Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1840-10-13
From the Knackerbccker for ISept,apbe
RECOLLECTIONS OF TIE LAND FEVER,
BY TIE AUTHOR OF A NEW unME'

From the Knackerbccker for Scpt7pber.
RECOLLECTIONS OF TIE LAND FEVER.
BY THE AUTHOR A NEW HOME
The years 1885 and 1886 will long be
remembered by the Western settlcr-and
perhaps by some few people at the East,
too-as the period when the madness of
speculation in lands had reached a point
to which no historian Of the time will ever
be able to do justice. A faithful picture
of those wild days would subject the most
vcracious chronicler to the charge of ex-
aggrration; and our greatgrand children
can hope to obtain an adequate idea Of the
infatuation which led away their forefath-
ers, only by the study Of such detached
facts as may be noted down by those in
whose minds the feeling recollection Of
the delusion is still fresh. Perhaps when
our literary existence shall havC become
sufficiently confirmed to call for the COL
lection of Ana, something more may be
CLEANED from the correspondence in which
were embodied the eXutings Of the sue
ccsslul, and the lamentations of the dis
appointed. But for the present, let us not
neglect to store in the enduring pages Of
the knckerbocker even the slightest remi-
nisccnces connected with the first gigantic
bubble from which our country has suffered.
Seeing is bcl;eving,' certainly, in most
cases; but in the days of the land-fever
we who were in the midst of the infected
district scarcely found it so. The whirl,
the fcrvor, the nutter, the rapdity Of step,
the sparkling Of eyes, the beating Of hearts,
the striking Of hands, the utter abandon of
the hour, were incredible, incOncevable
The 'man Of one idea was every where:
no man had two. He who had no money,
begged, borrowed or stole it; he who had,
thought he made n generous sacrifice, if
lent it at cent per cent. The tradesman
forsook his shop; the farmer his plough
the merchant his counter; the lawyer his
office; nay, the minister his desk, to join
the general chase. Even the school-mas-
ter, in his longing to be 'abroad, with the
rest, laid down his birch, or in the furry
Of his hopes, piled it with diminished unc-
ton:
Tramp! tramp! along the land they rode,
Splash! splash along the sea !!
The man with one leg, or he that had none,
could at least get on board steamer, and
make for Chicago or Milwaukee; the strong
the able, but above all, the 'cnterprising,'
set out with his pockot-map and his pock-
Encompass, to thread the dim woods, and
see with his own eyes. Who would waste
time in planting, in building, in hammer
ing iron, in making shoes, when the path
TO wealth lay wide and nowery before him?
A ditcher was hired by the job to do
certain piece of work in his line. well,
John, did you make any thing?'
prptfU we'll | clao rod bont txvo dol
lars day: but | should have made more
by standing round : i. G., watching the
land-market for bargains.
This tavorito occupation Of all classes
was followed by its legitimate consequent
ces. Farmers were as fond Of standing
round as any body; and when harvest
time came, it was discovered that many
had quite forgotten that the best land re-
quircs sowing and grain, and Of course
other articles Of general necessity, rose to
an unprecedented price. The hordes of
travellers flying through the country in
all directions, were often cited as the cause
of the distressing scarcity; but the true
source must be sought in the diversion, or
rather suspension, of the industry of the
entire population. Be this as it may, of
the wry faces made at the hard fare the
travellers contributed no inconsiderable
portion; for they were generally city gen
tlemcn, or at least gentlemen who had liv-
cd long enough ia the city to have learned
topreier oysters to salt pork. This check
cd not their ardor, however, for the golden
glare before their eyes had power TO neu-
tralize the hue Of all present objects. On
they pressed, with heodlong zeal the ST.
lent and painless forest, the deep miry
marsh, the gloom of night, and the fires
of noon, beheld alike the march of the
Spectator. Such searching of trees for
town lines! Such ransacking of the woods
for section corners, ranges, and base lines!
Such anxious care in Identifying spots
possessing particular advantages And
then, alas after oil, such precious plumbers!
These blunders called into action ano-
Their class Of operators, who became popu-
larly known as 'land-lookers.' These met
you at every turn, ready TO furnish 'wa-
tor-powcr,' 'pinc-lots,' 'choicc farming