Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1858-04-02
For The Oxford Democrat.
ElEtyILLE. In Sale County. }
Illinois, March ~, 1853. {

had better copy my letter Tor your columns.
as my friend j.. or at least ought to be-, oic
of our subscribers, he will therefore, get tho
bpeGt Of the letter, aud II peradycnture,
any Of your readers are afflicted with tho
western fever" It may do them good.
| have been practicing law in this place
during the last Eve years. my business has
been aud is now very good, and the pros
poets for tho profession In general, sufficient
10 attract member u the Oxford bar re.
Gently from BuckGeld, and formerly from
Albany. j. W. Browne, E.q., an old &C.
quaintance and schoolmaie, aud good law
yer. lie has been doing business here since
Last fall. and i, doing we'll, and I believe
intends to take up his abode here. Bot,
Notwithstanding the advantages Of good
business, aud Eve years acquaintance, | an
decidedly homcsick. aud long 10 80 my ma
tive mountains. lakes and waterfalls, ana
20 breathe the pure .ir and tread the rug.
god soil. that inyigomted my blyhood. In
short, | think pretty strongly Of returning
TO my native town. Bethel. aud II there -
any one Of those with tho Western fever, I
will exchange with them hall section Of
land located on the Missouri rvcr in Iowa,
Tor house and lot. in that town. Any
one wishing TO make such a trade. bad bet
ter no, read the balance of this letter. but
Communicate at once with the subscriber.
| have no expectation, that could make
moro money by returning TO my native
town. or that there is any greater business
advantages, or better prospects Of social or
political rrefermcnt there than here, bot
am home.lck, (the reasons why you may
infer II you read this letter through and
there is only one cure for this malady. to
wit, tho hydropdihie from the "OId oaken
bucket"
The sad and fatal examinations Of cAse. Of
the q" Western lever" have doubtless been
witnessed by mos, Of your readers. Tho
symptoms and effects Of the " home fever"
here are very similar. to wit auction sales,
frequently by the Deputy sheriff, at greater
sacrifices, trcpidation Of creditors. wriis Of
attachment, al ouprai' ad r,'Pond,naoH aud
al Saii'f,cupden, and under more favorable
circumstances, the final packing up Of bag
and baggage, and starting OIL for tho
Wet," term about as indefinite as
Down East" used to DO. definite only
that il j, the land OF easy wealth, and where
human prosperity in general il natural
production, and like the mama Of old to
DC picked up, not in the morning only. bat
at any time Of day.
Bot from my own experience, | have come
TO the conclusion that the 4" Ills Of lilc."
grow wild here too, and they do not melt
away with the rising sun. IL the farmer
Of Maine. however, who has spent his days
in using the crow-bar and stump machine,
and in hacking in corn and rye between
rocks and roots with a hoe, the vast rich
prairie. Of the West, where iurrow could
BE- plowcd across the State hundred and
City miles, almost without an obstruction,
the big haFvcs,s, the eheapncss 81 tho lands,
the ease and rapidity with which they can
DO subducd and brought under cultivation,
/ the incredible number OF acres which can DO
cultivated by one man, the slight expense
Of raising stock, the high prices Of produce,
the extensive, anG might .ay interminab.e
coal beds, the great number Of rail roads
trayerslng the West in all directions, pre-
sent a very attractive comparison with tho
sterile and rocky soil Of Maine, which has
first 10 be- cleared Of wood at an expense u
twenty to thirty dollars per acre. But true
as all these facts are in regard 10 the West,
they do not complete the story. We have
broad. beautiful rolling prairies Of deep rich
soil, but We have Hat, wet, marshy aguc
breeding praires, and We have not one acre
Of woodland % n thousand acres Of bad
prairie, not spring Of water, or stone
quarry. to Eve thousand acres, not a cart
load OF sand or gravel Gin thl. yicinity,) IN
a township, not stream Of clear running
water m the State scarcely. On the other
hand, the streams are muddy and sluggish,
and frequently .tagnanI aud miasmatic. 80
much -, that in the summer Of 1850, the
piekercl or pike all died IN a stream ordnn-
rily the size OF Crooked river. The roads
here are and always will bc perfectly awful
4 in wet weather, and they never can become
good, because there is no material 10 make
. them -. In regard 10 the scarcity Of stone,
/ will state fact Tho cheapest material
we can get for cellars aud underpiuing in
this place, /, from Limestone quarry ilty
one miles distant by railroad, At a cost OF
twelve or thirteen dollars Tor cord Of
ninety cubic feet as compact Us rough stone
can DO laid up. Pine lumber is worth FROM
20 to 10 dollars per NJ. Lime dollars per
cask, sand for plas;oring, about the same.
Black walnut, and other hard wood lumber,
is worth moro than pine, and Is not ~ good
for building purposes. 1t costs, at least,
double to build here that it docs in oxford
County, and thrco or four times as much
per rod to fence farm. The consequence
is, that people live in very poor houses as
general thing. In fact, in no respect, cH.
cept in the item OF food alone, do people Of
the West enjoy the comforts and luxures Of
I life to the extent they do in New England.