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Mystery of the Ringing Rocks

By William C. Richardson

LTHOUGH long known in a general way that Pennsylvania contains the greatest wonders in musical rocks of any state in the Union it is only recently that geological researches have attracted widespread and renewed attention to the curious mystery of these stony formations in Bucks and Montgomery counties. The "Ringing Rocks" near Pottstown have been visited the past few months by many eminent geologists in an endeavor to explain the peculiar properties which cause the rocks to give off musical sounds when struck.

The largest of the "stony gardens," as they are known locally, is at Nockamixon, in Bucks County, where there are three fields of these rocks, all near the foot of Haycock Mountain, 620 feet above sea level. The largest of the fields covers an area a quarter of a mile in length, with an average width of some 200 feet, while each of the other fields covers about an acre and a quarter.

The "gardens" are considered by some to have resulted from volcanic eruption in the far distant ages which upturned these stones of feldspar formation and left them heaped in weird, fantastic forms, making most desolate looking patches amid the verdant fields; for, although surrounded by heavy timber and cultivated farm land, not a tree or shrub can be found within the "gardens" and no soil can be seen between the crevices. of the great stones.

When struck by a hammer the rocks, as they lie in their beds, produce four distinct tones, running upward from middle D on the piano, but it remained for the late William J. Buck, for many years historian of Bucks County, to conceive of the idea of their possibilities as producers of melody and for Dr. J J. Ott, of Pleasant Valley, to carry out the projThe latter selected a number of rocks, some of them weighing over 200 pounds, which he carefully tuned by chipping until he had a complete octave, from which he entertained friends by playing

ect.

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several familiar tunes, on one occasion being accompanied by a band. The clear, ringing tones of the rocks could plainly be heard above the notes of the horns.

About a mile and a half from Bridgeton, Pennsylvania, is another deposit of the mysterious rocks. While the field is not so large as those in Bucks County and the rocks do not give out tones so clear, the situation is much more picturesque, Covering an area of about four acres, perfectly barren of vegetation, the land presents an aspect of strange desolation and yet of grand subliminty, as one gazes upon the mighty boulders, apparently piled upon the spot by some gigantic prehistoric hand..

It requires a hard climb to reach the rocks and visitors are greeted along the way by many cheering inscriptions placed there by earlier tourists, some of them referring to the probable origin of the barren spot as having been due to a visit of His Santanic Majesty himself. The story goes that in stalking about the earth before departing for his present abode the Devil, in stepping across the Delaware River, broke his apron strings and sat down to repair them, forever blighting the spot for any utility to man.

The hard trap rock, of which all the

groups of "ringing rocks" seem to be composed, comprises a series of parallel elevations, attaining in Haycock and Rockhill townships mountainous proportions. This belt of rock, beginning near Bridgeton, extends down through Bucks County and into the counties of Montgomery, and Chester, but only in three places do the rocks crop out in such formations that the loose fragments produce the musical sounds.

The Montgomery County rocks, near Pottstown, are the largest of any producing the musical sounds. It is estimated that many of them weigh from five to twenty-five tons each, and between them are seen apertures fifty of more feet in depth. Among them are three which bear impressions closely resembling tracks of the human foot, but only from three to six inches in length. Upon others are what look like tracks of horses, elephants and camels, but all of them. of diminished sizes. These marks puzzle geologists, who are loath to believe that the region surrounding the rocks was once inhabited by animals like those of the present day, but smaller. But the marks are there and, like the ringing rocks themselves, they await definite explanation.

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During the fiscal year 1906 there were consumed 33,504,000 barrels of beer, or 27.9 gallons per capita. The decline of The decline of about 11 per cent in consumption was in England and Scotland, Ireland showing a slight increase.

The use of spirits also showed a large falling off; the consumption fell from 1.1 gallons per capita to .9 gallon per annum. Measured by population, the decrease was 15 per cent for home products, and 29 per cent for foreign spirits.

It is only a reasonable deduction to assume that tea is taking the place of beer as a beverage, as the imports of tea for the first seven months of 1906 amounted to 155,767,710 pounds, an increase of 10,000,000 pounds above the same period of 1905. For the year ending March 31, 1906, the amount of tea received from India alone was 217,297,452 pounds. All this should serve as an in

not for the periscope. This is an instrument which projects a few inches above the water, and acts as a mechanical eye. A mirror placed in the upper end of the tube at an angle of 45° reflects the images thrown on its surface downward to a parallel mirror within the submarine. This is the simplest type of periscope.

The French have improved upon this form. Two tubes instead of a single one are employed, one being fixed in the hull. of the boat, the other being arranged to slide up and down. Thus the latter, if it be so desired, may be withdrawn completely from sight. The movable periscope also possesses the advantage of allowing the officer to scan the surface of the waters in every direction by rotating the tube. Officers declare the images procured are as sharp and clear as those obtained with a field-glass.

But the periscope may also betray as

FATHER SMITH, WATER-HEALER, GIVING LITTLE GIRL BATH IN STREAM.

well as aid the submarine. It leaves a trail in its course. However, in the event that an exceptionally scientific or lucky shot might remove it, a second periscope could very easily be substituted.

Wonder-Working
Waters

THERE are two little streams in the

United States which are believed by many people to have miraculous powers for healing. One is known as Egg Harbor Creek and is in New Jersey, while the other is away up in Michigan, and is called Boyne River. Winter and summer, people bathe and wade in the waters of these streams, believing that they will cure such diseases as rheumatism and fevers. It is a common thing for people to go into the water attired in their ordinary clothes, as some of them believe that they will be benefited more greatly by so doing. The discoverer of the beneficial properties of Egg Harbor Creek is an old man called Father Smith. has been using its water for several years, and says that he is growing younger in consequence. Father Smith has built a little house on the banks of the creek, and here he lives with a number of people who are called his disciples -men and women who have heard of the creek and have come here to see if it will cure them.

He

There is a story about Boyne River that an old man crippled with rheumatism accidentally fell into it one night. Up to that time he had been compelled to walk with crutches, but the next day he felt so much better that he threw away the crutches and has not needed them since. He told his neighbors of his experience, but they did not believe it until several of them went in bathing in the river and claimed that it also cured them of rheumatism. Since that time the people of Boyne village, which is located on the banks of the stream, have made a common practice of bathing in it frequently, and invalids have come to the place from elsewhere to get the benefit of its waters. The accompanying photograph shows some of the people bathing in the stream.

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Monument to Flame

MANY odd houses have been erected from time to time, but there is one in Chicago that was built thirty-five years ago and it is probably the only one of its kind in the world. When the city was swept by the great fire in 1871 that dea man by the stroyed 17,000 buildings, name of Rettig conceived the idea of erecting a house from partially consumed relics of the fire, which could be had for the asking. This queer structure still stands at No. 900 North Clark street. Melted horseshoes, nails, crockery, etc., went into its composition. It is one of the few things left to recall the time of the great conflagration.

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