4. Continued the line. At 115 m. 42 ch. crossed a small rivulet at the foot of the North mountain.

A series of astronomical observations was begun on the 7th of October, upon the conclusion of which the party returned to the Susquehanna. The journal reads as follows:

Packed up our instruments and left them (not in the least damaged to our knowledge) at Captain Shelby's.*

Repaired with Captain Shelby to the summit of the mountain in the direction of our line; but the air was so hazy, prevented our seeing the course of the river.

27. Captain Shelby again went with us to the summit of the mountain (when the air was very clear) and showed us the northernmost bend of the river Potomac at the Tonoloways, from which we judge the line will pass about two miles to the north of the said river. From hence we could see the Allegheny mountains for many miles and judge it by appearance to be about fifty miles distance in the direction of the line.

28. Set off on our return to the river Susquehanna to mark the offsets from our visto to the true parallel. Set off the offsets to the 109th mile post.

29. Set off the offsets to the 96th mile post. 30. Set off the offsets to the 87th mile post.

They reached the Susquehanna on the 6th of November and on the 8th "discharged all hands." The westward survey was resumed on the 1st of April, 1766. Sideling Hill creek, the western boundary of Washington County, was crossed on the 29th of April, and the party reached the foot of Savage mountain early in June. The following entry occurs under date of June 18th:

Set up a post (18 inches square, feet in the ground and 5 out) at the distance of 3.66 chains north of the sector, marked M on the south side, P on the north side, and W on the west, and began to cut a visto in the true parallel or line between Maryland and Pennsylvania by running it through points we have laid off from the line we have made at every ten chains.

They reached the 118th mile post, on the North mountain, July 19th; the 107th, near Mason-Dixon station on the Cumberland Valley railroad, on the 26th; the 96th, near Ringgold, Md., on the 2d of August; and the 85th, east of the South mountain, on the 9th. On the 25th of September this work was completed to "the intersection of the meridian from the tangent point with

Evan Shelby, father of Isaac Shelby, the first Governor of Kentucky.

the parallel"-the northeastern corner of the Province of Maryland. Regarding this visto the following entry occurs in the journal under date of September 25th:

From any eminence in the line where fifteen or twenty miles of the visto can be seen (of which there are many) the said line or visto very apparently shows itself to form a true parallel of northern latitude. The line is measured horizontal; the hills and mountains, with a 162 foot level.

Besides the mile posts we have set posts in the true line (marked W on the west side) all along the line opposite the stationary points where the sector and transit instruments stood. The said posts stand in the middle of the visto, which in general is about eight yards wide.

It thus appears that Mason and Dixon crossed the Cumberland valley three times in making their survey. The line run from east to west in September and October, 1765, was not the true line, but its variation from the true line at intervals of ten chains was determined by astronomical observation and computation. The true line was marked from west to east in October, 1765, at eight points in every mile, determined by measurement from the line first run. The true line through the points thus determined and marked was finally run in July and August, 1766, when the visto thereon was also cut out, and here again the surveyors proceeded from west to east. But the work was not yet completed. In 1768 stones were planted at the end of every fifth mile engraved with the arms of the Penns on the north side and those of the Calverts on the south side; the intermediate miles were marked with stones engraved with the letter P on the north side and M on the south. These stones were imported from England.

A five-mile stone stands near the eastern line of Leitersburg District, between the farm of William H. Hoffman in Maryland and that of John Bonebrake in Pennsylvania, and another formerly stood at the terminus of the Marsh turnpike, where it formed the northwestern corner of the District. Of the four intermediate mile stones along the District line three still stand, located as follows: On the farm of Mrs. C. B. Deitrich, east of Antietam creek; west of that stream, between the lands of Augustus Shiffler in Maryland and David B. Shoemaker in Pennsylvania, and between the lands of Franklin M. Strite in Maryland

and those of Henry Barkdoll in Pennsylvania; the fourth formerly stood on the farm of John H. Miller, three perches west of the Leitersburg and Greencastle road.

The surveyors were accompanied by a full complement of assistants, including laborers, axemen, wagoners, etc. In September, 1767, far to the westward of Fort Cumberland, twenty-six of their assistants deserted through fear of the Indians and only fifteen axemen remained, from which it is evident that the party numbered about fifty persons. From July 19 to August 9, 1766, they cut out the visto at the rate of eleven miles per week, an average of nearly two miles per day, as it is evident from the journal that no labor was performed on Sunday. This visto consituated the first road to Jacobs church and doubtless determined the selection of its site.

CHAPTER II.

SOCIAL AND MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT.

LANGUAGE, DRESS, ETC.-SLAVERY-ERECTION AND BOUNDARIES OF LEITERSBURG DISTRICT-POLITICS-" IN WAR TIMES "— AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT-POSTAL FACILITIES-PUBLIC ROADS-BRIDGES-TURNPIKES-MILLS-ROCK FORGE-DISTILLERIES-TANNERIES, TEXTILE MANUFACTURES, ETC.

WITH respect to nationality the pioneers of Leitersburg District were almost exclusively German. Cresap, Charlton, Perry, and Sprigg were English, and Gabby was Scotch, but their names are almost forgotten. The German element was represented by such names as Lambert, Miller, Shiess, Burkhart, Hartle, Fogler, Leiter, Good, Ritter, Reiff, Bell, Lantz, Schriver, Solmes, Snell, Mentzer, Garver, Stotler, Wolfinger, Ziegler, Strite -an overwhelming majority; and many of these families are still represented, because the Germans, as a class, came to stay.

Industry and thrift, the tendency to acquire real estate and to retain it when acquired, are characteristics of the Teuton, and while there is abundant reason to believe that the early German settlers were generally poor, they were not long in securing homes and providing for their families the necessities and comforts of life. The second generation started in life with larger capital and better advantages than the first; its numbers were reduced by emigration, but reenforced again from the older German communities of York and Lancaster Counties in Pennsylvania, and thus the District became more thoroughly German than before. The poll and tax books still show an almost uninterrupted succession of German names, Anglicized in orthography and pronunciation but German nevertheless. The four religious denominations represented in the District-Lutheran, Reformed, Mennonite, and German Baptist-are all of German origin. For several generations German was the language of social and business intercourse with a large majority of the population; it was the language of public worship at Jacobs church until 1840, and at Miller's church at a still later date. To-day it is a dead lan

guage, and in this respect the pioneers have failed to transmit to their posterity that to which they most tenaciously adhered. But English was the language of the county courts, of the local schoolmaster, and of the country at large, and under such a combination of influences the transition to its use, though gradual, was inevitable.

The change in language was accompanied by others equally noticeable. "The dress of the early settlers," says Kercheval in his History of the Valley of Virginia, "was of the plainest material, generally of their own manufacture. The men's coats were generally made with broad backs and straight short skirts, with pockets on the outside having large flaps. The waist-coats had skirts nearly halfway down to the knees and very broad pocket-flaps. The breeches were so short as barely to reach the knee, with a band surrounding the knee, fastened with either brass or silver buckles. The stocking was drawn up under the knee band and tied with a garter (generally red or blue) below the knee, so as to be seen. Shoes were of coarse leather, with straps to the quarters and fastened with either brass or silver buckles. The hat was either of wool or felt, with a round crown not exceeding three or four inches in height with a broad brim. The dress for the neck was usually a narrow collar to the shirt, with a white linen stock drawn together at the ends on the back of the neck with a broad metal buckle. The more wealthy and fashionable were sometimes seen with their stock, knee, and shoe buckles set in gold or silver with precious stones. The female dress was generally the short gown and petticoat made of the plainest materials. The German women mostly wore tight calico caps on their heads. *** In hay and harvest time they joined the men in the labors of the meadow and grain fields. Many females were most expert mowers and reapers. It was no uncommon thing to see the female part of the family at the hoe or plow." To this it might be added that men, women, and children alike discarded shoes in warm weather, on the score of comfort as well as economy. While respect for the church was almost universal, it was not considered necessary to wear a coat in warm weather, when the men usually appeared in their shirt sleeves. There are those still living who remember when this was characteristic of the congregations at Beard's and Jacobs.

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