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ee gO a ee ee ee aoe ee ee a St eS ae ee ee
me The ui ohh 7 él tee "Ape a a” ; a a ia i . Pye
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I41
following :—
—s re _ [a
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ESCOTT
Con. Lot
Name of Grantee. or or Date of Patent.
Range | Part of Lot. |
Calta Semin ss. 5. ees. ési 8 Nov. 25th, 1803
Elizabeth Knapp.........+-. .| II IJan. 3oth, 1808
William LArue.sssávseséeése esős I 5 May 17th, 1802
George Purvis..«.-+e+e08 «+. E 1-2 23 |Feb. 20th, 1828
Jacob Poole..... ..... ee 24 May Igth, 1532
James Brooker.......-. «+. | 18 May 15th, 1840
Aaron Comstock......... «.. E 1-2 23 |Feb. 22nd, 1825
James Redmond. . ......... etek, 2 4 June rith, 1828
Henry Trickey. ......5...04.. Sandg |Oct. 28th, 1835
Aaron Hutchison. css 5.50. «. 17 Mar. 2nd, 1805
William Andrews...... ...... E 1-219 |Sept. 13th, 1304
Rebecca -Avery...........-... RX. % 22 Jan. 14th, 1820
Prominent among the early settlers was William
Larue, better known as Billa Larue. This poineer
located at the mouth of the creek falling into the St.
Lawrence, about four miles west of Mallorytown
Landing, where the original Mallorys first landed.
At the point selected, Mr. Larue constructed a dam
across the ravine, and furnished himself with an ex¬
He next built a mill, which
was utilized by the British soldiers during the war
It is related that at one time Mr. Larue
cellent water power.
of 1812.
was compelled to walk barefooted all the way to
sired article could be obtained. The land upon
which he located was broken by chains of hills, run¬
ning parallel with the river and presenting almost
insuperable obstacles to the agriculturist. Nothing
daunted, he cleared away the original forest and
planted apple, chestnut, walnut (sweet and English),
and other trees, which have in considerable numbers
spread along the river bank. At the present time it
is not an uncommon thing to find among the second
growth pines, here and there scattered about, an
At the
time of his death, it was currently reported that he
apple tree planted by the original pioneer.
was possessed of a very large sum of gold and silver,
which he had buried for safe keeping. Bethat as it
may, he made no sign as to the location of the
treasure when the hand of death was upon him,
though strongly pressed to do so.
Many years have passed away, the seeds of the
pine have developed into nearly full grown trees, the
original mill has crumbled into dust, but the legend
remains, and many were the anxious searches that
followed for the hidden gold. Excavations have
been made at all points surrounding the house
direction, which came within the range of his vision,
while upon his last bed of sickness ; rumor saying
that the point had been selected with that view.
since, by a gentleman who formed one of the party,
and who, strange to say, implicitly believed that
which he stated was absolutely true. The general
public will probably conclude that he was badly
frightened. We give the account in the words of the
narrator :-—
“Ona bright moonlight night, I, in company with
three other men, left the Village of Mallorytown and
proceeded to the vicinity of the old Larue mill, near
the upper dam. We had provided ourselves with a
witch-hazel divining rod, a goodly supply of shovels
in fact, all that was necessary for an en¬
All were in the best of
spirits, and as the night was charming, we proceeded
to the vicinity of the house, where Billa had resided,
determined, if possible, to probe the secret to the
and picks ;
terprise of such a character.
bottom. We were under the guidance of an elderly
gentleman, who claimed to be an expert in such
matters, and had carefully instructed all engaged as
to their duties. One command was imperative, viz:
that from the moment the spot was indicated by the
divining rod, not a word was to be spoken, happen
A short distance west of the house is
the family cemetery, and in that direction we cau¬
clear and
bright through the pines on the overhanging cliff.
Suddenly our director paused, the witch-hazel turned
slowly in the direction of mother-earth. Retiring a
what might.
tiously proceeded. The moon shone
few paces, our leader re-adjusted the rod and moved
Evidently
the secret had been solved and we were about to
forward, with precisely the same result.
become the happy possessors of the long sought
gold.
twelve feet, we removed our coats and proceeded to
dig. How long we continued I know not, so intent
Gradually the sky became
overcast with clouds, one by one the stars faded
away, the moon disappeared in the vault of night,
the wind sighed mournfully through the pines, yet
not a word was spoken; darkness came down upon
us like a great pall, our nearest co-laborer was only
were we upon our task.
a spectre in the midnight gloom. Then came a rush
of the blast through the overhanging trees, the blast
was of icy coldness and penetrated the very marrow
of our bones, though our bodies were bathed with
There
was a trampling upon the earth in the distance, as if
sweat from our almost superhuman exertions.
the guardian spirit of the treasure trove was mar¬
shalling all his cohorts to hurl back the audacious
invaders who had thus dared to desecrate his domains
and snatch away the glittering coin confided to his
care. The excavation which we had made was
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