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Who among us has not sometimes gazed upon the cloud-capped mountains of Pennsylvania and wondered what secrets lie hidden in their dark hollows and along their rushing glens? Who has hiked their sylvan pathways and not been captivated by the soothing sounds of the forest or enchanted by its hypnotic mists and shadows? In this, the third volume in the Pennsylvania Mountain Landmarks series, the author, as in the previous two volumes of the series, takes the reader along on an armchair journey to discover, and get a sense of actually being at, some of the most captivating and mysterious places that can be found in Pennsylvania's highlands. Places like this described herein include Highpoint Rock, Panther Rocks, Hexenkopf or "Witch's Head" Rock, Rattlesnake Rock, and the prehistoric Bilger's Rocks. Photos of these and of many other sites described in this volume are included to enhance the reader's armchair experience. And, as in the previous volumes, any historical accounts and human interest stories associated with the locations are also mentioned in order to give the reader a greater appreciation for them, and for the mysteries they hold.In this volume:High Point Rock (Somerset County)Rothrock's Rock (Franklin County)General Benner's Rock (Centre County)Hexenkopf Rock (Northampton County)Castles in the Air (Centre et al.)Panther Rocks (Clearfield County)Bigler's Rocks (Clearfield County)The Old Improvement (Centre County)Satan's Handiwork (Lycoming et al.)Mysteries in Stone (Clinton et al.)Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon (Tioga/Lycoming)Rattlesnake Rock (Lycoming County)

Anyone who has ever lived in the great state of Pennsylvania has at one time or another either read about or heard someone talk about one of its folktales and legends. These types of stories seem to be a part of our heritage here in the Keystone State, and they are unquestionably an intriguing source of entertainment even yet today. In fact, they seem so popular that new ones are born all the time. However this continuous creation of new material tends to push the older tales into the background until they are either lost forever or are barely kept alive in the undercurrents of oral history.The intent of this first volume, and subsequent volumes, of the Pennsylvania Fireside Tales series, is to preserve some of these older stories, and to bring them to the attention of the current generation, who may not know that the history of this state is filled with tales of human interest that rival anything that can be seen on television or in the movie theatres of today. In this volume:Legends of the Seven MountainsWitchmaster versus WitchThe Great Train RobberyDetweilerThe Mournful Ghost of Swamp ChurchSounds of BattleThe Lost Brother of Bald Eagle ValleyHush Little Baby (Don't you cry)Rafting DaysCanyon CriesSleepless Night in a Haunted HousePanther HollowThe Ewig YaerFrom Indian Trails to HighwaysHorsing AroundThe Still on the HillSpirits of the Mine PatchThe King's Stool (A legend of Clark's Valley)Sam Ertel's Panthers

This second volume in the Pennsylvania Mountain Landmarks series includes more accounts of the author's explorations of little-traveled byways and cloud-capped hilltops in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Highlights of the additional unique and unusual places he discovered will appeal to those who enjoyed Volume 1 in this series and also to all those who seek adventure and who like to explore odd and mysterious places. Places like this described herein include Beartown Rocks, Lochabar, Ole Bull's Castle, Sentinel Rock, and Blue Hill, and many others that make this series so intriguing. As in Volume 1, photos of the sites described are also included, which allow readers to gain a deeper appreciation for them. In addition, the human interest stories and historical accounts that cling to them are, as in Volume 1, presented as well, thereby adding that flavor and color that enhances their appeal. Such stories take the reader back to another time and place; a simpler, and some would say a calmer and more moral era, which charms us today. It is that allurement that beckons many of us to find these places; not only to see them for ourselves, but also to perhaps remind us of the local history and lore that add to the mystique of our Pennsylvania mountains. In this volume:The Standing Stone (Huntingdon County)Sentinel Rock (Franklin County)Indian Head Rock (Columbia County)Ole Bull's Castle (Potter County)Blue Hill (Northumberland County)King Wi-Daagh's Grave (Lycoming County)Hoodoo - They Think They're Fooling (Huntingdon County)Towering Above The Rest (Elk/Sullivan Counties)A Heavenly Path (Jefferson County et. al.)Native American Mementoes (Centre County et. al.)The Witness Tree (Centre County)Lochabar (Lycoming County)A Timely Reminder (Union County)Beartown Rocks (Centre and Jefferson Counties)The Rock Garden (Sullivan County)

This volume, and subsequent volumes, include accounts of the author's explorations of little-traveled byways and remote hilltops in the mountains of Pennsylvania. His descriptions and photos of the unique and unusual places he discovered will appeal to all those who seek adventure and who like to explore odd and mysterious places; places like the Devil's Dining Room, the Indian Steps, the Thousand Steps, Ticklish Rock, Umbrella Rock, and many others that are highlighted in the Pennsylvania Mountain Landmarks series. Much to his delight he also found that there are human interest stories and historical accounts that cling to these same spots and which seem as old as the rocks themselves; tales, that are steeped in the spiritual charm of the Native American and imbued with the pioneering spirit of the Pennsylvania wilderness as it existed when the earliest settlers penetrated its dark interior. Such accounts are the stuff of which legends are made and which add color and mystique to the mountains, forming their very soul. It is this breath of life, hints of a less-complicated and more compelling past that led the author to find the spots where it still survives, and to bask in the local color and lore that surround those places. In this volume:The King's Stool (Dauphin County)Stairways to the Stars (Berks et al.)Umbrella Rock (Elk County)The Three Sisters (Huntingdon County)Lewis' Rock (Cumberland County)Infernal Evidence (Clearfield et al.)Memento Mori (Jefferson et al.)Picture Rocks (Lycoming County)Boxcar Rocks (Lebanon County)Warriors' Mark (Huntingdon County)Vampire Rock (Clinton County)More of the Same (multiple counties)

Smoke to See By is a collection of 21 essays and stories, many never before published, written by award-winning essayist and columnist Ben Moyer. The collection tracks the writer's quest for intimate knowledge of, and personal connection to, the natural features of his home region, the foothills and ridges of Northern Appalachia. Readers will follow Moyer along mountain streams and through native woodlands to insightful encounters with rare salamanders, wild trout, rattlesnakes, bears, songbirds, and bobcats, through a hurricane that turned to a blizzard, and working with troubled adolescents in a therapeutic camping program. In this selection of works, ranging from lengthy to one succinct page, Moyer reveals the meaning, and connection to place, he finds in butchering a deer in a freezing garage or in gathering blackberries amid summer's heat. He also laments the loss of some familiar parts of the living landscape, unnoticed by many, as the region's ecology absorbs onslaughts from invasive species and responds subtly to climate in transition. But overall, Smoke to See By is a quietly joyous celebration of the ecological resilience and diversity of a region those without Moyer's perception might categorize as "unspectacular," yet which harbors its own marvelous natural wonders, offered to those who would know them up close.

It was a cruel turn of fate that bonded Jeffrey Claus to the master of the Ribner Trading Post, who knew more than he would say about the disappearance of the one document that could give Jeffrey his liberty. Compelled to recondition weapons destined for the British threatening the rear flank of George Washington's beleaguered troops, the gunsmith found solace in the embrace of Henry Ribner's dynamic, scheming wife, Abigail, until the biting lash of a whip finally drove him to a desperate bid for freedom in the outlaw country of the Pennsylvania backwoods. When murder was added to the charges with which he was hounded by the county officials, only his love for the fair-haired Susan gave him the courage to pursue his quest into the camp of the enemy, where he earned the gratitude of Colonel Hartley by alerting his Colonial troops in time to save them from an ambush of the very guns that Jeffry had been forced to service. But Abigail Ribner had been right when she said that he would not forget her, and it was only after he had faced death at the hands of friends and foe alike that she relinquished the secret which was to determine his fate.In The Eagle and the Wind, Herbert Stover has added his most gripping story to a list of titles including Song of the Susquehanna, Men in Buckskin, Powder Mission, and Copperhead Moon, which have earned him a distinguished reputation as a dramatist of history.

Herbert Stover was best known for his full-length historical novels full of action and historic figures, always with a twist of romance. However, before he sold his first novel to a New York publishing house after World War II, Stover struggled as an upstart writer of pulp fiction short stories, the vast majority of which were written in the 1920s and early 1930s. Rejection after rejection came back in the mail, and Stover, now in the Depression, turned his focus to his education career. The letters and stories were put away, largely forgotten.After Stover's death, his property exchanged hands. One day, in the early 2000s, the current owner was exploring the old barn on the property and found an old wooden bucket in the rafters. It contained pictures, letters, and typed stories that had been returned to Stover. But, the gentleman did nothing with these stories until the Fall of 2022, when author Guy Graybill and publisher Lawrence Knorr visited to take pictures of the former Stover homestead. The bucket was graciously given to Sunbury Press, and the adventure began!Debra Reynolds was handed the project of transcribing, editing, and patching the stories, where there were gaps due to the erosion of the paper. Silverfish had done their worst, but fortunately, preferred the pulp rather than the ink. Most of the stories were nearly complete. A couple required Debra's creativity to "become Herbert Stover" and fill the missing page or two. What follows is a volume of stories, lost for nearly 100 years! They are mostly contemporary detective / police action-adventure tales, almost always with a twist of romance. Stover also liked the technology of the day, and included automobiles, airplanes, trains, and telephones to a large degree. The stories are remarkably fresh and are entertaining to this day, providing a window into the mind of a young man who would decades letter become one of the region's most famous authors.

The Northern Appalachia Review is an annual publication making a place for the under-recognized literature of its region. The editors identify northern Appalachia as the Appalachia counties of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, and the northern portion of West Virginia, a part of America where authors have yet to be distinguished with a literary identity, a place that nonetheless remains rich in stories of conflict among humans and their landscapes.The Review publishes authors from, living in, or writing about northern Appalachia. It seeks work that best conveys the character of the people and places of the region and which represents it as both distinct from and part of greater Appalachia.The exposure offered by the Review generates support for the authors of Northern Appalachia, ensuring that the voice of this remarkable part of the country is acknowledged, appreciated, and preserved.

The beleaguered forces of General George Washington were hard pressed by a well-equipped British army outside Philadelphia. Patriot victory depended upon the Spanish gold and powder that Colonel George Gibson's "Lambs" were commissioned to transport from New Orleans, north through enemy territory. When the crucial cargo of gold is stolen, Martin Joe Richtier, the personal envoy of General Anthony Wayne, knows that he alone must bear the responsibility for its recovery. From the battle lines of the Pennsylvania regiments to the dank confines of a British prison in Detroit, Richtier's search is plagued by intrigue and danger. Suspicion clouds his love for the courageous Hester Jordan, who has been seen too often in the company of Tories, and a horrible death at the hands of angry natives led by a maniacal frontiersman stalks the forests through which his route lies. In Powder Mission Herbert E. Stover who has told a compelling story of excitement and romance against a background of history brought to life by an intimate knowledge of the times and the terrain. This book promises to add a host of new followers, young and old, to the readers of the author's two previous novels, Song of the Susquehanna and Men in Buckskin.

Peter Grove, in search of ginseng in upstate Pennsylvania, becomes embroiled in the events of the French and Indian War. A native of Lancaster, Grove travels throughout the Pennsylvania wilderness, as far as Fort Pitt and the West Branch of the Susquehanna. Along the way, when not seeking a young lady's hand, he interacts with many of the leading figures of the time, including Conrad Weiser, Governor Morris, John Harris, Henry Bouquet, John Forbes, Hugh Mercer, George Croghan, and numerous natives.

The Underground Railroad was the only avenue of hope for fugitive slaves who followed the star of freedom north to Canada in the years prior to the Civil War. High rewards offered for the return of human chattel inspired a relentless vigil on the part of unscrupulous deputies, making the operation of the Railroad a perilous venture for the Abolitionists.By Night the Strangers tells the thrilling story of Luke Hanley who unwittingly finds himself on the station of that Railroad and joins the valiant group of "Right People" in the lumber country of Pennsylvania. In the pattern of the misfortunes that plague him, Hanley sees the powerful hand of John Caines, county boss and lumber king, whose daughter nevertheless sacrifices her reputation to save Luke, arousing the dangerous jealousy of the fiery and embittered Hester. When the harassed hero is finally brought to trial for his life, the great Thaddeus Stevens comes to his defense; but his eloquence cannot save Hanley's lumber camp from the flames of angry slave hunters after he gives sanctuary to John Brown's son, following the raid on Harper's Ferry.Readers of By Night the Strangers will find this the most exciting of the books by Herbert Stover who has established himself as an accomplished dramatist of history through such previous works as Song of the Susquehanna, Men in Buckskin, Powder Mission, Copperhead Moon, and The Eagle and the Wind.

A desperate English king had turned loose the swarms of native warriors to threaten the northern regions of the Susquehanna with death and plunder. General Knox called on Simon Braide to make the vital map that would guide Washington's forces in defense of this territory-whenever they could be spared to bolster the meager but gallant ranks of the men in buckskin who now patrolled the lonely forest rivers.Young Braide set out upon this mission with these vicious words, his fiery-tempered bride, Celine, ringing in his ears: "Some day I'll make you truly sorry for what you have done to me ..." And as though in answer to her curse, ill fate was to dog Simon's footsteps from the evening he returned to find his home wrecked, his wife gone, and the precious map stolen or destroyed by Indian raiders.The relentless search that followed led him within the shadow of a British scaffold at Niagara, lighted by the flames of Iroquois fires. Misfortune brought down upon him, in addition, the wrath of the ailing General Sullivan, who sent troopers of Braide's own forces to arrest him for high treason and alienated the girl he came to love almost too late.With the authority of a true historian and the skill of an adept storyteller, Herbert Stover has interwoven Simon Braide's perilous adventures with the events that beleaguered the hard-pressed patriot army: Colonel Boone's attempt to build a road through native-inhabited forests against insurmountable odds; the mutiny that threatened the troops of General Wayne in Princeton; the intrigue of Britain's arch spy ring; and the menace of hordes of rapacious Indian warriors commanded by English Rangers.In Men in Buckskin, the author of Song of the Susquehanna brings a rousing drama that can be found only in history.

The Union forces faced disaster on two sides. Confederate troops advanced determinedly from the South while, in the North, an amorphous army of deserters was being organized to strike at the back of the blue-uniformed soldiers with a blow that might prove as deadly as the bite of the small reptile whose name the Copperheads bore.Discharged from the Union Army, Coleman Jons turned his knowledge of the Pennsylvania backwoods and backwoodsmen to fight the subversive threat to the Union's rear. At first he had to be content with following out Governor Curtin's order to "raise a little hell." Plagued on every hand by the hostile henchmen of the traitorous Senator Granly, to whose niece he owed his life, Jons answered the desperate call for men to stem the Confederate tide at Gettysburg. This victory, which merely intensified Copperhead activity, was to send him racing back to track down the Copperhead leaders in a series of daring escapades before they could loose, in the Union's midst, the destructive forces that lay behind the prisoner-of-war barricades at Elmira, New York-a mission which was to bring him finally into the arms of the girl who, despite her name, had won his heart. Mr. Stover has plunged his hero into one of the most vital phases of the Civil War, providing all the elements of a thrilling historical novel, from romance to violence. With renewed vigor, he writes about the territory of which he had become the ex officio historian through his Revolutionary novels, Song of the Susquehanna, Men in Buckskin, and Powder Mission.

Henry Shoemaker compiled these legendary tales set in the Juniata Valley of central Pennsylvania. Shoemaker's tales recall the transition of the landscape from forest to industrial logging and the decline of the native peoples as the European settlers advanced westward. This collection of tales has been modernized for 21st-century audiences but maintains the charm, wit, and suspense of the originals.Old DanThe Rede The Snow Image The Shadow Man The Wolf Tribe Candlemas The Warlock Shaney John The Hart's Horn Nita-Nee The Original Lost Creek Valley The Old Tree The Girl and the Panther The Standing StoneWarrior's Ridge Warrior's Mark Wild Ducks A Story of Black Jack Tom Fausett Aaron Hall Hallowe'enAll Souls' Night Merithew Green GapThe Rob Roy

Henry Shoemaker compiled these folk tales set in the Black Forest of north-central Pennsylvania. Shoemaker's stories recall the decline of big game in the region and the exit of the native peoples as the European settlers advanced westward. This collection of tales has been modernized for 21st-century audiences but maintains the charm, wit, and suspense of the originals.John Decker's Elk: A Black Forest SouvenirWhy the Senecas Would Not Eat Trout: A Story of the Coudersport PikeYoung Woman's Creek: The Story of a Mountain StreamConquering Fate: A Story of the Panther CavesIn the Rafters: A Tale of the Mountaineers' ConscienceThe Winter of the Wolves: A Story of Windfall RunThe Three Rivers: A Legend of Potter CountyA Story of Regina: Another Fragment of the Popular LegendThe Death Shout: A Story of the SenecasThe Healing Spring: A Story of Quinn's RunThe Hunter's Daughter: A Story of Lewis' RunThe Moment the Lights Were Lit: A Romance of the MountainsHugh Mitcheltree: A Story of the Genesee ForkGeorge Shover's Panther: A Story of Little Miller RunThe Tramper: The Story of a Famous Lost BoyLittle Red Riding Hood: Story of the Packet-Boat WolfThe Cursed Woods: A Legend of One of Nature's BlightsThe Screaming Skull: A Ghost Story of the Pike

A dead mother. An auctioned childhood home. Loss in the womb of a coal mine.Seldom Seen follows Brander, an Illinois native who moves to Alaska after high school to trap game and escape the hardships of his family. Brander returns to Illinois two years later to find that his mother has died of cancer and the property where he grew up is soon to be auctioned off by his eldest brother. While failing to reconcile this sudden shift, Brander encounters Richter, a specter of a man who promises him that the answers to life are in Seldom Seen Mine, the largest coal mine in the United States.With nothing holding him back, Brander moves to Pennsylvania, takes a job at Seldom Seen Mine, and fails at every attempt to amend his life, losing a friend, a lover, and maybe his mind.

Henry Shoemaker compiled these legendary tales set in the Endless Mountains of western and central Pennsylvania. Shoemaker's tales recall the transition of the landscape from forest to industrial logging and the decline of the native peoples as the European settlers advanced westward. This collection of tales has been modernized for 21st-century audiences but maintains the charm, wit, and suspense of the originals.Teedyuscung's FaceThe Man Who Loved a FairyIn the FoothillsKilly, Killy, KillyEleveSpiritually DeadOne Hour of HappinessThe Play GirlA Frontiersman's DiaryThe EscapeThe Water WitchThe Lonely GhostThe Horse-BeaterQueen ElizabethThe Headless ManHis Rival's GhostCanoe PlaceGolden Hour in the CampThe WeathervanesElphe SodenThe White Deer

Conflicted hearts search for human connections upon waters and vivid landscapes.Randolf, a Susquehanna ferryman, is piloting an Amish wedding party in the title story of this collection, "Nunc Stans-A Ferry Tale." But mid-river, the ferry snags on a low dam, and a frightened mare bolts from the deck. As Randolf tries to save the ferry, he's forced to confront his own remorse in a haunting reflection of a couple's grief, guilt, and awakenings in the aftermath of a stillbirth.In "Not 2B," a down-on-his-luck dirt track driver is in search of redemption for the on-track tragedy that made him the scorn and scapegoat of 800 Saturday night race fans. "Nancy," inspired by John O'Hara's Appointment in Samarra, is set in the wilds of northern Pennsylvania and tells the crossing paths of a raw Pennsylvania lumbering crew, an influenza-ridden society man, and a female African American goat farmer. In "The Wagon Woman," a story of the irony of highways simultaneously feeding and destroying small towns, an EMT arrives at his most tragic medical incident to discover the aftershock of an illicit love affair he is embroiled in. In "Mainland," Robin, an ecology student, is doing graduate fieldwork in Maine. On an evening out, a marine biologist named Susan persuades Robin to join her and three men for an impromptu party on a cobblestone beach. Abandoned with a drunk lobsterman and saving herself from a sexual assault, Robin comes to realize the prerogative of her own fertility and identity.