Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1875-09-15


From The Christian Advocate
Mount Manstleld-An Old Mans Reminis.
cenceS.
On our route to the White Mountains
we take dttour to Mount Mansfield, in
Vermont, Although the surrounding
scenery, all the way from Saratoga to
Burlington, thence to this mountain, is
interesting i'll its wild, picturesque beauty
to an enchanting degree, we propose to
leave the scenic pictures to other pen
artists and describe what is often omitted
by tourists, namely. certain bits of singu
lar character which we have evoked from
the native soil through the medium of
ordinary communication, somewhat of a
" spiritual cast, though not pertaining to
" spiritualism
At the Mount Mansfield Hotel. where
men and women from Boston and other
choice localities were sitting on the wide
cool veranda discussing those abstru~e
topics which usually are on such tongues
we inquired of the office clerk if ther.
were any interesting old people in that
vicinity. lie directed us to an aged phys
ican. who was reputed to keep the KEYS
Va icC.tl it'It. we waited on IUlS gentle
man and straightway discovered we had
struck vein of antique ore more precious
than the gold which has been found in the
neighboring village of Goldbrook. He
produced u pondcrOus tome containing
ihe records of the Thrce-Scor and Ten
Unlon Society of Stowe Herein were the
autographs of the persons who were three
score and ten and upwards reaching the
age of more than 100 years. Appended to
many of these names WAS an abstract of
their life. To say that this biography
was :" something rich and strange is
doing but feeble Justice to the theme, The
characters in the :. Old Curiosity Shop
pale beside the strong lights Of these
ancient lives, rs depicted by the graphic
pea of the antiquarian doctor
We asked for a Methodist family which
included some of this ancient history. and
were taken to = house of an old gentleman
who l. a leading member of the NJ +.
Church If this place, and furnishes home
for the present preacher in charge The
following is the story of this aged pilgrim
on the shores of time:
=" am rirhtv-nine Years old NV father
came 10 Stowe in l79s There were only
twrntv-thrce families in town. | WAS
tNNiNt Nt'iIS pI', anu L We IlNttl 10
every person buried in this town. Father
paid one thousand dollars for his farm
The money was silver. in a bag. and was
brought to Stove in a barrel of beans
Our house was built of logs. and pretty
nice in those days. 1t had u floor of split
bas>wood logs, and had one partition below
but none above. We went to the second
floor on ladder. Father lived in the
same place forty-four years. He was a
representative to General Court fourteen
years. We kept tavern in those days
Lodging was six cents; meals. twelve and
4 half cents.
II can remember when it was all
| woods here in town, and we used to go on
the banks of the streams.''
Il remember the first death there was
| in town. There had been Il raising
Every body went; even the women and
children helped. There was n man who
came with his wife and family from over
the west branch of the stream (the Winoo-
>ki.) He had bright boy. ten years
old The man would drink too much He
| drank at the raising. though he never got
dow H. 1t had been raining and he started
to 90 home with the oldest boy on horse
| back behind The wife and little ones
lltl Hol SlbIt. lie went lIllO tIlt w est
branch. and the water had swclled So fast
that the horse had to swim. When he got
| about half way over, the current was so
| bad it took the boy right off, and the first
| the father knew his child was gone He
got over to the bank, and rode up and
down. calling the boy for a long time
The water was SO wild he couldn't go back
that night. and there were no neighbors
to help him.
Il lie slavcd in his house alone, and
walked the floor all night. He knew his
boy was gone forever. and he was sober
soberer than he ever was before. The
next morning he got help, end they found
below the crossing, wedged in between
the logs with his head down ont of sicht
That nearly killed his mother. If the IA
ther hadn't got too much rum he would
have known better than to have tried to
cross. Twas a dreadful time - that
funeral. The boys father gave the town
the lot for Il burying- place.
" About 1908 Lorenzo Dow came to- our
tows. and wanted to preach Nobody
would let him have a chance but nv f:.,
ther. He WAS Universalist, but he said
Dow might preach in his house lie
looked so strange, folks were kind OF
afraid of him at first. He had Il beard a
foot long. and he wore Il long coat with.
out any buttons. 1t was fastened with
hooks and eyes, and it had great pockets
in which he carried Il Bible and HYMN
book. His hat was wilc-brmmed, soft,
and light-colored. He was grave in his
way, didn't laugh any, and said things
that went straight to the mark. lie wa,
speaking about Christ dying for all, when
remember. he said, ALI spells all
don't it, school ma 'am?' and he looked
right at our schoo-tcacher. though don
think he knew she was one.
Three OF four were struck unlpr con.
vlction that first meeting. He appointed
a circuit, and came round in two weeks
The next time these were brought out
Elijah 1edding was the next preacher
He was about twenty five years Old, then
and had the asthma 50 bad he could no
sleep on a feather bed, and had to sleep OF
the floor. Soon after he forme a churcl
of twenty members. 1t Was a long tim,
before we had "A meeting house.
can remember Dow came, one d,,
after We had one, and gave ont he woull
preach that night at early candle light
Our singers fixed all up with their bes
tunes. and got every thing ready.
Dow came in, marched up into th
pulpit WAS great, high puIpit-lnt
he began to sing himself. He sang wv,