The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1885-10-08
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
On Account q Il. Cholera score.

OnAeeount Of the Cholera scare.
THE cholera scare is Frightening up
country real estate amazingly, . said !.
New York broker to an equally we'll
known lawyer at the latter's Office in
the Equitable building yesterday.
That sounds natural. returned the
lawyer.
''Naturalp Howp" was the others
rejoinder.
''Why, the expression that you just
used" replied the lawyer. Thirty
two years ago last February the same
expression was used in my Office, and
l was fool enough to catch on to it and
get badly bitten.''
''How was that?'' s.55t s..
II will tell you. One morning in the
early part Of February, 1853, Hen.
Davies came in just as you did q few
minutes ago, aud began to talk about
the expected cholera. Tom, he said
to me, it is Frightening up real estate
in the country. Everybody is going
out of town to live this summer, and
they say that a Jersey farm will be
worth as much as Fifth avenue house
by May lst. y
"1n those days I always went home
and told my wife everything that trans
spired at the Office, for we had been
married only two years. and young
married men are inclined to tell all
about the everyday happenings to their
wives. So, of course, we discussed
cholera and the boom in country real
estate at the dinner table that evening,
and what was still more natural, she
used the same interesting subject when
some ladies called on her the next day.
The outcome soon transpired. Ny
wife learned that -fifths of her city
friends were proposing to get
for fear of the dreadful chof-
era and nothing else would do but
that we should jump into the river and
swim with the rest of them. ....
''There was nothing for me to do but
to be properly acquiescent, and forth
with we began to discuss plans of all
kinds. We decided against summer
resorts and hotels and boarding houses,
lest some eleventh hour conner should
bring the plague to us. The seaside
would not do, as the bacillus Asiaticus
might come falling in at any time.
The springs were too popular, the
Hudson river valley would be too
cIpwded, and the Jerseys were too
near home. And at last we decided
on the Berkshire hills in Massachusetts,
as being secluded and yet accessible
for me on Saturdays.
"Now, had never been up there,
and only knew of the place by reputa-
ton, SO the first thing to do was to
get Berkshire map and the second
was to think up people who had been
there previous. We scratched off Lenox
and Stockbridge, Pitts6eld and Adams
as too popular, and after deal of
thinking as to who we knew in the
more retired hill towns, 1 remembered
an old college friend in Lanesborough,
near Pittsfeld. His name was Bob
Shaw, son of the Rev. Henry Shaw,
whilom a getlemen of wealth and COM
handing social position up there.
Bob, by the way, was brother OF
Henry, Jr., and was first class good
fellow, rather wild, but we'll meaning.
*'When we were at college together
he had signalized himself on one &C.
casion by winning wager that he
would spread a fifty dollar bill on a
slice of bread and butter and eat it.
At the time of which am speaking he
was the jolliest fellow in his country.
l wrote him at once to ask if there
were any houses to rent in Lanes
borough, dwelling, of course, on the
cholera scare as forcing us into the
exodus. The answer came that /
could rent a desirable place up there,
"but', argued Bob, why don't you
come up and buy place? This cholera
fellow will come to stay, and you will
not want to 60 back to Gotham for
two or three years. The best thing to
do is to buy a farm, and, moreover,
you can get a splendid estate for a
song
That struck US favorably, and it
came in just ri ght,' when the farms
in the vicinity of New York were SELL
ing at figures that were away up out
of sight. 1 Wrote right back to Bob
for particulars about some good farm
that could be bought at a reasonable
price. An answer was Forthcoming
directly. Bob wrote that one Keller,
worthy farmer, wanted to sell nine
ty acre farm, all but five acres, as
level as floor; that it was of won
drous fertility, near the Pitts6eld market
and depot, and without fault or
mortgage; that the owner wanted to
sell and go west, and that the price
was only three dollars an acre for land
worth thirty.
1.-The letter went on 10 say that the
house was old, and as a new house
could be built for a small sum he
would advise that Ishould not purchase
the old shell, but take the land without
1t and have a pretty cottage put up.
If 1 did this 1 could get the farm for
two dollars an acre. Such a chance I
had never heard of, and you can just
believe that l started for Lanesborough
| at once.
"When arrived found Shaw Just
starting for Boston. He, however, had
time to take me down to Farmer Keel
er s, and to present me to tho veteran
argriculturist, who apologized for the
season, and was sorry I could not have
waited until spring, when I could
have seen the farm in all it's glory.
They have snow lip there, and it lay
two or three feet deep when we went
out two look at the estate, 1 found a
long broad expanse. without fence,
| all in one field and annarontlv nor.
fectly level. There were two little
patches of trees on the place, but 9th
er ways it was smooth. and did not
doubt the old man when he told me
that every foot of it could be moved.
All around it were hills and bushes
and woods, and it was easy to see that
the land lay better than any other within
sight of it.
II couldn't tell anything as to its
fertility, but knew that 1 was getting
it so cheap that could afford to fer
tilize it as I pleased. The owner said
he was selling at eivo.awov nr;oo