The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1941-05-29
Turning Over An
Old Leaf
By Phillip A. Gladheim

! There were faces unregafded, there
were faces to forget;
There were fires of fear and grief
that are few forgotten ashes,
There were sparks of recognition that
are not forgotten yet
The source book describing life in
Garrett County in the pioneer period
is Meshack Browning's "Forty-four
Years of the Life of a Hunter
l prize this book and believe it to
be a hunting classic. 1t has been a
pleasure to relate some of the stories
to my friends and read chapters to
my children of winter evening. This
book was completed in 1859.
During the past week another book
has come to my attention. l would
be glad to know if any of my readers
have seen this book It's title is "A
Sporting Family of the Old South, "
by Harry Worcester Smith, published
by j. B. Lyon Company, Albany,
N. Y, in 1886. 1t is story of five
generations of sportsmen, starting
with John Stuart Skinner, 1888, and
ending with his great-great-grandson,
1886. Pages 88-222, deal with hunt
ing, fishing, and dining events in
Garrett County The son of John
Stuart Skinner, Frederick Gustavus,
visited Garrett County in the year
1884. He was the guest of a Mr.. Camp
bell, who lived somewhere midway be-
tween Little Crossings" and Nc
Henry's Settlement. Mr.. Campbell
was an hereditary Scotch Chieftain,
and he is spoken of in the book as
1.-THE Chief" He evidently was a man
of wide culture and had travelled eX-
tensively in Europe prior to his
domicile in the seclusion of these
mountains. He was by temperament
/ in strong contrast to his genial and
dignified neighbor (about eight miles
distant) Mr. McHenry. Mr.. McHenry
did not hunt nor fish, but was happy
when Steen Friend brought him
| 6IJIISI N0IllSOH VI iOuGs 1ouJ wi =
! Campbell was a rare combination. A
keen sportsman, who kept a good
breed of bird dogs; who knew the
habits of wild life, and who hunted
and fished to furnish his table with
food. He never took more than he
needed. He had a penchant for table
delicacies and had learned in Eu-
ropean restaurants how to blend and
harmonic his menus of both food.
wine, and tobacco.
Frederick Gustavus Skinner relates
many events conferred around Mr.
Campbell and Steen (Augustine)
Friend.
Steen Friend was 95 years of age
when Skinner met him. Other person
alities mentioned were Mr..
Schwartz whom Skinner described as
''the most successful hunter who ever
trod these mountains" Meshack
Browning is not mentioned. | am
sure Skinner missed the greatest
hunter of them all It's a wonder
Steen Friend did not bring these men
| together. Meshack, of course, was a
much younger man, and perhaps,
from Stems way Of thinking chad as
yet to win his spurs"
Steen must have been an interest
ing character. Skinner quotes him as
saying that 'varmits from Pennsyl-
vany come to our glades and they're
too dam lazy to fish. They onct
brought fish net and half barrel of
whisky; stayed several days, cleaned
out two miles of creek, and after
they had gorged themselves, filled a
Darrell with brook trout, sailing it
down, and returning home"
This sort Of thing made Steen all
firing mad. He said he had four
mortal enemies: the snake (any
breed, panther, coon, and varmits
from Pennsylvany.
And there was Hans Brope, who
lived in these same parts. q hope his
place can be located).
Skinner says: "Brope's house, as
pretentious chalet as | ever saw in
the Harz or Vosges mountains in
Europe. How could a plain, unedu-
Gated American-born Dutchman, who
had never seen the land of his fathers
or a specimen of their dwellings,,
have wrought such miracle of Ger
man rustic architecture with such
primitive tools as an axe, saw
Ratchet, and augur, is difficult to con-
ceive. 1t may be explained when
philosophers explain how it is that
beavers, birds and other creatures,
are perfect architects without having
served an apprenticeship"
Skinner would have concurred with
Meshack Browning in the description
of Deep Greek Glade | would remind
those who have read Browning's
book, in one of the last chapters, how
strikingly it agrees on one feature
the wild turkeys. Here is SINNERS
description of what he saw: "a long
line of turkeys advancing in our di-
rection like the skirmish line of an
army. From the length of the line
there must have been three or four
broods united and they were driving
before them millions of Young grass