Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1866-03-30
Social Parties and Sports of the First
~ftA Settlers Of Morgan.

has been one of the characteristics OF
people of Vermont. We have had
very little aristocracy, and very few
Of a low caste, people who were de-
pendent upon men of wealth, in whose
hands were the business and the man.
agement of society. In the smaller
towns this has been more noticeable.
We do not know that Morgan ever
had proprietor, large property
holder, to whom others looked for
employment, and upon whose business
they were dependent for support
Almost every family had its own house
and land, working mainly for them
selves, and paying rent to none. This
made society all of one rank. But
1t did not Isolate families; it brought
them together as equals. IF mat
ron made a quilting, she did not pick
out one here, and one there, to assist
in her work, and to enjoy the socia
pleasure of the pleasant occasion, but
all were invited who resided within
the range of her invitations. So toe
If farmer made a bee to roll his logs
or reap his grain, or raise his barn
all his neighbors came together as
equals; none was so high that the
work was unworthy of his hands, anC
none so low that he was unworthy tc
mlngle as an equal in the working
and merry making company. Proba
bly, for this reason such gatherings tc
help one another were common in the
early days of the town. 1t made the
people intimately acquainted vii
each other, and deeply interested il
the work, and the prosperity of all
SO if one had any unusual or impor
tant job to do, he was very likely tc
invite his neighbors to assemble anC
assist him do it. There was some
thing of habit of thus working OF
playing in large numbers. Mutually
sharing toll, pleasure or profit. And
especially where any real necessity
arose for the collection of such bodies
OF mon, they were easily collected and
controlled for the required purpose
Occasions of this kind occurred there
as in most new places where there are
extensive forests, to hunt up some
man or child lost in the woods. We
recall the case of one Cargill, lost in
the woods in the cast part of Morgan.
he was found after two or three days
hunting, half crazed and half starved
An old man by the name of Senter
attempting to cross the hills, between
Charleston Hollow and the south part
of Morgan, by foot path little used
lost his way, one autumn; as his
friends in Morgan did not know that
he had attempted the journey, and as
his friends in Charleston did not know
but he had accomplished it in safety
it was some days before it became
known that he was lost. Then he
was speedily found, but so exhausted
by hunger, cold and fatigue, that he
lived out short time.
Sometimes this habit of calling in
friends and neighbors on extraordina.
ry occasions would raise a great ex-
element on small occasion.
AS late as 1912 son of the minis
ter, hunting up his cows 10 swamp
in the south part of the town wander
ed around till dark, and then was un-
able to make his way out, though he
could not have been much over half
mile from neighbors in either direction.
But the word went out that he was
lost in the woods. Couriers were dis
patched On swift steeds, citizens in all
directions were aroused from their
slumbers by the clatter of horses feet,
and the shrill cry, "a boy lost! a boy
lost in the woods in the south part of
Morgan, come and help find him.
We never knew from how large a
religion all the young men started in
answer to this call, but we know a
crowd of them started from one of the
nelghboring towns five or six miles
away, but before daylight, and when
yet some miles from the scene of the
expected hunt, they were stopped by
another swift courier, announcing that
the lost was found. Like a very
sensible boy, as he was, lie made
some commendable efforts to find his
way out, and failing, he hallooed at
the top of his voice, and was answered
by anxious friends, who were soon.
with lantern in hand, able to make
their way to him, and so he got to his
friends.
This kind of facile congregation of
social life was also used in Morgan
and sometimes turned to good account,
in hunting wild beasts. We don't
know that Morgan ever had a real
Nimrod, a man who loved to thread
the solitudes of the forest in pursuit of
Its wild and savage denizens, for the
pure enjoyment of it, where the profit
was always precarious, and usually
small.-a man like Ephraim Blake of