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| Its presence is often betrayed by the nest it constructs; it consists of a mass of sticks, leaves, bark and materials found near its residence. These are placed among the crevices of the rock in a rather promiscuous manner, so that its house does not have a very attractive appearance. Usually there are some bones of dead horses or cows about their residence, these they collect and gnaw for the mineral matter they contain. They are harmless and lead a quiet, secludled life and their habits are not easily observed. THE FALLS Though a volume might be written to describe interesting features of nature and forms of plant animal life that abound in this valley. I desire to call attention to only a rew of these objects. Where the creek cuts through the back-bone of the anticline there is a fall of about 25 feet. A minature Niagara where most of the features of that great cataract may be observed on a reduced scale. The rugged gorge, the massive rocks, and overhanging trees lend a charm to the place. On the Fayette side are the ruins of a saw mill and a grist mill, supposed to be the site of Thomas Kyles mill, rererred to in a previous article. Here the pioneers brought their grain to be made into flour and the great trees that once decked these hills are sawed into building material. In the enclosure, surrounded by the crumbling walls or the mill, lies the upper millstone, apparently carved from the same strata of rock that forms the falls. It is about 3 feet in diameter. The nether, or bed stone, is gone, fragments of it have been round in the stream below this place. A large American Elm, that has sprung up since the mill ceased operations, overshadows the ruins. This mill was running at the time the furnace was in blast and probably before that period. Just below these ruins, in a sheltered nook, is the finest collections of evergreen ferns to be round in this valley, several of which are rare. So far as I have been able to learn, the only attempt to preserve the traditions associated with this old mill was made by Dr. Frank Cowan, who in 1881 published a volume entitled "An American Story Book". It contains 24 stories, the scenes of most of which are laid in Westmoreland County. |
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