The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1951-11-01

perience with the headleSS rider, and
of Rip Van Wrinkle taking a draught
from the fagon of the funny little
fellows who lived in the woods and
then sleeping for 20 long years in
his sketch book, "The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow" he could just as
well have laid the scene in Raven
Rock Hollow, in Washington Coun-
ty, Maryland The environs here
we think would have been ideal and
the whole picture would be perfect
if we an Icabod Crane and head
less rider (trick by rival in love-
and a Rip who drank too much and
then slept so long that he wasn't
recognized when he returned to the
village.
In Raven Rock Hollow, in mag
nation, you might hear the nine
pins rolling down the mountain side.
The original story goes: even to
this day they never hear a thunder
storm on a summer afternoon about
the Kaatskill,' but that they say
Henry Hudson and his crew are at
their game of nine pins; and it IS
common wish of all henpecked hus-
bands in the neighborhood, when
life hangs heavy on their hands,
that thew might have quiet draught
out of Rip Van Wrinkles flagon."
The place where Icabod Crane
lived is described as dreamy,
drowsy place where an influence
seemed to hang over the land"
Some say that the place was be-
witched by a high German doctor
AS a teacher of children Icabod
Crane ever bore in mind the golden
axiom, spare the rod and spoil the
child" He is said to have been a
perfect master of Cotton Mather's
History of New England Witch
craft" in which he firmly believed.
Icabod, you will remember, had a
formidable rival in love, or the tale
would never have been written.
But we will leave all these things
behind the consider something near
er home. We wish it understood
that there is nothing superstitious
or ghostlike about Raven Rock Hol-
low. Instead, it is a peaceful, Sc
quested spot where flowers bloom
and birds sing and except for the
murmur of a babbling brook, quiet
reigns supreme-just the place to
rest and sooth your nerves. Round
about, orchards laden with fruit
flourish This rift in the mountain
chain can plainly be seen from the
valley below. A large perpendicular
rock skirts the road which goes
through the pass" on the north. An
incident directly concerning this To-
cality, comes to us, as follows:
Arthur Harbaugh, well known To-
cal pharmacist, was in Raven Rock
Hollow as a wee little boy, with his
mother. Arthur saw a long brown
thing on the ground and began to in
vestigate. With a stick 1--WE are not
told how long it was) he stirred the
thing about, to see, we suppose, if
it was alive. 1t proved to be so, but
his mother interfered and brought
the investigation to a quick close.
What happened to Arthur? Any
how the Copperhead, which it was,
did not bite him.
Raven Rock is composed of solid
limestone with an ascent of 400 feet
to the summit, from which point one
can see for a distance of 40 miles,
looking down over a perpendicular
cliff into an abyss over 400 feet deep.
In 1841 arrangements were made to
erect a monument on top of the rock,
SO feet high, to the memory of Pres
ident Harrison. 1t was to be on a
Corinthias base. Work was COM
menced on it, but never finished.
Now let us go back some 300 years
to something which happened in
New England. A historian describes
it as zone of the most singular de-
lusions recorded in history and in
some respects the last expiring eff
fort of ecclesiastical ambition to con-
troll the political affairs of the col
ony" The clergy, it seems, tried to
fight their political enemies with
spiritual weapons and in New Eng
land this was carried to the extreme
1t was believed that as Christians
were united with God by solemn
covenant, so were witches leagued
with the devil The witches gen
orally eXerted their art upon those
whom they hated. All classes of
people, the high and the low, were
included in this witchery. Those
who gave themselves into the arch