St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-07-23

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thus giving very fine, peg-shaped rows
both ways. These outline blocks are
then passed to another machine work
ing on the same principle, which sharp
ems and separates each peg. After
the dry house aud the finishing ma
chine process, they are ready to be
shipped. Estimating the number of
pegs in bushel basket at 100, 900,
some 5000, 900 arc made here in a
day, ESQ bushels,) or about 4,695, OO0,-
600 each year. At the most, not more
than one hundred pegs are used in a
pair of shoes and possibly two hundred
in pair of boots so taking one hun
dred and fifty az an average, this firm
must manufacture for its trade each
year, pegs for something over fifteen
million pair of boots or shoes. How
ever, as all sizes of pegs are made,
probably some are used for other pur-
poses.
In the vicinity of Guildhall one can
find forests where no foot has likely
trOd since the Indian held full sway.
Short drives bring one to fronting
brooks where but few men have tished.
In less than two hours drive, one
reaches perhaps the prettiest sheet of
water in Maidstone lake.
Two thousand feet above the sea, level,
and five hundred feet above the Con
uecticut, it lies surrounded on all sides
| by forests, shut out from the busy
world and shut in by the mountains
which are thrown up on every side
! like huge breastwOrks. This lake in
the woods, so seldom seen and SO little
known by most people, has n green
| fringe of woods on each of its borders
for three and half miles in width.
! The only sign of human beings is a
rough board camp on the edge of the
eastern shore, called "Willartlsy" where
occasional parties Of city gentlemen
spend their vacations. Across the
lake is Il forest which for thirty miles
| to the Canada line is all almost I'M
broken wilderness. Here, in the win
ter especially, bears, moose, deer, and
| other game are found.
About a mile east of the lake, toward
Guildhall, there are three wonderful
caves" Starting from the village one
morning, we planned to visit these
with a famous character, known all
about here as ''PrOf. -" The gen
| tleman at whose home we visited was
to leave two of us ut country school
house, where he was to sing at finer
al, and there expected to find and Sc
cure the Professor as our guide. Later
on, we found to our chagrin that he
NOwise disheartened and knowing his
man, our host quietly asked an ac-
quaiutance to trade places with the
Professor and he gladly left the obse
quies and struck out into the fields
with us live men. We shall never for
get our pall-bearer guide. One of
those quaint, eccentric characters with
which Vermont abOunds. A man who
has learned as much by observation as
from books, whose advantages have
been very limited but certainly fully
improved. He was dressed in his Sun
day clothes out of respect to the dead
and his official duties in the last cere-
monies. A weather-beaten hat, al
most as old us the wrinkled face be-
al lynH 81 10
He had Il walk AS slow and irreg
ular as his drawing words sounded.
Boots guiltless of any polish since the
day he bought them. Deaf in one ear
and one eye gone. When we spoke he
twisted his head and his well ear stood
like telephone transmitter ready for
double duty. Wishing to see us, he
turned the other side, and his whole
eye glistened as if to make up for both.
In addition to these calamities our
much-dilapidated guide got under Il
falling beam few years ago and now
carries a cracked skull. And yet, in
the face of such disadvantages he has
grown in popular favor, and in ability
to glibiy expatiate upon geology, phre-
nolOgy, physiology, genealogy and
every other ''ology" except theology,
and that's too much for him, or rather,
he is too much for it. He is now pre-
pairing lecture on phrenOlogy per
haps if the Lecture Committee should
secure him he would prove as accepta- |
BILE card as was Carl Schurz!
As we came to the entrance of one
cave, n sudden thunder storm came up, |
giving one of those wOndrous trans
formations, without seeing which Il |
person misses one chief beauty of sum- !
mer life in the mountains. As one !
glances off down the green Connect |
cut valley, from the height to which |
he has risen while driving to the lake
and caves, he sees rising far beyond,
high in the heavens, Mt. Washington,
with other sentinel peaks near by,
reaching miles away. Seen in the sun |
shine, the sight is bright and glorious
seen in the soft, subdued light when IA
tinge of grey is in the air, before the
storm finally burst, is as much more
beautiful as is the peaceful mothers
face-thOugh careworn, than that of
the happy, joyous bride of day. First
we hear "A grumble, AS if some one had
disturbed the old thunder giant and
walked him from his sleep. We look
up and off only tieecy clouds are near,