The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-10-30
MiDDLEDuR Y.


What revolution railroads have made
everywhere. Even in Middlebury, the
changes are astonishing. Say % years ago
all the goods purchased by our merchants
were hauled by team from Boston. Twice
year new goods were purchased, and the
little no stores were crowded with eager
customers to see the new styles, and the
trader was received back to the bosom of
his family with n much joy as a man would
be nova days who had been to Europe.
There are many who can recollect how
glad they were to alight at their homes from
one of those old boxed up swinging home
work like stage coaches. after being twitched
and showed along two hundred miles up hill
and down, night.and-day, rain or shine.
But began to say a word about truckmen.
Eight or nine years ago Jim Larned did all
the trucking. Who does not remember see
ing him sit upon his trunk chair, monarch
of all he surveyed in that business, growl-
ing "get up Jack !" Well the old man has
gone from among us, and he lies buried in
yonder burying ground. But in his place
there are several younger men, with eight
or ten strong teams, constantly employed in
the trucking business. The merchants and
market men each keep teams with light de-
livery wagons, which may be seen constant
ly on the streets Now our merchants can
have new goods daily. They are not OBJ
liged to purchase six months stock to sup
ply their customers formerly.
The agriculturalists come in for large
share of benefit from these charges. For
merly these cattle and horses laid heavily
on their hands. To get their butter and
cheese to market was long tedious job.
Their corn, potatoes and onions were only
for home consumption. Now all these pro-
ductions are cared and safely carried to the
great cities, and these distributed to all the
world. The cars are so constructed that
butter can be sent any distance and remain
as fresh as when put upon the train among
the green hills of Vermont. We, in return,
get from Boston fresh oysters even
in warm weather packed IN leo.
Who does not remember how we used to
obtain oysters if we had any at all. Now
and then some enterprising Yankee from
Connecticut, would venture away off up
into Vermont with a double sleigh full OF
little quart cans made out of ash timber,
timber, and offer them for sale to those
who had travelled ont of town. The COM
| mon people would look at them, and say
| that you could not get them down then, as
| they didn't like the looks of them. They
| had generally been frozen and thawed a
| few times, which gave them kind OF UNI
natural taste, but they were eaten by coun-
| try cpicures and pronounced excellent.
But hold on l am off the track, running
| from truckmen to oysters.
We are getting II wonderful spell Of fine
weather. One or two heavy frosts have
| changed the leaves upon the trees, since we
| last wrote from deep green to gold and
yellow. They are fast falling to the ground,
there to be whirled about by the north wind
as it looking Cor some quiet nook to make
a final rest. The summer birds have all
left, and the insect world is hushed into ST.
lence-gone into winter quarters, which
will last six months at least.
| ARGUS.