Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1855-12-19
a NEW HAMPSHIRE FARMER.

bune, over the signature of the "Old Man
of the Mountain, gives the following
account of farmer of the olden time -
!" Old Colonel Holmes was one of the
likeliest of men, don't know but may
say the very likeliest have ever seen a.
mOng men, though he was all his daysa
farmer here among the rocks, and scarce
ever went off his farm for fifty years.
He began down here in Campton, when
there had hardly been a stroke struck in
the woods. There was little spot of
clearing, l believe, on the lot he had
gone on to-and a log barn had been
put up on it. He and his wife lived in
the barn all summer, the first summer
after they came up here from Connecti-
cut. They came all tie way-he on
foot, with his axe on his shoulder, and
she on horseback, with the bed bound
oil behind her, and the copper kettle
hanging by the old mares side. 1t was
all they had, and the roads want near
so good then as they are now. Col.
Holmes was a young man then-just
'out of his time,' He lived on that land
fifty years and died on it. He was hard
ly ever out flown or off his farm. They
teased him to go to the General Court
one yea, l believe, but they couldn't
make him go again. 1T was small busi-
ness he said for anybody that had any
other to mind" And he said 1T was
bad thing to have SO many laws, and to
be tinkering them over so often He
cared nothing about office, or politics or
parties. He didn't read any books. He
didn't need to. He said but little, but
what he said was always right. He was
as sensible man friend Tribune, as ever
Ben Franklin was, and much better
man, to my mind, and greater, take all
the circumstances. He lived there all
alone. as it were, and cleared up his
farm, and did an amount of good there,
all unpraised and unseen, and for the
sheer good and beauty of it, as l hardly
believe Ben Franklin was man enough to
have done. He had grand oldfash
ioned farm, and grew forehanded, and
finally rich, without ever trying to, or
caring anything about money. He new
er was hard working man. He hardly
ever worked til he got tired. Never hur-
ried. He would not hurry for a thou
sand thunder showers in hay time
Let it rain,' he would say-'it will do
somebody some good. What signifies
killing ourselves for load of hay -
He never drove his men, and never hur-
ried them, except at the table, and then
not 10 have tFem get done. Come, he
would say, 'all hands, take hold-there's
enough And it was royal to see him
sitting at the head of his old, long kitch-
en- table, with his twenty men, and as
much the equalofthe humblest cfthem all,
as he could possibly be. with his
great generous heart and prircely head.
He had head friend Tribune worth
going a journey to see-an old Connec-
ticut, Roger Sherman sort of head. by
the telI-though L have seen Col.
Holmes when he was at work, barehead-
ed, in his field among his men. 1t
wasn't head like Daniel Webstef's or
Zekiel's-not one of these high, preci-
pice sort of heads. Ii was midling
forehead for height, but wide and
beautifully pitched sort of honest
man forehead and head, covered over
with hair as fine as silk. and lying in
tufts, like feathers on. the neck OF an
eagle-and along after he was sixty, as
white as Moose hilock of a November
morning.
It was princely to see the old man
working about among his men. He had
small, gray eye-all sense and hen
esty-and looking as if he couldn't bear
anything ungenerous or small. And
that was his nature. His leading trait
of character was a great generosity
And there never was his equal, TO my
knowledge, among poor people. 1 new
er saw anything equal to the way he'd
help the poor. give him good meas
ure, David" the old man would say to
a queer sort Of a man that always lived
with him, and who used 70 say the Colo
mel lived with him give him good
-mcasure-don't strike it-he's come
good ways, and there's enough Of ia
He always had plenty OF corn the searcest
of years. The earth, as if aware OF his
great nature, never put him off with a
stingy harvest. He never, those years,
would sell a kernel OF corn to anybody
that could bring the money for it. He
said, there was the poor around him
that could Mt pay, that must be seen to-
And then he TUNED out the yellow corn
and the hay. With his barns full, in
the scarcest seasons, he never would sell
lock oi hay to anybody but the poor
and to them always as the prices Of times
of plenty, and TO pay in work when they
could He used to take their little old
due bills for i. payable in help and
never call ON them-t! ough they gene
rally remembered to tarn out snd help
bim when i. came hay time. But num-