forwarding business of a large scope of country, beyond Bellefonte, as well as of that place and the contiguous valleys. There are several furnaces within a circle of eight or nine miles around Lewistown, and the iron-trade generally of the county has been extensive. Lewistown contains, in addition to the usual county buildings, seven churches-Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Catholic, and African; the Lewistown Bank, two foundries, and a flouring-mill. Population in 1840, 2,058. The houses are generally of brick, built with good taste, and the whole place has a lively and business-like appearance. A splendid new courthouse, now going up, (1842,) on the north side of the public square, will add much to the appearance of the place; especially after the old courthouse, which now encumbers the centre of the square, is removed.

The annexed view of one of the principal streets was taken from a window of the old courthouse.

A resident of the place boasts, not without some reason, that many circumstances concur to make Lewistown a desirable resort for strangers. "The scenery is the finest in the world; we breathe the pure mountain air. Our clear streams abound with fish, particularly trout. Our forests are filled with game of every description; and Milliken's Spring, on a farm adjoining the town, is ascertained to possess all the medicinal qualities of the Bedford water, particularly in bilious complaints."

The early settlement of the Buchanans at this place has been noticed above. When the county was established, Gen. James Potter, Judge William Brown, and Maj. Montgomery were owners of the town plot, and laid out the town in 1790. The neighboring valleys had at that time a population of 7,562. The Juniata division of the Pennsylvania canal was completed as far as this place in 1829, when the opening of the navigation was celebrated by the citizens with appropriate ceremonies.

When an attempt was made to run out the boundaries of the county, a dispute arose relating to the western corner between Huntington and Mifflin. A glance at the map will show the zigzag course of the line.

The people of Huntingdon co. contended that the line, after passing southwesterly along Stone mountain, and turning towards the southeast, should continue that southeast course directly across Jack's mountain to Shade mountain; while the people of Mifflin, and especially those living in the disputed territory, claimed that the line turned again, and ran down along Jack's mountain to the Juniata, &c. . The usual conflict of jurisdictions naturally occurred on the first attempt to enforce legal process. The settlers in the disputed territory were chiefly of Irish blood, and a small skirmish would have been rather acceptable than otherwise. Jemmy Stackpole kept a tavern just below M'Veytown, near the line in dispute. The Huntingdon sheriff, in serving a process, was seized by the inhabitants, and taken to Lewistown jail. Judge Brown released him on habeas corpus. He rallied an armed posse to come down and take his man, but could not find him. The inhabitants saw him coming, and at a preconcerted signal, (the firing of a rifle,) they assembled to take the sheriff and his posse; but the latter had prudently taken themselves off by another route. Another circumstance occurred about the same time to disturb the harmony of the county, which resulted in a fearful riot, and had well-nigh ended in bloodshed. Judge Bryson, who had been appointed an associate judge of the new county, had a short time previous been a brigade inspector; and in that capacity, for some reason, had refused to commission two colonels who had been elected by their regiments, and commissioned others of his own selection in their places. This gave great offence to the friends of the officers, and they resolved that Judge Bryson should not enjoy the honors of his new office. One of the colonels not commissioned was the brother of Wilson, the sheriff of the county. The courts were then held in an old log courthouse, which also served as a jail, standing on the site of the present jail. These explanations will serve to render more intelligible the following extracts from "the Pennsylvania Herald and York General Advertiser," of 5th October, 1791:

SIR

A Report of the Riot at Lewistown, in the County of Mifflin.

On Monday, the 12th of September, 1791, the Hon. W. Brown, James Bryson, and James Armstrong, Esquires, met in the forenoon, in order to open the court and proceed to business; but Thomas Beale, Esquire, one of the associate judges, not having arrived, their honors waited until three o'clock in the afternoon, at which time he arrived, and was requested to proceed with them and the officers of the court to the courthouse; he declined going, and the procession moved on to the courthouse, where the judges' commissions were read, and the court opened, and the officers and the attorneys of the court sworn in, and the court adjourned till ten o'clock next morning.

About nine o'clock, while preparing business to lay before the grand jury, I received information that a large body of men were assembled below the Long Narrows, at David Jordan's tavern, on the Juniata, and were armed with guns, swords, and pistols, with an avowed intention to proceed to Lewistown, and seize Judge Bryson on the bench and drag him from his seat, and march him before them, and otherwise ill-treat him. This information was instantly communicated to Messrs. Brown, Bryson, and Armstrong, the judges, who agreed with me that Samuel Edmiston, Esq., the prothonotary, Judge Beale, Stewart, Esq., Bell, Esq., should, with George Wilson, Esq., the sheriff of Mifflin county, proceed and meet the rioters; and the sheriff was commanded to inquire of them their object and intention, and if hostile, to order them to disperse, and tell them the court was alarmed at their proceedings.

Two hours after this, the court opened, and a grand jury was impannelled. A fife was heard playing and some guns fired, and immediately the mob appeared marching towards the courthouse, with three men on horseback in front, having the gentlemen that had been sent to meet them under guard in the rear, all of whom, on their arrival at Lewistown, they permitted to go at large, except the sheriff, whom four of their number kept a guard over. The court ordered

me, as the representative of the commonwealth, to go out and meet them, remonstrate against their proceedings, and warn them of their danger, which order was obeyed; but all endeavors were in vain, the mob crying out, "March on! march on! draw your sword on him! ride over him!" I seized the reins of the bridle that the principal commander held, viz., Wilson, Esq., brother of the sheriff aforesaid, who was well mounted and well dressed, with a sword and I think two pistols belted round him, a cocked hat, and one or two feathers in it. He said he would not desist, but at all events proceed and take Judge Bryson off the bench, and march him down the Narrows to the judge's farm, and make him sign a written paper, that he would never sit as a judge there again. The mob still crying out, "March on," he drew his sword, and told me he must hurt me, unless I would let go the reins. The crowd pushed forward, and nearly pressed me down; one of them, as I learned afterwards, a nephew of Judge Beale, presented his pistol at my breast, with a full determination to shoot me. I let the reins go, and walked before them until I arrived at the stairs on the outside of the courthouse, when Judge Armstrong met me and said, "Since nothing else will do, let us defend the stairs." We instantly ascended, and Mr. Hamilton and the gentlemen of the bar, and many citizens; and the rioters, headed by William Wilson, Col. Walker, and Col. Holt, came forward, and the general cry was, " March on, damn you; proceed and take him." Judge Armstrong replied, “You damn'd rascals, come on; we will defend the court and ourselves, and before you shall take Judge Bryson, you shall kill me and many others, which seems to be your intention, and which you may do." At this awful moment one Holt seized Judge Armstrong by the arm, with intent to pull him down the stairs, but he extricated himself. Holt's brother then got a drawn sword, and put it into his hands, and damned him to run the rascal through; and Wilson drew his sword on me with great rage, and young Beale his sword, and cocked his pistol and presented it. I told them they might kill me, but the judge they could not, nor should they take him; and the word fire away shouted through the mob. put my hand on his shoulder, and begged him to consider where he was, who I was, and reflect but for a moment. I told him to withdraw the men, and appoint any two or three of the most respectable of his people to meet me in half an hour, and try to settle the dispute. He agreed, and with difficulty got them away from the courthouse. Mr. Hamilton then went with me to Mr. Alexander's tavern, and in Wilson and Walker came, and also Sterett, who I soon discovered to be their chief counsellor.

Proposals were made by me that they should return home, offer no insult to Judge Bryson or the court, and prefer to the governor a decent petition stating their grievances, (if they had any,) that it might be laid before the legislature, and that in the mean time the judge should not sit on the bench this court. They seemed agreed, and our mutual honor to be pledged; but Sterett, who pretended not to be concerned, stated that great delay would take place: that injuries had been received which demanded instant redress, and objected to the power of the governor as to certain points proposed. At this moment young Beale and Holt came up, the former with arms, and insisted on Wilson's joining them, and broke up the conference. I followed, and on the field among the rioters, told Wilson, "Your object is, that Judge Bryson leave the bench, and not sit on it this court?" He and Walker said "Yes." "Will you promise to disperse and go home, and offer him no insult?" He said "Yes." And our mutual honor was then pledged for the performance of this agreement.

Mr. Hamilton proceeded to the court, told the judge, and he left his seat and retired. I scarce had arrived until the fife began to play, and the whole of the rioters came on to the courthouse, then headed by Wilson. I met them at the foot of the stairs, and told them the judge was gone, in pursuance of the agreement, and charged them with a breach of the word and forfeiture of honor; and Walker said it was so, but he could not prevail on them. Wilson said he would have the judge, and attempted going up stairs. I prevented him, and told him he should not, unless he took off his military accoutrements. He said he had an address to present, and com. plied with my request, and presented it, signed "The People." Young Beale, at the moment I was contending with Wilson, cocked and presented his pistol at my breast, and insisted that Wilson and all of them should go; but on my offering to decide it by combat with him, he declined it, and by this means they went off swearing, and said they were out-generalled.

The next day Col. McFarland, with his regiment, came down and offered to defend the court, and addressed it; the court answered, and stated that there was no occasion, and thanked him. Judge Bryson read a paper, stating the ill-treatment he received, and mentioned that no fear of danger prevented him from taking and keeping his seat; but that he understood an engagement had been entered into by his friends that he should not, and on that account only he was prevented. The court adjourned until two o'clock that day, and were proceeding to open it, with the sheriff, coroner, and constable in front, when they observed that Judge Beale was at the house of one Con. They halted, and requested the sheriff to wait on him and request him to walk with them; he returned, and said the judge would not walk or sit with Bryson, and addressed Judge Bryson with warmth, who replied to it in a becoming manner. The sheriff struck at him, and kicked also. Judge Armstrong seized the sheriff, and commanded the peace, and took the sheriff's rod from him; the coroner took his place, and the sheriff was brought up before the court. I moved he might be committed to jail, and his mittimus wrote and signed; and the court ordered

the coroner and jailer to take him, and he submitted. The court adjourned. After night the drum beat, and Holt collected about seventy men, who repeatedly huzzaed, crying out, "Liberty or death," and he ordered to rescue the sheriff, but the sheriff refused. At ten o'clock at night I was informed expresses were sent down the Narrows to collect men to rescue the sheriff, and Major Edmiston informed the sheriff was sorry for his conduct, and offered to beg the court's pardon, and to enter into recognizance. I communicated this to Judges Brown and Armstrong, and requested they would write to the jailer to permit him to come down; they did, and the sheriff came with Major Edmiston, begged pardon of every member of the court but Judge Bryson, who was not present, and entered into recognizance to appear at next sessions. The next day near 300 were assembled below the Narrows, and I prevailed on some gentlemen to go down and disperse them; and, upon being assured that the sheriff was out of jail, they returned to their respective homes, and the court have finished all business: nothing further requiring the attendance of the grand jury, the court dismissed them and broke up. I must not omit to inform that Judge Beale had declared, during the riot, in court, that he would not sit on the bench with Judge Bryson, and that both him and said Stewart appeared to countenance the rioters, and are deeply concerned.

I must now close the narrative with saying, that, owing to the spirit and firmness of Judge Armstrong and the whole of the bar, I was enabled to avert the dreadful blow aimed at Judge Bryson, and to keep order and subordination in court; and unless the most vigorous measures are exerted soon, it will be impossible ever to support the laws of the state in that county, or punish those who dare transgress.

The excise law is execrated by the banditti, and from every information, I expect the collection of the revenue will be opposed.

I am happy to add, the dispute, which originated by a mistake between Huntingdon and Mifflin counties, is happily closed in the most amicable manner, without any prosecution in Mifflin.

I am, sir, your most obedient,

JOHN CLARK, Dy. St. Attorney.

TO THOMAS SMITH, Esq., President of the Court of Mifflin county.

MCVEYTOWN, formerly called Waynesburg, is quite a flourishing village on the canal, 11 miles, by the turnpike, above Lewistown. Many new brick and frame houses have been erected within a year or two. It contains a Methodist and Presbyterian church, and a furnace, foundry, and forge near town. The place is incorporated as a borough, and has assumed to itself, in that capacity, the invaluable prerogative of issuing shinplasters. These notes have been extensively circulated, and have enjoyed a respectable credit during the hard times of 1841, '42. Population in 1840, 348.

HAMILTONVILLE, or NEWTON HAMILTON, formerly called Muhlenberg, is a small but smart village on the canal, 10 miles above McVeytown, and 21 from Lewistown. The river here makes a circuitous bend. Above the bend, the canal crosses on a splendid aqueduct to the right bank of the Juniata, and soon after (in ascending) is passed the gap through Jack's mountain.

BELLEVILLE, HORRELSTOWN, and REEDVILLE, are small but pleasant villages in Kishicokelas valley, containing some 20 houses each. Reedville has been noticed in connection with Logan's Spring. It contains a large flouring-mill, stores, taverns, &c. About a mile below, Reedville, in the deep gorge in Jack's mountain, is the edge-tool factory of Mr. Mann, whose axes have sounded their own praises, and cut their own way through all the forests of the west.

In the southwestern part of the Kishicokelas valley is a large settlement of German Mennonists, with long beards. Many of their customs are like those of the Friends, particularly in the observance of the command to "live peaceably with all men." They are excellent farmers, industrious, and exceedingly economical. Mr. Zug, one of their number, has written a history of the sect.

MONROE COUNTY.

MONROE COUNTY was taken partly from Pike and partly from Northampton, by the act of April, 1835. Stroudsburg was at the same time selected as the county seat. Length 25 m., breadth 25; area about 600 sq. m. Population in 1840, 9,879. A small portion of this county, in 1843, has been included in the new county of Carbon. The county is generally mountainous; the greater portion of it being occupied by the lofty and desolate ranges of the Pokono, and other sandstone ridges and spurs, underlying the coal formation. In the northwestern part of the county, on the head-branches of the Lehigh, lies an immense body of rather wet land, covered with a dense forest of pine. This place was called, by the forlorn fugitives from Wyoming, the Great Swamp, or the Shades of Death-dismal names, and in fact rather more repulsive than the region itself, which promises to open a rich supply of timber for the trade of the Lehigh navigation, and when cleared of its lumber to afford many sites for farms of at least tolerable productiveness. The towering ridge of the Kittatinny mountain rises along the southeastern boundary of the county, and would seem to shut it out from the world below, were it not for the open doors of the far-famed Delaware Water-gap, the Windgap, and Smith's gap. Between this mountain and the Pokono are several subordinate parallel ranges, with long narrow valleys of the limestone and slate formations, exhibiting a striking contrast in their beauty and fertility to the rugged soil of the mountains.

cr.,

66

The Delaware washes a portion of the southeastern boundary: its tributaries are Bush kill, Mill cr., Marshall Broadhead's or Analomink cr., with several large branches, and Cherry cr. The tributaries of the Lehigh are the Tobyhanna, several branches of Big cr., and the sources of the Aquanshicola cr. One of the branches of Tobyhanna rises in a small lake, called Long Pond. The country around the heads of these streams, in the northwestern section of the county, is still comparatively a wilderness, and most of its lands are classed as unseated." The opening of the Lehigh navigation, however, is attracting many lumbermen to that region. The great bulk of the population is distributed along the valley of the Delaware and Broadhead's cr.; and along a belt of some five miles wide, parallel with the Blue mountain. The turnpike road from Easton to Wilkesbarre enters the county through the Wind-gap, and traverses the Pokono ranges towards Stoddartsville. The Lehigh Navigation Co. have extended their works up as far as Wright's cr., 26 miles above Mauch Chunk. The county is settled by people from the lower counties, and from New Jersey. The business is about equally divided between agriculture and lumbering, with some little attention to iron manufacture. The earliest settlements made by the whites along the Delaware flats, in this county, were probably by the Dutch, who came in from Esopus, (now Kingston,) on the Hudson river. It is not impossible that these settlements may have been the earliest in Pennsylvania, preceding the pur-, chase in 1682, by William Penn. The following extract is from a letter of Samuel Preston, of Stockport, Wayne co., to the editor of Hazard's Register: