The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-03-24

He learned the hatter's trade in his fathers
shop, and had to spend his nights occa-
sionaliy in boiling hats, and sometimes had
me TO help pass away the time in reading by
turns some book-probably one of Scott's or
Cooper's novels. We were so engaged on
the night of the oath of March, 1896, when
occurred the most extraordinary food
which is described in Thompson's History
OF montpelier, the account of which he had
from myself. Henry Y. Barnes, Watrous
and myself were the only persons who wit
messed that flood in Montpelier The first
notice of high water which Watrous and
myself had was by finding the wood-cellar
full, and Immediately thereafter we heard
shouts for help (by Dyer Richardson) from
the Berlin side of the river We started
quickly from the building now occupied by
Bascom's drugstore, and Mr.. Barnes joined
us from the next building. Running down
Main street we met the Winooski river
swhtiy approaching us in one wave as
broad as the street and apparently three
feet high. We retreated to the piazza of
the Old Union House, where the Unitarian
church now stands, the wave following us.
we had just reached the piazza when we
heard crash, and the water disappeared.
The crash was the yielding of the bridge,
mill-dam and part of two paper-mills to the
force of the ice and water, followed on the
next day by the destruction of Colonel
Langdons grist-mill About the time young
| Watrous reached his majority, the advent
of silk hats destroyed his trade, and he soon
left Montpelier to try his fortune elsewhere.
first heard of him in New Mexico, where,
| being Yankee, he was dubbed Don Sam
uel, and for that reason instructed me to
send the WATCHMAN to the address of Don
samuel Il, Watrous, to ensure delivery He
must have been resident of New Mexico
| for forty years. His business has been mer-
| chandise, conducted, as we read in Pales-
tine and the adjacent countries He pur-
chased goods in the United States for the
Af In, TO-
south as Santa Fe, and transported the
goods in large caravans. He once told me
that he owned nine hundred head of oxen
and horses, which were required for his
business until the advent of railroads SUI
perseded it. For long time his home was
at Fort Union, but on the completion of
the Topeka, Atchison & Santa Fe railroad
| (whose president is Montpelier boy) he
removed to Watrous, a station on that road,
to which his name was given. L infer that
he became wealthy. AS boy he was mod
est, genial and kind-hearted, fond of the
sports of hunting fishing and coasting al
belt he owned the only iron-shod sled in
Montpelier, which is remembered to this
day by all of the old boys of the village.
He was here a few years ago to visit a dy-
ing sister and provide for partly demented
brother Sophia Watrous Bement and Dan
iel Watrous of Northfeld). On that occa-
sion he fell into the company of medium,
who required that he should consult one of
that class in Boston. Some things which
were revealed to him determined him to
visit the Boston medium. He told me that
he would do so and inform me of the result.
On his return he told me that the Boston
medium surprised him by various messages
from his deceased father and mother, and
particularly relating what occurred on the
night of the death of his wife, Mexican
lady, who had died short time before Mr..
Watrous assured me that no person except
himself knew those things, and yet the me-
dunn repeated them accurately to him, in
cluding the disposition his wife had made of
her jewelry, and his own action that night
after her death, such as that he shut himself
up in the room with the body and permitted
no other person to enter the room. He was
impressed by all this, and still more by
being told that he, Don Samuel b. Watrous,
possessed the power of healing diseases by
a word! Mr.. Watrous said he had no faith
in ii, but nevertheless he would try the ex-
pertinent upon his father-in-law, a Mexican
who was utterly disabled by rheumatism.
He said, moreover, that he would be glad to
have that power, as the fame of great
"medicine man " would give him control OF
the Indians, who were great pests to him
by stealing his cattle and horses. In fact
he said he "would shoot an Indian as
soon as he would a rattlesnake, but pre-
ferred to rule them in a gentler way
Shortly after this interview, Mr. Watrous
returned to New Mexico and made his grand
experiment and many more. He sent to
me detailed report of his proceedings, and
that letter handed to the late Timothy j
Hubbard, who was a great sufferer from
rheumatism. Watrous wrote that immedi
ately on getting home he walked to his
father-in-law's house and found him con.
fined to his chair, crippled in hands and
legs, and apparently wholly disabled, but
that he commanded him to get up and walk
and to his utter surprise the old man obeyed
his command and was healed! Thence
lrH ha nth ,rrit Il.
success; but a year or two afterward he
wrote to me that he had lost his power tC
heal the sick, and supposed he could moi
get 1t again without going to Boston. | an
not surprised that my friend killed himself
There was something abnormal in the Wat
rous constitution. The old Squire, as he wa,
| called once resolved to commit suicide, but
, he thought he would pray first. His prayer
was answered, he lived to a good old age
and died of disease in his chair. His son
Charles, was graduate of Middlebury Col
lege, learned the printers trade in my faith
er's Office travelled as a journeyman printer
, from New England to Texas, and finally
committed suicide in Concord, n. II. DAME
; Watrous, the 'Squire's youngest son, wa,
, not utterly idiotic or demented, and yet h,
| could not take care of himself. And now
we have the death of Erastus b. Watrous 10y
! his own hand. | cannot think that tn,
, most cherished friend of my boyhood wa'
in his right mind when he committed this
deed. Let us, who are wholly sane, thanl
, God for his infinite goodness Esquire Wat
( rous' family was far above the average il
intellectual power and culture; the SOUR,
delivered the address, | think, ON the occa
sion OF laying the cornerstone of the ole
! Masonic Hall; his daughter Sophia, wrote
! small volume of poems, which were printed
( in 1871, and in acknowledgment of copy
John Quincy Adams wrote her a compli
r mentary letter, which is now the propert,
of the Vermont Historical Society; in 1872
the third and last wife of the Squire deliv
{ he was received by the ladies of Montpele
, in the old Brick church. and she it was VIII,
drew the view of Montpelier village, includ
2 ing, of course, the first State-house, the oil,
, Academy, and Miss Couch (afterward Mrs
= Cottrill of the Pavlion) standing in the doc
of John Reeds house, fronting on tn
: Winooski. This view was engraved an,
q published with Whiteaw's map of Yer
Z mont in 1921. have to add that the wifi
of Judge Charles Bulkley of Berlin wa
+ the sister of Esquire Watrous, and tn
. mother of the half idiotic and half demonia
: Frank Bulkley, who threw his mother
a Bible into the river for the purpose of enlight
ening the people of Burlington, and chase,
' my mother with an ak with view of kill
: ing her. Frank BullSley and Daniel Wat
| r0uS We're cousins. E.P. W.
:. Washington County Court.
; STATE as. f. III. BAscoM.-This was th
n1