Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1878-01-09
Chr family Circle.


One day in March, 1915, the owners of
Walden Pond, that is to say, the raccoons
and squirrels, were surprised 1T the dolngs
of certain intruders A party OF men,
headed by young man Of short stature,
firmly built Of light complexion, with Sc
riOus blue eyes and grave aspect, arrlY-
ed, bringing with them planks, and beams
and other such apparatus, and began erect
inc a house among the philippines and
hickories, within about half dozen rods
of the pond. The men began to build,
while from the trees and from behind
the bushes the owners looked on. The
leader of this gang was Henry David
Thoreau, born at Concord, CIV small town
in Massachusetts, in 1917, who brought
up to his fathers business rs lead-penciI
maker, had left that for the profession of
schoolmaster, and then OF II land survey
or He had been educated in Harvard
University where lie graduated in 1887.
BY the 4th of July the house was finish
ed, and, with the exception of the leader,
the intudcrs left the wood. Left alone,
the occupant Of the house underwent the
most curious scrunity. When the squir-
rels and racroons rctreaicd from his foot
steps according to the Walden custom on
the approach of man, he would sit down
quietly on the edge of IL rock or fallen
tree and rest there immoYable us his seat
sit there for hours, and apparently with
out drawing II breath Throughout the
wood curiosity grew and grew. All kinds
of experiments We're yentured upon. A
squirrel or raccoon or woodchuck, holder
than the rest would approach the notion
less man silently and warily, and ready to
make retreat ut the smallest movement Of
an arm or lcg. But the stranger sat
like II man of marble. Now if there is
one thing more curious than squirrel, it
is raccoon. Such u very quiet man must
surely be dead, or very harmless. The
raccoons approached nearer. The SOUR
reIs did the same, till at last they positive
! ly touched him, and still no danger. The
news soon made its way through the wood
| that there mt last was u man who would
| allow himself to be touched without shay
ing the creature that touched him An
intimacy sprang up between him aud
them. The beautiful creatures Of the
woods would come at his beck; the snakes,
even, would coil round his legs. And this
crew stronger during his sojourn ut Wal
den. Sometimes it would even become
Troublesome to him. Sometimes, on TAX
ng squirrel from u tree to inspect it, the
title creature would refuse to leave him,
and hide his head in Thoreau's waistcoat
The fish in the river became intimate
with him, too; they would let him lift them
up from the water with entire confidence
that he would do them no harm. And
while these things Were going on in the
woods something very like it was being
transacted in the hut.
About the same time that Thorcau haC
selected the site for his hut, the very same
spot had been chosen by II wood moust
which had never seen a man before. Tho
reau, needless, in that early period of his
education of the rights of mice, had pro
ceeded to build on the top of the wood
mouse's nest and alarmed the little crea
ture at first Finding, however, tina
here was no danger Of actual moleStatior
from this extraordinary interloper, thu
mouse's alarm changed to Indignation II
IN intrusion; but even this did not las
long in presence of an invader so gent
and 50 wheeling. Nothing could resls
Thoreau. He was the original of IIaw
thorne's Donatcllo Before even th
second floor had been laid the nous
would come out regularly at lunch tim
and pick up the crumbs at his feet; and Il
: the carpentry work proceeded it becam
t more familiar still. 1t would run over hi
shoes and outside his clothes, At last, t
show that the compact was quite sealed, a
rhoreau was leaning one day with hi
t elbow on the bench, it ran up his clothe.
and along his sleeves, and round an
round the paper which held his dinner
and lodged and played bo-peep with il
and when, at last, he held still II piece c
r cheese between his thumb and finger,
came and nibblcd the cheese. sitting i
> his hand, and after the meal was oyel
cleaned its face and paws like a fly, an
f walked away. Page'S Lift Of Th5rea@.