county. The person submitting this
narrative to the publication Of the Ohio Arche-
illogical and Historical Society was John j.
Jsnney Of Columbus, Ohio, who died in 1907 at
the age OF ninety years. lie was born
April 25, 1912. at Lincoln, Va. known as the
Goose Greek Meeting House.
My attention called to the narrative
because It contains a reference to John
Russell. who belonged to my branch of the
Loudoun county Russells. In my search of
court records at Leesburg I noted reference
to an Abel Janney, mentioned in the wills Of
Abel Janney, ST., and his wife Sarah, The
wills were probated in ITO and 1774, and 1t
was stated that the Janneys lived in the Man
sion House, near Short Hill.
X
The publication mentioned by Mr..
Russell is volume viii Of ohio Ar
Genealogical and Historical Publica-
tions." Ten pages are occupied by
THE Narrative Of the Capture of Abel
Janney by the Indians in 1882; From
the Diary Of Abel Janney," In foot
note the contributor of the article
says: Abel Janney was a resident of
the Goose Creek neighborhood (now
Lincoln), Loudoun county, Va. He
was Of q rowing disposition, often en-.
gagged in hunting or trapping and 1t
was while on q trapping excursion
that he was captured. Colman Wilks
and John Russell were with him.
Wilks was shot. Russell escaped and
reached the settlements 4n Kentucky,
but was so badly frozen and pros