Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1866-05-18
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Alau, ten ysfs after the % SO of the
EaI oi American iuj,r ul,uce. Jonas Green
removed from Connecticut t,a fertile farm
in the State af New York. near the bound
airy line Of Vermont I- was not alone the
Troducuvcngss Of the soil shat lad induced
him to bay this farm thr whole ncighhor-
hood was rife with stories % tie oiltct that
large sums vl Money were buried IN some
part oi the land. When the war broke ont,
many # tie settlers IN that region were
Tories, who were forced 90 fy from the
country. 4 few Of them were reputed to
be wealthy, great portion Of whose riches,
IN the shape of gold and silver coin, rumor
said, had Iecn secured iu V9ts and buried
tll such time as they could with safety re
turn and rcY0ssess Themselves Of their hasti-
" hidden trIasurCs.
While Jonas Green. with true Yankee
thrift, cultivated hi, productive acres, he
searched carefully and constantly in every
part Of the farm for the buried treasures.
Sometimes, 70 escape tie derisiJn Of his
neighb0rs. hc would carry or the work at
night, with the help OF a faithful negro
servant perhaps not quito uninhuonced by
old Peters assurance thl; it was only by
night that the hurried money could be
found
Jonas Green himself, reared in the Puri-
tan faith. was little troubled By supersti-
ti0us fears. though suhcr, 60 much incon-
venience bY reason Of those which beset the
mind Of Peter. Time and again, while both
were industIi0usly digging. would Peters
lively fancy see the q ut form Of Satan with
flaming eyes and huge horns coming from an
adjoining wood. / might hc COW, or a
shadow cast 10y the moon whatever It was,
away would g the SPADE from Peters
hands, and crying out
"Dere be cyme-de dc1iIl. De dehbil
tol You so, massa - he would run as fast
as eyer he could, uttering fearful yclls, till
cafe in doors
Often Jonas Green worked alone, grub
bing away with spade and hoe through half
the night Il is no stretch Of Fancy to
imagine him at such times a. bearing a
literal likeness 20 "the man with the muck
rake, in Pilgrims Progress, and as his
iniatuatiJn grew upon HIM. the hgurative
resemblance was complete. In course OF
time. his affairs would have fallen into sad
disorder if he had not t,en blessed with a
prudent wife and a good daughter, who
never put faith in the story Of the pot OF
money. They looked wei to the ways OF
the house and rs far rs could be done attend
cd to the cattle crops. and other outdoor
matters trying. net without some slight
success. 70 divert the old mans thoughts
and Efforts INTO q more useful channel.
Hetty Green w1nld often say 10 her hGs
band
1t Is all folly. Jonas, lor You to wear
your life out looking for that money. Even
# it's there, don't believe 1t would do you
any good II y0n found H. fou had better
not dig for it so much, aud read your Bible
more You know what the Scripture says
The love Of money i the root of all evil -
Jonas was by nature taciturn, and the
trait did not become weaker with tue lapse
Of years. He had but little 10 say In reply
to hls wiies sensible words. Possibly he
might have gained IN moToseness not go
much, If he had been the only seeker for the
buried money.
II IS not to be TOneTed at II among those
ot his townspeople who believed in the ex-
lstenee OF the hidden wealth were some ad-
Venturous spirits, who would not seruple to
enter on search in their own behalf II
followed that Jonas Green was often aunoyed
bY hndmg On his land traces OF the work OF
others who had managed to secure an op-
Portdnity when he was cut OF the way, to
dIg ior the coveted prize. The injury to his
property troubled hin far less, however than
the dreadful fear that what seemed so near
might slip IRON bis OWL grasp to that of one
OF these midnight maTauders. Such a
thought made bis nights restless, and haunt
ID his days with visions Of disappointment
There were not wanting graceless youths
In the neighborhood who took advantage OF
this well known weakness of Jonas Green
ior the purpose of amusing themselves al
his expense. At times in the dead Of night,