Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-07-10
ime; but Mozart was dead -[Fromthe
The Presidents Home.

wIsH-ToN-wIsH, THE HOME OF PRESIDENT
GRANT NICE FARM OF SIX HUNDRED
ACRES AND ovER-PRCULIARTTIEs OF
THE SPOT AND ITS oyERsEER-A FINE
LOT OF STOCK.
The correspondent of the Toledo Blade
says: ''The homes of great men have
more than local interest. Stratford-hpon-
Avon is linked with Shakespeare's name:
the readers of Walter Scott desire TO visit
AbbotsfOrd; while Mount Vernon is hal
lowed by the memories of Washington.
About i've miles Southwest of st. Lou
is, on smooth turnpike, is Wish-ten
Wish, the home of General Grant.
Here is the Presidents little farm of 666
acres. On a hillside, sloping to the
South and West, is a somewhat inferior
looking two-story, five-room, frame
house, with goodly poarch TO protect
from the Southern sun. When first built.
this was one of the few frame houses
outside of the city. The saw-mill had
not then moved out West; and the on
ly tools used to build the house were the
axe, Ratchet, hammer, fro and draw
knife; while by 10 window glass were
the most palatial then manufactured.
Near by are distinguishable the remains
of an old trace, or Spanish road. plant
ed with black lOcusts that have evident
ly been growing about fifty years. Such
is the Dent homestead of former times.
then called White Haven by its owner.
AT this place twenty-five wears and two
months ago, there was a wedding. The
groom was I. S. Grant, young officer
from Jefferson Barracks, the military
post of st. Louis; the bride was Miss
ont Il !
lOcusts, if they could talk, might reveal
the secrets of a soldiers courtship.
Soon after the marriage Grant resign
ed, and Gen. Dent gave the young couple
so acres of timber land. Here they
built small house, which was soon
abandoned for the larger house of Gen.
Dent. If Gen. Grant was not a success
as farmer, he certainly was as a chop
per. Here he exhibited the same persist
ence and yigOr which have made him
the military hero of our age. As in the
army, so here he did thOurough work
for where he cleared off the land no
rough knOtty oaks are left standing as
an evidence of laZiness in the workman.
1t is related of Grant that he here chop
ped for six consecutive weeks and didn't
lose day; piled and seasoned the wood,
and hauled it into the city at five dollars
load. William ElroOd. a cousin of
Grants, has had charge of the farm for
the past SIX years, and is fast bringing il
up from the decay into which il had
fallen during the war. Mr. ElroOd is
one of those honest-hcarted, whele-soul-
ed men whose very presence is a source
Of pleasure. He has been known to re-
mark that there was some good cider in
the house, but his nature didn't permit
him to stop talking after he had made
the remark until he had put on another
very gratifying thought, expressed in
this way: I'd like you TO come in and
try some He kindly showed us the
fine stock of which the President is such
an admircT. There were about forty
horses and as many cattle, few sheep
and much pork.
The famous HOlstein cattle recently
imported from Europe are the most adj
mired. 4 band of white encircles their
| body between the fore and hind quar-
tiers. With this exception they are jet
| black. The vineyard of three and half
acres contains seventeen choice varieties
of native and foreign grapes. A fine
new stone mansion is now going up, but
| the President. when at his farm lately.
intmated that be should probably not
make his home there permanently, in the
future. A branch of the Pacific railroad
passes through the farm. and stops its
trains at the unrOmantic name Of Grant
| Station Before the war, Grant had left
| home TO become an unsuccessful real
4 estate dealer in St. Louis In 1867 be
was an unsuccessful office-seeker. He
wanted to be County Engineer, but, IN
| fortunately. he escaped that great mercy,
as the infallible County Court deemed a
/ rival competitor better fitted for the po-
/ sition. Grant might take Richmond,
/ preserve the Republic. and with honor
/ fill the chair at Washington; but in those
/ days the Civil Engineer Of St. Louis
| County had to be made of Steiner stuff. -