History of Western Maryland. J. Thomas Scharf
Potomac. At intervals along its path masses of the heavy-jointed brown sandstone stand in solid masonry as majestic bluffs, while next beyond a broad bayed-out basin rests as it has been worn from the strata by the power of the rushing floods. Occasionally the great mountain swells push into its channels, throwing out huge buttresses of rock, and forming tremendous precipices of the jointed white Oneida sandstone, where the struggling creek labors to force its way through the labyrinths of stone. For wild, undisturbed solitude the basin of this stream has scarcely a counterpart in the State of Maryland. In the midst of half-concealed hollows, from which there seems no outlet, Nature has lavished unnumbered gifts. On the one side a glen appears, overgrown with the lithe forms of varied shrubs, penetrated by alleys bordered with richly-colored flowers. Beyond this, the green banks, which bend over the ledges of rocks, overflow with the fringy ends of trailing vines, while water, trickling down through the tangled moss, feeds the roots of broad tufts of graceful ferns. In the open avenues whole beds of the rich rhododendron grow, next to where the groves of maple and birch luxuriate in the moisture-laden breezes. There, too, on the slopes of rich humus, along the ravines, the kalmias and azaleas grow in company, and interlace their branches in endless confusion.
A broad, gradually rising valley stretches from this creek to Town Hill, a distance of about five miles. The bed of the whole section is brown sandstone, yielding a soil productive of ample crops of Indian corn and oats. The ridge is a repetition of Sideling Hill, but rather less elevated. Beds of black decomposing shale, similar to those previously mentioned, are also met with in this ridge, and have likewise tempted adventurers to dig for coal. But these do not belong to the coal-bearing series, and will not be found to yield that mineral.
Beyond this several ranges of lower mountains, of similar character, enter the county from Pennsylvania, and cross this entire width of region. Of these. Green Ridge, Polish Mountain, and Warrior Mountain stand in close proximity to each other beyond Town Hill, and between these narrow, high, uneven valleys rest, through which small creeks run and transport the drainage of the country into the Potomac. The ridges are composed of closely-pressed strata of the same blue and drab limestones, red sandstones, and variously colored slates as those previously noticed, and on their summits occurs the white sandstone or gray conglomerate. Most of the valleys are two miles or less in width, while that between Warrior and Martin's Mountains is expanded to a breadth of about four miles.
In the latter the red slaty sandstones prevail, and they are also found in the succeeding valleys until the city of Cumberland is reached.
Warrior Mountain is largely built of the massive cavernous limestone, and contains numerous species of fossils peculiar to this formation.
The caverns are known to form subterranean reservoirs of large size, storing the water which finds an outlet at the base of some ridge or hill. In such cases vigorous and permanent springs burst forth, and produce streams which afford the only reliable waterpower of the region. Usually the temperature of these springs during the cold season is higher than that of the surrounding atmosphere, and accordingly they are rarely found to freeze, even in the severest weather. This important condition permits the running of the mills throughout the whole winter, at times when it is found impossible to do so in many other localities. Murley's Branch is one of the streams which rises under similar conditions at the western base of Warrior Mountain. After supplying power for several mills, and flowing through a flourishing region, it bends around to the east to pass through the gap in that mountain, then winds south and unites with Town Creek in the pleasant valley below Gilpintown. The upper parts of this and the next two adjoining valleys are distinguished by the presence of mineral springs, both sulfur and chalybeate. Adjoining Flintstone, at the base of the gap in Warrior Mountain, a white sulfur spring of ample volume and of great clearness and mineral strength appears. Several others of the same type are also present between Green Ridge and Polish Mountain, particularly on the Carroll estate. Four of these issue from a fossiliferous slate rock which forms the bed of the valley, and although appearing limpid and free from sediment, nevertheless precipitate all along their margins the deposit known as " white sulfur." The temperature of these springs is 47° or 48° F., and a chemical analysis by experts establishes the presence of carbonic acid gas in large proportion, of sulphuretted hydrogen, and of useful proportions of magnesia, muriate of soda, sulphate of lime, carbonate of lime, and of chlorides in small quantities.
Situated as these springs are in the fertile and beautiful valley of Fifteen-Mile Creek, at a distance of about sixteen miles east of Cumberland, in the midst of a region of invigorating and pure air, together with the facilities offered by the proprietor of the establishment there, should make the locality one of the chief resorts for invalids and tourists who seek for health and pleasure in more distant and far less accessible places. Most of the valleys are seated at an elevation of seven hundred to seven hundred and fifty feet above the sea. These and the cleared parts of the ridges are covered with farms, on which good crops of wheat, rye, Indian corn, oats, and potatoes are commonly raised. Apples, pears, and the common kinds of small fruits succeed well, and the alluvial bottoms are adapted for the grazing and raising of cattle and farm-stock. Springs are numerous along the flanks of the ridges, where they usually give rise to active little brooks which transport their waters to the larger creeks. The mountains are still overgrown with ample forests on their summits and sides, and these are composed of the yellow and spruce pines, with some groves of white pine and large areas of chestnut. On the deeper and moister soils the white, chestnut, and other oaks, together with the magnolia or cucumber-tree, the sycamore, sour-gum, tulip-tree, linden, walnut, hickory, maples, and especially the false locust, grow luxuriantly.
The sugar-maple still grows abundantly in some localities, from which the farmers obtain their 'annual supply of the maple-sugar. Various flowering trees and small shrubs abound in the sheltered parts of the mountain gaps and in the ravines, among which the dogwood, fringe-tree, hawthorn, haw, Judas-tree, and calico-bush are very conspicuous. But the most magnificent of all, the great rhododendron, forms extensive thickets in the avenues among the trees, and adds its massive bloom to the sweet scent of the delightful azaleas. Along the alluvial levels of the Potomac the region is made gay by groups of bright heads of the native yellow lily, and by numerous varieties of pink, purple, and golden crowns of the ever-present asters and sunflowers. The Virginia creeper, clematis, greenbrier, and other climbing and trailing vines overspread the rocky nooks with waves of refreshing verdure.
Beyond Evitt's Mountain the city of Cumberland rests in an open amphitheater, set around with high hills and prominent blunt mountain-domes. The Potomac River in making its long bend to pass around Knobby Mountain touches this city and receives the waters of Will's Creek. The latter occupies the bed of the great and startling gap in Will's Mountain, on the western side of Cumberland. This tremendous chasm has a width of five hundred feet at its base, and the abrupt mountain flank on its east side rises to a height of eight hundred feet above the creek. On this side the red sandstone lies at the base and stands up like a great wall, while on the opposite shore the white sandstone is seen in long, heavy walls of immense thickness, which are continuous with the side of the mountain and curve over its summit. The blue limestone forms the end of this ridge next the city, and crops out at various points on the hill beyond the creek. At this point, also, a large bed of the black magnesian limestone stands out prominently, and is quarried for the purpose of making hydraulic cement. This is calcined in kilns near the spot, and is then packed in barrels for exportation. Some of the limestones are slightly bituminous, and are often crossed by wide seams of quartz, which more strongly resist the atmosphere and elements, and are thus left standing in prominent belts, while the adjoining rock is worn away. Such features often constitute great buttresses of fantastic shapes, extending down from great elevations, and always form attractions to the observant and curious. One of these, of more than usual interest, is situated on the northwest slope of Wills Mountain, only a few miles beyond Cumberland. It has been a standing object of awe to the ignorant and superstitious, who dread to be near it during the evening or night, and who have given it the significant name of Devil's Sliding-place.
Crossing Will's Mountain through the valley of Braddock's Run, the higher ridge of Davis Mountain is reached, and then a descent is made into the great Potomac and Allegany coal-basin. It is an oval valley, sloping from the north towards the south, with the rocky sides curving upwards to form the crests of the mountains. On the western boundary the