Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-02-12
RUTLAND COUNTY.

RUTLAND COUNTY.
At the annual meeting of the corporation
of Castleton Seminary and the State Normal
School, held January 18th, Pitt W. Hyde
was elected President, in place of Rev Lew
is Francis resigned; jerome b. Bromley was
chosen Secretary, to fill the vacancy caused
by the removal of c. NJ. Willard At the
close of the term Jan. %, seven pupils grad
uated. three in the first course and four in
the second.
\. F. Gardner, conductor of freight
train on the Rutland railroad, fell from a
car, in the Rutland depot yard, and was
run over, his arm being crushed. Fortu-
natelv he had the presence of mind to throw
himself from the track in time to save his
] life.
( A Rutland lady, some months since, i'm
ported from New York a c0lored servant girl
who soon evinced a warm attachment for the
| only child of the family, little boy about
| three years of age. Aside from this apparent
/ lv warm attachment, nothing unusual was
! noticed in the conduct of the girl until few
/ DAYS ago, when the mother was startled by
shrieks from the kitchen, and proceeding
there, was surprised to find the serve Mt arm
ed with a butcher knife, with which she was
about to mutilate the child by cutting off its
nose, fingers, and ears. The mother convey
el the child to place of safety, and, return
ing, was pursued by the girl with cries of
&" I'll Kill you, - " I'll stab you Fortunate
ly the uproar by this time reached the
neighbors, who speedily appeared and secur-
ed the thoroughly infuriated servant before
any injury had been inflicted. No explana-
ton OF the girls strange conduct is given
The FROZEN WELLS OF BRANDON. About
a mile southeast of Brandon there is stu
ated well forty lone feet deep, the water of
which has the popularity of remaining frozen
all the year round. In 1854, the owner Of
the property began the usual excavations
for water. After passing through four feet
of clay and ten feet of soil, bed of frozen
gravel, sixteen feet in thickness, was en-
countered, which rapidly changed to mud
when exposed to heat. Further digging
penetrated another bed of clay, and finally a
layer of clean gravel, in which water was
found. AS the winter months approached,
ice began to form in the well at the rate of
from two to four inches over night, while
, during the succeeding summer, though the
well remained open, an occasional skim OF
ice would appear on the surface.
Eventually the well was abandoned, but
since it has remained unused it is found
that if the winter ice is not removed when
the weather is quite warm, the water re-
mains frozen through the hottest months
During April last, ice twenty inches in
thickness was taken out, but as the atmos-
phere at that time was chilly, freezing again
took place On July 10Th, the Temperature
in the shade was Sc degrees at two feet
from the surface of the ice in the we'll, the
mercury sank to 80 degrees.
In 1860 four shafts were sunk in immedi
| ate proximity to the well, without striking
/ frozen ground fifth endeavor was NOR,
, successful, but the experiment was never
completed, though we learn that it will bt
once more undertaken next summer. There
: is considerable speculation in the scientific
e circles as to why this particular locality
. possibly two hundred feet square, SHOULD
permit the winter cold to descend through
from twelve to twenty-nin feet of clay an,
gravel, and freeze mass of material averag
> ing fourteen feet thick, and yet not affec
j. any other spot composed of similar strata
:, Professor Hager is of opinion that the pbe
nomonon is due to glacial remains. The bed
of clay which intercept the suns heat an
e besides shed off surface we ter, together wit
r. favorable arrangement of the strata in cor
nection with the dip; and the proximity c
> the outcroppipg limestone, it is believed
; have protected the frozen mass from thawin
Il for thousands OF years, while the remainde
of the glacier has long since melted away
= leaving only its moraines in the ghbol
. hood. Mr.. Clarence Sterling, of Bridgpor
'e Conn. who has already spent some time
the investigation of the subject, propose
= next year to carry down the fifth we'll to
greater distance Scientific American.
ri wINDHAM COUNTY.
VI DR.. Joseph Draper, for some years a
superintendent of the State Insar