The principal occupation of the inhabitants is in agriculture, lumbering, and in the labors connected with the immense transportation business on the public improvements. The latter also furnishes a convenient market for the surplus produce of the county.

The Portage railroad, connecting the eastern and western divisions of the Pennsylvania canal, crosses the mountain in the southern part of the county, and communicates with the slackwater navigation of the Conemaugh river at Johnstown. The northern turnpike from Hollidaysburg to Pittsburg, crosses the county. At Ebensburg a branch turnpike runs to Indiana and Kittanning.

Near the north line of the county, about a mile or two above the forks of Beaver-dam and Slate-lick creeks, there is said to be an ancient circular fortification. The embankments are four or five feet high, and overgrown with immense trees. There were very old clearfields or open prairie lands, not far from this fortification, which probably gave name to Clearfield county.

The following sketch of the early history of Cambria co. is extracted from several numbers written by Mr. Johnston of Ebensburg, in the paper edited by him in 1840. A few corrections have been made in names and facts-corrections which were made by the author in numbers subsequent to the first:

"Previous to the year 1789, the tract of country which is now included within the limits of Cambria co. was a wilderness. Frankstown settlement,' as it was then called, was the frontier of the inhabited parts of Pennsylvania east of the Allegheny mountain. None of the pioneers had yet ventured to explore the eastern slope of the mountain. A remnant of the savage tribes still prowled through the forests, and seized every opportunity of destroying the dwellings of the settlers, and butchering such of the inhabitants as were so unfortunate as to fall into their hands. The howling of the wolf, and the shrill screaming of the catamount or American panther, (both of which animals infested the country in great numbers at the period of its first settlement,) mingled in nightly concert with the war-whoop of the savages.

"It is believed that Capt. Michael McGuire was the first white man who settled within the present bounds of Cambria co. He settled in the neighborhood of where Loretto now stands, in the year 1790, and commenced improving that now interesting and well cultivated portion of Allegheny township; a large portion of which is still owned by his descendants. Luke McGuire, Esq., and Capt. Richard McGuire were sons of Michael McGuire, and came with him."

Thomas Blair, of Blair's Gap, Huntington co., was at this time the nearest neighbor Capt. McGuire had. He resided at a distance of twelve miles.

"Mr. McGuire was followed not long afterward by Cornelius Maguire, Richard Nagle, Wm. Dotson, Richard Ashcraft, Michael Rager, James Alcorn, and John Storm; the last was of German descent. These were followed by others-John Trux, John Douglass, John Byrne, and, we believe, Wm. Meloy. Under the auspices of these men, and perhaps a few others, the coun try improved very rapidly. The first grist-mill in the county was built by Mr. John Storm.

"The hardships endured by these hardy settlers are almost incredible. Exposed to the incle mency of an Allegheny winter, against the rigor of which their hastily erected and scantily fur nished huts afforded a poor protection, their sufferings were sometimes almost beyond endurance. Yet with the most unyielding firmness did these men persevere until they secured for themselves and their posterity the inheritance which the latter at present enjoy.

"There was nothing that could be dignified with the name of road by which the settlers might have an intercourse with the settlements of Huntington co. A miserable Indian path led from the vicinity of where Loretto now stands, and intersected the road leading to Frankstown, two or three miles this side of the Summit.

"Many anecdotes are related by the citizens of Allegheny township of the adventures of their heroic progenitors among the savage beasts, and the more savage Indians, which then infested the neighborhood. The latter were not slow to seize every opportunity of aggression which presented itself to their bloodthirsty minds, and consequently the inhabitants held not only property,

but life itself, by a very uncertain tenure.* The truth of the following story is vouched for by many of the most respectable citizens in Allegheny and Cambria townships, by one of whom it has kindly been furnished us for publication. A Mr. James Alcorn had settled in the vicinity of the spot where Loretto now stands; and had built a hut and cleared a potato patch at some distance from it. The wife of Mr. Alcorn went an errand to see the potatoes, and did not return. Search was immediately made, but no trace could be found to lead to her discovery. What became of her is to this day wrapped in mystery, and, in all human probability, we shall remain in ignorance of her fate. It was generally supposed that she had been taken by the savages; and it was even reported that she had returned several years after; but this story is not credited by any in the neighborhood."

The following interesting biographical sketch also pertains to the early history of the co. From the Mountaineer-Ebensburg, 14th May, 1840:

"Died, on the 6th inst., at Loretto, the Rev. Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, who for 42 years exercised pastoral functions in Cambria co. The venerable deceased was born in 1770, at Munster, in Germany. His father, Prince de Gallitzin, ranked among the highest nobility in Russia. His mother was the daughter of Field Marshal General de Schmeltan, a celebrated officer under Frederick the Great. Her brother fell at the battle of Jena. The deceased held a high commis. sion in the Russian army from his infancy. Europe in the early part of his life was desolated by war-the French revolution burst like a volcano upon that convulsed continent: it offered no facilities or attractions for travel, and it was determined that the young Prince de Gallitzin should visit America. He landed in Baltimore in Aug. 1782, in company with Rev. Mr. Brosius. By a train of circumstances in which the hand of Providence was strikingly visible, his mind was directed to the ecclesiastical state, and he renounced forever his brilliant prospects. Already endowed with a splendid education, he was the more prepared to pursue his ecclesiastical studies, under the venerable Bishop Carroll, at Baltimore, with facility and success. Having completed his theological course, he spent some time on the mission in Maryland.

In the year 1789, he directed his course to the Allegheny mountain, and found that portion of it which now constitutes Cambria co., a perfect wilderness, almost without inhabitants or habitations. After incredible labor and privations, and expending a princely fortune, he succeeded in making the wilderness blossom as the rose.' His untiring zeal has collected about Loretto, his late residence, a Catholic population of three or four thousand. He not only extended the church by his missionary toils, but also illustrated and defended the truth by several highly useful publications. His 'Defence of Catholic principles' has gained merited celebrity both here and in Europe.

"In this extraordinary man we have not only to admire his renunciation of the brighest hopes and prospects; his indefatigable zeal-but something greater and rarer—his wonderful humility. No one could ever learn from him or his mode of life, what he had been, or what he exchanged for privation and poverty.

"To intimate to him that you were aware of his condition, would be sure to pain and displease him. He who might have revelled in the princely halls of his ancestors, was content to spend 30 years in a rude log-cabin, almost denying himself the common comforts of life, that he might be able to clothe the naked members of Jesus Christ, the poor and distressed. Few have left behind them such examples of charity and benevolence. On the head of no one have been invoked so many blessings from the mouths of widows and orphans. It may be literally said of him, if his heart had been made of gold he would have disposed of it all in charity to the poor.""

EBENSBURG, the county seat, is a flourishing village, on the top of one of the ridges of the Allegheny mountain, 7 miles west of the summit, and 74 from Pittsburg. It commands a grand and extensive view of the surrounding country. The annexed view was taken from the hill about a mile southeast of the village. The academy and courthouse will be recognised near the left of the view. In addition to the usual county buildings, the place contains a very handsome academy, and four churches, Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, and Independent. The latter three are Welsh. One half the population of the town, and the greater proportion for miles around it, is composed of Welsh-a people remarkable for thrift, sobriety, and industry. The ancient tongue of Cambria strikes the ear of the traveller from nearly every one he meets, and the services of three

* Nevertheless, it is said that Michael Rager, another settler, left 27 children.

of the churches are conducted in that language. Indeed, it is only occasionally that one may hear English preaching in Ebensburg. The business of the place is limited to the ordinary affairs of the courts and county offices, and the supply of the surrounding agricultural district. The turnpike from Hollidaysburg to Pittsburg passes through the borough; and another runs to Indiana and Kittanning. Population in 1840, 353. Ebensburg was incorporated as a borough in 1825.

The following is from the numbers by Mr. Johnston, referred to above: Ebensburg and vicinity were not settled for several years after the first settlement was made at Loretto and Munster. As it lay still further from the more eastern settlements than the two latter places, it of course would not so soon be occupied by the hardy emigrants. In the fall and winter of 1796, the families of Thomas Phillips, William Jenkins, Theophilus Rees, Evan Roberts, Rev. Rees Lloyd, William Griffith, James Nicholas, Daniel Griffith, John Jones, David Thomas, Evan James, and George Roberts; and Thomas W. Jones, Esq., John Jenkins, Isaac Griffith, and John Tobias, bachelors, commenced settling in Cambria township, Cambria co.; and in the following spring and summer the families of the Rev. Morgan J. Rees, John J. Evans, William Rees, Simon James, William Williams, (South,) Thomas Griffith, John Thomas, John Roberts, (Penbryn,) John Roberts, (shoemaker,) David Rees, Robert Williams, and Geo. Turner; and Thomas Griffith, (farmer,) James Evans, Griffith Rowland, David Edwards, Thomas Lewis, and David Davis, bachelors, followed. There were at this time several families living in the vicinity of the places where Loretto, Munster, Jefferson, and Johnstown now stand. The settlers above named, we believe, were all from Wales. They commenced making improvements in the different parts of what is now called Cambria township. The name which the Welsh emigrants gave to their settlement, CAMBRIA, was derived from their former home-the mountainous part of Wales. Cambria township afterwards gave name to the county, which was, at the time of which we speak, a part of Somerset co. The tract of country on which the Welsh emigrants settled had been purchased a year or two previous, by the Rev. Morgan J. Rees, (mentioned above,) from Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia; and by him sold to his Welsh brethren, in

smaller tracts.

The early Welsh settlers had laid out a town at BEULAH, two miles southwest of Ebensburg: but the establishment of the seat of justice at the latter place, by the act of 1805, destroyed its prospects.

Rev. Rees Lloyd was the first settler in Ebensburg, and gave it the name it now bears.

Two frame houses, of which the present stage-tavern is one, were the first built in town. These were quite insufficient to accommodate the crowd that assembled at court, and not unfrequently "the boys" would build a large fire in the street, and take their lodging around it. The first courts were held in the old red building now used as a jail; the prison being in the cellar,

and the hall of justice above. Jemmy Ferrol, an independent Irishman of the mountain, attend. ing court one day, began for his amusement to beat a tune on the drum of the stove, and to make various other noises; so that Judge Young, in order to maintain the dignity of his station, found it necessary to commit him to the prison beneath, and justice for a few moments moved on without interruption. But a short time, however, had elapsed, when the clamor made by the advocate addressing the jury was drowned by the Stentorian voice of Jemmy, singing "Paddy O'Whack" in the cellar. An order was issued to silence the prisoner, but he was in a state to laugh at the order. He went further-he hired a fellow-prisoner to assist him in his concert; and together they sent forth such a discordant noise that the judge, in self-defence, was compelled to adjourn the court until the prisoner's time of commitment had expired.

In the summer of 1842, the citizens of Ebensburg were shocked by the perpetration of a most atrocious murder. The following account of it is from the "Mountaineer:"

On Sunday last, two Irishmen, said to bear the name of Flanagan, made their appearance in the neighborhood, and spent the day in a suspicious manner-sometimes in deep consultation together, and sometimes drinking and lurking about the taverns. About 11 o'clock at night, they broke into the house of Mrs. Elizabeth Holder, a lone widow, who resided near Ebensburg, and who was thought by some persons to have some money in her house. At their first attack, she screamed a few times very violently; and her next neighbor, a Mr. Rainey, who had retired to bed, heard her and ran to her assistance. But ere he got there the struggle was all over, and she was no more; and they were plundering the house. Mr. Rainey was afraid to venture into the house alone, and ran off for more assistance. Four or five men soon came along with him, and they arrived there just as the murderers were about leaving. The citizens endeavored to take them, and fired a rifle at one of them, but missed him. They made their escape, in the darkness of the night, into the neighboring woods. The citizens of this neighborhood are greatly excited, and immediately after the alarm was given of the deed having been committed, they turned out, to a man, to have the murderers taken; but they have yet escaped. They were frequently seen on Monday, and very nearly taken two or three times. Before they commenced the work of murder, they took off their hats, and one of them his coat, and left them outside of the house; lest, as is supposed, they should be besmeared with the blood of their innocent victim. They had not time to get their garments when they escaped. They are consequently, one of them at least, running without hat or coat. The other got an old chip hat at a farm-house, early on Monday morning. It is thought they could not have got more than three or four dollars in the house. The Flanagans were taken in Crawford co., brought to Cambria, and condemned to be hung. In March, 1843, a motion was made in the legislature to grant them a new trial.

JOHNSTOWN is situated on a broad flat, completely encircled by mountains, at the confluence of the Stony creek with the little Conemaugh. The annexed view was taken from the hill near the railroad. In the centre of the town, a large basin is formed by damming the Conemaugh, to accommodate the great fleet of canal-boats plying between this place and Pittsburg. This basin is surrounded by warehouses, boat-yards, and other conveniences for receiving and delivering goods. Some eight or ten lines for transportation have forwarding houses here, and during the summer it is a stirring, busy place. The dwellings are generally very well built-many of them of brick. No place can boast of purer water, and few of more salubrious mountain air. There are four churches-Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Lutheran. The state has a large depot here for repairing locomotives and other machinery-and has recently taken measures to construct a larger basin, with necessary apparatus for launching and hauling up the section boats that cross the mountain on trucks. The population in 1840 was, of the borough, 949, of the extension, 328-total, 1,377.

Johnstown occupies the site of an old Indian town called Kickenapawling's old town. About the year 1791 or '92, Mr. Joseph Jahns, (or Yahns, as he spelt it,) an enterprising German, came and settled here. The original title-deeds of many of the town lots are in his name. Mr. Holli

day, it is said, was also an owner of property here-whether with Mr. Jahns, or subsequently, is not ascertained. As this was the head of navigation to those seeking the western waters, it became a place of shipment for the iron of Huntington county, and for the lumber and produce of the vicinity, as well as the emigration destined for the west. Arks and flatboats were then the only mode of conveyance. The pigs and blooms of Juniata iron were hauled over the old Frankstown road, by the gap of that name. The place at that time was called Conemaugh. Some forty years since a family of Leveers were living here in a cabin.

The Allegheny Portage railroad is 39 69-100 miles in length from Hollidaysburg to Johnstown, overcoming in ascent and descent an aggregate of 2,570 feet, 1,398 of which are on the eastern and 1,172 on the western side of the mountain. It crosses the mountain at Blair's gap summit, and descends along the mountain branch of the Conemaugh. The top of the mountain, which is some 200 feet higher than the culminating point of the railroad, is 2,700 feet above the Delaware river at Philadelphia. The ascent and descent have been overcome by ten inclined planes, lifting from 130 to 307 feet, and varying in inclination between 4 1-8 and 5 5-6 degrees. The shortest plane is 1,585 feet, and 130 feet high; the longest is 3,100 feet, and 307 feet high. There is on the line a tunnel of 870 feet long and 20 feet high through the mountain, at the Staple bend of the Conemaugh. The principal viaduct on the line is that over the Horseshoe bend: it is a semicircular arch of 80 feet span; its cost was $54,562. The Ebensburg and Mountain branch viaducts are 40 feet span each. All the viaducts and culverts have been built of the most substantial masonry, the character of which is in perfect keeping with this magnificent mountain pass. The iron rail is of great strength, and of an approved pattern, corresponding with the importance of the road. The cars are elevated by stationary steam-engines at the head of each plane, and on the intervening levels locomotives and horses are used. The total cost of the road, including stationary engines, &c., exceeded $1,500,000.

"The design was originally entertained of connecting the main Pittsburg route by continuing the canals with locks and dams as far as possible on both sides, and then to tunnel through the