The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1867-03-26
LETTER FROM THE WEST.

]
from me from the land of "hogs and
corn tito great Eden of America. +"
have heard many boasts of the west ;
of its rich soil, Of its hospitabc inhabit-
ants, OF their quaint phrases and notions
much Of which find to be true
Douglas said that Vermont was a
good place fora man to be born in, but the
west was the place for man to live.
believe that New England is not only a
good place to be born in but also an cx-
ccllent place in which to live. When we
contrast the morals and enterprise of the
people of the west with those Of the east.
we lind quito Il difference, and it cons
IN this: There is greater carecssness
and negligence in dress and education :;
| ere, this is particularly true of the farm
ing community; even the rich. falling
into the general habits Of the masses seem
to have forgotten that refinement charac-
tcristic of the east. Farm houses here
are generally poor, the very poorest apol
ogy seems TO satisfy, and in this particular
section Of the country many of the houses
have no cellars and many of them have
but one room with a ladder to the loft -
and the uncomfortable buildings are gem
orally in the most conspicuous place, with
the hog yard in front. The farm DWELL
inGs Wr not generally finished in the sec
Unl story.
heard an amusing anccdotc told of a
Traveller who took lodgings in one of tn, SC
dwellings whore the chamber Il or was
laid with bark. When he retired he as
cended the "ladder'' and walked from the
ladder TO the bed on board laid along
for the purpose of reaching the bed ;
being weary, he soon fell asleep and was
only awakened at n late hour by the
announcement at the foot Of the ladder
that breakfast was ready. Springing
from the bed in no small haste he struck
upon the bark floor which gave way
and down came bark and man a III Adam
before the hostess and her family, taking
Vantage of the position SO ind,crimn-
ely chm en-, rubbing his eyes GRUMPY en-
I"hS' - Ut'" It">t htN IttUlV.
In my passage over the many railroads
from the Northwestern part ct the State
of Illinois to this place, traverscd rich
and fertile country, at the same time
observing large amount of waste and
useless land, which is usually termed
's,uss,' which, in New England phrase,
means swamp, and the coLnry being very
level it OF course cannot be drained, and
the decomposition Of vegetable matter
render. the climate very uni callhy in the
immediate vicinity Of them, generating,
as they de-, the w,E-known diseases Of tins
section, fever and ague.
Mr.. Editor, have you ever spent Il
night ut ''lIoosicr Hotel" On ANYWAY
here | spent a little time at one of these
places, and am almost of the mind to
give You a description of the same. /
arrived at midnight and after much rat
tling and shaking aroused Il secdy little
clerk, 'whom Somnus held in fond embrace
and would not let lin 90 until he had
cursed the idea Of getting up every Fifteen
lnlnliS." / had II comfortable bcd-not
the clcanes:-aud slept well until called
to breakfast, when the cream of hooscr
life made full exhibition of ''tacnt and
gcnnlity.' | was waited upon by Il
semi negro, anglo saxon hooSicr, whist Il
second stood supporting post with 'that
are what do You call it running down
the upper lipi taking her right hand and
her apron she gently stayed the flowing
tide, using the left to stuff it back Tie
operation did not help my stomach one
hit. The food was pretty good but
poorly cooked, which was inexcuSahle
except the butter which we presume
was made from spotted cows, as in TO
other way can we account for its varied
appearance.
The poiatoe crop ia very poor in
all the west, and tins is owing to the
nature of the soil and climate; it being a
very Improbable crop, consequently many
families, as well as rich farmers, arc
without potatoes. Potaioe bugs have
made their appearance, spreading their
territory every year, and in many Instances
Totally destroying the crop
Corn is very plenty, or at least very
low in price, ranging from % TO 40 cts.
Oats, 50 wheat, - % Il 81 20.
here arc many large and thriving
villages and cities in the great west, and
everything is conducted upon the grand
scale of saving the almighty dollar, with
less regard to religion, education and
morals tLan at the east.
Yours, truly j. f. NJ.