Bill had read of such houses in the Philippines and felt confident that we
could build one. We couldn't decide at first where to locate our hut until
Dutchy moved that we build it in the gnarled oak tree overlooking the
"Goblins' Dancing Platform." Immediately the motion was seconded and
unanimously carried.
The Goblins' Dancing Platform.
Just above the town of Lumberville there was a cliff which rose sheer 200
feet above the level of the river. So perpendicular was the cliff that a
stone dropped from the overhanging ledge at the top would fall straight
down to the railroad track below without touching a twig in its course.
Back of this broad ledge there was a very peculiar formation. A column of
stone rose abruptly 40 feet higher and was topped with a large slab about
12 feet in diameter. This was known all over that region as the Goblins'
Dancing Platform. The only possible way of gaining the summit of the
column was by climbing a scraggly oak tree which grew on the high ground
back of the pillar, crawling out on an overhanging limb, and then dropping
down to the platform below. It was in this oak that we decided to build
our house. It was a very inaccessible spot, and to reach it we had to make
a wide detour around the back of the hill, and through the fields of a
cranky farmer, who more than once threatened to fill us with bird shot for
trespassing on his property.
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