Cumberland county, which forms the eastern portion of the great Cumberland Valley, is made up, as we ordinarily know it, of three geological formations, viz: the slate on the north, the limestone in the center, and the sand or pinelands on the south. It is drained lengthwise by the Conodoguinet and the Yellow Breeches creeks. The Conodoguinet flows along the bottom rocks of the Hudson river slates and serves for the most part to divide the slate from the limestone land, whilst the Yellow Breeches flows along the bottom rocks of the Trenton limestone, near the foot of the South mountain, and plays its part in dividing the limestone from the sand or pine land. It is with the latter of these two streams we have to do in this paper. Whilst we have stated, in a general way, that this creek separates the limestone from the sand or pine land, there is, however, a small area of Mesozoic rocks enclosed by the folds and bends of the creek about Lisburn, in the south-eastern corner of the county.
The Yellow Breeches creek, on an airline from its source to its mouth, flows easterly thirty-three miles and receives tributary to it Moutain creek and a score of smaller streams descending from the highlands; it is also fed by numerous underground channels with the rainfall of the valley, which issue to the surface in springs, as at Huntsdale, Roiling Springs, and numerous other places.
As to the generally adopted name of this creek, 'The Yellow Breeches," there are many stories. The geographical or Indian name of it is 'The Callapatscink," which being interpreted means "Where the waters turn back again," a name no doubt given by the Indians, on account of its torturous wanderings as it approaches the Susquehanna river. Indeed, it is related of it, that a man in a boat on that part of the creek can look ahead and see himself coming. As to the name Yellow Breeches, the reasons assigned for calling it so unpoetical a name are numerous. Some would have it that some old "Geezer" in the early days washed his buckskin breeches in the creek and yellowed the water. Another story is that the name is a corruption from Yellow Beeches, from the great number of that species of tree that grew upon its banks, and it may be that it found its origin in the old song which was popular in my boyhood days:
"Yellow breeches, Full of stitches, Mammy sewed the bottons on; Daddy kicked me out of bed For sleeping with the breeches on,"
However this may be, everyone can select the reason that suits his fancy and probably be as near right as the party who differs with them; as for us we are inclined to hold to the "Yellow Beeches" theory.
The head or source of the Yellow Breeches has ordinarily been held to be the Three Springs, about one-eighth of a mile east of Jacksonville. This is probably for the reason that these springs are the first permanent and constant supply to the creek. Beyond that, the water supply is irregular and the bed of the stream in the extremes of city weather could more readily be used as a turnpike than for driving mills, which it does under more favorable circumstances.
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