Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1876-06-03
Letter from Illinois.
ROCKFoRD, III, MAY y, is7G.

Editor Herald -
For the past few months even tle vel I
come home paper has held my attention
foI only a few moments each week, and
the thought of writing anything could F.
possibly avoid has been out of my mind
do not know that this season differs
greatly from spring-time usually in the
West, save that it is late season and
there Is even more than usual complaint
of the hard times. say even more than
usual, for it is never so good that there
is not some one complaining. The only
real good times people ever seem to have
known were always either past or looked
for in the future. Money really is scarce
here now, and what is worse for the poor,
work is the same. In this place it is per-
haps as good as in any part of the West,
better than in tie great cities, and SO far
as mills and shops go, more constant,
regular work for most Of the people than
for those who have no recourse but work
for wages in the cou ltry. This is a very
pretty city OF $4,000 or 10000 people and
is more of a manufacturing town than
any very near it. 1t has watch factory
built within the last two years, and re-
Gently started at work, not so large
building as the one at Elgin, fifty miles
from here, but that one has huge fac
tory of which could not see when there
two years ago that half was i'll use. The
one here is more in the city and so more
convenient for its employees. One can
not get look Inside either mill save by Il
pass from the Office, and the one at Elgin
has its office in Chicago, so visitors are
apt to be discouraged and keep away.
There are good many kinds of manu-
factories where visitors are not very well
come. l suppose they fear that some
rival mill viii send spy to steal their
Improvements in machinery. took q
few hours one day to ride out with a
friend who is very fond of hunting. Do
ing anything of that sort in q wagon is
not our Vermont way, but here roads are
open fields OF course, and can be seen as
one rides along. Indeed it is often easy
to ride much nearer game than one could
readily walk. fired a few shots, but am
not an adept at shooting flying birds.
Birds are the chief game here. Prairie
chickens and quail are far less plenty than
years ago here or than they now are in
Iowa. The only wonder to me is that
with SO many hunting them any are left.
Farm houses are nearer together in this
part of the State than used to imagine,
and good sized villages very numerous.
l think the farming population Of this
part of Illinois is as numerous to the
square mile as in Vermont, much more
so than in any town Of our county. We
tell of big western farms, but some of
them contain less acres than many of our
farms in Vermont. The thing is, every
acre is disable. One hundred and sixty
acres here is q solid hundred and sixty
acres of corn or wheat if the owner so
plcases. Here the grass dvaricd crops
arc found, but in the farther West, where
some land is yet vacant and serves for
pasture, the possible is the real amount
plowed for crops, all of every farm save
the ground the house and pig pen cover
There is very little space in the country
that seems to nc better calculated for a
wealthy and influential district, and that
would naturally grow toward using its
influence in the right direction, than
northern Illinois and southern WiScon-
sin. Perhaps Iowa has about the same
natural advantage, for it, too, is u splcn-
did State, but this is older and shows
more what it is to bel said is to be, but
rather it will be only what it now is with
yet more wealth, unless causes not now
evident make some change. One sees
little here to remind him, at least neal
this city, that this is not as old section
as Vermont, save wooden houses in the
cities, where no more are now allowed to
be built and that when time has removed
will be rebuilt with brick. Certainly
there is more that looks new and unset
tied in our half Of the old Green Noun
tain State than here. This is farming
territory almost entirely, with coal not
far away, and lead west Of us, but not
mines enough to affect the righteousness
of the people. Perhaps that is an odd
expression, but l have found, however,
that much as mineral deposits increase
the wealth of a State the class they call
together too often arc neither as temper
ate, intelligent nor usually moral, as some
others of our people. 1t is said that the
lead miuers of Galena and vicinity are a
good class of men, and the coal miners of
Bureau county, near here, seem, SO far as
| know, to be very different from those OF
many other localities. Many of the peo-
pie here are Swedes and Norwegians, and
an excellent, industrious and honest peo-
pie they are, less stylish and spendthrifts
than the American people are somewhat
inclined to be if circumstances will help
them. They seem too to have good
deal of that stern, severe religious belief
that our Puritan ancestors held, and that
l, with sort of persistent old fegyism,
if you choose SO to call it, heartily wish
we all had more Of to-day; and here
comes in the force of my remark that
this is section that will exert good
influence. Industry, honesty and religion
| flourish nInOnr farmers and canntry vii.