Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1877-06-29
a vERmoNTER,s ExPERIENOE.

what a Green Mountain Boy Saw
While Coming West.
The following paper, from the pen
of W. w. Chandler, of Chicago,
will be of interest not only to those
who claim Vermont as their birth
place, but also to all who can appre-
ciate an interesting sketch well told,
as he did it at the "Vermont Asso-
ciation," at the Palmer House, Tues
day evening, June 5, 1877:
Nearly forty years ago, while liv-
ing in Vermont, outside the narrow
limits of which l had never strayed,
except to invade the State of New
Hampshire by crossing the bridge
over the great Connecticut River be-
tween Norwich, Vermont, and Han
over, New Hampshire, 1 frequently
heard people talk of a far-off cOun-
try which they denominated "Out
West" until 1 had pictured in my
imagination a general idea of the
place, its characteristic features, and
particularly, as supposed, its geo
graphical boundaries, and | longed
to behold it with my own eyes. Oc-
casionally, persons whom l knew or
had heard of, left my native State
to find home Out West, until, final
ly, came TO believe there must be
good many people out there, and l
was strongly apprehensiye that quite
a number of them had never en- Joy
ed the pleasure Of my acquaintance,
and without much difficulty work.
ed myself into the belief that large
majority of the inhabitants of 'Out
West" were really quite anxious to
see me. So, after much deliberatiOn
and consideration, l determined that
it was my duty to CRAFTY them. Ac-
cordingly l arranged to start on a
certain day, not doubling for a mo-
ment but that | would surely see ev-
erv person still living who had pre-
ceded me in that direction; In fact,
| supposed that most of them were
actually waiting to see me, and l be-
gan to feel some compunctiOns of
conscience for having kept them
waiting so long. Out West seemed
to me as much one place as does
now the city of Omaha or Salt Lake
City, although knew as well as
Olney's geography could tell me,
that the general term, "Out West"
embraced several States, as well as
what was laid down on the map as
the Great Northwest Territory, and
Great American Desert. Yet, so
vague and crude were my ideas of
distances, areas, and boundary lines
that l had no fears, whatever, but
that my advent Out West would
create a pretty general sensation, as
l was entirely confident that every
body would know that 1 had arriv-
ed.
Everything being in readiness for
the journev-my trunk packed,
few needles, some skeins of thread,
a few buttons, and a general assort-
ment of medicines being very care
fully slowed away therein, l took
leave of my anxious parents, broth
ers and sisters, as well as of sundry
other bereaved friends and afflicted
relatives, very early one September
morning, my heart swelling to an
enormous size as | uttered the final
"good-by." A neighbours boy of my
own age, and from infancy, almost,
my most intimate friend, accompa-
MED me to Woodstock, to take back
to Randolph my fathers horse and
buggy.
At Woodstock l was to take the
stage for Troy, New York. After
the horse had been properly rested
and refreshed, my escort bade me
good-by, and as l watched my faith
er's buggy, receding in cloud of
dust from Whitney's tavern-I had
never heard the word hotel-I would
have recalled it, and taken passage
homeward could have done so; for
| was twentythree miles from home,
and all alone-which two words ap-
peared to weigh about four tons, as
/ uttered them several times, to my
self, before the stage started. FL
nally the six-horse Concord coach
came up briskly to the front of the
tavern, and as soon as | had become
thoroughly satisfied that my trunk
would most positively be put aboard