Читать книгу History of Western Maryland - J. Thomas Scharf - Страница 4

Allegany County is situated in the northwestern portion of Maryland. It is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania, on the east by Washington County and West Virginia, on the south by West Virginia, and on the west by Garrett County. The North Branch of the Potomac River passes along the southern, southeastern, and eastern limits of the county, and separates it from West Virginia. Mason and Dixon's line separates it from Pennsylvania on the north, and Great Savage Mountain divides the counties of Allegany and Garrett. The boundary between Allegany and Washington Counties is Sideling Hill Creek.

The face of the country is very much broken by numerous ridges of the Allegany Mountains, making an almost constant alternation of rugged hills and narrow defiles or valleys. Along the Potomac River there are large bottoms or flats formed by alluvial deposits from the mountains which surround it, which were formerly very productive in Indian corn and grass. One of the most striking and curious features of the surface of Allegany County is the "glades," large, level, flat, swampy bodies of land between the highest ridges of the Alleghanies. These are famous grazing-places for large flocks of cattle, which are driven from the neighboring counties of West Virginia to be pastured in the summer months. They were doubtless at one time lakes, and have been filled up gradually by washings from the surrounding hills, and by the decay of plants and trees which grew on them. The soil to the depth of many feet contains a large proportion of vegetable matter, and from this cause is dark and loamy, resembling very much the black-gum swamp soils of the lower counties of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The Little Savage Mountain, a ridge of the Alleghanies, divides the eastern waters which flow into the Potomac from the western streams which flow to the Ohio River. The summit of the mountain is from fifteen hundred to two thousand seven hundred feet above tide-water, and though the temperature in summer is pleasant, the spring season is backward and the winters are of long duration and great severity. The crops most generally grown are oats, buckwheat, rye, Indian corn, and wheat. The alluvial bottom-lands grow principally corn and oats; buckwheat and rye are confined more especially to the mountainous parts of the country, whilst wheat is almost exclusively restricted to the clay limestone lands in the eastern and the Cove in the western part of the county. This county would not compare with some others in the State if compelled to depend solely on its agricultural resources. In some portions farming has made great advances, and in others lands if properly cultivated and manured will in time pay large profits, and Allegany County in the future may become as famous for its agricultural as its mineral wealth, but at present the latter is the paramount basis of prosperity. The soils may be divided into the red rock or red sandstone, the limestone clay, the shaly red sandstone, the Potomac bottom, and the loamy soils in the coal regions.

The red sandstone soils are formed by the disintegration or decay of the red sandstone, which is easily recognized by its color. These soils are light and porous, except where argillaceous sandstone and shales are mixed with them. They do not suffer from drought or moisture, and from their color they readily absorb heat, and belong to the class known as quick soils. These are found from Sideling Creek to Polish Mountain, and extend within the mountain ' ranges to the bottom-lands of the Potomac. The soil in some places is much more porous and light than in others, owing to its location on the side of the hills, all its fine particles as soon as formed being washed out by rain-water, which leaves the larger fragments of rock behind.

The analysis above given is nearly an average of ten different examinations of this variety of soil taken from the different localities where it exists. On the eastern side of Polish Mountain we meet with the limestone and clay soils; for a short space on the eastern side of Martin's Mountain the red soil again appears, but gives way to the limestone clay on the western slope, which continues until the top of Evitt's Mountain is reached, where the shaly red sandstone occurs. The soil of the country between Savage River and Meadow Mountain is of this character, and it is found also in the Cove in a highly-cultivated state, producing fine crops.

The clay limestone soil is marked by the outcropping of limestone rocks running parallel to the mountain ranges. The surface soil, of variable depth, is a loam and of a darkish color; the subsoil is a tough, reddish clay, making fine brick, and with proper cultivation is very productive. These soils are so easily recognized as to render further description unnecessary. The difference in their fertility is due in part to the greater abundance of phosphoric acid in some localities than in others. On Merley's Branch they are very productive. This is due not less to their composition than to the excellent mode of their cultivation and management.

The difference in the color of these limestone clay soils is due to the greater quantity and higher degree of oxidation of the iron in some than in other specimens.

The red shaly and sandstone soils are of a lighter color than the red sandstone soils, and have very nearly the same composition. They require thorough cultivation, and manuring with stable manure, straw, and litter as a top-dressing. The great disadvantage of these soils is their shallowness. Wherever the underlying rocks allow, they should be plowed as deep as possible. This will enable them to retain moisture well, and prevent their washing from heavy rains, which is a serious injury to them. The soils of the coal-lands on George Creek and the neighborhood of Frostburg are clayey soils and very productive, though they have received but little in the way of cultivation and nothing from manures. The soils in the middle and western coal-fields are generally of a light and sandy texture.

The bottom-lands on the Potomac vary in proportion to their composition from the washings of the different varieties of soils named above, but some of them are very productive.

In many places these lands suffer from too much moisture from the springs of the adjacent hills. There is another soil here, covering but a small space of the country, tough, cold, clayey, and of a whitish character. The stable bulwark of this county is its mineral wealth. The effort to develop this and to afford facilities for its introduction into market has absorbed much of the legislation of the State for years. To effect this development the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal has been built, at a cost of many millions of dollars. The extent of this mineral wealth, its value to the State, and its importance to the country at large in its commerce and manufactures, fully justify the consideration which has been given to it.

Allegany Coal-fields. — The great Allegany coal measures consist of a deep series of strata, which include gray sandstones, shales, bituminous shales, slate-clay and fire-clay, carbonate of iron, and coal, aggregating in thickness about one thousand five hundred feet. The whole series has been curved downwards a few degrees, and hence the ends are uplifted on both sides of the basin, in Davis and the Great Savage Mountain. Its entire length from northeast to southwest is estimated to be about thirty miles, but this includes that part of the basin which crosses into West Virginia, as well as a portion in Pennsylvania. The surface has suffered such deep and wide-spread erosion since the deposit of the upper strata of coal that perhaps less than one-half of this important fuel now remains where formerly it constituted one continuous sheet over the whole expanse of the valley. It may be noticed that the two ridges of mountains bounding the basin run nearly parallel, and thus give the longest possible exposure of the strata along their flanks. Fortunately for mining, the forces which have operated to carry away such vast areas of the surface have also cut longitudinal deep troughs, through which the rivers and creeks now run, into the subjacent strata, and have thus laid bare the edges of all the seams of coal. Near the upper end of the basin a transverse ridge, nearly equaling the adjacent mountains in height, connects Davis Mountain with the Great Savage, and cutting off about one-fourth of the valley, turns the streams to the east, to be precipitated through the gap into Will's Creek. On the western part of this ridge also stands the town of Frostburg, from which this upper basin takes its name. The lower division of the great coal basin extends down with a gentle slope towards the Potomac River, and is traversed in nearly its whole length by George's Creek, which runs through a trough scooped out of the coal and hard rocks to a depth of more than twelve hundred feet. The Potomac River has likewise cut a deep and wide trough across the southern part of these measures, leaving the strata exposed in a section more than one thousand feet thick. Besides these, numerous creeks and brooks have cut across it from the mountain flanks on both sides, thus intersecting the coal-seams and dividing them into small areas. In the northern valley, Braddock's Run and Jennings' Run, with their tributaries, also cut deep into the coal-rocks and expose their ends. The former rises near Frostburg, receives the waters of Preston's Run, and after flowing eastwardly for about six miles, passes through a gap in Davis Mountain and empties into Will's Creek two miles northwest of Cumberland. Through this natural avenue the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad finds a way up the heavy grades to Frostburg, and from thence transports the coal mined in this region; but the coal mined in the larger basin, farther south, finds a natural outlet in the direction of the Potomac River, and is accordingly carried by rail to Piedmont, to be transferred to the charge of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

The great importance of these coal measures to the State and country at large seems to justify the detail which is necessary to a correct understanding of the resources of this region. Through the careful surveys made several years ago by the State geologist of Maryland, Philip T. Tyson, a section was drawn showing the whole series of strata included in these coal measures, and giving measurements of all the beds of coal in their order of succession from above downwards.

No less than thirty-six beds of coal have been originally laid down in this region. Some of these, however, range at present from only a few inches to a scarcely workable thickness of not more than two to two and a half feet. But, besides these more numerous beds, there is a grand aggregate in ten others which amounts to a total thickness of fifty-four feet of good coal. At the present time the great " Fourteen-foot Bed," as it was then called, is so accessible and easily mined that attention is almost entirely diverted away from the narrower and consequently more difficult ones. The system of mining is, however, still so wasteful that the narrower beds will no doubt be brought into use before the end of the present century. Greatly to the advantage of mining in this region is the order in which the strata have been laid down. They rest one above the other in regular layers, no faults or serious dislocations having been found in any part of their extent, and accordingly they can be excavated continuously without the hindrances occasioned by having to search for the broken ends thrown out of level. With regard to the mining of this great deposit, Prof James T. Hodge reports, —

"At those mines now worked in the northern end of the basin, the real thickness of the bed is about eight and half feet, and still farther to the northeast the bed becomes thinner and poorer by increased intermixture of seams of slate. In the central portion of the basin, although its thickness may reach twelve feet, there is hardly a mine in which it can be said that more than ten feet of coal is worked to any extent, while the most of them save only about seven feet. Various reasons are given in explanation of this. In some mines the slate roof over the coalbed when undermined is apt to fall in blocks or ' slips,' and endanger the lives of the miners. In these mines it is almost a necessity to leave the upper two or three feet of the coal-bed for a safe roof, and remove only the middle and lower portions. The roof coal, as it is called, is often more or less streaked with layers of 'bony coal,' a variety duller and more compact than the rest, but otherwise entirely unobjectionable. Merely on account of this appearance this portion of the bed is entirely lost, even when the overlying slates would make it as safe a roof as the coal itself. In some mines, at the Borden Shaft, on George's Creek, where the roof coal is left to the thickness of about two feet, and from nine to nine and a half feet taken out below it, a portion of the upper coal is expected to be saved, when the pillars are finally removed and the whole roof is allowed to come down.

" But the roof coal is not the only part left unworked at many of the mines. Throughout the whole coal-field the lowest two or three feet of the bed contain one or two seams of slate, each half an inch or so thick and about a foot apart. In the destructive rivalry that has existed in the different companies many have allowed their ' bench-coal' to remain unworked, and have been willing to pick out the choicest middle part only and sacrifice all the rest."

This will suffice to show how imperfect the system of mining has been, even in quite recent times, but extended experiences suggest more exact methods, and the work of the future will be conducted with increased precision, as the laws governing the pressure, elasticity, etc., of the associated layers of rock and coal are more closely watched and studied. These coal-beds have been built, as others of similar character, by the slow accumulation during long periods of time of dense forests and thickets of trees and plants related to our present club-mosses and horse-tails. These plants in the age now current are of small size, scarcely any of them exceeding a foot in height, while most are but four or five inches; but, during the carboniferous epoch, they covered the marshes with examples as large as the great pines and swamp-cedars, and which, falling, left their huge bodies in deep deposits in the mud and water. These became covered by clay, sand, and decomposed rocks, as each stage of development was reached, and by the great pressure of the weight accumulated above, accompanied by slow, mild heat, were finally converted into the coal-layers now so useful as fuel. In the shale accompanying the more important part of the coal, vast numbers of impressions of the twigs, leaves, buds, etc., of the trees, plants, and ferns of the epoch remain imbedded, testifying to the form, proportions, and character of the flora which once tenanted the beds.

The main coal-field of Allegany County is embraced between Davis Mountain on the east, the slopes of Savage Mountain on the west, the Potomac River on the south, and Mason and Dixon's line on the north.

The whole extent of this area, called the eastern coal-field of Allegany, is about thirty miles in length by an average of four miles in breadth, making altogether one hundred and twenty square miles lying in Maryland. The figure of this coal-basin is slightly curved from north to south, and rises sometimes from its longitudinal axis to its eastern and western borders, resembling in shape an Indian's canoe, except that its sides are not so perpendicular. On the eastern side some of the smaller veins penetrate through Davis Mountain and overlook the Potomac River. On the west this coal-bed does not go to the summit of Savage Mountain, much less crop out on the eastern side of Savage Mountain, though maps are not wanting to show that even the Big Vein extends through and overlooks Savage River.

This coal-field is in one continuous bed at Frostburg, extending from one mountain to the other, and a little below the Big Vein is washed out by George's Creek for a short distance; it is then continuous from side to side until near Wright's mill, where George's Creek again cuts through it. From this point south the Big Vein is separated into two parts by the valley of George's Creek, and serrated by the numerous small streams which are its tributaries. North of Frostburg the coal-vein is divided into three parts by the valley of Jennings' Run and Braddock's Run. The extent of the other veins, being much lower than this, embrace a much larger area, inasmuch as some are but slightly and others not at all injured by the denudations of George's Creek, Jennings' Run, and Braddock's Run.

The veins of this coal-basin amount to about fifteen, many of them, however, of no value. The chief veins are, first, a three-foot vein: second, the Big Vein, or fifteen-foot vein, as it has been called; third, the eight-foot vein, composed of two distinct veins of coal separated by a bed of fire-brick clay about two feet in thickness; fourth, the six-foot vein; fifth, the forty-inch vein, — this is about forty-four inches in i thickness; and a vein of about two feet in thickness. There are others to the amount of five or six, perhaps more, lying at different depths below.

The only veins whose coal is worked for exportation are the Big Vein, the six-foot vein, and the forty-four-inch vein. In the valley of Jennings' Run several small veins are worked for the Mount Savage Company, and for domestic purposes in the immediate neighborhood. Mining operations were carried on here at one time for foreign use, but the Big Vein gradually absorbed the force at work on these ventures. The Big Vein is that which has given the high reputation to the Maryland coal, and constitutes to a great extent the real capital of most of the corporations in this county, and must be for a long time the basis for valuable tolls on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The thickness of this vein, as we have stated, varies in different sections of the coal-field, being thinner on its northeastern border, on the extreme edge of which it is about nine feet. At Frostburg its workable thickness is about eleven feet, whilst in the middle and southwestern sections fourteen are claimed by those holding property there.

The average thickness of workable mercantile coal is about eleven feet. Neither the exact size of this coalfield, nor the extent of any of its seams can be determined save by a very accurate trigonometrical survey. The estimates made here are only approximations derived from detached surveys of different tracts belonging to different companies or individuals. The most reliable estimates agree in giving the number of acres of the Big Vein at about twenty thousand. It hardly exceeds that amount. This vein does not extend beyond the Withers property, northeast of Frostburg; and here it is extensively denuded by Jennings' and Braddock's Run. A short distance below the National road George's Creek washes it down. It then sinks below the level of George's Creek, but even here to what extent it suffers by insufficient covering has yet to be ascertained. It is probable that much of it between Frostburg & Wright's mill is unfit for mercantile purposes. This vein is impaired by the washing of the following streams, which are tributaries to George's Creek: Koontz's Run, Laurel Run, Bartlett's Run, Jackson's Run, and Moore's Run, on the south. At Wright's mill, George's Creek has formed a valley below the level of this seam, which widens until it reaches the Potomac. The Potomac River has also washed out the seam to a great extent, none of it being found to exist on the Maryland side above Bloomington, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, though the eight-foot vein, the six-foot, and other small veins of the coal formation exist here. The six-foot and smaller veins embrace a much larger area than the Big Vein. They do not suffer so much by denudation, and comprise more than eighty thousand acres, cropping out on the eastern slopes of Davis Mountain; they lie much below the denudation of George's Creek, and extend far towards the summit of the Great Savage Mountain, and for miles up the Potomac above Piedmont. The veins which will for a long time to come furnish the country with Cumberland coal are the Big Vein, from which by far the largest quantity will come, the six-foot vein, and the forty-four-inch vein. According to an estimate by the State agricultural chemist, made in 1854, the Big Vein contained 354,933,333 tons of coal; deducting one-fourth for wastage of every kind, and there would be then expected from the vein 266,200,000 tons of mercantile coal. The six-foot vein contained in each acre 9680 tons of coal, equal to 774,400,000 tons; deducting as above, and it would be capable of furnishing 580,800,000 tons of coal. The four-foot contained in each acre 6050 tons of coal, and the whole vein ought, therefore, to produce 363,000,000, after making the same deductions.

These three veins then, according to the estimate of 1854, would furnish the following quantities:

Big Vein 266,200,000 tons.

Six-foot vein 580,800,000 "

Forty-four-inch vein 363,000,000 "

Total 1,210,000,000 "

This estimate is for these three veins alone, and is rather below than above their actual capacity. A very modest estimate by thoroughly competent persons has placed the available amount of mercantile coal in the Allegany coal-beds at 4,000,000,000 tons.

If the quality of an article be all that is necessary to insure its proper appreciation, the coal of Allegany would have no rival in many branches of industry. For the generation of steam or for manufacturing purposes it is unequaled. In fuel for the generation of steam three things are especially required, quickness of combustion, continuance of combustion, and steady combustion. Fuel should take fire rapidly, it should burn for a long time, and its intensity should not be diminished by fresh additions of material. Any substance possessing all these qualities would be a perfect fuel, and the coal from this region is unapproachable in these qualities. In the chemical constituents are a large percentage of carbon, a small percentage of ashes, a trace of sulphur and nitrogen, very little water, and a moderate quantity of bitumen. This bitumen, if in excess, as in many of the bituminous coals, would give a very rapid fire, but one of short duration. If less than this, or none at all, as in the anthracite, it would be a very slow combustion, though it might last for a long time, but at every fresh addition of coal the fire would be deadened, and the amount of steam lessened until fuel combustion again took place. A coal then, for steam generation, should contain enough of bitumen to make it readily inflammable, so as to burn quickly and not deaden the fire with each fresh addition of it, and such a proportion of carbon as to maintain a uniform heat for a long time, and in these conditions the Cumberland coal stands without a rival. Use has fully confirmed the scientific deductions made from its chemical composition.

In the year 1844 a report was made to the Navy Department by Prof Johnson, " on American coals, applicable to steam navigation and other purposes." Full and fair trial was given to all the American coals by an extended series of practical tests, which resulted in placing the coal of this field above that of every other inevaporative power, both as to equal weights, and what in navigation is of the greatest consequence, equal bulks. That is to say, a pound of coal or a bushel of coal from this region will generate more steam than the same amount of coal from any other mines in the country. Wherever this coal has had a fair trial the results have been the same. It is scarcely necessary to mention its unquestioned superiority for locomotives and stationary engines.

The tendency now is to concentrate the carrying trade of the world in long narrow ships of immense tonnage, propelled by steam, and swiftness is a paramount consideration, and the navies of all nations have discarded sailing-vessels. A man-of-war requires a fuel which can speedily generate and keep up a steady head of steam, whether in pursuit of, flying from, or in actual combat with an enemy, and the competition everywhere developed in the merchant marine of the world makes this a matter of no less importance to the shipping interests. The demand, therefore, for coal from Allegany must greatly increase with every year.

Cumberland coal has been carried around the Horn to stations on the Pacific, and despite the great cost of transportation its superior qualities have commended it to the shipping lines on that ocean. The completion of the many projected highways through Mexico and the Central American States and the construction of the Panama Canal will be the means of introducing this coal to this portion of the world for all industrial purposes, to the exclusion of that from other localities.

Cumberland coal, being remarkably free from sulphur, is admirably adapted for the smelting of iron and other ores. It makes a beautiful compact coke, and in this shape is unsurpassed for the manufacturing of all kinds of metal. For the forge or blacksmith-shop it is inestimable. It makes a cheerful, bright fire, gives out a steady heat, and resembles more nearly a wood-fire than that from any other variety of coal.

It has been urged by interested parties, and by others ignorant of its qualities, that Cumberland coal is dangerous by reason of its liability to spontaneous combustion. A more absurd or baseless hypothesis could not have been advanced. Careful analyses by the most skillful experts have effectually disposed of these invidious assertions, but as experience far outweighs the testimony of science, however positive may be its conclusions, careful inquiries instituted in the coal-fields along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and at the depots where the coal is stored, have failed to disclose a single case of combustion without active extraneous interference. It has been exposed to the air in large heaps for several seasons, placed in damp cellars and piled on dry floors, stored away in barrels or in the holds of canal-boats, but it has invariably failed to gratify the anxieties of its enemies, whose inconsistency and eagerness have led them into the unpardonable error of asserting, at the same time that they urge its tendency to spontaneous combustion, that it is not sufficiently combustible.

The middle coal-field of Allegany is situated between Negro and Meadow Mountains. The coal approaches nearest in its composition to the Pittsburgh coal. It is a fine, compact mineral, and is only debarred from general use by lack of the means of transportation. There are three veins here, one of about forty inches in thickness, one of four feet, and another of about five feet. But comparatively a small portion of this coal-field lies in Maryland. The western coal-field lies in the valley of Youghiogheny River, and is destined to become an interest of great importance for the manufacture of the iron ores, which are associated with it in large quantities. It is very similar in quality to the coal in the middle field. As soon as a railroad shall penetrate this field, which is a matter of near accomplishment, a great industry will be developed. The coal veins in this region are a two-foot vein, a four-foot vein, a six-foot vein, and a five-foot vein. All these coal-fields, by reason of the peculiar formation of the country, — it being intersected by ravines, — can be very readily worked. Many of them drain themselves, and can be ventilated at a trifling expense. In the value of coal-lands this is a very important item, and materially lessens the cost of mining, while in the same measure it increases the profits.

On Town Hill, in the eastern section of the county, there is another coal formation, but the owners have as yet done but little in the direction of development.

The iron ore in this county may be divided into four kinds, — fossil, iron ore, red and brown hematite, and the clay iron-stone of the coal formation. At the head of Merley's Run, on the western slope of Warrior Mountain, there are found large quantities of red hematite ore. The vein is seen at intervals for a space of a mile and a half, and induces the belief that it exists there in very large quantities. This is strengthened by examinations made on the eastern slope of the same mountain, overlooking Town Creek. Here for several miles the red hematite shows itself, and at one opening made the bed disclosed a thickness of eighteen inches. It was opened far enough into the hillside to prove it to be a regular stratum lying between strata of brown shale. The ore, as far as penetrated, is a compact argillaceous oxide of iron, but has been changed by atmospheric agency. The quantity here is sufficient to justify the erection of furnaces on a large scale. The ore is of fine quality, and makes good malleable iron.

The abundance of large pieces strewn on the surface indicates the existence of other strata. There are good indications on a spur of Polish Mountain, near the Potomac.

Between Martin's and Evitt's Mountains, near the junction of the red shaly sandstone and the clay limestone soils, hematite ore also exists in considerable quantities.

The fossil ore and hematite are found in distinct veins on Dan's Mountain. As both of the ores in this locality have been worked for a long time, a particular description of them is deemed unnecessary. These veins have in a great measure supplied the furnaces in this. part of the country with ore, and are of very great extent. In the valley of Jennings' Run and its tributaries there are also hematite and clay ironstone ores, but not in large quantities. The evidences of its existence greatly increase as we approach the Pennsylvania line. Near Frostburg there are found two veins on the head-waters of George's Creek, which are from ten inches to three feet in thickness. The ore is of fine quality, and extends over a large space.

There are also found large bodies of red hematite ore on the benches of Meadow Mountain and the heads of several of the branches of Savage River. At the Little Crossings there is an immense deposit of bog-iron ore, and associated with the coal veins found there is also clay iron-stone (carbonate of iron). The ore here of each kind is rich in quality and of very great extent.

By far the largest quantity of iron ore is found in Garrett County, in the coal-fields of Youghiogheny River and its tributaries, which lie in the coal basin. On either flank of Will's Mountain there are outcroppings of important strata of iron in the formation. It is called the Clinton Group in the New York reports, and Sargent Shales in Pennsylvania. There are several strata of ore, some of which are too thin to be profitably mined. The lower strata, called hard ore, contain much sand, and vary in composition considerably, but usually contain less iron than those higher in the series, called fossil ores, because of the numerous impressions of fossil shells which they contain.

There is an outcrop of hard ore five feet in thickness a mile and a half above Cumberland (on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad), containing twenty-four and three-quarters per cent, of metal. The fossil ore varies in the proportion of iron from thirty-five to fifty per cent., and has been extensively used in the furnaces at Mount Savage and Lonaconing. Much of it contains sufficient phosphoric acid to affect injuriously the quality of the metal.

There are several varieties of the carbonate of iron in the coal-fields, differing in appearance as well as in their proportion of iron. They exist either in flattened nodules, called " balls" by the miners, or in stratified masses called bands. The balls vary in weight from two or three to ten, and sometimes twenty, pounds, and are imbedded in courses in either shale or fire-clay. The bands are interposed between beds of shale, and are called clay bands and black bands.

These ores usually contain from thirty to thirty-six per cent, of iron, but there are some bands containing only twenty-five per cent., which will be available because of the low price for which they may be mined and delivered to furnaces.

Among the clay bands there is a thick stratum, which examination made at a point on Laurel Run, three miles from Lonaconing, in the George's Creek region, proved to be six feet thick, and it was found to contain twenty-five per cent, of iron. It rests upon a bed of shale six feet thick, which, although highly ferruginous, does not contain a sufficient proportion of the metal to constitute a workable ore. Numerous other bands of ore of lesser thickness, but richer in iron, exist in this coal-field which need not be particularly described.

There is, however, a variety of black band of sufficient importance to require special notice. This name was first applied by Mr. Mushett to an ore discovered by him in the year 1801, but which was not generally recognized until the year 1825, because it differed so materially in appearance from the ores formerly used in coal regions that iron-masters were slow to believe it to be an iron ore.

At its outcrops, the black band, owing to the action of atmospheric agents, crumbles down and becomes mixed up with the adjacent earthy matters, so as to give slight indications of its presence. The nodules and clay bands at their outcrops present themselves in larger pieces, which often resemble the earthy varieties of hematite, and indicate the proximity of the ores in their regular strata. The most important black band in the George's Creek coal-field lies about one hundred and seventy-seven feet below the main or fourteen. foot coal-bed, which was opened at several points during the progress of the explorations above referred to. It was ascertained that this valuable ore occupies an area of many square miles.

At one point on Mill Run, which flows into George's Creek, it was penetrated by a drift to the distance of forty-five feet, by which the unaltered ore was reached and its character fully investigated. The thickness of the one proved to be eighteen inches, and owing to its being underlaid by a seam of coal four inches thick, it was ascertained that it could be mined at a cost not exceeding seventy-five cents per ton. Iron of good quality can be produced from it — with the superior smelting coal of that region — at a very low price.

In order to determine accurately the proportion of iron, a sample was taken from the whole thickness of the bed, which was found to contain thirty-one per cent, of iron.

A great advantage possessed by this ore, in common with the Glasgow black band, consists in the fact that coal is mined with it. The mixture of iron and coal is placed in long hills or ricks, which, upon being fired, are found to contain sufficient fuel for roasting, which is necessary for all the carbonates of the coal regions. Before roasting, three and one-third tons of ore would be required for one ton of metal; but the roasted ore, owing to the loss of carbonic acid and water, is found to contain more than forty-two per cent, of iron, so that two and three-eighths tons only are needed for a ton of metal. There are many other deposits of ore, besides those above mentioned, that will prove valuable if properly worked.

Immense beds of fire-brick clay accompany the coal formation, valuable for hearths, for furnaces of all sorts, fireplaces, stoves, etc. The demand for these bricks is greater than can be promptly supplied, owing to the limited capacity of the works engaged in their manufacture. The quantity of this kind of clay is sufficient in the coal-fields of Allegany to supply the demands of the country for many centuries to come.

One of the great natural resources of this county is its immense primitive forests of timber, consisting of white oak, red and black oak, black walnut, wild cherry, curly maple, red and white pine, yellow poplar, and locust. A feature worthy of note is the growth of locust timber, which springs up immediately on the destruction of the original forests. The growing scarcity of timber in this State, and indeed all along the seaboard, gives the timber resources of this county an intrinsic value that has been somewhat dwarfed by the coal and iron speculations in this region.

Accompanying the coal formation large quantities of bituminous limestone are found in parallel layers. On Martin's Mountain, between Evitt's and Polish Mountains, it is also found extensively imbedded. Indeed, the localities where limestone is found are so numerous in this county that a bare enumeration of them would occupy much space. There is more than will ever be used, whether for roads, buildings, ore-fluxes, or agricultural purposes. The limestones are all dolomites, containing from eight to forty per cent, of carbonate of magnesia. Recent developments have shown that the city of Cumberland occupies a position upon the great fossil or Clinton ore-belt, which is not only central, but really will give it the command of the iron trade in the near future.

Pittsburgh, the present iron-mart of this country, possesses cheap and ready fuel, but is compelled to range far and near for ores to feed her furnace-fires. An essay read before a meeting of the leading business men of that city (Pittsburgh) showed that a saving of millions of dollars per annum would result from the building of a line of railroad which should tap the ore-beds of West Virginia, some two hundred and fifty miles distant. These ores are found in vast profusion at a distance of about forty miles south of Cumberland, and at an elevation which will give an average grade of forty-five feet to the mile to the local railroad, whose construction is being rapidly arranged for at present date; this railroad will have its terminus in Cumberland.

It is a noticeable, and a very remarkable, fact that nearly all of the mineral wealth surrounding the city of Cumberland lies above its level, and in many instances can be handled by gravity alone from the mine to the furnace.

This fact will strike an interested mind at once as one well calculated to decide the location of new works, the more especially when, by referring to the map, it will be seen that the lines of natural drainage meet directly in the city, and it is upon or down such lines that heavy raw material can be handled to best advantage, and at least cost.

Among the available ores are those lying along the Pennsylvania Railroad, and which can be mined and handled at a very low rate.

The " Soft Fossil Vein" varies from one to two feet in thickness, and is separated only by a foot or more of sandstone from the " Hard Fossil," which ranges from six to twelve inches thick. The ore has the following composition:

Metallic iron 41.34

Silica 15.10

Water 6.92

Phosphorus 0.51

Like all the fossil of this region, it contains only a trace of sulphur, and nearly sufficient lime to flux the silica in the ore. These ores, if mixed properly, can be relied upon to yield forty per cent, in furnace, and will cost about three dollars and fifty cents per ton delivered in Cumberland. The '' Big Fossil Vein," also known as the " Levant," or " Black Ore," crops out near the city, and can be traced for twenty miles along the Potomac River and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, until it assumes the character of ferruginous sandstone. Specimens of this ore assay:

Iron 27.77

Phosphorus 0.33

Silica 54.20

The lower leads are not exposed, but will yield about thirty per cent, in the furnace; its remarkable thickness and the low cost at which the ore can be quarried and shipped renders it valuable, as it can be delivered in Cumberland at but little over one dollar and seventy-five cents per ton. It can be mixed to advantage with the limestone fossils first mentioned, and can be worked to advantage along with the rich hematites and magnetites of Virginia. The measures lying immediately south of Cumberland yield over forty-three per cent, of iron, and are unusually free from silica. They are so situated that they can be mined easily and economically. The only effort towards bringing them into the market has been made through the medium of a single charcoal furnace, the product of which has held an excellent reputation.

In summing up, it may be said that the city of Cumberland occupies a position relative to three great parallel zones of fossil, hematite, and magnetic ores, which renders it highly probable that an early day will witness its development into one of the leading iron-working localities of our country.

Fire-Clay. — In all industries requiring the use of a higher degree of heat, and especially in the manufacture of glass and iron, the quantity, quality, and cost of such fire-clay as may be necessary are very important items.

The national reputation of the firebrick manufactured in the vicinity of Cumberland obviates any necessity from going into the details of making it, yet it might be well to state that, under the improved methods now in use at the Union Mining and Manufacturing Company's works, located at Mount Savage, it is possible that cheapness in cost of production can now be added to that advantage of superiority in quality which causes the fire-brick made in this region to be sought for above all others.

The beds of pure fire-clay contained in the coal measures of this region comprise some eight veins, and in the aggregate measure about fifty-three feet in thickness.

It has been stated that a mixture of this fire-clay with the German clay now extensively used makes a pot for glass furnaces which is unequaled for strength and resistance to the action of the necessary intense heat.

Suitable clay for potting, tile, terracotta, and common brick can be had in inexhaustible quantities in different localities contiguous to the city, and sharing in its transportation facilities.

Limestone. — Cliffs of this rock, so necessary for the successful working of iron-ore silicates, tower far above the level of the river, canal, and the several railroads, whose lines cross each other in the very heart of the city, — in fact, the " Lower Helderberg" and " Water Line" formations are quarried and worked inside of the city limits; the latter material being the basis of one of the oldest and most thriving industries of the town. The Cumberland Hydraulic Cement Company has furnished for nearly forty years a hydraulic cement which yet stands highest in the records of civil engineering for energy of action, strength, and durability as compared with other American cements.

The value of this material as used in the manufacture of drain and sewer-pipe, paving blocks, and artificial stone has yet to be tested to any definite extent, but it is evident that, owing to the close proximity of such markets as can be found in the chain of large cities encircling Cumberland, and the ease and cheapness with which this class of low-grade freight can be conveyed over the nominal intervening distance, there is an unusually promising opening in that particular line of manufactures, and one which must soon attract the attention of interested parties to the profit of all concerned.

Glass-Making Material. — -Upon making a careful survey of the advantages of Cumberland it is an unavoidable conclusion that for the manufacture of glass there can be found no locality where are assembled together in greater abundance the varied materials, all adapted to such a purpose, than the city of Cumberland and its immediate vicinity.

Surrounded by vast deposits of sandstone of varied formations, by ample supplies of the finest lime, the cheapest of fuel, the most durable of fire-clay, and the material for making cheap charcoal, combined with a location insuring the greatest convenience in the matters of handling, working, and shipping, and a central position in relation to the different great distributing points, with a climate and social advantages which go far towards giving to the workman a healthy and happy home, it certainly seems that Cumberland is a favored spot, regarding it from an industrial point of view.

The Medina sandstone, which is of the greatest importance in the manufacture of glass, crops out in every mountain gorge, forming walls in some places over five hundred feet in height. It is a stone of an average fine grain, breaks easily under the hammer into sand which is composed of angular crystals, looking more like grains of glass than natural sand. This peculiar angular grain is of the utmost importance, as it leaves a certain space between each particle, by means of which the heat soon permeates the entire mass, causing a certain weight of sand to melt much sooner with a given amount of coal than if lying in finely powdered, pasty lumps in the pot. An analysis of this stone, of which millions of tons are lying along and above the different railroads, gives it more than ninety-eight per cent, of silica, and of sesquioxide of iron only forty-two one-hundredths of one per cent., this being the only real impurity.

The supply of this material is simply unlimited, and is obtainable in such varied localities and under such advantageous circumstances that there can be no question of its being procured at any time and at any quantity at but little above the mere cost of handling.

For the benefit of interested parties, we append a copy of the analysis and letter:

" Laboratory School of Mines,

"Columbia College,

"New York, March 9, 1875.

" Sir, — The sample of Medina limestone submitted to me for examination contains: Silica, 98.35 per cent.; sesquioxide of iron (equivalent to 0.29 per cent, of metallic iron), .42 per cent. Bottle glass, which is dark green or black, contains from 3.8 to 6.2 per cent, of oxide of iron. Plate glass contains from 0.2 per cent, to 1.9 per cent, of oxide of iron. Assuming that the glass to be made of your sandstone will contain 75 per cent, of the sandstone, the glass would contain less than one-third of one per cent, of oxide of iron, which is too little to give it any objectionable color, or practically to color it at all. I am satisfied, therefore, that the sandstone is in every respect well fitted for the manufacture of glass of the best quality.

(Signed) " C. F. Chandler, Ph.D.,

" Professor of Analytical and Applied Chemistry,"

In manufacturing glass the only material needed from abroad in any appreciable quantity would be soda ash and crucible stock, which can be transported to the city at the very lowest rates, as there is but little if any return freight for the cars and boats of the different coal-shippers.

The various glass-works in the West which draw their supplies of the finest qualities of sand from points far eastward can find in this section material which, it is claimed, will equal in most respects the famous Berkshire sand of Massachusetts. Certainly the proprietors of different distant works can find here such combinations of advantages as will compel them to coincide with the declaration of one of the pioneers in the glass trade of America, which was that, in his estimation, " glass could be made in Cumberland at a cheaper rate than elsewhere in the States."

Derivation of Names of Mountains and Streams. — The first white man who penetrated the wilds of the mountain region of Allegany County was an individual named Evart. Tradition says that he was an Englishman by birth, and a man of education who had seen much of civilized life. The Western settlements of the white man had not then penetrated farther into the forest than the Conococheague, and that fierce struggle for the possession of the country was going on between the white and the aborigines which in nearly every portion of our land has been marked by blood and cruelty. Evart, driven to desperation by disappointment in love, penetrated that part of the country which stretches some sixty miles west of the Conococheague, and built a cabin on the top of a mountain some seven miles northeast of the present city of Cumberland. The trail of the Indians, as they traversed the mountainous region lying between the Atlantic and the western waters, passed along the valley of the Potomac and crossed Dan's Mountain, some eight miles south of the spot where Evart built his cabin. There upon the top of a mountain, far from the habitation of civilized man, and even from the haunt of the red man of the forest, this singular individual took up his lonely abode. It is asserted that his disgust for civilized life was caused by the frailty, fickleness, or falsehood of a woman on whom he had placed his hopes of happiness. When these were wrecked he sought the wilderness. Neither the allurements of civilized life, nor the dangers of the forest, traversed only by the savage, were sufficient to deter him. Without expecting or desiring ever to see the face of civilized man, he fixed his habitation far in the wilderness, and on so rugged a spot that even to this day perhaps not a dozen individuals have ever visited the spot where his cabin was built.

Shortly after Gen. Thomas J. McKaig removed to Maryland he heard the story of the residence of " Evart the Englishman" from George Hughes, then some eighty years old, and one of the earlier settlers of this part of Maryland. In order to test the truth of the tradition, Gen. McKaig procured a mountain-guide and went in search of the spot where it was said Evart's cabin had stood. Traversing the side of the mountain now known as " Evart's" or Evitt's Mountain for some distance north of the point where the turnpike leading from Hagerstown to Cumberland crosses Martin's Mountain, Gen. McKaig and his guide left their horses, and with much labor reached the top of the mountain near the point where the stream called " Evart's Creek" breaks through the mountain. Here he found undoubted evidence that the spot where he then stood had been the residence of the hermit. Even then silence covered the mountain, and with the eloquence of Ajax among the dead served to tell the melancholy story of its former occupant. On the top of the mountain, or at least that which seemed the top, was a level piece of ground of about two acres, with good soil, that had been cleared and in cultivation. The mountain gradually rose to the north, for at the brow of the mountain in clear soil was a fine spring of mountain-water. The access to the top was so rugged that cattle seldom, if ever, reached it. The grass had grown up and fallen until it formed a sward as soft as a bed of down. The house or cabin was gone, but the chimney, of rude stone, some ten or twelve feet high, was still standing. There were scattered around some three or four apple-trees, two pear-trees, some sprouts from the peach-trees, and one plum-tree. Over the whole surface of that part which had been cultivated the English strawberry had spread, and was then growing in great profusion. Gen. McKaig brought down with him some of the roots, and had them transplanted in Cumberland, from which has been produced the finest quality of the English strawberry. Here, in this solitary spot, lived one whom neither the thirst for gold, nor the speculative spirit of adventure, nor the maddening zeal of religious enthusiasm had driven from civilization and home and friends, but a romantic disappointment which he had permitted to blight his life. His idea seems to have been to lose his identity and bury his name, but in this he failed, for his name still clings to the mountain on which he resided, and to the stream which flows at its base. George Hughes fixes his death prior to the year 1750, but when or under what circumstances it took place no human being ever knew, nor was there any friendly hand to close his eyes or perform the sad offices of sepulture. Between the years of 1742 and 1745 there lived at Salisbury, near Williamsport, a family named Clemmer, consisting of the father, mother, three sons, and a daughter. The daughter was accidentally drowned. While returning with their neighbors from the funeral, one of the boys riding behind his father and another behind the mother, they were fired upon by a party of fifteen Delaware Indians. The men of the party, five in number, were all killed, and the horse on which the mother rode was killed. The two boys and the mother were captured. The mother on the day after the capture escaped, was retaken and murdered, and the two boys were brought by their captors to " Willstown," which was situated just west of the gorge where Will's Creek bursts through Will's Mountain, one mile west of the present site of Cumberland. Indian " Will," the chief of a tribe, resided at this Indian village, and gave his name to the mountain immediately west of Cumberland, known as " Will's Mountain," and to the creek which passes through the town of Cumberland, known as " Will's Creek."'

Here the young Clemmers, Lawrence and Valentine, were held prisoners for nine years. On the conclusion of peace with the Indians the boys were returned to the white settlements. Valentine, the younger boy, and who at the time of the capture was only five years old, married near Williamsport, and in 1802 removed with his family to Allegany County, the scene of his earliest recollections. His son, Jacob Clemmer, a man of great respectability, afterwards filled several important offices in the county.

Fort Cumberland, where the town of Cumberland now stands, was laid out about 1749, by the Ohio Land Company, and was then supposed to belong to the territory of Virginia. On the site of the old fort a beautiful church of Gothic architecture has been erected by the Episcopalian congregation of Cumberland. One of the first settlements made within the territory now embraced by the county of Allegany was made shortly after Fort Cumberland was located by Thomas Cresap, usually called the " English Colonel," at a place called by him " Skipton," now called Oldtown.

The house, or fort, as it was then called, built of stone, is still standing, and was afterwards occupied as a dwelling-house. Col. Thomas Cresap, the progenitor of the Cresap family, now a numerous and highly respectable family of Allegany County, was an Englishman by birth, a member and agent of the Ohio Land Company, and a man of great bodily strength, and of a high order of intellect. He had been the agent of Lord Baltimore, proprietor of the province of Maryland, and had built a fort on the banks of the Susquehanna for the purpose of taking possession and holding that part of the country, claimed as part of Maryland, against the family of Penn, the proprietors of Pennsylvania. Some of the Pennites came over, and after an obstinate resistance, in which they burnt his fort, they took him prisoner and carried him to Philadelphia. After his release he removed to Allegany, and settled at Skipton, where he reared a numerous family of enterprising sons. His house served as a fort for the protection of the white inhabitants who were settled around him, to which all fled in the hour of danger, and many a fierce combat was fought around that little house. Cresap was the master-spirit, and always took the command, and marshaled his little band of stout hearts when the alarm was given that a party of marauding Indians were in the neighborhood. A braver band of pioneers never pulled the trigger.

The sons of Col. Thomas Cresap were Daniel, Thomas, and Michael. He had also two daughters.

In one of the conflicts with the Indians, after the latter had come stealthily upon the settlement and had murdered a family and stolen some of their horses, Cresap mustered his clan, pursued them, and surprised them on the side of the second mountain beyond Fort Cumberland, Will's Mountain being the first. The Indians separated and fled. Daniel Cresap, one of the colonel's sons, a young man of humane disposition and of remarkable fleetness of foot, observed a young Indian separate from his comrades and take a southerly course along the side of the mountain. Not wishing to shoot him, he pursued, and after a severe race overtook him. The Indian, finding that Cresap was gaining on him, would spring behind a tree and raise his gun, as though about to shoot. Cresap would shelter himself behind a tree, and after watching each other for a minute or two, the Indian would again run. This was repeated several times, when Cresap concluded that the Indian's gun was not loaded, because he had had several opportunities to shoot and had not done so. When at length they came to an open space, and the Indian, looking back, found that Cresap would overtake him before he could reach a shelter, he whirled round, and raised his gun to shoot. Cresap saw at once from his motion that he was mistaken in supposing that his gun was unloaded. He instantly took aim, and both guns went off at the same moment. The ball of the Indian passed through Cresap's lungs, and Cresap's ball through the abdomen of the Indian. Col. Cresap, hearing the report of the rifles, started in pursuit. When he came up with them he found the pursuer and pursued, both mortally wounded, lying within a short distance of each other. The Indian in the agonies of death begged that they would kill him, which they did. Cresap died of his wound before they got him off the mountain. The mountain was called " Dan's Mountain" after him, and has been known by that name from that day until this. Young " Dan" Cresap, on account of his generosity of spirit, was a great favorite with the mountaineers, who in giving the mountain his name have perpetuated the memory of his dramatic death.

Dan's Mountain forms the eastern verge of the coal basin of Allegany County. The mountain immediately west of " Dan's," and running parallel with it from south to north, is known as " Savage Mountain." It is a grand and noble elevation, rising some twenty-five hundred to three thousand feet above tidewater, is rough and rugged, and abounds in fine springs of pure sandstone water. Prior to the year 1760, and during the period when the habitations of the settlers were confined principally to " Cresap's Fort," or Skipton, — now called Oldtown, situated some fifteen miles below Cumberland, near the Potomac, opposite the present station of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, called " Green Spring Run," — the Indian, who had been gradually driven westward, still held possession of this mountain. The whites, it is true, had located and then held Fort Cumberland, but they held but little save the inside of the fort.

The Indians who had been driven westward from the Conococheague, now within the present limits of Washington County, kept up a constant warfare upon this pioneer settlement. They would suddenly burst from the dense forest surrounding it, and sometimes would succeed in killing one or two of the inhabitants and driving off their cattle and horses. But as soon as they made their appearance and committed depredations, Col. Cresap, at the head of his pioneer band, would start in pursuit and generally succeed in chastising them, sometimes overtaking them on " Kobly" Mountain, sometimes on " Will's" Mountain, and sometimes upon " Dan's," but for many years never pursuing them as far as the mountain immediately west of the present village of Frostburg, called Savage Mountain. That mountain was left for years in the undisputed possession of the Indian. The grave of his father was there; it was the ultima thule to which he would retreat. There he made a desperate stand for many years; there he held his nightly war-dance, and recounted among the braves of his tribe the glorious war deeds of his father. In troublous times the deep glens of the mountain-passes and the dark lonely peaks of that grand old mountain were lighted by the beacon-fires of the savage foe. The white man, awed by the rugged grandeur of the lofty mountain and the deep and almost impenetrable forest which covered its side, halted when he had pursued his foe to its base, and called it the Savage Mountain, or the mountain belonging to the savage. Hence to this day the mountain is known by its original name, — " The Savage Mountain."

Years rolled on, and the tide of emigration flowed westward, and Col. Cresap's little colony at Skipton had become more than a match for the Indians. But one night the colony was aroused from sleep by the war-whoop of the savages. Col. Cresap, equal to every emergency, soon rallied his affrighted colonists, got them into the fort, and stood upon the defensive until the morning, when it was ascertained that a family had been murdered and some of the horses of the colonists taken. Pursuit was at once determined upon, and the colonel's order to that effect was given. In the morning, when the colonel came out of the fort, he found his body-servant, Nemesis, a large athletic negro, cleaning his rifle to be ready for the fray He said to him, " Well, Nemesis, are you ready for the fight?" Nemesis replied, "Yes, massa; but I don't come back." Col. Cresap jestingly said, " Well, Nemesis, if you are afraid of being killed, you can stay here with the women, and I will go without you." Nemesis hesitated a moment, and then replied, as lie continued to clean his rifle, " Massa, you knows I's not afraid; where you go, I will go; where you fight, Nemesis will fight; but Nemesis will not come back." The colonel, feeling that he had wronged Nemesis, — for he was as brave a man as ever drew a trigger, — and touched also by the devotion of his servant to his person, said, " Nemesis, I did but joke; I know you are not afraid. You and I will keep together today; I will defend you with my life; and if I get into danger or difficulty, you will be by my side to aid me." With the morning light Cresap and his band of avengers were upon the Indians' trail. They pursued them over the Savage Mountain, and as far west as the next mountain, where they overtook them and had a severe battle, killing several of the Indians. Fighting bravely at his master's side. Nemesis was slain, and that mountain was named by his companions " Negro Mountain," and it is still known by that name. Nemacolin, an Indian who was strongly attached to the Cresap family, and was employed by Col. Thomas Cresap to mark the route from Cumberland to Redstone, now Brownsville, on the Monongahela, performed his work so well that Gen. Braddock, who afterwards traversed the mountains in 1756, followed the path marked out by Nemacolin, and the present location of the National road varies but little from it. Nemacolin, after lingering for several years behind his brethren who had gone towards the setting sun, making his home with Daniel Cresap, followed his tribe; but before leaving he placed his son George with Daniel Cresap, and left him behind. George lived with the family for years, going occasionally on " the hunt," but always returning to Cresap's. He died at the family residence, in old age, cared for by the family of Thomas, the youngest son of Daniel, who resided in the family mansion, a stone house afterwards occupied by Moses Rawlings. This house is situated twelve miles above Cumberland by rail. " Indian George" for years had his hunting camp in the valley which lies between Dan's and Savage Mountains. The valley is traversed by a small stream which takes its rise at Frostburg, and running south empties into the Potomac at Westernport, opposite the village of Piedmont. The stream has been called " George's Creek" from this circumstance from that time to the present. The valley of George's Creek is the center of the great coal region of Allegany County. The stream which takes its rise at the mines of the Cumberland Coal and Iron Company, east of Frostburg, and empties into Will's Creek immediately west of the point where Will's Creek finds a passage through the gorge of Will's Mountain, is called Braddock's Run, from the fact that Braddock's road passes along its banks during its whole course. The stream which rises north of Frostburg at the mines of the Frostburg Coal Company, and empties into Will's Creek four miles above Cumberland, was called "Jennings' Run" from the fact that a pioneer hunter by that name had his hunting station upon its banks. Thus we find that the mountains and the streams which flow at their base have received their names from the Indian or first white man who was known to have occupied or traversed them. The whole county from Town Creek, the stream dividing Allegany from Washington Counties, is traversed by mountains running from south to north from Town Hill to the " Big Back Bone," and geologically is a " transition formation," in which are usually found coal, iron, and lead. Coal and iron have long since been discovered in great abundance, but no lead has as yet been found, though there is a tradition, handed down from the earliest of the white settlers, that a very rich and productive lead-mine in the county or neighboring mountains of Virginia was known to the Indians. Out of this tradition a man named Paugh made some money by pretending to reveal the locality of the mine, as shown to him by Indian " George."

The city of Cumberland, the county-seat, is six hundred and forty-two feet above tide-water, at the junction of Will's Creek with the Potomac. The highest point of the National road is on " Kyser's Ridge," thirty miles west of Cumberland, two thousand eight hundred and forty-eight feet above tide, the highest peaks of the Alleghanies in the county being about three thousand feet.

Of the early settlers one of the most noteworthy was Michael Cresap, the third son of Col. Thomas Cresap. Jefferson, in his " Notes on Virginia," calls him " Col. Michael Cresap." He was the first captain commissioned by Maryland in the Revolutionary war, and marched from Frederick County to Boston, where he joined the army under Gen. Washington. His health gave way under the hardships of a camp-life. He endeavored to reach home, but died in New York on the 5th of October, 1775. He was a man of great bravery, and one to whom all who knew him or lived within his reach looked as a leader in time of danger. This is shown by the fact that when it was known on the Ohio, among the frontier settlers where Capt. Cresap had lived, that Maryland had appointed him a captain in the Maryland Line, twenty of those daring spirits at once crossed the Alleghanies, and joined his company and marched with him to Boston.'

Early Roads. — Braddock's road was made in 1754, under the direction of the Ohio Company, aided by traders and Indians, and was the one that had been blazed by Nemacolin when he and Col. Cresap first chose a route over the mountains. It was subsequently followed by Braddock's army through the advice of Sir John St. Clair. It went from Will's Creek through the valley which is now Green Street. It was used as the only road to the West until 1818, when the National road was made, the latter crossing the former at various points. This old road is as visible to-day as a century ago, though in its bed in many places immense trees are growing. Just where the Cresaptown road leads off, about a hundred yards east of Mr. Steel's residence on the National road, the Braddock road bore a little to the north, and ran straight to almost the top of Will's Mountain at a steep grade, and then descended to the bed of the National pike at Sandy Gap. Here it crossed the valley of the present National road to the base of the hills. Near the " Five-Mile House" it crossed from the left to the right of the National road, and ran almost parallel with it to within two hundred yards of the " Six-Mile House." When Col. Bouquet proposed his expedition of 1758, Washington thought it would be made over the Braddock road. But the colonel announced his intention of building a new road from Raystown to the Ohio River, and of marching part of his army by that route, and the other portion by Braddock's road, the two bodies to form a junction on the Monongahela. He was induced to this course by the dispatches of Braddock, which led him to the belief that the old road was almost impassable, and by interested persons in Pennsylvania, who told him a new one with light grades could be easily made. Washington, who had used the old road in 1754 and 1755, wrote as follows to Bouquet:

"Camp near Fort Cumberland, 25 July, 1758.

" Dear Sir, — I shall most cheerfully work on any road, pursue any route, or enter upon any service that the general (Forbes) or yourself may think me usefully employed in or (Qualified for, and shall never have a will of my own when a duty is required of me. But since you desire me to speak my sentiments freely, permit me to observe that after having conversed with all the guides, and having been informed by others who have a knowledge of the country, I am convinced that a road to be compared with Genera! Braddock's road, or, indeed, that will be fit for transportation even by pack-horses, cannot be made. I have no predilection for the route you have in contemplation for me, not because difficulties appear therein, but because I doubt whether satisfaction can be given in the execution of the plan. I know not what reports you may have received from your reconnoitering parties, but I have been uniformly told that if you expect a tolerable road by Raystown you will be disappointed, for no movement can be made that way without destroying our horses."

Gen. Forbes, however, determined upon the new route through Pennsylvania from Raystown.

Washington wrote again from Fort Cumberland on Aug. 2, 1758, stating the advantages of Braddock's over the proposed new road. The new road was made, but the sequel proved that Washington was right, for in the march over the obstacles were nearly insurmountable, and the army's progress greatly retarded, while, if Braddock's road had been taken, not half the time would have been consumed nor so many horses lost.

Road from Fort Frederick to Fort Cumberland. — In December, 1758, the General Assembly considered the state of the road between Fort Frederick and Fort Cumberland, with the object of constructing a shorter route between these two important forts which should be all in Maryland, and thus save the necessity of fording the Potomac River.

Col. Thomas Cresap, Joseph Chapline, E. Dorsey, Josias Beall, Francis King, and Capt. Crabb were appointed a committee to inquire into the feasibility of clearing; up a new road between these points through the province of Maryland, and to estimate its cost. Their report was as follows:

"Your committee have made an inquiry into the situation of the present wagon-road from Fort Frederick to Fort Cumberland, and are of the opinion that the distance by that road from one fort to the other is at least eighty miles, and find that the wagons which go from one fort to the other are obliged to pass the river Potowmack twice, and that for one-third of the year they can't pass without boats to set them over the river.

" Your committee have also made an inquiry into the condition of the ground where a road may be made most conveniently to go altogether on the north side of the Potowmack, which will not exceed the distance of sixty-two miles, at the expense of £250 current money.

" Your committee are of the opinion that n. road through Maryland will contribute much to lessen the expense of carrying provision and warlike stores from Fort Frederick to Fort Cumberland, and will induce many people to travel and carry on a trade in and through the province, to and from the back country."

The road was finally built, and was of great use in settling up the western part of the province.

In compliance with an act of the Legislature incorporating a company to make a turnpike road from the Pennsylvania line, to intersect the road then making by the Somerset and Cumberland turnpike company, and thence in the direction of Cumberland, to intersect the National road, subscription books were opened at Slicer's hotel, in Cumberland, on the first Monday in August, 1833, by the commissioners, — Bene S. Pigman, William McMahon, Jacob Snyder, Gustavus Beall, John M. Buchanan, Joseph Everstine, George Blocher, Martin Rizer, Jacob Tomlinson.

" The Northwestern Turnpike Company, of Allegany," through its commissioners, — Alexander Smith, Frederick A. Castings, Jonathan W. Magruder, George Reinhart, John McHenry, and John Hoyer, — opened books for subscription Aug. 26, 1833, to make a turnpike road from the North Branch of the Potomac River, at the point where the " Northwestern turnpike of Virginia" crosses said river, which was near Alexander Smith's; thence through that part of Maryland lying between the North Branch of said river and the western boundary line of said State, to intersect the " Northwestern turnpike of Virginia" near George H. A. Kunst's, a distance of about nine miles.

In 1834 the Allegany County commissioners laid out a new road from the George's Creek road, that intersected the National road near Jesse Tomlinson's, to begin near Casper Killer's, and from thence to intersect the Cherry-Tree Meadow road, near Christian Garlitz's.

They also made alterations on a road laid out four years previous, from the mouth of Mill Run, on George's Creek, to intersect the National road near Jesse Tomlinson's.

The following persons received contracts for making and repairing the National road (First Division):

1st Culvert Section, Jonathan Witt; 2nd Culvert Section, R. A. Clements.

New Location, Section No. 2, Gustavus Beall; No. 3, Mattingly & Mulholland; No. 4, Edmund Bulger; No. 5, Cahone A Moore; No. 6, Miller, Baker k Co.; No. 7, Lonogan, O'Neal & Kennedy; No. 8, Thomas Feely.

Old Road, Section No. 9, R. A. Clements; No. 10, Hewes, Stewart A Howard; No. 11, John Neff; No. 12, Josiah Porter; No. 13, Hewes, Stewart A Co.; No. U, Meshack Frost; No. 15, Joseph Dilley; No. 16, Isaiah Frost; No. 17. T. Beall & Coombs: No. 18, M. Meneer: No. 19, Adam Shooltre; No. 20, .Michael McGaverin.

Mr. Fielding had the contract for building the second bridge.

United States National Road. — In 1806 a road leading from Cumberland to the State of Ohio was laid out as follows:

" Beginning at a stone at the corner of lot No. 1, in Cumberland, near the confluence of Will's Creek and the north branch of the Potomac River; thence extending along the street westwardly to cross the hill lying between Cumberland and Gwynn's at the gap where Braddock's road passes it; thence near Gwynn's and Jesse Tomlinson's, to cross the Big Youghiogheny near the mouth of Roger's Run, between the crossing of Braddock's road and the confluence of the streams which form the Turkey Foot; thence to cross Laurel hill near the forks of Dunbar's Run, to the west foot of that hill, at a point near where Braddock's old road reached it near Guest's old place, now Col. Isaac Mason's; thence through Brownsville and Bridgeport to cross the Monongahela River below Josias Crawford's ferry; and thence on as straight a course as the country will admit to the Ohio River at a point below the mouth of Wheelen Creek and the lower point of Wheelen Island."

This road was one hundred and seventeen miles in length, of which twenty-four passed through Maryland. It was laid out by Joseph Kerr and Thomas Moore. In July, 1813, thirty-four miles of it had been constructed from Cumberland to Brownsville, Pa., or at least worked upon. It was to have been thirty feet wide. The whole cut of timber was to be sixty feet wide, and the road-bed, to the width of twenty foot, to be covered with stone twelve inches deep, none longer than three inches, and the artificial stratum to be supported on each side by good and solid shoulders.

The National turnpike, which led over the Alleghanies from the east to the west, is a glory departed, and the traffic that once belonged to it now courses through other channels; but it still lives in the memories of some of the aged citizens of Allegany County, and not infrequently a glow of excitement and enthusiasm will mantle their cheeks when mention is made of it. Those who have participated in the traffic over that renowned thoroughfare are loth to admit that there were ever before such landlords, such taverns, such dinners, such whisky, such bustle, or such endless cavalcades of coaches and wagons as could be seen between Wheeling and Frederick in the palmy days of the old National "pike." And it is certain that when coaching days were palmy, no other post-road in the country did the same amount of business as this fine old highway, which opened the West and Southwest to the East. The wagons were so numerous that the leaders of one team had their noses in the trough at the end of the wagon ahead, and the coaches, drawn by four or six horses, dashed along at a speed of which few have any conception. Besides the coaches and wagons, there were gentlemen traveling singly in the saddle, with all the accoutrements of the journey stuffed into their saddle-bags, and there were enormous droves of sheep and herds of cattle, which at times blocked the way for miles and elicited from the travelers expressions of disgust often " more striking than classic."

The old National road has echoed to the tread of great men. Clay, Jackson, Taylor, Harrison, Houston, Polk, Crockett, and a host of others were wont to pass over it on their way to the national capital.

The compactness of the traffic secured it from marauders to some extent, but the traveler by coach had his expedition spiced by the occasional assaults of highwaymen, or road agents, as they are more elegantly styled in modern times, and there are places along the pike whose very names bespeak the terrors they occasioned in the olden times. Nearly every mile had its tavern, and every tavern its pretty maid or jovial host.

There were rival lines of coaches, and the competition led to overdriving and many accidents. The passengers became partisans of the line by which they traveled, and execrated the opposition and its patrons. The threats of the disputants were often emphasized by an exhibition of bowie-knives and pistols, which more than once led to the verge of a battle. But among themselves the passengers in each coach were fraternally intimate, and the driver was usually an old hand, who could tell stories by the hour to beguile his companions on the box-seat.

The rival lines brought rival taverns into existence, and as the two opposition coaches drove into a town for supper, they pulled up before separate houses. The survivors of the old days are united in giving credit for the uniform excellence of all the taverns. They were clean, spacious, generously conducted, and in some instances so durably built that they are still in good condition. The gilded and glittering sign swung out from a pole or staff, and a moss-grown trough overflowed and trickled melodiously before the porch, at one end of which an archway led into the stable-yard. The interior was substantially furnished, without filigree or veneer. The floors were sanded, and the beams in the ceiling were uncovered. An hour before the coach was due the landlord was to be found in a little alcove of the tap-room transferring his liquors from demijohns to bottles, setting his glasses in single file, and bidding his servants make haste with the supper. The villagers appeared at their doors; for the arrival of the coach, although a very familiar event, acquired a fresh interest from day to day, and as they glanced towards the curve at the foot of the hill, their anticipations were soon fulfilled. Here it came, ahead of time, swaying and pitching perilously, the horses at full gallop, and the driver swinging his whip with a pistol-like snap over their heads. No sooner did mine host at the table hear it than, with a parting admonition to the kitchen, he hastened to the porch, and stood there with a smiling face, the picture of welcome, as the coach rounded up under the elms and chestnuts, and the driver threw his reins to the waiting hostlers.

Most of the travelers were the farmers, stock-raisers, and " merchandisers" of the West, dressed in homespun cloth and buckskin; but a few indicated familiarity with the usages of polite society by their costumes; and in the case of the statesmen bound to Washington, it was the custom to blend urbanity of speech with loftiness of manner in such discreetly measured proportions that the combination preserved the dignity of the representative, and satisfied the self-esteem of the constituent with a degree of success that might excite the emulation of politicians in our own time.

Although there was no unreasonable haste, ten miles an hour, including delays, was not an unusual degree of speed in the days of stage-coaches. According to John B. Reeside, of Washington, who drove over the road, four kinds of coaches were used on the " pike" at different periods. The first was built at Cumberland by Abraham Russell, and carried sixteen passengers; and when this was found too cumbrous, a lighter vehicle, almost egg-shaped, and built at Trenton, was adopted. The latter was succeeded by the Troy coach, carrying nine passengers inside and two outside, which was finally superseded by the familiar Concord.

The traffic seemed like a frieze with an endless procession of figures. There were sometimes sixteen gayly-painted coaches each way a day; the cattle and sheep were never out of sight; the canvas-covered wagons were drawn by six or twelve horses, with bows of bells over their collars; the families of statesmen and merchants went by in private vehicles; and, while most of the travelers were unostentatious, a few had splendid equipages and employed outriders. Some of the passes through the Alleghanies were as precipitous as any in the Sierra Nevada, and the mountains were as wild. Within a mile of the road the country was a wilderness; but on the highway the traffic was as dense and as continuous as in the main street of a large town.

The National road proper was built from Cumberland, Md., to Wheeling, Va., by the United States government, the intention being to establish it as far as St. Louis. It was excellently macadamized; the rivers and creeks were spanned by stone bridges; the distances were indexed by iron mile-posts, and the toll-houses supplied with strong iron gates. Its projector and chief supporter was Henry Clay, whose services in its behalf are commemorated by a monument near Wheeling. Henry Beeson, a former congressman, was also an advocate of it, and on one occasion he made a public speech, in which he showed the audience — so flexible are arithmetic and imagination combined — that from the number of horse-shoes it would necessitate, and the number of nails, it was better adapted to promote trade than any railway could be. This road, which was completed in 1821, is one hundred and twenty-one miles long. From Cumberland to Baltimore the road, or a large part of it, was built by certain banks of Maryland, which were rechartered in 1816, on condition that they should complete the work. So far from being a burden to them, it proved to be their most lucrative property for many years, yielding as much as twenty per cent.; and it is only of late years that it has yielded no more than two or three per cent. The part built by the Federal government was transferred to Maryland some years ago, and the tolls became a political perquisite; but within the past three years it has been acquired by the counties of Allegany and Garrett, which have made it free.

Before Braddock's road had been passed over by his expedition it was a mere pathway, by which the footman and an occasional horseman could reach the frontier in trafficking with the Indians. This now historic road when made was of sufficient capacity to pass vehicles; but it was simply a removal of timbers and rocks; there was no engineering, grading, or smoothing. Scarcely a wagon passed over it for the first thirty years. Such heavy articles as salt, iron, etc., were carried from the East to the West over the mountains on pack-horses.

As the eastern part of the country increased in wealth and population, its accretions moved to the opposite direction over this route, and in time it became the most important thoroughfare in the country to the inviting West. Its lines in many places, upon inspection, can still be identified. A full-grown cherry-tree stood a few years ago in the center of Braddock's road, on the farm of Mr. Geo. F. Gephart. It was entirely abandoned over sixty years ago, and every tavern and building that once lined it has entirely disappeared. The Tomlinson Hotel, the most noted of all, built over a hundred years ago, was torn down about fifteen years ago. Its site is now a truck-patch.

After the organization of the general government, in 17811, the tide from the East to the West, mainly over this way, increased steadily, so much so that the road became worn out and utterly inadequate to the public necessities, and this decayed public artery was the first to receive national treatment.

As far back as 1806, the year in which Henry Clay was admitted into the United States Senate, the sum of $30,000 was appropriated to open and make the " Cumberland road" from Cumberland to the Ohio River. From this time on it was known as the " Cumberland" road. In 1810, 860,000 were appropriated to be spent between Cumberland and Brownsville, Pa. In 1811, $50,000 were appropriated to be applied between the same points; in 1812, $30,000, to be used within the same limits; and in 1815, $30,000; in 1818, the sums of $52,984 and $260,000 were appropriated for the Cumberland road generally.

In 1820, $10,000 were appropriated preliminary to its extension from Wheeling west. In 1823, $250,000 were appropriated for the road between Cumberland and Wheeling. This law for the first time authorized a superintendent to be appointed by the President. In 1825, $150,000 were given to be used between Canton and Zanesville, Ohio; in 1827, $30,000 between Cumberland and Wheeling; in 1829, $100,000 to extend the road beyond Zanesville, Ohio; in 1831, the aggregate sum of $244,915.85 was appropriated for the same object in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. In 1832, $150,000 were appropriated to be used east of the Ohio River. The law of 1833, ch. 79, is an assent to the act of Virginia, taking control of her part of the road. The act of 1834 appropriated $450,000 to be applied in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and $300,000 east of the Ohio River. In 1835, $200,000 in Ohio, $100,000 in Indiana, and $346,186.58 were appropriated for the road east of the Ohio. This was the last money voted by Congress for the road east of the Ohio River. In 1836, $200,000 were given to Ohio's part, $250,000 to Indiana, and $150,000 to Illinois, and in 1838 the sum of $150,000 was appropriated to each of these rising States, — that is, for the road within the limits of each State, this being the last money voted by Congress for the National road.

Most of the sums spent east of the Ohio River came from the general funds of the government, but the money applied on the road in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois was taken entirely from the proceeds of the sales of the public lands within these States.

The " Cumberland road" began on the west side of Will's Creek. Crossing Will's Mountain at Sandy Gap, it followed the general route of Braddock, rarely, however, using that road as a bed. It appears that Brownsville was the first objective point to be reached. The manner of construction was first to clear and grade the bed and then to closely overlay it with strong flat rock, and upon this face or foundation was placed a covering of well-broken stone and earth. It was officially styled the " Cumberland road," but popularly it was known as the National road, because built by the government, and no man did as much for it as its great friend Henry Clay. He was affectionately called its father, and he passed over it many times in his forty-five years of public service. Its costly stone bridges and culverts are all to-day as sound and safe as when built, except the parapet walls, which have been thrown down by maliciously disposed persons. Although much repaired, these structures still have a despoiled appearance from such vandalism. Two of these, the Little and Big Crossings, about twenty miles apart, are quite different from the bridges now in use. The former, with its immense semicircular arch of great width and height, is a never-failing source of admiration to the engineer of to-day. Such a work can be built now with one-half the labor and cost, but in 1815 it was a triumph of engineering skill. In after-years the superintendent and engineer, David Shriver, told of the anxiety which consumed him. The great arch rested upon a strong wooden structure, which was so arranged as to be thrown down by taking away a key, somewhat after the manner of launching a vessel. The general impression was that when the wood-work was removed the magnificent archway would follow in a chaotic mass.

The time was fixed for the ceremony, for they had such things in those days. Failure would be ruin to the great work as well as himself, so the courageous superintendent had his misgivings. But the night before he and a few of his aids secretly removed the key, and in this way tested its safety. The day came, and the launch was made in safety and to the satisfaction of the assembled multitude.

Notwithstanding the large sums of money appropriated for and expended on the old National road, the year 1830 found it in a worn-out and almost useless condition. Traffic and travel on it had increased heavily. Little of it was left except the rough stone bed. The old patching system of repairing here and there with a few broken stone would not answer. It would wear and wash away suddenly. It was seen that a new plan had to be adopted. Macadamizing was decided upon, and carried into effect.

This great national enterprise was commenced about the year 1832, and was accomplished under the supervision of the War Department. Some of the most prominent and talented young men of the army were especially selected as engineers, such as Lieut. Mansfield, and Capts. Delafield, McKee, Bliss, Hetzell, Williams, Colquit, and Cass, all West Pointers. A word as to the fate of these young men: Mansfield fell at the battle of Antietam, a major-general in the United States army; Williams fell at the storming of Monterey, in Mexico, along with Lieut.-Col. William H. Watson, of Maryland; and Col. McKee at Buena Vista, in the same country; Maj. Hetzell died on his return from the Mexican war, at Louisville; Gen. Delafield and Col. Bliss died but recently; Gen. Colquit, of South Carolina, followed the fortunes of his State during the civil war, and died' before its conclusion. George M. Cass, a nephew of the great statesman of that name, still survives, and is, or was not long since, president of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad Company.

During this reconstruction of the road its route by way of Green Street, Cumberland, and Sandy Gap was changed to Mechanic Street and through the narrows, and on to the " Old Burnt House," where it again connected with the former route. This change was made in 1834, and was a great improvement. Limestone was quarried wherever it could be obtained, and in some instances was hauled as much as ten miles by teams of four and six horses. When the stone was properly broken it was spread with a horse-rake over the bed of the road to a depth of about nine inches. The hardships of heavily-laden wagons in passing over such a bottom can be readily imagined. All sorts of stratagems were resorted to compel vehicles to pass over these compact stones. No doubt there was as much swearing done in those days by the teamsters as the Dutch soldiers did in Flanders. However, in time the road became packed and solidified, and as smooth as some avenues in Washington City. From about 1834 to 1845 it was the finest road in America, and in all probability in the world, considering its length, reaching from Baltimore to or near St. Louis.

The line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reached Cumberland from the east in the fall of 1842, and here it rested until 1849. During this interval the National road was a substitute for the present railroad to the Ohio River. The many warehouses in Cumberland in the spring and fall seasons would be choked with freight for the West. Sometimes weeks would elapse before it could be moved, on account of a deficiency in transportation. Many people in those days made wagoning a distinct and profitable business, and in the busy seasons a number of small teams called sharpshooters made their appearance on the pike, to the disgust of the regular carriers. No toll was charged upon this road until the act of the General Assembly of 1831, which authorized not more than two toll-gates in Maryland. This act also authorized the government to appoint a superintendent, with a salary of five hundred dollars, an office of great influence. The act of 1835 further regulated the tolls. The canal and the railway have superseded the old National pike, and it is not often now that a traveler disturbs the dust that has accumulated on it.

The dust, indeed, has settled and given root to grass and shrubbery, which in many places show how complete the decadence is. The black-snakes, moccasins, and copperheads, that were always plentiful in the mountains, have become so unused to the intrusion of man that they sun themselves in the center of the highway. Many of the villages which were prosperous in the coaching days have fallen asleep, and the wagon of a peddler or farmer is alone seen where once the travel was enormous.

The men who were actively engaged on the road as drivers, station-agents, and mail-contractors are nearly all dead. The few that remain are very old and decrepit. But the taverns, with their hospitable and picturesque fronts, the old smithies, and the toll-gates have not entirely been swept away. Enough has been left to sustain the interest and individuality of the highway, which from Frederick to Cumberland is rich by dower of Nature, independently of its past.

A correspondent of Harper's Monthly, who made a journey over the road in 1879, writes: "We made Frederick our starting-point and entered it from the fertile meadows basined in the Blue Ridge, which are as sunny and ns tranquil ns the description of them in Whittier's poem. We hired a team to Cumberland. The driver's whip cracked, and Frederick was soon invisible by reason of the foliage which engirths it. Placid meadows were on both sides of us; the Blue Ridge was like a cloud in the south, and ahead of us was the famous highway, dipping and rising by many alternations towards a hazy line of hills in the west, like a thread of white drawn through the verdant meadows. The chestnuts made arches over it, and divided its borders with tulip poplars and the blossoming locusts, which filled the air with fragrance. A Roman highway buried under the farm-lands of England could not be more in contrast with the activity of its past than this. The winding undulations revealed no travelers; some of the old taverns with windows out gaped vacantly, while a few others were occupied; a part of the toll-houses were abandoned, and those which do double duty find so little business that the keeper combines his occupation with that of the cobbler or blacksmith. Reaching the crest of the hill, we found the Middletown Valley below us,— as fair a prospect and as fertile and beautiful a reach of country as the world contains, and it was through here that Lee came ' marching down, horse and foot, into Frederick Town.' South Mountain was purple in the west; and the gap of Harper's Ferry gave an inlet to the valley on the southwest. Up here the Union artillery swept the meadows, reaping a different harvest from that which is now ripening: and every acre has known the anguish and fierce heat of war's arbitrament. Midway in the valley, and bordering the highway, which courses in a straight line, stands the sleepy little village off Middletown. embowered in the chestnuts, oaks, and locusts. All the visible inhabitants wore loafing and yawning under the foliage at the doors of the shops, on the porch of the tavern, or under the wide eaves of the cottages. Then we toiled up the South Mountain, upon which the prolific growth of the chestnut forms endless zigzag lines, dotted with occasional pines: the grade is very heavy, but the coaches went up at a gallop, and came down without brakes. On the farther side is Boonsboro", and between Boonsboro' and Hagerstown the first macadam pavement used in the United States was laid. Hagerstown has suffered little by the withdrawal of the coaches; it is the busy and crowded seat of a Maryland county; but its old citizens lament the change, and cherish their reminiscences of the day when the 'pike' was in its glory.

'' ' From here to Boonsboro',' said Mr. Eli Mobley, an old coach-maker, to us, ' the road was the finest in the United States, and I have seen the mail-coaches travel from Hagerstown to Frederick, twenty-six miles, in two hours. That was not an unusual thing either, and there were through freight-wagons from Baltimore to Wheeling, which carried ten ton, and made nearly as good time as the coaches. They were drawn by ten horses, and the rear wheels were ten feet high. Although there was so much traffic. the mountains were very wild, and sometimes you would find a bear or deer on the road. The snakes were powerful abundant. South Mountain was full of 'em, — black-snakes, copperheads, moccasins, and rattlesnakes, I've seen Clay and Jackson often; neither of them was handsome, and one thing that strikes me is the fidelity of all the likenesses I've seen of 'em. Jackson and his family came along quite often, the family in a private carriage and the general on horseback, which he changed now and then for a seat in the vehicle. He was very fond of horses, and his own were something to look at. Once T was in Wheeling when the general was expected to arrive, and a friend of mine, Daniel Steinrode, had purchased a team which he intended to present to him. Steinrode had a speech prepared, and the horses beautifully groomed. The arrival of the general was announced, and he went forth to meet him with the speech and the team, but when he reached the Ohio River, he found Jackson going down stream, and waving his hat to a crowd from the stern of the boat. Steinrode was very much crestfallen, and I had to laugh at him until my sides ached.' An echo of the mirth convulsed the old gentleman now, and when he recovered he spoke of Clay, who was 'courteous, but not familiar.' One time Clay was coming East on the mail-coach, which was upset upon a pile of limestone in the streets of Uniontown. After the accident he relighted his cigar, looked after the other passengers, and said, " This, gentlemen, is undoubtedly mixing the clay of Kentucky with the limestone of Pennsylvania." Mr. Clay was a very witty man, and very clever, too. He bowed to every one along the road who bowed to him.' Another survivor of the old 'pike' is Samuel Nimmy, a patriarchal African, who played tambourine fur Gen. Jackson and drove on the road for many years. He is an odd mixture of shrewdness, intelligence, and egotism. His recollections are vivid and detailed in point of names and dates, although he is eighty-six years old, and he describes his experiences in a grandiose manner that is occasionally made delicious by solecisms or sudden lapses info negro colloquialisms. He lives in a comfortable cottage at Hagerstown; the walls of his parlor are hung with certificates of membership in various societies, and with various patriotic chromos; the center-table is loaded with books, principally on negro emancipation and the events of the civil war.

"West of Cumberland the road was bordered by an extraordinary growth of pines, the branches of which were so intermeshed that they admitted very little daylight, and from its prevailing darkness the grove was called the ' Shades of Death.'

Uncle Sam Nimmy and others declare that on the most effulgent day not a ray ever penetrated it, and that it was absolutely black, which is a piece of picturesque exaggeration. It was very dark, however, according to the statements of more exact observers, including Mr. B. F. Reinhart, the well-known painter, and it afforded a favorable opportunity for highwaymen. ' I had a very keen team, sir', said Uncle Sam; 'a very keen team indeed, and nobody knows more about a horse than I do. I drove that team, sir, nine months without the least sickness to the horses, and I flatter myself that we had some rough service. Well, sir, one day I was driving through the Shades of Death with a few passengers. It was darker than usual; it was Cimmerian— Cimmerian, sir; and one said to me, '' Don't you hear the sound of horses walking?" I listened. I did hear the sound of walking, and seemed to see — although it was so dark — several figures in the woods. Someone then opened the pistol-case and examined the weapons. The flint had been removed from each pistol, and about that time, sir, my hair began to get curly. The passengers did not like the way affairs were looking, and I thought that if big men were scared there was no reason why a little one shouldn't be scared too. I admit, sir, I was scared, and I just assure you, gentlemen, that I made every horse tell until we came to a tavern. But I wasn't naturally timid: I was puzzled as to how the flints came out of those pistols, and we never could unravel the mystery. I've had a varied life, sir, and always took an interest in general travel to see if anyone was bigger than I was, sir. I started a company of volunteers in the war, and then started a lodge, and bought up all the blue cambric there was in town for sashes. We had a parade, and Hagerstown never seen the like since she became a tavern. Next I started the Sons of Freedom, and came in contact with the law, because it was supposed we had an underground railroad on hand. I was vindicated, of course, and was as big as a dog at hog-killing. I was born on the 29th of August, 1793, and I am just as bright as ever I was. I've been frozen on the box, but I never allowed anybody to compose upon me.'

" Beyond Hagerstown the road is level and uninteresting, save for the capacious taverns, mostly in disuse, the stables, and smithies which time has left standing. Some of the old forges are exceedingly picturesque, notably one near Fairview.

" Three brothers named Boyd, all of them veterans in the stage-line, formerly resided at Clear Spring, but they are all now dead. In a yard at Clear Spring we found the last of the coaches, a massive vehicle in faded grandeur, with paneled landscapes and a superabundance of gilt ornamentation, with springs so flexible that the pressure of as light a foot as you please sways it, and with a commodious interior upholstered in crimson damask, out of which all the brilliancy has been extracted by time. If the road between Hagerstown and Clear Spring is unattractive, between Clear Spring and Hancock it approaches in beauty the grandest passes of the Sierras. There is a salient resemblance between the scenery of the Alleghanies and that of the Sierras. The two ranges have the same dusky and balsamic profusion of evergreens, the same deep and ever-silent glens imprisoned by almost sheer walls of pine, the same continuity and multiplicity of ridges, and in many other superficial points the similarity is sustained. The difference in altitude is not observable without instruments, and the affinity continues to the end with two exceptions. Above the evergreen ridges of the Sierras an occasional and perpetually snow-clad peak lifts a glistening apex to the azure: that is one difference; and while the majesty of the Western mountains is harrowing, the beauties of the Alleghanies are invariably soothing and comprehensible. The road begins the ascent of the mountain at Clear Spring, and is overarched with oaks, chestnuts, and sugar-maples. As the grade increases the pines multiply, and near the summit the hardy evergreens are almost alone. The view expands, and throughout the tangled shrubs and loftier foliage, between which the road is cut, glimpses are revealed of pale-green valleys and mountain walls, singular even along their crests. At the summit of Sideling Hill there is an immense prospect of ridges beyond ridges visible along their whole length, which look like the vast waves of a petrified ocean. The basin disclosed is of extraordinary extent, and the mountains are crowded together with little more than gorges between, in which lie depths of blue and purple haze.

"The turmoil of traffic here, the beat of hoofs, the rumble of wheels, the tintinnabulations of the teamsters' bells, the bellowing of cattle, the bleating of sheep, and the cries of the drovers, once so familiar, would now sound strangely inappropriate; but even in the travelers of long ago a thrill of novelty must have been excited by the stream of commerce flowing through these mountain confines.

" From the crest we drove down the farther slope, which has a break-neck grade, through avenues of pines and over rushing little brooklets, spending their crystal force across the road. We passed Indian Spring, the site of a noted tavern, and many primitive log cabins, which shelter the few agriculturists of the region, and in about an hour we came into a long, narrow valley, with the Chesapeake Canal embanked between the road and the flashing Potomac, on the farther side of which we could see the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad traced in the mountain-side, with the oblique dip of the rock and the ferruginous color of the earth revealed. There was an old toll-house by Che road, and not far beyond a swift curve is made around an embankment, which extends far below, and here, at Millstone Point, one of the many fatal accidents of the old times occurred. Either when the driver was intoxicated or asleep, he drove his coach down the embankment, and several persons were killed. Overfast and reckless driving often led to disasters, the liability to which was compensated for in the minds of many passengers by the speed and exhilaration of the journey. At Millstone Point, also, a committee from Hancock once came out to meet Gen. Jackson. Some excavations were being made in the neighborhood, and several blasts were fired in honor of the occasion as ' Old Hickory' approached. 'Didn't the detonations alarm your horse, general?' inquired a solicitous committeeman. 'No, sir,' said Jackson, emphatically; 'my horse and I have heard a similar sort of music before.'

" Hancock, which was one of the busiest villages on the road, is now lugubriously apathetic, and the citizens sit before their doors with their interest buried in the past. The main street is silent, and the stables are vacant. No one who ever traveled over the road can fail to remember the many excellences of Ben Bean's [tavern], which stood midway on the main street. The old house is still standing, in much the same condition that it was, — with a long white front shaded with chestnuts and locusts, with a trough of water rippling before the door, with a breezy and commodious porch, and with low-ceilinged apartments, cleanly sanded. But Ben Bean has long been gathered to his fathers, and the gayety and activity that made his tavern in a measure famous have left no echo.

"His successors are two elderly nieces . . . . . . The little alcove in the top room, where the glasses, flasks, and demijohns confronted the thirsty and exhausted traveler, is closed beyond appeal.

"Between Hancock and Cumberland the road is almost deserted, and there is no tavern in over forty miles. The isolation and wilderness of the region made it a favorite ground of the bushwhackers, where the Union soldiers suffered more than elsewhere during the late war. . . .

" It was intensely quiet and lonely on the mountain. A herd of tame deer browsed about the garden, and once or twice we heard the sound of a wild-cat in the dense wood surrounding. The old farmer talked about the 'pike.' ' The loss of it ain't very bad,' he said. ' When it was at its height all the people along here depended on it for a living, and now they are driv'n to farming, which is much better for them.'

" Cumberland profited largely by the 'pike,' especially when it was the western terminus of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway, and the point of transfer for passengers and freight going farther west or east.

" A paragraph in the local annals announces that ' the extent of passenger travel over the National road during 1849 was immense, and the reports of the agents show that from the 1st to the 20th of March the number of persons carried was 2586.' Four year later, in 1853. the same annals announce the completion of the railway to Wheeling. 'The effect was soon felt in Cumberland, as most of the stage lines were taken off, and the great business of transferring merchandise at this point was largely diminished.' But while Cumberland was the biggest depot on the ' pike,' when that route was suspended it continued to succeed through other resources, and it is now an active city.

" Among the old inhabitants is Samuel Luman, who was formerly one of the best-known drivers between Wheeling and Cumberland. One night, when he was coming through the 'Shades of Death,' he was attacked by highwaymen. He had an exciting quarter of an hour, which he will never forget, but he escaped without injury to himself or his passengers.

" West of Cumberland the National road proper extends to Wheeling, partly following the route of Gen. Braddock, who has left an interesting old mile-stone at Frostburg. The old iron gates have been despoiled, but the uniform toll-houses, the splendid bridges, and the iron distance-posts show how ample the equipment was. The coaches ceased running in 1853; the 'June Bug,' the 'Good Intent,' and the 'Landlord's,' as the various lines were called, sold their stock, and a brilliant era of travel was ended."

At what date coaches for the conveyance of travelers were introduced is not known, but it was somewhere about the year 1815. The institution, or whatever it may be called, in the beginning was very crude and imperfect. Coaches in those days were called " turtle-backs," on account of the roof resembling that reptile. They were very uncomfortable for travelers, but they were apace with the times. Stages were running between Cumberland and Baltimore some years before they commenced plying from Cumberland west.

The Troy and Concord coaches were very popular in after-times, and were called post-coaches. In their day they were thought to be as grand as Pullman's palace-cars.

The first coach of the Troy pattern was sent from Philadelphia, by James Reeside, in the winter of 1829. It had been won by the owner upon a bet on the Presidential election the previous year, and he intended President Jackson should be the first person to ride in it from Cumberland to Washington, to take his seat. Charles Howell, of Cumberland, was the driver. The President-elect came as far as Cumberland in his own private conveyance, and a poor one at that. No doubt he was pleased with the finest vehicle he had ever seen, but, " By the eternal!" he would not ride to Washington in a free conveyance, no matter how attractive and comfortable it might be. He would be under no obligations to anybody. So his old shabby two-horse carriage not only took him. to the seat of government but back to the Hermitage, eight years thereafter. However, Old Hickory bent so far as to permit a portion of his family to " christen" the coach which had been won on his own election. These fine vehicles were built at Troy, N. Y., and Concord, N. H., and cost about five to six hundred dollars. They were very strong and durable, neatly upholstered inside, with three cross-wise seats, accommodating nine passengers inside and one or two outside with the driver. The springs for years were quite a desideratum among coach-builders. Thomas Shriver, who was largely interested in staging, brought his genius into play and invented the elliptical spring, which was a decided improvement. L. B. Stockton and James Reeside were the pioneers in the business. Farther on came the late Thomas Shriver, then Alpheus Beall, now a resident of Cumberland, and some others of a later day. The fare was about equal to the oar-fare of the present time. There were opposition lines or companies at intervals, and the competition was quite spirited, riding almost free, — precisely like the railroad wars of our days.

In the traveling season it was not extraordinary for one hundred people to be sent west per day from Cumberland in these coaches. Stage-owners made money and grew rich.

The stage-drivers were a jolly set of men, proud of their situation, some of them of more importance in their own estimation than the congressman or cabinet minister riding in the coach below them. They were in some respects picked men, and their places much sought after, — politics no test, religion not expected; a reasonable amount of profanity and a sprinkle of " Piney Grove" no bar to employment. They were expected to be reliable, to possess a good share of knowledge in horse anatomy, and to use the long whip gracefully, but not too much. There are still a few of the veterans of the tin horn left. In addition to Howell we have Samuel Luman, the two Willisons, and Jacob Shuck, all respectable and successful in life, and also John Farrell, of Grantsville, now over eighty four years of age, hale and hearty. He retired from the " box" at least forty-five years ago, and has been a farmer ever since. Cass, Benton, Corwin, Douglas, Bell, and many other statesmen were familiar with this favorite high, way. Four of the eight Western Presidents passed over it in coaches or private conveyances, viz., Jackson, Harrison, Polk, and Taylor.

President Taylor and his party were in 1847 conveyed over the road under the marshalship of that most indefatigable Whig, Thomas Shriver, who with some other Cumberlanders proceeded to the Ohio River and met the Presidential party. Among the party were statesmen, politicians, and office-hunters, notably Col. Bullet, a brilliant editor from New Orleans, who was to occupy a relation to President Taylor something like that of Henry J. Raymond to Lincoln. The road was a perfect glare of ice, and everything above ground literally plated with sheeted frost. The scenery was beautiful; to native mountaineers too common to be of much interest, but to a Southerner like Gen. Taylor, who had never seen the like, it was a phenomenon. In going down a spur of Meadow Mountain the Presidential coach with the others danced and waltzed on the polished road, first on one side of the road and then on the other, with every sign of an immediate capsize, but the coaches were manned with the most expert of the whole corps of drivers. Shriver was in the rear and in the greatest trepidation for the safety of the President. He seemed to feel himself responsible for the security of the head of the nation. Down each hill and mountain his bare head could be seen protruding through the window of his coach to discover if the President's car was still upon wheels. The iron-gray head of the general could almost with the same frequency be seen outside of his window, not to see after anybody's safety, but to look upon what seemed to him an Arctic panorama. After a ride of many miles the last long slope was passed and everything was safe. At twilight the Narrows were reached, two miles west of Cumberland, one of the boldest and most sublime views on the Atlantic slope. Gen. Taylor assumed authority and ordered a halt, and out he got in the storm and snow and looked at the giddy heights on either side of Will's Creek until he had taken in the grandeur of the scenery. He had beheld nothing like it before, even in his campaigns in Northern Mexico. The President-elect was tendered a reception on his arrival at Cumberland, and the next morning he and his party left in the cars for Washington. Tolls were abolished on the National road in 1878. The last stage-coaches disappeared from it about 1870. The venerable Sandy Conner, a veteran stage-driver of forty-five years' experience, can daily be seen perched on his one-horse springwagon, carrying the mail from Frostburg to Grantsville, with an occasional passenger by his side.

From 1818 to 1820, Col. Henry Lewis, of Hagerstown, and Jacob Sides ran a line of stages from Cumberland to Uniontown, Pa. Mr. Sides afterwards became sole proprietor. In 1824, Reeside, Moore & Stockton organized a line of stages to run between Baltimore, Washington, and Wheeling. The stages left Baltimore and Washington at two o'clock in the morning on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and arrived in Wheeling in seventy-eight hours via Cumberland. A special stage left on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and made the time by daylight in four days. On March 10, 1825, Capt. John S. Dugan, proprietor of the Wheeling and Zanesville (Ohio) stage-line, was killed by the upsetting of the stage four miles east of Cumberland. In 1825 the mail stages departed from Cumberland eastward on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at six o'clock in the morning and westward at four in the afternoon, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The fare rates were:

From Baltimore to Frederick $2.00

" Frederick to Hagerstown 2.00

" Hagerstown to Cumberland 5.00

" Cumberland to Uniontown, Pa. 4.00

" Uniontown. Pa., to Washington, Pa. 2.25

" Washington, Pa., to Wheeling, Va. 2.00

Through fare $17.25

April 1, 1839, Thomas Shriver, Daniel Hutchinson, John A. Woert, Alpheus Beall, and William H. Still purchased from James Reeside & Co. all the stage stock running on the National road, and known as the Good Intent and the Pilot lines of coaches. In August the firm adopted the name of T. Shriver & Co.

In 1843, the increasing travel from the east to the west over the National road, from Cumberland to Wheeling and other points, brought out the greatest enterprise in the supply of stages for public conveyance. The different lines were The National Road Stage Company of Stockton & Stokes; Good Intent Stage Company, owned by William H. Still, John A. Woert, Alpheus Beall, and Thomas Shriver; June Bug Line, of Reeside & Sons; Landlord's Line, owned by the tavern-keepers along the line, of whom John W. Weaver, William Willis, Joseph Dilley, and Samuel Luman were prominent stage-men; and the Pioneer Line, between Wheeling and Hagerstown, of Peters, Moore & Co., which was also a favorite line. So great was the cutting of rates that the June Bug Line was forced off the road, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad gave the two old companies an advantage of two dollars per passenger over the Landlord's Line. This led to great excitement and discussions in the press, and finally the two old companies bought out the Landlord's Line, and for the next ten years the National and the Good Intent made large sums of money. The following from the Cumberland Gazette explains the stage competition:

"Delay in Traveling.

"Travelers from Baltimore to Pittsburg should be careful to obtain the best and most convenient route; at least to avoid being detained for non-payment of turnpike tolls, as the gatekeeper at Uniontown refused to open the gate to let the Good Intent and National Road Lines pass for non-payment of dues. The Express Line, in which I was a passenger, being behind, was consequently detained, the keeper refusing to open the gate, and was prevented thereby from arriving at its regular time. Eventually the tolls were paid, and we all passed on. "When a line of stages cannot pay their toll, how is it that passengers are to get on? I should advise all persons traveling this route to take the Express Line from either the city of Pittsburgh or Baltimore. Many passengers can attest the truth of this statement.

" J. Colder, a Passenger.

" Pittsburgh, May 13, 1843."

In July, 1850, a daily line of stages were put on the road from Cumberland to Bedford, Pa. In 1842 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was completed to Cumberland, in consequence of which the stage business was greatly injured between Cumberland and Baltimore. In 1852 the lines began lessening their facilities, and soon there was no connection by stage with any cities, though stages were sent to neighboring towns, for the purpose of carrying the United States mails and passengers, and until about 1872 they were not entirely suspended. In 1877 the last of the old-line coaches was brought out by some young men to run between Cumberland and the fair-grounds at the time of the exhibition. Dingy, musty, shaky, its ancient symmetry, beauty, and strength could scarcely be traced beneath the moldering hand of time, and in its creaking and groaning, as it went tottering through the streets, one could almost fancy the original of Dickens' admirable ghost story was before him. Mails are still carried to and from Flintstone by hack twice a week, but that has nothing to do with the old lines. In the days of staging two coaches were sent regularly every day from Cumberland by each company, and as many arrived. After the completion of the National road between Cumberland and Baltimore, the old " war road" was abandoned, and as the road was made west of Cumberland, coaches followed it up. Before the present road to Bedford was made, the road that led in that direction look its course over Shriver's Hill. Traces of it are yet visible on the hill-sides at the head of Bedford Street. Another road led through a wild, dismal country to Petersburg, Va., and the drivers and passengers were often startled in the night by the howling of wolves and the cries of panthers. Regular communication was kept up by coaches with Somerset, Uniontown, and Pittsburgh, and at Uniontown a coach-factory was operated for many years. The principal offices of the stage lines were in Baltimore, Frederick, Hagerstown, Cumberland, and Wheeling. The offices in Cumberland were at the National Hotel, corner of Mechanic and Baltimore Streets, and later at Barnum's House (now Weir's Hotel), and the United States Hotel (now the St. Nicholas). The stables of the Good Intent Line were situated on the east side of Center Street, a short distance north of where Harrison Street now is, and just below there Thomas Shriver carried on the business of coach-making in a large factory that he had erected. He furnished the Good Intent Line with all their coaches, but the other companies generally got their supplies from the East. The stables of the other companies were located a little to the southeast of the corner of Baltimore and Center Streets. The establishment of the first line between Cumberland and Wheeling took place in 1842. The time occupied in going from Cumberland to Baltimore, or Wheeling, was about eighteen hours. The horses were changed at the end of every ten or twelve miles, and the drivers relieved at the end of every thirty miles. The coaches were required to leave stations at a certain hour, though they often failed to make their time in bad weather. The Henry Clay (or National) road was kept up west of Cumberland by the government, and east of it, during a portion of the time, the road was maintained by a company.

Among the prominent persons who passed through Cumberland by stage were Henry Clay, Gen. Jackson, Gen. Harrison, Gen. Cass, James K. Polk, and the celebrated Indian chief Black Hawk, who was captured by Gen. Atkinson in a battle near the mouth of the Upper Iowa, in 1832. These were all carried by Samuel Luman. There was but one man employed on the stage-coaches of this section, and he was the driver. The drivers were all provided with a horn (which they blew on arriving at or departing from a station), and were armed with whatever weapons they chose to carry, and they generally chose to carry the best weapons they could get, as it sometimes happened that highwaymen attacked them, and on various occasions the mails were robbed. On Aug. 6, 1834, the United States " express mail," which was in charge of Samuel Luman, was attacked by highwaymen in the heavy pine-forest known by the name of the " Shades of Death," about seven miles west of Frostburg. The highwaymen had built a brush fence across the road, and had then withdrawn from it a short distance. When the coach came up, and as soon as it got between them and the brush, the robbers called for its surrender, but the veteran Luman, lashing his horses, drove safely over the obstruction and escaped. During the whole of the year 1841 two men, named Brady and McCormack, kept up a systematic robbery of the mails carried by the coaches, but they were finally captured, and, McCormack turning State's evidence, Brady was convicted and sent to the penitentiary, where he died.

The appropriation made by Congress for the construction of the National road was a matter of great moment to the people of Allegany County, and perhaps none more highly appreciated its importance than the citizens of Cumberland, as will appear from the following quaint account from a contemporary journal:

"The citizens of the town, on the 21st of May, 1832, in demonstration of their great joy, growing out of the appropriation made by the national government for the repair of the Cumberland road, made arrangements for the celebration of that event. In pursuance of that arrangement, Samuel Slicer, Esq., illuminated his large and splendid hotel, which patriotic example was followed by James Black, Esq. In addition to the illumination, Mr. Bunton, agent of L. W. Stockton, Esq., ordered out a coach drawn by four large gray steeds, driven by Mr. George Shuck. The stage was beautifully illuminated, which presented to the generous citizens of this place a novelty calculated to impress upon the minds of all who witnessed it the great benefits they anticipated by having the road repaired. There were also seated upon the top of the vehicle several gentlemen, who played on various instruments, which contributed very much to the amusement of the citizens, and gave a zest to everything that inspired delight or created feelings of patriotism. . . . They started from the front of Mr. Slicer's hotel, and as they moved on slowly the band played ' Hail Columbia,' ' Freemasons' March,' ' Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine,' ' Washington's March,' etc., together with a new tune composed by Mr. Mobley, of this place, and named by the gentlemen on the stage 'The Lady we Love Best,' and many others, as they passed through the principal streets of the town. On their return they played ' Home, Sweet Home,' to the admiration of all who heard it."

Bridges, Railroads, and Canal. — In a letter from George Washington, dated July 21, 1758, to Col. Bouquet, written from " Camp near Fort Cumberland," he says, " The bridge is finished at this place, and to-morrow Maj. Peachey, with three hundred men, will proceed to open Braddock's road." This bridge was across Will's Creek. In 1755, Braddock's men had prepared the timbers for it, but it is not known whether or not they completed it. They probably made a temporary structure during the fall and spring rises, when the creek was too high to allow the passage of wagons over the fords. The bridge alluded to by Washington was carried away by a flood after the town was laid out. In 1790 there was a small bridge built over Will's Creek, near the Baltimore Street bridge of today. In 1791, by order of the Levy Court, Alpheus and Thomas Beall repaired it at a cost of twenty pound;., and in the following year Joseph Kelly and William McMahon expended the same amount of money on it by the court's order. In 1795 the court selected Patrick Murdoch, John Graham, and David Hoffman to erect a bridge over Will's Creek for thirty pounds. They contracted with William Logsden in April, 1796, to rebuild the old bridge and finish it by September following. The specifications stipulated that it should be five feet higher than the old one, and sixteen feet in width, with a railing of three feet. Logsden contracted to preserve it for seven years, and to put it up again if carried off by floods, save when the water became so high as to float the bridge and thus sweep it away. His securities were Ralph and John Logsden. In 1799, £26 12s. 13d. were further levied to pay the remainder due and to improve it with extra additions. This bridge was originally built in 1790 upon wooden piers, and by occasional repairing did good service till 1804, when the high freshets injured it. The Legislature, in 1805, authorized by special act a lottery for raising two thousand dollars to erect a bridge over Will's Creek and to purchase a fire-engine for the town. The commissioners to manage the scheme were George Hoffman, William McMahon, Thomas Thistle, Upton Bruce, and David Hoffman. The bridge was built, but it was swept away by the great flood of 1810, which inundated Mechanic Street. A ferry was then substituted. A rope was run across the creek from the foot of Baltimore Street, the ends being fastened to large trees, and a boat was attached to a ring slipping along the cable. In a year or two a new wooden bridge was erected, which stood until 1820, when another flood swept it off. The county authorities then entered into an agreement with Valentine Shockey to build a chain bridge, an invention of James Finley, of Fayette County, Pa., in 1796. There were two piers at each end of single locust posts, braced together at the top. The span was one hundred and fifteen and a half feet in the clear. The deflection of the two chains stretched from one side of the creek to the other was one-sixth of the span. Trautwine's " Civil Engineer's Pocket-Book" says, " The double links, of l ¾ inch square iron, were ten feet long. The center link was horizontal, and at the level of the floor and at its ends were stirruped the two central transverse girders. From the ends of this central link the chains were carried in straight lines to the tops of the posts, 25 feet high, which served as piers or towers. The back-stays were carried away straight, at the same angle as the cables, and each end was confined to four buried stones of about half a cubic yard each. The floor was only wide enough for a single line of vehicles. All the transverse girders were ten feet apart, and supported longitudinal joists, to which the floor was spiked. There were no restrictions as to travel, but lines of carts and wagons, in close succession, and heavily loaded with coal, stone, iron, etc., crossed it almost daily, together with droves of cattle on full run. The slight band-railing of iron was hinged so as not to be bent by the undulations of the bridge. Six-horse wagons were frequently driven across on a trot. The iron was of the old-fashioned charcoal, of full thirty tons per square inch ultimate strength. The united cross-section of the two double links was 7.56 square inches, which at thirty tuns per square inch gives 227 tons for their ultimate strength, or say 76 tons with a safety of 3." Associated with the contractor, Valentine Shockey, was Godfrey Richards. In 1831, on the giving away of some of the piers, Jonathan Witt replaced them with new and larger locust posts. The bridge stood until April 25, 1838, when its western abutment gave way and the bridge fell into the creek. When it went down a boy and two men were on it, but escaped unhurt, the former walking over the debris, and the latter swimming ashore. On May 4th t)f that year the commissioners chosen to rebuild it, George Hoblitzell, George Blocher, and Gustavus Beall, advertised for proposals for a new bridge. A wooden bridge of two wooden arches from shore to shore, with a carriage-way in the middle, and a foot-walk on each side, was constructed. It was covered, had heavy lattice-work on the sides, and the floor was filled with tan-bark. Under Mayor Thomas Shriver's administration, in 1843, the Council erected new bridges over the race and paved them with stone. In the summer of 1853 the wooden bridge over Will's Creek became unsafe from its rotten timbers, and it had to be propped up. In 1854 it was replaced by an iron bridge of the Bollman pattern, erected by a Baltimore firm. It was built by the city and county jointly, the former paying one-fifth and the latter four-fifths of its cost. In 1872 the bridge over the Potomac River, connecting Cumberland with West Virginia, was erected, and subsequently two more bridges were built over Will's Creek.

On the 1st of January, 1795, a post-office was established in Cumberland, and Charles F. Broodhog was appointed postmaster. He was succeeded in that capacity by Beene S. Pigman on July 1, 1802. Since that time the postmasters with dates of appointment have been as follows:

Samuel Smith, Jan. 17, 1307; Edward Wiatt, Dec. 21, 1819; Samuel Magill, Jan. 18, 1820; James Whitehead, Oct. 19, 1824; James P. Carleton. Dec. 11, 1827; Daniel Wineon, Feb. 16, 1811; William Lynn, March 5, 1842; Jacob Fechtig, Feb. 24, 1846; James C. Magraw, May 9, 1849; William A. Taylor. June 1, 1853; Samuel Taylor, Aug. 31, 1858; George A. Hoffman, March 27, 1861; John H. Young, April 11,1865; Will H. Lowdermilk, May 13,1869; and the present occupant, H. J. Johnson, appointed March 1, 1878.

In 1813, Samuel Smith kept the office in his store above Blue Spring. In May, 1849, James C. Magraw removed the office to a one-story frame building, about forty feet from the gutter, on Baltimore Street, next to the savings-bank, where now is Reynolds' Block. On July 27, 1853, W. A. Taylor removed it to No. 93 Baltimore Street, where it was kept until November, 1869. Under the direction of Will H. Lowdermilk, then postmaster, it was changed to its present location on Center Street, between Baltimore and Frederick Streets.

Cumberland City is on the outer edge of the great coal-basin, and is connected with it by the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad, which runs from Cumberland to Piedmont; by the Eckhart Mines Branch, which runs from Cumberland to Eckhart, and other mines on the eastern edge of the coal-fields, and by the George's Creek road, which runs from Cumberland to Lonaconing. It is the principal shipping-point for the celebrated Cumberland coal. It is near the center of the main stem of that great national highway, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, two hundred and four miles from river navigation at Parkersburg and Wheeling, in West Virginia, and one hundred and seventy-eight from tide-water at Baltimore. The Pittsburgh and Connellsville Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad joins the main stem here, and connects it with Pittsburgh, one hundred and forty-nine, miles, and the oil regions of Pennsylvania. The Bedford and Huntington Branch of the Pennsylvania Railway connects it with all important points in Central and Eastern Pennsylvania. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal has its western terminus here, and connects it with tidewater at Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, and Alexandria, Va.

The inhabitants of Cumberland, as far back as 1827, were an active and progressive community. They were keenly alive to the wonderful resources their county possessed, the admirable location of the city, and the inestimable advantages to be derived from properly constructed lines of communication and transportation. The project for the construction of a railroad from Baltimore City to the Ohio River was hailed by them with the utmost enthusiasm, and every facility was extended to the company. An ill-grounded apprehension that the road was to be diverted from the line which would bring it to the city of Cumberland was the occasion of a mass-meeting, which was largely attended, and the proceedings of which were unanimously indorsed by the citizens. Wm. McMahon was chairman of the meeting, and Wm. Buskirk acted as secretary.

Resolutions were adopted urging an examination of the Cumberland route, and strongly commending it to the consideration of the railroad authorities. A committee was also appointed to meet and confer with the surveyors of the road. This committee was composed of the following: John Hoye, B. S. Pigman, David Lynn, William Reid, Martin Riser, Jr., James D. Cresap, Robert Cresap, Isaac McCarty, Thomas Greenwell. Their wishes were gratified, as the Cumberland route was chosen, and Nov. 1, 1842, the first regular passenger-cars arrived from Baltimore, and returned at six the next morning. The through fare was six and a half dollars. The schedule time arranged was: leave Cumberland at eight a.m., reaching Baltimore at six P.M., and leaving Baltimore at seven a.m., reaching Cumberland at five P.M. The express locomotive bearing President Tyler's message arrived at the Cumberland depot Dec. 5, 1842, at ten minutes before eight o'clock in the evening, making the run from the Relay House, one hundred and seventy miles, in the short space of five hours and fifty minutes, which was considered extraordinary speed and the subject of great discussion.

In 1867 Cumberland presented to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company forty acres of ground in its southern limits, whereon to build rolling-mills. The gift was accepted, and the mills were built. The erection of the mills gave work to over six hundred men, and resulted in a rapid increase of population, with a great demand for dwelling-houses. There followed a large advance in real estate, and some two hundred new dwellings were built. The avenue and several other new streets east of the railroad were quickly built up. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company completed its " Queen City Hotel," the pride of the city, in 1872, and tore down the old dingy depot at the Baltimore Street crossing and removed the station to its magnificent new hotel. Its mills are the finest in the country, and have largely added to the prosperity of the city, which gave twenty-eight thousand dollars for the land upon which they are built. They are in charge of the efficient superintendent of the company, William Robinson.

William Robinson was born in Baltimore City, May 14, 1819, and was the fourth in a family of six children of Thomas and Mary (Kelley) Robinson. The family are of Scotch-Irish descent. His father was a sailor, and died in Baltimore about 1829. All the family except William are dead. At the age of twelve William was employed in the store of William M. Johnson, with whom he remained four years. His education was limited to attendance at a private school in Baltimore. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to Wm. Jones, of Baltimore, for five years, to learn the shipsmithing trade. After the termination of his apprenticeship he worked for Mr. Jones at his trade eighteen months. For eleven years and eight months thereafter he was employed in the Canton Forge, having charge of the works, during the later years of his connection with them. He was next employed as superintendent of the Baltimore Steam Forge Bar-Iron Rolling Mill, which position he occupied twenty-two years and one month.

In October, 1878, he was appointed general superintendent of the Baltimore and Ohio Steel Rail-Mill at Cumberland, Md., which position he still holds.

These works are the most extensive of their kind in Maryland, and their successful management requires a thorough knowledge of the business in all its departments and no small amount of executive ability. In politics Mr. Robinson was first a Whig, but has been identified with the Republican party since its organization. The only secret order of which he is a member is the Powhatan Order of Red Men. He has been twice married. His first wife was Mary Jane Collins, of Baltimore. By this union one child was born, — Susan, wife of John T. Calvert, of Baltimore. His second wife is Sarah J. Nicol, of Baltimore. Their children are William H., employed in charge of the bar-mill at the Baltimore and Ohio Steel-Works; Sarah Kate, living at home; and Thomas Albert, a commission merchant in Baltimore. Mr. Robinson still retains his residence and home at Baltimore.

On Thursday, Oct. 10, 1830, the opening of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal for continuous navigation from Cumberland to Alexandria, was commemorated at Cumberland with appropriate ceremonies. On the day previous a number of gentlemen arrived in Cumberland to participate in the ceremonies. Among them were Gen. James M. Coale, president; and Messrs. John Pickell, William Cost Johnson, William A. Bradley, George Schley, and S. P. Smith, directors of the canal company; ex-Governor Sprigg, Gen. Tench Tilghman, and J. Vanclear, State agents; the Hon. William D. Merrick, late United States senator from Maryland; John L. Skinner, editor of the Plough, the Loom, and the Anvil; Henry Addison, mayor of Georgetown; and a number of others from various parts of Maryland and Virginia.

These gentlemen came by the invitation of the canal company, and were properly received and entertained by them. Col. John Pickell was accompanied by the band of the Independent Blues of Baltimore, who, soon after their arrival, made their appearance on the portico of the United States Hotel and rendered a variety of selections. About half-past eight on Thursday morning a large assemblage had collected in the street before the United States and Barnum's Hotels. About this time the Eckhart Artillery, Capt. Davidson, with a battery of two pieces, arrived and performed various military evolutions. At nine o'clock the procession was formed, the Eckhart Artillery in front, escorted by the band of the Baltimore Blues, and followed by the visitors, officers of the canal company, and State agents. Behind these were the mayor and Council of the town of Cumberland, and in their rear a large procession of the citizens of Allegany, preceded by the Mechanics' Band of Cumberland. The procession marched through the streets in the direction of the canal-locks, gathering numbers as it advanced, until, when that point was reached, there was an immense assemblage of all ages. When everything had been arranged, five canal-boats, laden with the products of the mines of Allegany, and destined for the Eastern markets, were passed through the locks amid the salvos of artillery from the Eckhart battery, accompanied by music from the bands. William Price, the distinguished lawyer, then ascended the deck of one of the boats, and delivered an eloquent address on behalf of the people of Cumberland. Gen. James M. Coale, president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, arose and replied to the speech of Mr. Price. These ceremonies being concluded, the visitors, officers of the company, and a large number of citizens embarked on the canal-packet " Jenny Lind" and the canal-boat " C. B. Fisk," which had been fitted up for their reception, and proceeded down the canal, followed by the Eckhart Light Artillery with their pieces on another boat, the coal-boats "Southampton," "Elizabeth," "Ohio," and "Delaware," belonging to the Merchants' Line of Messrs. McKaig & Agnew, and the " Freeman Rawdon," belonging to the Cumberland Line of Mr. Ward, bringing up the rear. The passage down was enlivened by the music of the bands and the firing of cannon. Arrived at a large spring ten miles east of Cumberland, the boats halted, and the company having disembarked and viewed the surrounding country, returned on board to partake of a collation prepared by the committee, — Messrs. S. P. Smith, W. A. Bradley, and John Pickell. After luncheon the fleet of boats was again put into line, and started on their return to Cumberland, the coal-boats proceeding down the canal towards their destination. The return was accomplished by night-fall, and the whole affair passed off in the most agreeable manner.

Upon the return of the company to Barnum's, they were entertained by the citizens of Cumberland at a dinner prepared by J. A. Hefelfinger, proprietor of that establishment. After the cloth was removed a number of toasts were drunk. Hon. William Cost Johnson, who, as chairman of the Committee of Internal Improvements of the House of Delegates, at December session, 1844, reported the act under which the canal was completed, rose during the course of the evening, and after alluding in handsome terms to the recent courtesies extended to the officers of the canal company by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, offered the following sentiment, which was drunk with applause:

" The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The former has happily reached its ebony harvests amid the coal-fields of the Alleghanies; may the latter journey vigorously on westward until it rejoices amidst the golden plains of far California!" Soon after the drinking of this toast the tables and chairs were removed, and the dining-room converted into a ball-room. The ball was a very brilliant entertainment, and was generally participated in by the ladies and gentlemen of Cumberland.

The magnitude of the business transmitted over the canal in the one article of coal alone can be estimated from the number of boats unloaded at the elevators in Georgetown every year. Last year six thousand boats unloaded at these elevators, averaging one hundred and twelve tons each, making the total number of tons received six hundred and seventy-two thousand. During some years it has amounted to over one million tons. The facilities for unloading are so perfect that at least sixty boats can be unloaded in a day. The freight from Cumberland is about eighty-five cents per ton, while the toll amounts to forty cents per ton. The collector's office for the company is at Georgetown, D. C, and William E. Porter is superintendent of the canal company. He was appointed from Cecil County in 1878. Previous to this he was with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad twenty-seven years, twenty as assistant master and seven as supervisor of the road. During the war he had general charge of repairing and constructing bridges west of Harper's Ferry. Previous to the battle of Winchester, in March, 1862, Gen. Shields ordered him to construct a suspension bridge across Back Creek for the passage of his army, which he accomplished in three hours, and over which Gen. Shields and his army of sixteen thousand men crossed in safety. The collector is William Snowden, from Anne Arundel County. F. M. Griffith, who has been connected with the canal since 1870, is assistant collector, and is from Beallsville. James S. Kemp, of Clarksburg, is harbor-master, and is assisted by Frank Fisher, from near Darnestown.