Morning journal and courier., 1885-11-23
4 QUEER wAN IN MAINE.
Ben Edn. ds and His Biblical Sculp'


 Everybody who has travelled through Rox- hury on the west bank ef the Swift river writes the Rambler in the Lewiston Journal, has noticed Ben Edmunds' barnyard posts.
 At the entrance to the barnyard, and only @ few yards from the road, two stone posts, each about four feet high and as large around as stout 11ans body. On the top of each post, and fastened thereto by an iron rod, srs three small stones of tapering sizet
 which serve as rude fnials. The observer sees that letters are carved ou the posts, and, going nearer, recognizes familiar words.
 Tine whole of the ten commandments are chise1ie3 on these posts. The lettering must have required several days of hard labor.
 The walk to the front 5eer of the house runs under granite portal raised from an enbanIZment with gri1n-looking stone head on the top of the transverse. section uniting the two uprights. A negro's head, carved in granite, decorates the yard. A close lnspec- ton reveals carving intended to represent the vine and fig tree of the scriptures, on one of the foundation stones of the house. The leaves of the vine are painted green. Scat tered over the stones of the barn foundation are passages from the bible carved in the granite: while on the stone enbankment of
 the front yard are seriptural inscriptions ard epitaphs of the designer and earver-the la
 mented Ben Ednlunds.
 A more interesting man than Ben Ednunds never lived in Maine. He came to this State from Connecticut in 1901 or 1902. several other tough frontiersmen came with him. How did they come? They walked, and their | wives walked with them. Leaving the women at Peru, where there was 8 settle ment they advanced. into the wilderness at what is now Roxbury, with only their axes and guns to hew out home. They were very poor, and Edmunds was the poorest of the lot. He was wont before he died to tell how he was enabled to cross 8 tollbridge without a cent of money in his 1 pocket One of his companions, named Severy, chanced to have penny, but only l one.
 "How much is the toll?' lie asked the toil- | man.
 "One cent"
 1 f'It makes no odds how much Of Q load g
 man carries, I suppose;''
 | "No."
 So Severy took Edmunds on his back, paid i his penny and carried his load across the | bridge.
 1 A cold April ranstorm began as they en- 1 tered upon their task of making 8 clearing | in the forest. Their only shelter was cabin
 of boughs, and Edmunds did not dare lie | down in that, but remained up ell night and i kept himself awake and warm by pounding 1 trees with a club. One ot his companions, who ventured to lie down in the damp boughs l for the night, subsequently died of con- | sumption contracted in that storm. l After Edmunds had cleared small patch, l he must needs obtain some seed with which ] to plant it. He had no money. His only
 resources were his hands and hunting dog 1 that he brought from Massachusetts. He | gave several weeks work on & log house and | barn which another settler was building, and | his dog in exchange for some rye, some l corn five pail kettle and 8 COW. He used | to chuckle over his trade The dog got home 1 before he did, and as often as the buyer took
 him away, so often the dog returned. | Beginning iii this way, Ben Edn1unds be- l came tk,e owner of a large and well-tilled 1 farm, with @ nice house and barn, and one oi l the most prosperous farmers in the region l He left large estate to his children and 1 grandchildren.
 He was a tireless worker. When he had
 nothing else to do, he busted himself at stone
 scriptions He began his work with an old l ax with which he clipped the rock and after | ward made some rough tools. Many months l steady toll must have been spent in this | unique avocation. It seems to have been his ! pastime. When he wanted a little amuss-
 ment, instead of starting game of seven-un | or fox and geese, he chisseled a text of scrip l ture on the foundation of his barn, Justify 1 singing psalm tunes he worked. 1 It was one of his whims that all of his l workmen must wash their faces and hands before going into the house, at noon or night. He hollowed wash bowls of large blocks ot granite for their use. Several of these wash | bowls are now in somebody's stone wall. The l old Edmunds house has been destroyed, but 1 it's stone foundation and the old barn are 1 there Before Fdmunds died he had his own 1 grave stone, and it now marks his resting l nlace in peiohbOrinp cemetery