The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1872-07-25
4 WONDERFUL DREAM.

'Oh YES, sartin! Yes, ycs-l believe in
dream, sad old Silas Tafton. lie took
another Whit at his pipe, and then added:
One of the gr.ate-t speculations | ever
went into came of Il drcam-r wonderful
dream. I'll tell vou about it.
You remember, some Of Won, about the
great land spccuations here in Maine thir-
ty years ago. Poor mcn-a very fcw of
th,m-wcrc made suddenly rich and rich
men were suddenly mad" poor | was liv
ing then in Grey. One day old sam
Whitney, of Oxford, stopped at our place,
and showed us Il map of new town which
bad been laid out in Sa.alahoc. On the
map it looked bcautIf There were brooks
and lakes, an broad plains Of pine and
oak, with streets laiI out, AMI spot, for
churches and school houscs marked ia
proper arrav | had cousin livin: down
that way and concluded to go down and
take look. | found the town of Ellcnville,
which old Whitney had shown me on his
map, to he II wild, worthless track, all
rocks and swamp but on the edge Of this
track, in another township, my cousin
owned Piece of land, and bought II
hundred and fifty acres of it, and made me
an excellent farm ; and for that purchase
wa> never sorry.
Meantime E;icnyllc was nearly sold in
hundred acre lnt>. The excitement was at
fever heat, and people bought without once
coming to look at the land they were pur-
chasing. But by and by the owners began
to look up their property, and you can rest
assured that they were blue set when
they were assembled on their territory.
Within all the limits of the mapped out
township there was not an acre that could
be cultivated. On the side that bordered
my farm it was a craggy ledge of rocks ;
and beyond that to the eastward the land
settled under Il mud and water of sunk
en- slough. Some of these lots had been
sold as high as one pound an acre, and a
few of them even higher than that. One
poor fellow, named John Twist, from Yer
mont, had paid one pound an acre for a lot
that bordered on my farm. On the map it
had been set down as a magnificent pine
forest, with a river upon Its border, upon
which was superb water power. John
Twist bought it and paid for it, and when
he came to look at it he found it to be a
mass of barren rock, with here and there a
clump Of scrub oak and few Norway
pines, and for river he found Il water
course which tumbled melted snow over
the crags in the spring, and which was dry
most of the year. | did not see the poor
fellow when he came to survey his proper
tv, but can imagine how he felt.
After while, however, the excitement
passed of and the sufferers of Ellenvllc
turned their backs upon the grave of their
speculative hopes. On my farm prosE er
cd. Ny land was of the very best quality
my wife was true hclpmate; my crop,
were abundant: my stock thrivcd, and
found myself with a goodly pile Of none,
tied up in my stocking.
One evening, or in the early morning
after our crops had been garnercd, maj
riding sorry looking nag, pulled up bcfor'
our door. lie was well-looking man, Will
sedatc and solemn face, and dressed il
black. 1t was safe enough to conclud,
that the man wac a minister, and SO Ia
announced himself. lie said he was til
on home circuit, and asked shelter fo
himself and beast for the night. Of cours
we welcomed him eheerfully, an ! we wer
pleased with him. lie had travelled exten
sively, and his conversation was entertain
ing and instructive. Before he went t.
bed he read chapter in the Bible an
made prayer, and Betsey said to me al
ter he had retired that she had never hear
such a beautiful prayer.
The next morning, at the breakfast t:
BILE, Mr.. Meekmora was very sedate. II
! asked blessing, and then only answere
such questions rs were asked him. Finall
r Betsey told him she was afraid he had n,
slept well. He smiled, and said he ha
slept well, saving the spell of : very Cur
our dream which had visited him thr,
/. separate times during the night. Betse
o asked him if he would tell what il W.
:, about.
j 1t was the old dream of hidden wealtl
q he said with solemn look. Il haven
dreaIaad such dream before, since by