Page 126 - History of Rockingham Co
P. 126
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY
Crossing the Blue Ridge, probably by Brown's Gap, he
came into the beautiful Valley. Here I quote from his own
account:
I passed that evening the birthplace of my mother— then the resi-
dence of my uncle, Charles Lewis— and arrived at Lethe, the birthplace of
—my father the residence of my uncle, George Gilmer.
I remained two months at this beautiful place, with the best and
kindest people whom I have ever known. The house was of brick, situ-
ated upon the descent of a hill, about three hundred yards from the
Shenandoah River, which was seen over a beautiful meadow, and through
thinly scattered sycamore trees, flowing away with a strong current.
From the top of the hill, back of the house, might be seen exceedingly
fertile fields, enclosed in a semicircle, formed by the river, and mountains
extending in every direction.
In the middle of the valley, between the North Mountain and the
Blue Ridge, rose up almost perpendicularly, and to a great height, the
Peaked Mountain. In a clear day, many excavations were visible on its
side. Upon inquiring about them, I was informed that they had been
Amade by the neighboring Dutch people in search of hidden treasure.
young fellow of the neighborhood, whose father was a man of some wealth
and consequence, had a club-foot and was made a tailor of, as fit for
nothing else. In following his trade, he went to many places, and became
wise in the ways and some of the tricks of the world. After a while he
returned to the neighborhood of the Peaked Mountain. The Dutch had
heard, and were credulous enough to believe, that a wealthy lord was
one of the first settlers of the Shenandoah Valley, had quitted the coun-
try a long time before, and returned to Germany, leaving his money
behind, hid in the Peaked Mountain. There had been some effort to
discover the treasure by digging several places in the mountain side.
The tailor told them that, in his travels through Ohio, he had been in a
factory of spyglasses, which so added to the power of sight, that he
could see several feet into the earth with one of them. Having excited
great interest about these glasses and the hidden treasure by his tales,
he proposed to the money-hunters that, if they would make up a suffi-
cient sum, he would go with it to this factory, and buy them a glass,
by which they could find the concealed gold.
The required sum was collected, and the tailor went to Ohio. Upon
his return, he informed his employers that he had purchased a glass bet-
ter than he had ever seen before; that he had no doubt but that they
could have seen through the Peaked Mountain, if he could have got it to
them; but unfortunately, as he was traveling home with it, he was
obliged to cross a rapid run, which proved more swollen than he supposed.
He was washed down by the strong current, lost his saddlebags, with
-109-
Crossing the Blue Ridge, probably by Brown's Gap, he
came into the beautiful Valley. Here I quote from his own
account:
I passed that evening the birthplace of my mother— then the resi-
dence of my uncle, Charles Lewis— and arrived at Lethe, the birthplace of
—my father the residence of my uncle, George Gilmer.
I remained two months at this beautiful place, with the best and
kindest people whom I have ever known. The house was of brick, situ-
ated upon the descent of a hill, about three hundred yards from the
Shenandoah River, which was seen over a beautiful meadow, and through
thinly scattered sycamore trees, flowing away with a strong current.
From the top of the hill, back of the house, might be seen exceedingly
fertile fields, enclosed in a semicircle, formed by the river, and mountains
extending in every direction.
In the middle of the valley, between the North Mountain and the
Blue Ridge, rose up almost perpendicularly, and to a great height, the
Peaked Mountain. In a clear day, many excavations were visible on its
side. Upon inquiring about them, I was informed that they had been
Amade by the neighboring Dutch people in search of hidden treasure.
young fellow of the neighborhood, whose father was a man of some wealth
and consequence, had a club-foot and was made a tailor of, as fit for
nothing else. In following his trade, he went to many places, and became
wise in the ways and some of the tricks of the world. After a while he
returned to the neighborhood of the Peaked Mountain. The Dutch had
heard, and were credulous enough to believe, that a wealthy lord was
one of the first settlers of the Shenandoah Valley, had quitted the coun-
try a long time before, and returned to Germany, leaving his money
behind, hid in the Peaked Mountain. There had been some effort to
discover the treasure by digging several places in the mountain side.
The tailor told them that, in his travels through Ohio, he had been in a
factory of spyglasses, which so added to the power of sight, that he
could see several feet into the earth with one of them. Having excited
great interest about these glasses and the hidden treasure by his tales,
he proposed to the money-hunters that, if they would make up a suffi-
cient sum, he would go with it to this factory, and buy them a glass,
by which they could find the concealed gold.
The required sum was collected, and the tailor went to Ohio. Upon
his return, he informed his employers that he had purchased a glass bet-
ter than he had ever seen before; that he had no doubt but that they
could have seen through the Peaked Mountain, if he could have got it to
them; but unfortunately, as he was traveling home with it, he was
obliged to cross a rapid run, which proved more swollen than he supposed.
He was washed down by the strong current, lost his saddlebags, with
-109-
