HISTORY: Annals of Harrisburg, 1858, pages 355-392, Dauphin County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judith Bookwalter Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/dauphin/ _________________________________________ ANNALS OF HARRISBURG Annals, Comprising Memoirs, Incidents and Statistics of Harrisburg, From the Period of Its First Settlement, For the Past, the Present, and the Future. Compiled by George H. Morgan. Harrisburg: Published by Geo. A. Brooks, 1858. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1858, By George A. Brooks, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 355 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. APPENDIX. _____ The following incidents connected with the early history of Harrisburg, unless otherwise indicated, were chiefly derived from the reminiscences of several old citizens. They give a faithful and lively picture of the borough in days of "Auld lang syne," and will be read with interest. THE PAXTON CHURCH. The Paxton Church, still standing about three miles from Harrisburg, was erected about the year 1722; and from documents in the possession of George W. Harris, Esq., it appears that his great grandfather, John Harris, furnished all, or most of the stones used in its construction. This note is made to correct the supposition of many that the Paxton Church was erected previous to the settlement of John Harris on the Susquehanna. FIRST ROAD FROM HARRISBURG TO PHILADELPHIA. The first regular road from Harrisburg to Philadelphia, by way of Lancaster and Chester counties, was procured in 1736, by petition of sundry inhabitants of said counties. A MATRON OF THE OLDEN TIME. "The wife of John Harris, the first settler, rode once on urgency to Philadelphia, the same horse, in one day! At one time when at Big Island, on the West Branch of the Susquehanna, hearing of her husband's illness, she came down in a day and night in a bark canoe." - Watson's Annals. 356 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. CUMBERLAND VALLEY IN OLDEN TIME. George W. Harris, Esq., has heard his grandmother say that the whole extent of country between the South and Blue mountains, from the west bank of the Susquehanna to Carlisle, and beyond, was without timber when she was young. Now it is a well timbered country. DERIVATIONS. Susquehanna is derived from its Indian name - Sa-os-qua-ha-na-unk, i. e., Long-crooked-river. Swatara creek is called after Suataaro, a town in the north of Ireland. SUPPLIES FOR GEN. SULLIVAN'S ARMY. A large number of the troops, and most of the supplies for Gen. Sullivan's expedition against the Indians on the Susquehanna, in 1779, passed through this place. Gen. Sullivan, with the main body of the army, reached the Susquehanna at Sunbury, by way of Easton. The supplies ascended the river in batteaux; and it is curious to know that these were used in accordance with a suggestion made by John Harris, Jr., in 1756, showing their superiority over canoes, then the universal mode of navigating the river. THE RELIGIOUS VIEWS OF JOHN HARRIS, SR. John Harris, Sr., was an Episcopalian, although he contributed liberally to the Presbyterian (Paxton) Church, then under the pastorship of the Rev. Col. Elder, in whose language "Mr. Harris was an honest a man as ever broke bread." Upon one occasion a man named Thomas Rennox, a leading elder of the Paxton Church, in company with Mr. Harris, attended a match at "Bullet playing," (a favorite pastime in old times, now forgotten,) of which they were both very fond. - 357 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. Presently the players perceived Parson Elder approaching on his way to Derry Church, when Rennox hid himself behind a tree. When the parson came up, he perceived Mr. Harris, who had "stood his ground." "Well," said the parson to Mr. Harris, "of all the men in my congregation I am most surprised to see you here," and then proceeded to give him a severe lecture. After he had got through, and was going off, Mr. Harris turned around and called out, "Thomas Rennox come out here;" where upon the deacon made his appearance and also received a sound lecturing. MULBERRY STREET GRAVE-YARD. The site of the old Bethel Church, in Mulberry street, was at one time a grave-yard. Hercules - the colored man who aided in the rescue of the first settler, Harris, from the Indians - was buried here; and his grave was recognizable until excavations were made for improving the spot, at which time his skull and a few bones were discovered, and removed by the descendant of Mr. Harris to the grave occupied by one of his children in the colored people's burial ground, at the foot of Chestnut street. While making excavations in the vicinity of the church, in May, 1858, for a new school house, the workmen exhumed a large quantity of human bones. THE FIRST BORN. Mr. Jacob Hise, who died several years ago, was the first male person born in the town after it was laid out. FIRST U. S. SENATOR FROM PENNSYLVANIA. Mr. Maclay, the founder of Maclaysburg, subsequently annexed to Harrisburg, with Robert Morris, represented Pennsylvania in the first Senate of the United States. 358 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. THE FIRST COUNTY PRISON. Mr. Peter Snyder, still living, aged eighty-one, states that the first county prison was a small two story log house, which formerly stood in the alley, back of the present prison. POND NEAR MARKET SQUARE. Some of our oldest citizens recollect seeing people skating upon a frozen pond which, at one time, occupied the site of the old Coverly House, now Kelker's hardware store, at the east corner of Market square. In the summer time the pond was the favorite resort of boys, who amused themselves fishing for frogs, &c. Subsequently, it was the site of a lumber yard. TROOPS FOR GEN. ST. CLAIR'S ARMY. Several large detachments of regular United States troops passed through the borough in 1790-1, to join the army commanded by Gen. St. Clair, operating against the Western Indians. The father of Capt. Jeremiah Reese was at that time the lessee of the Harris ferry, and Capt. Reese, then a young man, steered one of the flats which conveyed the troops across the river. THE PUMPKIN FLOOD. Captain Jeremiah Reese relates that during the celebrated "Pumpkin flood" the water covered the floor of his father's tavern [now the frame part of Hogan's tavern, in Paxton street] to the depth of two feet. THE RIVER RACE-COURSE. About the time that Harrisburg was incorporated into a borough, the lower or first bank of the river, between the two bridges, extended about thirty feet further out than it does at 359 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. the present day, the earth having been washed away to its present extent by the annual spring and fall freshets. The surface of this bank was level, and covered over with a beautiful green sward, forming a pleasing promenade for the elder villagers, and an admirable play- ground for the juveniles. In later days, the spot was invaded by "lovers of the turf;" the promenade was turned into a race-course; and the innocent prattle of children gave place to the rude and boisterous slang of horse jockeys, or the loud vivas of the multitude, applauding some favorite animal speeding along the course. DR. FENTON'S HORSE. One gentleman, Dr. Fenton, is said to have owned a horse that was considered quite a prodigy. He was trained to run the race-course without a rider, and perform divers other singular feats, one of which was to carry letters. When his master desired to communicate with a particular friend on the opposite side of the river, he would write on a piece of paper and attach it to the horse's mane; then leading the animal to the river, he would point to the opposite shore and say "go," and off the noble animal would spring into the water, nor loiter on his way until he reached the place of his destination on the opposite shore, where he would wait until the answer was prepared, with which he returned in the same manner to his master. "APPEARANCES OFTEN DECEPTIVE." Upon one occasion, John Harris, Jr., purchased from a gentleman of Philadelphia a gray horse that had obtained considerable celebrity for his racing qualities. Mr. H., however, was not aware of this fact, and used the animal alike in the carriage and plough. A short time afterwards there came to Harrisburg a man named Clark, who lived in Detroit, with the family of Thomas M'Kee. Clark was on a visit to some of his friends in this county, and had with him one of a number of blood horses 360 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. which M'Kee had imported from Europe. The animal attracted much attention from the "horse fanciers" of the village, who all agreed that it was a remarkable good looking "piece of horse flesh," and expressed a desire to see it perform on the racecourse. The owner naturally felt proud of these good opinions; and desiring to gratify the curiosity of the rustic critics, as well as his own vanity, offered to run the animal against any other horse in the neighborhood. This challenge was overheard by some of Mr. Harris' workmen, who immediately accepted it; and without the consent of their employer, repaired to a potato field in Mulberry street, near Front, where they found Isaac (one of Mr. Harris' colored men) engaged ploughing with the gray horse. This individual, after being informed of the circumstances, entered heartily into the affair, and in a short time the gray horse was unharnessed, and led by the party to the appointed race-course, which at that time was located about the line of the present canal, below Paxton street. We can well imagine the laughter and ridicule with which this unkempt animal was greeted as he made his appearance on the "course," his stout form still reeking with the sweat of his field labors; but his leaders, unmindful of the gibes and jests with which they were assailed, began to make their arrangements, and in a short space of time the "old hoss," as the bystanders termed him, guided by a blind bridle, was led up to the side of his clean-limbed and glossy competitor. At the word "go," both of the animals started abreast. Clark's horse took the lead for twenty yards or so; but the sturdy plough-horse, warmed up with reminiscences of other days, suddenly passed to the front like the wind, and beat his competitor a hundred yards in the mile! MORE REMARKABLE HORSES. Drs. Martin Luther and Hall, both eminent medical practitioners in their day, also owned remarkable horses. 361 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. On one occasion these gentlemen were riding their animals across the river, at the usual fording place, opposite Harris' red warehouse, and when at a point below Foster's Island, the horse of the former gentleman stumbled, throwing his rider head over heels into the water. As the river was pretty high at the time, such an unceremonious ducking was not unaccompanied with great danger, even though the unfortunate doctor's head or bones remained intact after the concussion, for the current was swift, and the nearest visible land was far beyond the reach of any ordinary swimmer. Immediately after perceiving the disaster, of course, Dr. Hale proceeded to his colleague's relief; but in this he was anticipated, for no sooner did the noble animal belong to Dr. L. see his master struggling in the water than he grasped him with his teeth by the coat collar, and in this manner conveyed him rapidly to the shore, where he safely deposited his valuable burden, and waited beside it until the arrival of Dr. Hall, who restored his friend alike to consciousness and his saddle. Dr. Hall's horse was never peaceable or tractable but with his master. If the Doctor, by accident, fell from the saddle the horse would wait quietly in the road until he was re-mounted; nor would he permit any person to lead him away or touch the Doctor on these occasions. A WILD BUFFALO KILLED IN HARRISBURG. Mr. Peter Snyder relates that on a Sunday morning, about the year 1792, a wild buffalo suddenly came among a herd of cows who were at pasture in what was at that time known as "Maclay's Swamp,' which occupied pretty much all the country lying on the west and north side of capitol hill to the ridge on the opposite side of Paxton creek. The cows were frightened at the appearance of the strange animal, and scampered off rapidly towards the town; while the buffalo, as thoroughly frightened by the sudden stampede, and following the habit of its kind, 362 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. ran with the drove for safety. The surprise of the quiet citizens as these excited animals entered the village, may be better imagined than described. Many who had never seen a buffalo, and ignorant of its nature, were alarmed beyond measure, and retreated to their dwellings; while others, better informed, and eager for sport and profit, quickly procured their guns and went in pursuit of the singular visitor with the view to its capture. After an exciting race through the streets, this was finally accomplished by chasing it, with a number of cows, into a stable belonging to Mr. Harris, in River alley. Here the buffalo was killed, and its carcass divided among its captors. A WILD BEAR KILLED NEAR THE BOROUGH. The same gentleman also states that about the year 1797, he and his brother chased a wild bear from the ridge, east of the borough, into what was formerly known as "Hanna's woods," now the property of A. B. Hamilton, Esq. Here the bear mounted a tree on the side of a hollow, and calmly surveyed its pursuers. Mr. S.'s brother first fired at the animal, but his gun, loadened only with small bird shot, failed to have much effect; where upon the relator loadened a small gun with several buckshot, and fired at the animal, killing it instantly. The bear weighed about one hundred and twenty pounds. Mr. Snyder further informed the compiler that he has caught with his hands a large number of pike fish in a small branch of Paxton creek, that formerly run through the meadows, east of the borough, near the line of the present canal. ATTEMPTED WHISKEY INSURRECTION AT HARRISBURG. "A duty being laid upon whiskey, that general and favorite beverage in Pennsylvania, it was found a potent theme for the purpose of sedition; and it was accordingly preached upon with so much unction that an insurrection was the consequence. It began beyond the mountains, in the summer of 1794, spreading 363 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. from West to East with wonderful rapidity. Harrisburg was quickly infected; and a meeting had been called for the purpose of passing some inflammatory resolutions. By the persuasion, however, of a few of us, who were untouched by the contagion, these inconsiderate men were induced to desist; though less, perhaps, from a sense of their error than from our assurance that a body of troops were on their march to the seat of insurrection, and that if they persisted in their undertaking they would involve themselves in the guilt of a forcible opposition to the laws, and most surely have cause to repent of their temerity." - Graydon's Memoirs. BURNING TOM PAINE'S LETTER. The citizens of Harrisburg celebrated the anniversary of Washington's birth-day, in 1797, by a public dinner, at the house of George Zeigler. After the reading of a number of patriotic toasts, "Tom Paine's brutal letters to President Washington was burned by the hands of the drummer, to the tune of the Rogue's March, amid the general and hearty acclamations of the company." LADIES' COSTUME. Some idea of the costume worn by our old-time matrons may be gathered by the following extract from a communication in the "Oracle" of 1797: - "The ladies who attend Divine service at the English meeting-house in Harrisburg, do not arrogate an exclusive privilege of sitting in the circle formerly occupied by lawyers; and it is happy for them, for the beaux being duly impressed with the inestimable right of equality, would strenuously dispute with them that accommodating situation, and no doubt for this laudable and unanswerable reason: that from that place, which is a little elevated, a more conspicuous display may be made of the inimitable skill of the Frizure, and of the adroitness of the highly ballooned cravat, which can be hardly excelled by the most foppish footman." 364 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. WOLVES - A GOOD SHOT. The "Oracle of Dauphin" of April 12, 1797, publishes the following as a fact: "A FACT. - A few years ago, a respectable farmer near Harrisburg having frequently his sheep destroyed by wolves, laid wait one evening with a well-loaded musket, in order to take satisfaction for the depredations committed. He had not remained long in his hidden place before a gang of them approached, when, filled with rage for injuries received, and taking good aim he let drive and killed seven! Which was the whole gang. He received the premium for each, agreeably to the law of this State." CHIMNEY-SWEEPING MONOPOLY. In 1797, the burgesses of Harrisburg, Messrs. William Graydon and James Sawyer, enacted the following ordinance: "That if any inhabitant of the borough of Harrisburg shall procure his or her chimney or chimneys to be swept by any other chimney-sweeper than John Croft, (unless upon application to the said John Croft he shall refuse or neglect to sweep such chimney or chimneys,) he or she shall forfeit and pay the sum of one dollar for every such offence." LIST OF LETTERS. The list of letters remaining in the Post Office at Harrisburg were advertised in the "Oracle of Dauphin" every two weeks. The lists published in 1797 and 1798, embraced the names of a large number of people residing at the time in Lewistown, Northumberland, Carlisle, Middletown, &c. The amount of postage due on each letter was placed opposite the names. A CURIOUS STONE MOULD. A stone mould for running musket and rifle bullets was found in digging a well, about thirty feet below the surface of the 365 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. earth, near Coxestown, a few miles north of the borough, in the year 1797. A solid rock several feet thick lay immediately above it. THE PRISON WALL. The stone wall enclosed the County Prison was erected in 1798. The Commissioners of the county issued proposals for its construction in November, 1797. SALE OF THE MILL-SEAT. The mill-seat purchased from the Landis' by the citizens of Harrisburg, previously mentioned, was sold by the latter "at public vendue, in the Court House, on the 18th of November, 1797." We cannot learn who purchased it. TRAVELING ACCOMMODATIONS SIXTY YEARS AGO. Messrs. Matthias Slough and William Gear were each proprietors of a line of stages running between Lancaster, Harrisburg, Carlisle and Shippensburg, in the year 1797. They had formerly been in partnership. The stages of the former Gentleman "set out from the house of Capt. Andrew Lee, in Harrisburg," [afterwards called the "Washington House."] The fare on this line was, from Harrisburg to Lancaster, $2; from Lancaster to Carlisle, $3; and from Lancaster to Shippensburg, $4. The stages of Mr. Geer "set out from the house of William Feree, in Lancaster, on every Tuesday and Saturday mornings, at six o'clock, proceeding to the westward; and from the house of Mr. Samuel Elder, in Harrisburg, every Wednesday morning, arriving at Shippensburg on the same evening. This line connected with stages, which started from the White Horse tavern in Market street, Philadelphia, every Monday and Friday. - The same proprietor also ran a stage from Harrisburg every Wednesday, which arrived at Sunbury every Thursday; and returned every Saturday; "so that passengers from Sunbury, 366 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. destined for Lancaster and Philadelphia, could proceed thence on Mondays." Mr. William Coleman was the proprietor of a line of stages that started every Monday morning, at four o'clock, from the public house of Mr. George Zeigler, in Harrisburg, and arrived at Philadelphia, by way of Reading, every Wednesday at noon. In 1813, Mr. Nicholas Schwoyer ran a light stage, twice a week, from Harrisburg to the canal, [?] where it was met by a line established by Mr. Jesse Shaeffer, which run to York. - This stage left the "Fountain Inn," at Harrisburg, every Tuesday and Thursday mornings. These several modes of conveyance would illy suit the people of this progressive age; yet at that period they were considered quite sufficient, and a decided improvement over the "post-horse" system, used previously. The conveyance of the mails was equally slow. In 1798, the Post Master General, Joseph Habersham, issued proposals for carrying the mails, once in two weeks, on the following route: "From Harrisburg, by Clark's Ferry, Millerstown, Thompsontown, Mifflintown, Lewistown, Huntingdon, Alexandria, Bellefont, Aaronsburg, Mifflinburg, Lewisburg, Northumberland and Sunbury, to Harrisburg. The mail to leave Harrisburg from October 15th to April 15th, every other Monday, at six A. M., and return to Harrisburg the next Monday by 7 p. m. And from April 15th to October 15th, to leave Harrisburg every other Saturday at two P. M., and return to Harrisburg the next Sunday week, by seven P. M." On the 15th of November, 1797, the Post Master General, in replying to a letter addressed to him respecting the transmission of a mail between Harrisburg and Lancaster, wrote as follows: "Mr. Slough has written me on the subject of a private mail between Lancaster and Harrisburg, but no contract has been formed on the subject; indeed it does not now appear to me expedient to form any; as there cannot be much communication 367 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. by post between Lancaster and Harrisburg, (!) and the correspondence between Harrisburg and this city [Philadelphia] is well provided for already. JOSEPH HABERSHAM, P. M. G." In 1812, Mr. Wright, the post master, advertised that "the Western mail will be closed every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at two o'clock P. M., and the Eastern mail every day (Sundays excepted) at eight o'clock A. M." DANCING AND DANCING MASTERS. The inhabitants of Harrisburg, sixty years ago, seemed to have been unusually fond of patronizing the Terpsichorean art; and it is quite amusing to hear the survivors of that period relate incidents of the many "dances" in which they participated when they were "young rollicking blades." We have previously mentioned the names of some of those who had the honor of instructing our forefathers in the "poetry of motion." One of the most popular means of promoting the art was that afforded by an organization styled the "Harrisburg Dancing Assembly," which commenced operations in October, 1796. We find the following advertisement respecting this "Assembly" in the "Oracle of Dauphin," for that year: "DANCING ASSEMBLY. - The subscribers to the Harrisburg Dancing Assembly are informed that it will be opened on Thursday evening next at six o'clock, at the house of Capt. Lee. Seventh October, 1796." Another advertisement in the "Oracle," for the week following, requests the "ladies to attend the Assembly precisely at six o'clock, that the managers may be enabled to make the necessary arrangements." Our fathers evidently "kept good hours;" for under the pre- 368 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. sent system of balls, it is not deemed fashionable to have the ladies appear much before ten o'clock. By another advertisement in the "Oracle," the ladies are again requested "to be particular in attending at six o'clock, as at that time precisely they will draw for numbers." What these "numbers" were to represent, the compiler is unable to say. Among the managers of the "Assembly" at various times, were Messrs, Samuel Laird, Fr. Dazell, John Elder and Alexander Graydon, all gentlemen of the highest respectability. In January, 1797, Mr. B. Holdich opened a dancing school in Capt. Lee's assembly rooms; and the first practicing ball of his pupils took place on the 17th of February following. To this ball "the ladies and gentlemen (subscribers) were invited to witness the improvement of the pupils." Gentlemens' tickets (non-subscribers) were one dollar each; each ticket admitting a lady and gentleman to the practice of the evening. The Court and Bath cotillions were to be danced by the company, with several new country dances. The practice was to commence at six o'clock and end at eleven o'clock. We conclude our sketch by copying verbatim the following advertisement of Mr. Holdich, in the "Oracle" for April 4, 1798: "DANCING SCHOOL. - Subscriptions are respectfully solicited for a third half quarter, to commence on Monday, April 9, and conclude with a ball, Saturday, May 20. In addition to the former objects of tuition will be taught 'The City Cotillion,' as taught by Sicard, Quesnet, and all the French masters in Philadelphia, New York, &c., and the 'The Plain Minuet.' Such of the pupils as make sufficient progress shall also be taught the 'Minuet de la Cour,' because it is more than probable that the school will not be continued during the present winter. B. HOLDICH." 369 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. FAIRS. About the middle of the months of June, fifty years ago, there would be merry times in the borough - merry times as eye could see or ear could hear; the whole place would ring with drums, banjos, bag-pipes, trumpets, fiddles and fifes; besides a good deal of bellowing and shouting, roaring of laughter, and every other kind of noise that the human voice could produce. In short, this was the time of the fair days - "institutions" that now, alas! are numbered among the things "long since forgotten." On these occasions, Market Square would be the grand centre of attraction for the multitude of citizens and strangers. In one place might be seen the juggler performing all manner of tricks; in another place rope dancers were nimbly pirouetteing before the enraptured gaze of the country rustics; in another place were the living anacondas, tame elephants, learned dogs, and a host of other rare and curious animals brought hither by their owners to amuse and edify the people. But these were only accessories and adjuncts to the fair; which was, in truth, a great commercial mart, where goods and chattels of almost every kind were sold, from a hank of yarn to a mammoth bull. In several parts of the Square booths of entertainment would be erected, where revelry, mirth and feasting was indulged with a degree of license unknown at other times and seasons; while in other booths, again, the more sober farmers, and the large households that they brought with them, could provide themselves with food at a reasonable price, and in a decent manner. Through all the streets and alleys in the neighborhood of the Square would float a mixed multitude of all kinds; buyers, sellers, minstrels, musicians, old women, beautiful girls, young children, Yankees, wagoners; all jostling, hustling, talking, laughing, singing and playing in the utmost good humor. Bright and brilliant were these fair days; a sort of maddening merriment was in every sound; it was intoxicating and infectious; 370 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. nobody could help imbibing the miasma of hilarity that spread around. We make these as prefatory remarks to the following extract from the "Oracle of Dauphin" of June 6, 1798: "On Friday and Saturday last was celebrated in this town the anniversary fair, with all its accustomed singularities. The lasses, as usual, assembled like bees on a summer's day. The swains, too, were very numerous; so that none of the former, it is to be presumed, went home with a heavy heart in consequence of neglect from the latter." RIVER NAVIGATION FIFTY YEARS AGO. The principal mode of navigating the river, fifty years ago, was by keel boats, or "broad horns," similar to those used on the Western waters prior to the introduction of steam. These boats, ladened with grain, flour, iron, and other productions of Northern Pennsylvania and New York, would descent with the current of the river to tide water or Baltimore, and after discharging their cargo, returned again to the places from which they started. A large number of the boats unshipped their cargo at this place for transportation, by wagons, to Lancaster or Philadelphia. The red warehouse, on the bank of the river, at Paxton street, was erected principally to accommodate this trade; and was frequently filled with goods awaiting wagons to transport them eastward. As many as fifty keep-boats have been tied-up along the shore of the river, near the warehouse, at one time; and as the boatmen were "jolly fellows," the whole town would be enlivened, for weeks at a time, with their songs, music, and fandangos. Mr. Benjamin A. Taylor, yet living in the borough, frequently conducted a keel-boat to the head waters of the Susquehanna, in New York State. 371 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. MACLAY'S SWAMP. At one time the low ground, fronting the State Capitol, between Second and third streets, and from Pine street to the ridge north-east of the borough, was a dense swamp, whose edges was so thickly beset with tangled briars that, in the language of an old citizen, "the place was almost impenetrable to the dogs." The swamp was familiarly known as "Maclay's." A natural gully ran from its lower end into the creek, whose channel, still remaining, crosses Front street, above Walnut. This creek was also the outlet of the pond in Market square, already noticed. When the river was high, the water at the mouth of the creek would overflow Front street, and render it impassable. On these occasions vehicles and pedestrians would be compelled to go around by Second street. At the June Sessions of Court, in 1800, a petition was presented, praying that body to grant an order for the erection of a bridge over this creek, of "gut" as it was then called. The application was successful; and the county commissioners were directed to appropriate the sum of $200 for the erection of the same. BALD EAGLE NESTS. The islands in the river, opposite the borough, were famous fifty years ago, or later, as places of roost for bald eagles. - Many of them built their nests there, and on some occasions hundreds of these noble birds were to be seen hovering in the air, above the river, in that vicinity. The fishermen were always informed of the approach of a school of shad up the river by the action of the eagles, who in great numbers would follow it in the air above, occasionally descending with lightning rapidity into the water, from which some of them would invariably rise with an unlucky shad in their talons, which they would devour while continuing their flight. 372 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. INDIANS AT THE GRAVE OF JOHN HARRIS, SR. When George W. Harris, Esq., was a boy, he remembers seeing ten or twelve Indians at his father's house, (the frame building now owned by Mr. Trullinger, on Front street, above Vine.) They were from the State of New York, and were on their way to the seat of the General Government. One of the number, an old chieftain, once lived in this vicinity, and had been well acquainted with John Harris, Jr., and Mr. Robert Harris thought with the first John Harris, He had came this way on purpose to see John Harris, or his father, and was greatly grieved to learn of their death. Mr. Robert Harris invited the party to breakfast; after which they repaired to the grave of the elder Harris, on the river bank, where the old chieftain sobbed audibly as he pressed the soil which covered the remains of one whom, from his earliest infancy, he had been taught to regard as the red man's friend. "Thither once, in slow procession, Came the children of the forest, They whose ancestors were rulers Of the realm that we inhabit. To that solemn delegation From the tribes of forest-people, Spake the pale-faced friend who led them In whose guardianship they trusted, Told them how * * * * * * * * He who loved his red-brow'd children, When the toils of war were over, Dwelt in peace 'neath yonder roof'tree, Sow'd the corn, and reap'd the wheat-sheaf, And when all his days were number'd, Slumber'd in that tomb beside them, While the earth stood up to praise him. * * * * * 373 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. But they paus'd and changed their manner, Bowing down their heads and weeping, Round the tomb more closely gathering, Pour'd a solemn dirge of sorrow, So prolong'd and so despairing, That the very birds who heard it, Lingering 'mid the nested branches, Closed their wings and caught the cadence. Mournful 'mid that hallowed scenery, Echoing thro' that vista'd foliage, Sighing o'er the funeral cypress, Rose that wild and deep lamenting Of the downcast forest-dwellers, Like forsaken children, wailing, Hopeless o'er a buried father." - MRS. SIGOURNEY. FIRST ANTHRACITE COAL USED IN THE BOROUGH. Valentine Hummel, Sr., distinctly remembers the first anthracite coal used in the borough. It was from Wilkesbarre, and was brought here in an ark, on the river. The entire load was sold to Jacob Boas, Esq., and was at that time considered more than sufficient to supply Harrisburg for a year. Mr. Hummel thinks this occurrence was in the year 1810 or 1811. ALEXANDER GRAYDON, ESQ. The following biographical sketch of the first Prothonotary of Dauphin county originally appeared in the Philadelphia Monthly Magazine for April, 1829: "Among the contributors to the Port Folio was Alexander Graydon, author of a delightful book, entitled 'Memoirs of a Life chiefly passed in Pennsylvania.' He was an officer for a short time in the revolutionary army, and his book contains many graphic sketches of occurrences of that eventful period. He wrote with much pleasantry, and seldom fails to impress, in vivid colors, his pictures on the imagination of the reader. Graydon 374 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. was born on the 10th of April, 1752, in the village of Bristol. His father, who had been designed for the pulpit, left Ireland in 1730, and on his arrival in America directed his attention to mercantile pursuits, and afterwards to the law. In 1761, the subject of our notice lost his father, whose property being inadequate to the support of his widow, she removed to Philadelphia, and established a boarding house. Mr. Graydon received the rudiments of the Latin language from Mr. Beveridge, and at the age of sixteen commenced the study of the law. During this probation he acquired some knowledge of the French language. In January, 1776, he received a captain's commission in the battalion under the command of Col. Cadwalader. In the spring of the same year his regiment was ordered to New York, and in November surrendered to the British, at Fort Washington. It was not until the early part of 1778 that he was exchanged, and he did not afterwards resume his station in the army. He now married; was admitted to the bar; and in 1785 was appointed Prothonotary of the county of Dauphin, which office he held until the election of Governor M'Kean, when he was removed on account of his political opinions. His reading must have been extensive. He wrote political essays in Fenno's Gazette, in 1797, and at different periods contributed to the Port Folio. He died in 1818, in Philadelphia, aged about sixty-five. In stature he was beneath the common size, and in his youth remarkably active; possessing an intelligent countenance, which became animated in conversation. He has been thus described: 'He was one of the few survivors of that old school of accomplished gentlemen which flourished before our Revolution, at a period when the courtesy of society was not disturbed by insubordination in systems, nor violated by laxity in sentiments. In his youth, Mr. Graydon was remarkable for the elegance of his person, and he retained that advantage in an uncommon degree until his latest hour.' He had pro- 375 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. jected a revised and an enlarged edition of his Memoirs, but died before he had made much progress." A revised and enlarged edition of Mr. Graydon's Memoirs was published in 1846, by Mr. Littell, of Philadelphia. DISTINGUISHED FOREIGNERS IN HARRISBURG. In the spring of 1842, the English novelist, Charles Dickens, accompanied by his wife, being on a tour through the United States and Canadas, visited Harrisburg on their way from Baltimore to Pittsburg. They remained here over night and the following forenoon, at the Eagle Hotel, then kept by Henry Buehler, Esq., a brother of the present occupant. The distinguished author gives an amusing account of this visit in his "American Notes for General Circulation," published after his return to England, and celebrated for their severe reflections upon the institutions and manners of our countrymen. In the same year, Prince de Joinville, a son of Louis Phillippe, King of the French, who was likewise on a tour through the United States, arrived in the borough from Pittsburg, en route for Philadelphia. The Prince's suite embraced several distinguished French noblemen. The party ate dinner at Matthew Wilson's Hotel. In the spring of 1858, Lord Napier and Count de Sartiges, the former the English, and the latter the French minister near our Government, accompanied by Sir William Gore Ouseley, English embassador, arrived in the borough en route for Reading. During their stay here, the distinguished gentlemen were the guests of Gen. Simon Cameron. In "Graydon's Memoirs," mention is made of the author being visited at Harrisburg, in 1790 or 1791, by the Count de Noailles, M. Fallon, M de Blacons, Capt. Boilleau, and other distinguished Frenchmen, and in 1795, by the Due de Rochefoucault Liancourt, the celebrated French traveler. 376 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. THE EASTERN SWAMP. Among the remarkable changes in the appearance of the borough within the memory of the present generation, is that which has been made on its eastern border. The compiler distinctly remembers when the site of the present handsome depot of the Harrisburg and Lancaster railroad was occupied by a board-yard, owned, we think, by David Lingle, Sr. The ground in its vicinity was exceedingly swampy, which made it a favorite place of resort for idle school boys, who would find a great source of amusement in pelting bull-frogs and snapping-turtles, which abounded there. At this time, and until about fifteen years ago, the land laying between the Harrisburg and Lancaster railroad and Second streets, as far north as the east end of Rasberry alley, was covered with a sheet of stagnant water. Along its southern edge, fronting on Second street, was along row of lusty willow trees, whose branches in the spring of the year were much sought after by the boys to make "whistles" with. In the winter time this pond was a famous skating place; and we have often seen hundreds of people taking their holiday and pleasure upon its frozen surface. Groups of ladies would not unfrequently assemble on the bank at Second street, watching the gay and animating scene before them. Upon one occasion a lady, we believe from the State of Connecticut, made her appearance on the frozen pond with a pair of skates, which a companion buckled to her feet, and in a few moments, without the aid of gentle or simple, she arose to an erect posture, and floated off like a swan. She was a fine skater, and the people watched with pleasure the grace and freedom and beauty of her movements. So admirable a person, of so exquisite a figure, and such perfect art in her evolutions, seemed to marry motion to music, beauty and poetry, and indeed to embody and represent them all. Away she would sweep through 377 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. lines of human beings, making dense masses separate to let her pass, and attracting all eyes after her. Among the male skaters who at all times were discernible as being decidedly superior to the rest for dexterity, power and grace, were, within our recollection, Messrs. Peter Weaver, Alex. Hamilton, John Lingle, E. S. German, C. Alward, Amos Cleckner, John Martin, David J. Krause, not forgetting, by the way, Jim Battis, a mulatto, who, from his muscle and powerful movements, might have sprang, as did the noble Moor, from "men of royal siege." In swiftness he had no competitor; he outstripped the wind; and his actions were very imposing in appearance and effect. Of the gentlemen previously named, Mr. Weaver took the lead in graceful skating, and in superior dexterity in cutting "high dutch' within a limited space of smooth ice. The compiler also recollects seeing the remains of "Maclay's swamp," noticed previously, between Third and Second streets, and North and South streets. This was also a favorite place for skaters in winter time, especially that part of it below State street, as the wing walls of the arch over which said street passed the swamp, formed a comfortable barrier against the rude "nor'westers." RELICS OF THE "OLDEN TIME." A lady friend, whose contributions to the newspapers are much admired for their vigor and piquancy, has, at the compiler's request, very kindly furnished the following letter, descriptive of the numerous relics of the "olden time" preserved with great care in the State Departments at this place. Aside from its merits as a literary production, it will form a convenient guide to those of our citizens and strangers who feel an interest in, and desire to inspect the objects it so vividly describes: "To-day has been one of the pages in my life's-book, whose corner I will turn down as a mark for future reference, and upon 378 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. whose margin I will write "sunny memories," for such will its recollection ever be to me. Like the miser who daily adds one more piece of money to his shining heap, yet pauses most lovingly over the bit of old gold which perchance was the beginning of his precious hoard, so I fancy, years hence, I will select from among my store of pleasant remembrances, this fragment of pure ore which I picked up in the mine of a few hours' desultory wanderings, and upon which I have built a peculiar reverence for the gallant Keystone State and its noble capital. Stopping a while at Harrisburg, en route for Pittsburg, the polite landlord of our hotel proposed that we should visit the public buildings, and examine their curiosities. Of course I gladly assented, feeling a strong desire to see a locality around which clustered so many varied associations; but never dreamed that each one of the imposing edifices was, as I found them, in itself a casket whose rare treasures would gladden the eyes of the most fastidious antiquary. There is a heart interest in these objects differing widely from the sensations created by a view of articles of virtu, rendered curious alone by their mere originality and rarity for they are not only the well preserved jewels of Pennsylvania's great commonwealth, but some of them, like the magic stone which turned whatever it touched into gold, need but be handled by any true American to have his patriotism thrilled by a new emotion, and the luster of his devotion to his country made brighter by personal contact with some of the yet living links with the times and things which helped to make it free. Presuming upon your desire to know every minutiae which has assisted to build up my new enthusiasm, I will give you a detailed account of what I saw and felt in the exact order of their succession. Entering the park through its eastern gate, we ascended the boardwalk a few yards, then turning to the right into a wide path which diverged from it at right angles, we walked over its pebbled surface, and between its fringed borders of dewy grass, 379 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. directly into the main entrance of a large pagoda-like looking building, known as the State Arsenal. Its lower hall bore none of the insignia of "glorious war" in its placid surroundings. The cleanly- swept floor, white-washed walls, cheerful sunshine streaming in through the polished window panes, and huge piles of sacking - which in my ignorance I mistook for salt bags, but which proved to be the folded tents just returned from a neighboring encampment - combined to give the place rather a domestic appearance than otherwise. However, upon mounting into the second story, the scene, like from a quiet, grassy, flower-laden meadow into a blood-stained battle-field, suddenly changed; for standing in racks, packed in boxes, stacked in corners, and hanging with soldier-like precision upon rows of nails, we found almost every variety of military accoutrements. A vast quantity of "small arms" used in the revolutionary war, now useless in point of fact, yet still preserved for their undying associations, occupy different niches in the rooms; but decidedly the "curiosities" of the place are four beautiful brass cannon, (six-pounders,) which were brought to this country in the fleet of Count d'Estang, and presented by Lafayette to the Continental Congress. All are highly finished, bearing upon their polished surface and exquisite carving, evidences of that superior workmanship and Parisian taste, which, whether in the moulding of a thundering cannon or in the forming of a child's tiny toy, are yet unrivalled. They closely resembled each other in shape, differing only in the mottoes with which each pair is labeled. Their handles are carved to represent two dolphins, with bodies raised in the centre. Encircling the breach of one is the inscription, "A. Donay, Par., Berringer, 1756." Upon the middle of the top surface is a plate, upon which the figures of a sun, crown, cannon and flags are gracefully combined, crowned by the words "Nec pluribus impar;" while the other, bearing the French oriflamme - a bunch of lilies with spear points at the edges - has beneath it, half wreathing the muzzle, the strangely 380 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. significant warning, "Ultima ratio Regnum." Both letters and figures are in bas-relief, and for the work of one century ago, choice specimens of admirable skill. Each one, "like a warrior taking his rest," now lies undisturbed, having never since they were deposited here been used for any fiercer strife than to vie with human tongues in a welcome to their great-hearted donor, when, in 1824, he visited Harrisburg; and for no less nobler cause than to swell the glad shout of some national rejoicing, I fervently pray, may they never again burn powder. Here are also preserved in honorable seclusion two other brass cannon - the one a six, the other an eighteen-pounder - which were captured at Cerra Gordo by the American army. The former, cast in Mexico, contains at the breach the inscription "El Pegaso," in raised letters, and engraved near its muzzle these words: "Captured at Cerra Gordo, April 18, 1847, by the American army under Major General Scott. Presented to the State of Pennsylvania by Major General Patterson." The latter was manufactured at Liverpool, England, in 1824, and bears a similar inscription. Leaving the Arsenal, with its fearful treasures and victor's spoils, we traversed a paved avenue, between trees whose broad branches mingled their October-tinted foliage above our heads; beneath a blue sky whose glories were half veiled by clouds of early autumn's golden mists; beside rare groupings of swelling mounds, evergreens and grassy embankments, and upon stones which echoed to the tripping of merry little feet, as children, happy as humming birds, flitted across our path, sipping the sweets of the morning hours, until, reaching the sandstone steps leading up to the Land Office, we paused for an instant to examine a splendid specimen of the India tree, accacia catechu, which some enterprising botanist has reared until it is thoroughly acclimated, and from which exudes the catechouc, to whose preservative qualities we all stand so much indebted. Within the Land Office, with its tiled floor rows of high desks, 381 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. pigeon holes filled with dry, dusty old land warrants, and massive tomes which looked sufficiently solemn and dignified to contain all the written wisdom of the world's mighty Solons, we saw many quaint specimens of chirography, as unique as they are beautiful. There are deeds of transfer of land to and from the brothers Penn and their cotemporaries, drawn upon wide sheets of heavy parchment, and bearing their separate signatures; a large book in which is a list of names of the persons proscribed by the authorities as traitors during the Revolution; an original letter from William Penn directed "to the Emperor of Canada," his autograph written with a bold firmness, so characteristic of the writer; and copied records of land titles and warrants issued near one hundred years ago, which, while the fingers that traced them have long since mouldered into dust, still retain a freshness and exceeding beauty of color and form which our modern scribes may try in vain to surpass. There is also preserved in this office two small blocks of wood - the one of beach, the other of hemlock - that were once produced before the State Board of Property as evidence respecting certain land boundary lines. The blocks were cut so as to exhibit all the annual rings of the growth of the wood, and their number was the testimony required. A shrewd defendant was the producer of these mute witnesses, for well he seemed to know that, though man may often err, nature never lies. Upon entering the Representative Chamber, after admiring the taste and elegant fitness evinced in its various adornments, we wondered to see behind the Speaker's desk a plain, old-fashioned, high-backed, leather-cushioned walnut chair, standing out in bold relief from the mass of silken drapery which festoons the pillars and back of this legislative pulpit; but every feeling was soon absorbed in the one emotion of veneration when we were told that in it John Hancock sat when he signed the Declaration of Independence with a force that showed it was never meant to be erased, and from which he also signed Lafayette's 382 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. commission in the Continental army. For a brief moment I too rested between the friendly arms which have enclosed the forms of noble heroes, and whose light clasp seemed a hallowed embrace; and I did wish most earnestly that, by the thrilling memories of its past uses, it possessed the power to shake off from its merest touch the form of any man, however high his official station, who would bring to the spot on which whole-souled patriots once reposed, a heart so full of party prejudices and political rancor that love for the real interest of his country could find it in no place. Crossing the gaily frescoed rotunda, through whose circular galleries our softest footfall resounded like the tread of mailed men, and along whose frescoed walls our eyes wandered up, up, up, to the sunlit dome, as if involuntarily measuring step by step their harmonious gradations of light and shade, we passed into the Senate Chamber. That I did not immediately upon entering drop a low and reverent courtesy to the two fine looking gentlemen who seemed standing against the farthest wall, was because the impulse was checked by a second glance, during which I saw that a broad gilt frame surrounded each one, and that they were but painted fac-similes of their distinguished originals, Washington and Penn; yet they are majestic in size, and reputed to be exceeding life- like. They were painted by authority of a resolution of the Senate, about the year 1827-8, and depict both men when in the prime of their ripened manhood. Not far from them, and rendered conspicuous by their own striking beauty, are two small paintings representing the heads, life size, of those illustrious adventures, Columbus and Americus Vespucius. They are the work of a celebrated artist of Florence, Italy, painted at the order of Commodore Elliott, of the United States Navy, and presented by him to this State. They are said to be faithful copies of the very few portraits ever taken of them. I do not possess any artistic skill - am even ignorant of the application of those technical terms, "tone, 383 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. breadth, depth," &c., so much in use by connoisseurs - but the most uneducated eye cannot fail, like mine, to be arrested by the warm, mellow, summer sunset glow in which those heads seem bathed, and which light up every feature as though a soul gleamed through them. There is that particularly depicted upon the face of Columbus suggestive of a world of thought, as the artist, with seeming knowledge of his indomitable energy, has imprisoned in his eye a flash of that dauntless courage and firm determination which won him immortality amongst men; and while reverencing the God-given attributes of the one, we equally admire the genius which portrayed upon the dull canvass the fleshy tabernacle in which they dwelt. Another large painting, interesting from its local associations, records a startling event in the life of John Harris, the first white settler on the spot where Harrisburg now stands, namely, the attempt made by the Indians to burn him. He is represented as bound to a huge mulberry tree, growing but a few rods from his mansion. Groups of fierce looking Indians, with their hideous faces, and in warrior costume, surround him, some piling the faggots about his tied feet, others looking on with an expression of fiendish satisfaction playing upon each swarthy face, while calm as a Christian martyr their victim seems to await his doom. The beautiful Susquehanna stretches out before him, while cutting through the flashing waters a canoe filled with friendly Indians are seen hastening to his rescue. The scenery of the picture was suggested to the artist (who had accompanied the celebrated Catlin among the Indians) by a grandson of the first settler, the late Robert Harris, Esq., in whose boyhood days the foundation walls and some of the timbers of the block house visible on the right side of the picture, were still remaining. The entire grouping, then, is supposed to be very accurate, and delineates a fact in the history of this borough which the pen of wildest romance could not make more vivid. Standing on one of the mantel-pieces in this chamber is a small marble eagle, 384 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. also presented to the State by Commodore Elliott, and carved by a common sailor on board his ship, out of a bit of a marble pillar from the ruins of Alexandria, Egypt. The worthy Commodore, in speaking of the sculptor, said: "He was a most excellent seaman, but strongly addicted to intemperance when on shore." The transition from the cheerful looking Senatorial hall into the still more inviting State Library, was made in a chase up a flight of broad stairs; but once within this - I had almost said sanctuary - where the workings of so many mighty minds were revealed to our desires, the previous gratification of sight alone was increased by the new incentives offered us to touch, think and feel. Our first look upward to the galleries revealed, suspended from them, several marine paintings of the battle of Lake Erie, their frames veneered with oak wood taken from "Old Ironsides," (the frigate Constitution,) and likewise the gifts of the liberal Commodore Elliott. Among the thousands of volumes of choice literature here displayed, whose gilded titles glanced at hurriedly, are enough to inflict upon a greedy scholar the pangs of Tantalus, we saw some that were printed in the seventeenth century, and handled one - the complete works of Seneca - which, bearing the date of 1503, is now three hundred and fifty years old. It really has a very ancient look, with its whitish gray back, rough edged leaves faintly tinged with Time's yellow, and wise, learned sounding Latin sentences; and if I treated it with marked respect, what wonder! Seeing that I did not understand one word of its philosophical contents. But more than all these mental gems is an object which, if ever there is built in the United States a national Temple, should be its altar; I mean a table which has recently been discovered, and authenticated to be the veritable one upon which the Declaration of Independence was signed! It is made of mahogany, in the style of an old fashioned escretoire, with small drawers beneath it; is six feet long, 385 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. and nearly three feet high. Its antiquated appearance among so much modern furniture, renders no other introduction to a stranger necessary. In the reception room of the gubernatorial apartments, in the rear of the State Treasury buildings, are, executed in the highest style of finish, the oil-painted portraits of twenty-two Governors of Pennsylvania, commencing with William Penn, as he appeared in 1666, dressed in a full suit of mail, with long dark hair flowing over his shoulders like a girl's; succeeded by Gordon, Logan, Richard Penn, John Penn, Wharton, Moore, Franklin, Mifflin, M'Kean, Snyder, Findlay, Heister, Shultz, Wolf, Ritner, Porter, Shunk, Johnston, Bigler, Pollock, and ending with the present winning, manly looking incumbent, William F. Packer. Suspended in glass cases along the walls of this apartment are also certificates of the election of the first Presidents and Vice Presidents of the Colonial Assembly, each signed by all the members who participated in the election; also, the first constitution of Pennsylvania, and the charter of Charles II. to William Penn, both inscribed on parchment, and the latter a specimen of splendid fancy penmanship. In one of the corners will be found two lances, and a musket with bayonet, captured by the Americans during a Mexican battle. But decidedly the most interesting feature of this airy room is a glass cabinet containing some State relics, almost as highly prized for their age as the stirring events of which they once formed a part, and for which they now serve as living indices of their early history. In it is a flag taken from the Hessians at the battle of Trenton, now a bundle of moth-eaten, faded silk; a package of yellow, torn letter, being fragments of a genuine correspondence between Alex. Hamilton and Franklin; also, letters from Washington and Robert Hunter Morris, with their respective signatures; the original charter, on a roll of long, board-like parchment, of Charles II. to 386 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. William Penn, for the province of Pennsylvania; and sundry laws passed between the periods of 1682 and 1690. A hundred old deeds of conveyance of land sold by the Indians to the proprietors, and bearing the Indian signatures or Marks, some of which would puzzle a naturalist, as there is surely nothing above, on, or under the earth like to them - snakes, lizards, turtles, birds, bears, deers, foxes, elks - almost every specimen of the animal tribes are endeavored to be represented as their signs manual; and if they failed to be very artistically drawn, their entire originality is worthy of much praise. A few of the names are rather euphonious - such as La Kachquontas, Chienoched, Qual-pagh-ach, and Canassetoga - admitting, however, of no pet abbreviations; and the best proof of their simple wants and blissful ignorance is, that one of the "considerations" named in a deed of conveyance of land, was a handful of fish-hooks. Here are also large seals of beeswax, stamped with devices that would puzzle the most ingenious to decipher; a mass of continental money, or more properly speaking, shinplasters, from the denomination of one shilling to ten pounds sterling, and pieces of brass and copper money which are a study for the curious. The former is a rectangular shaped piece of brass, about three inches long, one inch broad, and one-sixteenth of an inch thick. It is very handsomely engraved on one side with numerous flourishes, amid which are the words fourteen and sixteen shillings, thus: [illustration] The copper piece is three and a half inches long, nearly a half inch wide, and about an eighth of an inch thick, also hand- 387 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. somely engraved with flourishes, something like the following: [illustration] This money is supposed to have been in use during the infancy of the colony, and most probably the brass piece was one of the "broad shillings" so often alluded to in old-time annals. Within this case are also three of the massive silver medals that were struck by authority of the Legislature for presentation to the Pennsylvania volunteers who participated in the battle of Lake Erie, bearing the names respectively of "Isaac B. Sill," "Jacob Levensetter," and "John Cook;" but as yet neither they nor their descendants have appeared to claim them. The medals are alike in size and appearance, being two inches in diameter, an eighth of an inch thick, and contain four dollars worth of silver. One side has on them a bust of Perry, encircled by the words, "Oliverus Hazard Perry Pro Patria." "Presented by the Government of Pennsylvania." The reverse side bears the legend, "We have met the enemy, and they are ours;" and within a wreath is engraved - "[The recipient's name] In testimony of his patriotism and bravery In the navel action on Lake Erie, September 10, 1813." With the re-closed lid of this glass case our examination of the Capitol's hoarded "curiosities" was completed; but upon mounting into the dome, and taking a view from its elevated height, we felt that our visit would have been as nothing had we missed the magnificent panorama by which we were surrounded. I would but mislead your imagination by attempting to convey to you an impression of the scenic beauty which for 388 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. a while almost bewildered me; but think, if you can, of a vast girdle of far-off, distant, misty blue hills, faintly defined upon the horizon; against them put rows of towering, uneven, but withal gently sloping mountains, purple, black, or darkly blue, just as each drifting cloud shadows them; within this inner zone scatter the loveliest valleys of which you can conceive; green meadows; wooded hills' golden purple groves; brown fields, resting from the gleanings of a bounteous harvest; villages dotting the country here and there with the most charming irregularity; farm-houses and farms, each in themselves a little Arcadia; countless roads diverging from one common centre, and winding about until in the distance they look like the tiny trail which a child's stick makes in the sand; a broad, silvery river, looking in the sunshine like liquid light, reproducing on its clear surface the wonderful beauty which lines either bank; studded with green islands that "blossom like the rose," spanned by splendid bridges, as delicate in their appearance as lace work or fillagree, yet supporting hundreds of tons daily; in the heart of all see a city, whose factories, furnaces, churches, majestic public buildings, handsome private residences and attractive suburbs betokens prosperity, intelligence, cultivation, wealth and constant improvement; over the whole throw that peculiar coleur de rose with which the heart in its happiest moments paints all it loves, and you will have a faint, very faint, idea of the aspect of Dauphin county as seen from that Capitol's dome. Leaving the park, with its wealth of choice shrubbery, noble trees, brown-eyed deer and singing birds, we wended our steps down Front street, to where, almost at its extreme end, is still standing the trunk of the tree to which Harris was tied. His body is buried at its foot. A handsome iron railing encloses the small lot, between whose bars woodbines, honeysuckles and roses, planted there by the hands of his descendants, gracefully wind their clinging tendrils. The upright trunk is his only monument; but none other is needed, for his memory, inseparably 389 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. linked with the history of Harrisburg, needs no graven marble to chronicle the spot where his dust reposes. And now, sir, being a little wearied with the last two hours' exercise, and anxious, too, to effect your release from this rather long letter, I will add nothing more, save that Harrisburg is one of the most interesting towns the sun ever shone on; and I am, as ever, yours devotedly, NINA. _____ The compiler concludes his labors by presenting to the reader the following beautiful poem, descriptive of an incident recorded on page 10 of the "Annals." It was written by A. J. Herr, Esq., present District Attorney of Dauphin county, and originally contributed by him to the "Home Journal," a literary paper published at New York, by Messrs. Morris & Willis: THE RESCUE. A LEGEND OF BY-GONE TIMES. BY A. J. HERR. The Summer had swept with its burning wing The beautiful brow of the fair young Spring; The zenith was tinged with a golden glow, While blazing Sol sublimely sunk below The lofty hills, with dark green woodlands crown'd, Bathing their tops with mellow glory round. "Twas the bright month of June, when Nature fills The fields with flowers; and o'er an hundred hills The gush of bloom and beauty filled the eye, Heightened by rich reflections from the sky. The gorgeous banks of Susquehanna's stream, (Where many a dark-eyed Indian damsel's dream Had been of some loved warrior or brave sire, When burned upon the shore the council fire,) Were in the season's fairest beauty dressed; While on the river's gently rolling breast Two verdant islands to the eye were given, As if suspended between earth and heaven. 390 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. Beneath the surface of the silvery wave Two other islands dim reflection gave; And far around, in rugged grandeur, rose The ragged, rocky cliffs, in grim repose; Yet graced with green by Nature, and so gay, They lost the wildness of the wintry day. See on you bank, with solemn visage pale, His white locks streaming in the evening gale, A tall and stately man surveys the scene, So deck'd by Nature with rich gold and green; In simple garb of solemn drab surveys That aged man the wise Creator's ways; While in his ear the still small voice reveals The goodness of that God, and his heart feels That all the beauty that his eye could scan Was made to gratify ungrateful man. He gazed upon the sinking sun sublime, The dark blue hills, that spurn'd the tooth of time, The rushing river and the forest wide, Then blessed that God who all his wants supplied. Hark! heard you not the Indian's awful whoop? Beware! beware! old man, that murderous troop! They have been tasting of the mad'ning bowl, And savage feeling flames in every soul - In every heart there is a hell; and oh! If run thou hast not, thou art doomed to woe. Their glittering knives e'en now methinks I see, Ready to reek with gore, old man, from thee. Oh! Shame that white man should to Indians bear That curse that brings but death and dark despair; That they their vices, not their virtues give, And sooner doom to death than bid them live Soon will the last lone Indian bow before The setting sun, the last time to adore; Ere one more century, with step sublime, Shall march adown the distant tide of time, The race of red men will have passed away, And classic scholars as they shall survey Their mounds and monuments, and relics rare, Will ask what manner of beings they were. 391 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. But see! around the old man is that band! Each tongue is mute, but stretched is every hand. A shout uprose, each lip joins in the cry, While vengeance flames in every flashing eye; The good old man, reflecting on the curse, And all the evils that it brings far worse, Gently refuses the request, in tones That meek humility only owns. Quick as a flash of lightning from the sky, Rolls down the river bank the dreadful cry - "The stake!" while from the cloud-capped hills there came Echo's sound, till heav'n hurled it back again. Unmoved by threats, the fearless old man stands, Folded upon his breast his harmless hands; "Indians," said he, "to thee I freely sell The goods of life, but not the ills of hell; Taste not the accursed draught, 'twill prove to thee Eternal death - eternal misery." Scarce had the words from his lips fell Ere thro' the woodlands rung a long, loud yell - "Death to the trader!" burst in one wild cry, But steady still was that brave old man's eye; He feared not death if duty found a grave, And violated virtue must life save. Inflamed with rage, the red-browed race leap'd up Resolved to force from him the damning cup Seizing the bold one man, they rudely bore He unresisting form along the shore; He plead nor prayed to them, but smiled alone, Pointing above to the great White Throne. Foaming with wrath, beneath a primeval tree, They bound his limbs to mark his agony: But HARRIS saw beyond the verge of time A power Omnipotent, a power sublime, Who from his arms could rend the strongest chain, And bid him rise, unscathed, unharmed again Lashed to the tree, the Indians build the pyre, And pile up faggots ready for the fire; The blazing torch with shouts they now apply, Shouts that run echoing through the vaulted sky. 392 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. But still that good old man, with quiet gaze, Beholds around, unmoved, the bursting blaze; Nor heeds he now the dusky forms that there Are waiting for the shrieks of his despair; His pious spirit, at the chrystal gates Of heaven in faith, for succor calmly waits. Wildly the dance of death begins; the flame Like living viper coils around his frame. But hark! From yonder woody shore now glide Three bark canoes across the rapid tide; The rescuing Indians leap on shore to save Their pale faced "father" from a dismal grave. "Onward, to save him!" cries the brave young chief; With gleaming knives they fly to his relief; Back, back they drive the inebriated throng, Who, mad with frenzy, chaunt the wild death song; Sev'ring the bonds which bound him to the tree, Again beneath the heavens he stood free; Unscathed he was, and fearless still his eye, For his soul's trust was in his God on High. And what is man if in that trust undone? His heart's a waste, a world without a sun.