Evening star., 1932-02-21

S0tO 20 n0Ce Oeen ma
the history Of his State and none more in
terested in his Maryland. He i . descendant
Of Lawrence Bomberger, to whom the sixth
Lord Calvert gave . large tract In July 175S,
embracing the Blue Rock region.
The monument itself has been singularly
connected with the history tradition and
superstition Of the country.
John Brown used 1t q Q rendezvous, and
at the little inn just below now part Of the
Dahleren estate he paid his oonfederates in
gold.
During the Civil War the tower was . look
out in the battle Of South Mountain
Grover Bergdon. arch Stacker, i thought to
have hidden gold somewhere In the neighbor-
hood before his escape to Germany during the
last war.
No part Of America Is more prolific or pic
turesque In its folk lore and none more under
the spell of superstition.
Mountaineers tell many weird tales Of the
neighborhood.
IT was there, tradition says. q Union deserter
was concealed after the battle Of Antietam
by his sweetheart of Zittlestown. One night,
the anniversary of the fight from which he
fled, both girl and soldier disappeared 1t
was thought ghosts of the mans fallen COM
rades had buried them under the blue rocks.
On each anniversary Of the battle those
ghosts are supposed to fight again. while the
girl means and cries. The superstitious swear
they've seen tie grim array Of North against
South along the mountain side and over the
valley fields. They frequently point to the
grasses and grain in the morning swept low
by the wind the night before, as proof that
armies have passed by. At an eerie shrek
from thn al f6ovy fhA H4ck roktr
are swallowed up among the rocks at the base
Of the monument. Smith says he has heard
that shrek.
The Blue Rock tract is indeed something
to conjure up the supernatural.
It Is several acres Of granite, cut into oblongs
and squares as though by quarrymen. No
vegetation has ever pierced It's depths and
nchen alone Of all plant life clings sparsely
to the stones.
None on the mountain can explain the curl
GUS formation, but their story IS that spirits
chose it as their place Of exit and entrance
to the other world. Few are brave enough to
visit there after sundown.
Smith knows all the lore of the mountain.
Some folks claim. he said. they're seeing the
black dog again, an omen Of evil which hasn't
been active for 20 years. It's q phantom Of
huge proportion which stalks along the road
side or jumps from peak to peak in the hills.
Few admit having met him, but all know
some who say they have.
The beast IS oftenest seen at q spring at
Zittlestown on William H. K1neS property.
Kline knows a man who, he said, once cut
the specter in two with an ak, but it merely
went on prancing without the body joining
again for several minutes. When he recovered
from his surprise, the thing jumped over the
nearby church and faded from sight.
Smith asserts he's seen real dog there,
bigger than large calf, black all over and
hard to catch. This he believes to give ground
for the stories, but in the next breath he'll tell
you 1T might be token of the Civil War;"
DR.. S. S. Davis was driving by some 80 years
ago with a colored man who declared he saw
it and was so overcome the doctor had dif-
fculty bringing him back to consciousness
The ghost of white woman also haunts the
region. She is tall and beautiful. Those who
see her suddenly become chilled.
curious ghost, said to dwell in the Dahl
gren well, takes the likeness Of ones self To
see it means death within two weeks
For many years patriotic celebrations were
he'll ct the monument. Lightning. however.
:: The tower, knocking of the upper part
8, 1884, the Odd Fellows of Boonsboro
Re II and covered it with white stucco,
which the rains and winds have worn COM
pletely away.
Lightning again shattered the upper is feet
of the memorial and at the beginning Of the
World War further damage was done by one
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